# Do you like amusement parks?



## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

There's a few well-known amusement parks not far from where I live- Dollywood and Lake Winnepesaukah in Tennessee, and a Six Flags near Atlanta, Georgia. I remember my parents taking me to these places when I was a little kid, and I enjoyed them a lot. Recently, however, return trips have made me outright disgusted at the places. For one indefensibly expensive admission price, you get to bake to death in an overcrowded cesspool of sweaty humanity, and stand in line for an hour or two with said sweaty humanity to get on a one-minute ride. Pay an arm for a hamburger that manages to be inferior to McDonald's, and a leg for something to wash it down with, maybe a horribly watered-down soda or, if you're lucky, a bottled water. Then stand on your remaining leg in line with more sweaty humanity to use the restroom! You leave the place feeling like you have the grime of a thousand people all over you....and that's not terribly inaccurate!
I haven't been to an amusement park in years and I don't regret it. It's interesting to reflect on how magical they seem when you're a small child, but you go back later in life, and then they're downright repugnant. To be honest, I don't think I would have missed out on much had I not ever gone to one. 

Perhaps your experience is totally unlike mine and you're thrilled by amusement parks. Share your experiences! What do you think of amusement parks?


----------



## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I used to be a great admirer of amusement parks years ago. What has put me off in recent years is the admission price and then the "rip your fellow American off" prices for food and drink. A few years ago at Disneyland (Anaheim) for the three of us to have one slice of pizza and a small soda each it was $27.00. Seriously? 

Another time at a local theme park (where western movies used to be filmed) the price for a hamburger (bun and piece of meat - no tomato, no onion, no lettuce, no flavor and no fries) and a small drink was $15 each person. Robbery by any standard. 

These parks all have rules about not bringing food with you - some places won't even allow bottled water and "theirs" are $5 for 8 ounces of water ... water ... $5? Another "rip off your fellow American" in the name of profits. No, I refuse to play their games. 

I'll stick to my league bowling for my amusement, thank you. $15 per week and no crowds, just good simple fun with friends.


----------



## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

Have not been to one since I was about 10, today they seem to be too dangerous.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I guess I use to enjoy them a lot, but I don't see myself going to one any time soon. Just feels like not the greatest use of time anymore, and it's so expensive, yada yada yada


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

They're not that great, I think i didn't see one for at least 20 years ago.


----------



## OboeKnight (Jan 25, 2013)

I live about 20 minutes away from King's Island, so amusement parks have always been a part of my life. I have had a season pass for as long as I can remember. I also love thrill rides and will get on absolutely anything. I have been to Cedar Point a few times as well and also Six Flags. I guess I am a bit numb to rides since I have ridden them so much, but I still enjoy going. Since I have a pass, I just go on days that aren't crowded and it's much more enjoyable that way. I also tend to eat something before going, or leave the park to eat something cheaper. Not a fan of spending a fortune on bad food.


----------



## helenora (Sep 13, 2015)

I used to like them - perhaps because I was younger then and now I don't like them and find them rather boring except of this one which I still like


----------



## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

In St Petersburg there is a free access amusementpark called 'Divo Ostrov' (Wonder Island), that is situated close to the new soccerstadium (built for the 2018 world championship) on Krestovsky Ostrov (at Metro station Krestovsky Ostrov). We especially like the Russian fairy tale imaginations, that are scattered all over the park area. One has to buy a ticket for each roller coaster separately, but for those who just want to enjoy the family fun without screaming up & down we can recommend this venue.


----------



## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

Legoland in Denmark and the nearby (for us) "Efteling" were fun when our three children were little.
Without them I don't even come near amusement parks. It is completely alien to me. Strange, and often nauseating entertainment, huge crowds, the horror of waiting in line for over an hour for a 2 minute ride, and indeed the prices; starting with the parking lot 10, admission fee 50, food and drinks etc. They even charge a euro to relieve oneself of their 5 euro water!
"Consult your local bankmanager before entering", would be a fair warning sign.
Money aside, it is a strange phenomenon, mass entertainment; thankfully my kids are now at an age they can go by themselves.
We usually make a deal with their friends parents; one brings, the other collects. A day of uninterupted musiclistening !


----------



## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

I loathe them. You may think this position unfathomable, but there are reasons for my aversion. Amusement parks by themselves, if the focus is on the rides, and perhaps music in outdoor venues, isn't so bad. It's when they evolve (or perhaps devolve) into *Theme Parks*, that the bile starts to rise. None of it is real, and hinges on popular culture designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator (That is, of course, maximally profitable.). What I am trying to convey, is that it is a _manufactured_ experience. Disney is a prime purveyor of this sort of pabulum, and a "Disney Experience" is nothing more than an expensive ploy to reinforce their share of the culture market. Is the first lasting impression of children to "The Little Mermaid" Hans Christian Andersen's tragic tale of spiritual transcendence, or Disney's Ariel with the happy ending (the same ending, I might add, that is the hallmark of nearly every Disney production: Worthy girl marries her prince and lives happily ever after)? It is worrisome to me if the latter is the case. It's this sort of cultural short changing that saddens me, and the theme parks do everything to reinforce. Another reason is the exorbitant pricing to get into the park, and then once there held captive, at the mercy of the park's pricing of food, drink, and "collectable" clothing and gifts of invariable Chinese provenance. Why would anyone collect these things? Not for any expectation of reasonable profit. Another reason: the crowds. Yes, rubbing shoulders with the masses, dodging strollers, standing in queue with obnoxious sick children, angry parents, and oblivious teenagers surgically attached to their cell phones: each has it's attractions (I'm joking) but at the end of the ordeal to be rewarded by the gyrations of an animatronic fiend in cartoon form...well you get the drift. I just don't find the experience enjoyable. Yes, I'm an old curmudgeon. End of rant.


----------



## SarahNorthman (Nov 19, 2014)

I've only ever been to Universal Orlando, Islands of Adventure, Disney World, and our local amusement park, Cliffs.


----------



## ldiat (Jan 27, 2016)

Kennywood Pittsburgh. pa. and West View Park, pittsburgh. all are school picnics here. West View(i lived 2 mins from the old park now a out door mall) closed and we went to Kennywood, OBTW its roller coster is ranked in the top ten. all wood and its built with the contour of the hills around the park. the Thunderbolt!


----------



## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

I love them. It is a fun day out!


----------



## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

I get sick on ferris wheels. I must have a sensitive inner ear, because I can't take it. I was on the ground, dry heaving, and my friends stood there laughing at me. No rides for me.


----------



## georgedelorean (Aug 18, 2017)

We only have one in Utah called Lagoon which is located about 19 miles north of Salt Lake. Can't tell you how much I enjoy that place. I'll ride Colossus five times in a row and not get tired of it.


----------

