This is a cool little article about why the Pacific Northwest of the US has limited amusement parks and how it’s not just because of the weather.
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It really just seems to be demographics, doesn’t it? Fewer families with young children, and a culture that emphasizes authenticity over cultivated themed experiences.
It’s funny how enthusiast groups always say poor PNW but fail to realize how culture is sometimes different. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of people there that would love a big park with a dozen coasters but it’s all relative.
One of the biggest problems the area faces is an in-between park probably couldn’t survive. They either need to be small to function or they need to be a massive destination park to draw people in. Just take KD for example… The park has it’s locals but it also sits on I-95 which can bring people from distances because they have something worth traveling for – and you unfortunately can’t build a KD sized park, let alone a Disney or Universal overnight.
Not just demographics. Demographics are part of it. So is weather.
I want to visit the PNW someday and go to Silverwood to finally ride a giant inverted boomerang. The national parks in Washington will keep me busy out there too.
I finally made it to SFNE last year but it was unfortunately too late to ride theirs.
I still gotta get out there at some point too. Too many coasters everywhere 😅
Aftershock is especially interesting to me because it’s the one that was relocated from my home park, Six Flags Great America. I was never tall enough to ride it while it operated there (or maybe it was plagued with maintenance problems by the time I was).
I honestly considered a career change to be a long haul truck driver just so I could end up in places closer to roller coasters that I want to ride 😉
I hate it. I live in Seattle and I have to fly across the country to ride any notable coasters.
