CoasterRiderSC wrote:JackGlass - you perfectly stated the customer base for our park! Agree with you 100%!
So long Suckaneer Battle!
If family attractions don't work, then why does Justice League exist? How about the Water Flumes? both still get high waits. I think this "consumer base" you all are talking about feels more like just coaster enthusiasts to me.
Like i said, i'm not a Buccaneer fan, but just because that ride failed and closed doesn't mean family attractions can't and should not be at Great America.
Old Great America was better, however I hope just a bit of that charm comes back
Does anybody else agree that it would be epic if the park released a commercial for the 50th with the old Marriott music with Bugs’ voice? The song would obviously be updated with “see the DC Universe” replacing the line about Yankee Harbor and it would say SF instead of Marriott, but I would love to see it.
If there’s copyright or whatnot, let’s say we live in a universe where SF doesn’t have to worry about that stuff. Would you still want to see it?
But yes, I had a point & so did you. I totally get wanting things to feel or be somewhat cohesive. Think of how so many people felt, yourself included I'm sure, when Joker went into yankee harbor. We all had feelings since 2017 that it would be rebranded to DC & here we are, with no harbor at all. We lost an original area & Im sure the next area to go is Mardi Gras. It's been discussed by a couple people on here but I do wish if they wanted the DC revamp to come into YH that they would have themed it to Gotham Harbor. Would have been so much cooler. You can get your DC rides in while paying homage to an original area with a unique theme no other six flags has. But they went the route every park has. It's a little disheartening for sure.
We want things to be unique. We want to keep history alive & there's so many unique ways they can do that. I mean I was flabbergasted when they not only saved & relocated East River crawler but saved the bridge for Joker. They didn't have to do that. But they did & that's what I want to see more of. I don't want to see demon get the axe. I honestly don't want to lose anything for another ride 98% of the time but it happens.
As for family attractions not working here, that's not what we're saying. They totally work here. But it's not what the park has been built on. In the 70s & 80s, I'd possibly argue they did but that was because it was a new park & had to draw in everyone. I would say it was mainly 2005-2010 (Hurricane harbor to Little Dipper) we saw that shift but for the most part, SFGAm since 1976 has reeled guests in with roller coasters. The park opened with a few. Then Turn of the century was made into Demon. Tidal Wave launched guests into even bigger thrills they hadn't seen before. Shockwave was a massive multi looper that made Demon look like a family ride. Iron Wolf was an intense stand up that broke records. Batman swept in & took the world by storm & to be honest, I really think it was from this point on that guests expected more. Bigger better, more intense roller coasters. SFGAm has built up a roller coaster park since day one. It's facts. They're always building one every couple years. Which is why so many people have complained about this "coaster drought" we're having. It's been expected. You can't just change what guests have come to expect for decades now. You can have your off years & build a family ride but rather sooner than later, those guests are going to want the next coaster. With that said, a park NEEDS balance & family rides play the most significant role in that balance. Even Cedar Point brings in families & people go there for the roller coasters. Just as they come here for them.
I think the park could use another kiddie coaster. Another family coaster. & I think they could use another water park addition But I'm ready for that next big coaster & I have been ready. So I'm hoping Thursdays announcement leaves me ready for 2025. If it is a dive coaster, maybe it'll have a cobra roll. That would be a first for a dive coaster & something we don't have at the park while being reminiscent of Déjà Vu. Kinda epic. Thursday cannot come soon enough.
SF legacy parks produced another poor quarter (Q2 2024 released August 8th) while Cedar Fair legacy parks produced records. SF poor results aren't b/c there aren't enough rides/coasters. They can't even properly operate the rides they have now with proper staffing. The results were poor again, the same for years b/c the experience is subpar in a bunch of aspects, unlike Cedar Fair legacy parks. SFMM is doing the same thing, getting a new coaster, though they can't even run the park properly and need rolling ride closures b/c of staffing and the food is abysmal. 5 minute dispatches and the employees all have miserable looks on their faces . Selim ends his tenure with another round of poor decisions, as all these 2025 rides were procured and contracted last year, when he made his Q2 conf call announcement of massive Capex increases.
Last edited by Sven18 on August 12th, 2024, 11:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
The sad reality is people don't really care about thematic cohesion. Universal has never really bothered to care about its sightlines and even Disney seems to be giving up on it. The concept art for the new Cars ride at Magic Kingdom shows it replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the River of America. So you'll have colonial America on one side of the path and talking anthropomorphic cars on the other. The spirit of the Marriott park was disregarded long ago and sadly it was probably for the best.
I agree that operations are SF biggest weakness, not the ride lineup. SF race to the bottom is clearly not working. I wish they would improve the food. I wish they better staffed the rides for quicker dispatches. I would love if they had employees assigning rows on every ride to avoid stations becoming cluster * and to fill all seats.
Mainly, I hope SF adopts the CF model of not getting a new ride every year and instead installs a higher budget ride every few years. Mardi Gras Hangover is the best example of this. I don't think that ride even lasted 5 years. I would have rather seen its budget spent on a longer Maxx Force or Goliath layout.
Falcon wrote:The sad reality is people don't really care about thematic cohesion. Universal has never really bothered to care about its sightlines and even Disney seems to be giving up on it. The concept art for the new Cars ride at Magic Kingdom shows it replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the River of America. So you'll have colonial America on one side of the path and talking anthropomorphic cars on the other. The spirit of the Marriott park was disregarded long ago and sadly it was probably for the best.
I agree that operations are SF biggest weakness, not the ride lineup. SF race to the bottom is clearly not working. I wish they would improve the food. I wish they better staffed the rides for quicker dispatches. I would love if they had employees assigning rows on every ride to avoid stations becoming cluster * and to fill all seats.
Mainly, I hope SF adopts the CF model of not getting a new ride every year and instead installs a higher budget ride every few years. Mardi Gras Hangover is the best example of this. I don't think that ride even lasted 5 years. I would have rather seen its budget spent on a longer Maxx Force or Goliath layout.
I’m happy to see Tom Sawyer land on the chopping block. If it means a better experience for more guests then so be it! I do however agree that the park will be different in aspects of theming of that area. Life is a highway, I’m ready to drive it, all night long. I am really really excited to see what Disney can do with their villains land that’s rumored to be built beyond Big Thunder. Idk, for me as someone who goes to Disney almost yearly, I’m excited for this future.
briphotoguy wrote:I’m happy to see Tom Sawyer land on the chopping block. If it means a better experience for more guests then so be it! I do however agree that the park will be different in aspects of theming of that area. Life is a highway, I’m ready to drive it, all night long. I am really really excited to see what Disney can do with their villains land that’s rumored to be built beyond Big Thunder. Idk, for me as someone who goes to Disney almost yearly, I’m excited for this future.
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Agreed. I always forget you can actually go on Tom Sawyer Island. I'm glad Epic Universe is giving Disney a kick in the ass.
Falcon wrote:The sad reality is people don't really care about thematic cohesion. Universal has never really bothered to care about its sightlines and even Disney seems to be giving up on it. The concept art for the new Cars ride at Magic Kingdom shows it replacing Tom Sawyer Island and the River of America. So you'll have colonial America on one side of the path and talking anthropomorphic cars on the other. The spirit of the Marriott park was disregarded long ago and sadly it was probably for the best.
I agree that operations are SF biggest weakness, not the ride lineup. SF race to the bottom is clearly not working. I wish they would improve the food. I wish they better staffed the rides for quicker dispatches. I would love if they had employees assigning rows on every ride to avoid stations becoming cluster * and to fill all seats.
Mainly, I hope SF adopts the CF model of not getting a new ride every year and instead installs a higher budget ride every few years. Mardi Gras Hangover is the best example of this. I don't think that ride even lasted 5 years. I would have rather seen its budget spent on a longer Maxx Force or Goliath layout.
I disagree about having a grouper assign rows. Let the guests decide where they want to sit. It almost always works out where people fill in empty rows. I think most of us enthusiasts want to sit in a specific row and we don't mind waiting for it (i.e. Back row on Raging Bull).
But I agree with you that Six Flags needs to improve operations and staffing. Many rides are closed due to staffing on week days. They also need to improve on beautification of the park. I will say that the fights seem to be way down this year compared to past years, but we're not through FF nights yet......
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
Not to be a schizophrenic, but has anyone else notice that there are hidden numbers on SFGAms instagram posts? Look at their post recent pictures, on X flight in the back left, there is a number 5 on one of the hed rests, on maxx force, there is a 180 on the magnetic brakes, and on viper, there is a 96 on the front of the back train. I think we have our stats for the new ride.
I even commented on these photos cause they have ALL been of SFGAm so I said they're showing a lot of Great America love. Didn't even notice the numbers. Great frickin catch. Wow.
5 inversions would be awesome but it could also be 5 B&Ms.
Maybe this will intertwine with Demon over or through the lift hill.
SFGAM_Hog wrote:Wow, I would have never noticed that! 180 ft tall, 5 inversions, 96 degrees would make it the steepest drop on a dive coaster. Nice work!
Maybe it’s a drop into a tunnel that goes under the service road. Then half the ride takes up Buccaneer Battle and the other half takes up the Go Karts space
Falcon wrote:Maybe it’s a drop into a tunnel that goes under the service road. Then half the ride takes up Buccaneer Battle and the other half takes up the Go Karts space
I still say it’s going to take up the plot by demon and dive under the midway there. Fingers crossed!! Go Carts aren’t going anywhere as of right now but maybe down the line.
Like I said, I have a very strong feeling this thing is going to come either in contact with or very close to Demon. That plot over by demon is bigger than it looks by Lobster.
I'd love to see a cobra roll &/or a roll into the brake run. Always thought a quick inversion into a downward brake run would be hot haha.
gottastrata33 wrote:Like I said, I have a very strong feeling this thing is going to come either in contact with or very close to Demon. That plot over by demon is bigger than it looks by Lobster.
I'd love to see a cobra roll &/or a roll into the brake run. Always thought a quick inversion into a downward brake run would be hot haha.
Where are yall getting the 172 or 217 from?
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All the capital letters in the posts spelled out Rakshasa.
Then the left over letters: There were 7 S 2 R 1 A
gottastrata33 wrote:Like I said, I have a very strong feeling this thing is going to come either in contact with or very close to Demon. That plot over by demon is bigger than it looks by Lobster.
I'd love to see a cobra roll &/or a roll into the brake run. Always thought a quick inversion into a downward brake run would be hot haha.
Where are yall getting the 172 or 217 from?
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You mean like the "double inversion" on Maxx that goes into brake run?
What if those numbers are NOT for a junior dive but for the single rail coaster? That would make sense
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
I almost want to laugh when I go by the go-karts and hear some GP say “That’s where they’re placing the new coaster” when there is a full queue of people waiting and spending moolah. I don’t know if people are riding it before it’s gone, but the park is making a hefty profit in those go-karts.
About the dive going into a tunnel and into the middle of the go-karts plot, I could see it happen. The park could reroute the go-karts so that they go around the tunnel where the dive comes out and the element to turn the train around could be to the east of the tunnel.
They are doing so much for this new addition! It’s crazy seeing the corporate page do teasing too.
On the subject of Demon…I visited the park yesterday and went on Demon for the first time in a couple of years and my lord those trains are tight. I am about 6 ft tall and there’s absolutely no leg room or shoulder room so it was pretty painful for most of the ride. The ride itself was fine but the trains just didn’t make it a fun experience at least for me.
B&MGuy35 wrote: This was just posted on the Corporate Instagram page. It is the location of the entrance to The Demon!
[emoji848]
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I would love for all this just to be refurb and laugh at all the crying The park doesn't actually need a new coaster, nor does SFMM. The issues with the park and the continuous poor results of SF Legacy parks is all the other stuff. Of course these 2025 decisions were made by Selim the Fool Bassoul, so they will surely be strategically poor.