By themselves, I don't think that any of the Six Flags Parks stack up to either CP or Kings Island. Six Flags has some good coasters across their chain, but none (except Magic Mountain) have the collection that Cedar Point has, and few have the collection that Kings Island has with the addition of Diamondback this year. CP and Kings Island are fairly even in terms of flat/other rides. Most Six Flags parks don't match up here either.
In terms of family/children attractions, Kings Island takes the prize with Nick central, CP second with Camp Snoopy, and Six Flags with not much at the moment. Location goes to Cedar Point hands down. Except for the cold winter, nothing beats the island on the lake setting.
I"ll give the waterpark nod to Kings Island and Boomerang Bay. It's full of good attractions, and it's free.
Six Flags appears to have improved in several areas, but Cedar Point and Kings Island are more than coasters. Food, shows, rides, hotels, value, atmosphere, service....all tip towards Cedar Point and Kings Island. The difference between the two companies? Six Flags is owned and operated with a business first/entertainment second mentality, and Cedar Fair is owned and operated by an entertainment first/business second mentality.
Let me start with the whole company. Six Flags has 2 main parks, and those are their top priorities-- SFMM and SFGAdv. Yes, they give other parks good treats (SFGA-- Raging bull, SFOG-- Goliath, SFKK-- Chang), and sometimes keep it going. Think about it-- SFGAdv has a terrible place to attract people, but they gave it a world record, so now people flow towards it. I think that they built that up (with Medusa, Nitro, SUF), and then announced the finale. To keep it up, they added El Toro, and now they have the dark knight.
Now, BESIDES THIS WHOLE THING, SF never gave the chairmen of the board of their company anything special to his home park. Why do you think that Fedex field is so close to SFA? Because Daniel Snyder owns the redskins, and is the chairmen of SF. I don't know what has happened, because SFA's last coaster was 2001! WHAT THE HELL?! Sorry, but I don't think that this is necessary... yes, we get "rides" here and there (for '08-- tony hawk's half pipe; a water ride... uch), but nothing! I think (from all of my backround knowledge) that SFA is probably SF's worst park that has it's name on it (NOT something it owns). Seriously, they either didn't have the money, time, or were just too damn lazy to fix Two-Face, or maybe all of the above. Now, for this offseason, SF is trying to SELL A BROKEN RIDE...
So, Steve, I just look at SF as my park. And since SFA isn't it's own park, I know what's going on at SF parks outside, so I know what SFA COULD be. I don't think it's a very big "stop" for people who are in or close to D.C. for the holidays.
But to be fair if you comparing all of SF to CP and KI, why not all of the Cedar Fair parks? If that's the case it's a slam dunk Cedar Fair win.
I completely understand having some bias based on your home park. My home park is Carowinds, which is in the process of installing its second used coaster in a row (yeah, I know there's the hyper for 2010, but the last decent coaster was Top Gun in 99).
I don't share your opinion of SF simply because my nearest SF park (SFOG) is fairly well maintained and has a pretty nice variety of rides (and four B&Ms!). The only other SF park I've visited is Kentucky Kingdom, which I don't really think I can use as any sort of adequate quality gauge. I'm pretty sure we're going to the St. Louis park after Con this year, so maybe that'll help me form a more educated opinion.
Also, my opinion of Cedar Fair is probably going to remain tarnished for some time by how they mishandled Geauga Lake. Combine that with my disappointment in Cedar Point and you've got an idea of where my bias is (because let's be honest, a lot of this boils down to which company you dislike less).
I've got a trip report out there from my visit a few months back if you want the skinny.
Are all the ones mentioned for you the ones that you will/ maybe/ have been to?
Thanks,
Matt
Kings Island has the better kids area with Nick Central and the free waterpark. It does have some great coasters and large rides, but not as many as Cedar Point.
Cedar Point is tailored more to the family with kids tall enough to ride the big rides. They do have Camp Snoopy and some other things for the little ones, which isn't bad, but Nickelodeon is what the little ones know best.
It all depends on your flavor. As far as an extended stay goes, my nod goes to Cedar Point, as there is simply more to do. Indoor or Outdoor waterpark, mini golf, a beach, hotels, restaurants, camping...all kinds of things. The Kings Island waterpark is usually packed, so I would recommend 2 days to do everything. Cedar Point has another day or two worth of things to do.
Blue Streak
Cedar Creek Mine
Corkscrew
Disastor Transport
Gemini
Iron Dragon
The rest he doesn't think he'll do. Do those coasters have a long wait? And are they any good?
My older son and I will try to ride pretty much all of them. The ones that look really good to me are: Magnum, Mantis, Maverick, Mean Streak and Dragster.
Which ones are the best of the coasters in your opinions?
Thanks,
Matt
And everything I have heard is a long wait at CP, but stay at one of the on-site resorts, and you get into the park 1 hour before regular visitors!
Millennium Force
Raptor
Dragster
Maverick
Magnum
The only ones that I usually don't ride when I'm there are Corkscrew and Mantis. Corkscrew is pretty much a waste of time, and Mantis is a bit of a headbanger. The rest are good in their own way.
At Cedar Point, there are always lines for everything. The length of them depends on when you go. My advice is to go during the week and stay away on the weekends to keep the lines as short as possible. Stay at the park resorts and you will get more perks.
