"Tony Hawk" "Wiggles" and "Thomas" to leave Six Flags?

[Moose]

I have to say that I think the retheming of Thomas Town will be the biggest loss. Kids seem to love Thomas. I cannot tell you how many times I've been stuck watching those videos with my nephew. The local train attractions also seem to get exponentially busier when thomas comes to town.

 

I'm actually fine with the name "Big Spin." Just like Mr Six's Pandemonium became just Pandemonium.

[fatdaddy]

My son is really going to be upset when he can't ride Thomas anymore. When he know's he's going, he stands at the door and and says "I ride Thomas!". Of course, he starts standing at the door like an hour before we are leaving. I know the SFMM Thomas Town wasn't the big hit they wanted it to be, but their whole kids area is dead most of the time. Now I'm gonna have to pay for "Day Out with Thomas" next year at the train museum.

[CorkscrewFoley]

So I guess SF will be calling Evel Kinevel...Daredevil Coaster, or is that too Cedar Fair?

[SharkTums]

^No no, Daredevil is too themed...CF would call it "Motorcycle Jumping Coaster".

[Ace Of Spades]

^Only if it's also splashed in red paint! Otherwise it's definitely more of a Flight Deck!

[chadster]

I'm going to be curious what SFOT does as well as SFSL. SFOT has the giant video screen outside the ride queue and SFSL has a well themed ride queue as well. With SFSL Evil Kenevil that would be an easy transformation, just take down the signs and rename it to Stuntman. Also with SFOT only having Tony Hawk and not the other two, I wonder if they will keep it, probably not. Guess we will find out this weekend.

[Double0Kevin]

I'm going to be curious what SFOT does as well as SFSL. SFOT has the giant video screen outside the ride queue and SFSL has a well themed ride queue as well. With SFSL Evil Kenevil that would be an easy transformation, just take down the signs and rename it to Stuntman. Also with SFOT only having Tony Hawk and not the other two, I wonder if they will keep it, probably not. Guess we will find out this weekend.

 

I think it's pretty much a sure thing that ALL Tony hawk rides, including the waterside at SFA will not be Tony Hawk anymore. All of the rides have big screens at the entrance. From what I've seen of the rides, I think SFFT and SFDK have the most thumbing in the queue. SFFT has all the stuff on the walls of the queue building and SFDK has the huge banners and decals on the queue house. I have a feeling these are going to be ugly rethemes during the of the season till they an really work on them come January (this applies to the 3 Holiday parks and SFMM).

[Mechanic]

I feel that SF has got to do what's in the best interest of the bottom line. If the licensing fees they're paying for these franchises isn't providing the needed return on investment, then there's really no reason to keep paying.

 

I've been somewhat amazed for quite some time now that the Looney Tunes characters have had the staying power that they still enjoy. My generation, and a considerable amount of the one before mine, grew up with these characters as a regular part of the lineup of Saturday morning cartoons, or as pre-movie fodder back in the days when people regularly went to movie theaters. (Yes kids, believe it or not, there was actually a time when cartoons were only on TV on Saturday mornings.) Then came the afternoon cartoons, and then at some point I can't exactly put my finger on, we had cartoons available 24/7 on TV. Considering how politically incorrect some of those old Bugs Bunny cartoons were, I'm half surprised that there hasn't been a movement for Bugs Bunny to come forth and issue an apology. The part I've never really been able to figure out is when and where, exactly, were the generations since mine exposed to these characters other than in SF parks, and how do they manage to continue to be so recognizable?

[BrandonR]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but it's pretty much official now: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-six-flags-retheme-20101122,0,3267615.story

 

Good riddance to those thinly-veiled corporate advertisements that genericized the parks! It's just too bad the Tony Hawk Big Spin rides are just being renamed "Big Spin" rather than, you know, unique ride names and themes that actually make sense depending on what area of the park they're placed in for each park. Currently Tony Hawk at SFoT is basically located in the Boomtown section of the park, where every other ride has an old, mining theme to it. So of course Tony Hawk and his extreme skateboarding skills fit right in...

[SFA Regular]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but it's pretty much official now: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-six-flags-retheme-20101122,0,3267615.story

 

Good riddance to those thinly-veiled corporate advertisements that genericized the parks! It's just too bad the Tony Hawk Big Spin rides are just being renamed "Big Spin" rather than, you know, unique ride names and themes that actually make sense depending on what area of the park they're placed in for each park. Currently Tony Hawk at SFoT is basically located in the Boomtown section of the park, where every other ride has an old, mining theme to it. So of course Tony Hawk and his extreme skateboarding skills fit right in...

 

I read this too. Based on the last paragraph, what did it mean? It said, "The intellectual property retrechment returns Six Flags to its core branded relationships: DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Riddler, Joker and Green Lantern), Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Tweety) and Hanna-Barbera (Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear).

 

Does this mean, they are going to be doing more of the theme related to Warner Bros?

[BrandonR]

To me it just meant they're going to keep their current Looney Tunes and DC Comics-themed rides and introduce new rides at the same rate of themed ones as they've done in the past, not necessarily do more than what they normally do...

[SFA Regular]

To me it just meant they're going to keep their current Looney Tunes and DC Comics-themed rides and introduce new rides at the same rate of themed ones as they've done in the past, not necessarily do more than what they normally do...

 

Based on what you just told me, are they are getting back into what the old Premier Parks regime was doing?

 

It would be nice to see some stuff from Hannabarbara appear in Six Flags parks. Maybe some nicely theme flats or character meet and greets.

 

Ever thought of a Cartoon Network section inside every Six Flags park?

[CorkscrewFoley]

To me it just meant they're going to keep their current Looney Tunes and DC Comics-themed rides and introduce new rides at the same rate of themed ones as they've done in the past, not necessarily do more than what they normally do...

 

Based on what you just told me, are they are getting back into what the old Premier Parks regime was doing?

 

It would be nice to see some stuff from Hannabarbara appear in Six Flags parks. Maybe some nicely theme flats or character meet and greets.

 

Ever thought of a Cartoon Network section inside every Six Flags park?

 

Ooooh, maybe a Sealab 2021 themed ride? Or how about a Venture Bros. themed dark ride...oh crap, that's Adult Swim...

[CardCraze]

For once I'm going to go SFA Super-fanboy here and just say: they got shafted.

 

They finally had a nice addition, a fun addition, with lots of really cool theming. It lasted a year, and now they get to completely makeover the area... AGAIN.

 

Oh well, hopefully they can do something interesting with it. Dear god plase don't let it become "Crane Drop", "Train Ride", or "Bus Ride".

[SFA Regular]

For once I'm going to go SFA Super-fanboy here and just say: they got shafted.

 

They finally had a nice addition, a fun addition, with lots of really cool theming. It lasted a year, and now they get to completely makeover the area... AGAIN.

 

Oh well, hopefully they can do something interesting with it. Dear god plase don't let it become "Crane Drop", "Train Ride", or "Bus Ride".

 

Well lets not turn this into an SFA topic. Lets talk about all the Thomas Town's in the chain. Depending on the type of area that they are in, will determine the theme they get. In my opinion, thats the best way to do it, so that it doesn't look out of place. A lot of SF rides have that image. A lot of this was caused when Premier Parks purchases properties, put their name on the front entrance and added the Batman name to their attractions. This is why Six Flags is more of an amusement park, than a theme park. Theme parks, actually have themed attractions and areas, where the rides match their surroundings.

 

To become a theme park, they have to start building actual themed attractions. Shapiro started this on a small level with The Dark Knight indoor coasters. Were they over hyped? Yes. Were enthusiast fooled by the commercial? Yes. But it was the first step, for moving Six Flags into a theme park business. I'm surprised Shapiro never made any changes to Skull Mountain at Great Adventure. Anyone could have looked at that and said (BAT-CAVE).

[DBJ]

Is it possible that some parks may keep their specific themes? Would it cost less for the chain if the Thomas Town theme for example was only in one park, and not all of them? I don't think Terminator @SFMM would be affected - even Universal is dumping Terminator in the next couple of years as it is.

 

I agree with the movie in general to not pay for a license that does not increase park attendance. Is the DC license exclusive to SF? Also read they are looking at removing the chain restaraunts / food franchises from the park, like Papa Johns & Johnny Rockets. Also a good move. They really should not be paying for these common strip mall eateries to be in their park. I can see having a couple of established brands, but not have those be the primary food options. In the short term, it did provide a temp fix for the food quality issues in the park, but long term for the chain financially, it's better to have primary ownership of the concessions.

[samisthabomb]

According to rcdb.com, Tony Hawk's Big Spin at Six Flags Fiesta Texas has recently been renamed "Big Spin".

[chadster]

Anyone make it to SFOT today to see if they did anything to Tony Hawk yet? If not, I may make it out tomorrow and check it out

[krazekiddd]

I'm all for Papa Johns leaving! For real.. who knew crappy pizza could be worse in a park.

[BeemerBoy]

I'm all for Papa Johns leaving! For real.. who knew crappy pizza could be worse in a park.

[ArizonaGuy]

Here's an article from the LA Times.

 

Six Flags amusement parks prepare for thematic makeovers

 

Wham! Bam! Ka-Pow!

 

A bruising brawl involving comic-book superheroes, Saturday morning cartoon characters and extreme sports icons will change the ride and roller coaster landscape of Six Flags' 11 U.S. amusement parks in 2011.

 

An intellectual property housecleaning at the amusement park chain has left Bugs Bunny, Superman and Scooby-Doo victorious and Thomas the Tank Engine, The Wiggles, Evel Knievel and Tony Hawk vanquished.

 

In a sudden about-face, Six Flags is undoing several licensing agreements established since 2007 for 60 amusement park rides and attractions. The extensive slate of name changes and thematic makeovers are expected to begin in early 2011. The cost-cutting move comes in the wake of a Six Flags management overhaul after the company emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year.

 

Six Flags will re-theme the Thomas Town kiddie lands, based on the children's television show "Thomas & Friends," as unbranded Whistle Stop Depots, amusement park officials confirmed.

 

Since 2007, Six Flags has added Thomas Towns at Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia), Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo), Six Flags New England (Massachusetts), Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags America (Maryland). Six Flags America opened its Thomas Town in June 2010.

 

Six Flags also plans to de-theme the Tony Hawk Big Spin coasters at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis, officials said.

 

The spinning coasters, which made their debut in 2007 and 2008, will be called simply "Big Spin." The Tony Hawk Halfpipe ride at Six Flags America also will be stripped of its affiliation with the skateboarding star.

 

In addition, the Evel Knievel wooden coaster, which opened in 2008 at Six Flags St. Louis, will be renamed American Thunder, ending Six Flags' association with the late motorcycle daredevil, officials said.

 

Screamscape reports that Six Flags will also remove the Wiggles World theme added in 2007 and 2008 to five parks: Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey), Six Flags Great America (Illinois), Six Flags New England, Great Escape (New York) and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. The Wiggles World theme, based on "The Wiggles" children's television program, has already been stripped from five Fiesta Texas rides, according to the park's website.

 

The intellectual property retrenchment returns Six Flags to its core branded relationships: DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Riddler, Joker and Green Lantern), Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Tweety) and Hanna-Barbera (Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear).

 

Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times

 

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-six-flags-retheme-20101122,0,3267615.story

 

Personally I'm happy about the changes.....just hope they come up with some decent names for most of the rides however at SFFT the Vekoma RollerSkate is now known as "Kiddie Coaster" so I won't hold my breath. As far as Evel Knievel at SFStL, I was surprised that the name was not that bad.

 

As far as food, I hope they don't get rid of all of the chain stuff like Panda or Johnny Rockets otherwise I'd leave the park to go eat or eat before going to the park. Oh well.....as long as they save money and improve other things in the parks like theming then I'm all for it.

[Double0Kevin]

^That article was posted on the last page.

 

I kind of like the new name for Evel Kineval, It fits with the park... (I think, is the ride in an American themed area?).

 

I'm interested to see how the "Whistle Stop Depots" turn out? I assume they will just take down themeing with characters and pain over anything Thomas related. Having once been the Supervisor of Thomas Town at SFDK I can say that a re-theme won't be too hard... Take the fake trains off the storage shed building and just have blank doors, and then just chang out signs. I assume they will get an unthemed cap to go where Thomas' face is and take the "1" off his side and BAM! No more theme. I guess we'll wait and see.

[netdvn]

I love the new names so far... American Thunder is probably one of the better name changes of any ride in recent years.

 

It's actually interesting that SF picked up the old Hanna-Barbara licenses that were dropped by the former Paramount Parks. I can’t wait to see how that turns out.

 

The Whistle Stop retheme doesn’t sound too bad, but I kinda wish SFA was allowed to keep their Thomas Town for an extended period of time because the area is brand new to begin with.

 

The Terminator license is bound to run out sometime, so it’ll be interesting to see how Terminator Salvation is rethemed.

[cal1br3tto]

I'm relieved they chose a decent re-name for Evel Knievel. I'm guessing the trains will stay about the same then. Yay!

 

Isn't Whistle Stop something for senior citizens? (Upon looking it up...I guess not. Except in Marin. Never mind then.)

[SharkTums]

I'd be pretty pissed and confused if I was HIT Entertainment right now. I mean, I just find it so sad that Six Flags couldn't maintain the Thomas brand and cash in on a TON of money because of it. Perhaps had they put more effort into it and made a 'REAL' Thomas Land as seen at Fuji Q or Drayton Manor they would have had a better chance. Here in Valencia, I know people that will pay more money to go farther away and see the Day out with Thomas events/attraction then go to the one at SFMM!