Where do you see our park in 10 years?

[onyxhotel08]

I'm back and feel like I never left! The Chang I mean Green Lantern mess took a while to get over but time heals (almost) all wounds so moving on.

Looking back in the last 10 years, we have lost a ton of rides and got a lot of hit/miss stuff in return. Families got something almost every year. Thrill seekers got something big back in 2003/2004 and not much since. Six Flags Inc. has changed so much it is difficult to say what they will come up with next. We still have the area in County Fair that needs to get something in 2012 and we have 1-4 rides near the end of their life (this decade). What do you see happening in the next 10 years?

#1 We will lose at least one of the three (if not all) Whizzer, Demon and Wolf.
#2 We will get a major coaster in 3-6 years that will change our park forever.
#3 Hurricane Habor will become seperate entry after another addition in a year or two.
#4 The flume water rides will be torn down and replaced by a newer type.
#5 The park will try to get back to its roots more and more (like they are doing now with music changes) and more people will be checking out Great America.

[MrRy10]

I agree with you about whizzer and wolf. Whizzer days are for sure numbered and i would give the ride maybe 2 more years then its time for it to leave . Yeah but for sure six flags is for sure changing. We lost many good rides(DejaVu,Shockwave) Hopefully it will be the same like it was 4 years ago

[Galvan317]

Whizzer days are for sure numbered and i would give the ride maybe 2 more years then its time for it to leave .

I am wondering what you are basing this on? Whizzer is still a draw and popular ride, it's worth the $ keeping it operating (hence why you see train rehabs every year). Also unlike Big Bad Wolf the ride also seems to be in good shape structurally and mechanically. I don't know why they would take it out.

[Jerrykoala2112]

Whizzer days are for sure numbered and i would give the ride maybe 2 more years then its time for it to leave .

I am wondering what you are basing this on? Whizzer is still a draw and popular ride, it's worth the $ keeping it operating (hence why you train rehabs every year). Also unlike Big Bad Wolf the ride also seems to be in good shape structurally and mechanically. I don't know why they would take it out.

This. Not sure how believable the park management team is, maybe they're just trying to make us feel better, but when Theme Park Review hosted that event at SFGAm last year, and someone popped the question about Whizzer... They said it was in really good condition and will have it for a very long time.

I doubt it will be the next to go... At least Iron Wolf and Demon will go first.

[6Flags4Evr]

Wolf will be the most likely to go first out of the three then Demon following as a result of Arrow coasters being hard to maintain now a days.

[Coaster Justin]

- A Couple of New Additions in our Current Gaps in the Park (Raceway, Splashwater, Trailblazer)
- Camp Cartoon Given a Looney Tunes Theme
- Ragin Cajun Removed
- Whizzer Removed & Replaced with a Similar Design by Mack
- New "Carolina Cobra" Trains on Demon
- Superman rethemed into "Bizarro"
- Removal of Wilderness Theater
- 1-2 Major Coasters and 2-3 Major Rides

[ragingbull1331]

1. We will lose Iron Wolf in at least 5 years.
2. We will gain either a Zacspin or some variation of that in the next 3 years
3. Hurricane Harbor will be seperate admission next year
4. Either Yankee Clipper of Loggers Run will be replaced by a newer water ride in 5 years.
5. The park will get one giant roller coaster in the next 10 years, Probably something that hasn't even been come up with yet in the united states but there will be one big ride coming here i bet, (sort of like how batman was the first B&M inverted coaster)

[monsterfan99]

1. Both Flumes are given the boot for newer style one.
2. Demon, Iron Wolf & Whizzer all are replaced.
3. One of the two remaining kids lands will be removed, odds are Camp Cartoon.
4. Condor removed
5. New sit-down looping coaster to fill the gap of Demon leaving.
6. Hurricane Harbor becomes a septate gate for everyone including regular park AP members
7. Parking hits $40 a day

[woohoodude11]

Hey guys, long time creeper (3+ years) and I've noticed a lot of incredible topics I've been itching to offer my two cents.
In my honest opinion, Whizzer will never, ever leave. I was told by my fiance's cousin, a former long-time employee, that Whizzer is remarkably cheap and easy to maintain. Whether or not thats true is beyond me, but plausible.
If SFGam is going back to it's classic roots, I can really see some extensive ride and midway theming in the future. Gone are the days of yore when everything gave off a warm glow and the park just seemed like a more happy place. Then again, I was a kid at the time and conflict would always get trumped over the experience. Remember the ivy tunnel right around Sky Whirl? I'd love to see that. No more of the "family oriented industrial village" I feel today.

[FParker185]

Well, Whizzer is a simple ride, moreso than a ride with a traditional lift, And it's supported by no less than 3 manufacturers. It should be there at long as the park wants it there.

[MrRy10]

- A Couple of New Additions in our Current Gaps in the Park (Raceway, Splashwater, Trailblazer)
- Camp Cartoon Given a Looney Tunes Theme
- Ragin Cajun Removed
- Whizzer Removed & Replaced with a Similar Design by Mack
- New "Carolina Cobra" Trains on Demon
- Superman rethemed into "Bizarro"
- Removal of Wilderness Theater
- 1-2 Major Coasters and 2-3 Major Rides

Do they even use wilderness theater anymore?

[FParker185]

They used to have the cheerleading competitions back there, but for the past few years all those types of functions have been held in Southwest.

[6Flags4Evr]

If you take out Wolf, Camp Cartoon, and Wilderness Theater that's a great plot of land to work with for future expasion.

[monsterfan99]

Well, Whizzer is a simple ride, moreso than a ride with a traditional lift, And it's supported by no less than 3 manufacturers. It should be there at long as the park wants it there.

The last part is what I wonder about. I can see the park using that prime land to put a new ride in.

[Cole]

If you take out Wolf, Camp Cartoon, and Wilderness Theater that's a great plot of land to work with for future expasion.

For a few months Ive been playing with that area in google earth. Even with keeping Camp Cartoon, I thought a good fit for that area could be good for a Cheetah Hunt type ride or B&M wingrider. Maybe even a Dive Machine!


-Cole

[tribar]

If you take out Wolf, Camp Cartoon, and Wilderness Theater that's a great plot of land to work with for future expasion.

For a few months Ive been playing with that area in google earth. Even with keeping Camp Cartoon, I thought a good fit for that area could be good for a Cheetah Hunt type ride or B&M wingrider. Maybe even a Dive Machine!


-Cole

That probably would fit there

Whizzer days are for sure numbered and i would give the ride maybe 2 more years then its time for it to leave .

I am wondering what you are basing this on? Whizzer is still a draw and popular ride, it's worth the $ keeping it operating (hence why you see train rehabs every year). Also unlike Big Bad Wolf the ride also seems to be in good shape structurally and mechanically. I don't know why they would take it out.

I agree

7. Parking hits $40 a day

Are you kidding it will be much higher than that

[Necropolis]

Personally for me I would like to see Demon gone and Iron Wolf gone but with Frightfest being a huge event those rides do play a part in that, especially Demon. For Frightfest reasons I guess Demon can stay, but IW seriously either has to go or at least make the ride less shaky so we don't bump our heads and ears against the head restraints. I hope Ragin Cajun is still there. Its one of my fav rides even though its a kids ride lol. Whizzer will def be gone which is a sad fact. I'm hoping HH is a separate entrance and if they do take out any of the water rides in the dry park, they will be better and more adrenaline pumping! ALso I am really really hoping parking doesn't go more than $30/day. I can see V2 gone within the next 10 years. It is one of the most popular rides but isn't it always breaking down here and there? More often than most rides? I can see season passes reaching $90 and funnel cake sundaes reaching $20. Times are changing folks...

[BLADE]

Will Buccaneer Battle still be here in 10 years? How long will the park hang onto a new attraction that didn't catch on?

[neil]

I think Demon will either be removed next year, or stay for a while. If SFGAM goes with a zacspin or eurofighter, Demon will likley stay. If they go for a big attraction, they may just remove demon and utilize its space for the new ride. If it survies next year, they will likey keep it, as it sits on a very small, narrow plot of land which is otherwise too narrow for a new ride. Iron Wolf will most likley be gone within the next 10 years, and will be most likley removed for a moderate sized coaster. Whizzer seems relativly safe. I also think within 10 years, wither Ragin Cajun or Dark Knight, or both, will be removed. The flumes may be removed, yet replaced by newer models which will be a direct copy of their desing. In total, I think about 3 coasters will be added.

[RagingTyler]

1. Iron Wolf will get new trains
2. Whizzer will be removed (not soon, but its gonna be here in a while.)
3. Hurricane Harbor will become seperate admission
4. Hopefully 1-2 major coasters, and 1-3 major flats

[tribar]

Easier said then done but it would be cool if they took out TDK and Put RC in their like Exterminator at Kennywood. It would be cool to spin around in the dark. Probably won't happan.

[RagingFanatic]

I have to say that, while Whizzer, Demon, and Iron Wolf are both old and hard to maintain, they are still crowd pleasers. Yesterday (June 11, 2011) I saw Iron Wolf with a longer line than any other time I had been there, stretching all the way into the que box after you enter the queing. The wait when I went on towards the end of the day was 42 minutes. Whether or not this situation was caused by the use of only one train (it probably was), that is still a long wait. I also have to wonder if the amount of customer satisfaction overcomes the need for prepares. I know for sure that Demon and Whizzer are here to stay for at least another 5-7 years just because they are crowd pleasers. However, Whizzer is also a great starting Roller Coaster, and it has that going. Iron Wolf may be iffy, but if the people that ride continuously go back and ride again, at least the park has some thousand people that are for it staying.
1) Iron Wolf, Demon, and Whizzer gone at some point.
2) Logger's Run 7-8 years left, Yankee Clipper 1 year at most.
3) Hurricane Harbor/Riptide Bay MAY get a new entrance, is it top priority for the park?
4) New B&M of some sort, small or large
5) SFGAm Expansion POSSIBLE into the areas outside the park near Iron Wolf.

[Coastermonkey61]

Iron Wolf and Demon will leave long before Whizzer does. The uproar that came when the park wanted to put Superman in Whizzer's spot was massive. The anger that would come if Demon would leave would be far less and near nonexistent for Iron Wolf. IW is outdated and past it's prime, Demon is a dime-a-dozen ride. Plus, with all that space from SWF and the Raceway now sitting empty, take out Demon and you have a wealth of room there.

A separate entrance for HH seems inevitable, maybe separate admission or give park-goers options if they want just the water park, just the dry park or both.

I also think at some point you'll see a re-tracking for American Eagle, which could use it.

[Jcoaster95]

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.

[Necropolis]

Well that gives me hope that Whizzer will be here for more generations to enjoy!!