megametal

They can be fun if hitting the target makes something happen, but a lot of times many targets are broken or, as with Gobbler Getaway when I rode it in 2012, the guns didn't work, so nothing moved!

Really? I've been to Great Adventure 3 times and thought the only pretty places were the Lakeside area and the Fantasy Forest area... What was once Movietown is horrible looking. The Boardwalk looks like it should, I suppose, good themeing there, but kind of ugly as a lot of boardwalks are. The frontier area has had most of it's themeing removed over the years....

It used to be great fun back in the 1990s. It only began to suck around 2004 or so. Especially that curve right after the first drop. The whole train would vibrate so bad throughout the course. Carowinds' copy has actually been worse. Putting the trim on the first drop helped with the spinal adjustments, but it completely nixed the only reason to ride the coaster. It had airtime before the brake was added. I remember back in the 90s, sometimes the airtime would leave bruises on your legs due to how forcefully you would pull up into your lap bar. I hope that if Carowinds' redo of the first curve and removal of the trim goes well, that they redo ours and remove our trim too. Either do that or get rid of it and build a new wooden coaster.

It was mentioned on page 116 of this thread as a rumor. I had heard it elsewhere too, but don't remember where. I hope it doesn't happen.

^And we'd have very boring threads that are updated about once every few months in the off-seasons if we didn't have them.

I rode both Steel Force and it's cousin Mamba in Missouri in 2012, and Steel Force was way better. Heck, I think Steel Force is better than Superman at SFA too. Love the speedy turnaround and that the bunny hops aren't braked horribly like Mamba was. Got no airtime on Mamba. Also, I think the only lackluster coasters the park has are Stinger and Wild Mouse. Hydra is my least favorite floorless, but it's good fun, and the barrel roll out of the station is pretty darn awesome. I love Thunderhawk, especially in the front and when it's not braked on the way back to the station. However, with them adding individual restraints this year (they are doing that, right), I'm sure it'll neuter the experience completely. Can Dorney expand into the old parking lot on the hill next to Steel Force now that they have more parking in front? I'd like to see them expand without having to tear things out.

There should have been a poll included here. Twas ripe for it.

Probably the same team is getting rid of the first drop break and redoing the curve, just that they decided to do Carowinds' version first.

^ But it's a big circle, with a kind of awesome tumor that is Southwest Territory. Not too complicated.

I've been to SFA, SFGAdv, SFOG, SFStL, and SFGAm. Out of these, I'd say Six Flags Great America, followed by Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Over Georgia if you're looking for a well rounded park. SFGAdv is the best for just coasters. Their flat ride selection is a bit lacking. SFA is usually considered the worst Six Flags park, so of course that's at the bottom. (I still have fun when I go, though.) So: 1. Great America 2. St. Louis (I just really liked the atmosphere and well-roundedness) 3. Over Georgia 4. Great Adventure 5. America From what I've seen/heard, I'd but SFOT and Fiesta Texas quite near the top too. In fact, I'm pretty sure when I have a chance to go to SFOT, it'll compete with SFGAm for the top spot. I'm going to SFNE for the first time this coming summer, and i'm sure it'll be a middle-of-the-list park. Besides Bizarro, the coasters look pretty meh.

Great Adventure's last major coaster investment was in 2006. That's 9 years ago. It's time, we know it, and Six Flags knows it most likely. Six Flags needs to realize that SFMM can wait for 20 for a few years. Cedar Point doesn't feel the need to "compete" with them anymore, so why get to 20 as quickly as they are if there is no true rush? If Magic Mountain gets a major coaster in 2015 or 2016 (over $15 million) before Great Adventure does, I for one will not be happy with Six Flags Inc. Cedar Fair understands that your flagship park doesn't need to have a new coaster every year to be successful. Cedar Point is the best amusement park I've ever been to, and took 5 years off to invest in the other parks in the chain, and are doing so in 2014 with Kings Island and 2015 with Carowinds/Kings Dominion (possibly). You may not consider Green Lantern or the new drop tower to be significant, but Six Flags and the general public do. I think GAdv. will get a new coaster next year anyway. Just be glad you aren't routinely shated like SFA, SFDK, SFSTL or SFFT. Heck, even SFOG is treated worse than Great Adventure!

Well, that was also when Shapiro was in charge of the parks. He left in 2010. Though they do seem to be following his lead. I mean, aren't Fiesta Texas, St. Louis and Discovery Kingdom (which doesn't have the height allowance to do one anyway) the only Six Flags parks without hypers now? (Not including Great Escape, as it's not flagged.) I think Six Flags has discovered that they only need new big coasters every 5 years or so, and are sticking to that.

Because they wanted to revitalize a pretty dead area of the park. The area they put it in was completely dead when I visited in 2012, while the rest of the park had a steady flow of people.

Carowinds just posted a teaser of the 2014 map on their Facebook page showing off the new location of what used to be the Xtreme Skyflyer (now Ripcord). And you can see in the portion of the map they have on there that Gr8 Sk8 has either been moved or removed as well, as the aerial views a few weeks ago had shown.

^ I don't really care for Green Lantern, but love Bizarro. Hey, if you guys want to give it to SFA, which is closer to me and needs it, I'll support it!

I still say get rid of Shockwave and everything in the old Nickelodeon area, heck just move the glider ride to the rest of the kid area or elsewhere so we can keep one of the few flats we have. That would leave quite a footprint to put a coaster on. I was thinking a compact wing-rider like X-Flight at SFGAm (the only one of those I truly loved). Design it right and they can even leave up the old Green Slime Bowl. I guess if they needed to they could have part of the coaster over the Blue Ridge Tollway across what used to be called Shady Grove (the road behind the Eiffel Tower). However, I'd rather leave that area with lots of trees and it's rustic quality.

So did they decide not to put lights back up all over Candy Apple Grove and just focus on Rebel Yell this year? I thought they said they would, but I'll take what I can get.

And Conneaut and it's credit won't be around as long as anything else either. It's in danger of permanent closure every single year it seems. Blue Streak is a great wooden coaster, though, so enjoy it while you can... and the fun-house.

For KD: I'd like to see the old Waterworks stuff moved to the other side of the Rebel Yell, freeing up land to either bring back that part of the lake (and maybe bring back the old waterskiing show) or to expand Candy Apple Grove and get some much needed flat rides. Seriously I don't expect the park to do this, though. Nor will they take down Shockwave and the old Nickelodeon area and put in a wing-rider in it's place like they should. Something the size of SFGAm's X-Flight should fit in that area. For BGW: Add something of value to Ireland, please. There's a nicely wooded area between the parking lot and the park proper that could be used for a coaster. Either that or redo Festa Italia, as it's an eyesore. Carowinds: Remove Hurler. If people want to ride it, they can go 6 hours north to KD. And proceed with those coaster plans for that area.

Skyrush. THE most intense coaster I've ever been on. Especially that first drop if you're in the back seat. (We were assigned that seat all 4 times we rode the coaster last summer.) First coaster I had to hold on for dear life the whole ride too. If I had put my hands up, my shirt would have flown off and I seriously felt like I was going to be pulled out of the restraints. It was awesome! Nothing comes close.

I'd remove Mind Eraser as well. Second choice would be Batwing. Between those two coasters is enough room for a whole new section. One that would complete the circle so the park would only have one dead end (Mardis Gras). Put a great coaster back there and 2 or 3 flat rides and the park would be much better.

The Wild One was relocated almost 30 years ago, though, and isn't the same as it was when brought from Paragon Park. It's restored to the way it was pre-1963 with the last two hills and the helix. I doubt most know it was relocated anyway. The same way I doubt many will ride Roar at SFDK. It may be a clone, but the other one is thousands of miles away. Also, Batwing isn't the same as Nighthawk. It has inline twists, whereas Nighthawk has corkscrews at the end. It also has a helix before the brake run, which Nighthawk does not. It is the same as the one at KI, though. Still, I know what you're sayin'. The park really needs an original coaster, and soon. Either a completely new RMC coaster back behind the white water ride and Mind Eraser or a wing-rider.

And it'll make the lines for the coasters shorter during the day as all the families head to the water park. This would be great for Dare Devil Dive!

Just to split hairs, Roar and Superman both opened before their counterparts in SFDK and Darien Lake, so wouldn't they be the originals?

They may look sterile and boring, but I don't think any maps are as good as the 1980s-mid 1990s ones for scale and info. I mean, when I get a map, I want a map, not a caricature of one.