Manic Monte

^ I miss that drop on CGA's Demon, but unfortunately ours got neutered, and to this day I'm still not sure why. lol

^ Actually, I don't really want them...or I don't really care one way or another since I rarely ride Viper anymore. I just think it's a pretty good chance that if Viper stays, it's going to get them.

SFMM never does teasers for some reason, I guess the PR dept is like "f* that, theyll get what we give em and thats it" I can see the park adding a Giant Discovery, not sure where in the park though. Maybe in the back by Apocalypse, though I'd love to see it somewhere in DC so it can be themed to a superhero/villain. This would be my guess as well, along with maybe a Viper restraint retrofit like Thrillseeker said.

Yeah over the years they have surprised me with taking care of the some very much needed coaster TLC. But they are still inconsistent with the basics. SFMM can't be an easy park to run, but at least get the basics right.

Uhhh... fix what they have? Work on operations? Clean the garbage of the hill going up Samurai Summit/Ninja? Fix Sky Tower? Those would get my vote. And a couple classic and fun flat rides, of course. Haha...Folks have been saying this since the 1998. It never happens.

So with 2018 announcements just around the corner, and parks doing teasers campaigns like crazy, SFMM has been dead silent. Most people would take this as 2018 being an off year for the park. But with everything coming to the other nearby parks, is that really possible? So what does everyone think SFMM will do next year?

Thank you and I apologize if I added to it. I had no idea what was going on, or I never would have responded at all (I was beginning to see it though lol).

SFMM is not the only park without a skyscreamer. SFGAm and Escape don't have them. We don't "know" what SFOG is getting, it's speculated. They could just do a complete retrack like CF did with Ghost Rider and mad that ride 100x better. It's now the best ride in the park. Wouldn't matter. A re-track is STILL a coaster project that requires an investment from SF, so I'm not sure what you mean. So, your logic is any investment even a small one. The perspective SF hopes people have towards their parks, minimalist. No, that wasn't really just logic lol. I used a poor choice of words because I am speculating, but yes I believe any investment SF makes for 2018 regardless of how big or small, will be marketed as something major...And I believe SFOG is getting an RMC Cyclone.

^ Good point lol

SFMM is not the only park without a skyscreamer. SFGAm and Escape don't have them. We don't "know" what SFOG is getting, it's speculated. They could just do a complete retrack like CF did with Ghost Rider and mad that ride 100x better. It's now the best ride in the park. Wouldn't matter. A re-track is STILL a coaster project that requires an investment from SF, so I'm not sure what you mean.

LOL...suddenly Skywarps are the only 'world's first' rides on the table? Seems to me several companies have announced new concepts in the last few years.

^ Well I agree that Six Flags is going to hype up moderately priced rides due to their budget restraints. SFMM is the only park in the chain without a Skyscreamer (I'm guessing the proximity to Knotts Windseeker had something to do with that), so that's probably a good bet to make. There are usually a couple of moderately priced coasters in the mix as well, and we know SFOG is getting one of those. The other? hmmmmm....

World's highest Skyscreamer. World's first Skywarp(cloned at several parks in 2018). Is this true, or just a guess?

^ That would be nice! However, my dream for SFMM would be a Mack Power Splash. I'd love to see Six Flags in general work with Mack.

As for 2018, for the first time in a long time I have no idea what SFMM is up to. The consensus seems to be some sort of flat, except we all know SFMM doesn't add flats. Will that change next year?

They could remove a coaster to build one and still get to 20 coasters by 2020. Why would they remove one though.. maybe because if they remove one now and replace with another and then build one for 2020 or 2019 they will have 20 coasters, they will want that title of 20 coasters for a while so I guess if they get rid of the coaster that most likely needs to leave because its bad shape or what ever and have it replaced before removing it when they have 20 coasters and if they removed it be 19 again and wouldn't have lived that title of 20 coasters, that may have sounded confusing, don't know. So if they replace that coasters that are in bad shape or need to go now they have newer coaster that will make that 20 roller coaster title longer. No one is saying they should, or would. We're discussing these as "What if" scenarios.

They could remove a coaster to build one and still get to 20 coasters by 2020.

This one crossed my mind as well, but the Gerstlauer Infinity rumor just keeps getting stronger, and when a rumor hangs around for this long without dying (like the SFMM Dive coaster rumor has), there is probably some merit to it. Yeah, just ask SFStL about their hyper, Darien Lake about Cuba Falls and Lake Monster, King's Island about their giga, etc. I think the Dive Coaster rumor for this park had some merit to it but I can agree that it was an enthusiast's wishful thinking in the end. Logically, it had seemed like a very solid assertion, and probably would have offered KBF and the West coaster quite a bit in one package. Needless to say the recent return of dive coasters have some hope that even more are on their way. As for a Dive Coaster at Magic Mountain, that has been a decade's-old enthusiast pipe dream. I haven't ever seen any substance to that rumor at any point nor any reason to infer one was ever coming. Ps SFMM fansboys: Six Flags has announced the closure of several rides and Viper is still running Well I can honestly say I do not count myself among that group of enthusiasts. I've never found dive coasters very interesting, and couldn't care less if we ever get one anywhere on the West coast. There are now plenty of rides that have near or beyond vertical drops that go on to do much more exciting maneuvers after the initial drop. The best thing about a dive coaster imo, is the capacity. As for the Gerstlauer rumor, this isn't just a bunch of 12 year old fans I've heard this rumor from. I've heard it from a person I trust. Even still, I still think there are other possibilities and this person could be wrong. I was only stating that the rumor has legs, and most of them die off as we reach announcement dates and the truth begins to emerge.

This one crossed my mind as well, but the Gerstlauer Infinity rumor just keeps getting stronger, and when a rumor hangs around for this long without dying (like the SFMM Dive coaster rumor has), there is probably some merit to it. I think there's an obvious reason for the Gerstlauer rumor....it really just seems to fit the space and is a good way to maximize thrills in a relatively small space. There are a couple of Intamin types that would fit the same bill, tho. Some kind of blitz would be beyond awesome. But......I hear Intamin and Knotts in the same sentence and I think Half Pipe or other Impulse......and Knotts doesn't need another ride where one car runs for 30 seconds and everyone stands around watching it. So, right now at least....I'm hoping for an Infinity. And I think that is what drives the Infinity rumors. An Intamin Blitz would be beyond awesome and would also make some sense (renewed relationship, popular Maverick coaster), but given the scale of the Mean Streak makeover, perhaps the park wants a similar type ride built at a cheaper price. I will admit that Gerstlauer track would look awesome on the boardwalk though, and can be built to fit a very compact space. Looking forward to this announcement.

This one crossed my mind as well, but the Gerstlauer Infinity rumor just keeps getting stronger, and when a rumor hangs around for this long without dying (like the SFMM Dive coaster rumor has), there is probably some merit to it.

JL's cost more than 4D's by 3-4M and as much as a moderately priced coaster. They do need to perfrom as much as coaster when they coast as much or more. That may be the problem SF is noticing, the drop off in JL's lines might make then rethink the ROI on them. If I were SF I'd be more concerned about the guest drop off in general throughout their parks. I think that may be a factor in the shifting going on in the CEO department. Perhaps it's time to get a little more creative than a one or two ride "one size fits all", buying in bulk like you're shopping at Costco formula, that just isn't going to work long term. You've got to know your markets, and be prepared to adapt when what you're doing begins to stale.

Whether Gerstlauer or Intamin, I'd imagine the layouts would be similar to what Knotts is going for. I just hope it includes multiple airtime moments, as that is sorely lacking at Knotts imo.

There have been anecdotes at other parks of JL's falling off too. What were 1 -2 hour waits are now 15-20 minutes, sometimes less. But to most they are a success and SF thinks so. I was never a fan of them to start, as I was skeptical of them, as well as the 4D Free fly's long term staying power. Neither IMO is going to be viewed as a solid ride 20+ years later like the B&M Batman invert clones. The JL rides don't need to perform as well as multi million dollar coasters to be considered a major success for Six Flags. The fact that they have been replicated across the chain for a fraction of the cost of a multi million dollar coaster IS the success. I will say that I bet Six Flags will be keeping a close eye on how this does at a hard core thrill park like SFMM. That is the one possible wrinkle in their strategy. The SFMM teen crowd isn't going to show up for Super Loops and Sky Screamers long term. Eventually they will need to put a major thrill ride in that park. At least on the scale of a Yolo or TC. Moderately priced coasters that LOOK deceptively expensive. Vekoma, S&S, Mack and others have recently announced a bunch of those.

SF spending 20+M on a coaster? They don't do it b/c of their post bankruptcy Capital expenditure formula. SF EBIDTA is thru the roof without big coasters, there is no reason to change. They have set a 750M Modified EBIDTA goal for 2020, they are at 545M in last annual report. The investment strategy is not changing. Guys listen to him he's 100% correct he's an expert SF will be installing nothing more than S&S free spins, justice Leagues , larson loops and giant discoveries for the rest of their history. The idea of SF spending conservatively to be able to spend on something big is just impossible and according to the experts SF 2018 will be Skywarp for every park lol It's not SF spending conservatively to be able to spend on something big. This is they are saving up notion, which is put out by people that don't know the finances. SF is actually not saving up, they are actually spending slightly more in dollar amount each year. SF cap expenditures never exceeds 9% of revenue, Of that 9%, 60% goes to actual rides. They were touting in their investment presentation that they never over 9%. They also said that % will essentially decrease as revenue grows. Also, the foreign revenue does not count in calculating cap expenditures for North American parks. They said in no uncertain terms they are happy with the spending level which is just under 75M/yr on rides. Spending 75M/yr, which is their happy spot essentially and it prevents them from spending 20-25M on 1 coaster, while giving all 13 parks something each year. SF by design is going to "live: in the lower end of the coaster market. They aren't going to be CF building gigas, massive wings, massive dives, massive inverts like Fury 325, Gatekeeper, Valravyn, Banshee, etc.. You either don't understand SF clear strategy, which has been successful financially, while relying heavily on cheap cloned rides or you are in denial. They are not saving up for something big, that's not how SF works and they are transparent about it. I agree with you that this current strategy works for the company and will not change in 2018. But a lot of that success can be credited to the massive success of the Justice League and RMC additions. In order to maintain their current success, they will need to continue to find rides that offer major bang for smaller bucks, which is no easy feat. it will be very interesting to see where SF looks next for that bang once every park has a JL and RMC.