Back 2 Basics: What is your absolute favorite city in the world, and why?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

surprised that there wasn't a big park built in central illinois...instead st. louis got an entire six flags to itself in the ozark foothills on the other side of town,

with 260 miles between them, my guess is that the powers that be saw chicago and st. louis as just too far apart for both to be fully captured with one theme park in, say, bloomington.

the multiple metro regional theme park thing works much better when the cities in question are more in the 100 - 150 mile separation range.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Kings Island was built primarily because Cincinnati's amusement park before it, Coney Island, was on the banks of the Ohio River and flooded damn-near every off season. Building a new park away from a flood zone was a major reason why Kings Island ended up where it was. I'm not entirely sure it's financiers (Cincinnati-based Taft Broadcasting) deliberately built a park in Mason to attract Central Ohioans, that was probably an unexpected bonus.

Also, having moved from Cincinnati to Phoenix in 1996, nobody aside from hardcore roller coaster enthusiasts had ever heard of Kings Island (mostly thanks to The Beast), whereas Cedar Point had (has?) a nationwide reputation. Then again, most everyone in Phoenix went to Disneyland, Magic Mountain or to a lesser extent, Knotts Berry Farm (coincidentally owned by Cedar Fair, the same people who own Cedar Point and Kings Island). My family only ever went to Cedar Point once before we moved to Arizona in 1996 and I remember it kind of being a pain in the ass to get to once you got off 71 north of Columbus and had to drive through or around Mansfield.

[10023]

Originally Posted by JManc

Favourite City: London
Why: I just loved it...
Picture:

That’s my nearest Whole Foods on the left.

[the urban politician]

I live in Chicagoland and never see Cedar Point commercials.

I'll be there this July--after a 27 year hiatus! I will be looking closely at license plates...

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I live in Chicagoland and never see Cedar Point commercials.

I've seen a couple cedar point TV commercials on chicago TV recently. They definitely market here.

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I'll be there this July--after a 27 year hiatus! I will be looking closely at license plates...

Have fun! I'm jealous, it's been way too long for me. I can't wait to take my kids there when they're a bit are older so they can go on the bigger rides. Right now they're only 3 and 4 and I feel like a trip to cedar point would be mostly wasted on them.

[JManc]

My brother honey mooned in Cedar Point. Got in a car and drove 10-11 hours from NY to ride roller coasters for a week. My man...

@10023, i stayed in hotel in that area last time i was there. Took that photo on New Years. Drunks everywhere.

[softee]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Kind of cool to think there is a part of the US where people get their big city fix in Canada. Was it common for people you know to head to Toronto for fun? Seems like such an un-American thing to do.

I think it started in the late 60s early 70s when Toronto had developed a cool factor with the Yorkville hippie scene and increasing levels of diversity and cosmopolitanism. Tons of Vietnam draft dodgers settled in Toronto during that era as well.

[chris08876]

What is your absolute favorite city in the world, and why?


Little River, Kansas


Everyone thinks NYC or Chicago or London... but no... its Little River, Kansas. You haven't lived life unless you've experienced this cultural mecca.


Here is a view of the thriving downtown:


https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3988...2!8i6656?hl=en


Here is a view of pedestrians that create an immersive street energy:

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3990...2!8i6656?hl=en


Lastly, the tallest skysraper in the city:

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.4006...2!8i6656?hl=en

An aerial view of the combined statistical area of this great city:

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3939...!3m1!1e3?hl=en

The Park where folks come to play and frolic:

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3973...2!8i6656?hl=en

[Centropolis]

i’m drunk so i’m going to claim new orleans again, followed by sizable, industrious, non-touristy european cities on either side of the alps.

[pdxtex]

Originally Posted by JManc

My brother honey mooned in Cedar Point. Got in a car and drove 10-11 hours from NY to ride roller coasters for a week. My man...

@10023, i stayed in hotel in that area last time i was there. Took that photo on New Years. Drunks everywhere.

That's hilarious. I haven't been to cedar point in years. I think the last new coaster was the magnum so that's like 25 years or so .

[dubu]

ive never stayed in a city over a week where things didnt go very bad. except the bay area ironically i wasnt homeles there when i was there a month. so i geuss thats really the only city i can say thats my fave city. i didnt fit in there though, people would say hello and i thought they were talking to someone they knew, i thought that was weird for someone to say hi when they didnt kbow you.

[edale]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

yes, kings island is MUCH more in cincy's orbit, but my point is that it was strategically located right off of I-71 on the way to columbus so that they could easily capture two markets. i'm sure that KI advertises heavily in the columbus market.

kings island is a two market theme park in a way that six flags st. louis or valleyfair in minnesota are not.

Hm, I've not thought about it like that. I'd be interested to see figures on where KI draws the most from. If I had to bet, Cbus might be the third or fourth market after Cincy, Dayton, and maybe Kentucky. If you are in Columbus and want to go to a theme park with good roller coasters, why go to KI when Cedar Point isn't much further? Stay at a hotel on the lake and make a weekend out of it.

[BnaBreaker]

I feel like in order to accurately answer that question I need to have spent an extended period of time in a place in order to truly get a full picture of what it is like to exist in that city. I'm talking like a week or more. Otherwise, I'm just left with these fleeting flashes of memory that don't really give me much in the way of reality.

For example, I would say that I absolutely love the city of Chongqing in China. But I'm basing this position off of just a few days worth of experiences. Maybe the temperature was perfect, and the lighting was ideal, and the food I ate, and the people I met etc. etc. I only remember fondly because of temporary internal or external factors. If I had spent a month in Chongqing... who knows? Maybe over the course of time I get mugged or get food poisoning or start to get tired of the lack of ethnic diversity, or what have you. I just don't know how to really quantify that... or maybe I'm just way overthinking this?

Ya know what? Fuck it... I'm going with Lima. Lima is my favorite city. I think... or is it?

[BnaBreaker]

Originally Posted by JManc

My brother honey mooned in Cedar Point. Got in a car and drove 10-11 hours from NY to ride roller coasters for a week. My man...

The way I read that is that you have a brother named Honey who showed his bare ass to all of Cedar Point.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

That's hilarious. I haven't been to cedar point in years. I think the last new coaster was the magnum .

^ Cedar Point has steadily been adding coasters since the Magnum

[pdxtex]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

^ Cedar Point has steadily been adding coasters since the Magnum

oh i meant the magnum was the hot new coaster when i visited last. yeah, tons of new ones since then....its been awhile...

[Steely Dan]

Magnum opened May 6th, 1989, so it will be celebrating its 30th year tomorrow!

Happy birthday to the first roller coaster to break the 200' barrier, one of the most significant shots ever fired in the history of the coaster wars.


Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_XL-200

[James Bond Agent 007]

My favorite city in the world, is probably one I've never been to.

Not sure I have a favorite. Of the cities I've been to, I might choose Boston, but there's too many variables to choose just 1. Plus there's a lot of cities I think I might like, that I've never been to, so ultimately I don't know.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by pdxtex

oh i meant the magnum was the hot new coaster when i visited last

Same here.

That's why I'm excited about going this July.

So much has changed, I just hope the lines aren't super long. That has a tendency to kill the experience

[softee]

Canada's Wonderland just debuted the new Yukon Striker Dive Coaster. From Wikipedia:

featuring a height of 68 metres (223 ft), a length of 1,105 metres (3,625 ft), and a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph), Yukon Striker is the world's tallest, longest, and fastest Dive Coaster, sharing its height record with Valravn at Cedar Point. Its four inversions and drop length of 75 metres (245 ft) also set world records among Dive Coaster models.

There are 17 Roller Coasters at the park, same as Cedar Point.