montumax wrote: I really don't understand all the negativity against PKD in the past few posts. Its not that bad of a park!
To me, no park is even close to being as beautiful as Busch Gardens. That's like comparing apples and oranges. I'm still trying to figure out what their "trackless" coaster is. I wouldn't say Anaconda is an underwater coaster just because it has a tunnel that goes underwater. Saying their coasters is fairly small is redundant. You could say the same things about Carowinds coasters!
I wasn't trying to be so negative, I was trying to counter with some great positives of PKD that I think many younger fans overlook and don't even realize why the rides were great at the time they were introduced.
Well, Busch Gardens scenery is not fair, but is the bar to strive for... still that's ok. I was simply trying to say what you did... most parks cannot hope to have that level of scenery. So I wasn't knocking PKD for it, simply references from a post before mine saying how bad PKD scenery was. I was meaning that is not a good factor for most parks, rather it should be on cleanliness and organization rather than landscaping and heavy themes.
Yes, Avalanche is what I was calling a trackless coaster (at least in the traditional sense - for lack of a better word). Anaconda certainly qualifies as "underwater", give me a better example. It's Innovative - that was the key... PKD does bring experimental coasters to riders (whether the feature seems major or not).
My coasters being small comment is way deeper than Carowinds to PKD. The cost factor plays heavily into this. PKD has been building highly unique for the time coasters in it's park. Obviously you can't built a long coaster if it's new and experimental technology. Does anything think twice about a long Stand up coaster today -- no. But when Shockwave was introduced, it was new stuff and expensive to build. It's short, but PKD was the first to give us that chance to stand on a coaster and the lines then showed it's appeal. Up to the Tower on most days. Now, it's line stays fairly long but nothing like XLC. Who doesn't think XLC is extremly short? But currently it is a new thrill very few offer. SOmeday, we will have long tracks and loops in coasters like this (or the next incarnation) and the lines at PKD will die.
So, I wasn't trying to bash PKD, rather give it credit for what it brings to the Paramount Experience.
My Paramount Gem would be Carowinds because it offers cleanliness, nice variety, moderate crowds, good weather, and nice variety of food and games. Plus the admission specials are usually great.
