Edward M
Strata Poster
Nicely reasoned post and appreciated. You're such a Disney Fanboy tho
Self proclaimed, only slightly ashamed
Overrated parks
- Thread starter balrog
- Start date
Self proclaimed, only slightly ashamed
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
I don't rate River Quest! It's brutal though, I ended up in the lap of the stranger next to me... So there's a theme here with you and liking the more chaotic ride experiences. I'm not much of a Rapids person in general to be honest.
What?? They are!Because Marvel, Harry Potter, King Kong and Jurassic Park are all natural. K Joey
Well, Marvel isn't. I'd actually forgotten it exists, and it suffers some of the same issues the toon land does, but it's ok because of reasons I'll touch on in a bit...
But the entry port area, Jurassic Park, Kong (though not seen it in the flesh), Potter and the old... Fantasy bit, whatever it's called, are all worlds that are very natural looking! Plenty of foliage, natural rockwork or buildings made of ancient stone, where a bit of grime never looks out of place. If the garden beds in Jurassic Park overgrow, it doesn't matter. If the Potter castle gets a bit of bird poop on it, it doesn't matter. In the marvel land it depends, because some of it is more grounded in realism and is stylistic in the same way a decent amusement park can be, and some of it is just decorative giant cut outs that don't contribute to... Anything? Like is this world supposed to be in the Marvel universe, or is it just decorated to Marvel? I don't think it knows.
Very good point and if you look at somewhere like Thorpe you realise how important that really is.
Not sure if I'd call it "overrated", but Disney's Animal Kingdom did very little for me.
Sure, Expedition Everest was fantastic. And the Tree of Life is stunning to behold. But Dinosaur felt very randomly plonked down, the "main street" was... just a collection of rather generic-looking buildings (as opposed to the very elaborate style seen everywhere else), and DinoLand USA kind of speaks for itself. This was before Avatar Land opened, but apart from that, it didn't feel like there was much else to do. The entrance area is often praised, but... I've been to forests before. This didn't feel very different.
Don't get me wrong, it's a very neat-looking park, but I didn't really feel the "Disney magic" there. The safari was nice, but not unlike what you can experience in a decently large zoo. Perhaps that is what they were going for, and if so it's the nicest zoo I've ever visited. But as an amusement park, it just... doesn't quite do it for me.
It could be that I visited on the wrong day, or in the wrong state of mind, or with the wrong expectations. Maybe there were some attractions we missed, or did out of order. The whole lake was fenced off, maybe the sight of construction fences everywhere broke my immersion. Or my memory is just fuzzy, the visit being in the midst of a week of more-or-less constant park trips. I had a good day there, definitely, but among the Disney parks I visited, it was the one I'd be least eager to return to. Or perhaps I really should, to see if I missed something.
Any help clearing the doubt in my mind there?
Sure, Expedition Everest was fantastic. And the Tree of Life is stunning to behold. But Dinosaur felt very randomly plonked down, the "main street" was... just a collection of rather generic-looking buildings (as opposed to the very elaborate style seen everywhere else), and DinoLand USA kind of speaks for itself. This was before Avatar Land opened, but apart from that, it didn't feel like there was much else to do. The entrance area is often praised, but... I've been to forests before. This didn't feel very different.
Don't get me wrong, it's a very neat-looking park, but I didn't really feel the "Disney magic" there. The safari was nice, but not unlike what you can experience in a decently large zoo. Perhaps that is what they were going for, and if so it's the nicest zoo I've ever visited. But as an amusement park, it just... doesn't quite do it for me.
It could be that I visited on the wrong day, or in the wrong state of mind, or with the wrong expectations. Maybe there were some attractions we missed, or did out of order. The whole lake was fenced off, maybe the sight of construction fences everywhere broke my immersion. Or my memory is just fuzzy, the visit being in the midst of a week of more-or-less constant park trips. I had a good day there, definitely, but among the Disney parks I visited, it was the one I'd be least eager to return to. Or perhaps I really should, to see if I missed something.
Any help clearing the doubt in my mind there?
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
I actually think DAK is criminally underrated and the target of too much criticism, but it kind of asks for it. DAK is a unique theme park experience that simply expects too much from the audience. DAK is a love letter to exotic travel.
I actually have a very different experience at DAK to what you describe and it sounds like any construction really harms the place, which makes a tonne of sense... Perhaps the park's best feature is its sprawling open world feel where nothing seems fenced off, with dense foliage that looks like it's been growing since the dawn of time hiding boundaries. I don't think the buildings are so much generic as that they take a back seat and let the foliage define the vast majority of environments there. I think that might be the main issue with Dinoland USA. The African town area though is just gorgeous, but I have a thing for the derelict exotic look. DAK expects the audience to see all the parts as a whole, but I think it's quite difficult for people to see a tree in the same way they do a (logically) obviously man made mountain. It doesn't matter how exotic plants look, our brains sort of ignore them, but DAK wants you to both ignore and notice everything and accept it as real. I think Pandora is going to be exactly what the park needs to "teach" the audience how to enjoy the park and what it is about, because it is more obviously faked.
TLDR, to enjoy DAK you have to appreciate how impressive the foliage use is.
I actually have a very different experience at DAK to what you describe and it sounds like any construction really harms the place, which makes a tonne of sense... Perhaps the park's best feature is its sprawling open world feel where nothing seems fenced off, with dense foliage that looks like it's been growing since the dawn of time hiding boundaries. I don't think the buildings are so much generic as that they take a back seat and let the foliage define the vast majority of environments there. I think that might be the main issue with Dinoland USA. The African town area though is just gorgeous, but I have a thing for the derelict exotic look. DAK expects the audience to see all the parts as a whole, but I think it's quite difficult for people to see a tree in the same way they do a (logically) obviously man made mountain. It doesn't matter how exotic plants look, our brains sort of ignore them, but DAK wants you to both ignore and notice everything and accept it as real. I think Pandora is going to be exactly what the park needs to "teach" the audience how to enjoy the park and what it is about, because it is more obviously faked.
TLDR, to enjoy DAK you have to appreciate how impressive the foliage use is.
For me, the most overrated park so far is Phantasialand.
I had heard a lot of praise about it so I decided to take my friend there for her birthday. I'm a huge fan of theme parks, so I was positively HYPED on our way. Well, and then I was severely disappointed.
The good:
The park is very cute, I can't say anything against that. The theming reminded me of Disneyland so that's always a plus.
Black Mamba was a lot of fun, I really loved this ride.
Chiapas was great, too! Probably my favourite water log ride so far.
I had some churros that were pretty delicious!
The bad:
The Feng Ju Palace was mildly entertaining, but the pre-show was terribly awkward.
Mystery Castle had a neat show but the ride itself was hilariously short. (And I thought Tower of Terror in DisneySea was bad...)
Colorado Adventure was so forgettable that I don't even remember my exact impression any more.
Temple of the Night Hawk reminded me of a less-interesting rip-off of Space Mountain (including the dated 70s "futuristic space ship" flair, even though they obviously tried to hide it behind cheap redecorations).
Winja’s Fear & Winja’s Force probably would have been fun when I was 10 years old. Geister Rikscha was again a worse clone of an already dated Disney ride.
I forgot the name of that "fantasy kid's area" near Night Hawk, but I vividly remember the whole area stinking of faeces. I don't know if that was caused by some kind of sewer malfunction but the smell didn't get better throughout the day and made us rush through the area really quickly before we got sick.
Raik and Taron were unfortunately scheduled to open a week or two after our visit. They looked promising though.
For me, Phantasialand had TWO rides that were worth the admission and everything else was "meh" at best. I'm not sure why it is such a popular park. Maybe it's better if you have little kids, since I'm all about the thrill rides. It's by no means the worst park I have been to (hello, Walt Disney Studios) but it didn't even come close to my expectations.
I had heard a lot of praise about it so I decided to take my friend there for her birthday. I'm a huge fan of theme parks, so I was positively HYPED on our way. Well, and then I was severely disappointed.
The good:
The park is very cute, I can't say anything against that. The theming reminded me of Disneyland so that's always a plus.
Black Mamba was a lot of fun, I really loved this ride.
Chiapas was great, too! Probably my favourite water log ride so far.
I had some churros that were pretty delicious!
The bad:
The Feng Ju Palace was mildly entertaining, but the pre-show was terribly awkward.
Mystery Castle had a neat show but the ride itself was hilariously short. (And I thought Tower of Terror in DisneySea was bad...)
Colorado Adventure was so forgettable that I don't even remember my exact impression any more.
Temple of the Night Hawk reminded me of a less-interesting rip-off of Space Mountain (including the dated 70s "futuristic space ship" flair, even though they obviously tried to hide it behind cheap redecorations).
Winja’s Fear & Winja’s Force probably would have been fun when I was 10 years old. Geister Rikscha was again a worse clone of an already dated Disney ride.
I forgot the name of that "fantasy kid's area" near Night Hawk, but I vividly remember the whole area stinking of faeces. I don't know if that was caused by some kind of sewer malfunction but the smell didn't get better throughout the day and made us rush through the area really quickly before we got sick.
Raik and Taron were unfortunately scheduled to open a week or two after our visit. They looked promising though.
For me, Phantasialand had TWO rides that were worth the admission and everything else was "meh" at best. I'm not sure why it is such a popular park. Maybe it's better if you have little kids, since I'm all about the thrill rides. It's by no means the worst park I have been to (hello, Walt Disney Studios) but it didn't even come close to my expectations.
DelPiero
Strata Poster
Did you do Talocan or River Quest? They are high thrill rides which would have suited your tastes.
There's also a few family attractions which are well worth doing, such as Hotel Tartuff and Maus au Chocolate, which you didn't mention either.
The Klugheim area is one of the best themed areas I can remember and obviously has Taron so it would have made the trip more enjoyable.
The issue with phantasialand is that, is that most of the reports are really incomplete and let you believe that the whole park os just like the newest areas.
The truth is that the park is a blend of some incredibly well made, very recent themeing areas, and some old, very outdated ones with the charm of an old park from another time (mostly the whole fantasy area and the chinese one).
I also absolutely agree whith you on the mine train, that thing is boring and its themeing is disapointing.
The truth is that the park is a blend of some incredibly well made, very recent themeing areas, and some old, very outdated ones with the charm of an old park from another time (mostly the whole fantasy area and the chinese one).
I also absolutely agree whith you on the mine train, that thing is boring and its themeing is disapointing.
Lofty
CF Legend
Hi Ven,
My replies are in red.
Kind Regards,
Lofty.
The bad:
The Feng Ju Palace was mildly entertaining, but the pre-show was terribly awkward.
Yeah, it's old and a bit half-arsed, I'll agree with that one.
Mystery Castle had a neat show but the ride itself was hilariously short. (And I thought Tower of Terror in DisneySea was bad...)
The cycle changes at around 2pm to become the longer cycle.
Colorado Adventure was so forgettable that I don't even remember my exact impression any more.
That's just not true, though. It's arguably reputed as one of the best mine train coasters on earth, and to be honest - it is.
Temple of the Night Hawk reminded me of a less-interesting rip-off of Space Mountain (including the dated 70s "futuristic space ship" flair, even though they obviously tried to hide it behind cheap redecorations).
It's not themed to a space ship, so...
Winja’s Fear & Winja’s Force probably would have been fun when I was 10 years old.
It's still the best Maurer Spinner, even after it's age.
Geister Rikscha was again a worse clone of an already dated Disney ride.
Yeah, that ride is ****.
I forgot the name of that "fantasy kid's area" near Night Hawk, but I vividly remember the whole area stinking of faeces. I don't know if that was caused by some kind of sewer malfunction but the smell didn't get better throughout the day and made us rush through the area really quickly before we got sick.
This sounds like an anomaly to be fair, but yeah, smelling **** ain't the best.
Raik and Taron were unfortunately scheduled to open a week or two after our visit. They looked promising though.
Lol.
For me, Phantasialand had TWO rides that were worth the admission and everything else was "meh" at best. I'm not sure why it is such a popular park. Maybe it's better if you have little kids, since I'm all about the thrill rides. It's by no means the worst park I have been to (hello, Walt Disney Studios) but it didn't even come close to my expectations.
I've never took kids there, and you clearly went at a time where one of Europe's best coasters (if not, THE best) wasn't even open - Black Mamba is great, River Quest is brilliant, Taron is superb, Talocan is excellent, Mystery Castle is really fun, Winja's is great, Maus au Chocolat is one of the best shooting dark rides around and the overall park is really pretty.
I think you've just got an incredibly jaded view of the park as you expected it to be the best thing since sliced bread at a time that in reality, it wasn't
My replies are in red.
Kind Regards,
Lofty.
The bad:
The Feng Ju Palace was mildly entertaining, but the pre-show was terribly awkward.
Yeah, it's old and a bit half-arsed, I'll agree with that one.
Mystery Castle had a neat show but the ride itself was hilariously short. (And I thought Tower of Terror in DisneySea was bad...)
The cycle changes at around 2pm to become the longer cycle.
Colorado Adventure was so forgettable that I don't even remember my exact impression any more.
That's just not true, though. It's arguably reputed as one of the best mine train coasters on earth, and to be honest - it is.
Temple of the Night Hawk reminded me of a less-interesting rip-off of Space Mountain (including the dated 70s "futuristic space ship" flair, even though they obviously tried to hide it behind cheap redecorations).
It's not themed to a space ship, so...
Winja’s Fear & Winja’s Force probably would have been fun when I was 10 years old.
It's still the best Maurer Spinner, even after it's age.
Geister Rikscha was again a worse clone of an already dated Disney ride.
Yeah, that ride is ****.
I forgot the name of that "fantasy kid's area" near Night Hawk, but I vividly remember the whole area stinking of faeces. I don't know if that was caused by some kind of sewer malfunction but the smell didn't get better throughout the day and made us rush through the area really quickly before we got sick.
This sounds like an anomaly to be fair, but yeah, smelling **** ain't the best.
Raik and Taron were unfortunately scheduled to open a week or two after our visit. They looked promising though.
Lol.
For me, Phantasialand had TWO rides that were worth the admission and everything else was "meh" at best. I'm not sure why it is such a popular park. Maybe it's better if you have little kids, since I'm all about the thrill rides. It's by no means the worst park I have been to (hello, Walt Disney Studios) but it didn't even come close to my expectations.
I've never took kids there, and you clearly went at a time where one of Europe's best coasters (if not, THE best) wasn't even open - Black Mamba is great, River Quest is brilliant, Taron is superb, Talocan is excellent, Mystery Castle is really fun, Winja's is great, Maus au Chocolat is one of the best shooting dark rides around and the overall park is really pretty.
I think you've just got an incredibly jaded view of the park as you expected it to be the best thing since sliced bread at a time that in reality, it wasn't
Talocan was closed for refurbishments the day we went and I don't really find those rides exciting anyway. I wouldn't have queued for it if it had been open, so it wasn't a loss.
I actually had to google River Quest because the name doesn't ring a bell. I didn't even see that ride in the park. O: Maybe it was closed as well, otherwise I can't explain how I could have missed it.
I remember going into Hotel Tartuff (probably great for kids, I thought it was boring) and riding Maus au Chocolat. Maus au Chocolat was actually fun and pretty cute, you're right. I simply forgot about it because it was another "oh, I've done this a dozen times at Disney" ride. (Oops, my bad) But if I judge it all by itself, it was actually a good ride.
Yes, I was sad that Klugheim wasn't open yet. We had no chance to delay our visit, though. But I will definitely check it out some time when I go back. I need to get back on Black Mamba and Chiapas some day.
Colorado Adventure was so forgettable that I don't even remember my exact impression any more.
That's just not true, though. It's arguably reputed as one of the best mine train coasters on earth, and to be honest - it is.
I found it absolutely forgettable (literally). I don't remember a single outstanding track or theme design.
I'm not saying it's a bad ride. It's just... forgettable.
Temple of the Night Hawk reminded me of a less-interesting rip-off of Space Mountain (including the dated 70s "futuristic space ship" flair, even though they obviously tried to hide it behind cheap redecorations).
It's not themed to a space ship, so...
No, but it used to be space themed. And it's painfully obvious.
I didn't even know it used to be. I only found out when I saw the launch bay and thought "uhmmmm something is not right... it looks like this was supposed to be a space ship and they just threw "jungle" curtains on top" and then looked it up online later.
I've never took kids there, and you clearly went at a time where one of Europe's best coasters (if not, THE best) wasn't even open - Black Mamba is great, River Quest is brilliant, Taron is superb, Talocan is excellent, Mystery Castle is really fun, Winja's is great, Maus au Chocolat is one of the best shooting dark rides around and the overall park is really pretty.
I think you've just got an incredibly jaded view of the park as you expected it to be the best thing since sliced bread at a time that in reality, it wasn't
Or maybe, my personal taste just differs from yours.
It's just not nearly as fun as other parks I've been to that receive less praise.
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DelPiero
Strata Poster
Seems like you visited on a bad day. Go back when everything is scheduled to be open, ride everything and then let us know how your day was. Maybe go back with a group of friends, things like Tartuff stand out more when everyone is messing about together.
PS - Ride Colorado in the back row.
I'll go back some day, but it's not a top priority as I won't be spending much time in Europe over the next few years.
I personally feel like Phantasialand is RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of the two extremes I like in theme parks:
1. Thrill rides that don't bother with stroytelling/theming (e.g. Fuji-Q, Heidepark, both ugly messes but great if you only want to run from one coaster to the next)
2. Perfectly themed storytelling parks that don't bother with thrills (e.g. anything Disney)
Phantasialand has some of the beautiful theming of Disney parks and some of the thrills of Fuji-Q, but it feels like a compromise. For a lot of people that's obviously a great way to have "something for everyone" in a single day, but I'd rather have one or the other.
Maybe this park falls more under the category of "biggest personal disappointment" than "most overrated" park. lol I blame the people who insisted that this was the BEST park in Germany and set unrealistic expectations.
But still, isn't it the best park in Germany ? (I really can't say, I've just been to 3 German parks and Phantasialand top the other two by a fair margin, then again, I rode Taron 23 times in two days and wouldn't imagine the park without). Colossos is down and unlikely to rise up ever agian, EP is good but not that good. HoPa is really small and the food and theming are nowhere near Phanta's standards (even if the coaster line-up packs a punch and the woods are great). Hansa and Tripsdrill both looks great but still not in the same league.
Nah... For me personally, Heidepark and Europa Park are MILES ahead in terms of fun.
Heidepark may be ugly as hell since the management change (it used to really cute like a decade ago) but I've been there 25 times and you always had to drag me out at closing time. While in Phantasialand, I was getting bored at 3 pm on my first visit.
But of course it all comes down to personal taste and a couple of users whose favourite park is Phantasialand will be confused how I DON'T see the appeal.
It obviously makes little sense to someone who's a fan, just like it makes little sense to me that some people actually mentioned Tokyo Disney in here.
ukthemeparkfan
Roller Poster
somewhere like chessinton since merlin took over the place has lost the magic it used to have
CCF
Roller Poster
I have never agreed more with a post. I was just not crazy for this park at all.For me, the most overrated park so far is Phantasialand.
I had heard a lot of praise about it so I decided to take my friend there for her birthday. I'm a huge fan of theme parks, so I was positively HYPED on our way. Well, and then I was severely disappointed.
The good:
The park is very cute, I can't say anything against that. The theming reminded me of Disneyland so that's always a plus.
Black Mamba was a lot of fun, I really loved this ride.
Chiapas was great, too! Probably my favourite water log ride so far.
I had some churros that were pretty delicious!
The bad:
The Feng Ju Palace was mildly entertaining, but the pre-show was terribly awkward.
Mystery Castle had a neat show but the ride itself was hilariously short. (And I thought Tower of Terror in DisneySea was bad...)
Colorado Adventure was so forgettable that I don't even remember my exact impression any more.
Temple of the Night Hawk reminded me of a less-interesting rip-off of Space Mountain (including the dated 70s "futuristic space ship" flair, even though they obviously tried to hide it behind cheap redecorations).
Winja’s Fear & Winja’s Force probably would have been fun when I was 10 years old. Geister Rikscha was again a worse clone of an already dated Disney ride.
I forgot the name of that "fantasy kid's area" near Night Hawk, but I vividly remember the whole area stinking of faeces. I don't know if that was caused by some kind of sewer malfunction but the smell didn't get better throughout the day and made us rush through the area really quickly before we got sick.
Raik and Taron were unfortunately scheduled to open a week or two after our visit. They looked promising though.
For me, Phantasialand had TWO rides that were worth the admission and everything else was "meh" at best. I'm not sure why it is such a popular park. Maybe it's better if you have little kids, since I'm all about the thrill rides. It's by no means the worst park I have been to (hello, Walt Disney Studios) but it didn't even come close to my expectations.
Theme Park Information
Roller Poster
Alton Towers is over hyped. The rollercoasters lineup is not as good as people think it is. Still good, but not great.
MestnyiGeroi
Giga Poster
The park began as a swimming hole in the 1800s. The earliest incarnation of the pool dates to 1925.
Ah, what you think needs modernizing ...
Your reaction to Knoebels in general reminds me of that scene from the movie The Jerk:
Waiter: Would monsieur care for another bottle of Chateau Latour?
Nathan: Ah yes, but no more 1966. Let’s splurge! Bring us some fresh wine!
iac17
Mega Poster
Same for Gardaland here in italy