Is splashwater Falls being removed??

[w00dland]

It all depends what your standards are.

SFGAm is a great day park that the family goes to once a summer for a fun day.

Its nowhere near the league of IoA or Disney.

I think if SFGAm wants to stay at the top it really needs some of the things pointed out earlier. Dark ride being on top. And why couldn't our park get an amazingly themed ride with animatronics and all that jazz. I think if they spent more money on a ride like that then people would be much more pleasantly surprised than when they get a kiddie land.

[UWW-10]

SFGAm is a great day park that the family goes to once a summer for a fun day.

Exactly what the park/chain is trying to fix. They don't just want the family to spend one day out of the entire summer in the parks. They want this group of people to be impressed enough where they end up buying a MVP pass or a season pass to come back again and again. The more visits=more $$

It isn't possible if they kept adding coaster after coaster, or major thrill ride after thrill ride, which is why the company is suffering. There have been many days where I've overheard people in the park mentioning how well the turnaround process is going. The GP does in fact realize some of the progress being made, and how much better the park is now than it was when they last visited 5 years ago, which on that same visit probably vowed to never return again.

[Trailblazer Tony]

Any family with kids really doesn't have the income to go more than once with a 55 dollar admission. Season Pass holding families maybe, but not the norm. Once the price hit over 50 bucks, my family quit going, and that's a family who LOVES going to great america. We just love groceries better.

[rct2wizard360]

I really do not know many Season Pass holding families, and family meaning everyone in the household with one.

Most of their kids just have them.

I can see it from both sides, considering I have a younger brother.
There is enough for him to do at the park, but defiantley not enough to keep him there for day. (he's not exactly a coaster person)

But at the same time, I'm an enthusiast, and a new coaster would be nice, but you know, it can't be a family park, if the whole family dosen't wanna be there...

[SheiKra13]

My little sister is 53 inches tall so she really doesnt enjoy the park with only a couple of coasters to ride. when shes taller she'll be happier.

I know 2 season pass holding families and the main reason they go together is becasue of the coasters(their kids are older). The other main reason is the water park.

I think a family attraction would be better than a thrill seeking attraction at the current moment(even though i'd love a new coaster).

[Director_Guy]

I really do not know many Season Pass holding families, and family meaning everyone in the household with one.

My whole household has a pass.... I'm just sayin'....

[cycamps]

Demon is the perfect family coaster so it won't be leaving. However, Iron Wolf seems to be in the same category as Psyclone at Magic Mountain where most aren't fans (yes, i know some of you like it a lot, i'm just talkin majority) and it's not the experience they want Six Flags to give. And we all know what happened to Psyclone...

As for Splashwater Falls, it's not too popular and with Hurricane Harbor, not too necessary. We'll see what happens to it.

That probably says it best...

[SheiKra13]

(9/4/07) While they didn’t manage to get a photo of it, a reader reports that they spotted a group of employees walking around in the area near the top of Superman’s lift hill and pointing to the empty areas beyond it. I’m going to guess that they were looking towards the little empty spot full of small trees between Superman’s first drop and the big theater building, which could house a medium sized attraction of some sort.

(9/4/07) It seems the fate of Splashwater Falls may still be up in the air. While some are still insisting that the ride is troublesome and destined for removal, others now claim that it will stay and possibly even be fixed up a bit next season. This kind of makes me wonder if they may rename it Aquaman and add themeing as they did to the ride at Six Flags over Texas in 2007, which may explain why some still claim that Splashwater Falls wont exist next season.

Any thoughts

[rct2wizard360]

I could see them retheming it.
Trying to spice up things with Justice League, oh joy!

As for putting something between the theatre and SUF, from an overhead view, Condor would fit in that spot, with some extra room, so they could get a flat in there, but Hero's would need to be knocked out, as well as the On-Ride Photo Booth, AND they would need to re-route SUF's exit.

[rcoaster]

(9/4/07) While they didn’t manage to get a photo of it, a reader reports that they spotted a group of employees walking around in the area near the top of Superman’s lift hill and pointing to the empty areas beyond it. I’m going to guess that they were looking towards the little empty spot full of small trees between Superman’s first drop and the big theater building, which could house a medium sized attraction of some sort.

(9/4/07) It seems the fate of Splashwater Falls may still be up in the air. While some are still insisting that the ride is troublesome and destined for removal, others now claim that it will stay and possibly even be fixed up a bit next season. This kind of makes me wonder if they may rename it Aquaman and add themeing as they did to the ride at Six Flags over Texas in 2007, which may explain why some still claim that Splashwater Falls wont exist next season.

Any thoughts

** um... yeah... I was that reader that reported that.... I saw two people talking near the mid hill of the SUF, not the end, and they were pointing out the land and trees and everything, and they were talking about moving something. The people looked like the office guys from gam, but they could have been there for several other reasons. I didn't mention anything about a ride being there, but I know they use some storage space near that lift for things and there are these survery markings near the area so I thought it's something to point out...

[rct2wizard360]

How the hell did you hear them?

[rcoaster]

Near the drop off area, they were sorta yelling, and i dont know why.... each with a walkie talkie in hand. There were no loud noises, and my friend and I heard them talking about moving something. Superman wasn't testing or running when they were there, but as i said, it could be the ride supervisors inspecting or something. The editor from screamscape emails me a lot because i sent him a lot of pics before and he asked if i saw anything and I told him pretty much what I saw and heard.

[thecoasterguy]

I decided today to make a very random stop here to see if there was anything announced for next year. Interesting thread so far. An observation, if you will:

There is whining going on in this very thread about how the park hasn't gotten a new big roller coaster since 2003 and any roller coaster since 2004, and that the additions of things that are family are not so great and you are disappointed that Shapiro and company aren't catering directly to your every whim, and that you don't understand why.

In other threads and even this one, there are people complaining about food prices, drink prices, parking prices, ticket prices and pretty much everything else, and stating that it isn't cheap enough to go.

The conclusion that I would draw from this is that the thrill-seeking demographic, while somewhat large and definitely vocal, is not the group of people who is going to go to the park and spend money in the park. The group of people more likely to do that is a happy family group who comes to the park with their kids and ends up spending all day riding on the rides in Wiggles World, Hurricane Harbor, and roller coasters like the Whizzer.

Lets face it -- the last group of management took the idea of building a bigger and better roller coaster every year or every two years very seriously, especially at some of the other parks in the chain. They catered very strongly to the thrill-seekers, and figured that families could find something else to do. What happened? The parks became overrun by idiots, families were scared off, attendance plummeted, and the new guests didn't buy things like food in the park.

Now, please tell me again -- why would the new management want to try catering specifically to this group again? You guys complain about the price of soda all day long and talk about how you won't buy it, yet when it comes time to decide what new area to get, you complain that the company isn't going to throw tens of millions of dollars into new coasters which will only attract more people like you who aren't willing to spend in the park.

I'd suggest a few things -- if you want to see something again, instead of complaining about prices constantly, either figure out something to do (since most of you have season passes, why you wouldn't have one of the refillable things like I do is beyond me), or save your pennies for the parks which cater specifically to your demographic, like Cedar Point.

If we actually end up with anything next year or not, I know that I'll be happy to visit the park again and line up for some great roller coasters even if they are a few years old, and even if I am not going to be in the kiddy areas, I'll be glad that there will be people there enjoying them, because it will ultimately mean more fun things for me to do in the future.

[Director_Guy]

^Well said. I agree that getting a new coaster (if we get anything) is probably not the best idea right now. It'd be great... but not for the best. I would actually much rather have Six Flags get an amazing dark ride. If we had more of these, there would be a lot more people riding. Instead of seperating the thrill seekers, toddlers, and families, it would bring them together.

But, knowing that Six Flags is in the business, they know all of this already. So, let's hope they make the right decision... if any.

[Chitown]

I decided today to make a very random stop here to see if there was anything announced for next year. Interesting thread so far. An observation, if you will:

There is whining going on in this very thread about how the park hasn't gotten a new big roller coaster since 2003 and any roller coaster since 2004, and that the additions of things that are family are not so great and you are disappointed that Shapiro and company aren't catering directly to your every whim, and that you don't understand why.

In other threads and even this one, there are people complaining about food prices, drink prices, parking prices, ticket prices and pretty much everything else, and stating that it isn't cheap enough to go.

The conclusion that I would draw from this is that the thrill-seeking demographic, while somewhat large and definitely vocal, is not the group of people who is going to go to the park and spend money in the park. The group of people more likely to do that is a happy family group who comes to the park with their kids and ends up spending all day riding on the rides in Wiggles World, Hurricane Harbor, and roller coasters like the Whizzer.

Lets face it -- the last group of management took the idea of building a bigger and better roller coaster every year or every two years very seriously, especially at some of the other parks in the chain. They catered very strongly to the thrill-seekers, and figured that families could find something else to do. What happened? The parks became overrun by idiots, families were scared off, attendance plummeted, and the new guests didn't buy things like food in the park.

Now, please tell me again -- why would the new management want to try catering specifically to this group again? You guys complain about the price of soda all day long and talk about how you won't buy it, yet when it comes time to decide what new area to get, you complain that the company isn't going to throw tens of millions of dollars into new coasters which will only attract more people like you who aren't willing to spend in the park.

I'd suggest a few things -- if you want to see something again, instead of complaining about prices constantly, either figure out something to do (since most of you have season passes, why you wouldn't have one of the refillable things like I do is beyond me), or save your pennies for the parks which cater specifically to your demographic, like Cedar Point.

If we actually end up with anything next year or not, I know that I'll be happy to visit the park again and line up for some great roller coasters even if they are a few years old, and even if I am not going to be in the kiddy areas, I'll be glad that there will be people there enjoying them, because it will ultimately mean more fun things for me to do in the future.

Please visit this site more often and make posts like this. I am getting sick of explaining this concept to some people here. You go into more detail about it. Take care of my dirty work for me, thanks.

[Trailblazer Tony]

^

I would like to second Director Guy in the idea of getting a dark ride. It's a great way to connect both crowds alike. Another good ride for this is the Roller Soaker at Hersheypark! Rides like these would work out well for our park i think!

[T.K.]

"Instead of seperating the thrill seekers, toddlers, and families, it would bring them together".

Let me twist it a little....

"the thrill seekers, toddlers, and families, it would bring them together".
That sounds like 2008, and you guys will repeat that in ur minds soon.

[SheiKra13]

(9/5/07) Lots of crazy rumors going around about the future of the Déjà Vu and Splashwater Falls areas of the park. Many sources still claim that Splashwater is a dead duck… parts are extremely difficult to find for the boats (seems this is a Hopkins model and not the more common Intamin model found at many parks) and the structure isn’t in the best shape. The one weird rumor that keeps coming up claims that the site could be replaced by a new Ferris Wheel attraction, but somehow I just not sure I believe it, unless they’ve decided to ship in the former Big Easy wheel from New Orleans. Anyone know if the wheel is still on site down there? Of course SFNO also had their own shoot the chutes style ride, so they could try to replace the ride portion and reuse the existing splashdown pool. But I think I’ve hit upon another interesting idea that could use the site in 2009 below.

Rumor - (9/5/07) Two of our sources have confirmed the open spot between Superman and Theater Royal as the site for the new 2008 attraction along with a witness report spotting the markings in the area along the employee access and maintenance road.

And i also agree with director guy. A dark ride is a family ride and Six flags wants a family friendly image.

I would love a new coaster, but i'd rather wait for an outstanding, more expensive coaster, than a cheap, dull coaster.

[RagingBullFan]

Ok I'm sorry but I just can't keep my mouth shut on this one....

Screamscape is as dumb as a box of rocks.

Really.

Nice Fact Checking or Source checking they have going on.


Splashwater Falls is a OD Hopkins model.

It can, and did use Intamin parts.

We have plenty (Even a completely spare boat for large parts) of spare parts.

There's something that happens to the superstructure of the ride (steel) when its placed into water, especially chlorinated water. Its called rust. Add 20 years and you have a big problem.

That and if they were to "reuse" the pond, which they wouldn't, it leaks badly. Talking on the order of thousands of gallons overnight. Starting the 3.5" supply line at 6 AM gets it topped off at about 9AM to replace the water that has seeped into the ground.

Not to mention with such a old design, it was not maintenance friendly. The new single chain models are much much better.

[demon boy]

^Oooohhh, not the right thing to say. He's an admin dude.

And yeah, i'd agree. That sounds very logical. Its down for safety and most likely not going anywhere.

[RagingBullFan]

I'm not saying that SheiKra13 was wrong by any means to post that... Its just Screamscape is really grasping for straws, straws that are not there.

[BP317]

That and if they were to "reuse" the pond, which they wouldn't, it leaks badly. Talking on the order of thousands of gallons overnight. Starting the 3.5" supply line at 6 AM gets it topped off at about 9AM to replace the water that has seeped into the ground.

Not to mention with such a old design, it was not maintenance friendly

Anyone that may have gone on Great America Raceway while maintenence was working on SWF mightve had some pretty good entertainment..............ZAP "AHHHH ****!!!!!!!!!!!"

[RagingBullFan]

^^^ Not going to lie, that single event made my heart skip a beat.

At least we were able to laugh about it later.

That and realizing we're not electricians.

[Galvan]

I decided today to make a very random stop here to see if there was anything announced for next year. Interesting thread so far. An observation, if you will:

There is whining going on in this very thread about how the park hasn't gotten a new big roller coaster since 2003 and any roller coaster since 2004, and that the additions of things that are family are not so great and you are disappointed that Shapiro and company aren't catering directly to your every whim, and that you don't understand why.

In other threads and even this one, there are people complaining about food prices, drink prices, parking prices, ticket prices and pretty much everything else, and stating that it isn't cheap enough to go.

The conclusion that I would draw from this is that the thrill-seeking demographic, while somewhat large and definitely vocal, is not the group of people who is going to go to the park and spend money in the park. The group of people more likely to do that is a happy family group who comes to the park with their kids and ends up spending all day riding on the rides in Wiggles World, Hurricane Harbor, and roller coasters like the Whizzer.

Lets face it -- the last group of management took the idea of building a bigger and better roller coaster every year or every two years very seriously, especially at some of the other parks in the chain. They catered very strongly to the thrill-seekers, and figured that families could find something else to do. What happened? The parks became overrun by idiots, families were scared off, attendance plummeted, and the new guests didn't buy things like food in the park.

Now, please tell me again -- why would the new management want to try catering specifically to this group again? You guys complain about the price of soda all day long and talk about how you won't buy it, yet when it comes time to decide what new area to get, you complain that the company isn't going to throw tens of millions of dollars into new coasters which will only attract more people like you who aren't willing to spend in the park.

I'd suggest a few things -- if you want to see something again, instead of complaining about prices constantly, either figure out something to do (since most of you have season passes, why you wouldn't have one of the refillable things like I do is beyond me), or save your pennies for the parks which cater specifically to your demographic, like Cedar Point.

If we actually end up with anything next year or not, I know that I'll be happy to visit the park again and line up for some great roller coasters even if they are a few years old, and even if I am not going to be in the kiddy areas, I'll be glad that there will be people there enjoying them, because it will ultimately mean more fun things for me to do in the future.

I couldn't have said it any better myself, and believe me I have tried.

Excellent Post, Please post here more often!

Can we please please please STOP with the Screamscape rumors

[sfgam1992]

2009/2010 - B&M Dive Machine - Rumor - (9/5/07) I’ve been hearing more and more whispers throughout the summer claiming that after getting a feel for the parks for two summers now, the new Six Flags management has come to realize that no matter how hard they try to change the image of Six Flags, the one thing Six Flags is known for is the rides. While the new Wiggles area was well received by families, one of the biggest complaints has been people wanting a new big coaster to ride. The newest coaster was Superman: Ultimate Flight that opened back in 2003 and the natives are not only getting restless, but they’re looking for greener pastures.
If my spy network is hearing things right, it seems Six Flags Great America is in line to receive Six Flags’ first B&M Dive Machine as early as 2009. It’s a bit early to know for sure what elements it will use, but it’s got me thinking that if Splashwater Falls were ever to be removed, the remains of the pool could be used for a splashdown pool for the Dive Machine as seen on SheiKra and Griffon. Another rumored possibility is a claim that the coaster may dive through an underground tunnel traveling under one of the park’s main pathways. This certainly sounds like a possible method to connect the Déjà Vu site with the Splashwater Falls site as well. With the 2007 season still going strong however, it’s far too early to lock down much of anything about this possible project just yet, and I’m sure the performance of the park in the first half of 2008 will also affect the final choice of location and timeline so just be patient. Good things may come to those who wait.

Wow! I doubt that.