Theme Park Regrets

[Eggroll]

Hi everyone, as I've grown into becoming a fan of roller coasters, I've been thinking about some regrets I've had over the years in terms of my previous theme park attendance or lack thereof in some cases and was wondering if all of you guys have any theme park regrets from your time in the hobby over the years. I have 2 big ones personally.

The first one being not visiting any parks while I was attending university in England. As someone who lives in the United States, I hugely regret not taking advantage of living in England for 4 years and not visiting any parks in not only England but Europe as a whole. Any time I thought about planning a trip I told myself I was too busy, or I'd get a group together and go later to make the trip more fun and it never ended up happening. Now if I wanna go to any of these parks it'll be a much more costly endeavor. Parks like Alton Towers and Efteling are on my bucket list and I regret not taking the opportunity to make those trips a reality.

My other big regret is not giving roller coasters a chance sooner. Ever since I was a kid I was extremely scared of roller coasters due to a bad experience I had as a kid at a travelling carnival. This caused me to miss out on some local coasters I'll never get a chance to ride, like Canobie Corkscrew at Canobie Lake Park and Goliath at Six Flags New England, and missing out on all the Disneyland credits on my one trip I took there. I also think this was a big part in why I didn't go to parks in England, as I didn't think I'td be worth going if I didn't want to ride coasters. Luckily I've seen the light and can begin my coaster journey, even if it's a little later than most.

What are your guys' theme park or roller coaster regrets?

 

[Rob Coasters]

Everyone has that "ride that got away" so I have some other stuff.

Not spending a second day at Canada's Wonderland
It would have absolutely broken the bank, but I feel like I did not spend enough time at Canada's Wonderland to get all the worth I could out of that park. I guess I had my reasons (such as some very massive anxiety over the whole Canada thing), but damn it would have been nice to get a few more rides on their attractions.

Not getting a disability card sooner for discounted park entry
I am eligible for some forms of Disability Card which would land me some appreciable discounts at certain parks. I've had a certain avoidance towards that sort of paperwork, and it looks like I'm eating dust when I look at what I could have saved. I guess the old saying goes: "the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is right now".

Not taking Europa Park slower in November 2024
I took my parents to Europa Park for my birthday weekend in 2024 which was incredibly stressful for me as the extensive list of rides made it so that I was in panic mode for pretty much the entirety of the trip, which brought the mood down significantly and has now indirectly made me fairly avoidant on going back to Europa as a whole because it brings back those memories. My parents suffered as a direct result to the point where it all became more of a burden and a chore rather than a fun couple of days out, with me needing to spend some time on my own as well. I forgot just how physically and somewhat mentally exhausting Europa Park was for me back on my first visit in August of that year, and the chaos of having to try and fit in "as much s**t in as possible" made it for a visit where I severely regret the way that I acted. I hope to redeem myself by bringing them to Efteling which is a park where I can more reliably enjoy myself while having the time of my life as a tour guide.

I think I have had a general sense of being a little too controlling in the past over what we did/didn't do. I have to remember these days that the people I take will probably never have a reason to go back to those parks again, whereas I'll probably return in the next year or so. I think that's my single biggest regret, not allowing the others to have more say in what rides we did. Because I'm going to be back - they might not. At least I've noticed this now, so just have to put this plan into action.

 

[Flash Shift]

I went to Wales in April 2024, I joined my family later on as they'd been there for a couple of days already. Meaning, I had my own means of transport. I thought Oakwood would be open while I was there but it wasn't, it opened the day after we left. I had thought about getting a hotel somewhere that night and then going to Oakwood, but I did not. I had already been and got the Megafobia cred, but since the weather was terrible on that last visit I couldn't complete that park or try it since the retracking. You all know what happened after that, the park closed forever.

 

[Matt N]

On a similar thread to @Flash Shift, I also regret not going to Oakwood after Megafobia was retracked.

I live closer to the former site of Oakwood than the vast majority of English enthusiasts (I’m only 6 miles from the South Wales border), so while public transport to that area is a pain in the backside, I could have gone there more easily than many and with a bit of gumption, I could possibly have convinced my mum and dad to go the 2-2.5 hour drive with me. We even went on holiday to the area in May 2024 and were thinking of going had it not been shut midweek… we ended up going to Folly Farm instead!

I had ridden Megafobia and Oakwood’s other coasters previously (I’ve got visits in 2010, 2016 and 2019 logged), so it wasn’t a complete spite by any means, but it certainly wasn’t running at its best on my last visit in 2019 and I would have loved to see how it rode all shiny and new with the new track. I was going to visit in 2025… and we all know how that ended!

 

[ScottLann]

The main regret that comes to mind recently is :

Delaying my trip to Six Flags Qiddiya - I was hesitant about booking a trip here for the initial opening month (simply for the reason of avoiding busy crowds and letting the park have time to fully settle in/figure out all the quirks and issues) - hence why I booked to go in April instead. Of course, as soon as I saw that crowd levels were actually fine and Falcon's Flight was running pretty great for a coaster of it's scale, then I slowly started to feel a small amount of regret. The FULL regret came when the whole Iran/USA situation kicked off, meaning my flights were either going to be cancelled/delayed, and the hotel I had booked in Riyadh was just down the road from where some areas had reportedly been hit by drones/missiles....yeah, wasn't worth the risk But still gutted nonetheless, and I still get annoyed to this day just wishing I had went in January

It's a total guess as to when I'll eventually be able to get out there and experience Falcon's Flight, but it's not looking like it'll be happening any time soon (as far as I'm aware, Riyadh airport was recently attacked in the past few weeks, which just puts me off even more)

 

[Tonkso]

Leaving Oakwood for another year
We always planned to make it down there, we just never found the time to make the journey, and now it's gone. Too late.

Skipping Wild Mouse
I visited Blackpool by myself in 2011 on a day trip. I didn't do the Pleasure Beach on that visit. When I finally visited the park for myself, Wild Mouse was gone.

Not getting involved with an enthusiast group when I was younger
I could have joined this forum much earlier and made some enthusiast friends when I was back at Uni. I didn't. Furthermore, my only Uni enthusiast friend was later found out to really enjoy a bit of child porn so... yeah.

 

[gengarhaunts87]

oh boy. my bread and butter kind of thread. where to begin.

well i guess at the beginning since i didnt really start doing coasters till maybe i was in my teens meaning i missed out on a ton of coasters.
not using my 2010s to visit more theme parks outside flordia and virginia. for the longest time in the 2010s i was on a cruise kick, and would always do them meaning i could always hit up universal, bush, and seaworld. or just making vacations for VA and FL. 10 years i could have been going to so many other parks up and down the east coast, west coast, hell all across america, but no. so many defunct coasters i could have rode, but no.

Vacation 2022: home state of Virginia
kings dominion- getting a dead last row ride on anaconda. i already have issues with my knees from being a big guy most of my life past age 9(currently 39) & not taking care of my body while working retail in high school(worked for Goodwill). well the moment i got into the seat and lowered the restraint i was wedged in like a sardine in a can. i dont think i need to tell you how rough the snake was, and that ride jacked up my right knee to the point i still feel it to this day.

six flags america- this was my 2nd ever visit here. my 1st was when i was younger and was to scared of riding coasters(major fear of heights, and yet i can fly in a plane no issues). so on this trip i thought, "i got 1 shot to get everything done." so i got almost everything done. what coaster i missed.. superman. yup i was talking up a big game saying i cant wait to ride it only to get there, stare that big boy in the eye, and back down like a little coward. the highlight though was i managed to get the rare batwing credit.

Vacation 2023: southeast domination part 1: over georgia, bush tampa, seaworld orlando, funspot orlando.
over georgia- on this trip i was really trying to get my weight down so i could enjoy all the coasters on this trip. well i had to do the walk of shame on dare devil dive because i just couldnt get the restraint down. didnt get to do goliath because say it with me MY STUPID HEIGHT PHOBIA.

bush tampa- iron gwazi... not to beat the dea horse, but HEIGHT PHOBIA.

seaworld orlando- weather spitting me on ice breaker. gotta love random flordia thunderstorms. 1st time i tried to ride it it broke down. 2nd time right as i walked up to it, "oh we're sorry thuder in the area."

vacation 2025: ohio funfest- cedar point & kings island
cedar point- read above, and apply it for 4 coasters this time. steel vengence, magnum xl 200, valraven.. HEIGHTS. gate creeper. i wont lie this just scares the **** out of me. just that 1st wing over drop terrifies me.

kings island- diamond back and orion.. you know the drill. mystic timber. i was there for 2 days at kings island since i like doing 2 days for certain parks i make my 1st visit to if i think i wont get everything done. well day 1 i could have done it if i knew where it was. i got so lost trying to find anything that as i was leaving i didnt know how close i was to the ride. well day 2 i was ready to ride... and it rains most of the day, and they say it is closed for UNKOWN REASONS... gee if it's the ****ing rain just tell me. got my hopes up while on the white water raft ride to see it testing...... to find out it still wont open.

but for the biggest one i have to go all the back to the mid 2000s in las vegas. my folks took me there for my i think 17th birthday, and i was excited for the coasters. only 1 coaster i didnt get to do because of a certain spike being 200+ feet tall. yup. i missed out on my only chance to do speed: the coaster. i did high roller on the stratosphere no issue. i do insanity on the strat for 8 ****ing hours straight despite my height issues, but somehow i couldnt do a 200+ foot spike on a coaster.

future possible regrets i can see happening:
my canada trip in 2028: not being able to ride leviathan.