Arie Force One purchased by Six Flags, location TBD

The YouTubes are saying that it may be going to Kings Island. LOL

I have no idea where any SF park has the space to put this, so it's going to be very interesting when they announce it. I'm predicting that it will replace an older coaster, wherever it goes.

I don't understand why they won't announce the location. They have to know where it's going. I mean what kind of company would make a multimillion dollar purchase of a custom ride with an odd footprint with no concrete plan of... oh wait... nevermind.

They are probably going to use internet content creators to help create buzz like they did with Bakunawa. That PR campaign seemed to generate a good buzz up to the announcement of the name and stats.

Can it work a second time, maybe, but I'm not sure if KI is the location that it will go as well as Bakunawa did.

I will say the two most thought about locations for me would be KI back behind Orion which I hear has elevation changes to work and Great Adventure which is mainly flat land so they could add structure under it to make the elevation change needed

I've never seen it in person, so enlighten me if I' missing something, but it just looks like a thin out and back coaster in an L-shape. It looks like it's on mostly flat ground. I know the company is different, sort of, but Six Flags has just plopped more than one coaster in the parking lot and called it a day. If you think about this being added to the perimeter of a park, I'd wager it could fit in a lot of places.
(waves in annual pop-up)

It's got an unusual turnaround at (I think?) the end of the ride that makes it more of a zig zag. It seems like that bit could be straightened out or turned the opposite way with a fairly small amount of new track, but as is it's a complication.

I'm honestly a little disappointed it's not going to Michigan's Adventure just for the LOLs. Great Adventure has both the room and nice flat land, and lacks an RMC.

Someone mentioned in one of the related threads that the part that passes over the building created a challenge, but I can't imagine that's anything that couldn't be overcome easily.

Considering the company that built and designed the ride is still around, I'm sure any modifications required for a new plot of land will be easily handled for what I am sure is still a bargain compared to a new ground-up attraction.

Surprised people are so concerned about how this thing could fit anywhere else.

It would take a silly amount of engineering to make it fit but this thing running alongside Racer would be a very cool sight to see. 50 years of advancement in red-white-blue out n' back design, right in one view.

Looks like they're keeping the Arieforce One name as well; that makes me happy.

bigboy:

but I can't imagine that's anything that couldn't be overcome easily.

Especially for a company that made a name for itself by specializing in modifying pre-existing rides to meet needs.

Great Adventure has both the room and nice flat land, and lacks an RMC

Last I checked Jersey Devil is an RMC! 😜

Still my money is either KI or GrAdv, both lack RMC hybrids and have the land and layouts for it. Carrowinds also lacks an RMC.

And since they slowed down CaEx by a lot, they are going to ride the long tease as long as they can. The press release call to action to participate is a bit much, but hey if Herschend can do a long tease well so can new SF.

metallik:

Looks like they're keeping the Arieforce One name as well; that makes me happy.

Hard pass. "It's huuuuuuuuuuuuge!"

I'm baffled by the Kings Island fans thinking the ride will come to them. Folks need to remember that AF1 is a very low capacity ride with only 2-20 passenger trains and a stated ride capacity of 900 people per hour. We obviously don't know what modifications Six Flags has planned, I would assume making the trains the standard 24 passenger RMC design which would maybe bump up throughput to 1,000 per hour with completely full trains and 100% accurate interval dispatches. A capital expenditure of this type would be most fitting for Level 2 parks, like your Carowinds or Dorney park that average 1.5-2.5 million guests a season. Under previous Six Flags management, one of the issues was making capital expenditure decisions that didn't fit the market place, often overspending in some places and under spending in others, The Flash at Great Adventure being a perfect example.

Kings Island absolutely deserves a RMC, but one that is specifically designed for that park to take advantage of the unique terrain available there and the park attendance level. Whether it be the old SoB or Vortex land plot, both offer the park a chance to build a world-class RMC on the level of SteVe or Gwazi that can pump through at minimum 1,200+ guests per hour. AF1 at Kings Island isn't that ride.

^ I like the idea of KI getting a brand-new custom RMC, but that isn't on the table at the moment.
Six Flags needs to find a home for AF1, and I’d like to see it go to KI.
And yes, keep the name and the color scheme; I like them.

In case anyone needs a reminder, Arie Sr. was posting gems like this when you couldn't get a hospital bed. Not the most empathetic person, trying to rationalize a million people dying.

SteveWoA:

Surprised people are so concerned about how this thing could fit anywhere else.

I wouldn't even rule out changing its shape or adding capacity.

Gunkey Monkey:

Kings Island absolutely deserves a RMC

How does the park deserve a RMC?

I guess Cedar Point or Kings Island would be at the top of my wish list for where it would go. Cedar Point is probably near the bottom of the list of likely places to go. Kings Island is probably at least a plausible place for the ride.

Six Flags over Georgia would probably be the easiest move, although that is probably fairly insignificant.

Hm. I never knew it was named after some guy I don’t know from Adam. Now that I know that, it doesn’t change my opinion that the name has always been dumb. Nor does whatever he said about whatever.

“How does the park deserve a RMC?“

Well, there are 4 parks that carry the financial burden of keeping Six Flags afloat and out of bankruptcy. Kings Island is one. I’m pretty sure if I’m going to make investments to grow my company out of debt I’m going to put that capital in parks that produce the financial returns.