Six Flags Qiddiya (Saudi Arabia) Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

 

Six Flags Qiddiya Unveils Park Design

https://content.sixflags.com/qiddiya/

 

RIYADH, 26 August, 2019: Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC) today unveiled the design for Six Flags Qiddiya, one of the key entertainment facilities in a new city that is being built just outside Riyadh, and is destined to become the Kingdom’s capital of entertainment, sports and the arts.

 

“Our vision is to make Six Flags Qiddiya a theme park that delivers all the thrills and excitement that audiences from all over the world have come to expect from the Six Flags brand, and to elevate those experiences with authentic themes connected to the location. As a place that will create indelible memories and moments of delight, telling stories that resonate with our guests is a central notion that will be evident throughout Qiddiya,” said Michael Reininger, Chief Executive Officer of QIC.

 

Six Flags Qiddiya will be one of the key entertainment features in Qiddiya’s first phase when it opens in 2023. The rides and attractions found in each land have been designed exclusively for Qiddiya and include many that will set world records.

 

“The Six Flags brand began in 1961 when we opened as our first park, Six Flags Over Texas, which was themed according to the six flags that once flew over Texas. At Six Flags Qiddiya, we return to that heritage by creating six immersive lands designed for Saudis of all ages who seek family entertainment experiences steeped in their rich culture and history. We are thrilled to be part of a project of such scale and scope and are proud to celebrate this milestone with Qiddiya,” said David McKillips, President of Six Flags International Development Company.

 

Six Flags Qiddiya will cover 32 hectares (79 acres) and feature 28 rides and attractions across the six lands: The City of Thrills, Discovery Springs, Steam Town, Twilight Gardens, Valley of Fortune and Grand Exposition.

 

The Citadel is the central hub of the park. It is covered by a billowing canopy form inspired by traditional Bedouin tents. It holds a variety of shops and cafes and transforms into an interactive show space throughout the day. From here guests can pass through gateways to enter each of the themed lands.

 

The City of Thrills is the embodiment of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030: a forward-looking, boundary-pushing, future city anchored in Arabic design motifs. Here visitors will find Six Flags Qiddiya’s most recognizable and anticipated thrill rides. The Falcon’s Flight, inspired by the Kingdom’s iconic raptor, will be the longest, tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, while the Sirocco Tower will break more records with the world’s tallest drop-tower ride.

 

Discovery Springs reflects Qiddiya’s unique and timeless relationship between the desert and the sea as its collection of rides and experiences play with elements of earth and water. It is an aquatic wonderland of waterfalls, aqueducts and geysers, as well as exotic plants and trees. This oasis offers visitors relief from the summer heat by creating the feel of a dense rainforest in the middle of the desert. Visitors to Discovery Springs will discover a first-of-its-kind interactive ride called the Sea Stallion, where riders are propelled over rivers, behind waterfalls and through trees along a custom-designed course, as they control the speed and acceleration of their horse.

 

Steam Town is where the past and future collide in a rugged frontier town that is powered by steam and echoes with screams. Themed around mechanical marvels and a collection of dynamic contraptions, the land’s signature ride is the Iron Rattler Mine Train. On this ride the best elements of a roller coaster are linked with a dark ride to create a hydraulic lift which releases passengers into a freefall plunge through a narrow, steam-filled mineshaft. Other key features of Steam Town include the Sawmill Falls Water Coaster which combines a roller coaster track with a splashing boat ride, a spinning mechanical ride called the Bull Rider and a custom-themed climbing structure called the Treehouse Trek.

 

Twilight Gardens is an oversized landscape of the imagination filled with colorful flowers and friendly creatures, all specially designed for younger visitors and their families. This enchanted land’s key features include the Twilight Express Coaster, which takes passengers through a majestic garden, the Critter Chase, an interactive dark ride set in a 3D environment, and the Kaleidoscope hot air balloon ride.

 

Valley of Fortune is an exciting land of adventure that takes place amidst time-worn architectural ruins of old Arabian masonry, enlivened by the activity and trade of fortune seekers from around the world. This land’s signature attraction is Spitfire, a triple-launch coaster, which will take guests into a sky roll before an acrobatic stall and a breathtaking dive back to the valley floor. Other features of Valley of Fortune include Skywatch, a hydraulic boom ride where riders are lifted into the sky, the auto-themed Treasure Trail and the Aeromax, a family plane ride that swings and rotates freely over the park.

 

Grand Exposition is a celebration of innovation combining the nostalgia of traditional carnival midways with the greatest feats of science and technology such as the Gyrospin Pendulum, which swings riders to record heights. It is also home to Six Flags’ classic and most loved coaster Colossus, a gravity-driven wood-steel hybrid roller coaster that stretches over an 800-metre track. The land also features the Arabian Carousel, where Arabian horses march in a circular parade, the Expo Flyer swinging ride and Automania, with bumper car attractions themed as London cabs.

 

With an incredible mix of rides and attractions throughout six unique lands, Six Flags Qiddiya is set to become the theme park that breaks all records for family fun and entertainment in the Kingdom.

[jlp94]

Holy sh*t! I did NOT expect this to happen, but WOW that looks great!

 

Edit: is it Intamin? It looks like Intamin track style

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

Oh...my...god! Is this a 12-year-old enthusiast's pipe dream RCT3 park or is this real life? If this works out as described I believe this can hands down be the best Six Flags park. I can't even believe it's going to be a Six Flags park!

 

I don't know how the economics of theme parks works but this is definitely not all on a Six Flags budget! I think the key here is the mention of the Qiddiya Investment Company's role. To me, this is like a theme park designer was approached and told, "Design a new theme park that can be built in the next year or two and gathers significant interest. You have unlimited money."

 

Seriously. Maybe I'm just star struck because I have a thing for tall and fast coasters (I was obsessed with Kingda Ka before I ever got to ride it ) and this is claiming tallest, longest, and fastest coaster. Even if it weren't for the stats, the layout looks super fun! I might have missed something, but what is the height and length?

 

I definitely might have to put this park on my Bucket List for go-to places in the next few years.

[JJLehto]

WOW.

That is one helluva announcement!

[robbalvey]

Edit: is it Intamin? It looks like Intamin track style

The only information or stats we've seen so far is the speed.

[PKI Jizzman]

Unbelievable! It'll be so interesting to see it come to life. What a massive, massive, massive coaster.

[Canobie Coaster]

If this comes to fruition, Falcon's Flight looks like one of the best coasters in the world. That speed combined with the mountain interaction and all those airtime hills looks special.

[JJLehto]

I mean...I assumed the speed record from now on (if anyone broke it) was gunna be in the vein of Formula Rossa. Long and drawn out but fastest longest AND tallest? So this seems to be some kind of TTD/KK start that has actual ride after it.

 

..........

I actually am at a loss for words

Never did I imagine I'd want to go to Saudi Arabia in the future but wow

[Dombot]

I'm sorry, but I just can't take this announcement seriously until actual construction begins to happen. There have been a handful of parks that US companies announced for the Middle East, but almost all of those parks have been metaphorically thrown away- Six Flags Dubai, Shamu Island, and Universal Dubai, to name a few. Don't get me wrong, this looks stupid cool, and if it gets built it'll be an enthusiast's wet dream come true. But for now, I'm skeptical.

[SharkTums]

A lot of "if's", but like others have said, if the Meadowlands project could come to completion, so could this!

[RaceBoarder]

How do the economics of Middle Eastern parks work out so they can stay in business?

 

I get that there is money, but that wealth seems to be spread among very few people. Do existing parks draw a reasonable amount of patrons or are these parks just put there to show the rest of the world that the Middle East is "cool" like the rest of the world? (in the same vein as China's expansion over the past 30 years).

[coasterbill]

Oh...my...god! Is this a 12-year-old enthusiast's pipe dream RCT3 park or is this real life? If this works out as described I believe this can hands down be the best Six Flags park. I can't even believe it's going to be a Six Flags park!

 

I don't know how the economics of theme parks works but this is definitely not all on a Six Flags budget! I think the key here is the mention of the Qiddiya Investment Company's role. To me, this is like a theme park designer was approached and told, "Design a new theme park that can be built in the next year or two and gathers significant interest. You have unlimited money."

 

Yeah, I'm interested to see how much involvement Six Flags actually has. The verbiage makes it sound like they'll be involved but I wouldn't be that shocked if it turns out to be all but a straight licensing deal.

 

I'm also very skeptical of this park ever opening.

Edited August 26, 2019 by coasterbill

[mary.pesik]

I wonder what DC characters Six Flags can use after seeing Grid in Cyborg Hyper Drive. I really really want them to use Black Vulcan assuming they own the rights to the Super Friends characters. But then again he's like a C-lister. However Six Flags did use Cyborg even though he's still a B-lister in the eyes of the public...

[robbalvey]

FYI - I apologize to anyone who commented earlier and your post was deleted, but we have said ad nauseam to please PLEASE not make "announcement posts" for a major announcement until the admins have had a chance to do so. All it does is cause the admins to have to do MORE WORK and it doesn't make the person who makes the announcement post look any "cooler" in our eyes, in fact, they were banned this morning.

 

So please... PLEASE... I beg of you... WAIT for us to make announcement posts.

 

Thank you.

[Wazzupnerds]

Heres my thoughts about this new park.

 

P I P E D R E A M

 

75% of these announced parks never happen. If it does, it will be a scaled down version.

[AmyUD06]

A lot of "if's", but like others have said, if the Meadowlands project could come to completion, so could this!

 

American Dream hasn't opened yet...the jury's still out as to when/if it will ever open, and then how long before it closes down.

 

But yeah, on topic this seems awesome (though not enough to get me to travel to and spend tourism dollars in a country that criminalizes LGBT-ism to the point of execution) if it ever happens. That rendering was so unrealistic (seriously no banking on 99% of turns) it makes me think someone hacked the Six Flags website to post the entire announcement.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Mike240SX

[Wazzupnerds]

A lot of "if's", but like others have said, if the Meadowlands project could come to completion, so could this!

 

American Dream hasn't opened yet...the jury's still out as to when/if it will ever open, and then how long before it closes down.

 

 

 

American Dream at least has a building and rides built.

[Dombot]

That rendering was so unrealistic (seriously no banking on 99% of turns) it makes me think someone hacked the Six Flags website to post the entire announcement.

I was laughing so hard at that Falcon's Flight animation. Imagine hitting 200 mph only to hit an unbanked turn directly after.

[Sluggo77]

That looks sick. Sounds very impressive if they do get it built.

[RaceBoarder]

That rendering was so unrealistic (seriously no banking on 99% of turns) it makes me think someone hacked the Six Flags website to post the entire announcement.

I was laughing so hard at that Falcon's Flight animation. Imagine hitting 200 mph only to hit an unbanked turn directly after.

Um, it's not 200mph.... You do know the difference between Kilometers per hour and Miles per hour right?

 

Or have we not gotten to that class in high school yet?

[Visionist]

Assuming this gets built, when would be the best time to visit it? When do Saudis stay home and avoid places like this? I want the park to myself.

[Hoppy]

This is insane. Very interested in the future of the park... I'll never make it to Saudi Arabia, so I'll have to live vicariously through Robb and others here.

[coasterbill]

I know enthusiasts love their "How will crowds be on xxxx date?" posts but I never thought I'd see one for a park that wasn't even fully conceptualized yet that probably won't open for half a decade (minimum).

Edited August 26, 2019 by coasterbill

[tndank]

Will Flash Pass+ be necessary?

[DarienPoint]

That looks absolutely crazy. Whoever lives there is probably ecstatic.