coasterbill Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Hey everyone! I'm a long time reader, but decided to make an account to get more involved after reading a few things that didn't make a ton of sense to me. First and foremost, welcome to the site! Your post was really well thought out and while I don't necessarily agree with everything you said I hope you stick around and I do enjoy this debate. Here are my thoughts... The park has been actively trying to find ways to improve areas of the park, like abandon ride pads. They've been saying it in the live chats that they have plans for areas like Twisters old ride area, and I believe them. Personally I think a Super Loop would be an amazing fit there. They have also been making progress with this as well, by using Rodeos area the past few years as a line for ticked for Midnight Mansion, filling the Colossus pad with Slingshot and Crimewave, and also replacing Catapults area with Sky Screamers entrance area and line. So while they may not be replacing everything with another ride, they have been slowly but surely filling the park in over the years. I'm glad you believe them but unfortunately I don't because I can only go on what I've seen over the last decade or so and despite the new ownership all I see is more of the same. I hope you don't mind me quoting an older post of mine but this is what we've seen. Every park removes rides but this park does it at an amazing rate and I can confidently say that this park was worse in 2014 than it was in 2005. Other parks remove ride but manage to grow over time and usually improve. Wicked Cyclone may very well change things as it looks to be an amazing ride so that statement may no longer be true, but it has been for years and this practice of constantly removing and not replacing rides is still a very unfortunate one and it's more pronounced here than at many other parks. Here's a list of non coaster rides closed since 2005... Log Flume (good ride replaced by an ugly, awful piece of crap) Colossus (iconic ride that was not replaced at all, a ride was relocated here that already existed in the park and an up-charge carnival ride was added) Chaos (not replaced) Spider (not replaced) Rodeo (not replaced, highly visible eyesore pad and queue is still there 8 years later) Bumper Buggies (not replaced) Double Trouble (not replaced) Time Warp (not replaced, pad is still there 6 years later) Nightwing (replaced with a ride that we already had only now it's outside so it's far less interesting) Shipwreck Falls (actually replaced but with the current State of Goliath and it's new train I'd almost rather have Shipwreck Falls back) Catapult (not replaced) Taz's Daredevil Dive (actually replaced) Twister (not replaced, and despite the rumors I'll believe it when I see it) New England Skyway (we all know this will never be replaced) In that time the following adult non coaster rides have been added Splashwater Falls (replaced the log flume... the log flume was a much better ride) Slingshot (an up-charge Carnival ride) New England Skyscreamer That's what I've seen from this park and they show no sign of changing their ways. I find a ton of good things about this park besides the 4 good coasters and 2 flat rides you there are. This park still has a great selection of rides including flats. Crimewave, Teacups, Scrambler, Balloon Race, Jokers Wild Card, Bumper Cars, Houdini, Carousel, Whistle Stop Train, Scream, Route 66, and Sky Screamer on top of the Buzzsaw and Tomahawk that previously said. This park has retained many classic rides like Crimewave, while introducing new thrilling versions of the ride like Sky Screamer. I should have mentioned Houdini, I just forget about it since Great Adventure takes so much better care of theirs and has a lot more working effects so we don't bother with the SFNE version. The others don't really stick out to me... Sky Screamer would if it weren't a capacity nightmare but we never ride it for that reason. I should have also mentioned Pandemonium as a good coaster. It totally slipped my mind but one more stand-out flat still doesn't change my opinion. Now we're up to three and one that's not worth riding due to it's insane wait times. I do agree with you on the shade situation. That is one of the things the park really does need to improve on. I'm thinking maybe it had to do with the Ninja situation in someway that they decided to start removing a bunch of trees, but I really hope they start to plant more trees on the midways or get some of those shaded landscape covers like at SFOG. This is basically a chain wide problem but it's a shame to see it at a park that used to have so much charm. The removal of Skyway is almost every park being every park. lol Tons of parks have been removing them over the years because they turn out to be much more maintenance heavy then they thought. New England Skyway was built in 1973 making it 41 years old in 2014. That is probably a much longer life expectancy than the Von Roll company probably ever thought for this ride. Due to aging and the fact that Von Roll has been out of business for quite some time now, It's no wonder why they are closing. Where did you hear this cable rumor? That doesn't seem like something the park wouldn't want to do because they did it in 2005 or 2006. If they just didn't want to replace the cable, they would have gotten rid of the ride years ago. To me it sounds like an age and multiple maintenance issues lead to its demise. This isn't really about the Sky Ride, it's just another example of a bigger problem but actually doppelmayr and many others still service and make parts for Von Roll chairlifts and Sky Rides. I believe 17 of them still operate and some have even been recently relocated. I never claimed to be 100% sure of the reason for it's removal but the prevailing rumor is that it needed a new cable. Generally they need them every 10 years or so so given it's 2004-2005 offseason replacement it's likely due for one but that's all speculation. In any case this screams of cost cutting just like most of their other decisions, and I still think that removing a popular transportation ride that's designed to bring guests directly to the location of your 2 biggest and most popular new additions is a dumb idea. Like I said though the Skyway is just another example of this larger problem. I'd be more likely to agree with you if this were an isolated thing but they remove rides all the time and almost never replace them. Continuing with operations, I know this is something the park takes very seriously. I've always seen two trains on every coaster unless it's down for maintenance and even if it is, as soon as it's fixed, it's put right back on the ride. I've been in line plenty of times at Bizarro and Cyclone and seen them add on trains. Until Cyclone's closing weekend I'd never seen that ride running more than one train and that's averaging 3-5 trips every year since the year 2000. Bizarro usually runs 2 trains but it runs 1 quite a bit. To their credit Mind Eraser (lol who cares?) and Batman always run 2 but Thunderbolt (for some reason), Goliath (obviously) and Flashback (obviously) can only run 1 so capacity has never been a strong point at Six Flags New England. I can excuse it for rides like the ones I mentioned (though Bizarro does usually have painfully slow crews) but rides like the Skyway and the Sky Screamer always have/had abysmal operations. Then again if you want a lesson in terrible ops at SFNE I invite you to try to ride anything at the water park. That's a different story though. My major complaint isn't about the staff (they are awful though) it's about ride removals. New England Sky Screamer operations aren't bad, but they aren't that great either. But they are like that not because of the crew, but because it's just a low capacity ride with a decently long ride time. When I rode it the ride didn't even do 1 full rotation at the top so I don't agree with the "decently long ride time" and this crew is terrible. The ride does have a low capacity but they make it a lot worse. I can't agree with you on this... they have a million ride ops on this ride and operations are still awful. As for the whole Cyclone Skyway station thing, did they confirm it's becoming part of the line? (That question isn't targeted at you, I honestly don't know! lol) If so thats fantastic! I'm sure they will give it a great make over to fit the theme! Why does it matter so much if they keep the building. Most parks do this type of thing, for example Kennywood turning an old building into Johnny Rockets last season. It's not so much being cheap, but using what you already have. Also if it does become part of the line, who says it will stay in that current location? During Goliath construction, they saved the old Shipwreck Falls station, but they moved it to a new location and used it as a covered queue. I actually hope they do re-use it. I just hope they don't act like they removed the ride because they had to use it as a queue because that's ridiculous and it's been suggested by a lot of people. There were a million better solutions. I don't know if they're going to reuse it or not but the last thing this park needs is 2 more abandoned ride areas (one for each station). I'm assuming the other station will just have 2 garbage cans placed at the bottom of the steps and they'll call it a day but if they don't re-use the other side it has the potential to be even more of an eyesore than the South end station. In no way was any of this meant to offend/attack you, and I'm truly sorry if it felt like it was. Not at all! This is a great debate. Welcome to TPR! God have mercy on Cedar Point's soul for shamelessly ripping out a family ride to only turn its station into a queue area. My home park mercilessly ripped out their first major coaster and now uses it's station as a picnic shelter. I scoff at that shelter each day I have to look at it. The horror. Cedar Point continues to grow and evolve every year. Most parks do and you're right... sometimes awesome new things come at the expense of older things... and sometimes those older things were pretty good. For example Cedar Point removed the Swan Boats and the Log Flume for Maverick... an amazing coaster. It should be noted that those 2 rides were actually in the way of Maverick unlike the New England Skyway which is not in the way of anything. Anyway a few years later they built a new flume ride... and then added a great family ride with Windseeker the following year... followed by an awesome new coaster (which came at the expense of 2 rides) but then they added 2 new family rides the following year. That's how normal parks do things. As you said... attractions sometimes come at the expense of older ones. If that's what was happening at Six Flags New England that would be fine, but it's not. They remove things all the times and almost never replace them. They just leave empty pads everywhere (see the post I quoted above). I know a lot of Six Flags parks do this but it's getting ridiculous at Six Flags New England. I'm thrilled that we're getting Wicked Cyclone but I really wish this park would stop removing everything that's not a coaster and leaving empty pads everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sfne1313 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) Thunderbolt is unable to run two trains because of its skid breaks. The park has said that a change to magnetic breaks may come in the future but not anytime soon. Also, new pictures from screamscape show that the theming on WiCy will reuse some of the skyway balls! ^ Edited February 9, 2015 by Sfne1313 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 That's not really the main point of my post but haven't they been saying that for about 10 years now? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I don't really complain about my homeparks because frankly, they're all I've got as of now and I cherish the fact that I have a decent park near me and I know many who would love to have a park like SFNE over their current homepark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mater Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 You know before I saw the most recent pics of Wicked Cyclone I was definitely looking forward to Twisted Colossus more. After seeing the pictures, I feel exactly the same. But WC sure looks fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I keep watching the animated POV of WC, I think it's going straight to #1. Imagine SFNE with two top 5 coasters. So great for the park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Thunderbolt is mysteriously missing from Six Flags New England's website. Quite an odd error; it seems to be absent from every rides page- thrill, family, even height restrictions. Strange. https://www.sixflags.com/newengland/attractions/ride-list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanobieFan Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 If they remove Thunderbolt, I'm NEVER going to SFNE again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mater Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Blatant hyperbole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camthedominator Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I think they are just going to give it a new theme or something. I don't think it would be a good idea to remove such a popular ride. Personally, the thing I hope they do, is give thunderbolt some rocky mountain topper track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camthedominator Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Now that I think about it, thunderbolt and wicked cyclone would be a perfect pair. I'm no expert but I think that they are up to something good here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwaziBSRider1 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Personally, the thing I hope they do, is give thunderbolt some rocky mountain topper track. Why? It doesn't need it; Thunderbolt is a fun, little ride that runs just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camthedominator Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Yeah, you're right,but a little topper track is always a good thing. Then again, Six Flags isn't in the habit of waiting money. This brings up the question, what's Six Flags doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timetrial3141592 Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 I'll be there Opening Day with a shirt that says "Alaeriia" on it, if anyone cares. Also, one of the nice things about Cyclone's refurb (besides the RMC goodness) was that while the thing was closed, that part of the park was quiet enough to have a conversation without yelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camthedominator Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 In didn't realize just how noisy some of these coasters are before I visited Canobie lake park. All the coasters run so quietly, and I for one was quite shocked. Can anyone explain why most of the coasters at Six Flags are at least 20x nosier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lareson Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 In didn't realize just how noisy some of these coasters are before I visited Canobie lake park. All the coasters run so quietly, and I for one was quite shocked. Can anyone explain why most of the coasters at Six Flags are at least 20x nosier? To put simply, unless there's a sound ordinance where "noise" can't exceed a certain decibel level, they don't care how their rides sound as long as it "runs safely." Bad or cheap wheels are usually what makes a coaster sound terrible. For example, most of Arrow's trains use a hard poly wheel (usually the wheels are yellow, red, or cream in color) that's quite common, but also result in a more louder sound and can be a bit more rougher. There's also another option that uses a softer material (usually a gray color) that from my experience, results in a more smoother and quieter ride, but is less common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camthedominator Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Yeah, the loudest one is likely bizarro. The one though that surprised me the most was untamed. When it was running, I could barely hear it. What I'm wondering it weather the speed of the coaster gives it an exception in terms of noise policies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesman Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Yeah, the loudest one is likely bizarro. The one though that surprised me the most was untamed. When it was running, I could barely hear it. What I'm wondering it weather the speed of the coaster gives it an exception in terms of noise policies. SFNE has some quite coasters compared to other parks. Obviously speed does play a part and euro fighters are known for being quite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScreaminNewEngland Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Yeah, the loudest one is likely bizarro. The one though that surprised me the most was untamed. When it was running, I could barely hear it. What I'm wondering it weather the speed of the coaster gives it an exception in terms of noise policies. Untamed has sand inside it's tracks and base in order to keep quiet. It's perfect for them because Canobie is basically ontop of a residential neighborhood. Yeah, the loudest one is likely bizarro. The one though that surprised me the most was untamed. When it was running, I could barely hear it. What I'm wondering it weather the speed of the coaster gives it an exception in terms of noise policies. SFNE has some quite coasters compared to other parks. Obviously speed does play a part and euro fighters are known for being quite. You mean *quiet? I think they are just going to give it a new theme or something. I don't think it would be a good idea to remove such a popular ride. Personally, the thing I hope they do, is give thunderbolt some rocky mountain topper track. I know it's hard for some young ones to understand, but classic rides like thunderbolt have no need for topper track. No need to butcher such a fun little coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paradox Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Some more theming renders and looks like there will be a near miss before the stall with a plane wing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camthedominator Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I sort of chuckled at the young ones comment, as I have no idea weather that's an insult or a neutral comment. I suppose what I meant was that topper track might prolong it's life and give it the extra punch it needs. I do know that topper track is not necessary, but it wouldn't take away from the ride experience. However, I think what might be better is a new set if trains. Maybe they could order in some new trains from PTC so it could retain it's vintage feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroGravity55 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Also, one of the nice things about Cyclone's refurb (besides the RMC goodness) was that while the thing was closed, that part of the park was quiet enough to have a conversation without yelling. Won't be like that after RMC is finished, those nylon wheels on that steel track is almost as loud as steel wheels running on the steel strips of a wooden coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willthegolfer Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Also, one of the nice things about Cyclone's refurb (besides the RMC goodness) was that while the thing was closed, that part of the park was quiet enough to have a conversation without yelling. Won't be like that after RMC is finished, those nylon wheels on that steel track is almost as loud as steel wheels running on the steel strips of a wooden coaster. I remember Goliath was very squeaky when it first opened. Maybe I box will be different but I would not be surprised if this thing were pretty loud until a while after it opens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroGravity55 Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 ^ Goliath uses Polyurethane wheels, which results in it being a fairly quiet ride,plus a much more controlled ride as well. RMC just started using nylon wheels with Medusa Steel Coaster on their I-Box track and TC&WC will be using them as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willthegolfer Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 ^ Goliath uses Polyurethane wheels, which results in it being a fairly quiet ride,plus a much more controlled ride as well. RMC just started using nylon wheels with Medusa Steel Coaster on their I-Box track and TC&WC will be using them as well. It's definitely quiet now, but for a while it was quite squeaky in some parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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