It'll be a long time before I complain about Disney again!!!

[WDWMom]

This past weekend our family decided to take a short trip to get away for a while. DK's wanted to go to Sea World. We live in MI so Sea World in Ohio is only about 5 hours. DH heard Six Flags had bought Sea World and the ajoining amusement park. We new SiX Flags had been around for many years, and thought it would be a great trip.

Well,.... it was awful. The parks were filthy and the employees did not seem to care. There are designated smoking areas that no one used and no employee enforcing. We saw tons of people smoking in the lines and not caring about others while emplyees watched. We heard employees swearing with children around. The park was full of pop (soda) cans, bottles, beer cups, cigarette buts, and basic trash. In two days I think I might have seen 2 people sweeping. Parts of the park smelled like sewage, and the bathrooms were down right disgusting. :(

After telling my Mom how bad it was, she said we were just spoiled from going to WDW so much. Well, I do not mind traveling hundreds of miles now to visit a clean and family oriented park. We will never go back to the Ohio parks or any Six Flags after this. We are sticking with our DVC. :cool: :cool:

[RumpleMom]

My DD went to Six Flags Ohio this week and had a wonderful time. The coasters were incredible, especially the one on which you lie down and travel head first- you feel like you are flying. I specifically asked about the park cleanliness and she said it was well maintained. She has high expectations after 6 WDW trips. She did say that the new rides were obviously brand new and the older rides should be repainted, but a good day was had by all of the church youth group.

[Towncrier]

We live about 20 minutes away from Six Flags Ohio (or whatever the heck they are calling it this week). The last time we went, I was appalled by the people who were operating the rides. They didn't care if kids were tall enough to ride the coasters. They were too busy flirting with one another to worry about safe operation of the rides. The park is old, but I didn't notice that it was overly "dirty".

We bought season passes to (the former) Sea World of Ohio for many years. We used it as a playground for our kids. We have a lot of fond memories of that park and were saddened by the news of it's demise. It's a shame that you had to see the worst that Ohio has to offer.

[Spectro is #1]

I grew up in the town that was home to the largest theme park in New Engl. It was called Riverside. Now it was in no way a real Theme park that could be compaired to Disney but it was OK.
Another company bought the park (the same comp. that owned the park at Lake Goerge NY) They made some good changes but didn't make any drastic changes.
Six Flags bought the park and redesigned the whole park. Parking, path ways, and the entrences to name a few. Last year they opened a new coster and I have to say It is a great ride. However the day my DW and I went, we waited over a half hour to get in.(another family behind us said "this sure aint WDW")They not only were under staffed, but would often have to stop and call another person to help with any form of discount ads or coupons. It was easy to tell the staff at the gate were not trained well enough.
I found the park to be very very dirty, even in the morning. Gum was stuck on every and all surfaces. Names carved into wooden walls and trash on the ground. Graffiti could be found in all of the ride lines we waited in.
I was shocked to find this park run so poorly. We delt with line jumpers right in front of the emplys. and they said nothing.(this was witnessed twice) Four teenages were having a water fight in line soking everyone around them and one of the security gards just watched. They stopped when they ran out of water. The water was like $3.00 a bottle too!
We road the new coster (Superman) early in the morning. The ride had only been open for 2 months and the fence that made up the pathway to the ride platform was broken in numerous places, and the metel fence had several sharp edges. Some of the sharp edges were taped over with silver duct tape, what a joke! It is as if they never walk the park at the end of the day and look to see what needs repainting,repairing or cleaning. It was a huge disapointment and it costed about the same price as a one day pass to the MK or IOA. We will not be returning this year (or mabey ever).

[Beth]

Sometimes I think "cleanliness encourages cleanliness."

As DVC members, I think we take maybe a little more pride in the appearance of the resort and parks, and sometimes take extra steps to pick up after our kids/guests.

But I've even observed regular resort guests acting the same way a time or two. When you see these young kids walking around with the dust pans all over the place, you don't have the heart to drop a water bottle on the ground in front of them, you know?

That's one of the nicest things about Disney, to me....

[ohiominnie]

We had been thinking about taking the kids to Sea World (Ohio) this year and found out it was sold to Six Flags. We decided not to go because you pay a HUGE admission fee to go to both parks....even if you only want to go to ONE park!!! SO we decided to someday-maybe next year-take a day trip to Sea World Orlando. I'm sorry to see Sea World leave Ohio. :(

I understand what you mean about being spoiled by Disney, though. For the last several years we've gotten season passes to Paramount's Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio. Last year we went to Disney for the first time in 10 years and in just 7 short days we were spoiled ROTTEN! The next trip to Kings Island was a real let down. We also noticed disinterested teen ride operators, litter everywhere and run down rides and buildings. We have season passes for THIS year (habit to buy them, I guess) and NO ONE in our family is even looking forward to going at all. We'll probably go twice just to get our money out of them, but we'll be dreaming of Disney the whole time.

ohiominnie :p

[llp479]

We live 10 minutes from Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL. During my high school and college years I worked there for 10 seasons. When I worked there the park was spotless. Things were always clean and freshly painted. Probably because most of our senior management were former Disney employees!

Last weekend was the first time I had been there in many years. We bought annual passes because if you went twice they paid for themselves. While I love the roller coasters, the park was filthy! I was appalled to see the carousel horses, which had been painstakenly taken care of year after year, look like they belonged on a garage sale table.

Food prices were outragous! Hotdogs, fries and drinks for the 5 of us were $65! One size drink, 32oz, no lids, no straws! A clean table, forget it!

The job market is so tight in this area they bring in help from overseas on J-1 visas. However, unlike Disney, English speaking doesn't seem to be a priority. They couldn't yell at the line jumpers even if they wanted to!

The whole experience made me even happier we belong to DVC so I can experience that Disney Magic whenever I want!

[TnRobin]

Okay guys, I think you have made our decision. We have a trip to Cleveland planned in Aug and have a free day. Looks like it will be a hour Drive to Cedar Point for us rather than the 20 min drive to Six Flags./Sea World.

[MaryJ]

We live in southern Indiana, pretty much equal distance from Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. While the rides there are probably better, we usually choose to go to a smaller (and nearer) family owned theme park--Holiday World. Holiday World was recently rated the #1 park in the country for cleanliness, even above Disney. They also have two of the top ten wooden roller coasters in the country. If you're ever passing this way, check it out!

[Denine]

How funny you should post this, I thought about doing the same. We were at Six Flags Ohio on Saturday. The coasters were fun, but there were at least a half dozen cars not working in the dodgems, the workers were rude, the bathrooms were filthy; especially at the end of the day. There were several rides not in operation. They only had one train operating on some of the coasters. Come on, it was a Saturday in June!
We had not been there in about 8 years. It will be a long time before I go again. We didn't get over to the Sea World side. I used to work there when I was in college and don't need to see it anymore. My parents bought season passes to Sea World for many years, but when it was sold, they got their money back.
I love Disney! So clean, polite employees, etc...

[CWD]

Since I live in Columbus and am about the same distance to all of the major Ohio parks, perhaps I can comment on this topic.

1. Cleanliness and Employee Attitude at the Six Flags Worlds of Adventure park has been known to be quite bad at times as well as the infrastructure being a little poor. After Six Flags purchased the realtively unknown Geauga Lake park they choose to invest in major rides first instead of improving restrooms and other needed amenites such as parking etc. This only made things worse because now more people are coming and using facilities that were designed for much smaller crowds. Hopefully they will improve in this area over the next several years.

2. Having worked at Cedar Point while in college and having been there numerous times every year since. I am a huge fan of this park. You will not see the cleanliness problems at The Point. There have been isolated Staffing Attitude issues in recent years particularily on one coaster (mantis) but these were reduced last year. Cedar Point has won many industry awards for being one of the best parks in the US if not the world. They have the largest collection of rides and the largest collection of Coasters in the world (until Magic mountain opens all of the coasters they have under construction). Cedar Point is NOT a 'Theme Park' and they do not claim to be so. It is an 'Amusement Park' with a very rich history. I really recommend this park if you enjoy thrill rides and amusement parks with a resort feeling

3. Paramount's Kings Island - Also a well run park but not at the level of Cedar Point. Staffing is not as good, there are some attitudes there, but I for one refused to let an employee ruin my fun. Kings Island also has a good collection of Coasters and other rides and they easily rank second in my book right behind Cedar Point. Kings Island invests in new attractions frequently but kind of lags behind in other park improvements.

All of this said, it is important to point out that none of these parks should be compared to Disney World as they are two distinctly different vacation experiences. Disney World is a fully developed world class resort offering numerous days of activities and just about anything that anyone could want and consequently draws visitors from all around the world everyday of the year. The three parks in Ohio are regional, seasonal theme and amusement parks that are designed to be fully experienced in one or two days (Cedar Point is the only one of the three to operate more than one hotel) these parks draw the majority of their business from the local region and are not considered World Class Resorts such as WDW and they also do not attempt to compete or compare themselves with WDW.

It is unfortunate that some may have had a bad experience at some of these parks, however if these parks in Ohio are compared to WDW, they will always come out on the lower end of the stick.

[WDWMom]

Another thing I forgot to mention. They have a log ride and a raft ride. The water from both looked as though they pumped it from the lake. The log ride especially looked like it was lake water or even worse.:( :( :( :( :(

[Towncrier]

The water rides at Cedar Point also use lake water, but the lake is MUCH larger. Don't give up on all Ohio amusement parks. Cedar Point is closer to you and a whole lot nicer (and cleaner).

[danicaw]

We went to Cedar Point last year to ride Millenium Force (cool;) ). The park was nice. Its not a disney park and you feel it in the themeing and with the employees.
But it was clean.

We recently went to Paramount's Great America in California. I grew up going to this park. It was the park we went to every summer (we lived about an hour from it) and the first roller coster I went on is there. So I was excited, going back now in my mid-twenties.
Well, it wasnt quite what I expected.
The last time I went was in high-school and I remembered a couple of places from that trip that things were starting to look unkept. But, now its worse.
There are parts of some of the rides where sections of the wall or line are covered with gum. Also lots of writing on the walls in line area and other places.
Disney would take some paint to those walls and scrape off the gum, but this place just leaves it...and some of its been there a while - "Class of 00 Rules" - Ok?

I just don't get it. Other rides I loved growing up have changed and they just arent keeping up the structures.
I was dissapointed in that, but was still able to have a good day.

We are totally spoiled by Disney. And I havent decided if thats a bad thing ;)

[NJParkhopper]

We've been coming to WDW for years and live near the Six Flags park in Jackson, NJ. We had season passes up until this year. We are so spoiled by Disney that everything else just pales. Once a Disney thrill ride park is built in Orlando, it'll all be over but the shouting. But even without that, WDW is still tops.

[erinch]

We have been Cedar Point regulars for years. (My mom and dad met there in the early 50's, when all there was was a dance pavilion, a hot dog stand and the beach :D ). It is a beautiful, well-maintained park. We love it.

Last year we made the mistake of going to Six Flags Geaga Lake instead. Never, ever. Never. We stayed at the 6 Flags hotel, which was charging Disney prices. It was filthy. My daughter's sweatshirt was stolen. They knew the pool was contaminated and still let kids swim. My 4 year old daughter developed a ******l infection with 4 different kinds of bacteria--2 of which are not treatable by any medications approved for children. We are still fighting it. (I should have documented and sued.) The transportation was abysmal. The food sucked. The morning breakfast buffet was the most depressing "hog feed" I've ever seen. The arcade area was moldy. There was a sign in the room to turn off cell phones, as they activate the fire alarms. The rooms were run down. We were paying $279/night.

At the park my daughter (who was really having a bad day) was really hurt twice. The first was in the "ball factory" in the kids' area, where the teenage staff were throwing balls at each other. One jumped up on a post and jumped down on his buddy. He landed on my daughter's head, and could have broken her neck. In the water park area the life guards were too busy exchanging hormones to pay attention to small children. They let a bunch of teenage rough boys on the "baby slide". They literally slammed over my daughter, and bruised her all over. I should have documented. I should have sued.

A major fight broke out at the speedway, trapping my 13 year old son between 2 angry "gangs". 10 police officers came to break it up. The restrooms were utterly filthy. The park was run down. We observed safety violations from ride operators everywhere.

If you do a search on the internet, you will discovere they were cited for several significant safety and health violations last year, including a near drowning in that poorly managed water park.

And all this was before taking over our beloved Sea World.

Do yourself a favor. Don't risk your kids' life. Go to Cedar Point and save up for Sea World Orlando.

[erinch]

the filter blocked a word--even tho' the reference was in no way pornographic...

let's say she has a severe, Geaga Lake-caused, untreatable infection of a sensitive female area which causes much agony.

[fkj2]

I have friends who went to Ohio's Six Flags in Aurora last year. The disaster has pretty much been described: dirty restrooms, some rides shut down, rude management. Cedar Point definitely would have my vote. I would not be tempted to visit Six Flags even though it's close to home.

[Denine]

Why should we be spoiled by Disney? The theming is obviously entirely different, but why should the other parks be dirtier, ruder and more run down?
There is no excuse for disgusting bathrooms or gum all over the walls. There is no excuse for rude employees.
Just because they are not Disney does not mean they have to set lower standards for cleanliness.

[wdwoldtimer]

Spectro, I also thought Six Flags NE was a bit on the poorly maintained side. Superman is less than two years old and lots of the paint is peeling, rusting off in the queue area. The bathrooms were filthy and you're right...graffiti all over the place. But the worst is the CM's....which in this case stands for Cursed Members. Where do these people come from? I'm reminded of the people that work in those travelling carnivals.

It's too bad, because I've been to other Six Flags that were much better. But they'll never come close to a Disney park.

[ahoff]

If anyone in the tri-state area is looking for a pleasant place to spend a day away from Disney, we just spent the day at Lake Compounce in CT. Has one of the best coasters on the east coast, the staff seemed helpful and enthusiastic, the park itself was clean and well maintained. Still love Disney, but for a quick day trip I would choose this over Great Adventure.

[wdwoldtimer]

Is that the name of the park, Lake Compounce? Do they have a website? I used to go to Great Adventure in NJ too. It got a little rough the last time I was there with gangs and haven't been for many years now. Remember the haunted house that burned down and killed some guests??

[Spectro is #1]

The Lake is great but you can do the whole park in a few hours. Give the new owners of this park a few more years and it may turn into something. However this park has been plagued with strange accidents. Just last week someone who was trimming the grass along the coaster was killed when he was hit by the train. A teen worker was killed some time ago and they had a drownding last year. The boomerang coaster got stuck last week too, keeping the negative spotlight on the park long enough for schools and summer-camps to cancel their trips.

[KCritter]

MaryJ mentioned Holiday World in southern Indiana. I'd like to give it a thumbs up, too! It was very clean and well maintained. They boast they have the friendliest staff in the world and they weren't lying.

My DH lost his wedding band at the waterpark and we figured it was gone forever. We filled out a lost and found report, but didn't expect much. The very next day we had 2 calls from different staff members saying they found the ring. They mailed it back to us and we got it 2 days later! They were incredibly helpful.

[wdwoldtimer]

Sheesh, is Lake Compounce cursed? Three deaths? I guess they have one heck of a haunted house now...

actually we have 3 happy haunts here, but there's room for 4. Any volunteers?? If you should decide to join us, final arrangements, may be made at the end of the tour.

[WDWMom]

Denine,

Your post was right on. If some parks can stay clean and hire firendly employees, than why can't others? If I was management, keeping the park clean and respectable would be a priority. I guess they just do not care.

Erinch,

Sound like your trip was worse than ours. Sorry to hear that. After complaining we did get free tickets to the park. Will never use them. Anyone want them????

[jcodespoti]

I have been to Six Flags NE this year (twice). Granted It aint WDW but It was fairly nice. I dont got to Great Adventure to many rude people. I have to agree about lake Compounce very nice , yes acouple of freak accidents, but nothing about safety for the rides.
I think the worker who was killed was in the wrong place at the wrong time. (its still tragic though). I think with the good economy in the North east (for now). Its hard to find decent workers anywhere who care about the job they are doing.


Joe in CT

[wdwoldtimer]

Yeah, I think that's about right, Joe, concerning the workers at Six Flags NE....they just don't care about the guests or the park. It's just a job that pays, to them. No enthusiasm. No excitement....not even faked. Indifference. Well at least the rides themselves are pretty good. Nothing like that first drop on Superman!

[akasleepingbeauty]

My stepson works for the Six Flags company here in Texas. It is no wonder that the employees behave as they do. They are paid poorly and treated even worse by Six Flags.

Six Flags should be embarrassed to be such a large business with the potential to give many young people a decent job when instead they choose to use very bad business practices that border on illegal.

My stepson has put up with it for 2 years but has finally decided his dream job (he has a technical job at the park) is not worth being used like a slave. I am proud he is standing up for himself and hope that someday Six Flags pays the price for the way it takes advantage of its employees.

Just something to consider when you wonder about the behavior of park employees. Obviously, local managers etc. can also affect the way employees are treated at particular parks (there may be some Six Flags employees that are treated better due to the involvement of their managers) but bad company treatment of its employees can easily lead to bad employee treatment of its customers.

[wdwoldtimer]

Very interesting. It makes sense, though. Have any examples of how they are treated poorly besides the pay? Do they just show a complete lack of compassion for their employees?

[akasleepingbeauty]

Hi WDWOldtimer.

To address your question about specific examples, here are a few.

They consistently hire people as "temporary" employees for LONG periods of time just so they don't have to provide them benefits of any kind. Like my stepson who still has no healthcare, vacation, or sick time benefits after more than 2 years. These are NOT temporary positions and they tell the new employee it is only for a "short" period of time until they know if they will work out and then never follow through and make them permanent employees.

Insist on work weeks of 90-100 hours+ during busy times (a non-busy time still means 60+ hours) with no actual overtime pay (they pay the hours but no time-and-a-half etc. even for holidays). He has slept at his job many a time because he did not have enough time to come home to sleep.

Refuse to hire enough workers to do the job. Instead they work these young people to death and move onto someone else when they finally quit.

It is reprehensible how they treat their employees and I'll probably never enjoy another visit to a Six Flags park now that I know how they operate.

Hope that answers some of your questions,

[doubletrouble_vb]

I've found the trick with Great Adventure is to go after school opens. In the fall the park is clean, the guests reasonably well behaved & long term employees are manning the rides.

Plus that's when corporations have their parties there so maybe the management is trying harder.