Mertens S. Elias

Glad to see my Thunderbolt is still hauling a**. And even after probably about twenty years because it was said before it was at Branson USA in 1999 that it was at another park.

Eight years ago I was a six year old crying to my parents because I really wanted to go to C.C so they had to go through extensive planning to have somebody come feed the dogs since the park didn't open until an hour or so before the dogs dinner. But I JUST found this T.R just a couple days ago when I was going through another "I'm SUPER sad" phase were I go back to looking at pictures of this park and I get SUPER sad it closed. And I was also going through the frequent "I hate H.F.C and S.D.C SOOO much" but that phase is around just about all the time.

WoF first would be best since it's closer, and depending on the day that you go, if it's not Sunday, Monday, or Wednesday, those seem to be the less crowded days to me, get a fast lane pass because the only ride they do one train operations on is Mamba and also the operations are REALLY slow, last week when I went the ride ops on Patriot sat around for FIVE minutes, TALKING while they didn't even open the gates for park patrons to get on the ride. And for Six Flags, I recommend a Monday to go because the last time I went a year or two ago, the park was DEAD, my brother and I had all the rides to ourselves and even rode Batman about seven times before getting off, and ops there were faster than the normal Six Flags worker. And they have two trains on almost all the coasters. So depending on the day, don't waste your money on a flash pass, well, unless you want to go on the new Justice League ride don't get the pass but I'm sure the new ride will have a long line regardless since it's something new and never before seen for that area. And I REALLY recommend the Screaming Eagle, aside from the Timber Wolf and the Tornado at Adventureland, it's one of my favorite roller coasters, I'd say it's number three on my list. I had soooo much floater air on it. But don't set your standards too high because of what I say, I make it sound like El Toro so if you put it up to my standards you will probably be disappointed.

Oh thank God. I love what you guys have done with the place! And I like how you guys are preserving a lot of the old rides from Fun Spot. And Extreme Elevation looks wonderful, I like the colors better than the standard white tower with orange gondola and the landscaping around it is wonderful. I like the lights on the fences and I like how the fences aren't the standard aluminum fence, it's wooden ones but it will has the cool light posts around it.

Here, I'll make a guess, a ride that has had an accident at it's last park and they'll just move it to Worlds of Fun. Or a ride that has tons of mechanical issues and it's park doesn't want to pay for the upkeep anymore so they'll move it to Worlds Of Fun. How accurate do you think I am? Or similar to 2015, they can make a big deal about a tiny addition like a playground and then put some scooters for rent in a small area, similar to how in 2015 they made a big deal over a tiny water play structure which was basically a platform with a few squirting fountains and a small slide that you could find at Home Depot, and then they replaced unpopular, up charged row boats, with unpopular, up charge SWAN boats. You can tell I'm angry with Cedar Fair screwing Worlds Of Fun EVERY year. And then we heard rumors that we would FINALLY get something good for 2016 since we haven't gotten anything worth it since Prowler, and then they put that project on hold.

Steel Hawk was SERIOUSLY weak. Oh yay! We got a used Mondial Windseeker because it kept breaking down leaving riders stranded three hundred feet in the air for hours! Oh, I can't wait to get stuck on it myself!

I think if they ever take out Canobie Corkscrew (which it looks like that will happen soon) I'm sure something like this will happen, but doesn't Canobie have a one hundred foot height limit?

World's first Chance Giant Toboggan. Oh God. I can only imagine.

Retail would just be token in nature, that's not the true intent of what I'm suggesting. What I'm proposing is more entertainmentioned and eating driven with a captured audience with a two or three lodges. I can't figure where this got equated to Grand Palace. When I say retail think a Candy Shop and a Soda emporium either together or separate. The main focus would but fun, whether it's eating, music, play, and other forms of entertainment. Mirror Maze Restaurant with on site brewing Upscale movies Adult bowling Kids bowling Here think of it like this(Google these things) Take The Island in Pigeon Forge and Kemah Boardwalk outside of Houston and the Downtown Aquarium in Houston and mix it in a bowl Season it with: Add a teaspoon of Movies like Alamo Drafthouse Cinema or even KC based AMC and their Dine In Movie screens. Add a Teaspoon of King Bowl or Brooklyn Bowl and a Family FEC with Glow in the Dark bowling lanes. (Note: being from Memphis Malco is tinkering with a D&B format with their movie theaters complete with bowling.) Throw in a place like Great Wolf with an indoor waterpark. Look at the attached aerial of CC, I'd put right down there on the boot where the laser show was. Find a way to incorporate the old water features with an outdoor pool. Add a couple suite style hotels with nice indoor pools that would appeal to more budget minded families looking for a cabin fever weekend get away. Have the hotels offer shuttles to SDC when it's open. Give on site hotel patent discounts to the Mirror Maze, 7d theater, and Rides. On and on. That google maps image made me shed a couple tears. But I don't see how they could fit any of that on the property. It's only forty acres! And from what I remember the stores on main street weren't even that big on the inside. The only building left on the property that I could see them using for something like a bowling alley or a theater or a skating rink is the old theater/store that used to be the Branson USA entrance. I'm sure after the forty some million dollars they already put into the property they'd try to penny pinch any time they could into another project on this place so I see them trying to reused the old buildings instead of building new ones and I don't even think there's any room on the property to put any buildings, as it was back then everything (rides, games, buildings) was all shoe horned in.

I heard about that, not long after that the whole project was abandoned because the investor ran out of money and also there was some runoff running into the lake.

No, they reopened in 2011 I believe but started adding big rides like the Wildcat and Extreme Elevation and Trinado in 2013 for Wildcat and 2015 for the other two.

I say to replace the Wildcat they either get a G.C.I "Big Fun" compact wooden roller coaster, or a Switchback-like Gravity Group coaster, or a Wooden Warrior or Roar-O-Saurus-like wooden roller coaster. Or a Windstorm type coaster.

Ew. What I see most successful for Celebration City is reopening the park and be like Wild Adventures and have a water park and theme park. But of course I remember Branson USA having a couple water slides in a small area called Under The Boardwalk.

YES! I could go without S.D.C, close S.D.C, put White Water in it's place, reopen Celebration City! PERFECT! I'd rather have a fun, 50's/60's theme park than a mediocre hillbilly park.

WHAT! Jackrabbit was AWESOME! Fun airtime and I used to get thrown around at the turns like a wild mouse and it was fun. And Thunderbolt/Firestorm? How could you say it wasn't fun? It was one of my favorite rides at Celebration City, that gut buster turn was SUPER fun. And how could say that about Celebration City? All the rides were all so fun! And no, the Branson USA stuff wasn't crap, and you just said your precious Route 66 Speedway was crap by calling the Branson USA stuff crap. Branson USA was a fun park with many fun flat rides and a good roller coaster, Firestorm, later renamed Thunderbolt. But S.D.C did need at least the Orbiter or one of the other intense rides from Celebration City because the only semi intense flat ride they have is the Barn Swing which is run on a TERRIBLE cycle, it only does it's full swing twice.

Don't be skeptical, just be disgusted over Johnny taking his sweet time. It'll be reopened. It's full of living things now http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2015/03/18/big-changes-ahead-wonders-wildlife/24988721/ That aquarium was open for a few months in 2001, then has been closed "for renovations" for 14 years. The only project in town with more delays and restarts is the Heers building. Let's call it what it is; it's a nonprofit subsidiary that exists solely to be a tax write off. Are you sure about the 2001 date because I remember going at least until I was four in 2005?

I was hoping this, Ferris Wheel, Scrambler, Stinger, Jackrabbit and/or Thunderbolt, and Flying Circus would end up at S.D.C. But I guess Wild Adventures and Glenwood and whatever happened to Stinger and the Ferris Wheel, get all the good stuff. And also I've never heard anything about the Branson USA guy and the Orbiter. My mom and dad have a few pictures of me and my brother at the last year of Branson USA (I was a couple month year old infant) and the spot where Orbiter was at the time occupied by a Wisdom Rides Flying Dragon Wagon.

I was hoping this, Ferris Wheel, Scrambler, Stinger, Jackrabbit and/or Thunderbolt, and Flying Circus would end up at S.D.C. But I guess Wild Adventures and Glenwood and whatever happened to Stinger and the Ferris Wheel, get all the good stuff.

I thought Stinger was fun when it opened. To my seven year old eyes it looked so cool on the news when they did a story on it. Believe it or not for a couple of weeks after it opened, it was the talk of the town, I yelled and cried until my parents took me. You should've gotten on the Ferris Wheel, I used to love that ride to death, and I still do as for three years I've been trying to find the where-abouts of it. All the time when my Nana would take me to Branson to go shopping (or if I was a good boy she would take me to Celebration City for an hour or two) I would always be in the backseat and watch Celebration City as we drove by on 76 and when we passed I'd always twist my neck so I could watch it. Then at lunch time I'd always want to go to Steak And Shake to watch the Ferris Wheel, and sometimes if I felt like it I'd watch the Wildcat or Thunderbolt, or sometimes even Orbiter. But there was just something about that Ferris Wheel. I've always loved Ferris Wheels, I'd always tell my parents I needed to go to Celebration City because I wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel and the next closest one was at Six Flags. And back during the last year of Branson USA in 2001, I was only a couple months old at the time, but I remember a few, er, screenshots lets say, of memories of being on that Ferris Wheel, my parents used to carry me around in a backpack to amusement parks, they would leave my upper body out so I could see and breath. But I remember walking past the Firestorm/Thunder Bolt roller coaster and crying because the chain lift was loud. Oh the memories.

Don't be skeptical, just be disgusted over Johnny taking his sweet time. It'll be reopened. It's full of living things now http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2015/03/18/big-changes-ahead-wonders-wildlife/24988721/ Cool. But I do wonder if H.F.C is planning on doing something like what you said. Because the few rides that are left are not for sale online, like the Wildcat isn't for sale (that may seem reasonable but I have seen an amusement park *cough* *Alabama Adventure* try to sell a wooden coaster online before) and also the Roaring Falls chutes from Geauga Lake and the Bertazzon Carousel and even the cars from the go cart track aren't for sale. And even before the 2015 season the Zierer magic carpet called Orbiter wasn't for sale, but then it was moved to Wild Adventures as Jungle Rumble. But have you seen the stunning video on youtube of some guy that flew a drone over the park in April I think. I've gone by the park in recent weeks and all the banners and flags along the driveway are all still there and faded and everything. Same with in the park. And it still looks like they still have people come out and tend to the grounds. The only thing that looks different from the last time I went there is all the rides are gone and some more trees have matured.

Does anybody know what's happening at this place? A couple rides are now for sale on intermarkridegroup.com, such as the Sea Dragon AND the Wildcat and I believe there are a few more on there. What's happening to this place? Are they loosing money or something?

I actually do think they could relocate Wildcat to Wild Adventures as the Wildcat was built on flat land similar to Wild Adventures flat land. And are you sure about the air gates being used on Outlaw Run? Because I remember Wildcat having kind of squared, grayish air gates while Outlaw run doesn't. And are you sure about the control panels being reused on Outlaw Run? Because it seems to me that if they were to reuse the control panel on any other wooden coaster in the chain it'd be Thunderhead since Thunderhead is another G.C.I and Outlaw Run is an R.M.C. When one says site specific, I believe it to be designed to the dimensions of land that it was built on top of that particular patch of land l. It is about as flat as flat can get. No custom elevations for the structure were needed. The diminsions of the land can be easily copied provided it is flat. You could have a large plot of land and place OzCat there in the middle and then shape every else around it. Take Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah. That was site specific but really it's a flat base as well and could be moved to any flat space that can accommodate it. Let's take Arkansas Twister that once resided at Boardwalk and Baseball in Florida. It was built on some darn flat land, yet it was relocated to Magic Springs which is in the hills. They did the earthwork to make it work. It's a odd location and when the amp is used, it requires the closure of the ride. Could OzCat be relocated as long as the new site is flat and accommodate the diminsions of the ride? Yep, but, the hardware was cannibalize and the wood structure has set there, unused for 6 to 7 years now. Didn't one train go to Wild Adventures? I think the cost was 4 million when it was built? If the wood was in good enough shape without much replacement and basically only needed retracked when reassembled, you still have to buy new hardware. So, considering it comes incomplete would the price and the cost incurred with replacing what's missing be low enough to make it compelling enough to chose it over a new construction wood coaster? OzCat was a solid coaster but it wasn't on many best of lists. I think it's sibling, Thunderhead that went to Dollywood, when HFE bought the two GCIs is considered the better of the two by most ethusiasts. The only hope for OzCat is that the new management team that settles in behind Manby and his departure revisits a reinvention of that property and they deem it worthy to restoring it to operable condition. It's kinda shameful they have left it standing if not. It contributes to the notion that Branson is rundown and closing up, which eventually effects SDC. Branson has an identity crisis and they are lost on what to do about it but a poster on here saying in a trip report that Magic Springs' waterpark is better than Whitewater, well, any in Missouri is telling on the state of HFE properties on that end of the 76 strip. Non of the trains went to Wild Adventures, it has Gerstlauer trains, one train went to Dollywood but I thought there was a second train, maybe it's still in the queue house. But I do think that the coaster is salvageable, whether only the track can be saved or only the structure, I think it can be salvaged. If the new park needs to they can do what Magic Springs did with Big Bad John, the mine train from Six Flags Over Mid America then Dollywood, what they did is the took the old mine train track, and since the park didn't have the same terrain as Six Flags or Dollywood the had G.C.I come in and build a new structure. The total project of moving the whole coaster in the event that the structure has not rotted and the the cost of rebuilding it, I would estimate probably an 7-9 million dollar project. Now in the event that the structure can't be saved and only the track can be reused, I would estimate about 5-7.5 million dollar project. But what I see most likely is H.F.C taking the property, build some other kind of attraction, maybe an aquarium, and have a few rides, including Wildcat. I either see this or the rethemeing of Celebration City. But the next time H.F.C needs to learn that Celebration City would have to be separate from S.D.C, it can't be open some of the day for people to go to S.D.C then Celebration City, it'd have to be open all day because that was terrible about Celebration City, it was opened limited hours, it opened in the afternoon and was supposed to be a night time park but it was never opened past 9:30 P.M and what they need is a stand out attraction, Wildcat was good but most of the other rides were just okay to the naked eye, what they need is something like a Sky Screamer or an Air Race or something that the General Public loves. This is easy, they plan to do something, someday as the property has not put up for sale. No admission, Redesign as a Downtown Area with a main street and side streets. Parking deck(s) can be hid by lining it with buildings. Have a mix of full service restaurants, fast casuals(panera, five guys, starbucks) and treat shops. Have some retail mixed in. Sporadically mixed in faux store fronts that would act as venues for seasonal attractions(think haunts) indoor Christmas walk thru like an enchanted forrest theme. The little area that had the faux creek is perfect for eateries with outdoor seating. Have a mirror maze attraction, so on Have an Aquarium but remember Bass Pro is about to open a pretty large one themselves up the road in Springfield. Bowling Alley, a kids secton with glow in the dark theme and a grownup section. Possible Dine In Movie theater, 4 or 5 screens. Live music venue, some place designed lime a small old theater turn live music venue with a cap of 5 to 6 hundred. A pavilion in the square, outdoor music in the summer, ice skating in the winter. On site hotels with things to attract visitors year round, one with a indoor waterpark and the other with indoor ropes course, mini golf, electric go carts, hotels share use of amenties. Attractions to go with a revived OzCat 1) very tall Star Flyer 2)Compact steel coaster(Iron Shark, Gale Force, ect) 3) kiddie ride area, semi enclosed, think over sized Carousel house (Asbury Park)with room for three or four smaller footprint rides. 4) two or three flats like the Air Race you mentioned , I would shoot for a couple that's partially enclosed or covered so they can be heated during the winter and immune from rain. Things like bumper cars and a hymalaya style ride Rides sold ala carte or a ride band. Think an amount of rides like Kemah Boardwalk has overall Places I've seen or been to that I pulled that off of, the Island in Pigeon Forge, Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston Pleasure Pier, the Downtown Aquarium, Great Wolf Lodge, Alamo Draft House Cinema and threads on this forum. Wait, this is for sure? That would be REALLY awesome if this is true. Would they continue doing the laser light shows and stuff? And also, would they get another Technical Park Ferris Wheel? Because they look fantastic during both night and day. Although I don't like the idea of an ice rink and stuff like that, it does seem like a good idea for H.F.C to explore, bring new life to this park. Although I kind of wish that H.F.C never bought it because Branson USA was fun, I was only a couple months old when H.F.C bought it but I still have small flashes of memories from Branson USA, like I remember my mom and dad taking me on the Ferris Wheel while they had me in a backpack, like they had my legs and stomach area in the bag and my head and upper body sticking out the top and they would zip up the bag so I couldn't fall out. But from the pictures my mom and dad took, it looked like a fun place, it had a fun selection of older type rides, the Fireball is the exception, and it was a pretty park and it was reasonably priced, no admission and most rides only required about four to five tickets and my parents said tickets were only about 25-50 cents a piece. Oh and just for the record, I'm very skeptical about Wonders of Wildlife (the aquarium) reopening again, as much as I used to go to that place as a kid I would be excited about it reopening, but I just don't see it. I have a feeling that pretty soon the owner is going to abandon the project as it is taking too much money because he's already dumped about 50 million into the place and it's STILL not open. By the way, do you know the where abouts of Celebration City's Electric Star Ferris Wheel? I will not stop scouring the internet until I find out where it is.

I actually do think they could relocate Wildcat to Wild Adventures as the Wildcat was built on flat land similar to Wild Adventures flat land. And are you sure about the air gates being used on Outlaw Run? Because I remember Wildcat having kind of squared, grayish air gates while Outlaw run doesn't. And are you sure about the control panels being reused on Outlaw Run? Because it seems to me that if they were to reuse the control panel on any other wooden coaster in the chain it'd be Thunderhead since Thunderhead is another G.C.I and Outlaw Run is an R.M.C. When one says site specific, I believe it to be designed to the dimensions of land that it was built on top of that particular patch of land l. It is about as flat as flat can get. No custom elevations for the structure were needed. The diminsions of the land can be easily copied provided it is flat. You could have a large plot of land and place OzCat there in the middle and then shape every else around it. Take Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah. That was site specific but really it's a flat base as well and could be moved to any flat space that can accommodate it. Let's take Arkansas Twister that once resided at Boardwalk and Baseball in Florida. It was built on some darn flat land, yet it was relocated to Magic Springs which is in the hills. They did the earthwork to make it work. It's a odd location and when the amp is used, it requires the closure of the ride. Could OzCat be relocated as long as the new site is flat and accommodate the diminsions of the ride? Yep, but, the hardware was cannibalize and the wood structure has set there, unused for 6 to 7 years now. Didn't one train go to Wild Adventures? I think the cost was 4 million when it was built? If the wood was in good enough shape without much replacement and basically only needed retracked when reassembled, you still have to buy new hardware. So, considering it comes incomplete would the price and the cost incurred with replacing what's missing be low enough to make it compelling enough to chose it over a new construction wood coaster? OzCat was a solid coaster but it wasn't on many best of lists. I think it's sibling, Thunderhead that went to Dollywood, when HFE bought the two GCIs is considered the better of the two by most ethusiasts. The only hope for OzCat is that the new management team that settles in behind Manby and his departure revisits a reinvention of that property and they deem it worthy to restoring it to operable condition. It's kinda shameful they have left it standing if not. It contributes to the notion that Branson is rundown and closing up, which eventually effects SDC. Branson has an identity crisis and they are lost on what to do about it but a poster on here saying in a trip report that Magic Springs' waterpark is better than Whitewater, well, any in Missouri is telling on the state of HFE properties on that end of the 76 strip. Non of the trains went to Wild Adventures, it has Gerstlauer trains, one train went to Dollywood but I thought there was a second train, maybe it's still in the queue house. But I do think that the coaster is salvageable, whether only the track can be saved or only the structure, I think it can be salvaged. If the new park needs to they can do what Magic Springs did with Big Bad John, the mine train from Six Flags Over Mid America then Dollywood, what they did is the took the old mine train track, and since the park didn't have the same terrain as Six Flags or Dollywood the had G.C.I come in and build a new structure. The total project of moving the whole coaster in the event that the structure has not rotted and the the cost of rebuilding it, I would estimate probably an 7-9 million dollar project. Now in the event that the structure can't be saved and only the track can be reused, I would estimate about 5-7.5 million dollar project. But what I see most likely is H.F.C taking the property, build some other kind of attraction, maybe an aquarium, and have a few rides, including Wildcat. I either see this or the rethemeing of Celebration City. But the next time H.F.C needs to learn that Celebration City would have to be separate from S.D.C, it can't be open some of the day for people to go to S.D.C then Celebration City, it'd have to be open all day because that was terrible about Celebration City, it was opened limited hours, it opened in the afternoon and was supposed to be a night time park but it was never opened past 9:30 P.M and what they need is a stand out attraction, Wildcat was good but most of the other rides were just okay to the naked eye, what they need is something like a Sky Screamer or an Air Race or something that the General Public loves. This is easy, they plan to do something, someday as the property has not put up for sale. No admission, Redesign as a Downtown Area with a main street and side streets. Parking deck(s) can be hid by lining it with buildings. Have a mix of full service restaurants, fast casuals(panera, five guys, starbucks) and treat shops. Have some retail mixed in. Sporadically mixed in faux store fronts that would act as venues for seasonal attractions(think haunts) indoor Christmas walk thru like an enchanted forrest theme. The little area that had the faux creek is perfect for eateries with outdoor seating. Have a mirror maze attraction, so on Have an Aquarium but remember Bass Pro is about to open a pretty large one themselves up the road in Springfield. Bowling Alley, a kids secton with glow in the dark theme and a grownup section. Possible Dine In Movie theater, 4 or 5 screens. Live music venue, some place designed lime a small old theater turn live music venue with a cap of 5 to 6 hundred. A pavilion in the square, outdoor music in the summer, ice skating in the winter. On site hotels with things to attract visitors year round, one with a indoor waterpark and the other with indoor ropes course, mini golf, electric go carts, hotels share use of amenties. Attractions to go with a revived OzCat 1) very tall Star Flyer 2)Compact steel coaster(Iron Shark, Gale Force, ect) 3) kiddie ride area, semi enclosed, think over sized Carousel house (Asbury Park)with room for three or four smaller footprint rides. 4) two or three flats like the Air Race you mentioned , I would shoot for a couple that's partially enclosed or covered so they can be heated during the winter and immune from rain. Things like bumper cars and a hymalaya style ride Rides sold ala carte or a ride band. Think an amount of rides like Kemah Boardwalk has overall Places I've seen or been to that I pulled that off of, the Island in Pigeon Forge, Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston Pleasure Pier, the Downtown Aquarium, Great Wolf Lodge, Alamo Draft House Cinema and threads on this forum. Wait, this is for sure? That would be REALLY awesome if this is true. Would they continue doing the laser light shows and stuff? And also, would they get another Technical Park Ferris Wheel? Because they look fantastic during both night and day. Although I don't like the idea of an ice rink and stuff like that, it does seem like a good idea for H.F.C to explore, bring new life to this park. Although I kind of wish that H.F.C never bought it because Branson USA was fun, I was only a couple months old when H.F.C bought it but I still have small flashes of memories from Branson USA, like I remember my mom and dad taking me on the Ferris Wheel while they had me in a backpack, like they had my legs and stomach area in the bag and my head and upper body sticking out the top and they would zip up the bag so I couldn't fall out. But from the pictures my mom and dad took, it looked like a fun place, it had a fun selection of older type rides, the Fireball is the exception, and it was a pretty park and it was reasonably priced, no admission and most rides only required about four to five tickets and my parents said tickets were only about 25-50 cents a piece.

Which park though? I need to know.

P.S Does anybody know where the Ferris Wheel from Celebration City went? I loved that Ferris Wheel and I don't know where it went.