The Kentucky Kingdom over holiday world bit hurt me a little lol. I went to both parks for the first time in 2021 and loved them both but definitely preferred holiday world, that might be partially because the voyage is my number 1 coaster but the entire park atmosphere is great.
Dude your videos unintentionally tug on my heart strings. I grew up a Chicagoan and spent my summers in Monticello IN and went to Indiana Beach every summer. Thanks for the shout out to the park and for your donation to keep it open with your cool brick there. Awesome stuff
@@MattMcIrvin Before my time, sadly. Parents used to say it was way better than what we have now. Always wished I could've gone and ridden the original Mr. Twister. I got to ride Twister at Knoebel's at least.
You need another trip to Silverwood and I think it will crack your top 30 now. The new RMC track on Tremors made it a complete airtime monster, and they've added more sections of it this year. The first half of Timber Terror was filled with airtime before, but they added RMC track to the turnaround, so my bet is that airtime is going to be sustained through the ending too. Aftershock is wonderful as always and Stunt Pilot is phenomenal as expected. It's an oasis of airtime up here.
@@doorknob60 Got the chance to head down to Lagoon this past summer. Lagoon was great, but I agree, since they added Stunt Pilot - Silverwood has the edge.
@@AirtimeThrills It's true, but ride ops don't staple you, bro... I always get a good amount of space and so it hasn't made much of a difference from the buzz bars.
1) Busch Gardens Tampa 2) Busch Gardens Williamsburg 3) Six Flags Great America 4) Hersheypark 5) Seaworld Orlando I’m a sucker for atmosphere and a Good Lineup
Out of the 7 (still operating) parks I’ve been to, my favorite has to be Busch Gardens Williamsburg. No other park really comes close. It’s been almost 8 years since my only visit, so it’s about time I get back to it.
I loved BGW back in the 70s-80s-90s (it was my home park in college) and it was really where I learned to like coasters, but it's been so long since I've been there that the ride collection is almost completely different now, and I wouldn't feel qualified to rate it.
Nice list so far! I'll admit it's weird to hear you had bad experiences with staff members at Dollywood, since Herschend really prioritizes customer service.
@@AirtimeThrills SDC is my home park (and my employer from 2015 to 2020) and definitely sometimes people have rough days and I imagine Dollywood being similar considering there sisters. I always tried to cheer people up before our shifts but theme parks are not easy to work at. I jokingly still give the safety information for the flat rides during slow day in my office.
Universal at 20 seems about right. Islands of adventure completely overshadows it, but Universal has enough to offer to justify a 2 park-1 day pass. Escape from Gringotts is great, Rip ride rock-it is decent, but the Mummy is completely underrated and one of my favorite ride experiences in Florida
First of all love your videos. I'm relatively new to being an enthusiast so it's nice to hear opinions on the parks I plan to visit for the first time. I'm an operator at dollywood and what happened on your 2018 trip is very odd(except for lightning rod). I hope your trip this year is much better
You work at my # 1 overall park! For me, only Hersheypark is even in shouting distance of Dollywood. But I'm also someone who enjoys great entertainment options, in addition to a great ride lineup. I feel that only Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, & Fiesta Texas have combined a great ride lineup with great entertainment, but I think Dollywood does it best.
The big list! Out of 26 parks visited, my top 3 are Disneyland Paris, Universal Islands of Adventure, and King's Island. Honorable mention to Six Flags Great Adventure, my longtime home park.
@@russ4moose I live an hour and 45 mins from CP, but I would rather drive almost 4 hours to get to KI instead of CP. Some of the rides may be better at CP, and that's not an argument (2 of my all time favorite rides are steel vengence and maverick) but the park experience is 10X better at KI. We have 4 kids, and KI has so much more for them to do. KI just has a more family run park feeling to it, where CP is a more corporate feel to it. That's the only way I can explain it. I haven't been to a whole lot of parks, but the only park experience I've had better than KI has been Holiday World. Now, I'm going to Knobels this weekend, and Indiana Beach in June (I think) with the coaster club we belong to, so that may change, but until then, that's my story.
That roller coaster at Indiana Beach at 2:06 looks exactly like the old Jet Star that was at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for many years. Is it the same model of ride?
EPCOT is so good that it cracks my top five and doesn’t even have an operating roller coaster… yet. We’ll see what Guardians does as soon as I win the lottery again and can afford to go back.
I remember Epcot being my favorite park at Walt Disney World every time I went there, but I haven't been there in years...I wanna say nearly two decades now. I wonder how it stacks up now; I've heard it's not what it was.
Epcot has a lot of cool theming in the back half, but when I was there, the front "Future World" section had a sad dead-mall atmosphere to it, and COVID seems to have delayed and downscaled their plans to fix that. But I liked the place, anyway. It's certainly the Disney park that caters the most to adult visitors, if mostly by being the Drunkest Place On Property. At the time, Hollywood Studios was mid-makeover and only about 5 rides were even open, so my judgment of it is probably biased. My favorite parks were actually Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom (and the Pandora area wasn't even open yet).
1. Islands of Adventure 2. Hersheypark ( very very under-rated) 3. Busch Gardens Williamsburg 4. Hollywood Studios 5. Kenobles Grove Honorable Mention - Kings Dominion
Alton Towers, Walibi Belgium, Heide Park, Thorpe Park, Linnanmäki, Liseberg, Mirabilandia, PortAventura World, and even Energylandia. That's a lot of great parks in Europe!
Knoebels coaster line up isn’t the strongest, but the park itself is just so charming. I love Phoenix, and the haunted mansion and black diamond are classic gems. However, my second favorite ride at Knoebels is definitely the Flyers! They are the most insane crazy Flyers out there. I think it’s because they’re so light, they fly so high up in the air.
Number seventeen is my new number one after Sunday the 17th, I had the greatest experience of my life there, and riding intimidator was the greatest 45 seconds of my life lmao. I love intimidator so much now lol. New number 1!!
I’m glad to see two of my home parks on the list (Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World). Dollywood, SF over Georgia and SeaWorld Orlando are solid. Nice review!
Thanks for the great ranking. We hit Silver Doller City and Dollywood both between Christmas and New Years and we would rate Dollywood over Silver Dollar. But Christmas at SDC is a mess. World class lights but no walkways so Dollywood won for us.
I went to Dollywood last April. Had a great time. My biggest gripe was the staff assigning which row you get to sit in on Lightning Rod. I wanted to get a front row ride. Did manage to get a back row ride, and 4 rides overall. More than that on Wild Eagle. Mystery Mine and Firechaser express were one and done for me. Thunderhead was rough after 2 back to back rides, and I would pass on it going forward.
Ugh 2 of my Top 4 appear on your 16-30. I have Dollywood at #2 and Holiday World at #4 (And I really only care for the dry park). I have had the best luck with Dollywood. Two 2 day visits, and I've have 68 rides on Lightning Rod. My experience has always been top notch. Holiday World really impressed me in 2018. Going back this year. It will be interesting to see if it stays that high. I have Knoebels in my Top 20. I really didn't get enough time at that park, plus I visited on the first day of their season last year so they were still getting stuff together. I would not have SF Over Texas or SF Discovery Kingdom in my Top 30. Over Texas was just run poorly during a 2 days visit. During their Spring Break, and they tried to get away running one train on a lot of coasters including New Texas Giant. I've visited Discovery Kingdom and every time the operations have been poor and I find myself getting bored late in the day and I end up closing out my day at CGA. Good list and fun topic to discuss.
OT usually has been good for me ops wise, i just normally tend to go on busy days. DK i can totally see the problems with ops. If i didnt have such an awesome 2019 experience it wouldnt have made the list
Glad to see my home park CGA make your list. It’s a park with a great atmosphere and pretty stacked coaster lineup. I do agree that the ops have been much slower than normal lately, that’s mainly due to covid protocols. It’s loosening up again thankfully
I'm happy you DO like Six Flags Over Texas. My home park and while I am hoping for something more for it, I'm still happy that I have it at all. I will ALWAYS ride Titan. She's my childhood coaster alongside Steel Eel.
7:25 *"But I think this park is* *better than Holiday World."* *"OOOOOOOOOOOH-"* I just thought that moment was just kinda funny, and it really caught me off guard. XD
You did Knoebels dirty lol. Impulse is definitely underrated and Twister is well loved too. Plus, the atmosphere is top notch and the food selection is better than most parks.
Even though I live in North Carolina,I have always treated Dollywood as my home park because I have been there a lot,and since I haven’t been to many other parks I love it,glad to see it here
Over Texas is my home park, with me being about an hour and a half from it, but in the past year an a half, Over Texas has skyrocketed in its overall feel, the park has its own charm that's far more prevalent than it used to, and even though Ron left, Over Texas is still getting better.
People sleep on SeaWorld Orlando! It’s really high on my personal list and it’s because of the insane atmosphere, the nostalgia, and this unexplained feeling it gives me each visit
It’s a great park but it’s hurt by the competition in Florida. For thrills BGT and Islands has better rides and for families Disney has a near monopoly. Still rather go to Seaworld than Disney though absolutely
For what you said in the outro, some coasters in the theme parks of China have different age restrictions, like the major rides have upper age restrictions ranging from 45 to 65 in the multiples of 5. Japan and South Korea have those same age restrictions and Lagoon has it too.
My favorite parks have manageable crowds on non weekends, solid food and beer options, and atleast 10 things I'll never get bored of. Havent found a park like that yet.
I LOVE your channel and that I don't have to put any of your videos on 1.5 speed. They are just naturally great BUT for you to DARE put SIX FLAGS DISCOVERY KINGDOM ABOVE DISNEYLAND KILLED ME INSIDE hahahaha
i am surprised to see discovery kingdom over great America, Gold striker is running better than ever with the retrack plus i think great america has a better park atmosphere overall
I SO agree with Dollywood's ranking. I'm so annoyed about Lightning Rod because it was one of the best (if not the best) coasters in the world. Then they redid the track and I think the launch, now it doesn't take you up nearly as fast. Also, it closes way too often for fixing. I just wish it didn't have any problems...
I think Six Flags New England should get a clone of Sky Rocket at Kennywood for their launch coaster. Small, compact, cheap, and a G P pleaser, sounds like a Six Flags coaster to me!
@@AirtimeThrills As a launch coaster, and considering it is Six Flags, they could paint it red and theme it to Flash, or go yellow and theme it it Zoom. I Hope they go in a different direction though. Maybe call it White Squall, which is like a fast moving winter Thunderstorm in New England. Goes with wicked cyclone...
I haven't visited even a fraction of the parks you have but for what I have visited the list would probably go something like this. 1. Universal Island's of Adventure It has the best combination of top flight coasters AND theming I've ever seen in an amusement park. There may be only 3 coasters here but any one of them would be a first or second best coaster in any park I've been to. 2. Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It has the same great combination of theming and great coasters but it is slightly behind Universal IOA to me. 3. Universal Studios Florida. This park is hurt by it's over reliance on dark rides and screens but that being said The Mummy is the best dark coaster ever made and Gringots is solid as well. Wish that Rip Ride wasn't so janky though. 4. Busch Gardens Tampa. BGW gets the edge because it has better theming and better food to me but BGT is excellent as well. And the the zoo portion of the park far outstrips many dedicated zoos around the country. 5. Sea World Orlando. I can't believe you didn't mention Atlantis when you spoke about Sea World. Like BGT the zoo/aquarium portion of the park is really well done. 7. Disney World, The Magic Kingdom. This is only for the Magic Kingdom as Epcot is more like going to a Worlds Fair than an amusement park and I have not been to the other parks in the resort. I'm sure it's shocking to see Disney so low but to me the park is way too expensive, way too crowded and way too overhyped. There are no great coasters here and the flat and dark rides while well executed are definitely geared towards families or children. 8. Six Flags over Georgia. This park has come a very long way since I first went in the early 90s and the ride lineup has improved substantially. Too bad the food is so god awful and the park always looks so seedy and dirty. The joy of living in Atlanta or close enough to drive to this park and not have to spend the night to get back home is that you can pick a weekday get some kind of coupon or huge discount and run in and hit the big coasters two or three times and go back home after half a day's time in the park. 9. Kings Dominion. I've always felt like this park just lacked identity. It's such a big park but the coaster collection is just so average to me. Year after year when I visit family in Eastern North Carolina I always ask myself the question why drive the extra distance past BGW to get to a park that's not even close to being as good as Busch Gardens is. Hoping to make it to Fiesta Texas and Six Flags over Texas this year so the bottom of this list could see some rearranging. I doubt that either of those two parks unseats the Universal and Busch Gardens parks on the top of my list though. And where might you ask would I go if given the chance to cross some parks off of my Bucket List? 1. Cedar Point. Of course the granddaddy of all roller coaster parks. Nothing more need be added here. 2. Carowinds. Shocking that I grew up in North Carolina and lived in Atlanta for almost 2 decades but I lived on the eastern end of NC and BGW/KD were both closer to me. Then when I lived in Atlanta I never felt like the extra drive was worth it to go to Carowinds. 3. Dollywood. When I lived in Atlanta this park was a lot smaller than it is now. I'd really love the chance to try it out now that it has grown so much. 4. Kings Island. I've always suspected this is the better of the two Kings parks between it and KD. 5. Disney Hollywood Studios. If I were going to go back to Disney in Orlando this is the park I'd be most interested in going to. 6. Knott's Berry Farms. If I ever do a west coast trip this park is on my short list of places I'd want to go. 7. Six Flags Magic Mountain. Same as Knott's above. 8. Six Flags Great America. This appears to be one of the very best Six Flags parks and I'd like to see if it lives up to the hype. 9. Silver Dollar City. The crown jewel of Herschend and a park I'd really like to try. 10. Kennywood. Primarily because I've ALWAYS wanted to ride the Phantom's Revenge. The bucket list doesn't include parks not open yet. So when Epic Universe opens up it goes to the top of that list.
When you go to SeaWorld to ride Ice Breaker, request back row or close to it. You'll enjoy it a lot more than the front half of the train. Surprised to see Disneyland that far down on the list, but it's a great list so far
Knoebels has only a little bit in the way of coasters relative to parks with 10-15 big coasters, but it has so much more! A ridiculous number of flat rides, most of which are really good and some of which are really rare, and apparently some of the world's best theme park food, all combined with the atmosphere of a free admission park and the Pennsylvania valley setting. I didn't even know the place existed until I heard about Phoenix but from what I've seen it's a bucket-list park and should really be able to beat out *somewhere* in a top 30 that only has North American parks.
Compared to other 'coaster channels' on YT (I keep close tabs on "Canobie Coaster" and "Coaster College" in particular), this one really emphasizes the coasters over all else; in that regard, I can see why Knoebels didn't crack the Top 30 here.
I love that you like Rip ride rocket there is really no reason to hate on it and the love for Lagoon is also appreciated as someone who use to live in Utah. It's a great park!
I.M.O I love coasters but theming is the top for me. I absolutely love how Disneyland has A-list attractions. Insane attention to detail, and the best entertainment in the industry. It's just unmatched
Tokyo DisneySea enters the chat: Am I a joke to you? Joking aside, if you love theming, definitely check out Tokyo DisneySea because the detail in that park is insane. It’s often known as the best Disney park in existence.
I gotta say those are great theme parks that you ranked are super awesome! 👍 My favorite theme parks that I visited there is Hersheyark, Six Flags Great Adventure, Dorney Park, Sesame Place, and Adventureland Long Island! Hopefully we will stay tuned for part 2!
Hershey - Great Adventure - Disney World all parks - Six Flags America - Dorney Park for Halloween has decent haunts and very short lines if any for the coasters
Been to about 70 parks now: Current top 10: Silver Dollar City Dollywood Knoebles Knotts Kings Island Busch Gardens VA Kennywood Fiesta Texas Lagoon Hershey Honorable mentions to Waldameer & SF Saint Louis I’m big on the overall experience. Food, theming, atmosphere, employees, immersion, flat ride collection, etc. I also love parks w/o a bad coaster. I love some elite coasters but I need to enjoy a full day, not just going back and forth on a few different coasters.
@@j.johnson7891 it probably is. It was around 8-10 in the past. It’s probably the park I’ve visited the most outside of my two home parks and I’ve seen it change a lot from 2011 to now. Personally, I think their coaster lineup is extremely overrated. None of them are in my top 10 steel or wood (MF got bounced out last year). The whole lineup to me is just eh to me. A few very good coasters and a lot of average ones. I’m curious to see it for 4 days during Coaster Con this year. Maybe that will change my feelings and give me a more complete experience.
@@ATNProductions82 gotcha. MF, Steel Vengeance, Maverick, and Top Thrill are tough to beat imo as a top 4. Maverick definitely runs slower on certain days and especially when it rains. Same for MF - total different coaster when it's running at it's best. Raptor, Valravyn, and even Rougarou have some magic seats that offer great rides
@@j.johnson7891 agree. CP doesn't have 1 dark ride and has just 1 water ride that soaks you. I can't ride the crazy stuff anymore, and there just isn't that much for me there. My teen wants to go back. Decided to stay at the breakers so I can hang at the hotel/beach while she rides lol
if you are looking for content ideas, it would be cool to see a "how does this park compare to others" series, for people who have only been to their home park, or for those looking to travel to one.
Mostly shocked to see Knobels left out and Disneyland that low. It's a real testament to just how good Dollywood is that it makes#16 on your list with that many knocks against it. Pleasantly surprised to see Indiana Beach on here at all. My family went there pretty much annually between 2003 and 2008 and never failed to have a brilliant time of it. I've been back a couple times since and one was great, the other just okay. Still has a special place in my heart for how bizarre it is that it exists at all. And as I get older I appreciate the small parks and their smaller crowds more and more. Places Kings Island, Cedar Point, and SFGAmer rule the midwest - but they're exhausting to really maximize.
I don't even know how I'd rate the parks I've been to because some of the major ones were so long ago that the ride collection is almost completely different now. And with many I've been to more recently, the demands of escorting a child and/or hanging with a non-thrill-seeker family meant that I only experienced a fraction of what they had to offer. Judging from the total package (not just the coasters), I'd say Disney's Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, Universal's IoA and Studios, and Hersheypark are all way up there. Hersheypark may be the best all-around coaster park I've been to, and it's been a favorite of mine ever since I was a little kid. I live in Massachusetts now and the one big chain park around here is Six Flags New England, a merely OK park with a stunning one-two punch of elite coasters. But that's also given me a new appreciation for the smaller local parks that still exist in these parts, like Canobie Lake Park, Lake Compounce and Story Land. Compounce has a world-class elite coaster. They all have some solid rides and considerable charm. Canobie is my home park and between one thing and another, I haven't been back since the start of the pandemic. I plan to rectify that soon.
While I don't agree with dollywood at 16, I hope you get a good ride on dragonflier! I went for my first time on opening day this year and had a blast!!!
IMO the park is pretty overrated. The atmosphere is great and the forests are beautiful, but IMO the coaster collection isn't amazing. LRod is always down so it doesn't even seem fair to count it. And Wild Eagle and Tennessee Tornado are both very short and kind kind of bland. Mystery Mine is very underrated though in my opinion. That was my favorite ride there
Disneyland is still my favorite park but I tend to prefer dark rides over coasters. I don't think anyone comes to Disneyland thinking it's a thrill ride park so it's really a matter of personal preference. I can easily see why people who prefer coasters over dark rides would take Cedar Point, Kings Island, Magic Mountain or any other major amusement park over Disneyland. And while I love those parks and love coasters I still prefer themed experiences and dark rides. Cedar Point does crack my top 10 and it's the only strict amusement park that does, so I give it a lot of credit. But I still prefer Disney, Herschend, Universal and SeaWorld/Busch Gardens parks.
I 100% agree. I absolutely love Cedar point as it’s my home park, and Kings Island is for sure my favorite amusement park but as far as parks as a whole go, disneyland is absolutely by number one!
I'll provide my ranking and reasons on the second video as I've only been to about 15 parks lol Good video though. I really want to visit Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World with King's Island next week, but we'll likely only go to KI due to budget constraints and rising prices (thanks Biden)
I love both dark rides and roller coasters. Great order you put the parks into. Ill be getting a pc soon so im hoping once i get it i would like to do reviews and ranking parks just like you and everyone else.
I’ve only been to 7 total parks My Top 5 would be: 1: SFGAdv: El Toro, Kingda Ka, Nitro, Medusa, Green Lantern, Superman Ultimate Flight, Joker. So much variety in the line up. I know this park gets crapped on for the policies but for me, this park has one of the greatest coaster line ups in the country (and possibly of ANY park). That alone makes it worth it. Plus I’ve heard it had been cleaned up since before. 2: Kings Dominion (the one two punch is amazing, but I feel it needs one more top tier coaster. I hope whatever replaces Volcano will be amazing. I really want them to go with a Launched Wing or an Intamin Multi Launch. Great atmosphere, amazing setting, and it’s one of my home parks. I305 is my favorite coaster of all time, Twisted Timbers is basically a compact Steel Vengeance (never rode Steel Vengeance, but I will this summer), Dominator is one of my favorite B&M loopers, Grizzly and Racer 75 are great woodies, Anaconda has a great first half (but screw the 2nd half lol), and Flight of Fear is always such a fun time. Great atmosphere and setting. 3: BGW/BGT: Went to Williamsburg in 2012 and Tampa in 2015. My favorite inverts are here and they both have amazing scenery, and food. Plus the flat rides are great. The problem was they were both missing a compliment to their 1 stand out ride until recently (Apollo’s Chariot now has Pantheon with it, and Iron Gwazi can stand with Cheetah Hunt) When I go back to these parks, it will probably shoot up to my number 1. 4: Hersheypark. I got to go for the first time last year. My only problem was Skyrush was closed (that was my main reason for going to be honest). But the line up is excellent. Storm Runner is my favorite Intamin Accelerator and has my favorite inversion of all time, Great Bear is the most underrated B&M in my opinion, Fahrenheit has another one of my favorite inversions with the Norwegian loop, Comet is underrated, Candymonium was full of spectacular ejector airtime throughout, though it was over too quick. It felt like it was missing a couple extra elements, Sidewinder is one of the better boomerangs, Lightning Racer was a nice ride, and Wildcat just hurt lol. When I get to ride Skyrush, this may shoot to number 2. Also, flat rides are kinda lacking at least for me. 5: Carowinds: The park is great but it’s too top heavy. I went for the first time in 2016 because of Fury 325 (SO WORTH THE TRIP AND IS MY 2nd FAVORITE COASTER). However, after Fury, Intimidator, and Afterburn, everything kinda fell off in the coaster quality (and this was before Copperhead Strike was added). They need to scrap Vortex and get a new B&M wing, Scrap Nighthawk for a B&M flyer, and RMC Hurler (or replace it with a GCI woodie).
I'm with you on the Knoebels view. I like it, but I don't see how it's a top tier park, especially with the long lines and huge crowds it draws. About Holiday World's waterpark, I'm a big waterpark fan, but theirs is not one of my favorites. Their top 2 water coasters are in my top 3 overall, but beyond that, it's all tame family slides, which I don't care for. Most of the slide types that I like, Holiday World has no interest in including, which makes it actually in the lower half of my waterparks list. Plus, it's one of the busiest waterparks I've ever seen. In terms of the entire park, I agree with your placement & thoughts on it. And I am still totally on board with you: Kentucky Kingdom > Holiday World! When you go back to Dollywood, I'm not sure how you feel about entertainment options, but Dollywood is one of the best parks, if not the best, for that. That's what really brings the crowds to this park. So anyone who doesn't care for entertainment might not fully get it with this park.
I think I would only have a top 7 because I've only been 7 parks. Glad to see Lagoon getting some love. Wow a top-20 park in little ol Utah. They either must be that good or they must be paying you well
I’ve been to every park in Florida aside from Legoland and the new Peppa pig park. I would rank them 1. Islands of Adventure 2. Animal Kingdom 3. Epcot 4. Universal Studios Florida 5. Magic Kingdom 6. Busch Gardens Tampa 7. Hollywood Studios 8. SeaWorld Orlando 9. FunSpot America
I need to visit so many of these! Six Flags Over GA has NEVER given me a good experience. I would love to see your system on how you ranked these! Is it a numeric system or just what you feel when you think about them?
Dollywood has the best train ride on the planet. Their locomotives are all original historic locomotives saved from the now-defunct White Pass & Yukon Railroad. It’s a real tourist railroad!
Pretty decent spot for Canada's Wonderland. Come back and give it another chance. Some of those crappy ones where built during the Paramount time. Ugh! Good list.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I thought I was some sort of freak for not finding Knoebels amazing. It was fun but not even remotely close to an elite park. Also, I thought I was the only one who prefers KK over Holiday World. I've been to Dollywood more than any other park and believe you've just had a really bad run of bad luck. If you catch it at it's best it will jump up your rankings. We definitely disagree on Universal Studios and especially on the RRR. And I have SWO much, much higher than you but I enjoy the animals a lot more than most people.
I can tell you & I have a lot of the same interests & opinions. I'm with you & Chris in regards to Knoebels being overrated & Kentucky Kingdom > Holiday World. I have Dollywood as my # 1 park, and SeaWorld Orlando is ranked quite high.
@@OklahomaCoasterFan Knoebels definitely has charm, what other park let's everyone bring their dog, but I just can't imagine how people rank it top 5 or top 10. SeaWorld has something special that is hard to describe. I just feel at home when I'm there.
After riding Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, I was shocked at how low most enthusiasts seem to have it. I think it's so fun. I rode it and Velocicoaster on the same day, and I have Velocicoaster ranked higher. I think more rides should use those Mauer lap bar things.
Its very low in the forces department. It just doesnt do anything for me. But Ive also heard that it depends on the day (it was raining when I rode it)
@@ballzz2thewall i went on a nice day, and honestly I thought it was forceful. Airtime off several of the drops and the non-inverting loop. Then, there were strong positives especially on that upward helix near the end of the ride.
Glad to see SFDK get a little love. Even though I do personally prefer CGA, SFDK is nice to have as a home park. And the lineup of coasters doesn’t get enough credit imo.
My favorite amusement park is Busch Gardens Tampa followed by Busch Gardens Williamsburg, SeaWorld Orlando, Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Universal's Islands of Adventure, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Cedar Point, Six Flags Great America, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, SeaWorld San Diego, Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags New England, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Kennywood, EPCOT, Universal Studios Florida, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags America, Lake Compounce, Mt. Olympus, Valleyfair, Nickelodeon Universe inside Mall of America, Adventureland Iowa, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Circus Circus Adventuredome, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Legoland California, Arnold's Park and Wild Waves.
The Kentucky Kingdom over holiday world bit hurt me a little lol. I went to both parks for the first time in 2021 and loved them both but definitely preferred holiday world, that might be partially because the voyage is my number 1 coaster but the entire park atmosphere is great.
Dude your videos unintentionally tug on my heart strings. I grew up a Chicagoan and spent my summers in Monticello IN and went to Indiana Beach every summer. Thanks for the shout out to the park and for your donation to keep it open with your cool brick there. Awesome stuff
Can't wait to see Elitch Gardens at #1!
tbf I had a lot of fun at the *original* Elitch Gardens many many years ago, but that park is dead and gone...
@@MattMcIrvin Before my time, sadly. Parents used to say it was way better than what we have now. Always wished I could've gone and ridden the original Mr. Twister. I got to ride Twister at Knoebel's at least.
You need another trip to Silverwood and I think it will crack your top 30 now. The new RMC track on Tremors made it a complete airtime monster, and they've added more sections of it this year. The first half of Timber Terror was filled with airtime before, but they added RMC track to the turnaround, so my bet is that airtime is going to be sustained through the ending too. Aftershock is wonderful as always and Stunt Pilot is phenomenal as expected. It's an oasis of airtime up here.
It's just too bad they put the ratcheting lapbars on Timber Terror recently
@@doorknob60 Got the chance to head down to Lagoon this past summer. Lagoon was great, but I agree, since they added Stunt Pilot - Silverwood has the edge.
@@AirtimeThrills It's true, but ride ops don't staple you, bro... I always get a good amount of space and so it hasn't made much of a difference from the buzz bars.
1) Busch Gardens Tampa
2) Busch Gardens Williamsburg
3) Six Flags Great America
4) Hersheypark
5) Seaworld Orlando
I’m a sucker for atmosphere and a Good Lineup
Out of the 7 (still operating) parks I’ve been to, my favorite has to be Busch Gardens Williamsburg. No other park really comes close.
It’s been almost 8 years since my only visit, so it’s about time I get back to it.
I loved BGW back in the 70s-80s-90s (it was my home park in college) and it was really where I learned to like coasters, but it's been so long since I've been there that the ride collection is almost completely different now, and I wouldn't feel qualified to rate it.
My home park and it never gets old. Love every visit
7:25 OH MY MAN DROPPED SOME HEAT
Nice list so far! I'll admit it's weird to hear you had bad experiences with staff members at Dollywood, since Herschend really prioritizes customer service.
Yea I was going to say Dollywood has some of the best staff I have seen
Probably just a couple people having a bad day
@@AirtimeThrills that's fair. I've even seen that at SDC before.
@@AirtimeThrills SDC is my home park (and my employer from 2015 to 2020) and definitely sometimes people have rough days and I imagine Dollywood being similar considering there sisters. I always tried to cheer people up before our shifts but theme parks are not easy to work at. I jokingly still give the safety information for the flat rides during slow day in my office.
easily Dollywood has top 5 staff in the country…idk what went wrong for you at Dollywood lol
Universal at 20 seems about right. Islands of adventure completely overshadows it, but Universal has enough to offer to justify a 2 park-1 day pass.
Escape from Gringotts is great, Rip ride rock-it is decent, but the Mummy is completely underrated and one of my favorite ride experiences in Florida
First of all love your videos. I'm relatively new to being an enthusiast so it's nice to hear opinions on the parks I plan to visit for the first time. I'm an operator at dollywood and what happened on your 2018 trip is very odd(except for lightning rod). I hope your trip this year is much better
You work at my # 1 overall park! For me, only Hersheypark is even in shouting distance of Dollywood. But I'm also someone who enjoys great entertainment options, in addition to a great ride lineup. I feel that only Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, & Fiesta Texas have combined a great ride lineup with great entertainment, but I think Dollywood does it best.
Looking forward to seeing part two, also that clip from Keys to the Kingdom was hilarious
Discovery Kingdom above SeaWorld Orlando is a VERY hot take...
That I agree with! I love the park honestly. Good ranking so far.
I’ve only been to three parks sooo...
1. Lagoon
2. SFOT
3. Universal Hollywood (I didn’t get to do the studio tour, might have been better if I did)
The big list! Out of 26 parks visited, my top 3 are Disneyland Paris, Universal Islands of Adventure, and King's Island. Honorable mention to Six Flags Great Adventure, my longtime home park.
Hey, one of my 2 home parks made your top 3. Nice.
@@Spike-sk7ql which one is that, you tease...
@@russ4moose I claim KI and CP my home parks.
@@Spike-sk7ql I visited both of them for my first time last July. I really had a great time at both, but King's Island stole my heart.
@@russ4moose I live an hour and 45 mins from CP, but I would rather drive almost 4 hours to get to KI instead of CP. Some of the rides may be better at CP, and that's not an argument (2 of my all time favorite rides are steel vengence and maverick) but the park experience is 10X better at KI. We have 4 kids, and KI has so much more for them to do. KI just has a more family run park feeling to it, where CP is a more corporate feel to it. That's the only way I can explain it. I haven't been to a whole lot of parks, but the only park experience I've had better than KI has been Holiday World. Now, I'm going to Knobels this weekend, and Indiana Beach in June (I think) with the coaster club we belong to, so that may change, but until then, that's my story.
That roller coaster at Indiana Beach at 2:06 looks exactly like the old Jet Star that was at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for many years. Is it the same model of ride?
Yep, should be the same exact thing
EPCOT is so good that it cracks my top five and doesn’t even have an operating roller coaster… yet. We’ll see what Guardians does as soon as I win the lottery again and can afford to go back.
I enjoyed epcot but even then, i cant justify putting it on here
I remember Epcot being my favorite park at Walt Disney World every time I went there, but I haven't been there in years...I wanna say nearly two decades now. I wonder how it stacks up now; I've heard it's not what it was.
Epcot has a lot of cool theming in the back half, but when I was there, the front "Future World" section had a sad dead-mall atmosphere to it, and COVID seems to have delayed and downscaled their plans to fix that.
But I liked the place, anyway. It's certainly the Disney park that caters the most to adult visitors, if mostly by being the Drunkest Place On Property.
At the time, Hollywood Studios was mid-makeover and only about 5 rides were even open, so my judgment of it is probably biased. My favorite parks were actually Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom (and the Pandora area wasn't even open yet).
1. Islands of Adventure
2. Hersheypark ( very very under-rated)
3. Busch Gardens Williamsburg
4. Hollywood Studios
5. Kenobles Grove
Honorable Mention - Kings Dominion
Im gonna assume you havent visited CP yet
@@varunvallury3499 I have but this is my overall ranking. If it was just coasters cp would be 1.
I wonder how much this list is gonna change once he visits Europe.
Europapark, Phantasialand, Plopsaland, Walibi Holland, Tripsdrill...
Yes, on average the coasters are better in North America than in Europe, but on average the parks are better in Europe, imo.
How about a separate list for European parks when it is possible?
@@StamfordBridge It seems like a lot of these European parks do theming on a level that only Disney and Universal even dare in the US.
Alton Towers, Walibi Belgium, Heide Park, Thorpe Park, Linnanmäki, Liseberg, Mirabilandia, PortAventura World, and even Energylandia. That's a lot of great parks in Europe!
Theming is not that important as said in the intro. These parks are not making it into top 10 rides wise so not going to change the list much.
Knoebels coaster line up isn’t the strongest, but the park itself is just so charming. I love Phoenix, and the haunted mansion and black diamond are classic gems. However, my second favorite ride at Knoebels is definitely the Flyers! They are the most insane crazy Flyers out there. I think it’s because they’re so light, they fly so high up in the air.
Number seventeen is my new number one after Sunday the 17th, I had the greatest experience of my life there, and riding intimidator was the greatest 45 seconds of my life lmao.
I love intimidator so much now lol. New number 1!!
I’m glad to see two of my home parks on the list (Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World).
Dollywood, SF over Georgia and SeaWorld Orlando are solid. Nice review!
Thanks for the great ranking. We hit Silver Doller City and Dollywood both between Christmas and New Years and we would rate Dollywood over Silver Dollar. But Christmas at SDC is a mess. World class lights but no walkways so Dollywood won for us.
I'm going to Knobels this weekend with my coaster club. Going to Indiana Beach with them later this year too. Nice.
I haven’t rode lightning rod and thats the only ride I need left at Dollywood.
I went to Dollywood last April. Had a great time. My biggest gripe was the staff assigning which row you get to sit in on Lightning Rod. I wanted to get a front row ride. Did manage to get a back row ride, and 4 rides overall. More than that on Wild Eagle. Mystery Mine and Firechaser express were one and done for me. Thunderhead was rough after 2 back to back rides, and I would pass on it going forward.
Ugh 2 of my Top 4 appear on your 16-30. I have Dollywood at #2 and Holiday World at #4 (And I really only care for the dry park). I have had the best luck with Dollywood. Two 2 day visits, and I've have 68 rides on Lightning Rod. My experience has always been top notch. Holiday World really impressed me in 2018. Going back this year. It will be interesting to see if it stays that high. I have Knoebels in my Top 20. I really didn't get enough time at that park, plus I visited on the first day of their season last year so they were still getting stuff together. I would not have SF Over Texas or SF Discovery Kingdom in my Top 30. Over Texas was just run poorly during a 2 days visit. During their Spring Break, and they tried to get away running one train on a lot of coasters including New Texas Giant. I've visited Discovery Kingdom and every time the operations have been poor and I find myself getting bored late in the day and I end up closing out my day at CGA. Good list and fun topic to discuss.
OT usually has been good for me ops wise, i just normally tend to go on busy days. DK i can totally see the problems with ops. If i didnt have such an awesome 2019 experience it wouldnt have made the list
Glad to see my home park CGA make your list. It’s a park with a great atmosphere and pretty stacked coaster lineup. I do agree that the ops have been much slower than normal lately, that’s mainly due to covid protocols. It’s loosening up again thankfully
I'm happy you DO like Six Flags Over Texas. My home park and while I am hoping for something more for it, I'm still happy that I have it at all. I will ALWAYS ride Titan. She's my childhood coaster alongside Steel Eel.
I love Steel Eel! Me and my sister once rode it 12 times in one day. It was so much fun!
@@juliehardy2497 12 times? Ah that's weak. Try 70 TIMES IN ONE DAY! :P
7:25
*"But I think this park is*
*better than Holiday World."*
*"OOOOOOOOOOOH-"*
I just thought that moment was just kinda funny, and it really caught me off guard. XD
You did Knoebels dirty lol. Impulse is definitely underrated and Twister is well loved too. Plus, the atmosphere is top notch and the food selection is better than most parks.
Even though I live in North Carolina,I have always treated Dollywood as my home park because I have been there a lot,and since I haven’t been to many other parks I love it,glad to see it here
Yeah, in North Carolina (especially in the mountains) you've basically got that and Carowinds, so it's your pick as to which you prefer.
Make sure to do Dragonflier in the back when you get back to Dollywood. The first drop is genuinely shocking.
Over Texas is my home park, with me being about an hour and a half from it, but in the past year an a half, Over Texas has skyrocketed in its overall feel, the park has its own charm that's far more prevalent than it used to, and even though Ron left, Over Texas is still getting better.
Always love to see my home park Lagoon on these lists
Agreed about Rip Ride Rock It. It’s ELITE.
People sleep on SeaWorld Orlando! It’s really high on my personal list and it’s because of the insane atmosphere, the nostalgia, and this unexplained feeling it gives me each visit
I agree big-time with this
Facts, it's my number 4 park I've been to
Amen! I've been to 40 parks and it's my number 4. For some reason it just feels like home.
It’s a great park but it’s hurt by the competition in Florida. For thrills BGT and Islands has better rides and for families Disney has a near monopoly. Still rather go to Seaworld than Disney though absolutely
@@seminoleboy96 yeah but seaworld has rum. Nuf said
Whenever Airtime Thrills does a list I can't help but feel he just pulled the names randomly out of a hat.
I should do that just to see if anyone notices
@@AirtimeThrills probably couldn’t tell the difference lol
For what you said in the outro, some coasters in the theme parks of China have different age restrictions, like the major rides have upper age restrictions ranging from 45 to 65 in the multiples of 5. Japan and South Korea have those same age restrictions and Lagoon has it too.
My favorite parks have manageable crowds on non weekends, solid food and beer options, and atleast 10 things I'll never get bored of. Havent found a park like that yet.
I LOVE your channel and that I don't have to put any of your videos on 1.5 speed. They are just naturally great BUT for you to DARE put SIX FLAGS DISCOVERY KINGDOM ABOVE DISNEYLAND KILLED ME INSIDE hahahaha
Great video but it’s painful for me seeing Dollywood outside the top 15 since that’s my home park and I think it’s a top 5 or 6 park in America
It's my # 1
i am surprised to see discovery kingdom over great America, Gold striker is running better than ever with the retrack plus i think great america has a better park atmosphere overall
Very interesting opinion Bruce Gibson. I wonder what is your take on the Joker Vs. RailBlazer debate?
Same here. Discovery Kingdom looks like Great America's trashy younger brother who got addicted to meth
@@MovieMan-ny9vb RailBlazer>.
I SO agree with Dollywood's ranking. I'm so annoyed about Lightning Rod because it was one of the best (if not the best) coasters in the world. Then they redid the track and I think the launch, now it doesn't take you up nearly as fast. Also, it closes way too often for fixing. I just wish it didn't have any problems...
@Arrow Dynamics Inc. Doesn't matter whos fault it is, the impact it has on guest satisfaction is the same.
Great video with lots of surprises. I find it so much harder to rank parks than coasters.
This is so accurate. Comparing Disney parks to Six Flags parks is like comparing apples to oranges.
I think Six Flags New England should get a clone of Sky Rocket at Kennywood for their launch coaster. Small, compact, cheap, and a G P pleaser, sounds like a Six Flags coaster to me!
I would love that
@@AirtimeThrills As a launch coaster, and considering it is Six Flags, they could paint it red and theme it to Flash, or go yellow and theme it it Zoom. I Hope they go in a different direction though. Maybe call it White Squall, which is like a fast moving winter Thunderstorm in New England. Goes with wicked cyclone...
are you planning on doing a theme park trip in Europe or Asia anytime in the near future?
Haven't been to many but Kings island and holiday world are my favorites
I haven't visited even a fraction of the parks you have but for what I have visited the list would probably go something like this.
1. Universal Island's of Adventure It has the best combination of top flight coasters AND theming I've ever seen in an amusement park. There may be only 3 coasters here but any one of them would be a first or second best coaster in any park I've been to.
2. Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It has the same great combination of theming and great coasters but it is slightly behind Universal IOA to me.
3. Universal Studios Florida. This park is hurt by it's over reliance on dark rides and screens but that being said The Mummy is the best dark coaster ever made and Gringots is solid as well. Wish that Rip Ride wasn't so janky though.
4. Busch Gardens Tampa. BGW gets the edge because it has better theming and better food to me but BGT is excellent as well. And the the zoo portion of the park far outstrips many dedicated zoos around the country.
5. Sea World Orlando. I can't believe you didn't mention Atlantis when you spoke about Sea World. Like BGT the zoo/aquarium portion of the park is really well done.
7. Disney World, The Magic Kingdom. This is only for the Magic Kingdom as Epcot is more like going to a Worlds Fair than an amusement park and I have not been to the other parks in the resort. I'm sure it's shocking to see Disney so low but to me the park is way too expensive, way too crowded and way too overhyped. There are no great coasters here and the flat and dark rides while well executed are definitely geared towards families or children.
8. Six Flags over Georgia. This park has come a very long way since I first went in the early 90s and the ride lineup has improved substantially. Too bad the food is so god awful and the park always looks so seedy and dirty. The joy of living in Atlanta or close enough to drive to this park and not have to spend the night to get back home is that you can pick a weekday get some kind of coupon or huge discount and run in and hit the big coasters two or three times and go back home after half a day's time in the park.
9. Kings Dominion. I've always felt like this park just lacked identity. It's such a big park but the coaster collection is just so average to me. Year after year when I visit family in Eastern North Carolina I always ask myself the question why drive the extra distance past BGW to get to a park that's not even close to being as good as Busch Gardens is.
Hoping to make it to Fiesta Texas and Six Flags over Texas this year so the bottom of this list could see some rearranging. I doubt that either of those two parks unseats the Universal and Busch Gardens parks on the top of my list though.
And where might you ask would I go if given the chance to cross some parks off of my Bucket List?
1. Cedar Point. Of course the granddaddy of all roller coaster parks. Nothing more need be added here.
2. Carowinds. Shocking that I grew up in North Carolina and lived in Atlanta for almost 2 decades but I lived on the eastern end of NC and BGW/KD were both closer to me. Then when I lived in Atlanta I never felt like the extra drive was worth it to go to Carowinds.
3. Dollywood. When I lived in Atlanta this park was a lot smaller than it is now. I'd really love the chance to try it out now that it has grown so much.
4. Kings Island. I've always suspected this is the better of the two Kings parks between it and KD.
5. Disney Hollywood Studios. If I were going to go back to Disney in Orlando this is the park I'd be most interested in going to.
6. Knott's Berry Farms. If I ever do a west coast trip this park is on my short list of places I'd want to go.
7. Six Flags Magic Mountain. Same as Knott's above.
8. Six Flags Great America. This appears to be one of the very best Six Flags parks and I'd like to see if it lives up to the hype.
9. Silver Dollar City. The crown jewel of Herschend and a park I'd really like to try.
10. Kennywood. Primarily because I've ALWAYS wanted to ride the Phantom's Revenge.
The bucket list doesn't include parks not open yet. So when Epic Universe opens up it goes to the top of that list.
That's a good list. I was really underwhelmed by Magic Kingdom though
When you go to SeaWorld to ride Ice Breaker, request back row or close to it. You'll enjoy it a lot more than the front half of the train. Surprised to see Disneyland that far down on the list, but it's a great list so far
Knoebels has only a little bit in the way of coasters relative to parks with 10-15 big coasters, but it has so much more! A ridiculous number of flat rides, most of which are really good and some of which are really rare, and apparently some of the world's best theme park food, all combined with the atmosphere of a free admission park and the Pennsylvania valley setting. I didn't even know the place existed until I heard about Phoenix but from what I've seen it's a bucket-list park and should really be able to beat out *somewhere* in a top 30 that only has North American parks.
Compared to other 'coaster channels' on YT (I keep close tabs on "Canobie Coaster" and "Coaster College" in particular), this one really emphasizes the coasters over all else; in that regard, I can see why Knoebels didn't crack the Top 30 here.
Glad to see my home park of Indiana Beach make the list.
I love that you like Rip ride rocket there is really no reason to hate on it and the love for Lagoon is also appreciated as someone who use to live in Utah. It's a great park!
It has like 5 MCBRs that constantly kill the excitement. I think that's a justifiable reason
I.M.O I love coasters but theming is the top for me. I absolutely love how Disneyland has A-list attractions. Insane attention to detail, and the best entertainment in the industry. It's just unmatched
Tokyo DisneySea enters the chat:
Am I a joke to you?
Joking aside, if you love theming, definitely check out Tokyo DisneySea because the detail in that park is insane. It’s often known as the best Disney park in existence.
@@Emplordxiii I know of it but I haven't visited yet but it looks like Disney's best park
@@Emplordxiii I prefer wild waves.
To each their own I guess.
I gotta say those are great theme parks that you ranked are super awesome! 👍 My favorite theme parks that I visited there is Hersheyark, Six Flags Great Adventure, Dorney Park, Sesame Place, and Adventureland Long Island! Hopefully we will stay tuned for part 2!
Glad to see my "home" park Indiana Beach make your list.
WHY did they yassify the KK coasters @ 7:24 why did they do that and where is the full picture
It was an art exhibition done for Keys to the Kingdom, and they were selling copies there. This one was done by Emotional Rollercoasters on instagram
@@AirtimeThrills fank yew
Hershey - Great Adventure - Disney World all parks - Six Flags America - Dorney Park for Halloween has decent haunts and very short lines if any for the coasters
Love the content, dude. Can't wait for top 15!
I’m honestly just happy that my two home parks SF Discovery Kingdom and Great American made the list!
Your love for RRR always catches me off gaurd 🤣
Been to about 70 parks now:
Current top 10:
Silver Dollar City
Dollywood
Knoebles
Knotts
Kings Island
Busch Gardens VA
Kennywood
Fiesta Texas
Lagoon
Hershey
Honorable mentions to Waldameer & SF Saint Louis
I’m big on the overall experience. Food, theming, atmosphere, employees, immersion, flat ride collection, etc. I also love parks w/o a bad coaster. I love some elite coasters but I need to enjoy a full day, not just going back and forth on a few different coasters.
CedarPoint in your top 15 at least? Outside of their arguably best coaster lineup on the planet, I agree it's not so great at everything else
@@j.johnson7891 it probably is. It was around 8-10 in the past. It’s probably the park I’ve visited the most outside of my two home parks and I’ve seen it change a lot from 2011 to now. Personally, I think their coaster lineup is extremely overrated. None of them are in my top 10 steel or wood (MF got bounced out last year). The whole lineup to me is just eh to me. A few very good coasters and a lot of average ones. I’m curious to see it for 4 days during Coaster Con this year. Maybe that will change my feelings and give me a more complete experience.
@@ATNProductions82 gotcha. MF, Steel Vengeance, Maverick, and Top Thrill are tough to beat imo as a top 4. Maverick definitely runs slower on certain days and especially when it rains. Same for MF - total different coaster when it's running at it's best. Raptor, Valravyn, and even Rougarou have some magic seats that offer great rides
@@j.johnson7891 agree. CP doesn't have 1 dark ride and has just 1 water ride that soaks you. I can't ride the crazy stuff anymore, and there just isn't that much for me there. My teen wants to go back. Decided to stay at the breakers so I can hang at the hotel/beach while she rides lol
if you are looking for content ideas, it would be cool to see a "how does this park compare to others" series, for people who have only been to their home park, or for those looking to travel to one.
Love your content. You have the weirdest cadence. Can't decide if I love it or hate it haha
Mostly shocked to see Knobels left out and Disneyland that low.
It's a real testament to just how good Dollywood is that it makes#16 on your list with that many knocks against it.
Pleasantly surprised to see Indiana Beach on here at all. My family went there pretty much annually between 2003 and 2008 and never failed to have a brilliant time of it. I've been back a couple times since and one was great, the other just okay. Still has a special place in my heart for how bizarre it is that it exists at all. And as I get older I appreciate the small parks and their smaller crowds more and more. Places Kings Island, Cedar Point, and SFGAmer rule the midwest - but they're exhausting to really maximize.
Lagoon is my home park so I'm just happy it made the list.
Im so excited to see this series updated after your tour through Europe 😎 when do you get to Germany? ✌🏼
Nice parks and list!
Wow, I was utterly shocked that Knoebels wasn’t on this list. Almost made me stop watching the rest of the video just because of that 😂
Hershey will be on here somewhere tho
Same here!
it’s his opinion but ok 😂
Same because I’ve been to knoebles and it’s nice there
off topic..? :When ever I hear the intro music rolling in, it always puts a smile on my face
Black vulture will definitely do that
I don't even know how I'd rate the parks I've been to because some of the major ones were so long ago that the ride collection is almost completely different now. And with many I've been to more recently, the demands of escorting a child and/or hanging with a non-thrill-seeker family meant that I only experienced a fraction of what they had to offer. Judging from the total package (not just the coasters), I'd say Disney's Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, Universal's IoA and Studios, and Hersheypark are all way up there. Hersheypark may be the best all-around coaster park I've been to, and it's been a favorite of mine ever since I was a little kid.
I live in Massachusetts now and the one big chain park around here is Six Flags New England, a merely OK park with a stunning one-two punch of elite coasters. But that's also given me a new appreciation for the smaller local parks that still exist in these parts, like Canobie Lake Park, Lake Compounce and Story Land. Compounce has a world-class elite coaster. They all have some solid rides and considerable charm. Canobie is my home park and between one thing and another, I haven't been back since the start of the pandemic. I plan to rectify that soon.
Are you planning to return to Canada's Wonderland sometime this year?
While I don't agree with dollywood at 16, I hope you get a good ride on dragonflier! I went for my first time on opening day this year and had a blast!!!
IMO the park is pretty overrated. The atmosphere is great and the forests are beautiful, but IMO the coaster collection isn't amazing. LRod is always down so it doesn't even seem fair to count it. And Wild Eagle and Tennessee Tornado are both very short and kind kind of bland. Mystery Mine is very underrated though in my opinion. That was my favorite ride there
Disneyland is still my favorite park but I tend to prefer dark rides over coasters. I don't think anyone comes to Disneyland thinking it's a thrill ride park so it's really a matter of personal preference. I can easily see why people who prefer coasters over dark rides would take Cedar Point, Kings Island, Magic Mountain or any other major amusement park over Disneyland. And while I love those parks and love coasters I still prefer themed experiences and dark rides.
Cedar Point does crack my top 10 and it's the only strict amusement park that does, so I give it a lot of credit. But I still prefer Disney, Herschend, Universal and SeaWorld/Busch Gardens parks.
I 100% agree. I absolutely love Cedar point as it’s my home park, and Kings Island is for sure my favorite amusement park but as far as parks as a whole go, disneyland is absolutely by number one!
Ooh this should be a good series!
I'll provide my ranking and reasons on the second video as I've only been to about 15 parks lol
Good video though. I really want to visit Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World with King's Island next week, but we'll likely only go to KI due to budget constraints and rising prices (thanks Biden)
When part 2 coming out can’t wait!
I love both dark rides and roller coasters. Great order you put the parks into. Ill be getting a pc soon so im hoping once i get it i would like to do reviews and ranking parks just like you and everyone else.
Glad to see you're saving Universal's Islands of Adventure for the top 15
My top 3 in no particular order
. Islands of adventure
. Busch Gardens tampa
. Silver dollar city
No cp?
Top 3 for me are:
1. Tokyo Disney Sea
2. Hollywood Studios
3. Islands of Adventure
Hollywood over islands? That’s bold
@@charliegriswold1445 Tower of Terror, Rise of the Resistance, and much better better food barely put it over Islands
@@elitelord5350 hulk, velocicoaster, forbiddan journey, hagrids
@@perception7331 coaster don’t make the best park for me, as can be seen with my number 1, which only has 1 off the shelf coaster
@@elitelord5350 ik, I'm just saying that the forbidden journey is also an amazing dark ride, and those costers really add to the atmosphere
I’ve only been to 7 total parks
My Top 5 would be:
1: SFGAdv: El Toro, Kingda Ka, Nitro, Medusa, Green Lantern, Superman Ultimate Flight, Joker. So much variety in the line up. I know this park gets crapped on for the policies but for me, this park has one of the greatest coaster line ups in the country (and possibly of ANY park). That alone makes it worth it. Plus I’ve heard it had been cleaned up since before.
2: Kings Dominion (the one two punch is amazing, but I feel it needs one more top tier coaster. I hope whatever replaces Volcano will be amazing. I really want them to go with a Launched Wing or an Intamin Multi Launch. Great atmosphere, amazing setting, and it’s one of my home parks. I305 is my favorite coaster of all time, Twisted Timbers is basically a compact Steel Vengeance (never rode Steel Vengeance, but I will this summer), Dominator is one of my favorite B&M loopers, Grizzly and Racer 75 are great woodies, Anaconda has a great first half (but screw the 2nd half lol), and Flight of Fear is always such a fun time. Great atmosphere and setting.
3: BGW/BGT: Went to Williamsburg in 2012 and Tampa in 2015. My favorite inverts are here and they both have amazing scenery, and food. Plus the flat rides are great. The problem was they were both missing a compliment to their 1 stand out ride until recently (Apollo’s Chariot now has Pantheon with it, and Iron Gwazi can stand with Cheetah Hunt) When I go back to these parks, it will probably shoot up to my number 1.
4: Hersheypark. I got to go for the first time last year. My only problem was Skyrush was closed (that was my main reason for going to be honest). But the line up is excellent. Storm Runner is my favorite Intamin Accelerator and has my favorite inversion of all time, Great Bear is the most underrated B&M in my opinion, Fahrenheit has another one of my favorite inversions with the Norwegian loop, Comet is underrated, Candymonium was full of spectacular ejector airtime throughout, though it was over too quick. It felt like it was missing a couple extra elements, Sidewinder is one of the better boomerangs, Lightning Racer was a nice ride, and Wildcat just hurt lol. When I get to ride Skyrush, this may shoot to number 2. Also, flat rides are kinda lacking at least for me.
5: Carowinds: The park is great but it’s too top heavy. I went for the first time in 2016 because of Fury 325 (SO WORTH THE TRIP AND IS MY 2nd FAVORITE COASTER). However, after Fury, Intimidator, and Afterburn, everything kinda fell off in the coaster quality (and this was before Copperhead Strike was added). They need to scrap Vortex and get a new B&M wing, Scrap Nighthawk for a B&M flyer, and RMC Hurler (or replace it with a GCI woodie).
I'm with you on the Knoebels view. I like it, but I don't see how it's a top tier park, especially with the long lines and huge crowds it draws.
About Holiday World's waterpark, I'm a big waterpark fan, but theirs is not one of my favorites. Their top 2 water coasters are in my top 3 overall, but beyond that, it's all tame family slides, which I don't care for. Most of the slide types that I like, Holiday World has no interest in including, which makes it actually in the lower half of my waterparks list. Plus, it's one of the busiest waterparks I've ever seen. In terms of the entire park, I agree with your placement & thoughts on it. And I am still totally on board with you: Kentucky Kingdom > Holiday World!
When you go back to Dollywood, I'm not sure how you feel about entertainment options, but Dollywood is one of the best parks, if not the best, for that. That's what really brings the crowds to this park. So anyone who doesn't care for entertainment might not fully get it with this park.
Love you're videos I'm going to six flags mgm for my birthday on the 30th
i cant wait for part 2!
I've been waiting for this video!
video suggestion: rank all the b&m coaster layouts
Great timing 😌 I just started my 5 mile jog and this will last the 2.5 or so lol
I think I would only have a top 7 because I've only been 7 parks. Glad to see Lagoon getting some love. Wow a top-20 park in little ol Utah. They either must be that good or they must be paying you well
I wish I was on their payroll but no
Great vid! Excited for part 2
I’ve been to every park in Florida aside from Legoland and the new Peppa pig park. I would rank them
1. Islands of Adventure
2. Animal Kingdom
3. Epcot
4. Universal Studios Florida
5. Magic Kingdom
6. Busch Gardens Tampa
7. Hollywood Studios
8. SeaWorld Orlando
9. FunSpot America
I need to visit so many of these! Six Flags Over GA has NEVER given me a good experience. I would love to see your system on how you ranked these! Is it a numeric system or just what you feel when you think about them?
YOU GOT ON THE BRICKS ON INDIANA BEACH!!! WOW!!
Dollywood has the best train ride on the planet. Their locomotives are all original historic locomotives saved from the now-defunct White Pass & Yukon Railroad. It’s a real tourist railroad!
Am headed to busch gardens. Will give you my thoughts on iron gwazi.
Pretty decent spot for Canada's Wonderland. Come back and give it another chance. Some of those crappy ones where built during the Paramount time. Ugh! Good list.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I thought I was some sort of freak for not finding Knoebels amazing. It was fun but not even remotely close to an elite park. Also, I thought I was the only one who prefers KK over Holiday World. I've been to Dollywood more than any other park and believe you've just had a really bad run of bad luck. If you catch it at it's best it will jump up your rankings. We definitely disagree on Universal Studios and especially on the RRR. And I have SWO much, much higher than you but I enjoy the animals a lot more than most people.
I can tell you & I have a lot of the same interests & opinions. I'm with you & Chris in regards to Knoebels being overrated & Kentucky Kingdom > Holiday World. I have Dollywood as my # 1 park, and SeaWorld Orlando is ranked quite high.
@@OklahomaCoasterFan Knoebels definitely has charm, what other park let's everyone bring their dog, but I just can't imagine how people rank it top 5 or top 10. SeaWorld has something special that is hard to describe. I just feel at home when I'm there.
After riding Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, I was shocked at how low most enthusiasts seem to have it. I think it's so fun. I rode it and Velocicoaster on the same day, and I have Velocicoaster ranked higher. I think more rides should use those Mauer lap bar things.
Its very low in the forces department. It just doesnt do anything for me. But Ive also heard that it depends on the day (it was raining when I rode it)
@@ballzz2thewall i went on a nice day, and honestly I thought it was forceful. Airtime off several of the drops and the non-inverting loop. Then, there were strong positives especially on that upward helix near the end of the ride.
Glad to see SFDK get a little love. Even though I do personally prefer CGA, SFDK is nice to have as a home park. And the lineup of coasters doesn’t get enough credit imo.
My favorite amusement park is Busch Gardens Tampa followed by Busch Gardens Williamsburg, SeaWorld Orlando, Disney's California Adventure, Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Universal's Islands of Adventure, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Cedar Point, Six Flags Great America, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, SeaWorld San Diego, Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags New England, Disney's Animal Kingdom, Kennywood, EPCOT, Universal Studios Florida, SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags America, Lake Compounce, Mt. Olympus, Valleyfair, Nickelodeon Universe inside Mall of America, Adventureland Iowa, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Circus Circus Adventuredome, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Legoland California, Arnold's Park and Wild Waves.
My list
1. Cedar point
2. Disney world
And that's all I've been to 😂