Amusement parks or theme parks?

[vgmaster9]

Which would you rather go to, a seasonal amusement park with little or no theming or a year round theme park? Why do you prefer it over the other?

 

[Thekingin64]

Theme parks as not only are they usually better themed , There are usually better rides as well.

 

[silenthillXD]

Theming is key to the ride. Look at saw, it would be no where near as fun if it didn't have the theming. Look at oblivion, the secret government facility theming literally increases the tension of riding by tons! Theme parks are far better in my opinion.

 

[Ian]

Amusement park.

Rides are more important than theme imo.

Theme is helpful as it creates an atmosphere and adds to the escapism, but ultimately I go to a park to be thrilled.

Rides can look good but if they don't ride well, then there's no point.

I'm going to use Rainbow Magicland as an example.

Here's their rapids ride, Drakkar.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOfzvKqe8hU[/youtube]

Doesn't it look wonderful? Those massive statues look so impressive. However, the ride itself was bland. Hardly any splashes, no thrills... it was dull.

Search for Rainbow Magicland POVs on YouTube and you'll soon realise that things that look pretty don't necessarily ride well. I'd rather ride an exciting, choppy rapids in a car park than one that does nothing apart from looking pretty. One of the best rapids rides I've been on is the now-permanent travelling rapids ride at Lightwater Valley!

It's the old "you can't polish a turd" expression once again. If something is crap, you can't hide it under a bit of lipstick and get away with it.

There are exceptions to the rule (like Big Thunder Mountain at Disney for example), but generally an amusement park will have higher quality ride experiences over a theme park imo. A theme is just "nice".

 

[Snoo]

Theme parks as not only are they usually better themed , There are usually better rides as well.

Dunno what theme parks you've been going to..

 

[Gavin]

They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Personally, my favourite parks are the ones that combine thrill with aesthetics:

Tokyo DisneySea, Lotte World, Phantasialand, Happy Valley Beijing, Parque Espana, Alton Towers, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City to name but a few.

There are plenty of examples that manage to combine both elements perfectly.

 

[Martyn B]

Its ultimately that Alton vs BPB discussion again.

It depends on what I'm in the mood for really, as they both offer 2 completely different experiences.

 

[Gazza]

Search for Rainbow Magicland POVs on YouTube and you'll soon realise that things that look pretty don't necessarily ride well. I'd rather ride an exciting, choppy rapids in a car park than one that does nothing apart from looking pretty. One of the best rapids rides I've been on is the now-permanent travelling rapids ride at Lightwater Valley!

How about this as a counter example:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNZzqNX1z1Y[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNZzqNX1z1Y
I see great theming, with a great ride.

I think its entirely possible to have park with high quality thrilling rides that are well themed...IOA, BGT, BGW, USS, Mirabliandia, Port Aventura, Europa, Alton....That's more than just a few!

 

[vgmaster9]

They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Personally, my favourite parks are the ones that combine thrill with aesthetics:

Tokyo DisneySea, Lotte World, Phantasialand, Happy Valley Beijing, Parque Espana, Alton Towers, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City to name but a few.

There are plenty of examples that manage to combine both elements perfectly.

Yeah, but those parks don't have rides like the Scrambler, the Whip, or the Tumble Bug.

 

[Gavin]

^Yeah, you're right. They're s**t really.

 

[vgmaster9]

Well the truth is, amusement parks typically have more rides than theme parks do. Both types have their strengths and weaknesses.