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Shavethewhales2

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Everything posted by Shavethewhales2

  1. I expect that he will build a small kiddie park with a few carnival rides and whatever few things he has left over from Bell's and call it good. I think it's impressive he has stayed with it after so many years and so many setbacks, but I just don't think he has it in him to get very far. It does sound like some major investors are involved, but we will see if they stick around this time or if they pull out like others before. The problem is that Robby and his family really don't understand business, hence why they got kicked out of the fairgrounds without so much as a whimper. They didn't even fight it or work out a deal because they don't understand how anything works. Back in 2013 they declared themselves "back" as Robby set up a grand total of three toddler rides in the parking lot of a crappy flea market. He made big pronouncements back then of building all kinds of stuff at this flea market - lots of rides, mini golf, maybe even a roller coaster or two? A year later he was kicked off the property, leaving a ton of stuff behind. That's why few trust him. Don't get me wrong, I am rooting for him and no one wants Zingo back more than me. I learned to love classic parks at Bell's and still seek out classic wooden coasters to this day. I am just keeping my expectations grounded after 15 years of disappointment. If a kiddie park gets built, that is awesome. If they get any thrill rides built and stay in business, that would be tremendous. It's worth noting that neighbors are already complaining as if a giant disney park is being dropped into the community. Robby made it sound like they were building everything at once in his press conference and a lot of people don't remember how small Bell's was back in the day. There's going to be a bunch more harsh public comments in the days ahead...
  2. That would be incredibly disappointing if it turns out to be a Zamperla. They are simply not good at roller coasters. Or most rides for that matter... They are good at making simple kids rides where the expectations are low, and a few of their larger flats are decent. Every coaster they've built has been painful or underwhelming. Fingers are still crossed for Intamin.
  3. COTAland is a weird place apparently, but this is definitely a star attraction and they'll now have two "big" coasters, so it's a stop for sure. I like the concept a lot and hope this becomes another popular choice for smaller parks. Did the schwartzkopf wildcat ever open?
  4. Aw, that's unfortunate. I was supposed to drive up as for the event, but I was just too wiped out and wasn't feeling up to it after a hard week. Looks like they did a lot of other fun stuff at some of the other places around Branson though. The Coaster Christmas event has grown to include stops at two of the mountain coaster places and the weird "snowflex" thing that is basically a glorified slip n' slide. Looked like fun though. Next year I'll be sure to come up on Friday. OR definitely had a train in pieces back in October, so good to hear that two trains are operational again. I feel like they have been slowly getting things back together after a lack of parts earlier this year. Not sure what the whole story is, but operations were certainly rough for most of this year and they were very hesitant to run more than one train on anything. Sucks that TT is back to one train though. What a pain. The newest and most popular coaster down to minimal operations. Really hope we can see three train ops return someday... if that third train really does still exist and hasn't been torn apart for parts.
  5. motorbike style vehicles make sense considering the meandering layout. I really enjoy Wavebreaker down at Seaworld San Antonio, so that would be great with me. Would love it if HFEC is finally working with Intamin too. The rockwork indicated in the plans is what really has me excited, and for some reason fly-bys are always more thrilling in the motorbike style seats. If it's a cheetah hunt style coaster that's great too - another super popular ride.
  6. They start putting up lights in June, lol. It's ready from day one, which has already past incidentally. Christmas is their biggest season, so they hit it hard. It shouldn't be too bad this weekend. They start shutting things at 40 degrees and a few rides can make it to 33 or 34 I think... There's always the mine and FITH, plus the shows, craftsmen, and the lights. There will be a bunch of American Coaster Enthusiasts at the park this weekend though, so maybe it is a good one to avoid, lol. Old Time Christmas is basically always crowded. The park will hit capacity every weekend unless the weather is really bad. Get there early, and try to get in a Friday or Monday if you are able. The good thing is that the crowd turns over throughout the day, so there's an early crowd that comes and does rides then leaves after the first tree lighting, and then another crowd that comes in as it is getting dark. Usually by the last hour of the night it gets surprisingly uncrowded though.
  7. Wooden coasters have lower capital costs initially, and the park already has experience and technical capabilities for taking care of their existing wooden coaster. From an operations standpoint, I could see it being very appealing to buy another wooden coaster rather than something completely different. Plus, the junior timberliners have proven to be pretty popular and crowd pleasing. Quassy and Kentucky Kingdom seem to have done very well with theirs.
  8. https://www.newson6.com/story/6183edfe8da4460be7fdb31b/bells-amusement-park-to-return-to-green-country Here's the announcement. After 15 years of trying, they finally have land and a plan. Didn't hear when construction will start or how things will be phased, but I did hear these key details: Zingo is coming back, PLUS other coasters New waterpark, at least twice as big as Safari Joes (which tbf is quite small, but our only water park in Tulsa) Thrill park and kiddie park will be separate. Indoor area with electric go karts and virtual reality. Big thrill rides that they couldn't get away with at their old location. (possibly hinting at upcharge attractions like a booster or sky swing)
  9. I agree completely coasterbill. I was really hoping the next major addition would be the rumored dark ride. Coasters are awesome of course, but DW and SDC have built so many big coasters when they could have been competing with Disney on some truly amazing indoor rides that would also help them remain popular year round and in all weather. They also desperately need to restore the woodland feel to the area after they clear cut everything. I disagree, I think they actually have invested in too many extreme thrills. I don't understand why the park doesn't focus much more on younger families considering their spending and activity ratios compared to other guests. Obviously I enjoy the big coasters, but I've always thought it was a weird business decision when kids visiting the park have few marquee rides for them. Disney is king not just because of their IP's... The layout looks nice. Hard to tell if it inverts or what, but the tunnel on the SE end looks cool. Considering the area, is it going to be like a kids version of Lightning rod? Another terrain launched coaster kind of like a mini Cheetah Hunt?
  10. All these years later, we finally have a solid sign of life: https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/family-buys-more-than-100-acres-in-broken-arrow-for-upcoming-amazing-venture I have heard that several of Bell's previous attempts to get re-established were thrown off due to various factors such as investors pulling out, partners suddenly dying, and of course all kinds of issues acquiring land that would actually work for this project. Finally it seems the pieces have lined up. We'll see what they announce tomorrow. Probably won't be very large to start with, but even getting a small kid's park off the ground again would be awesome for the Tulsa area.
  11. Some are speculating that the loops were simply placed wrong originally and that they are still working on fit and refurbishment of the ride. Hard to say what is true at this point. The new Galaxi certainly went up fast and without much issue, so it makes you wonder. I presume they have some major metal work that needs to be done to get the Drier Looping fixed, and it's not a simple task. Probably best to take it down in any case until they are ready to fix everything and get it truly put together.
  12. I love hearing about the plans for the theming, and how much these owners care about the general ambiance and feel of the park. I really, really appreciate it when parks are more than just a collection of rides that you wait in line all day for. That's a big part of why I love SDC and DW so much, and hearing that they are measuring themselves against my favorite parks is a huge plus. I will definitely be there next summer! Why knock them for the SLC? They are refurbishing it and bought new trains. Should be decent at least. Good to hear they refurbished the launch coaster too with a new launch system.
  13. I am hoping it is for Alabama Adventure. Would love to see that park continue to take off and grow back to what it was and beyond. The verbiage indicates something unique about it though that seems to point away from a traditional amusement park though... "High profile location" can mean anything. It could be going to Las Vegas to a resort somewhere for all that means. Any major resorts set to expand through next year? I know several massive Oklahoma Casinos are on a tear. Would be awesome to see one of these pop up at one of the OK/TX border casinos. The Durant Casino has been expanding into other attractions besides gambling, as an example. I think the Glenwood project still happens, but maybe it gets pushed back a year or two. If they had decent insurance and lawyers, they can argue things down and still take a blow without being wiped out. Don't want to say much more than that, because what a crappy situation, but I think they still have a viable path forward with hopefully much safer operations.
  14. Looks like another launched coaster? That seems surprising to me. Should be fun though. Kinda looks like Manta at Seaworld San Diego.
  15. Yeah, they actually got rid of it years ago when the area around Time Traveler was rebuilt, or maybe it was a year or two before that even... They also got rid of theming for the "shower" on the roof that appeared to pipe down to a water fountain across from the kettlecorn stand. Lol, yeah. My old account was from back in like 2005 and I tried many times to get the password reset but I don't think I even have the email for it anymore.
  16. Age is just a number, even with theme park rides. If you keep them in shape they will essentially last forever. You could have said FITH was too old 20 years ago and been "right" in the eyes of most casual observers. FITH remains a popular ride though, even with it's bumpiness and lack of true care into it's appearance and ride experience. If it's track was replaced and the building was patched up, it would remain a popular ride for decades to come. FITH hit a spot that few rides do, and replacing it will be a tall order. Undoubtedly they'll try to do something flashy with the new ride that will look great in advertisements but cause it to break down constantly or restrict who can ride it. There are some major issues to address with the FITH structure though, including the mold and water rot issues that come from it's 1960's era water brake system. It would take a few million at least to upgrade it properly, and the ROI would not be immediately evident. I think focusing on immediate ROI is a terrible idea though, and it is part of what has led the park down it's current path. The park used to be viewed as a total experience from the second you stepped in to the second you stepped out. Now it's one flashy ride after another, many of which have constant technical problems, and even when they do work right it's a two hour wait. That wasn't supposed to be the SDC experience. There's nothing wrong with the occasional line, but now it's almost all you do. I wish SDC focused more on non-festival experiences and in keeping what they have going strong. Too many things in the park are falling apart. So many of the cute themed areas have been cleared out. I look back on photos from twenty or more years ago and the park was so much more full of life. It's not just the rides that are getting thrown away now when they get old - it's everything. There used to be a big Hatfield and McCoy water fountain with a big fake sock filter that looked hilarious and had a million photos taken of it back in the day. Just an example of things that disappear without a thought anymore. Don't get me started on the signage and stuff that used to be tacked to the walls everywhere. Anyway, enough griping. I am excited to see a potential new indoor coaster. The area they are working in is pretty small. By the time you factor in the train tracks and what I assume will be a necessary service/emergency road, there's not much more room than the current location. Will be interesting to see how they could squeeze a new modern coaster into a building with effects and everything. My hope is that it will start a trend, both within HFEC and parks at large and focusing on indoor attractions again.
  17. With all those new resorts on the way plus their current rate of explosive growth, they need to figure something out with staffing quick or they are going to slam into a wall. Both DW and SDC are at their breaking points with staffing. Talking to people working there is disheartening. If this stuff goes on into next year I don't know what will happen, but like others have said it's unlikely people will continue to pay to come to these parks to have these experiences. The new developments are exciting, but I still don't understand why they clear cut so much just to leave it barren for years. That is so much the opposite of how these parks used to be run. I know they will fill in some of it eventually, but some areas such as the void space right next to Thunderhead didn't even need to be cleared, they just kind of blanket cleared everything just because. In the old days they would go through and carefully select the trees that simply HAD to be cleared and then only cut them. The cut trees were then replaced by new plantings in other areas. Lightning Rod is depressing. I still haven't ridden it. It's hard to get motivated to go all the way out there when it is NEVER working reliably. Maybe next year... maybe.
  18. The park was slipping on some of these issues even before the pandemic due to worker shortages in Branson. The pandemic has massively accelerated it. I'm frankly surprised they are still able to operate as well as they are considering how short staffed they are. The CEO has been on site a lot recently, I am sure they are developing a plan to address it. They need worker dormitories or something. They apparently sold off one of the trains for Time Traveler a while back... notice how Ride to Happiness uses the EXACT same trains? Not sure what the story is there, but perhaps with the material shortages Mack couldn't build another train for RTH and SDC was offered a ton for it. Now when one train has an issue, which is almost always the case, they have one train ops on their most popular ride. It was designed to operate with three trains but they barely ever ran all three after the first season, when it broke down constantly anyway. Most of the other rides barely run more than one train anymore either due to staff and material shortages. It's just a difficult time for them. Christmas is going to be a fiasco. I really, really, really want all the market disruptions to end so businesses can figure stuff out. I will say that the craftsmen on the main square have been delightful this Harvest fest, and the music has been good if you enjoy the style. The pumpkinfest area has been a hoot, even though it basically looks like a big Zumba class most of the time, lol. I'm not a fan of some of the music they play over the speakers during this event, but I get that they are trying to enforce a vibe in spite of it all. There's some kids-bop involved...
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