Theme Park Three Mistakes

[Coaster Hero]

SFGadv

 

1. Receiving Green Lantern instead of theoretically receiving a wingrider a few years later(rumor has it that SFGam was supposed to get it, and they got X-Flight. Which would you rather have?)

 

2. Disconnecting Plaza Del Carnival from the Golden Kingdom

 

3. Slowing El Toro's cable lift (I know, I know, structural tension and all that. Still though, the drop went from insane ejector to less insane ejector)

Id take Green lantern over x flight. Instead of that Ill say not getting approval from the state for operating Kingda Ka and killimajaro at the same time.

 

Well the whole Zumanjaro thing really isn't the parks fault so I didn't include that. I'd put that over the El Toro slowdown thing for sure. To be honest, I was running out of ideas

[DarienLaker]

Busch Gardens

 

Williamsburg:

 

* Not letting B&M build Drachen Fire

* Melting down Drachen Fire for parts to build Griffon

* Removing Big Bad Wolf for Verbolten

 

Tampa:

 

* Letting one side of Gwazi rot

* I can't really think of two more "mistakes" for BGT!

[VF15]

Valleyfair

 

1) Nine years going on ten with no new roller coasters.

2) Too many trim brakes on the existing coasters.

3) Xtreme Swing is the only awesome flat ride in the park.

[dippindotsguy8]

Valleyfair:

-Removing the flume instead of the Imax in 2009 for the wave pool

-Neglecting the thrill-seekers since 2007 (Debatable)

-Modifying lots of formerly good rides (Trimming Highroller to death, giving up on the canopy and backwards operation on supercat, seat divider and individual belts on Highroller, trimming Mad Mouse to death starting in 2015, not fixing Ripcord's winch so that it goes all the way up again, moving Autos from its original tree-covered location, switching Tilt-a-whirl to automatic and removing the operator's ability to control the speed, Eliminating some of the waterfalls on Thunder Canyon, etc.)

 

Of course during these times they've also made what I find to be very good decisions.

 

-Modernizing and expanding the kids area (Planet Snoopy, 2011)

-Revitalizing the former Challenge Park area, making it feel less like a parking lot and more like a park (Route 76, 2014)

-Bringing the waterpark up to date over time (Breaker's Bay, 2009/H2OMG and Barefoot Beach, 2015)

-Improving season pass benefits and options, as well as for general ticket holders (all day/all season dining plans, passholder early entry, season pass discounts, etc)

 

Hopefully over time they will be able to improve the elements that have been neglected in the past few years, emerging as a much more well-rounded park. They're going to need a solid new coaster eventually but only time will tell when that is, and if they waited too long or not. I also really think the flume has to come back. It's a staple that guests will always expect to find in a moderate-sized park.

[Band-Aid]

Dorney Park

 

1. Getting rid of Laser

2. Putting that Vekoma abomination in Laser's place

3. Removing Skyscraper, although Possessed is good in its place because its not an upcharge attraction and is a pretty boss coaster, I just wish it was possible to move Skyscraper to another part of the park.

[fraroc]

Dorney:

 

 

1): Getting Rid of Lazer: I know they've been wanting to sell it for a while, but I honestly don't get what they were thinking. Now America is down another awesome Schwarzkopf. I know Lazer is still operating in Germany, but still....

 

2): Getting Rid of that little kids alcove when Lazer went: It was a cute little kid's area, it didn't really need to go.

 

3): Getting a dysfunctional Vekoma hang and bang in it's place: Stinger is an okay ride that replaced a great ride, but good luck having it open when you take your trip...

[DorneyKid14]

Cedar Point:

 

1) Mean Streak being thought of as a good idea

2) Mean streak being built

3) Mean Streak still open.

 

[DarienLaker]

Darien Lake (I know I've mention it twice already)

 

. Having Dinn build the Predator

. Having a lackluster coaster line up

. When Rolling Thunder was announced by the media outlets refereed to it as a coaster, but Super Loops aren't coaster!

[coasterkid124]

^ I wouldn't exactly call their coaster lineup lackluster, it's just that they don't have too many coasters and a couple are clones. RoS, Viper, Predator, and Motocoaster are still good IMO.

 

Plus, Darien had no choice over wooden coaster manufacturers. The guests wanted a wooden one after Viper, and Dinn was the only wood coaster manufacturer at the time. This was a period when wooden coasters were dying, and steel ones were going up everywhere.

[Awesomefaceninja7]

Some parks not warning people if a ride will be removed.

Just, plain, unoriginal ideas.

Parks that have rides open really late into the day and closing like two hours later.

[I love pie]

BGW:

1. Removing big bad wolf

2. Removing Big Bad Wolf

3. REMOVING BIG BAD WOLF

[SixFlagsAstroworld]

This looks interesting.

 

SFSTL:

1. Not adding a hyper

2. Keeping Ninja

3. Mixing up the theming.

[SFOG1991]

^The theming at Six Flags St. Louis really puts me off. I know most GP don't care, but I'm sure it resonates with them to some extent (even if it is subconscious). Six Flags Over Georgia has done a decent job preserving the themed areas, but unfortunately they are losing a lot of it as well.

[Henry M]

Chessington:

Making Dragon Falls 1m20cm for no reason

Massing up Tomb Blaster this year

Messing up Bubblewoks next year.

[TheoB]

Chessington:

Making Dragon Falls 1m20cm for no reason

Massing up Tomb Blaster this year

Messing up Bubblewoks next year.

 

Because they definitely increased the height restriction for no reason... Mack (or whoever made it pretty sure its Mack?) made them change it. not much they could do honestly.

 

Thorpe Park:

Building Slammer

(Not) Operating Slammer

Fixing Slammer (ish) and moving the problem over to Samurai.

[Jason Maier]

Well . . . here I go for my homepark; Six Flags America

 

1. Removing Two Face: The Flip Side

2. Keeping the "famous" Hall Manor hidden behind a mess of trees

3. Not giving Roar the RMC treatment

[djackson]

Well . . . here I go for my homepark; Six Flags America

 

1. Removing Two Face: The Flip Side

2. Keeping the "famous" Hall Manor hidden behind a mess of trees

3. Not giving Roar the RMC treatment

 

Dangit, you beat me to it.

My three strikes for SFA are:

1. Not making the layout for Superman unique

2. Not having a dark ride

3. Removing shipwreck falls

[Nrthwnd]

My three for Playland (PNE) are really...

 

1) Not getting rid of Cork Screw when they should have, years ago.

 

2) Not even one attempt at building a new dark ride in the park.

 

#) Not changing the theming and atmosphere and landscaping of it,

leaving it to look like "any old carnival midway," ready to pull up stakes

at a moment's notice. For a very very long time now.*

 

*This could be changing very soon, but still.

Way too long in the hopefully, eventually, renovation of it all.

[viking86]

Tusenfryd:

 

#1 - Selling the park to Parques Reuindos in 2007. It was never the same after Linda Bernander Silseth left as CEO.

#2 - Completely forgetting that good park operations plays a major role when it comes to guests having a good day at the park.

#3 - Thor's Hammer, dark ride that was added in 2013. While it's not a bad ride, it was marketed as one of the biggest investments in the park history, and it does not live up to those expectations.

[Schrecken]

SFA:

 

#1 - going 15+ years without getting a new coaster (and a sub-set of that mistake would be NEVER EVER getting a unique coaster; in other words, one that is not a clone or close facsimile of another somewhere else. Wild One is the park's only truly unique coaster and it's close to 100 years old.)

#2 - Bringing that piece of scrap iron formerly known as Iron Wolf to the park (and to expand on that, the only coasters they've installed in the last 15 years were some other park's hand-me-downs).

#3 Removing Skull Mountain. OK, I get that it had maintenance issues, but as far as uniqueness goes, it was a truly a one of a kind ride.

[bill_s]

^^-- also the last new coaster they got was Batwing, which while a clone was also gimmicky which gave it strong but very temporary appeal. Imagine if instead they got a very well rounded coaster with high throughput such as a B&M floorless or some of the stuff Vekoma is pitching now. They'd probably be big enough to be getting a another new coaster by now.

 

That's not three mistakes, and the following are not theme parks, but I know of 3 coaster manufacturers third mistakes, the one they showed they didn't learn from the first 2:

1. Vekoma building more than 2 SLCs without fixing their inherent problems (oscillatory behavior).

2. B&M building more than 2 standups before realizing that Togo did it far better.

3. B&M building more than 2 flying coasters and still not realizing they suck.

[larrygator]

That's not three mistakes, and the following are not theme parks, but I know of 3 coaster manufacturers third mistakes, the one they showed they didn't learn from the first 2:

1. Vekoma building more than 2 SLCs without fixing their inherent problems (oscillatory behavior).

2. B&M building more than 2 standups before realizing that Togo did it far better.

3. B&M building more than 2 flying coasters and still not realizing they suck.

 

Manufacturers build what the parks ask for:

The mistake with the SLCs lies with the parks that kept buying them

As far as B&M not being able to build quality stand-ups and Flying Coasters: Parks should demand coasters like Georgia Scorcher, Riddler's Revenge, Tatsu, Starry Sky Ripper, Manta

[Jason Maier]

Here's some more for SFGAdv:

 

1. Not giving Rolling Thunder the RMC treatment (and well . . . I know the path to Zumanjaro is where RT used to run. But in hindsight, I think the path to Z could have branched off from Kinga Ka's path at some point)

2. Sealing off the Old Country area (I was able to get a minor glimpse at it while riding Batman: The Ride. I guess they could have a couple of flat rides/games there . . . or even space for a Bommerang type coaster)

3. Keeping Bizzarro closed in colder weather . . . .

[coasterbill]

3. Keeping Bizzarro closed in colder weather . . . .

 

They don't. This isn't a thing. Bizarro never closes due to low temperatures. Bizarro closes after Fright Fest because it's in the very back of the park and they need to reduce staffing and expenses to keep Holiday in the Park viable. Why the hell would they open, decorate and staff the entire "Golden Kingdom" midway by the tents, an entire kiddy area when crowds don't justify it, the entire path along the log flume when that and Safari can't even operate and the long path behind that back to Bizarro which nobody would ride because it's not popular enough to justify any of this and completely isolated from the rest of the park? That's why Bizarro is closed. It has nothing to do with low temperatures. I've ridden it in the sleet during Fright Fest.

[larrygator]

^^Also Rolling Thunder did not need RMC treatment. It ran very well (albeit with still horrible operations) after they re-tracked it. Then they shut it down at the end of the season after re-tracking. I don't understand why they re-tracked it right before shutting it down, seems like a waste of funds.

 

My biggest gripe with Six Flags is the number of areas where attractions shut down that remain undeveloped, not just The Old Country