What's your favorite amusement/theme park?
 

Looking for great parks -- old, new, large, and small. What's your favorite and why?

Universal - stay on-site for front of line passes - its an all around experience!!!

Six Flags in Atlanta was awesome when my children were growing up. We lived in Georgia then and we would purchase annual passes and go every chance we could. Great rides, great memories.
I have to say, though, no matter how high-tech the roller coasters become, they will never replace the memories I have riding the wooden roller coaster in Santa Cruz, California.

Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. Fun rides in a very pretty setting. Runners up are, Animal Kingdom in WDW and Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, CA (the oldest and small one of the 3).

Oh, Beach Boardwalk is the setting of egret's wood roller coaster!

Another vote for Universal, Orlando and separate line access for guests of on-site hotels. Most enjoyable and efficient way to experience a park: no waits.

Park attractions are imaginative and highly entertaining. Some, e.g. Men in Black, are interactive.

My vote for best coaster is the drop coaster (SheiKra) at Busch Gardens, Tampa. Ninety degree drop two hundred feet, after dangling over the edge, into a hole in the ground, followed by another ninety degree drop of 138 feet.

It depends on what you're looking for. Do you want theming, or great coasters, or things for small children, etc???
I LOVE Islands of Adventure at Universal. Great theming, wonderful restaurants, fun rides, AND the all day express access you get by staying on site can't be beat.

Islands of Adventure at Universal.

Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

I enjoyed taking the kids to smaller parks - Busch Gardens in Florida and Dollywood in TN. Not as overwhelming, diverse attractions and Dollywood is a LOT cooler in the summer (than the Florida parks).

I go to see the Shamu show at Sea World every time I'm in Orlando.

I'd have to second Cedar Point in Sandusky! Especially if what you're looking for is roller coasters. The best.

Cedar Point, America's Roller Coast!

I'm going to throw in yet another vote for Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It just doesn't get any better for thrill ride seekers.

Disneyland!

For rollercoasters and thrill rides it's Cedar Point.

The Boardwalk in Santa Cruz gets my vote :)

Great suggestions! I would have never have thought of Dollywood...that sounds like a hoot.

Cedar Point sure gets the votes; what is the best time of year for visiting that park?

What is the on-site lodging at Universal and how are the prices?

I also loved the wooden coaster in Santa Cruz; what a classic. Has anyone been to Great America in San Jose?

What about some of the older, historic parks, such as Kennywood in Pennsylvania?
Has anyone visited some of those?

Portofino Bay and Hard Rock Cafe are my favorite Universal Hotels. PB is my favorite - a recreation of a Portofino Italy's waterfront - and you can take a water taxi to the park. Wonderful hotel - but can be pricey.

The kids loved Dollywood when they were little. A very nice park with rides, shows, good food - better maintained than most parks - and ALWAYS significantly cooler than our other summer options - due to the altitude.

Located on the shores of Lake Erie, Cedar Point is a summer destination.

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/vis...dule/index.cfm

Kennywood is a lot of fun too and still a lot of nostalgia.

We've been going to Great America since it was Marriot's Great America or just plain ol' "Marriots" :) It has been about 5 years since I have gone even though I live about 15 minutes from there. IMO, it is an OK theme park and if I had kids, we would probably go once in awhile, but there isn't really anything magical about it - something that you can't really quantify that makes people love a place. It is fun and had some great rides though.

I haven't been to Cedar Point for a couple years (but I went for 15 years in a row when I was younger.)

According to the Web site, it's open from mid May until October, and is only open on the weekends during September and October, with the exception of Labor Day. If I recall, week days are much less crowded than weekends, and if you can go before school releases (i.e., prior to mid June), then it will be much less crowded. Holidays are packed (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day.)

It's so great. Some of my most fun summer memories are from Cedar Point.

I have fun memories of the SantaCruz Boardwalk from my college years. Then last summer, my mother took our son there and he loved it. My mom wasn't so sure about the rollercoaster though, lol!

King's Island...from childhood. So many memories!

Another vote for Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. Is beautifully landscaped with a wide variety of rides/shows. You can get a two day pass and hit the sister park, Watercountry USA. Great water rides. Of course, I'm partial because I live close by.

We love Disney but only in the off season. Closer to home we enjoy visiting Dollywood. It's not too big but with lots to do for all ages. In fact my nieces and nephew are visiting next week for spring break and we're going to Dollywood on Monday if the weather is good!

We like Knoebel's in Elysburg, Pa. It's a great old fashioned park with good rides and good food. Plus it's free to park and free to get in. You buy ride tickets or an all-day wristband, so it can be a great value for a family.

Love the theming at the Disney parks. Everything is so top-notch. Visited Animal Kingdom for the first time last year and just loved it for the animals, Expedition Everest, and the theming.

Dollywood is my favorite park, and it also happens to be my home park. It's beautifully landscaped and with the recent additions of Thunderhead and the new Mystery Mine has something for every age group. In fact, it and Silver Dollar City in Branson are probably the only two parks in the nation where you are likely to be outnumbered by senior citizens on certain days of the year. The entertainment is excellent and Dollywood has done a great job of adding festivals and other events throughout the year to give you a reason to keep coming back.

P.S. Knoebels is currently building a very old-fashioned Flying Turns ride. My father is excited because it reminds him of the Flying Turns at Euclid Beach in Cleveland (a long-defunct park).

http://www.knoebels.com/whats-new.asp

Knoebels looks really, really neat and old-school. The new ride they are building is very interesting. Their haunted house ride, in the old dark ride style, is also intriguing.

I will have to give Dollywood a more serious look, too.

Oh, by the way, no one has mentioned Coney Island. I've always wanted to see that, too.

Dorney Park, Allentown, Pa. An older but upgraded park. I went there every summer 40 to 50 years ago. Lots of rides, water, ducks, flowers and shrubbery.

Without a doubt, Cedar Point, hands down. The Millenium Force is AWESOME and the Top Thrill Dragster is SUCH a RUSH! Best time to go is Sundays or Weekdays in early June. Contrary to a previous post, Memorial Day itself is very slow, thought the rest of that weekend is crowded. 4th of July is probably the most crowded day of the season. Weekdays in the second half of August are not bad either.
I live near Great America but will never go back there. Prefer to drive 5 more hours and go to the Point. No comparison. The Point is cleaner, with friendlier employees, better rides, and no tolerance for my pet peeves (smoking in line and line-jumping) Actually saw a group of gang-bangers get kicked out for repeated profanity in line after being asked several times to quit it. The whole line applauded as they made their way out.
A brief plug on a related note: Cedar Point hires 3,000 seasonal employees every summer and has on-site housing that is very affordable. If you have a free summer and want to have a great experience, it's worth looking into. My son has worked there 5 summers and he loves it. There is info on their website www.cedarpoint.com and they are hiring now.

I had to ask my daughter this question since I'm not fond of amusement/theme parks - and she replied Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. I think it is her favorite since it was her first experience at one.

Dorney Park seems to have some interesting rides. It's always fun to find something different, and the older parks have a lot of charm. You could probably do a theme park tour and see Busch Gardens, the Pennsylvania parks and Cedar Point in one trip. Maybe just PA and Ohio would be better, and save Busch Gardens for a separate trip. I've been there once in the summer and it was pretty hot and muggy. I'd like going right after it opens in the spring.

I am going to New York City in May...any comments on Coney Island? I know you are going to say it's a rough neighborhood, but geesh I am so curious about it..

The best one that ever existed was Riverview in Chicago. But if you are talking today- Cedar's Point.

Honestly, nearly everything that was in Riverview, maybe 50 out of 70 attractions would be illegal because of liabilities today. BUT WAS IT FUN!

King's Island was good too. So is Universal's Isle of Adv.

Six Flags Great America, especially the one in Gurnee is fine. All the Six Flags are- but they are NOT as good as Cedar Point.