PriestofSyrinx Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Stitch's Great Escape was not a stupid move. While, as an attraction, it pales in comparison to Alien Encounter, it is truly a technological marvel. The Stitch in the show is still one of the most advanced audio-animatronics that they have ever produced. The moving cannons are a marvel to behold as well. QFT. While most of us here do prefer AE over Stitch, myself included, it updated an attraction that desperatly needed a replacement. Same with MILF (Yes thats the proper Acronym) across the way, Yes its not an original Idea, but I bet there is a lot more people going to that than ever went to see the Timekeeper. My problems with Magic Kingdom lie with routing guests through backstage areas. That just ruins the magic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Many rides on this list weren't really mistakes when they were conceived. There was no way of knowing how unreliable many of these attractions would become, and it's a shame, there were some pretty neat ride concepts. • California Adventure was a blunder because of their "Lack of Disney/Innovation" concept. It just didn't work, and was an expensive lesson. • Hard Rock Park was badly marketed and in non-sustaining area • Island of Adventure didn't have enough rides for smaller riders. Fortunately, they resolved that quickly. • Wild West World got over hyped and under delivered and then ran out of cash There are more to list, but those are some of the bigger ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 CGA During Paramount days: -Remove Triple Play -Remove Railroad -Remove Stealth -Remove Tidal Wave I asked about why Triple Play was removed during the Q&A and it was mentioned that after a while parts get hard to come by and in the long run costs more than what it's worth to get the ride running. For us, it's unfortunate that a fun classic flat is gone but in terms of maintenance, it makes sense. Same goes for Tidal Wave (which is why it became spare parts for its sister back east). Train removal seems likely because there's already a transport ride that takes you to nearly the same exact spot. As far as removing Invertigo...that's beyond me, until we see something coming in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Six Flags New England wins this one... but I'm not sure if it's because they have 2 boomerangs or because they had so much work done on "The Dark Knight" before having to tear the whole thing down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tribar Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 CGA During Paramount days: -Remove Triple Play -Remove Railroad -Remove Stealth -Remove Tidal Wave I asked about why Triple Play was removed during the Q&A and it was mentioned that after a while parts get hard to come by and in the long run costs more than what it's worth to get the ride running. For us, it's unfortunate that a fun classic flat is gone but in terms of maintenance, it makes sense. Same goes for Tidal Wave (which is why it became spare parts for its sister back east). Train removal seems likely because there's already a transport ride that takes you to nearly the same exact spot. As far as removing Invertigo...that's beyond me, until we see something coming in. Triple Play at SFGAm was down for most if not all of the 2006 season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbydinn Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 ^ Triple Play was down because SFOT was getting the one from SFAW, but there was a damaged part so they gave them ours so they could have it up and running quickly for it's first year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MayTheGForceBeWithYou Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Stitch's Great Escape was not a stupid move. While, as an attraction, it pales in comparison to Alien Encounter, it is truly a technological marvel. The Stitch in the show is still one of the most advanced audio-animatronics that they have ever produced. The moving cannons are a marvel to behold as well. I concede that Stitch is an amazing showcase of technology, but the show itself seems pretty subpar. Because of Disney's attempt to market the attraction to younger audiences, it lost a lot of the adult demographic Alien Encounter targeted. I would be all for making the attraction more family friendly, but this type of experience just isn't meant for kids. If you strap a kid in a chair in a dark room and spray stuff at them, they'll get scared; changing the alien from a menace to a comic doesn't change the show for younger children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synshine Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Cedar Fair's bumbling around with Dorney the last few years qualifies, as well. That is actually quite egregious, considering they have two big competitors so close by that aren't bumbling around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBJ Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I remember when i first saw Alien Encounter years ago, there was a CM standing out in front of the attraction telling everyone that it was not a ride. So when they closed it, I thought maybe they would take the time to go in, tear it out, and put a ride/movement in it. I thought that was a missed opportunity. Generally, didn't really care for the toon overaly on T-Land. Especially since all the characters used have stories taking place in present day, not the future. One general mistake is that some parks run the same 3D/4D movies for decades. I feel that these theaters should refresh these movies every few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skycoastin Steve Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 I concede that Stitch is an amazing showcase of technology, but the show itself seems pretty subpar. Because of Disney's attempt to market the attraction to younger audiences, it lost a lot of the adult demographic Alien Encounter targeted. I would be all for making the attraction more family friendly, but this type of experience just isn't meant for kids. If you strap a kid in a chair in a dark room and spray stuff at them, they'll get scared; changing the alien from a menace to a comic doesn't change the show for younger children. Yeah, every time I rode Alien Encounter, little kids came off crying. The one time I rode Stitch, little kids came off crying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibbler Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 you do realize that half of these things listed here have nothing to do with the individual parks themselves, right? it's not the individual park who decides what ride they get =p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyfire Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 The Green Lantern at SFMM. It reminds me TOO MUCH of X in the CONCEPT. Plus the loading time sucks. Six Flags putting the same coasters in each park, It gives a lot of people no reason to visit another SF park if they ALL have the same stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MontagnaMagica Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 The Green Lantern at SFMM. It reminds me TOO MUCH of X in the CONCEPT. In concept, X and Green Lantern are similar, but they are really totally different! Green Lantern is unpredictable, and throws you around in all directions! X2 is predictable after your first ride, and has more "normal" roller coaster forces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montezooma Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Opryland: Closing AstroWorld: Closing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 (edited) Opryland: Closing Agreed. Although, that would really fall under the category of "Stupid Moves that Park Owners Have Made". Edited August 31, 2011 by ernierocker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noregrets Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 How about Universal Orlando taking out Back to the Future for that Simpsons crap? Lol its not high on my list of grievances but its the only one I can think that hasn't been mentioned. Oh wait. Also Six Flags theming stuff to passing fads like Tony Hawk and The Wiggles. And I didn't even know that Thomas the Tank was still part of culture.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viking86 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Six Flags putting the same coasters in each park, It gives a lot of people no reason to visit another SF park if they ALL have the same stuff. Most people doesnt know that there are many identical rides, and Six Flags saves a ton of money by buying less custom designs. Brilliant if you ask me. Of course there will be more coaster enthusiasts travelling if the parks build something unique, but we are such a small minority. Most people will only visit their local park(s) no matter what rides are built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoole Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Closing AstroWorld was an idiotic move on Kieran Burke's part. He sold a profitable park, only got half of what he was expecting to get for the land, then spent $20 million to demolish it. The money they made from selling off AW could have been made up tenfold by simply continuing to operate the park. Idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noregrets Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 ^they demolished the place right before the housing bubble burst if I remember correctly. Literally no one benefited from that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSum1_55 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 you do realize that half of these things listed here have nothing to do with the individual parks themselves, right? it's not the individual park who decides what ride they get =p That is exactly what SFDK's president said at the bay area weekend; the system used to be you were told what you were getting, by Sf management, and it was up to the park pres to make it work. Now, the system is different. A park manager can install whetever is needed most, as to avoid stupidities. He made a remark how SFDK never needed Thomas Town, as it has plenty of kiddie rides. However, stupid SF management made the park do that. I am not sure what the outcome of this will be, but moving an unrealiable ride (Deja Vu) from one park to another sure seems like a bad idea. Lets see how long it lasts at SFNE before it is gone for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieP Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I got one. While I'm glad my home park Michigan's Adventure got a fairly "new" coaster, even a Vekoma SLC, my choice would be Cedar Fair closing Geauga Lake and leaving Big Dipper to rot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netdvn Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 SF purchasing tons of parks in the 90s and investing millions into each one (while it does sound good on paper) probably wasn't the best idea SF had considering it put the corporation in severe debt and brought down the quality of all the parks in the process. I'm glad SF is finally getting their act together and being a bit more reserved with their new additions. On top of that, CF's naming committee for the ex-Paramount parks. Luckily, they got their act together in recent years, but names like "Flight Deck" and "Drop Tower" were absolutely awful. Oh wait. Also Six Flags theming stuff to passing fads like Tony Hawk and The Wiggles. And I didn't even know that Thomas the Tank was still part of culture.... Actually a lot of parks do that (Nickelodeon anyone?). Even Disney is a victim of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nibbler Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 ^^^ yes, but it's not the same case with all the parks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingScooter Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Good question: Six Flags selling Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair at a huge loss. Cedar Fair closing Geuaga Lake thinking it would have no problems selling the land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGuy06 Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Parks that don't learn from the past make stupid moves, IMO. Take Disney for example. It seems everytime they build a park (outside of Japan) they wind up slashing budgets, not building up to potential, and then seem shocked attendance/revenues aren't what they expected. Then they spend a ton of money trying to build the parks up after the fact. Rinse and repeat. Six Flags and Astroworld also come to mind. It seems it was such a shortsighted plan to close the place, and they didn't even get as much benefit by moving rides to other parks as they could have because of the damage to rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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