DBJ
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Posts posted by DBJ
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At least they are realizing that building the smallest Disney park in the chain wouldn't be the best idea! The only successful new Disney park built (from day one) in recent history was done by OLC. I think it's very reasonable for them to question Disney's plans at this point. They could wind up with DCA - Disney's China Adventure - and then watch the new park underpeform and have to go through an overhaul.
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Random ride placement thoughts:
You know, if they painted GL red & yellow - you now have "Flash:The Ride", great for their DC heroes theme.
Would be amazing to see the giant ferris wheel on top of SFMM's hill. Certainly an amazing view. Also, hope they recycle the Thrill Park Theater and send that to SFMM (replace Carrot Club?). And since SFMM is my home SF park, biased towards receiving the huss breakdance.
RRE - great for the parks without a Tony Hawk spinning coaster.
T2 - sell that sucker, along with the wood coasters.
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So how much of the park closes when the show is running? Mickey Wheel, Silly Symphony, Zephyr and CA Screamin possibly?
While I think the overall effect is impressive, with a lot of the locals having seen both Fantasmic and been to Vegas, not sure if this was the best possible use of the lagoon. I read it earlier elsewhere in this thread about the Aquatrax (probably as a joke), but actually, I think an actual ride would have been a better use of the space. Imagine something like Sea World's Jet Ski coaster zipping over the water. To me that is more exciting than watching old clips of Pocahontas and "colors of the wind".
Carsland can't come soon enough.
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That certainly is unfortunate for the locals, especially with the economic impact that will happen. That's what happens though when politicians squeeze corporations for more taxes, fees, and higher lease terms. It did sound like though that now that the mayor is involved, something may happen. This is also an issue for the state's governor to step in and offer incentives to keep the park open.
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Those are quite nice. Great for indoor waterparks, would make the interior area seem more open. When they are outside, if a few in different colors were snaking around each other, would be quite striking in bright sunlight.
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Here is just a hypothetical..
What if STE was altered into the world's tallest Intamin 1/2 pipe? Maybe just adding back towers and having the train travel / launch through the station a few times like Wicked Twister or Half Pipe in Denver . Not sure how fast the train is traveling while coming down in reverse, but if each back tower was 200/300 feet, they essentially can get a "new" coaster without a buying a lot of track. The most challenging thing would be the programming for multiple launches/braking.
Probably very expensive to pull off, and I'm sure the people who confuse Terminator with Psyclone wouldn't appreciate the effort. It will be interesting to see which way SFMM goes with S:TE over the next couple of years.
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Superman may indeed change. There was a rumor late last year that a new "impressive" and "unique" coaster was coming to SFMM in 2011, and that it would be near the top of the mountain.
Superman always was a challenge for the park, so it wouldn't surprise me horribly to see them alter the ride into something more operationally budget friendly.
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That's some good info!
Interesting that Tinkerbell's section is a "second phase". I would more than bet that is because they are going to re-evaluate putting anything Fairy-branded into the park, as it is not as popular as the "Princess" line-up of merchandise.
Reads like Belle's area is really an outdoor mall with a premium restaraunt.
Imo, maybe they are focused too much on the retail side in this instance. I know they are spending huge money on research projects on how to address the line issues at their parks, but really isn't the answer kind of self-explanatory? High quality attractions/rides will split crowds far better than shopping.
Cinderella's Chateau? Strikes me as perhaps low on the capacity side, and more of a mini-theatrical performance area.
Dumbo's Circus, now the start of a "land" really with Barnstormer becoming clown ride - does appear to be a tad out of place within the visual context of this expansion. It's like a little pocket of circus within the natural "forest" look they are going for just across the pathway. Maybe they should dump Tinkerbell and embrace the Dumbo circus concept more fully within that pocket. Mickey's Silly Symphony (DCA) would at least kind of match the fairground feel of Dumbo.
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I'm not so sure about that. Usually, execs who will make these types of flaws in operations need to have a lesson in failure and then they change their strategy. The failure of Thomas Town (as the SFMM example) not increasing "family" attendance was a top down decision that imo did not take into account the regional competition.
My prediction is that the next error will be in the marketing of the ride. The commercials will advertise the record for the coasters, likely with a big old 17 coasters in maximum font size. They will show Term, Tatsu, X2, Deja..all the big ones, and maybe a split second of Mr. Six. So just by association, the average customer will incorrectly assume it's also a thrill ride, and show up and be dissapointed.
I'm really hoping they actually advertise Mr. Six in context with the other "family" rides / attractions from Thomas Town / Bugs Bunny.
100% agree about the height limits. Goldrusher having seatbelts seems like the cheapest way to add an additional ride for the younger set. If family and park cleanup is their focus, then Goldrusher should be near the top of the list.
To end on a positive note, I do appreciate the coaster paint jobs and the obvious effort being made to continually improve the aesthetic appeal of the park.
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Sounds promising. I wouldn't expect them to have much of a problem with the banana breath or a wind machine. Are the trams redesigned to have higher roofs? I can see the guests in the middle of the trams having some difficulty seeing the 3D screens, especially kids. Going to be a lot of competition for those window seats on the tram now.
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Sounds like a great addition to Epcot's food offerings. And it will blow away what they currently offer as "pizza". Epcot is really going for the culinary tourist dollar.
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Certainly an odd name, cute though. I'm interested to see how the dancing "shoe" coaster car paint job turns out. It certainly would be nice to see this ride go partially enclosed with some disco lights. Help block out the screams of terror coming from Deja Vu as well.
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Those Austria pics are stunning, as well as the others. The view of the lake with the mountains is incredible. Looks like a postcard.
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I like the concept of Vekoma's Big Air with the rotating seats, found this on their website.."
"Beginning with awe-inspiring vertical lift of approximately 60 meters, guests are slowly rotated before experiencing a breathtaking downward facing dive."
Reads like it doesn't rotate during the course of the entire ride. Great for people who don't want to ride a constantly spinning coaster.
So it's definately possible that it's Vekoma and not the Intamin Half Pipe design.
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I love the fact that they are adding another attraction to the area, the Fairies version of Junkyard Jamboree. The model is quite impressive looking, thanks for the links.
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Isn't this essentially the pattern of most of the Disney parks built in recent history? They are built "small", focus on hotel and retail over actual attractions, miss every atttendance target, post a loss, and then the parks scramble to add expensive attractions to reverse the decline. One would have thought that the Chinese govt. might have wanted to take a closer look at the intial years of the other Disney parks that underperformed and avoid replicating the same mistakes.
Hope they are learning a lesson with regards to the future park in Shanghai.
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Legoland is extremely well done for it's target audience. If Cypress Gardens does become a Legoland, I think the park will do quite well in Florida.
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Thanks for taking the time to type all that up. Made for some interesting reading.
The one area where I think SF continually goes wrong, and has been for quite some time, is the pricing of everything else besides admission. It has never been "expensive" to enter the park with all the discounts around.
They might get a family into the park on a discounted admission rate, but sticker shock hits guest when it comes to parking. If it is significantly higher than other local venues, guests either than expect superior service or a facility. Neither is true of a SF parking lot. Therefore, it creates the first negative impression of the park.
The second major negative is the pricing of the food. From bizarre combos like a "family combo" for four that only comes with two drinks, or combos that don't include a beverage, it's just too much money for the quality of the food and the atmosphere. Usually, SF outdoor food courts are sub-par compared to every local mall.
The management of SFMM for example should go down the road to the mall and take a look at the food court. That is what consumers now are used to as the miminum standard in an acceptable eating atmosphere. SFMM's exposed park seating is absurdly primitve in comparison.
Guests may eat inside the park out of convenvience, but they need to focus on getting guests to eat there because they actually want / prefer eating there over somewhere other than the park. The negative impression that comes with the pricing, quality and atmosphere makes return visits unlikely.
The third issue is what to do with the walking around with purchases, when it comes to merchandise spending. It is in general a great idea for safety and speeding up the line to store loose articles, but the split second a guest buys a souvenir or a on-ride photo (talk about overpriced! bet they would sell more if they listed for 9.99 - it's just a digital photo!), they then are now faced with storage costs. That is customer unfriendly. To encourage in-park spending on merchandise, there has to be a system where guests can purchase items and then be able to store them somewhere for free.
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From what I've seen of Lotte from this site, looks like Universal has found a very good partner in developer a great park for Korea.
I would hope that they develop the attractions around slightly more modern films and pop culture franchises. "Avatar" is popular in the region, and that movie in particular lends itself to the BTTF/Simpsons ride style. And they do have a relationship with Cameron on T2:3D.
At least with attractions based on Jurrasic Park, there are more films planned over the next decade so that is current. If they really wanted a post-apocalyptic era stunt show, there is a new Mad Max movie coming up as well. Just don't get Uni's fascination with Waterworld, other than that they own the ip rights.
It definately will be interesting to see which way they go. Would they install similar rides to what they have at their current parks? Or will they go more towards IOA and Singapore?
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Thanks for the videos! Love the theme park design and architecture info.
The park looks like it will be very well done. Really some visually stunning design work going into the park. Highlights definately are the Deuling Coasters, JP, Transformers, and Madagascar Crate Adv.
Surprised that Waterworld is still significant enough in pop culture to warrant a new install in this next decade. And it's part of the "Lost World"? Hmmm. Imo, either Far Far Away or JP could have expanded into that area to add more kids/family/thrill rides. Someday, love to see Universal build a flyer themed to a Ptero.
Or, where is Harry Potter? Is that license exclusive to Florida?
Odd isn't it that a micro Ferris Wheel is in a shop as well. Interesting concept. Although imo, a family coaster with a ferris wheel lift system with the track encirlcing (it is the Magic Potion Spin shop after all).
Also odd that Enchanted Airways isn't a family suspended coaster, but a pretty standard sit down.
Also MIA...MIB. With a possible 3rd movie on the way, seems like a no-brainer for Sci-Fi city. Maybe they have space reserved for expansion? Or, Treasure Hunters done as interactive shooter. Although it's great they are at least building a dark ride.
It's a very promising start for Universal in that region.
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I was there Sunday (12/20). Did not immediately notice Batman's blue paint, looks nice actually. Breaks up the grey tones of "Gotham City". I saw them working on Gearwork's q. Quite a few things were closed..Goliath (which is vibrant now and I anticipated that closure), Collosuss (surprise), Tidal Wave (seasonal), Roaring Rapids (seasonal), Terminator down to 1 train, didn't notice Ninja running, and Superman crawling up the left tower.
Thomas Town cul de sac fully operational and vacant. Still had an enjoyable yet brief visit.
Couple of observations.
There is a considerable amount fo dead space at the park. Next to Johnny Rockets (County Fair), there is a basketball carny game in front of some kind of falling apart structure. Kind of a waste of space considering most people play the basketball challenge instead. Perfect spot for an actual ride. Same for the former monorail stations. Quite a bit of potential open area in those locations.
The Longhorn BBQ is a huge improvement over the tacos. Price is too high though, watched plenty of people walk out due to the cost. Essentially it's a premium priced food option (really, it's sit down restaraunt cost like Tony Roma's or Famous Daves) with the ambience of sitting on park benches. I think maybe they might want to look at Sea World San Diego and how they created a fun eating environment to enjoy the overpriced food.
Did a bit of Christmas shopping as well. Let's just say the merch mix left a lot to be desired.
While lying on my back in X2's former unloading area, noticed the "roof" is essentially tarps. Imo, that would be a good element for either Batman to go "enclosed" for a "Dark Knight", for Scream's interlocking corkscrew section, or Goliath's helix.
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I also see this a chance to expand Thomas Town. If the right attraction is installed and marketed, it would be a "re-launch" of the land into the minds of the kidde/family socal market. On a side note, when I saw the "Barnyard" attraction from Zamperla, I immediately thought of the barn area at SFMM.
http://www.zamperla.com/en/product/131/barnyard.html?category_id=2
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Glad to see the animals were moved to a sanctuary. Good move. I just couldn't imagine the animals actually enjoyed their small plot of land and the noise coming from the park. The land there would be a good fit for the small coaster if the spot by DV is marked for something else at this point.
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I'm happy that the ride is not coming to Knott's at all. Very happy. Nice also to read that perhaps they are paying attention to the overall look of the park.
The Six Flags Magic Mountain (SFMM) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
I agree with the overexpansion into Europe and the buying spree did them in. They did very little with the existing parks beyond just adding a new thrill ride. The upkeep budget just collapsed. That was very obvious to the customers.
It wasn't until the end when they invested in a hotel, SF Great Escape Lodge, that I thought that maybe they were on the verge of turning a corner where they would take the chain up to the next level. I hope in the future that they pursue the hotel / indoor waterpark strategy once again for the remaining parks where they have the available land. Imo, that is the only way that they can grow the parks from the cheaper regional day trippers to a Universal Orlando / Disney-esque experience.
In SFMM case, they certainly have gambled on coasters! In one sense, I respect the risk they took with Superman (and Ka back east), X / X2, and Deja. Certainly those three caused SFMM to have a greater financial burden than what they forecasted.
Going forward, I also agree that SFMM has to have a highly marketable ride /angle for the 2011/12 seasons, because both Disney and Universal are targeting similar demos with Carsland and Transformers. For non-locals who come to CA for one or both of those attractions, it would make sense for SFMM to have a massive coaster ready to be advertised. One of SFMM greatest strengths is the location. They can build whatever they want practically.
And maybe that is the master plan. With the continued painting and other misc. improvements, installing a relatively cheap ride by SFMM standards in 2010, maybe by 2011 they will be ready for their close-up for coaster #18.