Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom - NOW OPEN!

[sixflagsdude101]

i think people are blowing this out of proportions. Be greatful with what we have and what we are getting! I mean so what ife dont have a classic. We dont have to have everything and it is not the end of the world if rolling thunder goes. I mean yea i am sad but think of what is to come !!!!

[RobertDavid]

Then why did you quote me saying ka would reopen by monday when you said this...

 

As a WDI hopeful trust me i completely understand the want gor themeing. But the truth is only so many parks can keep to a strict themeing policy it costs major mulah to be able to do that. Disney, universal and busch lead the way in that area. But regional theme parks (which are what SF parks are) dont have the resources to keep to that strict themeing enterprise. They try as much as they can but if its millions of dollars cheaper to get a pathway to the safari from the frontier than from the golden kingdom...frontier is where its going. You can knock six flags for themeing all you want but in all honesty six flags does a heck of a better themeing job than cedar fair! And both chains get along just fine without keeping to that strict themeing regimen. Great adventure is the most profitable park in the entire sf chain it is going NO WHERE anytime soon nor will the loss of rolling thunder cause it to fall from that pinnacle

 

It doesn't cost any more to theme something appropriately. They are theming it anyway. These decisions have nothing to do with cost. It costs just as much to give the drop tower an African theme as it would to give it a western or asian theme. All of the inappropriate theming decisions are just stupidity, not financial.

 

Cedar Point was not built as a theme park. It is a lakeside amusement park. It has a lot of history as such and people forgive it's lack of theming due to it's history. Great Adventure is not Cedar Point, and never will be. People expect a theme park and there is no reason it is not one except for bad decisions.

 

It cost just as much to retheme Medusa as Bizarro as it would have to give it an appropriate western theme. Money had nothing to do with it. It's the same with all the other bad color choices and bad theming. It has nothing to do with money. Appropriate colors and themes would not cost any more.

[SFGadv123]

I don't agree with this. Let's also not forget road runner railway... for the real little ones!

 

I think Runaway Mine train or Dark Knight are equally as close "transitional" rides... After Rolling Thunder, what's next? Most families lean towards El Toro it seems, even though a lot of other coasters a bit less intense than it. The park will move on without RT. Sad thing is, most people won't miss it one bit. I can't get one of my friends or family members to ride it.

Those rides are definitely not as intense at Rolling Thunder. They don't have as much speed, height, length of the drop, and overall intensity. The Dark Knight and RMT are more of kiddie coasters to me, but Rolling Thunder was not.

[ShoreNCoasters]

You know when your in bed before you go to sleep and there is like that ten minute period where you just stare at the ceiling? Well those ten minutes for me are spent thinking about how I could make Great Adventure better. And boy does it stress me out... There are so many little things that I feel need to be changed, but it's just so overwhelming to think about it all.

 

Cedar Fair does it right for their sense of style. They go for a very generic theme when it comes to there rides and it works nicely. That's probably their parks are kept up nice too.

[JJ2K]

It doesn't cost any more to theme something appropriately. They are theming it anyway. These decisions have nothing to do with cost. It costs just as much to give the drop tower an African theme as it would to give it a western or asian theme. All of the inappropriate theming decisions are just stupidity, not financial.

 

Cedar Point was not built as a theme park. It is a lakeside amusement park. It has a lot of history as such and people forgive it's lack of theming due to it's history. Great Adventure is not Cedar Point, and never will be. People expect a theme park and there is no reason it is not one except for bad decisions.

 

It cost just as much to retheme Medusa as Bizarro as it would have to give it an appropriate western theme. Money had nothing to do with it. It's the same with all the other bad color choices and bad theming. It has nothing to do with money. Appropriate colors and themes would not cost any more.

I clearly said cedar FAIR

 

And honestly i dont get the uproar in the naming? What exactly is the golden kingdom's theme to everyone? I feel the african zumanjaro name works great...ive always seen kingda ka as being somewhat africanish so i dont get the uproar in that at all i think it fits

 

Also someone was talking about when was the last time great adventure was in the top 10 attended parks in the USA. Im sorry to tell you but to my knowledge it never was! The highest i ever remember it getting since 2000 is 14 which was the year we got kingda ka. And the years before premier when WB owned the park great adventure wasnt that big so i doubt it was ever higher than that. You have to remember the orlando and LA parks are always going to be in the top 10 and that takes up a considerable number of spots. Wdw is 4 parks, disney in california is 2 parks, you have the 3 univeral parks total and then you have seaworld orlando. Right there is your top 10 and i didnt even bring up busch gardens tampa or knotts which both get overflow traffic from being so near to those areas. As of last great adventure was still number 20 which after the redzone years is pretty good

Edited September 2, 2013 by JJ2K

[IgetAround]

People made less of a cry when Bizzarro, a superhero themed ride, was placed right smack in a western themed area... ummm, I think the drop tower with an african theme, connected to a semi-african themed ride, fits much more appropriately. Knowing six flags I'm surprised we didn't get a "Lex Luther Drop of Doom" attatched to a roller coaster in the Golden Kingdom... and don't you think they wouldn't do it!

[scipiomask]

Rolling Thunder's removal is sad, yes, but I think it's for the best. Honestly, it was not a very popular ride, and it must've cost a lot to maintain it. The ride took forever to load, and the ride itself was very mediocre and painful. But I think people are confused about the reasoning behind the ride's removal. To be fair, the press release makes it sound like Rolling Thunder is just being replaced by the monkey exhibit. And while that may be true for this season, I don't think that'll be the case in the following seasons. We've all seen how big Rolling Thunder is, and that clears up a lot of space for future development. The monkey exhibit, part of which will be in Safari Discoveries, won't take up all of Rolling Thunder's footprint, and I'm sure an excellent roller coaster, whether it be family-friendly or more thrilling, will take its place sometime in the near future.

 

Is Great Adventure a perfect place with plenty to do for families? No. But is it closer than it was 5 years ago? Yes, by far. I remember when I first got my season pass back when Bizarro was the park's new addition, everyone was complaining about the park's lack of flat rides. Since then, we've seen Houdini and Tango re-open, all of Adventure Alley's new and relocated attractions open, and we've even got added a stand-up coaster to our already-impressive coaster lineup. We've been without a drop tower for a long time, and now we're getting that. I think GADV is on its way to becoming an amazing, family-friendly park, and Rolling Thunder's removal is just a step along the way. Sure, we'll miss it, but I'm sure that it will clear the way for something else amazing.

[IgetAround]

^ Very sound and reasonable view in my opinion.

 

One thing that someone mentioned before, I am curious how the park will address a few things...

 

1. The hydraulic room is going to be awfully close to the loading area of the tower. I wonder if the path will go from behind the KK tower, so guests may actually have to walk under it to load, or if it will come straight in and utilize the old KK queue areas. Maybe so many years after the initial KK incident they may be a little more lenient with how close they will allow guests to the workings of the ride. But still, the hydraulic house is right there and it is very noisy.

 

2. The sway of the tower on KK. I've been fortunate enough to ride the elevator of Ka and stand at the top, and trust me, the tower does sway considerably. I'd imagine it's several feet. This was without a train running over the track, too. I'd imagine that adds to the sway. I just hope the sway doesn't cause stress issues in the drop towers track since it's a straight line, and the magnetic braking system on these towers have extremely precise clearance when it comes to how close the magnets on the cars come to the copper brake fins on the tracks. I'm sure the designers of the ride will know the tower sways though.

[JJ2K]

Sway is needed in every structure that high. Including a stand alone drop tower. If you design a rigid structure that high the stress of the wind without the structure beig able to move at all would create severe issues. The drop tower would have to be designed with sway in mind just the same so im certain theres no issue here.

[Daved Thomson]

I clearly said cedar FAIR

 

And honestly i dont get the uproar in the naming? What exactly is the golden kingdom's theme to everyone? I feel the african zumanjaro name works great...ive always seen kingda ka as being somewhat africanish so i dont get the uproar in that at all i think it fits

 

Also someone was talking about when was the last time great adventure was in the top 10 attended parks in the USA. Im sorry to tell you but to my knowledge it never was! The highest i ever remember it getting since 2000 is 14 which was the year we got kingda ka. And the years before premier when WB owned the park great adventure wasnt that big so i doubt it was ever higher than that. You have to remember the orlando and LA parks are always going to be in the top 10 and that takes up a considerable number of spots. Wdw is 4 parks, disney in california is 2 parks, you have the 3 univeral parks total and then you have seaworld orlando. Right there is your top 10 and i didnt even bring up busch gardens tampa or knotts which both get overflow traffic from being so near to those areas. As of last great adventure was still number 20 which after the redzone years is pretty good

[SFGadv123]

Someone said on hear that the line will connect with the kk line so no construction will need to be done. If you were that person please varify

Edited September 2, 2013 by SFGadv123

[Daved Thomson]

Sorry, but you really do need to check your facts and read what my comment actually said before correcting me about GA's attendance and U.S. ranking. The park's most attended season was 1996 with more than 4 million visitors and actually the company was still partially owned by Time-Warner at the time. And, there was a time when GA's attendance did, in fact, surpass that of both Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa (both, year-round operations). In 1996, Disneyland was only Disneyland, DCA didn't open until late 2000. But it does not matter how many parks are at a given location anyway, because each park's gate is counted separately AND without a "gate" there is no really accurate means of measuring attendance. For many years after the opening of WDW, Disneyland attendance continued to beat that of WDW (Magic Kingdom). DCA attendance has never achieved Disney projections, with attendance numbers more in-line with a non-Disney park. If you have ever visited, you'd understand why... The park's theme is hardly creative or exciting compared to any other Disney park. The same is true for the majority of the parks attractions, with many being off-the-shelf versions with an attempt at disguising them via stereotypical California themes (the Orange Stinger as a case in point... A wave swinger inside something that is supposed to look like an orange and does not). For a Disney park, you really don't feel much Disney-magic when visiting DCA and it's because the park isn't very imaginative. The recent enormous major overall after only 12 years of operation was done because the park was really Disney's first flop in theme parks.

[Railer]

I'm just happy were finally getting a Drop Tower, and a World Record one to boot. Sure I'm a little bummed about Thunder, but it's time has come. I am more bummed still about losing the Tee-Pee and Constetoga Wagon though. Rides will always come and go, the structures are what gives the park its identity, not the rides. The new mgmt is getting what the park needs, the flats have been addressed, now a major non-coaster thrill ride. Rolling Thunder would have become a "money pit' with all the wood that would of needed to be replaced, and with low ridership, its not worth it. Save that money for 2015, I think we will be getting something the world has never seen.

[warnerleroy]

Headliner attractions keeps the turnstiles turning though. As much as I'd love to have everything you mentioned, there's always gonna need to be that one attraction that justifies a hour plus drive for most people. For example, id you live in

New york STATE and jackson is a considerae trek for you, would you be more likely to come fpr an off the shelf standard 90 ft s and s drop tower or aomething that screams "if you dont come here you cant ride this anywhere else". People get bored of stuf quickly and if the park only relied on the continuos advertisement of kingda la el toro and

Nitro people would come once and them probably not come back. While I agree all these rides are popular there not popular enough to get people in the door on their own anymore.

[sixflagsdude101]

I think a good or great! Coaster will take rolling thunders place in 2015

[SFGadv123]

I think a good or great! Coaster will take rolling thunders place in 2015

I know you have said that many times, but I am going to say this and say I that I don't think a ride will be taking that spot in 2015, at least not a coaster, a coaster will go somewhere else. (Where the chiller was, on the lake, ect)

[JJ2K]

Sorry, but you really do need to check your facts and read what my comment actually said before correcting me about GA's attendance and U.S. ranking. The park's most attended season was 1996 with more than 4 million visitors and actually the company was still partially owned by Time-Warner at the time. And, there was a time when GA's attendance did, in fact, surpass that of both Sea World Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa (both, year-round operations). In 1996, Disneyland was only Disneyland, DCA didn't open until late 2000. But it does not matter how many parks are at a given location anyway, because each park's gate is counted separately AND without a "gate" there is no really accurate means of measuring attendance. For many years after the opening of WDW, Disneyland attendance continued to beat that of WDW (Magic Kingdom). DCA attendance has never achieved Disney projections, with attendance numbers more in-line with a non-Disney park. If you have ever visited, you'd understand why... The park's theme is hardly creative or exciting compared to any other Disney park. The same is true for the majority of the parks attractions, with many being off-the-shelf versions with an attempt at disguising them via stereotypical California themes (the Orange Stinger as a case in point... A wave swinger inside something that is supposed to look like an orange and does not). For a Disney park, you really don't feel much Disney-magic when visiting DCA and it's because the park isn't very imaginative. The recent enormous major overall after only 12 years of operation was done because the park was really Disney's first flop in theme parks.

Fair enough. I did say to my knowledge since 2000 because thats when i became a coaster enthusiast and followed this stuff. So i was not aware of 1996 considering I was 10 years old in 96. Its impressive that their highest attendance was in 96. Your right that DCA has failed to meet disney's goals for attendance figures but your wrong if you think its not making it into the top 10 because it is!!! In fact as of last its not only in the top 10 US attendance its #11 in the world! And I don't think you understood what i meant when i said how many parks were at a location because you only proved my point with what you said. Im saying wdw is 4 parks! Yes 4 seperate gate parks! That means that, thats 4 spots being taken up in the top 10 attendance figures in the USA...get my point? Then you have 3 seperate gate universal parks total. Etc, etc. It will always be extremely difficult for gadv to surpass their attendance figures because these places are in international theme park meccas AND are open year round. Very few people from across the ocean or even from south america are flyin in to jackson, NJ just to see great adventure. Location is everything and it surprises people a lot of time to know that knott's has always been cedar fair's highest attended park since they owned it. Cedar point has rarely been able to even come close to it. In fact knott's is probably the most screwed over park in the history of parks being apart of a chain. Because cedar fair has benefitted from that money from knott's but invested most of it into cedar point with only moderate investments into knott's.

 

You got me on the '96 thing but what I said wasnt really wrong I did make a point to say since 2000 but that i thought it was unlikely it would have been higher during the WB days. Lets not forget it was still warner bros not time warner at that time too

Edited September 2, 2013 by JJ2K

[Daved Thomson]

Fair enough. I did say to my knowledge since 2000 because thats when i became a coaster enthusiast and followed this stuff. So i was not aware of 1996 considering I was 10 years old in 96. Its impressive that their highest attendance was in 96. Your right that DCA has failed to meet disney's goals for attendance figures but your wrong if you think its not making it into the top 10 because it is!!! In fact as of last its not only in the top 10 US attendance its #11 in the world! And I don't think you understood what i meant when i said how many parks were at a location because you only proved my point with what you said. Im saying wdw is 4 parks! Yes 4 seperate gate parks! That means that, thats 4 spots being taken up in the top 10 attendance figures in the USA...get my point? Then you have 3 seperate gate universal parks total. Etc, etc. It will always be extremely difficult for gadv to surpass their attendance figures because these places are in international theme park meccas AND are open year round. Very few people from across the ocean or even from south america are flyin in to jackson, NJ just to see great adventure. Location is everything and it surprises people a lot of time to know that knott's has always been cedar fair's highest attended park since they owned it. Cedar point has rarely been able to even come close to it. In fact knott's is probably the most screwed over park in the history of parks being apart of a chain. Because cedar fair has benefitted from that money from knott's but invested most of it into cedar point with only moderate investments into knott's.

 

You got me on the '96 thing but what I said wasnt really wrong I did make a point to say since 2000 but that i thought it was unlikely it would have been higher during the WB days. Lets not forget it was still warner bros not time warner at that time too

[Daved Thomson]

JJ2K, I don't want to be simply telling you that you are incorrect with what you present as fact. Instead, I'd like to think that you're getting a bit of an education with regard to an industry that I believe you mentioned you would someday like to design attractions for OR actually design new parks. To begin with, a coaster enthusiast and a theme park enthusiast are not necessarily mutually exclusive descriptors for the subject we were discussing (that is, we were discussing what I, and at least several others on here have expressed; Six Flags' repeatedly adding new attractions (probably 90% of which have been roller coasters over the past ten years) with the end-goal of increasing attendance over the prior season, theoretically improving the parks profits, and hopefully ensuring they keep their current customers happy while also adding new customers. Ultimately, what I am trying to say is that Great Adventure (Six Flags) is not making very intelligent decisions (for a majority of the last ten years) if they really want to be profitable in the long run, call the park the world's largest theme park, and continually increase attendance. They also claim that ultimately they want the property to be a destination with hotel(s), other forms of entertainment/shopping, etc. Rollercoasters, believe it or not, were actually frowned upon by the industry when the vast majority of U.S. theme parks were built. Rollercoasters, are not some magical ingredient that ensure a park will increase attendance and profits one season to the next and their cost means that a park has to have a significant increase in revenue (attendance) to just cover the cost of the coaster. If you're continually adding $25 million or $35 million coasters to your park and don't get that significant increase in revenue (attendance), you're not making money and you're not going to be able to spend that sort of money the next season for the next new attraction, because you don't have the money! Very simple. If I spend the money today for something that I expect to bring me more money than I spent and it doesn't, new money doesn't just magically appear.

 

I love Great Adventure with all my heart and have done so ever since my very first visit. Families DO NOT choose which theme parks to visit by the speed, height, and record breaking accolade that will no longer be available as soon as the next season begins. Families, the people that have the most money to spend in theme parks, choose which parks they continually visit because of the overall experience the park claims to offer and how well the guest believes the park delivers on those claims. If you say you're a theme park and at the end of my visit I feel like I was at an amusement park (they are NOT the same thing), I'm probably not going to come back for another visit anytime soon. Theme parks, are supposed to provide attractions (not just rides) that every family member can enjoy as a family (more or less). Theme parks are supposed to be well organized (themes and planning should result in a smooth organized means of enjoying the park). And, while you have to introduce new attractions to bring back guests repeatedly, if a park is constantly adding new attractions at the expense of iconic attractions that the guest associate with the park, well, the park that was Great Adventure, is now nothing more than an amusement park (dirty, rowdy, unorganized, unfocused on the guest experience, and continually having to bring in new guests just to make it through the next season (and, I'm sure you're aware that keeping a customer is significantly cheaper than getting a new customer).

 

Again, I have no problem with the new ride they're adding on top of Kingda Ka. Once again, however, they chose to do so at the expense of what for many of us loyal GA guests is another iconic attraction. Great Adventure can do so much better relative to attendance and the guest experience. Knowing just how much better it once performed on both levels just shows many of us that management of the park is far too focused on the next dime at the expense of the experience. When people are paying for the experience and don't get the experience they want, they're not likely to pay next time. Instead, they go where they get the experience they want. Teenagers, by themselves, don't have the money their parents have, are less likely to spend what they do have, and are very fickle relative to what they want one day versus the next. If they are the park's primary target, good luck trying to plan anything.

 

I realize that I am ranting and raving here, but having worked for Six Flags, Disney, and one of the nation's best know customer satisfaction firms, I just find it hard to believe that current Six Flags (and park level management) understand their customers AND the product they are selling. If they did, they wouldn't be making so many of these decisions that really fly in the face of successful marketing of the park (the Product is the Great Adventure experience, the Price is the value guests place on the product, the Place is within an easy drive of two of the nations largest markets, and the Promotion needs to be focused on the product). Continually chip away at the product and customers will soon not want to pay the price, regardless of how big that market (NY and Philadelphia) may be.

 

I could go on and on, but I won't (and you should be grateful for that)! With regard to Warner Brothers, they never owned Six Flags it was, most certainly, Time-Warner. Warner Brothers never owned any theme park other than Jungle Habitat and, even then, the actual parent company was Warner Communications.

Edited September 3, 2013 by Daved Thomson

[JJ2K]

I could make this long and tackle everything you brought up but i wont. Instead Ill try and make this short and sweet. I actually understand completely where you are coming from as a passionate fan of Great Adventure. I was right on with everything you said not 3 years ago. I still wish premier had stayed in control because they got it right at the tail end! They recognized their opportunities and were looking to make distinctions between what were regional parks and destination parks in the chain. And wanted to make great adventure the first six flags destination park. Unfortunately for us as fans redzone got involved and went back to every park being a regional park and new management has continued to stress that they run regional theme parks.

 

I understand your passion and thought process and if you look at my comments to moves the park has made over the years you'll see plenty of my bashing the park about them. But over really just the last couple of years I have crossed the threshold of looking at the park from a fan perspective to looking at the park from a business perspective. And now I look at what they do more from an understanding perspective than an omg you missed this opportunity perspective. As much as I wish for more I understand that six flags sees this park as a regional theme park and will make decisions based on that. As a fan I am very happy that since the end of redzone new management has given us things we really needed. During the redzone days we saw us just being added on to already existing ideas:

Wiggles world, tdk, bizarro and tornado.

 

All of those were additions really created for other parks and we were just added on. As a fan I am happy to see my park finally adding additions once again with Great Adventure in mind and created for Great Adventure. I understand your passion really I do but Six Flags is not Disney, its not Universal and its not Busch. Lets be happy were getting things designed for us now and rather than bash the park on things that can not or wont be changed instead push for things we can actually get and still need. Like shows and some dark rides

 

In closing:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference"

Edited September 3, 2013 by JJ2K

[GAFanatic]

I clearly said cedar FAIR

 

And honestly i dont get the uproar in the naming? What exactly is the golden kingdom's theme to everyone? I feel the african zumanjaro name works great...ive always seen kingda ka as being somewhat africanish so i dont get the uproar in that at all i think it fits

 

Also someone was talking about when was the last time great adventure was in the top 10 attended parks in the USA. Im sorry to tell you but to my knowledge it never was! The highest i ever remember it getting since 2000 is 14 which was the year we got kingda ka. And the years before premier when WB owned the park great adventure wasnt that big so i doubt it was ever higher than that. You have to remember the orlando and LA parks are always going to be in the top 10 and that takes up a considerable number of spots. Wdw is 4 parks, disney in california is 2 parks, you have the 3 univeral parks total and then you have seaworld orlando. Right there is your top 10 and i didnt even bring up busch gardens tampa or knotts which both get overflow traffic from being so near to those areas. As of last great adventure was still number 20 which after the redzone years is pretty good

 

You really think #20 is good for the largest theme park in the country, located in the most densly populated area. Busch Williamsburg does better, and it's located in the middle of nowhere, is much smaller, has very few roller coasters, and has another theme park 60 miles away. There is no excuse for Great adventure being #20, and we should not be happy about it.

 

People need to think about why Busch does so much better. It's appealing to all ages, not just teenagers. It has theming and atmosphere that appeal to everyone. It is not just about roller coasters and thrill rides. When they get a new thrill ride, they theme it to fit the park and make sure it is a quality product, not just some cheap, mass-produced carnival ride like Sky Screamer.

 

Do you really think Golden Kingdom is African? Where will the entrance of the drop tower be located? If it is in Frontier Adventures it should be Western themed, if it is in Golden kingdom it should be Asian themed. Neither of those areas are African themed. It's really not that difficult to theme things properly. Six Flags needs to clean house and get rid of their designers. They apparently have no clue what they are doing.

[SFGadv123]

I would also like to point out that Busch Gardens has won the best landscaping since 98' and most beautiful park awards since '90. which you basically said. Six Flags really needs to make the park look nice, match the theming, and just overall make the park look like a beautiful place. I'm not saying they need to win anything for that, just make it look nicer.

[JJ2K]

I hardly consider virginia beach or the historic town of williamsburg the middle of no where. Besides again i said six flags is not busch its a regional theme park not a destination park. And yes I do think it will be in the golden kingdom Ive discussed in depth different layouts of how the pathway could go so many multiple times but i have no doubt it will be in the golden kingdom. And yes i absolutely think an african theme fits the golden kingdom just fine. When you consider that at least 12 of the theme parks on the list are benefitting from being in an internationally sought out amusement park mecca...YES 20 is great. How many other parks can you say are doing better than great adventure that arent disney, universal or busch? Not very many. Go ask dollywood how much they would like to be in the same spot...and they have the awesome tourist town of pigeon forge and gatlinburg to benefit from and cant do it.

 

^i actually would like to say i think the park's landscaping team has been doing a fine job. Take a look around tango and tell me that isnt awesome there are spots like this throughout the park the problem is people dont remember it and then say they arent doing a good job

Edited September 3, 2013 by JJ2K

[RobertDavid]

Daved Thomson and GAFanatic, well said.

 

JJ2K, This idea that Great Adventure will always be a sub-standard mess and can not change is just wrong. This thinking is what's wrong with the park. There is no reason they can not properly theme rides or market to families instead of just teenagers.

 

The idea that building a new thrill ride will draw massive crowds has been proven wrong time and time again by Six Flags. People do not drive hours and spend hundreds just to ride one ride. They want to experience a whole park, and if that park is a mess they will not come back, regardless of how many roller coasters it has.

 

This is why Busch Williamsburg does better than Great Adventure, even though it only has 5 roller coasters. It is themed appropriately and appeals to families. Everything from the rides to the food to the merchandise enhance the experience. You enter the park and you enter a whole new world. You enter Six Flags and it's like entering a shopping mall.

 

I've lost count how many times Great Adventure has admitted they were wrong by abandoning families and marketing soley to teenagers. Yet they keep making the same mistake over and over, hoping for different results.

 

We do not need the strength to accept what cannot be changed, they need the strength to change.

[JJ2K]

Id like to say that I never said Great Adventure was a substandard mess. All I am saying is its a regional theme park and I think people's ideas of themeing are setting the bar a bit too high for what we are. If you look at carowinds, kings dominion, valleyfair, michigan's adventure, worlds of fun...etc...etc we are WAY better themeing wise then them. I would know Ive been to all of them. Where exactly are we comparing to...busch?....Disney? Wrong comparissons we're not those kinds of parks

Edited September 3, 2013 by JJ2K