2008 coasters - been there, done that

2008 sure seems like a weird year. It's like parks don't think they
compete with another park, even 10 miles away. Hell, they don't even
think they compete with themselves. Here's a list of fairly
boneheaded moves:

SFFT putting in a Batman about 10 miles away from Seaworld

SFOT putting in Tony Hawk 3 hours away from SFFT

Hersheypark putting in a multi-inversion Intamin with a gimmick start
100 yards away from Storm Runner

SFGAdv putting in an indoor coaster 100 yards away from Skull
Mountain. The description mentions themeing in the queue, but it
still seems questionable if the ride itself is themed.

SFNE putting in a wild mouse a few hundred yards away from Pandemonium

And it's not like these are cheap little rides they're plopping down.
We're talking $5 Million or more for rides that add very little to the
overall park visit experience.

Even SFStL adding Evel Knevel is sorta strange. Adding a third woodie
that is not the largest of the three, and in fact is shorter than the
one that's been at the park for 30 years, is pretty odd.

And then of course there is the State Fair of Texas who added a skyway
with totally enclosed cards so you can bake yourself in the Texas heat
while paying lots of money to get a few hundred yards down the midway.

Parks abroad are putting in tons of unusual rides, but the US is still
waiting for a motorbike coaster. And it seems we are only allowed to
have one design of most coaster manufacturers. The Tony Hawk at SFOT
will be the umpteenth version of that design in the US.

For all the cash being spent next year, it sure didn't buy much
creativity.

-R

On Sep 28, 9:54 am, Rastus O'Ginga <rast...@kingwoodcable.net> wrote:
> 2008 sure seems like a weird year. It's like parks don't think they
> compete with another park, even 10 miles away. Hell, they don't even
> think they compete with themselves. Here's a list of fairly
> boneheaded moves:
>
> SFFT putting in a Batman about 10 miles away from Seaworld
>
> SFOT putting in Tony Hawk 3 hours away from SFFT
>
> Hersheypark putting in a multi-inversion Intamin with a gimmick start
> 100 yards away from Storm Runner
>
> SFGAdv putting in an indoor coaster 100 yards away from Skull
> Mountain. The description mentions themeing in the queue, but it
> still seems questionable if the ride itself is themed.
>
> SFNE putting in a wild mouse a few hundred yards away from Pandemonium
>
> And it's not like these are cheap little rides they're plopping down.
> We're talking $5 Million or more for rides that add very little to the
> overall park visit experience.
>
> Even SFStL adding Evel Knevel is sorta strange. Adding a third woodie
> that is not the largest of the three, and in fact is shorter than the
> one that's been at the park for 30 years, is pretty odd.
>
> And then of course there is the State Fair of Texas who added a skyway
> with totally enclosed cards so you can bake yourself in the Texas heat
> while paying lots of money to get a few hundred yards down the midway.
>
> Parks abroad are putting in tons of unusual rides, but the US is still
> waiting for a motorbike coaster. And it seems we are only allowed to
> have one design of most coaster manufacturers. The Tony Hawk at SFOT
> will be the umpteenth version of that design in the US.
>
> For all the cash being spent next year, it sure didn't buy much
> creativity.
>
> -R

All the coasters Six Flags are adding are tested and true designs that
have proven to be fairly reliable. Meanwhile, Intamin is still Intamin
and so its no surprise that people aren't rushing to build more.

Another item you fail to realize: Parks overseas are buying things
with the Euro from companies that deal in Euros. Parks in America are
buying things with the dollar from companies that prototypically deal
in Euros. A ride that cost $4 million dollars in 2002 now costs almost
$6 million without the price changing overseas.

> The GP really doesn't pay nearly as much attention to these things as we
> do.
>

That may be true, but the media knows it's the same ride. They don't
hype it, and destination travelers don't read about it in the
papers. Were there articles about X-flight when it was moved to
GL? Maybe the local papers, but not national.

The only time my co-workers talk to me about coasters is when a record
breaker appears. They'll ask, "Have you ridden that thing that's real
tall?" And I'm like, "Yes, that's Kinga Ka in NJ." Somehow they
hear about it because it's in a national paper or on TV.

Yet you don't see as much coverage when a ride is moved, or when the
ride is not a record breaker. Take Maverick for example, did CP
have 3 hour waits for it like MF? No. What does that tell you?
The destination travelers didn't visit CP, their attendance is down,
and that' proves the destination traveler matters. When CP had 3
hour waits for MF, it wasn't because the locals came out, it was
because destination travelers from all over the country flew there to
ride it, like me. I didn't fly up to ride Maverick.

So the point is, the parks can move rides and hype them to the locals,
but it won't bring destination travelers. They may be a tiny bump in
attendance from the locals, but not what they're looking for in terms
of the national coverage.

On Oct 4, 9:11 am, nogodforme <nogodfor...@> wrote:
> Take Maverick for example, did CP
> have 3 hour waits for it like MF? No. What does that tell you?

That it can move more people than 500/hour.

- Ted

>
> And where else were they going to put a used Batman clone?


Again, my backyard. Put it next to the Wildclatter.