urzishra

Incredible. I like the flying shark. Also, the jesus on a motorbike cutout.

It was a fun update. I enjoyed the crazy stores. I'm surprised some of that didn't catch on in the US.

2 years is a long time. Save up some money people. Ain't hard. Saving 200 a month should be able to get you there by the time 2016 rolls around. I'm excited. Now I have a reason to go to a place like this. I would have never dreamed of going there before (didn't someone recently post a TR of this place?... I think so.) and now I want to because this coaster looks awesome. I wish Lagoon would get a RMC coaster.

Everytime I see Divertical I want to ride it more and more. Glad this is quite a bit closer to me. Can't wait to hit up Lagoon a few times this year and see this coaster take shape.

After reading a SDC TR yesterday and seeing this today. I think RMC is my favorite ride manufacturer these coasters look awesome.

Thanks for doing these. Some of us can't go to all of these amazing parks (yet.) and it is nice to live vicariously through these TR. SDC is climbing the "theme park I most want to go to" list almost daily. I loved the pictures looks like the place I want to go to.

I wouldn't have gone with the name myself. Even if you aren't familiar with it's past, a quick Google search will quickly bring you up to speed. I don't know if I would take my family to a place that is named after that park (especially with "pride" over naming it that park.)

Thanks this was an interesting report. I'm still worried I wouldn't enjoy a cruise, this may have changed my mind a bit about it.

I agree. I think it is a fairly untapped market. Could you imagine how much money a "real park" could do there? Personally I kind of miss the MGM theme park (even though it was kind of crappy.) My family had a lot of fun there a few times we went. I think if that opens today it would be completely different.

A friend of mine was not impressed by the popcorn at DisneySea. I did not ask him which flavor he got but felt they were a little overrated. Maybe he just got a "bad flavor" as it sometimes happens with weird things. Personally, it is one of the most intriguing things about Tokyo Disney to me. Yeah fresh popped is way better than whatever mall popcorn place has.

I really want to say Fremont Street is pretty close to this. They have a zipline down the entire street. Concerts playing constantly and a ton of booze and clubs and restaurants all within a relatively short area. Problem with any kind of "theme park" even in Vegas is it still has to cater to families because kids will want to go ride rides regardless of if they "should" or not. I mean "booby mountain" would be great, but even in Vegas, I don't think they'd want to invest in something like that they know they have to restrict access to (as well as become the next big target for family groups.) They do have open bar pools (which is probably going to be the closest you'll see.) But as others have said, it is practically an adult theme park as it is (you got a mono rail, roller coasters, gambling, drinking, restaurants what more could you want?)

Again, it doesn't count if they're the same ride or almost the same ride, in that case why shouldn't they have the same name? I don't believe any ride was named Flight Deck when it opened. Still have yet to hear an example as gratuitous as that lovely unique coaster in Illinois being named Goliath. No this is not that big a deal, but no one can tell me any other chain has anywhere near as many awful examples when it comes to naming major attractions (Boo Blasters is not a major attraction). Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom. Why drop of doom? Because their other big drop ride across the country is Drop of Doom, and it might sell more T shirts. Weak. Dude, they only fit anywhere because SF makes them fit anywhere. Does it make any sense to have a DC themed ride out past the mine ride, across the park from all the other DC theming (Bizarro)? No, of course not. SF doesn't give a crap about what makes sense or gives a park a sense of order and flow. They just jam their shitty DC crap in wherever they want because it sells T shirts. My question is... What is worse reusing Goliath for every "marquee roller coaster even if they are not the same" or copying the same rides in multiple parks? (Like Disney does with "Magic Kingdom" style parks and a lot of their rides) One thing you can't say about Six Flags is that each one of their parks isn't different. (for better or worse.)

I don't count kiddie rides as credits. Obviously I can see how you can count them, but to me it isn't a "real" credit. Some of these stories are great. BTW. Most "credit whorish" thing I did was wait 45 minutes for The Bat at Lagoon for the family Vekoma SLC credit.

@DirkFunk You didn't understand what I wrote please read it again. Sponsorships for cars in NASCAR, arenas in the NBA/NFL/MLB, and eventually jerseys doesn't require nearly as much effort as it sounds. Teams and sports leagues consider that basically "free money" when it comes to it. No, I don't know all of the specific logistics, but what I was saying is that advertising when it comes to train wraps for roller coasters and queue lines seems inevitable to me BECAUSE of how much we are seeing in other forms of entertainment venues. I'll bring up some other examples. Movie theaters in the past 10 years have gone to playing little to no ads at the start of films to practically playing 20 minutes of commercials before the film starts. How much more product placement is in movies and TV shows now then 10 years ago? When was the last major block buster didn't try to also sell you a car or have a car "featured" in the film? Instead of "Yellow Sports Car" in Transformers we get "The All New Camero from GM." I recall seeing an episode of Burn Notice where they were so incredibly blunt about marketing the car they were driving in the show (yes the show is a little campy already and the show knew it was in on the joke.) But this isn't stuff we would have thought of 15 years ago and now it is everywhere. Personally I think it is a savvy move by Six Flags to put advertisements on it's ride cars. It makes sense considering the trends in other entertainment markets and just the general entertainment industry to have "sponsoring partners" and this is just another level of it. No I don't think Disney will be plastering the Dumbo ride with Planters Peanuts ads but even they'd have to think about possibly advertising in more creative ways then do currently. I recall reading a Tokyo Disney Trip Report here recently that talked about how every ride is brought to you by a major corporation. Yes, this is a "classier" way to do it, but it isn't like Disney isn't trying to use the space that they can use for advertising, it's too smart not to do it. Is it something to "hate on" Six Flags about? I don't think so. I think the customer service and ride ops issues are more pressing and matter to the overall experience of the park over train wraps. I don't think having a train wrap is going to make me like a ride "less" then if it didn't have one. It seems like you are kinda scraping the bottom of the barrel when bringing up stuff like that. No, it isn't going to happen over night. No I don't think the "high end" parks will do this (like Disney and Universal.) I also said it didn't make sense for all rides (yes, I think covering up Bombora with an ad would take away from the experience, but the regular Roller Coaster? again I ask why not? it isn't like it is a really a themed attraction already why not advertise on it? would it ruin the experience? I don't think it would. I think if they slapped a Coke logo on the front of each train, I don't think many would care. Maybe in the Ride station that says "Roller Coaster brought to you by Coca-Cola it still wouldn't "take you out of the experience") I stand by my opinion that Six Flags is a budget option. A season pass to ALL of the Six Flags parks is less than that of one day at a Disney or Universal park. You have to pay for parking at most/all parks (I recall when I went to Lagoon last summer I was charged 15 to 20 dollars to park for a day, seriously makes me consider taking the bus/train to the park this season.) Also, I am comparing Six Flags to "industry leaders." It is by far the least expensive major theme park you can go to in the country. I'm not familiar with Cedar Fair's pricing model, but it costs over 100+ per day for Disney or Universal, Six Flags gives you a season pass for that price that you can not only go to your local Six Flags park, but you can travel to another one and use your same pass. Yes, some Six Flags' are the only major theme park in the area. But in other locations (like Southern California for example) it is one of many that you can go to. My Lagoon Season pass this year will cost around 100 bucks because I waited so long ( I believe if you bought before January it was 80 or 90 don't remember. Either way somewhere between 80 and 100 dollars.) I just looked at Six Flag's website I can get a Season Pass to Discovery Kingdom for 70 dollars. If I want unlimited parking/entrance at ALL six flags it is 110 (which ironically enough is the same price as Lagoon's regular priced season passport without parking and I can only go to the one park.) So yeah, I would consider that a budget option in terms of theme park pricing. I'm sorry I don't think I can compare a county/state fair to a theme park totally different animals IMO. Anyways, the bottom line is, I don't think the advertising thing is as big of a gripe as others. I think most parks would (or have already) strongly considered doing it. But since it isn't "the norm" we're not seeing it at more parks. I think we will eventually though (even if that is 10 to 20 years down the road.)

I didn't blame the kids. I too worked a service job for many years starting when I was 14. I said that Six Flags has no excuses for it and instilling a good culture for customer service would go a long way. I think this issue is the "easiest" for them to fix.

Well, if a ride is supposed to have a coherent theme intended to create certain emotional responses (which is what themes are supposed to do and why they're effective), then yeah, it may very well make the ride less exciting. Riding Poltergeist a couple weeks ago, you see where prior management put in enormous effort in the station and where present effort does a good job torpedoing it with Stride wraps on the trains. Six Flags ran up huge debts, cancelled them out in bankruptcy court (which means the company paid those who they owed a pittance/nothing), and is now trying to make as much money as possible as soon as possible through methods that don't exactly benefit the consumer. OK, that makes them like a lot of companies. That doesn't mean it is right, the best course of action over the long term, etc. Here is the thing with train wraps (and well advertising in general) in the future most/all theme parks will probably have ride wraps. It's literally free/easy money and a great for advertisers. Think about NASCAR or MLS (and soon the NBA) all of those sponsors on the jerseys and sports stadiums pay millions of dollars every year for practically no extra work on Team's behalf. It is a trend that is integrating itself into everything. You see car wraps more and more every day out on the roads. We see buildings advertising the latest movie or TV show. Eventually we'll see train wraps on most or all roller coasters in most theme parks. Does it take away from a "themed" ride experience? Probably. I can see it both ways. I'll use my home park Lagoon as an example, I wouldn't mind seeing ride wraps on any of the roller coasters there. I can't even tell you what the coaster cars look like right now, let alone if they had advertising on them or not. I do recall seeing a lot of signs for Coke near ride attractions, but you see that about everywhere. And no it doesn't make sense on all rides. I wouldn't like seeing wraps on the Wild Mouse cars or the Spider cars. But on the wooden roller coaster (which is already vaguely named anyways?) why not? Is it a "bad thing?" Well that depends on who you are. Personally, advertisements do very little to me. I'm going to buy what I like regardless of if I seen an ad for it or not. Am I going to buy Stride Gum, Axe Body Spray, or Got2B Glued hair gel after seeing it on a coaster? Probably not more than what I currently purchase from those brands. Just as I'm not more likely to buy a Darth Vader plush after hitting up Star Tours even though Disney makes me walk through the gift shop on my way out of the ride. I think gift shops are more pervasive (because it is far easier to buy something when it is in your face after a great ride then seeing a one off gum or hair gel ad on the side of a ride vehicle that may not be sold at the park.) Yes it comes at a price. Maybe the high end parks won't do it (or will be the last to do it.) But we're not talking about "high end" park. We're talking about Six Flags which is a giant chain that markets themselves as an affordable option for people who are into thrill rides. I guess how I would describe it as think of going to Target or Wal-Mart and then compare your grocery shopping experience with that of a high end grocer or store in your area. You are likely not going to beat the prices that Target/Wal Mart offer and they cater to different audiences. Six Flags is the same way. The most valid "hate on Six Flags" argument that I've read in this thread is about poor customer service and running at under capacity. There are no excuses for these two. I also realize that most theme park employees are still in high school or college (as with most service industry jobs lets face it.) And that high level of customer service hasn't been taught or explained to them yet. Instilling a good culture for that will go a long way. I also can't speak about their bankruptcy issues. Past is the past. Of course they are going to try to maximize their profits and try to make their properties as valuable as possible. They have to. I'm not an expert on the laws of the land when it comes to this so I can't speculate and I don't think it has anything to do with the conversation on the end user experience of their parks. (not saying that it doesn't affect it in some way, it has to, but that isn't something that anyone can really quantifiably answer in this forum.)

It's a tough sell on Battlestar Galactica. Even in SciFi circles it is probably the least watched one. I hope it isn't rethemed to Transformers.

What part of a train wrap "takes you out of the ride experience?" Is the ride "less thrilling" or "less exciting" because there is an ad on the side of the car? For me, I really don't care about walking through a gift shop or train wraps, I think it is pretty silly to complain about something that IMO takes away absolutely nothing from the experience of riding a great coaster or ride. As for personal preference, I go to theme parks for the attractions. I don't go to shop. I realize theme parks use attractions to get people to shop but I rarely buy a souvenir anything, and I'm FAR less inclined to buy something if you are going to make me walk through the merchandise to get out of the ride. That to me takes me out of "the ride experience" more than an ad on the side of a car. I guess I just don't see the difference between "hair gel ad" on the train and "plain red/yellow paint job" on the train. It doesn't ruin it for me. I feel bad that it does for you.

I personally don't like walking through a mall when exiting a ride at Disney (or any park.) I don't mind advertising on ride vehicles or in queues.

I don't really see it all that differently. I mean Star Tours (and many other rides, movie themed or not) spill out immediately into a store where you buy something that the ride was based on. Maybe it's a Darth Vader plush or a Coaster T-shirt. I find that far more irritating then what the ride trains say on the front of them. How often do you see posters for Coca Cola or Pepsi around the park? How often is the park trying to upsell you something that you don't necessarily need? Point is, most attractions are already rolling advertisements. Just because Six Flags slaps a gum ad on the side of the ride vehicle, at least they aren't making you walk through a candy store when you go down the exit ramp. (or maybe they do, I don't know.)

^ I've seen trash at most amusement parks. While I'm not saying it isn't as big of a problem at other parks, you can say that about almost any park. I can't get behind purposely running at below capacity (I've heard that happens...) and I think that is despicable. However though you can also make a lot of these claims in this thread about most amusement parks. The "advertising" thing makes me laugh. Isn't Star Tours just a big advertisement for Star Wars stuff? Isn't most things at Disney World brought to you by some major corporation? Do train wraps *really* bring you so far "out of the experience" that you can't have a good time on a ride? It's also super hard to be consistent at multiple theme parks when you are charging what Six Flags is charging.

That's amazing. I can't wait until he shows up at more parks, hopefully.

The Pinball Hall of Fame (http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ ) Even if you don't "play" anything. It is pretty amazing to look at all the old pinball machines in this location (there is no admission to get in, most machines are a quarter for 5 balls.) If you do go, make sure you play "Circus" which is a One-of-a-kind prototype pinball machine that is fairly unique (it's vertical instead of horizontal pinball, you really have to see it.) I spent 2 or 3 hours without even realizing it there (I love pinball.) But I also think it is one of those cool "only in Vegas" kind of places that isn't a casino or shopping.

Yeah I almost squealed when I saw that.

Now I haven't been, but judging from all the trip reports I've read and research I've done. I would focus on rides that you can't find at other Disney parks. So, Pooh's Honey Hunt (mega popular ride), Monster's Inc Hide and Seek (pretty cool dark ride from the POV), Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20k Leagues, and Raging Spirits. After those, I mean then you have typical Magic Kingdom stuff, you know Space Mountain, Big Thunder, and Splash Mountain are going to be super popular.