when you go to other amusement parks...

[roliepolieoliefan]

I keep telling DH we really need to take the kids here. This is the park we visited every summer growing up. I still love the old wooden coasters, and of course I've never seen a haunted house yet that compares to Noah's Ark (is this still there?).

Still there but again they redid it too. Its still fun. But remember how you used to enter through the whales tongue? well that isn't there anymore. As a kid, that was my favorite part and banging off the walls when u made it to the rocking ark. LOL
But the bouncing floors are still there too.

 

[Ava]

To be fair, the amusement park in question was Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA. A very cute little park, but after an hour you pretty much have seen everything (And sometimes have ridden a few of the rides twice).

We took DD to Dutch Wonderland this summer. We used to go to HersheyPark a lot when I was a kid, but I'd never been to Dutch before. It's a cute little park, and with a 14-month-old we only wanted to stay a couple hours. I'd like to go back when she's a little older & can ride all the "kids only" rides; this time she was still too young to put on a ride by herself so we were limited to the rides we could all go on together.

I also liked their coaster - I wasn't expecting much (I'm a coaster person) but it was a really fun ride! Plus there was never a line for it so we got to ride it a few times while DD hung out with Grandma.

 

[momejay]

As someone that lives less than 10 minutes from a 6 flags...I haven't been there in 2 years. For me it is the type of crowd they tend to draw. Sure I like the thrill rides, but I am too fluffy to enjoy most of them anymore. (I know diet you say? I have been on a diet & excercise plan for months & I gained 2 pounds.)

We went to Universal last year & Busch Gardens this spring in attempt to curb the "Disney fix" & save money. It didn't save us anything & Didn't satisfy our need for a fix long. In June, I bought annuals to Disney. There is no alternative for us.

 

[DawnM]

Our local theme park is just gross.

I go because of the kids. Otherwise I would not go at all.

Dawn

 

[MUFFYCAT]

Because of where you are, I'm guessing either Great Escape or 6F New England -- which are both great parks, but . . . Let's just say "...you get what you pay for!!"

My DH and DD were there 2 weeks ago during our annual visit to Lake George. As usual a few of the big rides were closed. I stopped going a few years ago. I liked the park better before Six Flags bought it.

I think my DH would rather go to The Magic Forest and see "the diving horse"

 

[abmitch01]

oh I remember the diving horse!


a lady was barfing in the bathroom stall next to me at one point and all I could think was, 'this wouldn't be happening at Disney." Well, of course it could, but somehow it wouldn't seem as gross, lol

 

[JB2K]

...it makes you realize how really special Disney is. Ugh, went to 6 Flags, what a difference!

There is a reason for this...

Six Flags has been in and out of bankruptcy in recent years -- plus, they've had problems at other locations that has seriously drained their finances (Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville).

Things have gotten so bad, I noticed the park in St. Louis is now advertising (for Mars-branded candies) on things like parking signs and roller coaster cars.

Plus, they are now allowing outside vendors to do their foodservice (Cold Stone/Papa John's/Johnny Rocket's/Panda Express), which could actually be a good thing compared to typical theme park food.

You have to keep things in persepctive - Six Flags is a regional theme park, whereas WDW is an international resort destination.

 

[mrsklamc]

You have to keep things in persepctive - Six Flags is a regional theme park, whereas WDW is an international resort destination.

It's not just about money though. It's about attitudes. Good leadership can create an environment where employees take pride in what they do and keep the park clean and provide excellent service. A PP mentioned Pat Koch cleaning at Holiday World. When the top of the company pitches in, people follow that. I would bet THAT brought the money to Holiday World, rather than the money being what created the positive experience.

 

[Alesia]

It's not just about money though. It's about attitudes. Good leadership can create an environment where employees take pride in what they do and keep the park clean and provide excellent service. A PP mentioned Pat Koch cleaning at Holiday World. When the top of the company pitches in, people follow that. I would bet THAT brought the money to Holiday World, rather than the money being what created the positive experience.

Definitely.

But even more than that, giving people a great value for their money helped Holiday World grow by leaps and bounds. Free parking, free soft drinks, and free sunscreen are things that make holiday world a much better value than six flags. The food is good and reasonably priced. Even things like Tylenol are no more expensive there than they are at the grocery store.

 

[JB2K]

It's not just about money though. It's about attitudes. Good leadership can create an environment where employees take pride in what they do and keep the park clean and provide excellent service. A PP mentioned Pat Koch cleaning at Holiday World. When the top of the company pitches in, people follow that. I would bet THAT brought the money to Holiday World, rather than the money being what created the positive experience.

True, but...

...not I am a defender of Six Flags (I, too, think they are nothing like they once were), but there's more to the "big picture".

Six Flags, unlike successful family-owned local parks such as Holiday World and Kennywood, is a publicly-owned outfit, which means they have a CEO and are committed to their numerous debtors/shareholders -- that's where the money usally goes, first. Revenues are usually made from the $5 drinks, etc.

Cedar Fair (Cedar Point, Dorney Park, Worlds of Fun, etc.) would be a more "fair" comparison to Six Flags (as Cedar is also a public company) -- I haven't heard of any lapses of quality/revenue at any of their parks...

Back to the original topic of Six Flags vs. Disney - there really is nothing to compare. One is a struggling chain of regional theme parks (SF), while the other (WDW) is a resort division of the largest media/entertainment conglomerate in the world (The Walt Disney Company).

 

[eyor44]

We visited Dollywood a couple weeks ago. Drink and Food prices there were actually a bit more than Disney, but food was about the same quality wise.

At the end of the evening, DD was playing at a water feature that involved following a disk through a water way and helping it along when it got stuck. The woman monitoring the attraction was visibly watching her watch and even commenting repeatedly to the two employees near her the time and that it was almost time to go home. I think this was for the benefit of me and the other parents near to her. At exactly 8:00pm she shouted the time, told the other two employees to shut down their attractions (playground and small water feature) and she turned to my DD who was half way down, told her to get the disk and put it up that they were closed. DD complied and walked over to me. As we were walking away she said "If we were at Disney, they would have let me finish." One employee actually looked embarrassed when she heard DD.

 

[mrsklamc]

The woman monitoring the attraction was visibly watching her watch and even commenting repeatedly to the two employees near her the time and that it was almost time to go home. I think this was for the benefit of me and the other parents near to her.

I don't understand why you find that confusing. Most places make announcements of when they will be closing, and it is so the customers can make arrangements to be done with their shopping, etc. by closing time.

 

[eyor44]

I don't understand why you find that confusing. Most places make announcements of when they will be closing, and it is so the customers can make arrangements to be done with their shopping, etc. by closing time.

Closing time was visibly posted, it was her attitude that was so odd......

 

[mrsklamc]

She was probably irritated because closing time was visibly posted, yet she had to tell your daughter to stop playing, even after she had gone to the effort of announcing previously that they would be closing at 8.

 

[powellrj]

We visited Dollywood a couple weeks ago. Drink and Food prices there were actually a bit more than Disney, but food was about the same quality wise.

At the end of the evening, DD was playing at a water feature that involved following a disk through a water way and helping it along when it got stuck. The woman monitoring the attraction was visibly watching her watch and even commenting repeatedly to the two employees near her the time and that it was almost time to go home. I think this was for the benefit of me and the other parents near to her. At exactly 8:00pm she shouted the time, told the other two employees to shut down their attractions (playground and small water feature) and she turned to my DD who was half way down, told her to get the disk and put it up that they were closed. DD complied and walked over to me. As we were walking away she said "If we were at Disney, they would have let me finish." One employee actually looked embarrassed when she heard DD.

We must have visited a different Dollywood because when we were there in April, we found the food to be much cheaper than in WDW. They had a refillable popcorn bucket that we could refill for $1.00 and a refillable mug that you could also refill with frozen lemonade for around $3.00.

We also found the meals much cheaper. We had breakfast buffet one day that was around $10 per person and lunch buffet the next day and it was around $12 a person. We have never eaten that cheaply at WDW.

As for the employee checking her watch and announcing the time, what did you expect her to do? It was close to closing time and she needed to close. She had no idea how much longer your DD was going to be.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

We only live 3 hours away from Silver Dollar City, so that is our local Amusement park.
As much as we love Disney, my kids are just as happy to go there. The theming is a little hokey, but it keeps it fun. Food is a lot less expensive and frankly, a lot better. They don't have anything that compares to the character meals, but the overall price and quality is a lot better value in my opinion.
I also like that you can get from your car to the entrance and back fairly quickly. At Disney Dh had to go get something out fo the car and it took him almost an hour fromt he time he left us in the entrance!
Don't get me wrong, if I lived closer, I'd be doing Disney a lot more. This year was the first year I've been able to go in 15 years and we are already planning a trip to DisneyLand in 2012. But I don't think it has a the monopoly on good family entertainment.

 

[greenchief]

Our local theme park is just gross.

I go because of the kids. Otherwise I would not go at all.

Dawn

Are you talking about Carowinds? I have not been back since I went 13 years ago. I got stuck on a ride there for 45 minutes. The bar didn't lift up and the key they would use if it didn't lift up was stripped out. The maintance man came and he asked the teenagers to use the key, they replied they had. He had to walk back across the park and get tools to undo the side of the rollercoaster to get me out. No manager ever came or anything. My issue was the maintance issue. This is how they maintain their equipment? No thank you. Never been back. Going to Universal this year for first time ever. And I was born and raised in Orlando. The tourist use to drive me crazy, but I am one now.

 

[marie1203]

when we go to other parks conversations always go like this "In disney this will not be like ......." Everything we compare to disney and let's say they don't come even close.

 

[helloirishkitty]

I can't even go to our local theme park anymore, it actually makes me depressed and makes me want to go to disney even more.

 

[keithandmissy]

Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country are our home theme and waterparks. While we love Walt Disney World, we feel that Dollywood is an acceptable substitute (and much closer).

As others have said, the food costs less and is of higher quality. For the 25th Anniversary year they have a refillable popcorn tub with 99 cent refills (tub costs around $7), and a refillable soda mug with 99 cent refills (mug costs around $14). Gold Season Passholders get 20% off all food, merchandise, and rentals (and free parking).

Aunt Granny's buffet restaurant is great and the local tourist books have a coupon for a buy-one-get-one-free buffet after 3 pm. This makes an all-you-can-eat buffet for two only $15 for dinner. It is great Southern comfort food made from scratch on-park (nothing is pre-made) that beats anything I've had at the Magic Kingdom for about $7.50 per person (including drink).

The open food skillets in the park are great as well serving up freshly made cheese steak sandwiches and brats. The smells permeate the park, simply great.

The shows are amazing at Dollywood as well. The new Sha-Kon-O-Hey showcases the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and the Cherokee heritage of the area with original songs by Dolly Parton. There are four festivals every year. The Christmas festival (Smoky Mountain Christmas) beats Walt Disney World in the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards.

The attention to detail and guest service levels and friendliness can compete with a Disney park any day, albeit with a bit of an Appalachian hillbilly flair! Sorry for the long post but we love visiting our home park and are very proud to be season passholders. By the way, we pay almost $300 for two adult passes every year which is not bad considering the value. The park is open from March to January so you almost get a full year out of your pass too!