# Best amusement parks? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973 "2012-07-21T17:59:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/41 "2012-07-25T02:55:01Z")
Now if we’re talking prisons, the wife and I visited [Eastern State Penitentiary](http://www.easternstate.org/) in Philadelphia in April. Highly recommended. Castle-looking, left in a decayed state. They use it as a haunted house for Halloween. Briefly held Al Capone. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/42 "2012-07-25T03:43:42Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > Holy shit, Valleyfair?! Hee! I used to work in Shakopee, in the industrial park just down from there - take a left and you’d run into what used to be my office building. > > Ah, memories. > > Haven’t been in ages. It’s not a bad park, but it’ll never make any “Best of” lists, that’s certain. And yet it’s owned by the same people who own Cedar Point. Valleyfair’s got the “largest amusement park in the state or any bordering state” going for it. Doesn’t really have any competition. BTW, I’m going to Six Flags Great America next week for the first time in 16 years. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/43 "2012-07-25T19:35:16Z")
I’ll just add another vote for Hershey. I have enjoyed it whenever I went. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/44 "2012-07-25T21:01:18Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Cedar Point yet. Another vote for Knoebels if you want to step back in time, plus the food is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![judytudy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@judytudy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/judytudy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/45 "2012-08-23T04:06:28Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > Looking for a place or places to travel to this fall, and was wondering what the best amusement parks are I haven’t been to yet that are around other things worth seeing. By best, I mean lots of high, fast roller coasters and other thrill rides. > > Parks I’ve been to: in order I liked them > Six Flags Great Adventure > Carowinds > Six Flags St. Louis > Six Flags Great America > [Water Delivery San Antonio](http://waterable.com/texas/san%20antonio-tx) > Worlds of Fun > Valleyfair > > I’ve been also been to Islands of Adventure, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot, although those are in a different class. > > I know the two obvious ones are Cedar Point (ruled out because there’s nothing else really interesting in the area) and Six Flags Magic Mountain (my sister want to wait to visit the area until “Harry Potter Land west” is done) Six Flags great adventure brings back so many memories for me. I’d definitely hit it. Even with the long lines it’s still worth it ---
**Author:** ![\_len](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/c0e974/32.png) [@\_len](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_len)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/46 "2012-08-24T03:54:37Z")
Thorpe Park. Really. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/47 "2012-08-24T15:17:25Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Got a passport? Canada’s Wonderland, in the suburbs of Toronto, rivals almost any other park for rollercoasters; I believe it ranks third in the world for total coasters, and many are excellent. > > It’s also in a substantially less boring place than Sandusky. We live in the same city as **RickJay** and have been to Canada’s Wonderland twice in the last two weeks. There are a ton of [coasters](http://www.canadaswonderland.com/things-to-do/thrill-rides). Some of them are very good. I have been going there since I was three (when it opened) and I go every summer. The newest coasters Leviathan and Behemoth rival some of the coasters at Cedar Point. But there is nowhere, NOWHERE like [Cedar Point](http://www.cedarpoint.com/things-to-do/roller-coasters). They have Millenium Force. I am very partial to wooden coasters and they have Mean Streak. It is the sixth tallest wooden coaster in the world at 161 feet. It is by far the best coaster I have ever ridden. (Second would be Millenium Force.) ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/48 "2012-08-24T20:54:14Z")
Someone bumped this so I thought I’d update: I dropped the idea of going to Cedar Point this year when I heard there was a new B&M Wing Coaster being built for next year. Instead we’re going to the Outer Banks and Chesapeake Bay area, which means Kings Dominion here we come. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973/49 "2012-08-24T23:06:03Z")
> [@Mdcastleman](#): > > Someone bumped this so I thought I’d update: > I dropped the idea of going to Cedar Point this year when I heard there was a new B&M Wing Coaster being built for next year. Instead we’re going to the Outer Banks and Chesapeake Bay area, which means Kings Dominion here we come. You’re also pretty close to Busch Gardens - Williamsburg. Their suspended coaster (car dangles from track attachment point) The Big Bad Wolf was taken down and replaced to a new inverted coaster (car attached to tracks by the topside with legs dangling free) that looks way better. On the other hand, it’s not really a thrill park and you have to have a tolerance for their faux ethnic zones which are cheesy in the extreme. On the other other hand you can see some of the Budweiser Clydesdales, who live there, if you’re into that. re: Cedar Point, the Gatekeeper is replacing Disaster Transport, but since that was a totally worthless coaster, I’m super excited to hear about it being replaced with something that looks kickass. B&M built the Raptor, which is a stunningly fun coaster that’s also exceptionally comfortable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-amusement-parks/628973.md?page=2)