Other Theme Parks Compared to Walt Disney World

[bornandraised]

I don't know if it's just me, but Walt Disney knew what he was doing. He was a genius! I recently went to Six Flags Park Over Georgia for the first time. While I had a blast because of all the major coasters, it had no magic to it what so ever. While the employees where fantastic (energetic, nice, helpful) the park it self was dirty and like a fair. All those stupid carnival games everywhere was horrible. Let me tell you it must not be hard to win a basketball cause every kid had one. You could see back stage, Goliath went over the roads and you could see Atlanta. I mean that was actually awesome cause that's how high up you are, but it killed the feel of the park.

Disney had it right, wanting to immerse his guests in magic, in pure fun and not killing the vision with trucks roaring by backstage.

Has anyone else noticed this? What other parks just don't quite measure up to the ambiance of Disney World.

 

[jann1033]

i've never been to any other park ( including universal, cedar point, how ever many i have been to over the yrs.) that comes close...some attempt the themeing but the parks are dirty or the theme is lame ( ok that word is lame but it's the only one i can think of right now ) or the rides are 2 seconds long after a 2 hr wait...

some parks have more thrilling rides but the whole "magic" part just isn't there

 

[phantom728]

I agree that Walt knew what he was doing and Disney has kept that tradition. Our family are coaster enthusiasts, so whereever we go, we try and visit the local amusement park. It's just that an amusement park, you enjoy the rides, but are ready to leave at the end of the day.

When you visit Disney, you are being entertained by the ride and immersed in the story. This is why we LOVE WDW and come back again and again!

 

[bornandraised]

Here here! I mean I had a blast on the rides and things at Six Flags, but around 7 I was ready to go. Oh and even if you start to get bored at Disney they have GREAT shopping to pass the time as well.

I've also been to IoA and Universal, great parks, clean but still ready to go home at the end of the day.

I only think Busch Gardens is close to Disney, cause from what I can remember, you can't see backstage and you're still far enough away from civilization that you're kind of immersed. But since it is like an animal park it's a different kind of magic then Disney.

 

[kidd_freeper]

Busch Gardens (Old Country) in Williamsburg, VA does quite a good job with the atmosphere, theming and service and is really quite a good park. It is far better than any Six Flags park.

But the rides are "ordinary"...they are high-quality and top-notch ordinary, but they are still ordinary. They lack tradition, whimsy or uniqueness.

 

[bornandraised]

OHHHHHH and I forgot the worst ride. At Six Flags we went on Monster Plantation... This ride is HORRIBLE. We waited like 30 minutes and it's like a log ride like Splash. It has no drop but it has animatronics like Splash. But they are SOOOOOOOO out of date it's ridiculous. All you could here was clicking. Everytime one of them blinked...click. They moved...click. It was a demented ride. It was like something straight out of H.R. Puffinstuff. It had no story either, which didn't bother me because I was just in awe of how bad a ride it was.

 

[brivers222]

The only other theme park we go to religiously (meaning 10-12 times a year) is Cedar Point. Love both CP and WDW. The thing that CP lacks is entertainment in the Line Queues... Disney does a great job taking your mind off the fact you are waiting in a huge line!

 

[Mme. Leota]

I totally agree. . . My DH had only been to places like Six Flags and wasn't that excited about Disney. I had to really work to convince him that Disney was worth it. We have been every year since his first trip . We usually go to Universal while we are in Orlando, mainly for the thrill rides, and some of them are quite good. The themeing at The Mummy is lots of fun for me. BUT, the atmosphere just isn't there for me. There is not enough shade (except by Jurrasic Park) and the music is too loud. The funny thing is I think I would like it more if I wasn't comparing it to Disney.

Disney is just far superior in terms of crowd control, overall atmosphere, just, well, creating magic. Disney is truly special. Walt and his imagineers really got it right with WDW. There is just a feeling there that you don't get anywhere else!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I've been to Carowinds, Six Flags GA, KIngs Dominion, Busch Gardens VA, Universal (LA and FL)... But nothing has come close to capturing my imagination like WDW. I am totally addicted

 

[brer rabbit 28]

there are absolutely no parks in britain that come within an inch of disney.There are plenty of theme parks where you can see how they have tried to copy disney though!!!

 

[rluey29]

No park i've been to comes close.

 

[Magalex]

WDW is WDW...I try not compare any amusement park or theme park to our magical place. Recently a friend went to WDW for the first time ever. I told her that our local park(Kennywood in Pittsburgh) would fit into WDW's restrooms. She got it. She knows now that they have to go back. But we love Kennywood also. It is a local beloved tradition just different
This year we a taking a short trip to Kings Island in Ohio. They are introducing a new children's area called "NICK Universe" centered around the NICK Jr. characters w/Sponge Bob and Jimmy Neutron. I haven't been there since maybe 1999. But Kings Island in Ohio is clean and charming. Also my 5 yr old DS is so excited to see the NICK characters/rides. I will try to do a mini report when we return in June.

 

[marcbelt]

You might be interested in this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=825338

 

[bobbiwoz]

We are AP holders at WDW and Dollywood. We go back to Dollywood year after year to see the shows, and ride some fun rides like the ferris wheel, they have a pretty good raft ride and some roller coasters that we just haven't had the time to get on. Themeing isn't there on the rides, true, and we miss it, but the park has charm and we enjoy it.

Many shows feature Appalacian music and Gospel music. We saw the Trapp Family kids there. With the Smoky Mountains as the background, Dollywood is a winner for us too!

Bobbi

PS. Dolly isn't having a concert this year and that is bumming us out, last years show was marvelous!!

 

[disnut8]

About seven years ago, we went to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City with our family (in-laws, son, husband). I told my husband that he would quickly find out why Disney World rocked. It took just entering the parking lot to do that. We knew we'd be breaking up into three different parties. We were given ONE park map. One. I figured we could pick up extras inside. Nope. I was told at the first gift shop that they only give out park maps at the parking lot and it's one per car. The first ride was a roller coaster that I was not going on. My mother-in-law and I waited and had absolutely no idea if it was going to take 10 minutes or two hours. There were no wait times posted anywhere. After we all split up, my husband and I went on a ride and we didn't have a clue as to what it was - nothing indicated anything about it. The employees were chatting among themselves and not even helping people get into the vehicles (it was a log flume we found out). There's nothing wrong with Worlds of Fun but it sure ain't magical.

We are now in the Atlanta area and I haven't been to Six Flags and I doubt I will go. Not when I can go seven hours south and get a dose of magic.

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

Oh, absolutely other parks don't measure up in terms of magic. But some have their own charms. We're season pass holders for our local amusement park, Dorney Park. If you take it for what it is it's pretty fab. It's like comparing your local Toys R Us with FAO Scwartz in New York City. There's very little comparison. But that doesn't mean I don't want to go to Toys R Us. Dorney has the Peanuts characters, Camp Snoopy for the kids, and some really great coasters and carnival rides, plus a Halloweekends event that I'm sure doesn't compare with Mickey's, but is a family tradition for us. At night, you can still catch a little magic when those lights come on. But then, we still have fun at the fourth of July carnival down the street at our small town playground, so maybe we're easily pleased!

Don't get me wrong! I'm razzed about Disney in *gasp* 57!!! days. But I think that lesser amusement parks are great for well, amusement!

And it doesn't hurt that we get a whole summer for under $400 and it's less than 15 minutes from our house, either!

 

[ChrisFL]

The one park that comes closest to the quality and theming of Disney is Islands of Adventure and in some ways it even surpassees it.

Universal put so many details into the park that many are still being found by even us frequent visitors. The theming is impeccable down to the music between the islands slowly fading from many instruments down to one then moving into the theme for the next one.

While you may not think it has the same "magic" as the Disney parks, the quality and detail is definitely up there.

 

[jlovesee]

Being the all over theme park nut I thought I might chime in on this thread. Someone also brought up my beloved home theme park Worlds of Fun (I live 15 mins from it). There is no doubt that Disney does everything a million times better then anyone else.

However, Six Flags Over Georgia is NOT a good comparison. There are only two Six Flags parks that I've been to that I desire to ever return (Six Flags over Texas and Six Flags Great America) the 20 or so others could fall off the face of the earth...

Both Busch parks are magnificant, the theming and landscaping is beautiful, and while the rides are not Disney rides, the are still very special. You just can get Kumba, Montu and Sheikra anywhere else together in the same place. Busch knows what they are doing, and they do it to a tee.

Paramount also runs some good parks, Paramount Kings Island and Kings Dominion are very fun, and also quite spectacular. They have beautiful massive water fountains right as you enter and Kings Island has some older, yet no less fun roller coasters.

Don't forget Holiday World though, its a medium-sized park in Santa Claus IN, that claims to be the first ever theme park (yes ahead of Disneyland), and has serves FREE SODA (yeah no refillable mug arguments!) and three really great wooden coasters, Raven, Legend and now Voyage.

What everyone seems to forget though is that amusement/theme parks are part of our culture, they are uniquely american, it drives me nuts those who think well we americans have no culture. We do its in every roller coaster or ELI Bridge Scrambler that you ride! Sure these parks are not Disney, but you honestly shouldn't compare them to Disney either. If you with the idea that you want to have fun, and not say "well there is no Cinderella Castle so its not worth it" then amusement parks, especially the good ones can be just as much of a blast.

BTW I love Monster Plantation... Its those cooky things that never die that make life great!

Jennifer

 

[zuzu310]

Besides Disney, I have been to Universal Studios/IOA, Busch Gardens Tampa, Kings Island, Geagua Lake and my favorite Cedar Point. I think the reason that there is such a difference between WDW and a place like Cedar Point is that WDW is a theme park and Cedar Point is really more of a thrill park. WDW does do the most fantastic job of immersing you in the magic and are more family-oriented. When I go to Cedar Point, I am there to ride as many thrill rides in the shortest time possible. Sure, they have Snoopy themed areas but I think they cater more to coaster enthusiasts.And if you are a coaster enthusiast it is not a park to be missed.

 

[RVGal]

BTW I love Monster Plantation... Its those cooky things that never die that make life great!

Monster Plantation, with all its clicks and air-compressor hisses, is a classic. I even liked its predecessor, the Okefenokee Swamp. The Okefenokee had even worse clicks and jerky movement animatronics. I can still hear the singing watermelons in the last room, with the "Y'all come back now, ya' hear?" line. They carried that ending over to the Monster Plantation. I think the ride changed around 1980 or 81. I remember it was somewhere in my early high school days.

I grew up in the Atlanta 'burbs and Six Flags Over Georgia was an annual summer vacation "trip". We weren't exactly a wealthy family, but my parents would make sure that we made it to Six Flags once every summer. The smells that I remember... that of fresh tar, fountain Coke syrup, fat frying, and... well... sweaty B.O. (Georgia is not exactly cool in the summer)... are like a little bubble of time from my childhood. That in itself is a kind of magic. Not Disney magic, mind you, but special nonetheless.

Of course, nothing is like the memory of being a twelve year old girl in 1978 and staring down Main Street, USA for the first time. It's a feeling that swells inside me each time I see Cinderella's Castle.

I guess I don't compare the theme parks and amusements parks to each other... I just enjoy the memories I make at each one.