The old Riverside Park with a few new rides and a lot more ways to part with your money. Visited August 27, 2009 for the first time in about 20 years as a family with teenage children to find that the biggest difference since the name change is the value. The pricing of everything is geared to a local population who are enticed to visit frequently with low season pass cost for entrance, parking and even soda. But, a company with extensive expertise in the amusement park business should excel at providing and managing the visitor experience for a broad range of geographic and demograhic visitors.
The park has all the physical space and many of the attractions to accomodate as wide a variety of visitors as leaders like Disney, Legoland, SeaWorld and Universal Sudios but it is poorly organized for layout and crowd/people traffic management. SFNE should consolidate the areas and rides for children, preteens, young adults and families into larger physically seperated sections within the park. Create traffic patterns that support travel between those areas. Place age group common needs like bathrooms, food, arcades, rest areas etc in between the themed consolidated areas.
A good example of consolidating common attractions is their Hurricane Harbor. Although it is not organized by age group, the common theme is you need a bathing suit to enjoy it. But it is not easily accessible in the grand scheme of the park. You have to walk through the main park to get there. There is only one way in and out. And your bathing suit is not welcome in the main park.
Overall the layout of the park attractions and services creates a kaotic people traffic flow. The poor layout and pedestrian traffic patterns results in teens and young adults colliding with families and younger children as they migrate between the dispearate rides and attractions. Like when the doors of a crowded elevator open to a crowd waiting to get in. The people pushing to get in block the people trying to get out.
SFNE is a good place for local visitors who can go frequently. But if you live to far away to go fequently, you would be better off from a value proposition to save up your money and head to a location that offers more choices, variety and value. Until they fix it.
