Greatest Amusement Industry Blunder of the Decade?

[Meteornotes]

Hard Rock Park (though I will contend until the end of time that it was set up to fail, especially the second time around, as an investment scam)

Save The Big Dipper (though it did manage to entertain many of us)

Boardwalk Bullet

 

dt

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Flying Turns.

[mike robinson]

While Hard Rock was a huge fail, I have to say Six Flags under Premier (Burke) was bigger as it took down more parks and Arrow as well.

 

They just about killed the Six Flags Brand. (And that Very Valuable piece of land Astroworld occupied is still a vacant lot...)

Edited December 30, 2010 by mike robinson

[Redrum237]

Whole parks: Hard Rock Park, California Adventure

 

Attractions: Stitch's Greatest Escape (previously Alien Encounter), Kongfrontation being gone (yes, Revenge of the Mummy is better, but they could have replaced a different ride/attraction)

 

C'mon Now- The answer is clearly DUBAILAND.

 

To my understanding it's still on schedule to be built, and was never supposed to be open by this point, in the first place. So I am not sure how it's a blunder. It may end up becoming a blunder, but I think at this point, it's too early to call.

[CardCraze]

1. Hard Rock Park.

2. SAVE TEH BIG DIPPER (Not the "scam" campaign, because so far that has brought more publicity to the cause than the "real" one.)

3. Six Flags New Orleans and the whole debacle there.

4. Luna Park and Coney Island (Park was a success, but the locals quickly went against it when it started demolishing parts of Coney Island. NOT a good idea. Coney Island is not meant to be some world class resort, it was nice the way it was.)

5. The "re-tracking" of Hurler. (The ride was closed at the start of the 2006 season for "re-tracking" and I think it might actually be rougher now...)

[PayneTrain]

I can't deny the failure that lies on the cursed Fantasy Harbor land, (seriously, it's cursed. Never open a business there), but Six Flags under Premier basically brought the amusement industry, as a whole, to the closest it will ever get to its "Dark Ages".

 

Because of Premier's ownership, directly or indirectly, four parks were shuttered. SFKK, SW-Ohio/SFWOA/GL, SFNO, and Astroworld, were all closed because of it.

 

The most annoying is that 3 of them sit untouched by the recession and disaster. Houston was just too proud to tear down the Astrodome, so the park went instead.

 

The company had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

 

That can be considered lucky, since the former great American coaster company, Arrow (I know they aren't the best, and are rather painful, but they are classic!) was pretty much driven into bankruptcy by Six Flags (and the fact they had fewer and fewer successful installations of rides) with the construction of X, then bought by S&S to do... almost nothing.

 

Almost every single Schwarzkopf designed for Six Flags have no plans to enter a park's coaster collection (save for KK possibly bringing back theirs).

 

SFMM lost the most coasters title.

 

Six Flags under Premier was very greedy, cookie-cutting ride after ride to make as much money as possible, while in reality, horribly failing to do so. So many people lost their jobs, so many citizens lost their park, and the damage will likely never be rectified. Six Flags is the AIG of the industry. It failed, and it failed a lot.

[Calicoasters]

CDRide - They ruin the look of the trains with all their wiring, mounting, and boxes. Their video quality was terrible and so was the DVD product.

[Cameron]

Top Thrill Dragster (and even more so Kingda Ka), Deja Vu, Vertical Velocity (as much as I love them, they only ran properly for a few years), X. Just the general air of incomplete engineering.

 

Cameron.

[AllenA07]

I'm going to have to join the club and say that Hard Rock Park wins by a landslide. That park was a perfect example of how NOT to run a business. Arrow going under was sad, but honestly their problems began in the later part of the 90's when they begun to lose relevancy. I don't (as another user said) see X by itself as being a mistake, I rather see it was a final gasp by a dying company.

 

The other ride I would single out is Son of the Beast. There was so much hype and excitement for it and it fell so flat.

[mike robinson]

I can't deny the failure that lies on the cursed Fantasy Harbor land, (seriously, it's cursed. Never open a business there), but Six Flags under Premier basically brought the amusement industry, as a whole, to the closest it will ever get to its "Dark Ages".

 

Because of Premier's ownership, directly or indirectly, four parks were shuttered. SFKK, SW-Ohio/SFWOA/GL, SFNO, and Astroworld, were all closed because of it.

 

The most annoying is that 3 of them sit untouched by the recession and disaster. Houston was just too proud to tear down the Astrodome, so the park went instead.

 

The company had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

 

That can be considered lucky, since the former great American coaster company, Arrow (I know they aren't the best, and are rather painful, but they are classic!) was pretty much driven into bankruptcy by Six Flags (and the fact they had fewer and fewer successful installations of rides) with the construction of X, then bought by S&S to do... almost nothing.

 

Almost every single Schwarzkopf designed for Six Flags have no plans to enter a park's coaster collection (save for KK possibly bringing back theirs).

 

SFMM lost the most coasters title.

 

Six Flags under Premier was very greedy, cookie-cutting ride after ride to make as much money as possible, while in reality, horribly failing to do so. So many people lost their jobs, so many citizens lost their park, and the damage will likely never be rectified. Six Flags is the AIG of the industry. It failed, and it failed a lot.

 

 

I could not agree more except the Astrodome really had nothing to do with Astroworld closing. That was all Burke and company. The Astrodome will be demolished eventually as it has lost it's certificate of occupancy.

 

But yes Six Flags under Premier was doomed from the start with the debt that was accumulated in the acquisition and following years with very poor investments. They tried to grow themselves out of debt and failed spectacularly.

 

Burke by far wins the greatest Blunder of the decade. Hard Rock was a huge failure but that was just one park.

[BeemerBoy]

Can't speak firsthand on this one, but from many trip reports, I think an honorable mention goes to Disneyland Paris. I've heard and read countless reports of how this resort's customer service and general atmosphere has declined over the decade. And in my humble opinion, it's quite a dubious achievement for any Disney park to be unanimously considered the worst of the bunch for these particular reasons. Sad, really.

[Moose]

The coaster wars.

 

While it may have seemed good at the time to always have the biggest, "best", most, etc., it is ultimately what led to the bankrupcy of Six Flags and the loss of parks. People blame Cedar Fair for Geauga's demise, but the real blame should lie with Six Flags throwing coasters at the park in an atempt to compete with Cedar Point.

[CorkscrewFoley]

Astroworld (I never got the opportunity to go).

Geauga Lake-Went once, and loved it.

Prince Desmond-Need I say more?

Mean Streak-What? they couldn't burn it properly.

Big Dick is finally retiring, when he should have left CF aeons again.

[exmouse]

I think Intamin have made the biggest blunder by pushing technology further than it could cope. Some of the coasters with the biggest issues have been from Intamin.

 

Dragster, loads of downtime in the opening year that also resulted in the cars losing their themeing.

Kingda Ka, loads of downtime.

Stealth had lots of down time in its opening year.

i305 had to have trims added on the 1st drop and is now having sections re-profiled.

Maverick had to have an inversion removed prior to opening.

The boats for Shoot the Rapids were apparently too big for the trough.

Several coasters had to have restraints modified following accidents. The solid over head restraints have proved painful on some coasters.

Formula Rossa was closed down not long after opening due to technical issues.

[ernierocker]

Prince Desmond-Need I say more?

 

You accidentally put this in the "Greatest Blunder of the Decade" thread.

[MagnumUnlimited]

I would have to agree with the Coaster Wars. There were too many huge coaster popping up around the United States. Like Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka. But I would also say Arrow going out, even though them going out of buisness probably made them so much popular, I wish they were still around. Also Six Flags Astroworld going down. It was such a great park until Six Flags took it over and like most of their other parks they shut it down.

[ajc47]

I would have to agree with the Coaster Wars. There were too many huge coaster popping up around the United States. Like Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka. But I would also say Arrow going out, even though them going out of buisness probably made them so much popular, I wish they were still around. Also Six Flags Astroworld going down. It was such a great park until Six Flags took it over and like most of their other parks they shut it down.

 

I never went to Astroworld but from what I have seen online their fans were as angry over that park's closing as we were over GL.

Edited December 31, 2010 by ajc47

[Band-Aid]

Astroworld and Hard Rock Park for me

[netdvn]

I would go with all the typical SOB, Hard Rock Park, Astroworld/GL, SF bankruptcy thing but...

 

Seeing all the roller coaster sites that I used to frequent in middle school as inactive shells of their former selves. Aside from TPR, Coasterbuzz, and a few sites outside of that, most of the theme park fansites that I lurked around back in 2003-2004 are dead or dying. It's kinda depressing.

 

** This may not be a blunder for everyone, but it feels like one for me **

 

And I definitely feel that a lot of brand new parks outside of China are facing blunders of their own (Universal Singapore, HRP/FMP being the obvious examples, and apparently Ferrari World according to one of the posts above).

 

Dubailand (and Dubai in general) could also be considered a "blunder" in the sense that most of the projects planned never really came to reality/halted before they could complete construction because of the failing economy and the elaborate-ness of the projects.

[ParkTrips]

While Hard Rock was a huge fail, I have to say Six Flags under Premier (Burke) was bigger as it took down more parks and Arrow as well.

 

They just about killed the Six Flags Brand. (And that Very Valuable piece of land Astroworld occupied is still a vacant lot...)

You know, I would have instantly said HRP.. but this is a good point. I still think the quick, enormous failure is a bigger blunder than a decade or slow decay, but still, that's the only thing that comes close. Other options mentioned, and why I disagree, include

 

- Son of Beast -- you could build 20 SOB's for the cost of HRP

- Astroworld as an individual failure -- it was a dump, so no one cares

- various Intamin problems -- they are still make killer rides when they work

- that park in Kansas -- it's Kansas, so no one cares

- Geauga Lake -- killing that park wasn't a mistake

- CD ride -- no one ever bought them, so no one cares

- Schwarzkopf / Arrow -- dude died early in the decade, hadn't built a new coaster in years, and had battled bankruptcy long before the company sort of disappeared (is his son still selling parts?); Arrow sort of lives on in spirit the same way CCI sort of does

- SFNO -- natural disasters < people being stupid, shouldn't qualify

- Flying Turns -- this one is actually funny, and I'd put it higher up the list if it wasn't at a park that is awesome

 

 

Hard rock park wins (or loses) this easily, in my opinion

[cfc]

^Well put, Joe.

 

^^Universal Singapore had slipped my mind; they've definitely had plenty of problems, but I think the jury is still out on whether this park was a major blunder yet. Time will tell.

[WW1 Flying Ace]

Maybe the whole cypress garden fiasco is something to add to the list? It might not be poor management but, possible the location that made it destined to fail over time?

[cal1br3tto]

I'd have to agree that Hard Rock Park automatically wins.

 

I think it's a shame that some of my favorite ride concepts have proven to be much-maligned due to design issues. The most prominent examples are X2 and GIBs. It seems mechanical problems made the difference between success and failure, and skewed popular opinion in a negative direction. It's too bad inverted Boomerangs weren't successful enough to replace standard Boomerangs as the compact thrill coasters of choice.

[mightbeawannabe]

Joe, Kansas has a park?! When did this happen?

[Geauga Dog]

Of course, considering my screen name, it was the closing of Geauga Lake. It's not so much that CF closed it but the way they went about closing it was quite ugly. At least Astroworld had a proper farewell though that also belongs on this list.

 

I also include:

 

Hard Rock/Freestyle Music Park

 

Wild West World

 

Top Thrill Dragster only because of the constant downtime it had the first few years.

 

The collapse of one of VertiGo's towers at CP.

 

The loss of White Water Landing for Maverick. I love Maverick but WWL was a family ride that didn't soak you.

Shoot-The-Rapids and the constant issues it had last year and the lackluster reviews it received from those who did get to ride it.

 

Cedar Fair pulling a Six Flags and purchasing the Paramount Parks, thus putting them in a debt they've never had before and at a time when the economy was about to tank. Also should include the Apollo/Cedar Fair situation.