NEWS: Miracle Strip looks to expand to new location

[Jew]

So much for that project...

[Shavethewhales]

It's crazy how it was so successful when it was small, but moving basically across the street and expanding killed it. I still think it was a case of miscalculating the critical mass required to make a whole park experience work. Starliner might have saved it... or not.

 

It looks like the original owners are completely out now, so the question is whether someone else will scoop this up. The wheel people only wanted it for the land and it sounds like they've moved on. Obviously we can all hope that someone will jump on the opportunity and finish out the park.

[thrillerman1]

I've tried to ride the Galaxy on several past visits to keep finding it sbno. I wanted to see this place go...too bad. Looks like high dollar space so no surprise.

[Jew]

^^I'm thinking the park is dead.

[jedimaster1227]

If there's anyone who won (at least in some way) from this entire situation, it is Great Coasters International, who has a custom coaster design just waiting to be pulled off of the shelf for another park that can actually afford it.

Edited December 18, 2015 by jedimaster1227

[SteveStL]

Took the family to PCB in July. The new location was hidden, you could not see the Park from the Outlet Mall or even from the main street that runs along the beach. They lost all their foot traffic. I bet most folks didn't even know it was there. Sad to see the project failed.

[Cyrbuzz]

The saddest part of this is Starliner is lost for good now. Even though the rebuild would pretty much be Starliner in name only, but ah what might have been. Sad to have seen the original park fade into the sunset like so many great parks before it. Progress isn't always a great thing is it?

[robbalvey]

I never understood what was so great about the original Starliner. I've ridden it at both the original Miracle Strip and at Cypress Gardens and I thought both versions were a mediocre coaster at best. I have zero sentimental attachment to the ride so I can only base my opinion on how the coaster rode, but quite frankly, I thought it sucked and had no real redeeming value whatsoever. It was your average, run-of-the-mill 1960s designed out and back woodie with no element that stood out. The ride was, for those who were not from the area, completely forgettable.

 

I'm not one bit sad about this project vanishing.

Edited December 21, 2015 by robbalvey

[jynx242]

^ It wasn't all that great.

 

For me - we went to PCB when I was a kid and teenager. Miracle Strip does have some very fond memories, and I did enjoy the Starliner for what it was - a little roller coaster by the beach.

 

What I remember MORE fondly than the coaster was the awesome Rides-in-a-box that they did with their flat rides, and their Bayern Curve - which I always thought was pretty cool.

[robbalvey]

MORE fondly than the coaster was the awesome Rides-in-a-box that they did with their flat rides, and their Bayern Curve - which I always thought was pretty cool.

Agreed. IMO those were the stand-out attractions at the park.

[SFOG1991]

The possible loss of Starliner is really sad in my opinion. Even if it was a "run of the mill" 1960s out and back woodie, how many of those are even left now?

 

I have ridden Cannonball at Lake Winnie many times and it is a great classic woodie that fits into that category, and I would hate to see it go.

[Shavethewhales]

As I understood it, the original starliner was already lost. The new starliner was essentially going to be like Fun Spot's White Lightning. Here's a good overview of it: http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2014/08/miracle-strip-pier-park-nearly-ready-to.html

 

It's a big loss for GCII since this was going to be one of their only recent sales.

 

 

The location seems like it would have been great, but it looks like this is another case where a beach-area amusement park doesn't understand marketing. They were close enough that they could have tied in with the beach access and other local businesses. Instead they tried to make it into a closed-off destination without enough attractions to make it worth it.

[jedimaster1227]

^The original Starliner didn't really survive the transformation from Cypress Gardens Adventure Park to LEGOLAND Florida. The Meeks (the owners of the Miracle Strip at Pier Park) advised in 2013 that they had some of the original parts of the ride (http://blog.al.com/gulf-coast/2013/06/developers_hope_to_bring_starl.html), but when the new version was announced with Great Coasters International last year all mention of the original ride seemed to quiet down.

 

LEGOLAND Florida took great care in carefully deconstructing the Starliner with the intention of letting a new owner take possession of the coaster for their own use, but after the wood was packed and wrapped, it was no longer their problem. I don't recall seeing those clusters of wood re-appearing anywhere else since that time.

Edited December 21, 2015 by jedimaster1227

[robbalvey]

The possible loss of Starliner is really sad in my opinion. Even if it was a "run of the mill" 1960s out and back woodie, how many of those are even left now?

 

I have ridden Cannonball at Lake Winnie many times and it is a great classic woodie that fits into that category, and I would hate to see it go.

The Cannonball is a GREAT ride! Starliner was not. I've ridden both. They do not ride similar at all. One of them was smooth, fast, fun with little pops of airtime here and there. The other was a rough, shaky, meandering, jolting transitions and no airtime to speak of at all.

[Gutterflower]

I think the loss of the GCI version is sadder than the loss of the original. It looked like the new ride would be similar to White Lightning which is a great little ride and perhaps the most pure fun I've had on a coaster in years..

 

GCII may have lost a sale but they do have the near clone of White Lightning at Plopsaland and apparently one at Holiday Park the following year as well as Viper plus all their retracking projects so they are still trundling along. They'll be fine.

[SteveStL]

What are the odds of the Park re-opening under new Management? Any chance??

[robbalvey]

What are the odds of the Park re-opening under new Management? Any chance??

Seeing that the first Miracle Strip closed, and then the second one, I'd have to say it's pretty clear the area doesn't seem to be able to support a park like this (which is sort of weird), so either the parks were just very poorly managed, or Panama City, which is quite a popular vacation destination for locals, simply just don't want a park like this.

 

I'd say the odds are not good.

[Meteornotes]

The original Starliner would be way down near the bottom if I ranked coasters. There was nothing memorable about it.

 

Like Robb, I just don't see this place getting resurrected, especially since it's failed twice.

 

dt

[Brad Bishop]

I never understood what was so great about the original Starliner. I've ridden it at both the original Miracle Strip and at Cypress Gardens and I thought both versions were a mediocre coaster at best. I have zero sentimental attachment to the ride so I can only base my opinion on how the coaster rode, but quite frankly, I thought it sucked and had no real redeeming value whatsoever. It was your average, run-of-the-mill 1960s designed out and back woodie with no element that stood out. The ride was, for those who were not from the area, completely forgettable.

 

I'm not one bit sad about this project vanishing.

 

I grew up in PC and worked at Miracle Strip for 5 years in the 1980s. The Starliner was, at best, an "OK" coaster. More typically it was an unpleasant coaster that'd beat you up. When they first were talking on their FB page about bringing it back to PC I posted, "No. This is a bad idea. It's not a good coaster. It beats you up. Start fresh. Buy a good coaster."

 

Mostly it was about nostalgia.

[Brad Bishop]

The possible loss of Starliner is really sad in my opinion. Even if it was a "run of the mill" 1960s out and back woodie, how many of those are even left now?

 

I have ridden Cannonball at Lake Winnie many times and it is a great classic woodie that fits into that category, and I would hate to see it go.

 

The Cannonball at Lake Winnie is an awesome coaster. What's weird is that it's nearly the same as the Starliner but the Starliner kind of sucks in that it beats you up.

[Brad Bishop]

What are the odds of the Park re-opening under new Management? Any chance??

Seeing that the first Miracle Strip closed, and then the second one, I'd have to say it's pretty clear the area doesn't seem to be able to support a park like this (which is sort of weird), so either the parks were just very poorly managed, or Panama City, which is quite a popular vacation destination for locals, simply just don't want a park like this.

 

I'd say the odds are not good.

 

I'm not sure what happened. Before reading this thread I had heard that the Meeks had applied for the permit to build a giant ferris wheel (I think 200ft tall). Then, after they got that permit, they sold the land, permit, and park, to some investor.

 

The thing that struck me odd is that a 200ft tall wheel isn't all that giant. The location blocked, in part, by condominiums across the street, doesn't seem so great. Here's the kicker: There was a 200ft tall ferris wheel just down the beach in Pensacola which no one knew about, except locals, and no one went to. It didn't last a year and made it's way to downtown Atlanta.

 

From the lawsuit mentioned above, it looks like the Meeks bit off more than they could chew with the expanded park as they were over a year behind in rent.. Also, it seems kind of dumb to build an amusement park on rented land. A few rides at Pier Park, Ok. When you start building permanent structures your tied to whatever your landlord decides to charge because it won't be cheap to move.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Brad Bishop

[robbalvey]

^ Yup, this is exactly what happened to Bell's Amusement Park and we all saw how that went down.

[SFOG1991]

The possible loss of Starliner is really sad in my opinion. Even if it was a "run of the mill" 1960s out and back woodie, how many of those are even left now?

 

I have ridden Cannonball at Lake Winnie many times and it is a great classic woodie that fits into that category, and I would hate to see it go.

 

The Cannonball at Lake Winnie is an awesome coaster. What's weird is that it's nearly the same as the Starliner but the Starliner kind of sucks in that it beats you up.

Fair enough, I still hate to see it go though. I do agree Cannonball is a great classic woodie. It isn't too intense but the first drop packs a punch, and there are a few awesome airtime moments especially on the hop right after the first drop. Additionally it is just very smooth and well maintained. Too bad the same couldn't be said for Starliner.

[Jackdude101]

When rides for a park suddenly appear on an online auction, that's bad, right? Well, it looks like ALL of the rides for Miracle Strip are up for auction here: http://www.rides4u.com/rides/used/packages/15.

 

The highlight of the auction will most definitely be the Starliner PTC woodie, which has been stuck in storage for years now. Maybe TPR can pool some money together and enter the auction to buy it, then set up our own enthusiast-run amusement park where guests get discounts depending on how much amusement knowledge they have.

Here's its separate link:

http://www.rides4u.com/view/3084

 

Also, Miracle Strip's website is still up, so if you want to check it out, this is your last chance:

http://www.ms-pp.com/

[DirkFunk]

From the lawsuit mentioned above, it looks like the Meeks bit off more than they could chew with the expanded park as they were over a year behind in rent.. Also, it seems kind of dumb to build an amusement park on rented land. A few rides at Pier Park, Ok. When you start building permanent structures your tied to whatever your landlord decides to charge because it won't be cheap to move.

 

The whims of real estate developers and politicians have played a role in many a park's demise, whether on public/private land belonging to someone else or not. There's significant benefits as to why some do it; no one can afford the kind of real estate Centreville or Victorian Gardens sit on, for example. Also saves on infrastructure costs, which are the barrier that will probably forever keep something like Bell's from going back up after Jerry Murphy ran them off in an attempt to score himself paydays.