Theming?

[Demonguy90]

Does anyone else feel that the park is not doing as much theming as they have in the past. A good example The Demon has lost a lot of theming over time. They brought some back then they took some away. This year they brought back the fog and some of the sounds to Batman but they took out the black lights. I wish they would bring back some of the wow factors.

[JimPanky]

I agree. I am a huge fan of theming! It adds alot to the experience to have themed elements both in the Queue and during the ride itself.

[Ilovthevu']

I disagree that the park isn't doing theming as it is in the past. They just built X-Flight, and the station is a hanger. The ground is like a runway. It has it's own music. You can look at Dark Knight theming whether or not you think it's good theming, and also look at Buccaneer Battle. The reason why Batman is NOT using black lights before the station is because those signs are blanked out. Those signs were used when Batman has 8 rows going, and they are telling people front row is on the right side of the tunnel.

[txcrew]

Hey Gang,

First time poster, long time reader.

On a scale of 1-10, Great America has always landed around a 6 when it comes to ride theming. Although they did very well on Dark Knight and a mediocre job on X-flight, most other rides either lost bits and pieces of their theming over time or never really had any at all.

Batman, for example, used to be my favorite queue line in the mid 90's. As of my visit last year, they chopped up the queue line in the park area and removed the peaceful, pleasant sound effects. In the back alley area they removed all of the graffiti, rusted artifacts, trash and urban sound effects. It seems like they occasionally bring back some of the elements in the storm drain tunnel like the fog, and the sound effects of the fan turning which is better than nothing. But I hate to sound like the crotchety old man here but overall, it's nothing like it used to be. They lost all of the detailed elements that really helped draw you into Gotham City.

Not sure why that is but I'm sure their is a reason for it. Either the park chose to invest money elsewhere (which makes sense) or they received complaints from patrons that the themeing was inappropriate for younger audiences given the sometimes violent nature of some of the sound effects in the queue (drive by's/gunshots/yelling, etc.). I believe guest complaints is also what drove the Demon theme to become so watered down.

[PfightingPolish]

Theming is a big deal to me.

Rides are rides, but immersing yourself in an experience, not just from the moment you get on the ride or even the moment you get in line but from the moment you step into a themed area of the park, is big. You want to feel like you're being transported into a whole different realm. Good theming does that.

Take Scream! at Magic Mountain. Awesome, awesome coaster when you're riding it. It's a stellar B&M floorless with good height, smoothness, speed, airtime & inversions. But no line almost ever. It's over a parking lot in a very dead area of the park and has no discernible theme.

I think X-Flight's theming was great, but it'll be interesting to see how well it's maintained over the years.

Dark Knight is an excellent example of theming gone awry. It was great when they first built it, but once they largely took out the pre-show, it made the ride look beaten up after just a few years, particularly if you rode it when they had the pre-show (and yes, customers do come back, or at least you try to have them do so). Not to mention, theming a pre-show around a single movie, which really only has a valuable shelf life of a year at the most, didn't strike me as the most forward-thinking idea. Yes, BTR technically is for the series of movies that began with the Burton/Keaton epic, but the ride has remained timeless to the character Batman rather than a particular film or films. If they decided to play anything from the Adam West Batman theme to The Dark Knight soundtrack in line, it would probably work (or DJ Tiesto, for no understandable reason).

Furthermore, Dark Knight is a family coaster, but The Dark Knight was not a family movie. Nay, far from it. Boo-urns for not thinking that through. "Who are the ad wizards that came up with this one?"

I can understand removing some of the violent sounds. Keep in mind, this is a company that ran the Sean Kingston Beautiful Girls version that replaced "You've got me suicidal," with "You've got me in denial" for their queue line music a few years ago. But that doesn't mean you can't do other Batman, Gotham City, urban-type things and sounds. It's a matter of thinking creatively rather than just cutting stuff.

I think the park has theming far more on the brain now than it did during the dreaded Snyder years. The new entrance speaks to that. But it certainly isn't Marriott quality anymore, nor will it probably ever be. Part of Six Flags positioning itself as the "value, regional alternative" to the parks in California and Florida means being cheaper, and being cheaper means not having themed areas that are as immersive as those places. So it goes. But the more they do with it, the better.

[cab0218]

I just hope they bring back the fog and water effects for X-Flight. I have not been to the park since opening say to Im not sure if they have yet but I hope they keep it. It really adds to the ride.

[DeathbyDinn]

As of my visit last year, they chopped up the queue line in the park area and removed the peaceful, pleasant sound effects. In the back alley area they removed all of the graffiti, rusted artifacts, trash and urban sound effects.

Last year I heard both the garden and urban sound effects. I do wish they'd bring back the graffiti and junkyard though. At least we still have our Police car with flashing lights and water spraying from the hydrant. A few parks have removed there's for whatever reason.

[Ilovthevu']

Just to mention, the police car got new lights on top.

[coasterkidd100]

Last Wednesday when I went to the park there was also fog/smoke coming from the police car. I don't remember ever seeing that before.

[txcrew]

Last Wednesday when I went to the park there was also fog/smoke coming from the police car. I don't remember ever seeing that before.

I recall seeing the fog several years ago. A stream of smoke would release out of the grill/hood of the car on timed intervals. So depending on how long you wait in the area, you may or may not see it. I'm glad to know they are at least maintaining the effects around the police car. It's the little things that make ride experiences awesome.

[BURTONxBLUNT]

will xflight have the mist running again? its a bummer seeing the support look all crummy now from the mist

[NightRider785]

The police car used to have an ionizer? under the hood. Now it's a fog machine. BTR seems to have dropped 40% of the theming... I did hear some of the music from the 1989 movie back in the station today! That hasn't been there in years... I was pretty excited! I heard Jack Nicholson lines in there too
But the ride fog machines are yet again gone, now that it's forward. The police car still fogs though, so that's good I guess... My guess is the fog costs money, so they removed them. If an effect goes out, or confuses them, they don't want to pay to replace it, so it goes. I bet one day BTR is nothing more than what IR queue line used to be. A simple, boring queue line.

[DeathbyDinn]

^ I don't think it'll get that bad, but I've never understood why the theming in all the BTRs lines has been reduced over the years. Things like our graffiti, or SFSTLs cop car, it's not like they just vanish, the park has to make an effort to remove them, so why would they? It's not like that stuff really needs to be maintained, half of the queue line is supposed to look like crap.

[FParker185]

Grafitti wall was a victim to the previous management with Dan Snyder, they didn't want guests to feel like they were in a junkyard or a ghetto despite that being kind of the point of Batman's former theme.

[Ilovthevu']

I bet one day BTR is nothing more than what IR queue line used to be. A simple, boring queue line.

What is IR?

[Iron Wolf 90-11]

I bet one day BTR is nothing more than what IR queue line used to be. A simple, boring queue line.

What is IR?

I think he meant IW from which I assume to mean Iron Wolf.

[Ilovthevu']

What did Iron Wolf used to be like?

[Iron Wolf 90-11]

What did Iron Wolf used to be like?

I believe he was just referring to how boring it was. There were only swithcbacks and then up to the station really. There wasn't really anything to see.

[Ilovthevu']

^Ok, I get it. It's a little confusing since Iron Wolf is a past ride, and he used the phrase used to be. I was just wondering because maybe in the first 5 years, it was different than it was at the end. The only theming I ever remember for Iron Wolf was during Fright Fest, them having a Wolf near the sign on the building, and towards the end, they had a sign - something like the Big Bad Wolf - which I guess was homage to the Big Bad Wolf ride which was torn down.

[NightRider785]

Yeah sorry, I meant IW. Auto correct switched it to OR and I guess I only changed the "O" back.

[Viper 88]

Uuuum DUH I mean who ever heard or pirates at a * County Fair? And X Flight nothing to do with anything. We have crossed from theme park to amusement park!

[NightRider785]

Plus right inside the "X Flight hanger", there is a ton of empty space in there. I'd imagine there was theming available, but the park said no to save money... Makes me sad, but it feels like they don't want a theme park anymore. Just an amusement park.

[FParker185]

Park spent the hangar money on the water features. I think it was a fair tradeoff.

[DeathbyDinn]

Uuuum DUH I mean who ever heard or pirates at a * County Fair? And X Flight nothing to do with anything. We have crossed from theme park to amusement park!

It's not like County Fair was ever coherently themed, even under Marriott. How does a Demon fit into County Fair? How many county fairs have triple armed ferris wheels? County Fair has always been the most generic area of the park with everything really only linked together by their color schemes. Besides, actual county fairs are always just random things thrown together. I've seen planes and pirates at fairs before, right next to sharks and Harry Potter themed fun houses. And County Fair is such a generic theme anyways. Would a splash battle that goes around american flags and pie eating contests really have been better?

I think the better question is why are there Chevys in the area themed to the old south west?

[SFGAm Viper]

The police car used to have an ionizer? under the hood. Now it's a fog machine. BTR seems to have dropped 40% of the theming... I did hear some of the music from the 1989 movie back in the station today! That hasn't been there in years... I was pretty excited! I heard Jack Nicholson lines in there too
But the ride fog machines are yet again gone, now that it's forward. The police car still fogs though, so that's good I guess... My guess is the fog costs money, so they removed them. If an effect goes out, or confuses them, they don't want to pay to replace it, so it goes. I bet one day BTR is nothing more than what IR queue line used to be. A simple, boring queue line.

The fog in the station was brought in for the backwards run only.