dougdrummer

For what it is, I still enjoy Runaway, so I think it is underrated because it doesn't really get any attention after 40+ years. The Sky Ride is boring as can be, except if you want to get an overall perspective or try and see how long some ride lines are....

I think the hotel would have to be somewhere that is waterfront. I believe one similar to the All-Star at Disney World would sell very well.

I've been to at least 5 of them. Hershey is the best, followed by Knoebels. Dutch Wonderland is tiny, but it is good for the little tykes. Interestingly all three of them have a campground adjacent to or within a mile of the park. We've camped at all three as well.

It's interesting because BGW has several at-grade crossings in which the gates come down and hundreds of people have to stop when the train goes by. They also have safety/security personnel present to make sure no one goes around or over the gates and gets run over by the train (even though the train goes pretty slow). That's probably justified because I could see a little tyke running around and not understanding what is going on, or a teen trying to be goofy and jumping the gate on a dare. While most of the train route is at ground level, they do have a massive steel arch bridge the spans the ravine in the middle of the park. That must have been a huge expense to build. While SFGA does not have the topographic challenges that BGW has, it would be cumbersome to construct without a lot of at-grade crossings.

Another benefit of JL and dark rides in general is that it provides one more attraction that can be open during offseason periods such as HITP. When I was there on Dec 30 it was below freezing, and while it is nice to warm by a fire, it is even better when you can combine a ride with warming up at the same time! In the long run, this may help to raise attendance during offseason periods. It is also beneficial to those patrons that don't want to or can't physically partake in some of the "extreme" roller coasters, which SFGA is chock full of. For instance, my wife will ride some of the tame roller coasters like Runaway, but will never go on a looping or inversion coaster.

Indoor and weather protected water parks do seem to be catching on, especially in the northern climates. The Great Wolf Lodge chain must be doing well if they can charge upwards of $400 a night for a hotel room!

Weird how you can have totally different experiences at different times and different rides. I guess that is good....

I would not advise eating hot dogs before riding Superman - LOL A few years ago my friend flew me in a small Cessna plane. We went to an air show where I ate two hot dogs, then got back in the plane for the flight back. Soon after he hit major turbulence and I had to do everything I could not to barf!

Although I'd love to see a train or monorail, they do have the skyride to get you from one end to the other (except during Holiday in the Park, when it is a round trip only). However, unlike Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the topography at SFGA is much flatter and takes less energy to walk the entire park. I've been to Busch in the heat of the VA summer and walking those hills are brutal, so the train is nice to get a rest when needing to get to the other side of the park. I can see a benefit to tie the amusement park to the water park, but they would never invest in a monorail type infrastructure for that. I've never been to the water park, so that is not a big deal for me.

Yes it was. Living in NY state, I really didn't know anything about this amusement park, so I could not have seen or even heard about the Gardens previously. The only other logical explanation is that I saw a similar type attraction at another park, but I don't know how that would have tied me to this park. I'm so confused......LOL

I agree wholeheartedly The original plan was to have a campground similar to Disney World's Fort Wilderness, but unfortunately that idea never came to fruition. Atlantic City is in a somewhat similar dilemma - casinos came in during the late 1970s and business boomed and grew for a lot of years. Then the competition popped up in nearby states and gaming revenues have fallen off dramatically. IMHO the city needs to reinvent itself as a family resort less focused on gambling, similar to Las Vegas. But it doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon. SFGA relies totally on it's theme park and people only go for one day. There is nothing much else to do in the area other than outlet stores. It needs to reinvent itself as a multi-day resort. If you have ever been to Lancaster County or Hershey PA, they are favorite multi-day destinations because of the number of hotels, campgrounds, theaters, restaurants and other tourist traps they have out there. Obviously it isn't the same exact situation, but I think SFGA could learn something from them, instead of just building the next gigantic coaster and jacking up its prices to pay for it.