Minor Updates, Rumors, and Happenings

[coasterlove]

I received the survey and it briefly mentioned a lot of options as to what I'd like to see added. The main focus though was strongly on a single rail coaster, the Raptor although it didn't call it that directly. It did feature video of the Wonder Woman coaster from SFFT. It does appear to be that would be what they *might* be leaning towards. While I think it is probably a terrific ride, I'd worry about the capacity. Offhand, I think they have 8 cars, meaning 8 riders per train? I'd guess they could send out trains not much quicker than one per minute, maybe 45 seconds due to not having any MCBR I don't believe. So 60-80 trains an hour. Theoretical capacity would be 480-640 passengers per hour? Personally, I'd rather see a T-Rex coaster from RMC if that was at all possible.

[JackGlass]

I would be more than happy if they removed Buccaneer Battle and installed a Raptor. Capacity might suck, but the GP seems to love Rail Blazer and Wonder Woman and the bad capacity is an opportunity for them to sell more flash passes.

I would obviously prefer a larger hyper raptor over the carbon copy model. But I don't know if one could fit in that area even if they stretched it all the way to the basket ball gam in Home Town Square.

[coasterlove]

If they used the area between the edge of Buccaneer Battle and the basketball court, it's about 450-475 feet in length according to Google Maps. Of course it would depend on the exact direction it traveled. A hyper might be possible with how twisted it can be. A steep angle on the lift followed by a vertical or perhaps even beyond vertical drop heading into an immelman to send it back the other way. Raging Bull for comparison is about 900 feet from where it turns around out of the station, lift hill drop and turnaround. Consider though that the lift isn't anywhere near as steep as a Raptor would be nor the drop and Raging Bull heads into a large turnaround. So in a space of of up 475 feet, it could be possible but tight?

Edit- Or the the drop could just twist 180 degrees to send it back the other way keeping in within that space.

[JackGlass]

If they used the area between the edge of Buccaneer Battle and the basketball court, it's about 450-475 feet in length according to Google Maps. Of course it would depend on the exact direction it traveled. A hyper might be possible with how twisted it can be. A steep angle on the lift followed by a vertical or perhaps even beyond vertical drop heading into an immelman to send it back the other way. Raging Bull for comparison is about 900 feet from where it turns around out of the station, lift hill drop and turnaround. Consider though that the lift isn't anywhere near as steep as a Raptor would be nor the drop and Raging Bull heads into a large turnaround. So in a space of of up 475 feet, it could be possible but tight?

Edit- Or the the drop could just twist 180 degrees to send it back the other way keeping in within that space.

Here's the foot print for the standard Raptor. It only requires 250 feet, so hypothetically they might be able to get a 200 footer in that space if they make the lift hill very steep. I also noticed on the updated Google Maps that they totally hollowed out the Trail blazer site. I'm almost willign to bet money that they will put a Skywarp there, because it perfectly fits the dimensions of 120X30 feet required for one!

[UnclePennybags]

If they used the area between the edge of Buccaneer Battle and the basketball court, it's about 450-475 feet in length according to Google Maps.

I'd think a clone of Wonder Woman Golden Lasso (WWGL) *would* fit in the Buccaneer Battle (BB) plat. Here's what it looks like now:



Here's what it looks like overlaying WWGL (to scale):



The green box is the station. The transfer tracks are to the right of the station. The red line is the approximate exit ramp/bridge layout at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. The yellow line is the approximate entrance ramp/bridge to the station. The whole coaster layout is bounded by a pool of water.

In Texas, the overflow queue would be found in the lower right-hand corner of the layout. The ride queue wraps around the bottom to the left, then up towards the exit. However, at Great America, the exit could be up by Demon Snacks, while the entrance could be located closer to the Food Court.

The most interesting thing I found was that the Buccaneer Battle pool is only marginally smaller than the WWGL pool seen in Texas. The two overlap nicely.

Assuming that the BB and Go Kart plats would never be consolidated for use by a larger coaster, a Raptor seems like a nice fit at the BB location. I don't see how many other coaster layouts would fit here (maybe they could do Deja Vu all over again).

[JackGlass]

Great work UnclePennyBags! That would definitely be a great and cost effective replacement for Buccaneer Battle, without having to relocate the Home Town Park rides again! That would be a welcome addition for 2020 as far as I'm concerned and would finally bring some life back to that dead area.

[staticshadows]

Not sure what scale you guys are using, but this is what Railblazer looks like on the site at the correct scale. The final product has a larger footprint than what was shown in the promotional material. The Raptor will still fit, the transfer track just needs to be moved to the other side of the gravel area behind the food court building.

[_FuryBull_330_]

^ That looks great! Even though the capacity will be horrible these attractions are kick-butt rides.

[UnclePennybags]

Great work UnclePennyBags! That would definitely be a great and cost effective replacement for Buccaneer Battle, without having to relocate the Home Town Park rides again! That would be a welcome addition for 2020 as far as I'm concerned and would finally bring some life back to that dead area.

We should probably watch what we wish for. We could get four Mardi Gras Hangovers to replace Buccaneer Battle:

[JackGlass]

4 new "Coasters" in one year! lol

[CoastsToCoasters]

I’ve always wanted a hyper B&M dive machine here but this is prob a better fit for us & the ride looks to kick ass. Only thing I’d hope for is an altered custom layout. After Goliath, XF, & Maxx it isn’t impossible. Our park has really become incredible the last decade. That was random, I’m just happy about it haha

[JackGlass]

I’ve always wanted a hyper B&M dive machine here but this is prob a better fit for us & the ride looks to kick ass. Only thing I’d hope for is an altered custom layout. After Goliath, XF, & Maxx it isn’t impossible. Our park has really become incredible the last decade. That was random, I’m just happy about it haha

No doubt about it! Attendance was over 3 million in 2017 for the first time since 1999/2000 so this strategy of saturating the park with roller coasters is clearly working! As long as Anderson is CEO I don't see this trend stopping anytime soon.

[CoasterRiderSC]

http://www.screamscape.com/html/industry_news.htm#SixFlags If y'all haven't heard already, screamscape said that there have been some new ride surveys going around from Six Flags. They've talked about a Mack Power Splash (flume+launch coaster) and dive coasters at a few parks (including SFGam).

I'd love to see a Dive Machine come to Great America. Tear down one (or both) of the flumes and put it over there!

I would love a dive coaster as well!!!! They could take down ONE of the flumes (along with V2) !

[CoastsToCoasters]

http://www.screamscape.com/html/industry_news.htm#SixFlags If y'all haven't heard already, screamscape said that there have been some new ride surveys going around from Six Flags. They've talked about a Mack Power Splash (flume+launch coaster) and dive coasters at a few parks (including SFGam).

I'd love to see a Dive Machine come to Great America. Tear down one (or both) of the flumes and put it over there!

I would love a dive coaster as well!!!! They could take down ONE of the flumes (along with V2) !

I know it will happen at some point again but I’m always hopeful for nothing having to leave. Maxx Force bein squeezed in & around everything made me so happy. Hell, still does! & yes I understand Pictorium had to leave but the reality was it was “SBNO” for more than the majority of a season.

[ChicagoCoasters]

I rode Valravn in August and I wasn't impressed. It was fun don't get me wrong but it was forceless. It was a GP magnet though. I would much rather see a Raptor or even even a Wonder Woman clone then a dive coaster.

[JackGlass]

I rode Valravn in August and I wasn't impressed. It was fun don't get me wrong but it was forceless. It was a GP magnet though. I would much rather see a Raptor or even even a Wonder Woman clone then a dive coaster.

No doubt about it, the GP would flock to a Dive Machine..... I could hear them now "It's like Raging Bull only it loops and goes straight down" I could definitly see Great America adding both a Dive Machine and a Raptor in the near future. In fact, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we got a Raptor in 2020.

[ChicagoCoasters]

I rode Valravn in August and I wasn't impressed. It was fun don't get me wrong but it was forceless. It was a GP magnet though. I would much rather see a Raptor or even even a Wonder Woman clone then a dive coaster.

No doubt about it, the GP would flock to a Dive Machine..... I could hear them now "It's like Raging Bull only it loops and goes straight down" I could definitly see Great America adding both a Dive Machine and a Raptor in the near future. In fact, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we got a Raptor in 2020.

That is so true.

[anewman35]

Last night, the Washington Street entrance was closed, just a sign saying to go to Grand Avenue. Never seen that before, is it common?

[ernstwhere]

Last night, the Washington Street entrance was closed, just a sign saying to go to Grand Avenue. Never seen that before, is it common?

Thanks for mentioning. I use this entrance all the time. Maybe because Maxx Force is being staged in this section of the parking lot... last I heard?

[ernstwhere]

I got the survey and it focused on the water launch coaster.

[ChicagoCoasters]

Can somebody post a link to the survey please? I still haven't gotten it yet and I would like to take it.

[CoasterRiderSC]

Forceless <> FUN-Less! My fave ride at the park is X-Flight and it's very smooth and not rough. But that doesn't make it a bad ride!

[staticshadows]

https://www.mystateline.com/news/six-flags-approved-to-take-control-of-magic-waters-after-vote-by-11-taxing-bodies/1654020885

Six Flags approved to take control of Magic Waters after vote by 11 taxing bodies

ROCKFORD, Ill. - A vote by the Rock Valley College Board of Trustees now clears the path for Six Flags to take control of the Magic Waters Waterpark.

The tax abatement vote gives the theme park company a break on property taxes when it takes over the park on April 1st, 2019.

RVC was the last of 11 taxing bodies that had to approve the measure.

Those entities are not losing money due to the vote: an abatement had already been in place for Magic Waters for the last 30 years, when it was managed by the Rockford Park District.

“We are excited to add Magic Waters Waterpark to the Six Flags family of parks and continue to foster a great partnership with the Rockford Park District,” said Six Flags Great America Park President Hank Salemi. “We look forward to the many opportunities we will have with Magic Waters and the community. We can now offer tremendous added value to guests of Magic Waters by including Six Flags Great America and Hurricane Harbor in their Magic Waters Combo Season Passes.”

Six Flags plans to begin hiring for Magic Waters in the new year.

“Privatizing Magic Waters Waterpark was something our community told us should be a priority to achieve. I cannot think of a better organization to partner with than Six Flags Great America as they have been outstanding to work with and our mission, vision, and service expectations align. They are the industry experts and will have more resources to invest in the waterpark. The District will now be able to invest its limited resources into our communities’ priorities for 2019 and beyond such as parks, paths, free family events, and youth,” said Rockford Park District Executive Director Jay Sandine.

[JackGlass]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aq ... b990570b98

Looks like Aquaman is doing great at the box office! Wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we see a slew of Aquaman themed rides for 2020, lol

[RBullFan97]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aquaman-box-office_us_5c1890cde4b08db990570b98

Looks like Aquaman is doing great at the box office! Wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we see a slew of Aquaman themed rides for 2020, lol

Yeah, no thanks. lol