Shavethewhales

Update in case anyone's interested: you can see more of the plans and hear a little from the developer here: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20120221_16_A1_CUTLIN381030 I like how some of the concept art is literally just a bunch of poorly photoshopped coasters thrown over a boardwalk area. Looks like Nitro, X2, and the Coney Island Cyclone are all going to be featured. Looking at the actual site plan I can barely make out what appears to be a short custom looping coaster layout with a cobra roll and dive loop (G-fighter?), and maybe a vekoma roller skater. The water park is actually much larger than the amusement park side. What really gets my attention is how much parking they're going to build. Keep in mind all this terrain is currently a very steep hill, so the amount of terraforming required for this is huge. All-in-all, after looking at these plans and hearing the developer for the first time, I've already lost all hope. Looks like another pipe-dream "build it and they will come" type of proposal with a ton of amenities all thrown together on some random piece of land. The developers are still quiet because they this all blew up in their faces. They weren't ready to make an announcement, somebody uncovered their plans and spilled it to the media and a huge backlash has started and all the local political figures are retreating from the project as fast as they can.

Major construction has started on this project now. Not only are they clearing land and adding fill in some areas, but they've begun foundation work on the station and they've started pre-casting a number of concrete piers that will apparently be set into place later. Seems like an odd way to cast footers, but what do I know. Photos can be seen here (they're not mine so I can't repost them): http://sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=1853.msg38332#msg38332 I should also mention that the word on the street is that this will be a fairly large coaster, not really family oriented per se, and there is a rumor of a record-setting first drop. That would be something like 80 degrees or more to set the record for the steepest first drop on a wooden coaster... I guess we'll see.

Between Silver Dollar City and Dollywood a number of rides exist or have existed as two-of-a-kind, custom made attractions from the days when the company that became HFEC made their own rides. It can be shown that some of these rides were heavily influenced by what Disney was doing at the time. Back in the 70's SDC was in some ways becoming a little Ozark Disneyland in some ways if you were to look closely. Fire-in-the-Hole/Blazing Fury, a custom indoor coaster/dark ride concept with a splash down finale (splash mountain, anyone?) Flooded Mine - a custom float through dark ride experience. Dollywood's version was taken out apparently after some issues with snakes, while SDC's version lives on after being "upgraded" with electronic guns and targets. Waterboggins - Large scale water slides with rafts big enough to fit several people sitting tandem. Basically an 80's version of Wildabeest without any upward portions. I know there are water slides in a lot of parks, but these were/are much larger than anything I have seen at any other park and appear to have been custom made. SDC's version was taken out after some "upgrades" apparently made them too dangerous. Rube Dugin's Diving Bell - This was an early motion simulator/4d cinema concept that was produced in the 80's at SDC. The story goes that the idea was originally pitched to Disney, but they turned it down. SDC was then approached because of their history of adopting and adapting Disney ride concepts. They turned out to be a big success and Disney apparently took the concept back and made the original Star Tours out of it - or so the story goes (Disney would probably deny any connection with SDC). It was taken out of SDC so a rafts ride could go in it's place. Hmm, seems like there were a couple of others, but I can't think of them at the moment...

ha! I knew this past December they were getting it ready to dismantle by all the buzz of workers around it, just didn't know who was getting it. Now, when do they set ozcat on fire? Its unsalvagable. From the sources I have (ie: people who work for SDC) it sounded like they were actually keeping OzCat maintained to some degree in case the event arose in which they opened a new mixed attraction there or sold off the property to someone else. In the latest news article on the subject, Pete Herschend said they were open to selling the place to someone interested in rebuilding some kind of park there. Who knows what that means though, it will probably need a full retrack to really operate well again. Getting back to this coaster, I kind of hope it's not right on the ridge. I think it'll start to look tacky if they put a bunch of rides right at the top. You really don't need good views on a coaster like this, it's quick and jerky and you're spinning around half the time.

^They haven't installed the coaster yet, it's either still at Celebration City or in transport at the moment. No one I know has driven by CC lately, so I can't say for sure. It did sound like they were going to put it at the top though, hence the name cliffhanger and the mention of the awesome views from the top.

Nice. You guys should actually enjoy this little coaster, even if it doesn't look like much. There's this great near-vertical dive about half way through that makes it really interesting. Some of the helixs/turnarounds are almost 90 degrees and are taken pretty fast and tight too. All-in-all this is one of my favorite portable coaster models. On the subject of Celebration City, this is about the last ride to go... All they have left is Wildcat, the S&S Tower, the Mack Supersplash, a couple of kiddie rides, the log flume (in storage) and possibly the flying carpet. All of these rides with the exception of Wildcat, the Supersplash and S&S Tower are still for sale. I assume the later two will be moved to other parks soon and Wildcat will probably bite the dust eventually when the property gets carved up for resale. This is a great addition for this new little park though. Sounds like another kiddie coaster is in the works as well, along with a ferris wheel. Maybe it will be the start of more new ride additions to come.

I've had time to do a little more digging, and I've found that this is all a part of a plan called the "Tulsa Harbour Development Proposal". I've posted a blurry concept pic below (haven't found a clearer version yet). I can't find much info on it yet for some reason, but it sounds like some kind of Branson-Landing type development with big amusement rides. Some people are trying to compare it to Frontier City... no wonder they aren't impressed. Turkey Mountain is a little more interesting than I had thought though, apparently it's full of trails and activity courses and is actually a more family friendly environment than some would suggest. Of course with major greenspaces you'll always have some issues, but it's good to hear a lot of people actually enjoy the space. It sounds like there's going to be some conflict over the location if they try to build here, so I hope they can find a better spot, like maybe upriver closer to Sand Springs. From what I can make out of the concept sketch, it looks like they want to build some major rides. Unfortunately, these kinds of proposals never make it through, so my hopes aren't high. Edit: There's a lot of information on this facebook page. Apparently a lot of the details haven't even been released to the public yet, but activists are spreading the word so they can protect the area: http://www.facebook.com/turkeymountain?filter=1

Living in OK, seeing any headline with the words "amusement park" in it is bound to immediately set my hair on end. So you can imagine my surprise to see this article come out today: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=334&articleid=20120220_334_0_MayorD4143 This seems strange to me, seeing as the area in question is already surrounded by development. If this were a new walmart or target, I'm sure there would be absolutely no question about it being built. I think this city has a sour taste in it's mouth from the whole Bell's fiasco (which is still on-going in a somewhat comic fashion). Here is an overview of the proposed site: http://maps.google.com/?ll=36.065128,-95.989008&spn=0.015333,0.027595&t=h&z=15

This is WAY bigger than what I was expecting. I thought they were doing something along the lines of water monkies at Cliff's. I've heard they're spending a full $1.3 million on it, making it a pretty size-able financial investment for FC. It does kind of make me wonder what their plans are with WWB though. Since they went this big, there's got to be some gate-cannibalization going on here. I guess OKC gets hot enough in the summer that they might as well have a water park at both locations. Besides, WWB is on the other side of town, so to some degree it's a slightly different market anyway. I'm just surprised they aren't investing in WWB at the same time. I'm really excited for the park though. This is a really smart investment for them, and I know it help them build a reliable customer base composed of families again, which is something they desperately need. The old management seemed to think they could survive on bored teens alone.

I don't think they're going to market new trains as a new ride. However, if SDC's new coaster from Rocky Mountain turns out great (which it should) then the company will probably start working with them a lot more and maybe get them to overhaul Twister.

I think these rides will be in the family category, and they'll probably be the same exact rides that Darien is getting. If Herschend has any sway in how capital investment is managed at the park, then they'll probably use the same strategy they use at their other parks. IE: purchasing contracts/rides in bulk and putting them in multiple parks. With Elitch and Darien being similar in many ways compared to HFEC's other managed properties, they'll probably get the mimic treatment like SDC and DW get with each other. I'm sure these rides will be coming from Zamperla too. Who else does bulk ride packages? I'm thinking maybe a happy swing, maybe something like those spinning galleons, and hopefully something slightly more broadly-appealing off the catalog.

Those rides have been for sale for forever, IIRC. The latest issue of amusement today had a classified ad for them that had them going for a few thousand a piece. Sounds like they really want to just get rid of them.

Meh, maybe not the 'dark horse' of 2012 that I imagined. I know it's a pier coaster, but it needs a little more length than that to make me feel like I'm getting my money's worth. It can't be much, if at all, shorter than the standard Rage model, but for some reason that layout feels more complete than this one. I feel like I'm just getting into it when it hits the breaks. At least the elements it does have are pretty cool.

This G-fighter is really going to be the 'dark horse', so to speak, of 2012. I keep hearing little tidbits about it here and then, but it always surprises me when I hear how large and unique it will be.

From watching Robb's interview of RMC again, it sounded to me like they were planning on "replacing" Rattler with steel I-Box track, a la Texas Giant, rather than extending the Topper Track treatment that has been already started on the ride. Anyone else get this impression, or am I off? An I-Box track makeover would certainly be much more exciting. Also, this is the excerpt of the article that pertains to the two major RMC projects for 2013: Has anyone considered that this might be the coaster that they were talking about adding inversions to?

In Robb's interview of RMC at IAAPA ( ) it sounded like they're doing a complete replacement project. I think that $12 million figure might be for EACH project RMC is doing in 2013 and not both, but we'll see. Those kinds of details tend to be flubbed a lot. Rattler with a drop that goes beyond even what the original legendary drop did would be... well, even more legendary.

Here's the interview in question. This confirms that the ride will in fact have topper track and will debut the new trains. That's one question answered. Now the question is, how big and how crazy? Might have to wait awhile for more info now though. This ride won't open until 2013. I expect an announcement from the park earlier than usual, but they usually announce rides in early November, so that could still be pretty late in the season.

^Larry, I have purchased the article and it definitely stated that both Silver Dollar City and Fiesta Texas would have projects by Rocky Mountain for 2013. The article also gave the combined $12 million figure for both. Can anyone track down this interview from RMC where they said they were building a traditional coaster? The article was very much focused on RMC's new track and train production facility so it sounded like that was all of their business. I can't imagine SDC going with RMC for a traditional coaster when they've had so much good business with GCII. Edit: I'll go ahead and post the most interesting excerpt from the article, hopefully that's OK: Source: Spokane Journal of Business: http://www.spokanejournal.com/article.php?id=7763 Note that they say the two projects with include such features. That sounds like they will at least have the new track and trains, if not inversions.

^Wow, I really hope that's not the case here. The article comes out and specifically states that they have a project at Silver Dollar City, and they are in fact building something at Silver Dollar City right now with a lot of land clearing going on already. It would be weird for them to announce they're working on somebody else's project. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. I really expected the chain to go with GCII, who they have such a good relationship with. This totally bucks the trend of staying with proven manufacturers and installing similar rides at their owned parks. The other time the park went with a coaster that was the first of it's kind, it didn't really work out all that well. (Was PK the first of it's kind? I was referring to Buzzsaw Falls, but maybe this is actually the third time they've done this...) I also don't like the relatively low dollar count. If the $12 million is between the two 2013 projects, then they either must not be doing much to the Rattler or this won't be a very big coaster. The wood components are cheap - if this were a GCII I would be totally happy to hear of it costing $6-8 million, but NTAG cost $10 million as a re-build, and it seems like there will be a lot of costs associated with being a new coaster. We'll see though, it doesn't have to be huge and expensive to be amazing, or even a top ten coaster, but it sure helps with this style. Now that we know this is will be a thrill coaster my expectations are higher. And while we're on the subject of money I have to add: how come SDC only gets approx $6-8 million to spend on its first completely new coaster in a decade while DW has spent around $20 million a piece on their last two coasters not including their woodie and other big rides built in the last decade. My how the tables have turned in terms of chain investments these days, not that I'm bitter or anything

How much of the ride do you really think they'll rebuild? I ask in part because I'm wonder how much that $12 million is being split up since NTAG cost $10 million and SDC is building an entirely new coaster with part of that. Would they just do the first drop, since that is the main problem area, or would they go for the entire layout? It's a long time to wait if they're just redoing one piece of the ride, and I know the ride could use it pretty much everywhere, even if I'm hoping most of that money is being spent by SDC!

Time to drag up this thread at last! It has been confirmed that Silver Dollar City will open a brand new coaster by Rocky Mountain Coasters for the 2013 season. Construction is already taking place behind The Giant Swing. It was confirmed in an article of the Spokane Journal of Business which was profiling Rocky Mountain. The firm is building new facilities to produce its track and a new train design that will "revolutionize the industry". The combination of the two new technologies will allow the firm to build looping "wooden" coasters. Not much is known about the Silver Dollar City coaster, other than it will be built from the ground up and together with the refurbishment of the Rattler at SF Fiesta Texas the total cost of the two projects will be $12 million. Not a ton of money depending on how much the Rattler costs, but if they stay lot to the ground they won't have to use all that much wood. $8 million with this tech will build a damn good coaster, maybe even a top ten. The big question now is "will it have inversions?". Honestly I kind of hope not. I just want a crazy first drop and lots of twisty craziness through the trees and ravines. They have some nice land at their disposal where they are building it. I wrote up a little summary of the article on SDCFans, but I don't think I can post the original article publicly due to the paywall issues. It doesn't say much more than what I just wrote.

Today on my drive through Oklahoma I was able to stop at four different locations where the Oklahoma amusement/water park landscape is being shaped. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I saw a whole lot. I wanted to get an update on the Bell's Amusement Park situation, since Robby Bell is being forced to clear out his "storage" space near downtown Tulsa while simultaneously setting up shop again at last with a few kiddie rides at a local flea market. I first stopped by the downtown location to see what he had left in stock. I was shocked to see how much he had just lying out in the grass on an empty lot next to the street. Most of the log flume and a major piece of the Round Up is hanging out in one lot looking pretty bad. There is another lot farther up the street that actually has a fence around it, and it is there that he's put the last of his "good stuff" that might actually be re-usable but doesn't fit in the warehouse. I saw the old carousel barn, some fences, the base of a kiddie ride that will probably be moved to the new park soon, and pieces of the octopus ride among a few other odds and ends. The fence had a sign on it advertising that space would be available soon, so it looks like they're about to clear this lot for a new warehouse. I then stopped by Bell's new home for the time being, which is a huge flea market way down in South Tulsa. It actually was quite a spectacle with all kinds of vendors and visitors and four of the old Bell's kiddie rides were set up in front. The rides aren't operating yet, there is still a lot of groundwork being done to lay electrical to each ride. It looked like some of the ride cars were being refurbished on site as well. When the rides do open however, it actually looks like they'll get a good crowd on the weekends. I saw lots of kids asking to go on the rides, and the parking lot was packed. It looks like they'll have 5 rides in total when they open in a few weeks, assuming they move that other kiddie ride in as well - I think they have space for it. We'll see if they can grow from here I guess. Next I moved on to the other end of the turnpike to Frontier City. In case you haven't heard, Frontier City started teasing a few weeks ago that something was coming for 2012, culminating with a new sign hung on the wildcat that hinted at some sort of "cooler" water attraction of some sort. The parking lot is still marked up with construction markers as it has been for weeks, and there are utility flags up and down the street in front of the park. Since my last visit about a month ago they also added one of those big dumpsters used in construction, but it is empty and there is nothing around it. The sign that was hung on the wildcat has disappeared. I'm kind of wondering if they're still going to be able to build anything in time for the 2012 season, or if it will even be worthwhile. Finally, I stopped by a brand new family water park that's being built in Norman at the Andy Alligators FEC complex. It's not much of a park, but it's big enough to be interesting, and there's always hope it will grow into something more substantial. I understand it will have a small lazy river, a water fortress play area with slides, and a slide tower with mat racing slides and a tube slide, and some other odds and ends. The only problem is that they want to charge an arm and a leg to get in, and they only sell season passes. Last I checked they were charging something like twice what White Water Bay (a much larger water park in OKC) usually charges for a season pass. I really don't know what they're thinking with their pricing structure, but I hope they have more business acumen than that so they can actually survive a season. Anyway, that's what's happening in Oklahoma as far as parks are concerned. Literally the only parks I didn't hit up in this state are White Water Bay where nothing is happening and Kiddie Park, a tiny community amusement park in my home town of Bartlesville. This is the "good" Bell's storage lot downtown complete with a fence and a little organization. Looking closer at the remaining kiddie ride base. I assume this will head over to the new "park" soon. The octopus is still here. Maybe he'll find a place for this at the flea market someday too. A little ways down is the "bad" lot where it looks like they just threw stuff off a truck into an empty lot. I can't tell if this is part of the park or just old junk. Here are pieces of the log flume, the main arm of the Round Up, and some supports for the old sky way. They're literally just out here on the street. Have been for years now. When Bell's closed, a group of welders actually came out and donated time and materials to help take down this flume because they wanted to see Bell's reopen again and serve Tulsa. I wish I remembered who they were. Does it look like it's salvageable? Maybe with a little work? It's a classic. This was one half of a flume that operated at the 1968(?) Worlds Fair. The other half used to be at Dollywood. Here's the next chapter in the Bell's story - the new park at the Saturday Flea Market. I don't think most of these people will mind if the rides are a little rough around the edges. Down at the far end of the lot, there's space for another ride. I'm guessing this is where that one in the lot will go? Now onto FC. Meet the new dumpster. Not a lot to see otherwise though. I looked everywhere for signs of something being put together. Nothing. There are so many flags out here that something has to be going on. You can see that the teaser sign is gone now. This is the whole area that they would have to work with. Lots of space and it's very viable to the interstate. Btw, that's Six Flags old HQ building. Finally, the new Andy Alligator's Water Park in Norman. The entrance The lazy river has been poured Supports for the play structure. Didn't see any slide pieces yet. At least it will have some theming.

I certainly hope so. HFEC has so far not made any attempt to make any of their other properties emulate SDC or DW to much extent, and I wasn't expecting them to do a whole lot with DL since they don't even own the place. I still have trouble understanding what exactly they control at DL. I'd love to see a true theme applied to the park though, it would help turn it from a mediocre park into something a little more special and appreciated.

^The park had a lot of days like that this summer, unfortunately. It was so hot and the economy of the surrounding area has been in the toilet. Branson tourism in general was way down this year. It was really only in December that things really picked back up. The park experienced some of their best weekends ever last month, due largely to a slew of discounts and some nice weather for once.

While the new owners state they will focus on the water park, I haven't heard them say anything that sounds like they will abandon the dry side. Has there been any more news about this, or is screamscape just wrong again? I always thought it was weird that Adrenaline Family Entertainment owned this park. I've seen them around here before with their inflatables at various events, unless that's a different company with the same name. Oklahoma has been the unlikely headquarters for several amusement park companies it seems.