DirkFunk

LOL I've never seen this thread before and it is incredible. People like this are why I generally don't wear coaster shirts (aka "tard bait") to parks - maybe this guy is secretly the nicest and best, but I'm not really into having some forced, painful conversation with him or anyone like him. Also, riding a single roller coaster a billion times isn't an accomplishment and wow, anyone who thinks it is needs to get their head checked.

Cedar Fair isn't doing any crazy accounting to make it look like they aren't piling money up and burning it. Dorney isn't going anywhere.

Astroworld's problem was that it belonged to a company strapped for cash for poor expenditures that happened elsewhere, looked at the park's location ("downtown! this is worth something!") and trashed it to make a quick buck. Astroworld's death was a significant factor in Dan Snyder's rise in prominence at Six Flags, as he was vehemently against the decision. SFAW died not because it was a failure or poorly performing, but because the owners had lots of other properties that were. In the end, it dropping helped no one except the Landrys.

I do, and realistically, even if the capacity was far exceeding 300 an hour (which is what I'm hearing It maxes at), that would be my likely plan of action. I just expect the ride to undergo a lot of changes and tweaking to get it to a better state, and I'd rather ride it in that form than what's presently there.

800 an hour as *actual* capacity sounds about right for the number of trains the ride has in comparison to theoretical capacity. Some seats will go empty and they'll probably go the increasingly common (and crappy) Gwazi-ish route of seat belt checks followed by lap bar checks. Just arrive early. What other choice are you gonna have, you know?

Both the Jump and Jump2 (which Sledgehammer is) are kinda "meh" rides to me that look better than they ride. I enjoy riding them, sure - they don't hurt. But they don't do much that excites me either. Also, after hearing about the capacity troubles for WMG (apparently it has to sit in the station and charge batteries? LOLOLOL) I'm probably going to put off a Toronto trip for awhile. I hate to crap on a ride that just opened, but it seems like unless something drastically changes, it would be a terrible fit for Cedar Point or Knotts.

Liseberg has like 87 Burger King counters. Pretty much every Cedar Fair park also has at least one Subway. Cedar Point itself has a Chick-Fil-A too.

Saw that yesterday and it's definitely a black eye for the park. Can the park control what their employees do with their personal time? Absolutely not. Then again, what does it say when it happened on park property? Anyone who's been in those dorm spaces and in that rec center will tell you - it isn't the most pleasant place in the world. That this sort of thing happened is not the least bit shocking. It's a wonder it doesn't happen yearly.

Because it doesn't have to be that way. If you want to be an apologist for the place, that's fine. I have no emotional need to do that myself. But don't act surprised that lots of people in this hobby don't share your view.

No, people get that totally. Here's the deal: -No one forced Six Flags Magic Mountain to buy 19 roller coasters. -No one forced Six Flags Magic Mountain to keep every single roller coaster it has purchased in the last several years. -No one forced Six Flags, post-bankruptcy and now profitability, to keep reducing costs in its parks to increase immediate revenue for investors. I'm not expecting them to fix everything that has gone badly in the course of a couple months. I can't. But I'm not going to excuse them for doing a crappy job because doing a crappy job is easier/more convenient/better pleases people and computer algorithms monitoring stocks for investment purposes. I'm a guy who pays money to go to a theme park and I would prefer it not look run down. Luckily, I have other options.

While this benefits capacity (which Cedar Point is known to excel in already), I see a wave of complaints about how Cedar Fair is just being money grabbers coming in if they further implement this to all of the coasters. I do wish the one time use fluffy, fluffy bunnies filled with medicine and goo were free for 2 hours max though... They used to be like that. Then they brought bins into the stations like, I dunno, 6-7 years ago?

If you're at any park on a hot, busy day, the possibility that someone is going to act a fool is high. BTW: Cedar Point will be super crowded and doesn't have metal detectors. Are you afraid to go? OK then.

Anaconda and Vanish disappear into manmade lakes that are probably easy to pump dry. Great Adventure's is a natural one and I imagine there'd be a whole lot of paperwork in New Jersey to get a tunnel built in wetlands there. If they don't start working on it soon, I'll be shocked if it is open before July next year.

That's totally true. It could very well be a set of exceptional circumstances. On that note....is Raging Bull running 3 trains yet this year? Does X-Flight have its second train on yet?

Great America is an enormous park. Enormous! Look, I'd love to have another park that big within weekend trip distance, by it isn't gonna happen. I too think a new ride is necessary, by I think a mammoth thrill coaster is the wrong direction. There is a world of difference between some Larson Flying Scooters and Firechaser Express or a Vekoma mine train.

Six Flags Great America has a yearly attendance in the 2.5- 3 million range, guys. That's a long, long ways from what Darien Lake is likely to ever be.

I was over by the remains of Fun Spot not all that long ago - maybe a month ago? - and noticed that the ride pad under Afterburner where the Troika was now sat empty. I would guess then that this is another pick up from the site. Just get the Calypso and the Bayern Kurve and I'll be one happy kid.

They have a bigger Detroit, Toronto. When you look at the 3 hour drive radius, there is a huge population. You have: Buffalo/Niagara/Cataragus : 1.21 million Rochester/Batavia/Seneca Falls : 1.15 million Syracuse/Auburn : 0.73 million Erie/Meadville : 0.37 million Cleveland/Elviyra/Mentor: 2.06 million Golden Horseshoe (Toronto/Hamilton/Missasauga): 8.79 million So within a 3 hours drive you have 13.31 million people approximately. Which is why there has been a big focus on improving the overnight accommodations, to capture these people in. Detroit lost Edgewater before I was born and Boblo went under about 10 years later. Cedar Point gets to pull from a Detroit-Windsor metro area of 5.7 million people with no competition. Toronto has a much larger, much closer park in an era where border crossings are a bigger and bigger pain, and Darien Lake has to share those people with Martin's Fantasy Island and Marineland in a short radius of where it's at. Cedar Point doesn't have that concern. The two closest amusement parks are dead and gone. I too am impressed with much of the infrastructure Sk610, but there's work to be done elsewhere that I think could greatly benefit the place and make it even better.

The amusement rides rarely have a big line. The zoo itself, taken at a laid back pace and seeing everything, will probably take about 4 hours+.

The problem isn't scheduling trips around opening dates for most - it is when you schedule the trip a month or more after the original opening date and the ride still isn't open. Both big chains have been guilty of the sorts of investments that lead to this and no one is "innocent". As predictable as something like Goliath not opening on time was way back last year, it still isn't actively good. Hell, I think most of the major "new for 2014" rides still haven't opened and won't be open by June 1.

Darien Lake doesn't have a Detroit to draw from though. I think that's something that needs to be considered in this. I agree that a big ride could help jump attendance a bit, but I'd prefer they try something a little outside the big thrill ride box. They have thrill rides. They don't have quality family attractions outside of the ones that float.

Via Priceline, you may be able to get something above average at a reasonable price. I've scored the Hyatt Place in Mason less than ten minutes away twice for about $60 for a base price. The Towneplace Suites Cinci North is also pretty good, but paying base rate I doubt it is below $80.

Lots of money was spent decorating a modern day Cuddle Up. Because of that and thanks to a soundtrack consisting of Larry The Cable Guy singing, it is "immersive". Yes. Because Hulk Coaster and Dr. Doom's Fearfall don't stand out at all as being garish. I mean, god forbid, you build something crazy and garish at an amusement park! Lemme guess; Space Mountain being visible from Splash Mountain makes total sense. Make up some stupid story and spend 10-20 million on decorative foam. Is this because we already discussed how you could do a Top Spin? Rides don't lend themselves to good storylines. That's why Marc Davis intentionally didn't put a story into Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion. But you knew that already. Would Expedition: Everest be told better as a mine train or a very expensive high ropes course? What kind of question is this? I'm arguing for a thing that exists and will continue to be built, yes. You're arguing they either don't exist or that they only exist within the realm of "narrative" which, LOL @ Dumbo's narrative. Did they clone him? Absolutely not, except when it does because you approve of the level of decoration done in fiberglass. That strawman is as dead as my future participation in this thread.

My expectations of Six Flags investing money in existing infrastructure like "make Revolution not actively terrible" are next to none and so it never really enters my mind as an option. I'd love to see it because I guess I am a dumb mark who actually enjoys riding roller coasters as a hobby. Crazy me, right?

No, I understand it clearly. Crystal. Having a wave swinger wasn't what cause DCA to have low attendance. The reasons are myriad and books could (and probably have) been written about them. But yeah, they were such a miserable failure that several flat rides were brought in for the re-theme of Bountiful Valley Farm and two were put in place for the new Cars Land. You know, like this: No one is arguing that a wave swinger can carry or act as a D-ticket attraction in a major theme park intended to draw 8-9-10 million people. But to say that they absolutely have no place is to basically deny reality. They have a place. They always have. Always will. Put it in a box. Kings Island did it and had the ride not been garbage it would have worked fine. Big European parks that host plenty of guests have done it successfully. If you're worried about the aesthetics of the show building: