Bye bye Astroworld!
BATWING FAN SFA said:
Besides you've still got SFOT &SFFT to visit,which are both pretty good parks in their own right so why complain? now if let's say PKD were to close then I'd be in a similar uproar,but it's not so why get all upset over it?
Why get upset?
1) Those parks are 3-4 hrs away from Houston. That's over $50 in gas just to get there from here.
2) The wooden coaster in San Antonio is a joke, and Cyclone was a nice compromise between the brutal Giant and the tepid Judge. A perfectly fine Bill Cobb wooden rollercoaster's going to be torn down. This wasn't a crappy ride like Hercules, this is more like losing the Twister from the original Elitch Gardens.
3) The only remaining sky cars in the state are going to be demolished.
4) Who knows what will happen to the hundred year old Dentzel carousel. I expect it'll find a new home, but I wouldnt put it past Six Flags to sell the horses to collectors to raise cash.
5) Astroworld is a part of Houston like the Astrodome. It's 37 years old, several generations of Houstonians grew up here and have a lot of nostalgia. They're tearing down our childhood, and a trip to Fiesta Texas isnt going to compensate.
BATWING FAN SFA said:Besides you've still got SFOT &SFFT to visit,which are both pretty good parks in their own right so why complain?
SFFT is not much of a coaster lovers park. Superman, Polty, and Road Runner are the only good coasters there. 3 is not worth the drive.
Dallas is about 5 hours away if you drive legally. That's not worth the drive.
For me it is an end to my coaster hobby as I no longer have a place in my backyard to keep the interest up. Next year will be the first year since 1999 that I wont have a SF Seasons Pass.
BATWING FAN SFA said:
Besides you've still got SFOT &SFFT to visit,which are both pretty good parks in their own right so why complain? now if let's say PKD were to close then I'd be in a similar uproar,but it's not so why get all upset over it?
Wait, the person who complains everytime a SF park other than SFA gets something new is telling other people it's nothing to get upset over as they still have options 3 to 4 hours away!?
Hmmm.
Parks 3 hours from SFA include:
PKD
BGW
Dutch Wonderland
Hersheypark
Williams Grove
SFGAdv
Dorney Park
Morey's Piers
Maybe it's time to heed you're own advice?
BUT it wasn't a park that could ever reach its full potential. If they built a $25 million supercoaster, where would everybody park once they got there?
-'Playa
NOTE: Severe fecal impaction may render the above words highly debatable.
Actually I hope to see it all go to rebuilding Six Flags New Orleans. Lords knows they could use some fun sometime in the future.
Texas Cyclone will be a loss.
And why does SFA need SWAT. Don't they allready have the giant Hammer Head? Six Flags doesn't seem to have too many of these kinds of rides. They should spread them out, don't ya think? *** Edited 9/13/2005 4:32:16 PM UTC by rc-madness***
A day at the park is what you make it!
BATWING FAN SFA said:Now it's too early to say wether or not we'll see these rides finding new homes in time for 06,as it takes time to plan out & approve new(used installations)....still it looks like 06 might prove to be an interesting season for SF if these rides do get relocated fast enough.
You're assuming this isn't something they've been planning for months (which they probably have been).
They are going to want to clear everything out ASAP and move it. I'm sure they have already figured out where most of the attractions being saved are headed.
The thing I'll always remember from Texas is just how damn boring it is to travel between the cities, and I wasn't driving! There is literally nothing to look at except catlle ranches for the most part. So even if you can make it to SFFT or SFOT, you stand the chance of falling asleep at the wheel on the way home!
So what do you think will go in the park's location, the Mr. Six Office Park or the Mr. Six Luxury Condos?
Maybe "another" Texas coaster will be headed to Knoebels? You never know.
I'd love to see Viper head back to SFStL as whenever I visit that park I hear the words Jet Scream somewhere in line.
It's a great family thrill coaster, but with zero marketing power. It's a been there, done that type of ride that fits fine as a filler in an established lineup, but wouldn't do much for the gate today as a "new" ride.
I enjoyed XLR-8 plus it has a cool name but for some reason my gut reaction is that it doesn;t have much hope of being resurected.
It's a ride whose removal has been rumored for years now, as it takes up more space than any other SFAW coaster (in a small landlocked park). As has become normal for SFAW, corporate never gave the park the rumored CCI woodie, and instead sent paint funds and the "creative" turned the last three cars on each train around backwards.
Greezed Lightnin should be saved. I say send it on up to Dallas to join it's brother Shockwave.
A great flywheel shuttle loop- right up there with KBF's Monte. Would be sorely missed and is absolutely a candidate to be sent to a smaller
park like Great Escape or SFDL (or any other property lacking a launch coaster).
UltraTwister would fit nicely in some of the other landlocked SF properties like Elitches or SFKK.
S.C.R.A.P. SFAW has done an amazing job just keeping this maintanance headache running. It had an even worse reputation at SFGAd, and then the in house design to change the lift to a 45 degree angle helped big time. The only thing Ultra Twister has going for it is its narrow
footprint, but again, probably headed for the scrap pile, which would be unfortunate as I've always loved this quirky ride.
Like someone else said send the stand up to SFA.
I can see that. Shame that there are quirkier rides at SFAW that I far and away prefer to Batman the Mistake, but this ride is still marketable due to the stand up gimmick, and is in good enough shape to justify investing in a refurb and move.
Move SFAW's carousel to SFKK and get rid of that POS Vekoma carousel.
SFKK's carousel is actually rather nice, Paul. It's not a Vekoma but a Wood Holland design (I know some park media mistakenly claims it as Vekoma). There are lots of other SF parks that need a nice antique carousel. How about SFDL? SFMW? or even SFA? Heck, the 1897 machine with tons of rare menagerie figures represents well over $1 million if broken up. How much debt again? Kiss the ride goodbye.
Hopefully SF takes the rides from SFAW and spreads them around the chain rather than putting them in a field to be eventually scrapped like they did with the rides they bought from Opryland.
I can see rides like Serial Thriller, Dungeon Drop, Mayan Mindbender, Batman the Mistake, and newer flats like SWAT finding immediate homes. The rest of the park (sadly including the all wooden frame Cyclone)- who knows.
With SFNO's future also looking cloudy, in just one day, all of a sudden there are upwards of 70 rides on the used market.
*** Edited 9/13/2005 5:50:03 PM UTC by Mamoosh***
I'll probably take one last spin on it for old time's sake though.
Just the type of ride it is and the space that gadv has and since its a high capacity ride. It looks like a perfect fit for gadv.
I think most of the rides will be relocated to other parks or sold,I don't think we'll have another Indiana situation. I do see some of the lesser coasters like XLR8 and Viper not lasting long at their new homes though.
I hope the Cyclone is restored to meet it's potential and moved to Six Flags in need of another woodie
john13601 said:
Well odds are Houston will get another park someday.
I just don't see that..What company is building NEW major theme parks from the ground up?
john13601 said:I hope the Cyclone is restored to meet it's potential and moved to Six Flags in need of another woodie
The Cyclone needs no restroration to meet it's potential. Cylone has been a perfect ride since day one, and still is to this very day.
Y'all realize that the part of the installation of a ride that costs the most isn't the steel, right? It happens to be something else, something that means that especially rides like XLR-8 have little chance of moving anywhere.
I hope for the best for everything, but I now realize that I have very little chance of riding many of these rides... many of which have been at the top of my, "Want to ride" list for a long, long time.
BATWING FAN SFA said:
No it's not "our fault" it's Burke's fault for wasting the capital for rides on SFMM or SFGRADV when it should've been used to help the smaller parks in the chain.
EW you need to get over yourself, STAT!
Well this stinks. I was planning on going to TX next year for the 3 SF parks but now am reconsidering.
Go to Schlitterbahn in its place or add SeaWorld.
How do you feel about Education Funding being cut? Seems to have affected you ;-)
As some of us are educators, comments like that are not found very amusing - in fact we take them very seriously as should you.
Those parks are 3-4 hrs away from Houston. That's over $50 in gas just to get there from here.
What you have a gas guzzler or something? It might cost you $50 round trip, not one way.
They are going to want to clear everything out ASAP and move it. I'm sure they have already figured out where most of the attractions being saved are headed.
Yes, I've heard that a lot of parks will be receiving "newused" rides for 2006, including SFStL
BUT it wasn't a park that could ever reach its full potential. If they built a $25 million supercoaster, where would everybody park once they got there?
Which is the REAL reason this park is closing, even though most people are pointing to it as a scapegoat - even though it is a little.
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