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^ More extreme dynamic pricing possibly? They could go for the same strategy that Seaworld is trying in Orlando by positioning themselves as the budget friendly park for people who don't want to shell out the cash and deal with the crowds of Disney and Universal. They are also the best thrill park which gives them a nice niche already. I know I am in the minority, but as a coaster enthusiast if I came with family to Southern California during the week in January I would likely choose to go to Magic Mountain before paying twice as much to be trampled on at Disney. To each their own though, that is why there are many options to choose from.

And to think this park was almost sold during the Shapiro era.. what a complete 180 in thinking.

Six Flags America, named for its proximity to our nation's capital, will not be flying the Maryland state flag anymore. Not complaining, just letting everyone know. http://wjla.com/news/local/six-flags-to-replace-flag-display-to-feature-only-american-flags

Does anyone know if the Canada and Mexico flags that are hung alongside the US flag on the inside of the entrance are still there? I am wondering if the new Six Flags decision affected those too. Not looking for a debate, just curious as to the extent of this decision. According to SF, they now only fly US flags at their US parks. I was curious if that has also happened at Great Escape even though they never flew a Confederate flag.

I hope given that this is a small addition this year they have more time to focus on food throughout the park. A lot of Cedar Fair food is not the best, but Dorney Park had the single worst cheeseburger of any amusement park I have ever been to. The rest of the food was not very good either. If they really want to attract families with their bumper cars, troika and now this new pre-k pass, decent food is a necessity. I hope they focus on these little things this season.

^ It seems to me that lots of companies would not mind getting their hands on Busch Gardens, especially the Tampa property in a nice year-round market. Merlin has expressed interest and Cedar Fair has said that from an acquisitions standpoint there are few properties left that would fit their standard, but alluded to Busch as being potential targets should they ever become available. Who could blame them, they are both nice, unique super-regional parks that any operator would love to get their hands on. I do believe they should stay in the SEAS chain though as I fear quality would suffer even more under other operators. I am glad they are not for sale. Thanks for the article, it was very interesting.

Just to add a cold hard fact to this debate in a completely neutral manner, I wanted to remind people that Ed Hart did in fact buy a used Arrow mine train (Big Bad John) from Dollywood when he was running Magic Springs in Arkansas. So while it is only speculation that he was considering to purchase Time Machine we do know that he has purchased a somewhat sizeable used rollercoaster before in Big Bad John. It is also worth noting that the mine train, built in 1978, was older at the time of relocation to Magic Springs than Dragons might be if it were to be relocated in the next couple of years. Just a tidbit of information that I found to be relevant and wanted to share.

Completely agree, it is a great park! Enjoy your trip.

Amtrak service all throughout the southeast, especially in Florida, is beyond terrible. This is because in the northeast the passenger trains have their own designated rails while in the south they usually travel in slow, clunky freight rails and sometimes get delayed by the freight trains themselves.

Kingda Ka launch track which also technically doubles as a brake run in the rare instances when the train rolls back. That counts right?

If you read some of the old annual reports from the early 2000's Burke/Story years it says verbatum that the plan was to eventually flag La Ronde, but I guess when Shapiro came in there were more pressing issues to deal with in the company so that one got swept under the rug and never surfaced again. See page 8 of this document for direct confirmation that "Out La Ronde park in Montreal, our first park in Canada, will be branded a Six Flags park for the 2004 season." http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/61/616/61629/items/143246/2002Letter.pdf

^ I have read at least one or two sources that say that she was neither physically nor mentally incapacitated at the time of the incident. I just hope that this girl did not ruin skyrides for everyone because of her accident. They are some of my favorite rides and for one like this that moves continuously it would be near impossible to retrofit seatbelts, so this ride better not get removed. It's location over the main midway is gorgeous and it is truly a ride that the entire family can enjoy.

Great American Scream Machine at SFOG.

Sorry guys, VR Kraken has already been deemed irrelevant before it has even opened. A BABY WALRUS WAS BORN! Walruses have always been my favorite animal and this is the first one born at Seaworld Orlando. I cannot wait to see him/her in person.

^Please think before you make assumptions and do thorough research. Just because you do not follow the park closely enough does not mean there is not evidence and it certainly does not mean that everyone is people that make things up. According to the video to which I will provide a link below you can clearly hear a park spokesperson say "18 and 19 will be announced in April". He then said that it could be later though so that it would not conflict with derby. If think a park official leading a guided tour is a source that is more than reputable. Obviously that didn't happen yet so plans must have changed slightly. Go to time mark 5:10 for earlier mentioned statement.

I doubt they would open a floorless coaster at MIA three years after opening one at Cedar Point.

In other news, Ricochet at Kings Dominion (another CF Mack wild mouse) is also currently listing a 54 inch requirement AND their site does not even have an accompanying rider stipulation (yet... hopefully). The Fly at Canada's Wonderland has also gone up to 54. Carowinds Ricochet is still at 44, but I think theirs is a different manufacturer?

The wild mouse at Knotts is no longer a family coaster no debate about it. I almost wonder if it would be a wise investment to try to get new cars for the ride to get the height down seeing as it likely has multiple decades of service life left in it and these recent changes don't quite render it useless, but get it pretty darn close. Edit: Online it says the height limit is still 44 inches with a supervising companion, so it is not as bad as it originally seemed.

^As slow as the operations can sometimes be, I will say that the park has had no major accident/ incedents since reopening which is something that they should be commended for. Although operation speed is important, safety is always #1.

^ source? I could see other potential Asian parks and possibly the Dubai park receiving the Garfield theme instead of Looney Tunes. We know the Dubai park likely will not be able to use any Warner Brothers IP since SF only owns the theme park rights to it in all non-Vegas areas of North America and I believe Europe? according to past annual reports. On top of that Warner Brothers movie world is planned to be built in Abu Dhabi, which is relatively close to Dubai, so I doubt WB would let SF use their own themes to essentially compete with them. Although certainly possible, It would be very strange to see any completely IP-less SF branded property.

I would weigh in on this one, but I honestly have no idea if this is a smart business move or simply a diversion from greater issues at hand with the core animal parks. I do trust Joel Manby and hope that this turns out well for them as they certainly deserve some success for all of the effort they have been putting into trying to turn the company around.

As far as the question about the manufacturer that they are returning to, what about Chance Rides? After all they did work with Chance (Morgan at the time) on the three hyper coasters. Those Hyper GTX's that they are selling now are very good for the price and have potential capacity similar to that of a RMC.

double post

^In their defense they did open a new drink stand underneath Thunder Run this year. But I agree, I hope to see them do something with that building in the near future. It seems like the ideal place for a new quick-service restaurant. I'm pretty sure they do use if for storage at the moment, so that could be part of the reason.

Plus, I'm pretty sure that that is the 2017 map, not the 2018 one. Either that or I am seriously confused.