Jcoaster95 wrote:Whizzer is NOT leaving anytime soon.....
Remember, when you talk about the life of coasters, we really have NO idea.... at all. Wood coasters have been around for a little more than 100 years.... and steel for a little more than 50. Out of those, MANY are still operating after 50-100 years. Great America is not that old.... many parks in the area even, have been around much longer. We still have woodies from the early 1900's.... and the first real steel coaster is still operating. So is the first successful inversion, first clothoid loop, first inverted coaster...... and all are in good condition.
I don't think anyone is questioning the life of coasters, its pretty obvious wood or steel they are pretty durable if manufactured correctly. It all comes down to ridership and how much it costs for yearly upkeep as long as there aren't serious mechanical and design issues.
The track and structure of a well designed steel coaster can last forever with good upkeep. The rolling stock on the other hand usually has a much shorter lifespan. For instance the design life of a Vekoma SLC train is only 10 years. After 10 years they are subject to extremely huge amounts of annual NDT testing, and in some cases for certain parts destructive testing (or part replacement)......
For SLC's? The newer train designs have a much longer designed lifespan. The newest design actually only has like 3 welds on the entire seat hanger assembly using a large diameter bent pipe rather than that weld heavy mess shown in the bulletin. Axle design is much simpler also. The current Vekoma is working as hard as they can to fix the previous company's F-ups. The newest trains will also come standard with the free-fly seats (flyer vest). Not sure what parks are investing in them other than Kentucky Kingdom. A few years ago Moreys was going to get the new trains, but then opted to retrofit the new seat hangers/seats on the original chassis. Still ended up with a good product, with that setup it's still pretty rough, but with no OTSR's to beat the crap out of you, at least it doesn't hurt and provides for some awesome views.
As for Buccaneer Battle I forsee it being there for a very long time. It was a major investment and it really can't be moved as 90% of the ride is the concrete pool. I personally think it's more popular than it looks due to it's high capacity, though it would have been a far better fit in the waterpark. Also I think if they got rid of the free guns on the midway, a lot more people would ride. I'm sure many people figure why ride the ride when you can just stand on the midway and get soaked.
Also, I like to keep up on what's happening in the industry as I'm fascinated by the technical aspects of rides, moreso then riding most rides, perhaps one day I will work in a maintenance department at some park somewhere.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
well in the case of the world ending next year, I see our park as a pile of dust and Scrap metal. with only STT standing tall as a grave marker.... some times I over think I have an Over active Imagination.
BLADE wrote:Also everybody, how long does Buccaneer Battle last?
Bucky Battle lasts as long as theres hot days in Gurnee. Look at Loggers and Clipper after 35 years. There in terrible shape but still run on hot days.
-Cole
Top 5: 1) El Toro. 2) Maverick. 3) Millenium Force. 4) Diamondback. 5) X2. Coaster Count: 167 (41 Wood, 125 Steel) @Coaster_Cole on Twitter
^ Difference is Logger's Run, Yankee Clipper, and Roaring Rapids have lines on hot days. Buccaneer Battle, a hot day just means having 20 people on the ride instead of 2. People always say Battle's lack of any lines is because of its capacity, but it really isn't that much higher than the other water rides now that they only run 7 or 8 boats. I don't think Battle will be leaving in the near future given that it really can't be moved to another park or reused, but you will not see Buccaneer Battle here 35 years from now, or really probably even 15 years from now.
Boy, threads like this bring all the "experts" out. "Whizzer's is cheap to maintain," no, "Whizzer's is hard to maintain" "Demon is staying" no, "Demon is going" etc etc etc.
The fact of the matter is, none of us know what the future holds for the park- it all depends on who is running Six Flags at the time.
If anything, the current management, including the new CEO, who, as I understand it, is a longtime resident of the area and works out of the Great America office, seems to be friendly to the park's history, and I don't see them removing Whizzer and Demon anytime soon. Both are still popular, are long since paid for, and the only cost is regular maintainence and repairs as needed. They are both coasters that younger kids and appeal to families, which is what Six Flags is targeting. They both seem to be in very good shape, too, and unlike Iron Wolf, which is almost unrideable, offer great rides still (those of you who complain about Demon being rough haven't learned to hold your head forward on the corkscrews- I haven't banged my head in a long time). There are a ton of Arrow loopers still out there running, so I really don't understand that logic that there is no support for Demon. If anything, they might get new trains for Demon, but if they wanted to remove Demon, they probably would've done it already, to combine the areas with the old SWF and GAR areas for a big new ride next year.
If I had to guess, my guess is that in the next few years they might make Hurricane Harbor a seperate gate (hope not, though), and relocate Buccaneer Battle to the waterpark (where it should've been in the first place), or move it to another SF park in a warmer climate.
tillenterprises wrote:relocate Buccaneer Battle to the waterpark (where it should've been in the first place), or move it to another SF park in a warmer climate.
Why do people keep saying this? You can not simply move a ride like Buccaneer Battle. You can not move a concrete pool. All they could reuse would be the boats, the steel track, and a few pieces of theming.
tillenterprises wrote:relocate Buccaneer Battle to the waterpark (where it should've been in the first place), or move it to another SF park in a warmer climate.
Why do people keep saying this? You can not simply move a ride like Buccaneer Battle. You can not move a concrete pool. All they could reuse would be the boats, the steel track, and a few pieces of theming.
Ummm... you make another pool and rebuild it elsewhere? Are you seriously saying that Buccaneer Battle can never be moved or relocated because it has a body of water?
The pool, station and non-mobile themeing is probably better than 3/4 of the cost of the total ride. It's not impossible, just just not financially feasible at all. Then there would be the not so simple or cheap task of breaking up the current pool to get it ready for whatever else they'd want there.
Favorite Wood Coasters: The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II, Thunderhead, Balder Favorite Steel: Voltron Nevera, Steel Vengeance, Expedition GeForce, Olympia Looping Parks visited: 232, Coasters Ridden: Steel: 894, Wood: 179, Total: 1073
Having been a full-time supervisor for the last 12 years (who left earlier this year), let me tell you that the company might not even make it to ten years. Although they have left bankruptcy behind them, it still sits in the shadows. Every day the park MUST draw in enough people and I'm talking about over 32k. With the weather we have been having this year, it's been rare to get up into those numbers.
We've seen complaints from people about locker rental policy, expensive food, admission and what not but that is here to stay. When a company is struggling all they can do is nickle and dime the customer and raise prices. They also decided to end their partnership with such groups as "The Wiggles" because the company was paying for the licensing. Right now they are cutting costs as much as they can and I believe it will hurt them in the long run. The only bright light shining in the darkness is the new water park
Personally if a big company like Six Flags or our park, if they won't make it to 10 years...count your blessings people. Once a big company like that goes downhill brace yourself for a downslide of financial stress and shortages. I really hope our park stands the test of time and stays around for at least when I have kids I can take them to a park I enjoyed growing up.
I left for exactly that reason. It stopped being a fun place to work at when they decided to raise the prices but not add anything new. The water park is a wonderful addition and could possibly keep the park going but you can not depend on something for too long. People use to come to SFGA because while the admittance prices were a little high, you didn't have to wait very long in line. The locals buy a season pass which is great except for the fact that they only pay once a year and don't eat from the food vendors in the park. For many years the locals learned it was cheaper to bring their own cooler with food and eat in the parking lot but when it starts to turn into more than just the locals doing it, it means something is wrong.
I remember years ago very very few people I saw brought their own coolers with food around the lunchtime hours and would eat in their cars or open the back of their SUV's and eat there but nowadays I have seen way more people pack their own lunches to the park, that and I've seen the burger king and jimmy johns and subway across the street get more packed as well. Im not a fan at all of public water parks but if that can somehow save the park from financial problems then Im all for it.
I don't know. This is a hard question. I feel that Six Flags as a whole is still making stupid decisions. They added more to the waterpark, and it's backfiring on them so far this year. It backfired on them with BB, and now it's doing it again. Six Flags is the company adding another mini-X ride to Magic Mountain which is just dumb. When they added Dark Knight, I don't think to many people that lived up to expectation. My opinion is that Six Flags doesn't need new rides every year. Add your biggie every 3 years, and that way it would be easier for them to get back on their feet. The new rides constantly aren't really helping the park that much.
If Six Flags didn't add stuff every year, maybe they would keep up with the park more. If you look at Triple Play's fences, or Demon's fences, it's like they haven't been touched for 15 years. They look bad, and a vacationer might say this park doesn't look that great. It's not kept up. Or look at all the paint that's worn off in the Batman the Ride tunnels. It looks bad if you take a picture of it. Or about the top of the Scenic Railway cars. The flumes should get a paintjob too.
It's hard to really say if Great America will even be Six Flags Great America in 10 years. It's just the season passes are too low, and the parking is too high. The food is too high, and thus you might have more people eating in the parking lot. The only food I get is a funnel cake. If the food was more normal pricing, heck I would probably buy some Pizza, but it's just not worth it now. They also played around with people considering the locker situation, and people playing games. If you won something, and you don't want to put an item in a locker constantly, you probably are never going to want to play a game again at Six Flags. They had to loose a bunch of people that like to play games at the park now and forever.
I don't really know what would happen. I might say that they would get rid of Demon, and Iron Wolf first but the problem is they need rides to replace them, and those are bigger types of rides. So, you don't get rid of something until you can replace it. I don't even know if these new people in charge would even want to spend the money on a brand new B&M. Sure, they just bought that Intamin for SFMM, but that's a small Intamin roller coaster, and another one of those costs about $7 million - NOT $20 million like a B&M. Unless Scream! gets shipped over here, I just don't see another new B&M for awhile with these people in charge, and it's because they are worried about staying afloat. However, as I said I think if they bought a B&M, and didn't keep on adding things yearly, they would have the money for that B&M easily.
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
Well you will love this then. There has been talk about not allowing people to come back into the park once they leave unless they spend $5-10 but the ticket prices would be reduced
Zbarone wrote:Well you will love this then. There has been talk about not allowing people to come back into the park once they leave unless they spend $5-10 but the ticket prices would be reduced
If that happened (which it won't) the welcome sign needs to read "Welcome back to bankruptcy Six Flags."
I would probably come to the park later than, and eat something bigger so I could stay the whole day. Simple solution. Sure, I would be mad at the park for this rule, and this would really ruin Key Lime Cove thing they got going on. The good thing though is that you know that there would be lot less people in the park because they wouldn't stay the whole night, and the rides would be empty the later it gets.
And I agree with above, the new rule would make a whole lot more people mad at the park, and not come back again, or they definitely wouldn't buy a season pass anymore. And sure Six Flags Mexico has this rule, but the park isn't open that long - till 6 pm maybe. That's a lot different than 10 pm.
"I've been staring at the world, waiting. All the trouble and all the pain we're facing. Too much light to be livin' in the dark. Why waste time? We only got one life. Together we can be the CHANGE. So go and let your heart burn bright"
It's either that or keep the current food prices as it stands. Who really wants to pay $10-15 on a meal that just consists of a burger, fries, and a drink. Allowing ppl to eat at in the parking lot or at Mcdonalds etc doesn't help their profits at all
"Whizzer's is cheap to maintain," no, "Whizzer's is hard to maintain" "Demon is staying" no, "Demon is going" etc etc etc.
