Dania Beach Hurricane Declares Bankruptcy

[sammmmmy]

I've been hearing rumors since 2004 about this happening! Its kind of sad that this being taken away. It wasn't that bad of a coaster.

[Meteornotes]

Only rode this coaster once, but did like it. Kind of sad that it's sitting there and rotting away, but I just don't think it's feasible to move wooden coasters most of the time. For the cost and effort involved, most parks are just going to opt to build their own new ride.

 

dt

[alpengeist04]

Why not just get the specs for the coaster and let Intamin build a new one.

[Tanks4me05]

I love Dania Beach Hurricane. Though at a track record of 159, I don't give each coaster an individual rank anymore (I just do my top five wood and steel and the rest are rated with adjectives, ie "fun", "okay", "AMAZING") DBH is within my top ten woodie list. Though the percentage of wood coasters that have been relocated were small, most of the ones that survived were generally good coasters, meaning the quality the ride delivered was worth the extra expense of moving it. And as we all know, DBH is a very good wood coaster, probably within the top five wooden coasters in the Deep South Region as per most enthusiasts' opinions (if you count Florida as part of the Deep South; it doesn't even have five wood coasters) and one of the better wooden coasters in the country, so there's obviously at least some incentive that may be wort the extra expense, unlike other wooden coasters that weren't so famous in the past, that happened to ascend into coaster heaven.

[decay1009]

I took my son there this weekend and the sign said the Hurricane is Permanently Closed. No one inside knew if it was going to be torn down or any other plans for it. I will try to get a picture of the new depressing signage...

[krazekiddd]

^That's sad. I loved being able to run by there if I got bored. I'm not even sure if its worth to even move to the Miami Zoo.

[gisco]

The longer this thing sits there, the more it rots away and the less chance of someone saving it. To bad.

[dragonskeep]

Great ride, bad fate. This was the best wooden coaster Florida ever had, bummer. I had a chance to get some great riding on DBH. I love marathoning coasters and the Hurricane was great for that. We are better off to have had it at all, the finances were gonna be tough where it was located.

[RoCo]

Sounds like the DB Hurricane might yet make the move to ZooMiami:

 

http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/111208/story3.shtml

 

EDIT: After another read, it sounds like plans to move the coaster are indeed old news, and not part of the latest scheme... Never mind, move along...

[O-Town77]

They could take a cue from the Columbus Zoo, which also has a small amusement park and water park as part of the entire property. If they were to start small, like Jungle Jack's Landing, with the Hurricane and a small but nice collection of flats it would at least give them a start to gradually build upon. No one said it had to be the size of Busch Gardens from day one.

 

+1

I think the key to success would be to gradually build the park. All the other attempts for amusement parks in Miami such as Pirate's World -- were quickly built as large attractions..... And they were too big and costly to profitably sustain for the area (and too crude to compete with Disney).

 

I could definitely see a rides area added to Zoo Miami and doing quite well. But the Miami politicians are kidding themselves if they think that they are going to rival Universal or Disney for attendance for anything they build in that area. Further, considering all the traffic problems they currently have in that area -- having Disney levels of attendance would be unbearable for the existing roads.

[SharkTums]

Columbus Zoo really surprised all of us on our surprise visit there last year! It was really well done, nice, great selection of rides and waterpark attractions plus the zoo! Would love to see something like that incorporated into the Miami Zoo.

[disneyfan1313]

I think the important thing to remember about the S. Florida area is there are *no* major or even minor theme parks. Heck, even FECs aren't really up to the standards that we see in other parts of the country. There are a million and one theories on why that is but I think adding the hurricane and perhaps a few other small rides to the Miami Zoo is a good step in the right direction. It is never going to be WDW but it could be a decent player for tourist dollars in the area.

[O-Town77]

I think the important thing to remember about the S. Florida area is there are *no* major or even minor theme parks. Heck, even FECs aren't really up to the standards that we see in other parts of the country. There are a million and one theories on why that is but I think adding the hurricane and perhaps a few other small rides to the Miami Zoo is a good step in the right direction. It is never going to be WDW but it could be a decent player for tourist dollars in the area.

 

Keep in mind that South Florida has had several major theme parks (100 - 350 acre ones) -- which all failed.

 

They had Africa USA (which Walt Disney himself nearly purchased) -- which was similar to Animal Kingdom in Boca Raton, closed in 1961. They also had Pioneer City, that closed after only 2 years in Davie. Six Flags Atlantis Water Park and Pirate's World are also among the defunct offerings.

 

Poor traffic infrastructure and bad weather are nearly always blamed for South Florida's failure to be able to sustain a real theme park. Lion Country Safari keeps trying to expand into a real theme park with roller coasters, but their neighbor's have blocked their ambitions for the past 30 years.

Zoo Miami is probably the only prospect that might eventually happen, but it's been "in the works" for over a decade with no results thus far.

[SharkTums]

^I really don't think you can call any of those 'major theme parks'.

 

Acreage is one thing, being a 'major theme park' is another.

[robbalvey]

*facepalm*

[BeemerBoy]

Poor traffic infrastructure and bad weather are nearly always blamed for South Florida's failure to be able to sustain a real theme park.

"Hey Farva, what's the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy s**t on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?"

[megamatt]

Wasn't Pirate World on the Gulf Coast of Florida?

 

Any way, to be on topic.

 

I must say, when I rode it, it was sluggish, felt "clunky", and was rather forceless. This was the second to last run of the night, mid Feb. 2011.

 

Was it having a bad day (high humidity, wheel issues, needed lubricants, etc.) or was it always like towards the end of it's life? I was really excited to ride it, it seemed like a great ride, and it was well received in the community, but the one ride I got on it was very, very "meh".

[robbalvey]

^ I would say that probably towards the end of it's life, and on a colder day in Feb, you probably got kind of "meh" rides. I'm also going to assume the train was fairly empty?

 

A couple of times we rode when we were the only ones on the train the ride was just "meh", ok..... But on days where it had more people in the train, and the ride was being taken care of, it was a solid B+ ride.

 

--Robb

[megamatt]

^ I would say that probably towards the end of it's life, and on a colder day in Feb, you probably got kind of "meh" rides. I'm also going to assume the train was fairly empty?

 

A couple of times we rode when we were the only ones on the train the ride was just "meh", ok..... But on days where it had more people in the train, and the ride was being taken care of, it was a solid B+ ride.

 

--Robb

 

Yeah, there were only 6 people on the entire train. The arcade section had a lot of broken games, too. It's sad to see a place like this go downhill.

 

Slightly offtopic: Oddly enough, there were kittens running all over the area between the building and the bridge to the Hurricane. Friendly ones, at that.

[O-Town77]

^I really don't think you can call any of those 'major theme parks'.

 

Acreage is one thing, being a 'major theme park' is another.

 

I completely stand by what I said.

 

Pioneer City was nearly as ambitious as the entire Walt Disney World resort -- which is exactly why they went broke after only 2 years.

They had purchased 5,000 Acres with the plan of building hotels, multiple theme parks, etc. It all collapsed by 1968.

They had even planned a "World's Fair" park like Epcot and a "Coney Island" park loaded with thrill rides), but financing fizzled.

 

Atlantis was a very ambitious project, especially after Six Flags purchased it. It was among the largest water parks in the

world when it finished construction in 1984. I can't imagine how it wouldn't be a "major" theme park development.

 

Pirate's World was equivalent to an average Six Flag type of park during its era (the late 1960's). It had a very similar ride

lineup to say Six Flags over Texas, despite having less land than SFOT. But the high crime / concert incidents doomed this park

to an early death.

 

Africa USA is really the only one I'd consider not being a "major" theme park -- it was more of a drive-in zoo. I think it

is historically significant because Walt tried to buy it.

 

South Florida does have a lousy history of supporting local amusement parks -- my guess, its largely because of the very high

percentage of senior citizens that live there (and never would go to one).

[O-Town77]

Wasn't Pirate World on the Gulf Coast of Florida?

 

Any way, to be on topic.

 

I must say, when I rode it, it was sluggish, felt "clunky", and was rather forceless. This was the second to last run of the night, mid Feb. 2011.

 

Was it having a bad day (high humidity, wheel issues, needed lubricants, etc.) or was it always like towards the end of it's life? I was really excited to ride it, it seemed like a great ride, and it was well received in the community, but the one ride I got on it was very, very "meh".

 

Pirate's World was located in Dania -- only a few miles away from where the Dania Beach Hurricane is located.

Security problems (crime) doomed the park.

[jedimaster1227]

^^Ambitions aside, none of those projects found success, and therefore couldn't make it to the "major league." There have been plenty of regional theme parks across the country that have found their successful niche, but like you said, South Florida has never been able to support such an offering, and I'm not sure it ever will.

 

Smaller projects like Rapids Water Park and the proposed Schlitterbahn in Ft. Lauderdale have the potential to succeed because they aren't built upon expectations they can't meet or surpass. Each of the projects you mentioned failed for one reason or another, but none of their respective scopes seem to have met the environment in which they were based.

 

And in regards to the concept of South Florida not supporting local parks due to senior citizens, I have to question this. Miami has a very young market to it, which while it is more often associated with the beaches, clubs and up-scale restaurants and hotels, can translate into the same set of customers who would go to Rapids, or even drive farther North to visit Orlando. While I think you've underestimated the power of South Florida's younger market, I agree that it is not sizable enough to support a park of Disney or even Six Flags scope. Schlitterbahn is in my mind, the true limit of what the environment could support on the highest end.

 

EDIT: And O-Town77, please remember not to double post. That is against our posting rules.

Edited December 15, 2011 by jedimaster1227

[O-Town77]

^^Ambitions aside, none of those projects found success, and therefore couldn't make it to the "major league." There have been plenty of regional theme parks across the country that have found their successful niche, but like you said, South Florida has never been able to support such an offering, and I'm not sure it ever will.

 

Smaller projects like Rapids Water Park and the proposed Schlitterbahn in Ft. Lauderdale have the potential to succeed because they aren't built upon expectations they can't meet or surpass. Each of the projects you mentioned failed for one reason or another, but none of their respective scopes seem to have met the environment in which they were based.

 

And in regards to the concept of South Florida not supporting local parks due to senior citizens, I have to question this. Miami has a very young market to it, which while it is more often associated with the beaches, clubs and up-scale restaurants and hotels, can translate into the same set of customers who would go to Rapids, or even drive farther North to visit Orlando. While I think you've underestimated the power of South Florida's younger market, I agree that it is not sizable enough to support a park of Disney or even Six Flags scope. Schlitterbahn is in my mind, the true limit of what the environment could support on the highest end.

 

I completely agree.

I think a company like Schlitterbahn will do fine because they have experience with operating theme parks and have relatively deep pockets. All the projects that already failed in South Florida nearly always just flat ran out of money (Hurricane Andrew damaged Atlantis and owners couldn't afford rebuilding it, Pioneer City / Pirate's World went bankrupt, etc.)

 

Weather was also a huge factor that these failed attractions never addressed. All of these park were nearly 100% outdoor offerings, where violent thunderstorms occur on a daily basis during the prime season. As for Senior Citizens, Florida is #1 in the nation for this population based on percentages (there are more Seniors living in CA and TX, but they account for a dramatically higher percentage of the population in FL). The ratios get crazy south of Port St. Lucie -- with some cities reporting populations exceeding 60% seniors based on the latest census.

 

It's a shame, I grew up in South Florida and always wanted a local park. But, knowing what I know now -- I realize why South Florida will probably never get a major offering.

[televisedconfession]

First off, the weather in South Florida vs. Central Florida is not that different, that's the worst argument ever. Second, What Adam was saying about seniors is that yes, there are a lot of senior citizens in South Florida, but Miami itself has a MUCH younger demographic. Port St. Lucie is a completely different scene. And let's not forget all the families who come down to visit Grandma and PopPop. Thirdly, I don't think it's completely out of the question that South Florida will never have a major park. It will take time, but it can be built up to those kinds of offerings. You can't just pop up a major thrill park and expect it to fly, it will take time to grow.

 

I think what the Miami Zoo ideas have floating around are right on target for what the area needs. I think the Hurricane is the perfect sized coaster for the area, and with a smaller family sized ride and some decent flats, shopping, restaurants, entertainment, ect; that area could be very successful. That area of Miami has always been trying to compete with other districts like Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. Plus, the zoo has a lot of land to work with. If successful, over several phases, you could have a big development in that area.

[robbalvey]

I really would like to encourage everyone not to respond or argue with O-Town77. His arguments and posts are borderline "trollish" and I'm convinced he's just saying things to start flame wars. While he claims to have had experience working in theme parks, his posts and thoughts about working in the industry seems to suggest otherwise. He's been banned from this forum in the past, and warned about his current posting style. If it keeps up, he won't be a member here much longer.

 

--Robb