FaithPlus1 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 ^When I was wondering why other parks don't add these Intamin airtime machines, i figured other companies were waiting to see how they would hold up. Would I see you say this, I'm scratching my head still wondering why there aren't more out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro1118 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 ^When I was wondering why other parks don't add these Intamin airtime machines, i figured other companies were waiting to see how they would hold up. Would I see you say this, I'm scratching my head still wondering why there aren't more out there. One of life's greatest mysteries. My guess is Intam8n's shaky reputation along with the price tag being high for a wooden coaster. Also, I do feel more would be added to SF parks had Premier still been in charge. Selfishly, in a way I am happy that more haven't popped up. Now, my homepark has something completely unique to this country and has won countless awards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithPlus1 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 ^When I was wondering why other parks don't add these Intamin airtime machines, i figured other companies were waiting to see how they would hold up. Would I see you say this, I'm scratching my head still wondering why there aren't more out there. One of life's greatest mysteries. My guess is Intam8n's shaky reputation along with the price tag being high for a wooden coaster. Also, I do feel more would be added to SF parks had Premier still been in charge. Selfishly, in a way I am happy that more haven't popped up. Now, my homepark has something completely unique to this country and has won countless awards. I think thats awesome as well!! Also cool that SFMM is the only park with a 4D! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B&MIntaminGCI Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Today is El Toro's 9th birthday! It opened June 11th, 2006 and I got to be the first GP person to ride in the back row Thats awesome!!! How would you compare it then to today? Besides the lift slow down making the first drop not as insane, it's basically unchanged. I was expectinf a drastic rougher ride because the last time I rode it before this year was in 2007, and the first two times I went this year it was 35 degrees and running slow, but i went about 2 weeks ago and it was 90 degrees out and it brought me back to 2006, smooth, intense, the only thing different was no Rolling Thunder, i wouldn't say the ride changed much at all, it aged very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I'm also glad El Toro is the sole Intamin woodie in the U.S. Just makes it that much more special knowing that there aren't 6 other Six Flags parks with them. Kinda makes you wonder how different Batman the ride might be perceived if it was never cloned. I feel like it'd be a "Top 10" ride Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Hero Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 One of life's greatest mysteries. My guess is Intam8n's shaky reputation along with the price tag being high for a wooden coaster. . True that, It's always been a mystery to me! Actually (though SF doesn't publish ride costs) because Intamin woodies are Pre Fabricated, the cost of the ride goes way down so it's relatively cheap for a wooden coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterdude Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Well, Cedar Fair doesn't work with Intamin a lot, and Six Flags doesn't put in very expensive items. But yea, it's a really unique coaster, and I wouldn't want something like this anywhere else. That's whats unique about Toro. And Toro did cost 12 Million. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 The reason more Intamin prefabs weren't built is very simple. El Toro cost $25 million. Wikipedia is incorrect. Source: 2015 Winter Adventure at SFGAdv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Well, Cedar Fair doesn't work with Intamin a lot, and Six Flags doesn't put in very expensive items. But yea, it's a really unique coaster, and I wouldn't want something like this anywhere else. That's whats unique about Toro. And Toro did cost 12 Million. Cedar fair doesn't work with Intamin a lot? They have worked with them quite a bit with the exception of the last 2 years after the shoot the rapids issue. Six flags doesn't put in expensive rides? X2.....$46,000,000 Bizzaro sfne....$40,000,000 El toro sfga.....$12,000,000 The Texas giant....$10,000,000 Goliath sfog.....$20,000,000 Kingda ka sfga.....$30,000,000 + Xflight sfga....$12-15,000,000 In comparison, cedarpoint spent $25,000,000 on millennium force and Dragster. So the parks spend around the same for rides. I could go on, but I think you get the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterdude Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Six Flags hasn't really spent as much as they did before after El Toro. Now they're the Six Flags you see today, mostly installing rides under 10 million. X Flight was their last decently expensive coaster. That was 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terdferg Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Does anyone know what el Toros maintenance is like? It's almost ten years old and rides like new. Seems like a great investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 (edited) Six Flags hasn't really spent as much as they did before after El Toro. Now they're the Six Flags you see today, mostly installing rides under 10 million. X Flight was their last decently expensive coaster. That was 2012. Full throttle 2013 wicked cyclone 2015 twisted colossus 2015 superman ultimate flight 2012 Iron rattler 2013 Batman the ride 2015 Goliath 2014 X flight 2012 I can also name a bunch of coasters built years before el toro that cost a lot. Colossus at magic mountain for example cost $7,000,000 when it was built in 1978. If you add inflation into that number it would be roughly $12-18 million today. Edited June 12, 2015 by thrillrider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterdude Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 More than half of those were revamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 None the less they were not cheap and they were all great additions to the parks, and they made a crappy ride a great ride. I would not really call them "revamps", as they have a total new layout and track type and rolling stock. Totally different ride experiences. Twisted colossus is nothing like the original colossus other than the duel track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterdude Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Well true about the revamp thing. But still. Six Flags hasn't put in a good lineup of rides recently. (besides the RMCs and X-Flight) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawlessBagel Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Does anyone know what el Toros maintenance is like? It's almost ten years old and rides like new. Seems like a great investment. It certainly does not ride like new. You can feel a bump at every single track segment connection. Something I predicted would occur and worsen over time. Although at the present their are only a few areas of the ride that only slightly detract from the ride experience. Their are a few area where the track has had its top layers of wood replaced. The bottom of the second drop is one area if my memory serves me right. Oh and I'm sure cost is probably the leading as to why more of the Intamin prefabricated woodies haven't been bought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Password121 Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Well true about the revamp thing. But still. Six Flags hasn't put in a good lineup of rides recently. (besides the RMCs and X-Flight) Yeah... excluding all the recent Six Flags new coasters, there haven't been any new Six Flags coasters lately. Such a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Well true about the revamp thing. But still. Six Flags hasn't put in a good lineup of rides recently. (besides the RMCs and X-Flight) I disagree. Maybe that's true for some of there smaller parks(same goes for cedar fair as well), but the larger parks have a well rounded collection of coasters.I would take sf great adventure, sf over Texas, sf magic mountain, sf great America over most cedar fair parks any day of the week. Cedarfair has also cut back on the coaster count and spending on new rides in there parks the past few years as well. Sure they have a few new coasters out there, but not like they used to in the 90's. Look at all the windseekers they have built in the past few years as an example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoasterdude Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Yes some Six Flags parks have added decent rides in the past few years, but some. Well, - La Ronde hasn't added a BRAND NEW coaster since Goliath - Besides Medusa: Steel Coaster, Mexico hasn't really added much. - SFDK got shows (pretty good though) - Over Georgia hasn't gotten a pretty decent ride since 2011. - Great Adventure hasn't added a BRAND NEW coaster since Toro - America- Starting to climb up there, Coaster then Super Loop then waterpark expansion And the rest are good (new england, st louis, magic mountain, over texas, fiesta texas, great america) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillrider Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Yes some Six Flags parks have added decent rides in the past few years, but some. Well, - La Ronde hasn't added a BRAND NEW coaster since Goliath - Besides Medusa: Steel Coaster, Mexico hasn't really added much. - SFDK got shows (pretty good though) - Over Georgia hasn't gotten a pretty decent ride since 2011. - Great Adventure hasn't added a BRAND NEW coaster since Toro - America- Starting to climb up there, Coaster then Super Loop then waterpark expansion And the rest are good (new england, st louis, magic mountain, over texas, fiesta texas, great america) Mexico is a up and coming park. Look for big things from this park. Besides medusa, they did add the joker coaster as well. Not a huge coaster, but a well received coaster that is a great fit for the park. six flags discovery kingdom also just got superman ultimate flight. Six flags over Georgia has a decent collection as it stands now(mind bender is reason enough to visit). I would look for something new in the coaster field in the next few years. The attendance at this park has been steady, so I doubt they are in a rush to drop a big coaster in until they need to. I believe they also redid monster mansion a few years ago also. Rumor on screamscape is that they "may" be receiving a 2nd dark ride soon. They also just added a few spin and pukes to the collection. Great adventure has received green lantern a few years ago. The average park goer does not know it's a used coaster, and has been a popular addition. They also added dark knight, redid medusa, revamped the safari, and added a few more flat rides to the lineup. Six flags America is what "I" consider one of there smaller parks. Is La Ronde even a true six flags park, or is it just run by six flags(kinda like great escape)? I have never been to this park, but it does look like they have a decent selection of coasters with the exception of maybe another woodie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollercoaster Rider Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 ...Six flags over Georgia has a decent collection as it stands now(mind bender is reason enough to visit). I would look for something new in the coaster field in the next few years. The attendance at this park has been steady, so I doubt they are in a rush to drop a big coaster in until they need to. I believe they also redid monster mansion a few years ago also. Rumor on screamscape is that they "may" be receiving a 2nd dark ride soon. They also just added a few spin and pukes to the collection. Is La Ronde even a true six flags park, or is it just run by six flags(kinda like great escape)? I have never been to this park, but it does look like they have a decent selection of coasters with the exception of maybe another woodie. 2 Things 1. Lets not forget that SFOG added a Waterpark (Dinky but good) 2. They only manage La Ronde, They own Great Escape completely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oryp Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 I'm headed to the park tomorrow (today? Whatever. Friday the 12th). Any idea on how the lines might be? Also, is Kinda Ka/El Toro first still a decent strategy, assuming I don't have any desperate need to get on Green Lantern or Superman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 I think the economic downturn changed the way amusement parks go about additions. And in Six Flags case, though the days of $20 million coasters are over they still manage to bring in awesome thrills with smaller budgets. The RMCs, Justice Leagues, Premier launchers, and 4d Free Spin have all gotten great reviews. And say what you will about Gradv having not added any major coasters since El Toro, but truth is they really haven't had the need for them. After adding Ka in 2005 they've pretty much had steady attendance numbers without much decline, and in fact 2013-2014 were the highest attendance figures since Ka's debut...without a major addition. At this point in time, Six Flags' flagship parks are all well-established and reached their potential growth peaks sometime in the 90's. There really isnt a need any longer to sink exorbitant amounts of money into expansions when the potential for substantial growth is no longer there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiftThrill Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 ^ I agree. Six Flags doesn't need to add anything major to an already established park. They should be focusing on lesser parks that aren't as much of destinations. Smaller parks like SFA, SFGAm, SFDK, SFStL, etc. Imagine if every Six Flags park was as big and as much of a destination as SFGAdv. I've noticed that my home park, SFFT, has gotten major additions three for three years I have been a passholder (Iron Rattler, waterpark expansion with Bahama Blaster, Batman The Ride), so we're right on the edge of being a "small" park or a "large" park (relative to Six Flags, obviously). Six Flags should be doing this with all their smaller parks over the next few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grsupercity Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 I wouldnt call sfgam a small park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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