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Shavethewhales

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Everything posted by Shavethewhales

  1. This sucks. I had IB on my bucket list for so long, especially Lost Coaster, but it's just so far out there and hard to get to... Fantasy Island closing as well means the small park sector of the industry is taking a major blow. It's basically grow into a major destination or go out of business anymore.
  2. You can definitely walk to the park from White Wing, it's just a really long walk. You just need to walk north along the tram road past Stop 7 and near to Stop 5 where there is a walkway to the entrance. It's got to be a mile to the park though, and parking/tram is free anyway... Let us know how White Wing is. Used to stay there all the time when it was Deer Run. It was dated back then, and I hear the new owners may be hit and miss...
  3. Very interesting. While I want them to pour capital into FC, it makes sense to rebrand and fix up WWB. Like FC, that park is undersized and underutilized with vast potential. It's crazy how OK parks have been slept on so heavily. Would be great if the water park gets a big new slide complex and FC gets a new flat ride in the same year. Some people are speculating that FC will get a smaller star flyer. That would be fine by me. The bar is pretty low, and that would be our biggest new ride in a long time.
  4. Absolutely insane. As with so many developments in the arab peninsula, there's going to be a lot of wait-and-see to know if this will become reality or not, but if it does it will be a must on every enthusiast's bucket list. I have mixed feelings about visiting Saudi Arabia, but this might end up being enticing enough to get me there. The location is beautiful (in the photos at least). Reminds me a bit of southern Utah, but more desert-y... This region of the world has certainly pulled off plenty of mega projects, even some that have seemingly had no rhyme or reason for existing. I hope this will be one of them. Anyone have any experience traveling to Saudi Arabia?
  5. The park has been oddly quiet. Apparently they are missing some people in their marketing department since the transition. Not much going on with their social media these days. I am still holding out hope for something major in 2020. It might end up being for White Water though... At this point the park has shown its potential, and everyone involved knows that the rides are seriously lacking. People aren't going to return next year if there isn't anything new. The park really needs a good ride.
  6. Thanks for the photos guys. The park looks nice lately. I'm glad they have put some more emphasis back on appearances and keeping things looking at least maintained. I know we've gotten onto WOF fanboys for years about whining because WOF isn't getting much for next year, but I was really hoping 2020 was their year for something exciting. It's been awhile... I'm sure the new slides will be nice. There have certainly been a number of nice additions and improvements, but I think 2014 was the last really high-profile addition with their windseeker. It's getting downright odd, considering how busy the park can get with teens/thrill-seekers. Maybe the issue is they don't want to push teen attendance any more considering the problems they've had. I'm not saying the park needs to get a new coaster because it's been x number of years, but any kind of half-way thrilling ride would be nice. I guess they haven't made any real announcement yet so there is still a chance that something is coming to the dry side of the park. Doesn't seem to be really likely that they would invest in both for the same year, but anything could happen.
  7. Less than 24 hours to go now. This one is going to really surprise some people. It's pretty obvious that it is a new rapids ride, but the details should be very impressive. They are sinking some serious money into this thing. It looks like it will be a Disney-scale attraction.
  8. From what I have gleaned, the owners are kind of eclectic and out there. They are married to this idea of Lakeside staying "affordable" for the low income residents in the area immediately surrounding the park. Unfortunately I think we can all agree they have gone too far with what "affordable" means. They slap a few coats of paint around the park occasionally, but everything is obviously showing signs of fatigue or even near collapse. The famous landmark tower is really rough looking, and I fear they are letting it get too water damaged to save. They can't even keep staff around. They have to do multiple hiring events throughout their relatively short season just to keep the park open. There are a few really dedicated folks who keep things going, but they can't keep everything going as a labor of love indefinitely. I think Lakeside will suddenly close within the next few years. I really really love the park, but I know how this ultimately plays out.
  9. I was also there this weekend to see it again in person. This thing is immense. It's a bigger project than even Time Traveler. For a park that has to use it's space wisely, this is a huge piece of land they are developing. It's not just the ride even, they have already replaced a ton of pathway in the area to make it wider, and the new building in front is a replacement for the old Rib House restaurant. There will be a huge new seating area as well. Just an absolutely huge project that must be costing them a ton of money on infrastructure and concrete alone. Also, summer is such a great time to visit SDC. Time Traveler was a walk-on all Sunday and had like a 15 min wait on Saturday. I mean, Branson was packed but SDC was barely filling their closest parking lots. It was definitely hot, but that usually doesn't stop people this much. Maybe it's the lack of water rides this year... By fall I'm sure it will be packed out again for Pumpkin fest & Christmas.
  10. ^Interesting info. I had forgot the hotel was included in the purchase, I'm sure you told us about it before. It's very interesting that they are fixing the building up, considering the recent survey about possibly adding hotels on to SF parks. It would be an easy market test for the concept since they already have the building and infrastructure. The attendance bump has been so noticeable. I'm psyched that they are starting to see the potential here. I don't want to get my hopes up, but I could see them just entirely re-doing the area around Nightmare Mine. That's a ton of land that is only really half used. With the right planning, they could fit a new coaster and something else there, especially if they also chip some land away from the maintenance area. They should move the entire maintenance area across the road to the boneyard.
  11. Developing all that land will not be easy due to both zoning and the neighboring communities. They may be able to shift some of that land into parking, then develop on their current parking lot. Really though, as we've seen with plenty of parks, it's all in how you use your existing land vs. having a ton of area to spread out. The abandoned hotel North of the park had no direct relation to FC that I know of. If FC has acquired that land, it is a recent development. They bought out half the old RV park a few years ago. Their parking area used to be tiny, but they rarely filled it up. These days they fill both the asphalt and the grass area up regularly.
  12. There have been so many discussions about what to do with SFNO over the past decade and nothing has ever happened. At some point you just have to tune out until something actually materializes. I'll bet they keep discussing things for another several years before they even figure out something. There's not much they can do with that land, and there's not a huge amount of demand for development in NO. Eventually it will get turned into housing I'm sure. Everyone wants a theme park to return, but no one has the money to put up for one. The location sucks, it's too far away from the tourist area, and NO isn't big or wealthy enough to support a park unless it is a small one. Maybe a Fun Spot style park could do OK.
  13. ^^Which "contracts"? Do you have the actual details of these contracts? I doubt anyone in the enthusiast community really knows those details. Most likely case is that they will remain SF parks regardless of what deals have to be renewed.
  14. Well, that's certainly a rumor... but it is not out of the question for HFEC to be making a bid on SF properties. They have done it before. They almost acquired Elitch Gardens, Darien Lake, and a few other properties during the SF sell-off years ago. HFEC has been fairly conservative with their money/growth, and most people underestimate the size and power of the company. I've been told many stories over the years about an odd setup with the ownership of SFOT. Something about minority stakeholders and original family stakeholders and such. I've been told that's part of what has held the park back in recent years while other parks have gotten larger investments. If such a situation does actually exist, this could have some weight to it. ...buuut, I don't think SF will give up SFOT willingly unless there is some sort of massive monetary incentive besides getting rid of a few minority stakeholders. It's a cash cow in any case, and a big piece of their national membership strategy.
  15. Just got back from a weekend in Atlanta/SFOG. I was very impressed with SFOG - it's probably the best SF park I've been to yet and surpassed my expectations all around. It was pretty busy on Saturday with a bunch of bands/schools and a cheer competition, but I was still able to get on everything at least once. On Sunday there was a storm in the morning, so after waiting it out underneath the train station awning for an hour every ride was a walk on for about 5 hours until the next cell came through - it was glorious. Monster Mansion is indeed a treasure. So refreshing to see something so unique, detailed, and well taken care of at a SF park. This park must have an excellent GM, because everything felt like it was clean, painted, and just generally well taken care of. I didn't get any photos of pandemonium. There wasn't any vertical construction yet, but it looks like they have all the pieces finally at least. Georgia Scorcher still wasn't open, but it looks like they are just about done and maybe open next weekend?
  16. What's the rain policy like? I'm headed down for my first ever visit this weekend and it looks like it will more than likely be raining on and off. Hopefully that means low crowds... but also hopefully they don't just close the park either day...
  17. Oh my god, this is AWESOME!!! I have been hoping for years to see HFEC get back into dark rides, and it looks like that is what they have their targets set on for DW (which means SDC will also get one afterwards!). I don't even care what option/vehicle gets picked, I just want something reliable, indoors, and immersive!
  18. Sounds like it was pretty cheap before now. I mean, this park has quite a few nice coasters. SFFT cost me over 90 bucks to get into for one day, and that was after paying $25 just to park. I know Kennywood wants to be affordable, but you have to move with the times eventually. They had to adjust their pay scale recently because they could keep the park staffed at the poverty wages they were giving before. Big new ride + properly paid staff = the ticket price should be closer to $70, IMO.
  19. Solid additions that will make the whole operation more attractive and profitable. I'm happy to see this park off the ground and running. This is the first park in a long time to actually get started and stay alive. I like seeing them put down roots.
  20. Unfortunate news all around as usual... I still don't understand how this park floods so badly after all this time. It's in the middle of a major metro, surely the city has some engineers employed to work on this. I work for a civil consultant myself, and we keep busy on issues that are relatively tame in comparison. I guess the quick fix is to just prevent them from building within the apparently larger than expected flood plain... or raise the park by several feet over time. Flume 1 is the original flume, right? I'm pretty sure it just operates once or twice a year for ACE or special groups... would be sad to see it go, but it is what it is and that's a lot of land.
  21. There are a lot of fairly basic attractions that could make a huge impact at FC. The park is pretty basic in the rides department right now. Things I think could have a huge ROI here with fairly minimal SF expense include: Shot/Drop Tower Frisbee style ride Endeavor Screamin' Swing Sky Screamer Relocated Vekoma Boomerang Relocated Wild Mouse Disko Any compact coaster, such as the Iron Shark Clones So basically just about any major modern thrill ride, compact coaster relocation, or one of the cheap clones would be a huge hit at this park. The biggest attractions added within the last decade here have included a small Vekoma family suspended coaster and a relocated Zamperla Power Surge that apparently barely operates. The only major flats besides the aforementioned power surge are a set of flyers and a super loop...
  22. Aw man, it sucks that your first experience at SDC is going to be on the absolute worst weekend for it. It will be an interesting and hopefully fun experience. Hopefully it will encourage you to come back on a non-crazy weekend to experience it for real. YCW is always a mad house.The park will be at capacity with 12-17 year old church kids. Despite being church kids though, some of them can often get unruly. It's always a weekend I avoid. If you are into the music, there's that at least. Get there an hour early before gates officially open so that you can get a trailblazer. They will sell out instantly as soon as they open the booth. The trailblazer will be your only hope of getting rides on much of anything. I imagine Time Traveler will have a 2-3 hour wait all day.
  23. It sucks to hear that they are loosing what is possibly the best coaster in the park. I loved Viking Voyager when it was at CC and always wanted to get down there and ride it again. Hope it turns up somewhere again. As for the next coaster... perhaps the 2019 additions and this subtraction could lead up to something? The 2019 stuff is aimed at younger kids mostly with a cool alligator exhibit as well that is a general people pleaser. Perhaps that will put them in a position to focus on the older thrill seeking audience in 2020. Probably just wishful thinking though... The park seems to know it's strengths with the water park, animal, and younger-family attractions.
  24. Don't Frontier City, Great Escape, and La Ronde all have weird historical agreements in place that keep them from being fully branded as Six Flags parks? I know Frontier City especially has some kind of weirdness to it, stemming back from when it was moved off of the Oklahoma City fairgrounds. I just can't remember what the details were.
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