Zoomers Amusement Park given new lease on life

[DenDen]

Stealing metal for scrap is a HUGE problem here in Florida. Once a week there is a story on the local news. So this really doesn't suprise me.

 

If the track really was curbside, they'll get off.

[AllenA07]

I still would like to pretend they were stealing the coaster to put it in their back yard. But really, stealing coaster track? That might be one of the strangest things I've heard in a while.

 

Hmm... Anybody here want to steal Sheikra with me?

[Skramp]

This is a pretty stupid story. I don't see how you could ever assume it was a good idea.

 

I know in the southwestern ohio area, we have a huge problem also with copper wire theft. But, we take the cake with some serious morons trying to do it. There were a bunch of abandoned buildings broken into and the wiring was pulled from them and I guess sold. Here's the best one though, in the old Reynolds and Reynolds building, theives tried to steal all the power wiring including the main line coming into the building, but they forgot to check to make sure it wasn't live. Well, two of them died by grabbing a bare copper main power line. So now in Dayton, you have to give them a state ID when you sell scrap metal so they can track it. Damn economy!!

[ginzo]

Here's the best one though, in the old Reynolds and Reynolds building, theives tried to steal all the power wiring including the main line coming into the building, but they forgot to check to make sure it wasn't live. Well, two of them died by grabbing a bare copper main power line.

 

Darwin Award.

[hyyyper]

I can totally see myself doing such a thing.

 

But I'd first make sure with the park in question if the track is INDEED scrap metal.

[coolhandluke]

^Even if it is scrap, why would they let you take it and make a profit when they can do it themselves and get the money?

 

Basically, it's just pretty dumb to steal scrap metal like that. Coaster track or live copper wires with several thousand volts surging through looking for a ground...

 

Darwin Award

Amen.

 

God, I love my fellow Daytonians.

[thecoasterkid]

Something about this story isn't adding up. Where does the $10,000 figure come from? Is that the scrap metal value or the value of that portion of the ride?

 

It can't be the scrap metal value because there's no way these bozos stole 91,000 pounds worth of coaster track (assuming $0.11 per pound value).

 

$.11 per pound!? Not even close to the current steel scrap prices. Assuming that Carbon Steel is what's used in coaster track (I'm 99% sure that's a safe assumption) the price for scrap metal as of May 1st in the US is about $.35/lb or $700 per ton (not tonne...different measurments).

 

I'm the shop manager for a steel company in Toronto but I also am pretty involved in the sales and purchasing aspects too, so I've gotten a fair grasp on the steel market. I was going to start up a new topic on exactly this subject.

 

Steel prices have been SKYROCKETING the last couple of months, and they're projected to keep climbing right through July. Hot rolled carbon steel prices have jumped $.10/lb (23%) in Canada from April to May alone. It's expected to go up the same amount next month as well. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's not just a local thing either, prices are high around the world right now, but especially bad in North America.

 

With the great products being turned out by the wooden coaster manufacturers, and the high steel prices I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a continued increase in the number of wooden coasters being built over the next year or two.

[Kennyweird]

This kind of thing, although weird, is pretty much inevitable if you consider the tendency for parks to store their unassembled track out in the parking lot, often near the main road.

 

I wonder if this will make parks more cautious about where they put their track while they're assembling it.

[Johnny Upsidedown]

The thing that I dont understand about the coaster track theft is this,

http://www.rcdb.com/ig3330.htm?picture=1 The only coaster at the park was fully installed. I know they were going to try and open the park last Labor Day 07 but it didnt happen. So unless there was another coaster that they had picked up and might have been ready to install I dont know what they are talking about coaster track. The news article says the track was stacked up by the trash. So unless they had dissasimbled the current coaster or they had to have purchased another coaster, this whole thing just isnt making any sense.

[ginzo]

$.11 per pound!? Not even close to the current steel scrap prices. Assuming that Carbon Steel is what's used in coaster track (I'm 99% sure that's a safe assumption) the price for scrap metal as of May 1st in the US is about $.35/lb or $700 per ton (not tonne...different measurments).

 

I just took that article at its word and do not care about the current price of steel. The point is there's no way these bozos carried out tens of thousands of pounds worth of track. At your price, it would still be about 14 tons worth. Did they bring a crane or something to move all that steel?

[thecoasterkid]

You're still right, there's no way that they could have hauled that much track using only a pick-up truck with a trailer, especially if they were loading it by hand.

 

The number must be based off of how much they paid for the coaster.

 

All the same though, I really do think that you'll see a decrease in the amount of steel coasters (or atleast very large ones) next year.

[televisedconfession]

WOW FORT MYERS!!! That's where I live!

 

Alright, so this park never actually finished installing the ride. It had portions never completed going inside AND outside the main building. It was a very small family coaster. They had most of the park completed, but when hurricane Charlie (or one of the many that went through in 2004) blew threw, they stopped construction. They kept trying to get their act together but kept running into different problems. I drive past the now very run-down "park" often, and saw the coaster track there about a year or two ago, but it slowly got taken down for some weird reason. The only thing left up is the rather large Go-Cart track. I'm not surprised that those guys thought that it was scrap metal, as the park itself looks abandoned for many years now. I'll be over in that part of town tomorrow afternoon, if there's still daylight, i'll try and take some pictures for you all! It's been sitting dead for many, many years now.

 

This park was doomed from the start, if you ask me. It's fort myers: home to the newly-wed and the nearly dead, hell's waiting room, a cheap place to come for spring break (unless you're a red sox fan for spring training).

I work at the only attraction people go see here in Fort Myers. It's the Edison/Ford Winter Estates. That's the only thing that could draw in a crowd around here, as we only get elderly tourists.

 

It's a sad city i live in. I enjoy it, for the most part, but it's not a place an amusement park would thrive in. (though I am kind of proud my city got mentioned in a national sense)

[texcoaster]

Jason Duby, 33, and Randy Squire, 29, both of the same address

 

Is this the new politically-correct way of saying "gay"?

[the_rock401]

Dumb, dumb, dumb!

 

As for the wire thefts, Washington State DOT has had chronic problems with wire theft, particularly on I-5 in Pierce County. WSDOT is mad about it because this has led to disabled stoplights and other public safety issues. They've been hit for $500,000 worth of stolen wire since December 2006.

 

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2008/04/09_SR16MoreWireTheft.htm

[coolhandluke]

Jason Duby, 33, and Randy Squire, 29, both of the same address

 

Is this the new politically-correct way of saying "gay"?

Or just roommates/housemates. Multiple people keep costs down. And looking at what these dudes did, they need all the dough they can get and keep their hands on.

[larrygator]

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/16038393/long-abandoned-amusement-park-takes-shape

 

Time for Barry Hom to rejoice. It looks like the small FEC that never opened in Fort Myers has a new chance. The article mentions an adult size roller coaster from Texas which is an upgrade from the Wisdom Dragon Wagon that was previously installed but never opened. Expected opening is in February of 2012.

 

 

Zoomers Amusement Park taking shape

Posted: Nov 14, 2011 6:04 PM EST Updated: Nov 14, 2011 6:33 PM EST

By Sarah Hollenbeck, NBC2 Reporter

 

 

FORT MYERS - The long-abandoned Zoomers Amusement Park in South Fort Myers is coming back to life. The park, on Summerlin Road will soon feature a rollercoaster, tilt-a-whirl and adult go-karts.

 

Forty contractors are breathing new life into the park, with a three million dollar transformation now underway.

 

Project manager Alan Fluke calls Zoomers the poster child of Southwest Florida's sour economy.

 

In 2008, Florida Community Bank foreclosed on Zoomers, then 95-percent complete.

 

It never opened.

 

Since then, it's been the target of thieves, vandals, even hurricanes.

 

"The hardest part was people driving by it all the time, seeing it rusted and overgrown, and wondering when is it going to open? Now it's going to open," said Fluke.

 

Monday, the park received a large shipment of arcade games from New York.

 

Later this month, an adult-sized roller coaster will be shipped in from Texas, a tilt-a-whil will come from New Jersey and go-carts come in from Oregon.

 

Contractors were surprised to find most of the existing rides, while rusty, were still in perfect working condition.

 

Fluke explains Zoomers new focus is to attract all ages, "It's not just the kids, teens, mom and dad. This'll be a place where everyone can go to have a good time."

 

Even grandma and grandpa will find activities to suite them, with games like duckpin bowling.

 

Arcade prizes will even include adult-oriented items like pots and pans, power tools and big screen TVs.

 

By February, the park is expected to finally fly its checked flags.

Edited November 15, 2011 by larrygator

[chadster]

Yay! Another park to whore!

[SharkTums]

So what's the 'adult roller coaster from Texas'?

[televisedconfession]

This is exciting. I will FINALLY live in a town with a roller coasters! Wooo!

I am curious to see what this roller coaster is.

[ernierocker]

Now, comes the mystery of figuring out which coaster it is that's being shipped east. Bag of Crap contest anyone???

Edited November 15, 2011 by ernierocker

[chadster]

So what's the 'adult roller coaster from Texas'?

 

The only one I know of that's in storage in Texas is Greased Lightn' and was listed for sale not long ago. I've also heard rumors over the last few years of an old Wildcat that may be in storage in Texas. Outside of that, I suppose it's possible Larson is building something at their plant for Chance Rides which would indicate it could be a Vekoma Suspended Family along the lines of Steel Lasso at Frontier City.

 

**Edit** IRM has Greased Lightin' listed for sale here, maybe they sold it and have not removed it from their site. If you happen to come across their booth at IAAPAAAA maybe they could say if they've sold it or not. I've written them in the past and asked about rides they've sold and they've been great to respond back.

[QueerRudie]

So what's the 'adult roller coaster from Texas'?

 

The only one I know of that's in storage in Texas is Greased Lightn' and was listed for sale not long ago. I've also heard rumors over the last few years of an old Wildcat that may be in storage in Texas. Outside of that, I suppose it's possible Larson is building something at their plant for Chance Rides which would indicate it could be a Vekoma Suspended Family along the lines of Steel Lasso at Frontier City.

 

**Edit** IRM has Greased Lightin' listed for sale here, maybe they sold it and have not removed it from their site. If you happen to come across their booth at IAAPAAAA maybe they could say if they've sold it or not. I've written them in the past and asked about rides they've sold and they've been great to respond back.

 

Hmmmmm.... Another reason to go to Florida, if this is true (And I DO hope we preserve a Schwarzkopf shuttle Loop...at minimum.)

[chadster]

^ I just thought of something Rudie. The Comet II has been for sale and is located in Texas while not traveling. It's also currently in containers that could be easily shipped.

 

That's pretty much the only options I can think of right now.

[SharkTums]

I think getting a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop at a South West Florida FEC is a bit of wishful thinking...although I agree, it's an awesome wish!!!

[larrygator]

It is not a big plot of land and already has a massive go kart track (possibly two tracks) occupying a large portion of the property.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=google+maps+summerlin+road+fort+myers&hl=en&ll=26.493179,-81.927538&spn=0.00327,0.005574&hnear=Summerlin+Rd,+Fort+Myers,+Florida&gl=us&t=h&z=18&vpsrc=6

Edited November 16, 2011 by larrygator