Six Flags South Carolina 1975-Today [RCT3]

[the ghost]

So it's over? This is my second favorite park from you, the first being Hershey Hawaii. It was awesome to see the park progress.

[Cavs Fan]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Mr. Starr]

We must save it!

[OFFice357]

Well if there is a chance that this isn't the end of the park this hurricane may just damage a few rides with weaker support structures like Derecho. That would be my guess.

[grantgillingham]

The best park so far.

[Chris Benvenuto]

(adding on to the story for Charleston Gardens, hope you don't mind CD! Back then, the Emergency Alert System was called the Emergency Broadcast System and I'm doing this for the sake of canon and for the park's situation)

 

(Emergency Broadcast System)

 

This message has been transmitted by request of the Charleston Police Department:

 

The National Weather Service in Charleston-Berkley has issued a Hurricane Warning for the following counties in South Carolina:

 

Charleston, Berkley, Georgetown, Dorechester, Colleton, Jasper and Beauefort. Hurricane Hugo is expecting to make landfall in the next 24 hours, it is advised that you evacuate immediately and move into higher ground. If you decide not to evacuate, you are doing so at your own risk. Due to the nature of a Hurricane, extreme winds in excess of 130 miles per hour are expected with gusts up to 180 miles per hour. If you are unable to evacuate, it is advised that you assemble an emergency shelter kit stocked with at least two weeks of food, water, batteries. Also, it is also recommended that you stay indoors during the storm and do not go outside when it is calm, this is most likely the eye of the storm which means the winds will again pick up soon. Stay tuned to your local media outlets for more information.

 

(EBS warning broadcast ends)

 

Things do NOT look good for Charleston Gardens, let's just hope the park can hold on and it finds a good buyer.

[netdvn]

... And the plot thickens.

 

This is exciting.

[HPCrazy]

I'd say we continue the story and let someone else here who has alot of experience with RCT3 take over the park. I remember someone did that with another park before but I can't remember what site I saw that on.

[coasterdude5]

1989

15th Season

 

As Charleston prepares for a deadly hurricane, I thought it would be an appropriate time too look over the past few years at Charleston Gardens Amusement Park

 

 

1984

 

 

1984 was a landmark year for the park. Vulture, one of the park's largest coasters, started the season off with a bang. The coaster brought in the largest crowds the park had ever seen. However, at the end of the year we saw the closure of Carolina Calamity to make way for 1985's addition.

 

1985

 

 

New for 1985 was Gardenhill Pass which was a break from the traditional amusement park fanfare. The heavily-wooded area featured an outdoor amphitheater, a cafe, swan boat rides, and midway games.

 

1986

 

 

Vortex was added to the Gardenhill Pass area in 1986, bringing another thrill ride to the park. Some disliked the thrill aspect Vortex brought to the Gardenhill Pass area.

 

1987

 

 

1987 was a relatively quiet year for the park. Except for a new parking lot and tram system, no major additions were seen. Various areas throughout the park were fixed up to improve the overall image.

 

1988

 

 

Emerald Bay debuted at the park in 1988. Emerald Bay's lakeside setting was something that had not been seen at the park. A family coaster and flatride were added as a part of Emerald Bay.

 

1989

 

 

The park's final season as a FPI park, The Magic Carpet opened adding another family attraction to the waterfront.

Edited February 28, 2015 by coasterdude5

[Chris Benvenuto]

Wait....what??? final year as FPI property????

 

 

HAVE HOPE!!!! it may still be open come the end of the hurricane season and it'll see a 1990 season!!

[HPCrazy]

^Agreed. You could change your story line to have someone like Six Flags, Busch, or Cedar Fair come in and take over things. Also remember KECO (Kings Entertainment Company who oversaw the former Paramount Parks before Paramount bought them) still existed up until 1992 so there could be a possibility there if you didn't mind having the Paramount buyout several years later. Overall, that's your best option because this park is way too good to close down.

[CorkscrewFoley]

I'm not too keen on the Cedar fair bit, but Busch, SF (Premiere), Herschend(sp), or even Paramount would be a wise choice. I have nothing against CF, I just wonder how much of the charm will be left in place of coasters (which is what you need...or one big one).

[Huge_Wonderland_Fan]

Don't sell to Paramount! Taft/KECO wil still be around for 3(?) years but that means that the park will probably be bought by Paramount, or they may not want it and a small company could purchase it.

[Swiminn6]

I really don't care who this park is sold to just as long as Reynolds gets his job back and as long as Charleston Gardens doesn't close!

[CorkscrewFoley]

^This is true.

[netdvn]

The real question isn't who's gonna save the property. The real question is "Will this park survivie the hurricane?"

 

Once we figure that out, then we can try to figure out who's willing to salvage the property.

[CorkscrewFoley]

I really do hope it does survive. There's been so many speculations on the buyer, we have forgotten or I have anyway, the darned hurricane.

[coasterdude5]

October 1, 1989

 

 

Hurricane Hugo struck the city of Charleston, South Carolina just after midnight on September 22, 1989.

 

While the city is recovering from the seemingly unreal extent of the damage, some are already wondering about the condition of the city's Charleston Gardens Amusement Park, which closed the week before Hurricane Hugo made landfall.

 

The park was nearing a closure by its owners, Funtime Parks, Inc. when the hurricane made landfall due to slacking attendance.

 

A damage report was released today.

 

Extensive damage was reported to the:

- turnstile building

- guest relations building

- carousel building

- "Gully Gulch Grill" sitdown restaurant

- Harbortown counterservice restaurant

- Sumter Emporium

- SkyWheel

 

Moderate damage was reported to the:

- Derecho rollercoaster

- Gardenhill Pass amphitheater

- German Bros. Midway Games

- Parachute Falls tower ride

 

Flood damage was reported in nearly every building in the "lower level" of the amusement park. Some of these buildings will require gutting to prevent molding.

 

The park's three steel coasters were left mostly undamaged.

 

Funtime Parks, Inc. said the park will remain closed through the 1990 season and thereafter until further notice.

Edited February 28, 2015 by coasterdude5

[deathbydinn]

This is horrible! I hope that this hurricane doesn't take Charleston Gardens down the same path as SFNO.

[Mastersax68]

^ Yes, that would be terrible. I hope this park is sold to someone like Busch...(if it's going to be sold, of course!)

[themeparkologist]

It will be sold...to a real estate company based in Norfolk, Virginia or a company that wants to turn the pile of wood formerly known as Derecho into a functioning attraction. I hope neither of these happen though. It's a great park.

[the ghost]

I doubt he will close it as Charleston's first official birthday is on TPR in 3 days. That may be pure coincidence, but maybe not, but this would be a good first birthday present.

[holidayworld08]

The End?

[Chris Benvenuto]

^ That's what I'm wondering, because I thought there'd be a final update instead of just letting the whole project drop into the other pages. I hope it isn't other, and he's just forgotten to post the newest update.

[coaster1000]

I think he's in doubt of what to do with the park, hence the recent lack of updates.

 

I fully understand it though... Making a park this detailed requires not only great talent, but a lot of time! Usually he would do an update maybe, say, in each 3 days. It's HOURS of work every time, and it must be pretty hard.

 

I'm pretty impressed that he managed to pull off such a level of detail and consistent quality over the past few months, and while I think (think) this park is ending now, I would love to see it continue.