For your amusement

[trinityvixen]

I have a 2010 Season Pass to Six Flags. I can't lie, it's been fun having it. For one thing, it makes me slightly less of a psycho when it comes to amusement park outings. (Sorry viridian, that first time I went back with it? I was still in total psycho mode.) Knowing I can pop back in at any old time and that, having basically already spent the entry money ages ago, I can afford the day-of upgrade to a fast pass does wonders for my mood when I'm there. I don't have to spend the entire time at the park seething with frustration that my interminable waiting around is never going to make the most of the cost of the trip. In addition to sparing me that irritation, I think I got my money's worth out of the season pass. I went twice in the fall, and that's all it takes to break even. I then went once in spring and stopped, briefly, in a different Six Flags from New Jersey one time upstate. I'm still debating dropping in there again for a short visit when I next go up that way.

Long story short, I'm not sorry I did the whole thing. I am, admittedly, a little over-exposed to the NJ Six Flags at this point. Despite how large it is, it's a surprisingly sparse park. The majority of it is empty space--purposefully empty, of course, as we're talking about a theme park to serve an area with a population in the tens of millions. Gotta make space for those people. The rest seems to be pay-per-ride attractions, something that is incredibly irritating to me, considering that a) I've already paid a lot to get in and b) anything you win from the pay-to-play games has to be stored in a locker because you can't leave it on the side of rides any more. Point is, I have done all the rides at the park. They're still all really fun, but I'm kind of bored now.

Of course, I say this, and then I almost immediately jump at a 2011 pass offer I got via e-mail. I'm such a sucker for a good deal. My inner cheapskate immediately starts calculating whether I'd be likely to go to Six Flags this year the two times or more it takes to make the pass worth a damn. If four or more people sign up, moreover, you get a free season pass parking ticket ("a $45 value!" the e-mail would like you to know). Still thinking it over. What will probably be the decision maker for me is a visit to the Six Flags in MA near my sister's new place. It's five minutes from her FABULOUS AND NEARLY FREE TO STAY IN housing. I could pop up, bring one of my coupons with, and go with her to check the place out. If it's a nice enough park, I could see maybe trying out a season pass in 2011 again. If not, hey, I got to it for basically nothing this year and that's the end of it.

I'm a sucker for amusement parks. Always will be. I think, though, that I've been thoroughly spoiled on them this year and I'm not appreciating it so much any more. It's like the opposite of my trips to Disney World three years ago, where it was something to look forward to in the winter, and only then. It was a treat, and it was quite the treat, seeing as we got exclusive passes to the parks after dark thanks to being there with the cheerleaders. (Thanks, littlest sister!) Then again, Disney World has infinitely better line management than does Six Flags, so it's entirely possible that trips to Six Flags, whether they happen once a year or once a month, are just going to do more to discourage a repeat visit. I miss Disney, I do, though I'm worried I'll never be able to go back there after how utterly spoiled I was by those exclusives. Oh dear. Time to find a new theme park I guess.

(By the way, if you know anyone who wants one or four season passes, I'm happy to pass on the e-mail. Nothing, I'm sure, is in it that can't be found on their website, but just in case, I do have it.)

Comments

[lnbw.livejournal.com]

Have you ever been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg? That's my faaaavorite amusement park.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I think I have been, but only when I was small and not yet a fan of roller coasters. Oh my how times have changed.

[lnbw.livejournal.com]

If you get a chance, you should go back. I've been to the NJ Six Flags and a couple other amusement parks, and BG still has all the best rides. Like, Six Flags has Kingda Ka, with a 90 degree drop, and Busch Gardens has the Griffon, with a 90 degree drop, and after you get off Kingda Ka you're crying and complaining of neck pains, and after you get off the Griffon you're saying HOLY SHIT THAT WAS THE BEST. It's like BG builds rides to be awesome, and Six Flags builds rides to take up space.

...not that I'm biased or anything.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Kingda Ka is the one where I'm like INCREDIBLY TENSE BEYOND REASON, nigh unto a heart attack by the time I'm ready to be shot up the peni..er, tower, and then it's over and I'm like, "I don't remember that at all." I think it must just go so fast I black out of something. I remember vaguely screaming and seeing the parking lot below and then we're getting off.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I've still never been to a Six Flags. But since I am generally the I'll-watch-the-bags-while-you-guys-ride friend, that is perhaps not a bad thing.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

I tend to be that guy, also. Jethrien likes roller coasters, I don't. If we do another trip to Six Flags, you can go on the Spongebob ride with me.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

See, I love roller coasters, but I'm also a fan of fun rides like log flumes and such that aren't coasters. But they have to be interesting rides, which is something not too many people offer besides Disney. Disney has a ton of rides that are story-telling rides but that are really enjoyable to experience. The Six Flags people have coasters and kiddie rides and not a lot in between.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

There is that one Batman ride that's not bad, though I remember it may just turn into a slightly themed Wild Mouse coaster.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I like the Disney rides. I remember going through the Haunted Mansion OVER AND OVER as a kid.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

You'd be hard-pressed to get me off that ride, if I had my druthers.

[viridian.livejournal.com]

You need to come to Kennywood with me. ROAD TRIP!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Woo! We can stop at Hershey on the way!

[shell524.livejournal.com]

The entire town of Hershey smells. Like. Chocolate.

It's really kind of disturbing.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

If I had a car, I'd probably take it (or if I lived somewhere else with a comparable park, I'd get theirs). But getting to and from amusement parks by public transportation is too annoying to be worth it.

[chuckro.livejournal.com]

I don't think I realized that Six Flag was accessible at all by public transportation. Is there a bus?

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

Yup, there's a direct NJTransit line from the Port Authority on weekends.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I found the bus trip to be adequate when I did it. The combo ticket price for the bus round trip and the park ticket was comparable to what you'd pay for just the park, too.

[edgehopper.livejournal.com]

The ride is fine, but still--slower than driving by car, you've got to go to the Port Authority first, and there's only one time each day so you have to come and leave at a specific time. Plus, you have to ride an NJTransit bus for 2 hours in each direction, which isn't a lot of fun.

[oblvndrgn.livejournal.com]

One of the MA locals scared me off the MA 6 flags because they were talking about how someone dies at the park every year and whatnot. I know it is likely not true, anecdotal, and has no bearing or relevance on the real world, I just need someone to say something like "I've been there! It's a great park and seems perfectly safe!" before it can go back on the visit list.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

You know, it never fails, when we get to NJ Six Flags and are on line for Superman: Ultimate Flight, that someone mentions how some girl lost her feet on the Superman ride--that is totally different!--at another Six Flags. Your story also reminds me of all the stories I heard about how the Dragon Coaster at Rye Playland kept decapitating people. Of course, some people died 'cause they stood up on a roller coaster that's so old it doesn't have better safety protection, but still. Scary stuff that's not quite true and not quite false can make it hard to get past the idea of trying out the rides of ill repute. Which is too bad because most of them are really awesome.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I almost fell out of a coaster at Whalom Park when I was a kid. I was not tall enough to ride and they let me anyway. But then--this is Whalom Park, the most backwater of backwater Massachusetts parks. I mean, even Canobie Lake is better.

[fairest.livejournal.com]

If you ever want to come try out Hershey Park, let me know. :)

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

Oh, when does that close for the season? Maybe we can plan something. It's like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, right? *hopes*

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I don't care about the candy so much. Bring on the rides!

[fairest.livejournal.com]

Just say when. :)

[fairest.livejournal.com]

Sadly, it's pretty much closed after Labor Day, with the exception of some September weekends and something in October that's probably their version of Fright Fest. But I hear medical school takes four years, so there will be other Philadelphia summers, in theory.

I do remember it as Wonka-like in its chocolatey opulence, but I was eight years old at the time, and easily won over by people dressed as Kisses. There is a hotel near the park that has a chocolate spa, though, and you can soak in chocolate to your heart's content. For real. :)

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I did not get to go to Hershey Park when I was there (my second cousins live there), but we did go to the museum, which led to me wrecking a pyrex dish trying to recreate the vat of melted chocolate. And he streetlamps are Hershey Kisses! I love that!

[fairest.livejournal.com]

Hee! I bought a pair of Hershey Kiss earrings as a kid that I kept for ten years. They have candy-shaped EVERYTHING.

[shell524.livejournal.com]

I have a silver Hershey kiss on my charm bracelet, though I think it was a gift from Dad, and not bought at Hershey now that I think about it...

[moonlightalice.livejournal.com]

I've always wanted to go there. We thought about doing it for July 4th, but figured it'd be CRAZY.

[fairest.livejournal.com]

You were probably right. But if you want to come sometime next summer, let me know. I can probably get or take days off school or research to make an expedition. :)

[viridian.livejournal.com]

So you're saying you DON'T want to go back for Fright Fest this year? :P

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I can dig that. Just so long as we bitch the rides one last time.

...you're still not ever going to end up at the park with the not-psycho me, are you?