LegendLover

Full credit to MidwestInfoGuide (seriously love this site for their Adventureland, SDC, and Six Flags St. Louis content), but now we know that it's an S&S 4D Free Spin. Seeing the color of the track, I've grown on more to the idea of a Free Spin here. I just hope it doesn't turn out like Joker at Great Adventure, New England, Great America, and Over Texas where it mainly feels like it's just rocking back and forth rather than flipping crazily like both Batman: The Rides and Arashi. Now here's real question: is it going to be a custom version of the Free Spin? I know that sounds crazy, but from the looks of the construction updates on the MIG site, it almost seems like they plan on retrofitting the old station to house this ride? Maybe they will place this ride on the other side of the lake with a queue line going over the pond, but I just don't know how they could reuse the station. Last thing, I think it's funny to think about how they had a twenty year coaster drought, and then in a matter of five years, they will have added three major coasters.

I do actually love riding them, especially the wild ones like Batman: The Ride at both DIscovery Kingdom and Fiesta Texas. I just wish they were a bit longer. I wish more parks would go with the ten element version. I'm hoping this park gets the ten element version. They will have a pretty well rounded collection. I'd love to see them add a small kiddie coaster and maybe an airtime focused coaster.

I do like Free Spins, but I would be a little disappointed if it does turn out to be a 4D Free Spin. I mean it'll be the only ride like it in the state and the closest one is in Chicago, but I was hoping for a bit of a longer ride. The biggest disappointment for me is that it won't really utilize the lake setting. Even though I did hate Dragon, there was something pretty cool about dropping over the pond and bunny hopping back into the tree line. I was hoping to see something like that again on a ride, just smoother.

^^ Honestly as soon as I read that, I also thought that it could be a 4D Free Spin. Like whenever I saw those supports, I actually thought they looked similar to Free Spin supports. I do like Free Spins and I do think this would be a good ride for park like Adventureland, but I'm hoping for a ride that's a little longer than a Free Spin.

http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/?m=1 I love this site so much. In their most recent post, the they were able to spot some supports for the new coaster!

And they will get soaked and not able to breath through on water rides. I won't be visiting any park as long as they require a mask. Silver Dollar City has received a ton of backlash on Facebook of guests complaining about the masks. Numerous people have mentioned the masks on water rides, and SDC has said that masks will not be required on the large rides or water rides.

They have a tram/train that takes guests around the park, including to the top of Sky Screamer Mountain. Personally, I actually love walking around the park; it feels like a bunch of nature trails. Last time I checked, they did have a bunch of monorail track in storage. I don't know what the plan for that is if anything is going to happen with it. The Bird Sanctuary has been cancelled for right now, at least building it from the ground up. It is quite possible that the former Aquarium Dome could be retrofitted to feature bird exhibits. Part of it was remodeled to house the new Magellanic South American Penguins. That large plot of land was originally planned to be a massive expansion to feature multiple indoor exhibits, but it wouldn't surprise me if the funds for the project were redirected since the park is taking a new direction.

Discussion threads get created when there are multiple news stories about the park that the people of TPR respond to. I highly recommend starting a new thread with Marineland in the title. Once I see real discussion out there a Discussion Thread is created. I'm talking about real news. If people start threads about a new lemonade stand, a bathroom being refurbished or a new cleaning service being hired, then I'm unlikely to create a Discussion Thread. Sounds good! Assuming the park does announce their two new rides for 2020, I think that would be the perfect news to start a thread! They didn’t announce Polar Splash until June so I hope they still plan on announcing the two new rides.

Amusement Insiders seems pretty convinced that the thrill ride that Marineland is planning to add for 2020 will be a Zierer Star Shape. I don't know who their source is, but it does make sense that this could be the thrill ride they are planning to debut. Half of the rides in the park are from Zierer. It would be incredible if this was their new ride! If Marineland ever does add a new coaster in the future (which I think there is going to be a new one in the next five years), then I think there's a good chance that it will be a Tower Coaster form Zierer.

Lord the Dragon was awful. I hate it even more than Ninja. Ninja is a little shakey, but Dragon had straight up potholes. At least the seats are nice and soft when you hit a pothole in a car, but hitting one with nothing but a plastic church pew of a seat was more painful than any headbanging. Also my bet is on either a launced coaster or a Chance Hyper GT-X.

We could use some positivity these days. On April 10th, Lost Island Water Park shared this photograph of the state of construction at Lost Island Theme Park. In related news, Park Pros (a GREAT YouTube channel that focuses on midwestern theme parks) posted a video that dives deep into the possible attractions in the park based on the concept part and the overview the park released. It’s a great watch and it’s really getting me hyped for Lost Island!

I'm honestly surprised Catwoman Whip hasn't been postponed or cancelled. As of today, it's still posted on the front page of their website. The other one of these rides was pushed back at Great Escape (not a huge surprise since they had all those troubles with construction permits).

https://www.chch.com/how-marineland-is-coping-during-the-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR325pnxWyy8NvF93IiffvKf9NJPaZkkEkbrxz41io0aPg8ZmlSOZbaxL5U The local news station just did a story about Marineland. In the story, they highlight a new bear cub that was born at Marineland and they also show off the new penguin enclosure. According to the park, the new enclosure cost three million dollars. From the look of the video clips, the enclosure takes the place of a previously unoccupied area of the Aquarium Dome. That is a great move by the park. Many people (including myself) always forget that the Aquarium Dome exists. I think it would be great if they reopen that café that is within that building now that it is bound to see more foot traffic. Another thing to mention is that they say that it takes two million dollars a month to care for all the animals at Marineland, and as of right now, they haven't laid off any of their workers.

Just a quick thought on the closure/relocation of Elitch Gardens: I think a relocation is more likely than a straight up closure. I feel like Coasterbill is going to say something snarky about this if he finds this. Elitch recently posted a video about "getting through this together" like a lot of parks are doing on Facebook. Just the "we've been making fun memories for the past 130 years and we look forward to making more fun memories for the next 130 years." It just seems like a park on the verge of closing wouldn't say anything such as that. Plus, Elitch is still a well-loved park for the general public: it has consistently drawn in about 1.1 million visitors each year. It did peak at 1.5 million at the beginning of the 2000's, but then it dropped to 1 million in the mid 2000's before staying consistent at 1.1 million since. Given that the population of the Denver metro area is only 717,796 (not including surrounding neighborhoods), it should seem pretty substantial that they can pull such attendance numbers. My last thought is that they aren't choosing to leave that location. It's not like how Six Flags sold the land under Astroworld before closing. Since the government is taking the land, Elitch Gardens will be getting financial compensation. Maybe they will throw in the towel, but I do believe that another move is in the park's future. I've always enjoyed the park, even though there aren't any standout attractions. The past three generations have travelled to Denver for family vacations and Elitch has always been a tradition. It was incredibly seedy in the 2000's, but we've enjoyed our visits throughout the 2010's.

I’ve never had a Six Flags membership, but I think I’ll get one this year. The day the parks reopen, I’ll go to Six Flags St. Louis (my closest one) and then maybe Frontier City two days later. Even if I can only hit two, three, or four Six Flags parks. I’ve always preferred Six Flags parks over Cedar Fair (I don’t know why).

In the past year, their original founder died, a major project was canceled, a ride was removed, a two million dollar water playground opened, and now a penguin encounter and two new rides have been confirmed.

Believe it or not, but I actually like Ninja. Okay I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it. I think it’s a little fun and it’s not that rough. Maybe it’s just because I always saw it growing up. In the mid 2000’s, I was just getting tall enough to ride the roller coasters with over the shoulder harnesses. My mom and brother LOVED Batman and Ninja at that end of the park. They looked so intimidating to me as a child. I remember when I finally got to ride them. Yeah Ninja is a bit rough around the edges, but it’s still a fun looping coaster.

If there was an actual Marineland thread, I’d use it. I LOVE giving updates on stuff at parks people may have forgotten about.

This is from Amusement Insiders on YouTube (I highly recommend going to his channel. He posts some AWESOME videos). Looks like the park is pushing forward with a larger investment for 2020! I’m excited to see what’s coming! Here’s a link to the video from Amusement Insiders: It seems like they want a Skyline rides as well (to the person above me); they have a picture of that new Skyline concept in the thumbnail. Personally, I think they should stay away from Skyline since their two roller coasters have had massive downtime issues. After the fiasco of Topple Tower, I think they should stay away from risky rides.

Worlds of Fun posted a funny coaster trivia video about the coasters in their park. They then posted this comment on their page. I can confidently say they have NO chill. Lol

I was just thinking about this park. I grew up in Southwest, Missouri and I went there all the time. I searched it up on here and saw the links to MidwestInfoGuide (love the site). It seems like all traces of Celebration City have been removed. Didn't know if the person who ran the site was by any chance on here.

I could actually see an RMC Raptor going in the place of the Go Kart track (the prototype layout probably). That area of the park has always been a little bit less traveled so it would really add something nice over there. Either that, or I think it'll be a Zamperla Giant Discovery.

Oh, a new "Snack Shack" is listed as new for 2020 as well. I assume it is probably located in one of the shops along main street. Another great addition.

Indiana Beach might be salvageable, but Fantasy Island seems to definitely be a goner; some rides already appear to be gone at Fantasy Island. Fantasy Island just got a mat racer a couple years ago; that could be perfect for the water park. It would give them four modern waterslides: Twister, Freefall, Upsurge, and the racer. Those are huge people pleasures and could add at least thirty minutes to a visit to the park since there is rerideability factor to it. Of the dry rides, I'd love to see them pick up either the Zamperla Disco, the Chance Wheel, or Zamperla Vertical Swing. The last two would give them large scale flat rides with high visibility to the back of the park, and the Disco is a huge crowd pleasure as well with a bit of a higher thrill factor.

Don't be too hard on yourself. This photograph is better than the ones I took of the site (aka none). Looks like construction is moving along nicely. Not as quickly as Jersey Devil, but still good progress.