Park Thoughts

We asked for your thoughts on water parks!  What did you think of them?  Great place to spend a hot day?  Hate them?  Maybe you love the idea but just isn’t your thing.  We asked Park Thoughts readers and an overwelming majority chose the 1st answer: “Love them, great way to cool off in the summer.”  Coming in 2nd with the votes was “Don’t care, great business idea, just not for me.”  And with nearly no votes was the final option: “They’re Horrible, tear them down!“

It appears that the water park is in fact a very popular place to cool down.  It doesn’t help that water slides like Bakuli (pictured in the poll header for this poll) are bridging the gap between roller coasters in water slides.  Thanks to technology, slide designers are able to do more with a rubber intertube and plexiglass slide than ever before.  Whether your favorite slide goes up hill, around a toilet bowl, or through a funnel, it seems like water slides are a real winner with parks these days.

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New poll!

For the next two weeks Park Thoughts readers are participating in a battle of the characters!  Of course Universal and Disney focus heavily on movie/character tie-ins as a big draw for their parks, but recently more and more parks have been bringing in characters to help their attendance.  Cedar Fair has been adding Planet Snoopy areas to their parks in the past few years and plans on adding three more in 2011.

But Cedar Fair isn’t the only ones!  We want you to decide on which characters you think best fit in the theme park world?  Is it Six Flags and the classic Looney Toons?  A wide variety of characters ranging from Tasmanian Devil to Bugs Bunny.  Perhaps it is Cedar Fair with the Peanuts gang?  Charlie Brown, Sally, Lucy, Linus, and who can forget everyone’s favorite beagle, Snoopy!  None of the above?  Well then, how about Sesame Street friends?  These whimsical creatures of a street called Sesame are perhaps best adjusted to fit in their enviornments.  So which class of characters do you feel is best implemented into the parks?  Choose in by picking your favorite option in the poll below ↓ or on the sidebar →.

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Leave a comment with your park thoughts below!

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Park Thought’s asked it’s readers which they preferred.  And the overwhelming majority said quality.  So step aside Six Flags Magic Mountain and Cedar Point, because according to this poll, coasters enthusiasts are craving unique, one of a kind, detailed experiences like Harry Potter, the Forbidden Journey and Expedition Everest.

This is quite a controversial topic.  Most parks have a choice, to go for quantity or quality.  Just a few years ago, Six Flags Magic Mountain was an excellent example.  They could either A, downsize remove various rides and make everything in the park top notch, or B, go after Cedar Point for the title of most roller coasters in the world.  Whether or not you like, that park chose quantity.  And there are plenty of other examples of the same ultimatum.

With the temperature peaking, people are hitting up water parks left and right.  Crowds inside these wet amusement parks can be extreme during the summer season.  Are these lines worth it?  What’s your stand on water parks?  Love ‘em or hate ‘em?  Share your park thoughts by voting in the poll below:

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Results will be posted 2 weeks from today with the next poll!  Check the side bar to see ongoing results.

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OpenAire, designer of many retractable roof systems, has announced they will be creating their biggest structure in North America at Jay Peak Vermont. Located inside will be a huge indoor water park. The retractable roof will allow for open air flow during the warmer summer months, and during the frigid winter months, guests can wear their bathing suits indoors to experience the heated indoor water park.

At a length of 140 feet long and 280 feet wide, the water park will have around 40,000 square feet. The walls on the sides will be 43′ high, but the highest point of the roof will be even higher due to it’s arched design. All of this has been done in an effort to make Jay Peak Resort a year round destination.

In honor of Earth Day, OpenAire also announced that this new indoor complex will be eco-friendly. The shape and design of the roof allows for maximum air flow to reduce humidity as well as energy costs. All of the frame for the building is 100% aluminum details. And the glass used to isolate the building leaves a very small foot print.

This new complex is expected to open in fall of 2011.  Interested in seeing more? Check out the video here.

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Water Parks pumped out announcements faster then they do water in the recent week.  New ProSlide Creations will be heading to two of the Great Wolf Lodge, indoor water parks.  Also, Schlitterbahn announced a new water park in Cedar ...

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Way back in November, we introduced you to the Happy Magic Watercube, a new indoor water park inside the famous Watercube Aquatic facility for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.  We mentioned that it would be featuring a new kind of structure ...

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Holiday World’s latest creation, Wildebeest, has been pressing along with construction ever since it started months ago.  Recently the wonderful people of the park posted a bunch of excellent construction ...

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Aquatica, a Sea World branded water park, which opened in 2008, is rated as one of the best water parks on the planet. It is located in Orlando, Florida, very close to Sea World Orlando.

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