Clementon Lake: New wooden coaster/Jack Rabbit gon

It is good news indeed. Much better than a new steel coaster. Just sad to see a coaster that thrilled so many generations finally meet its end.

I wonder if this is going to be a package deal, I heard they were looking for a space shot type ride, I just wanted to put that out there.

Maybe it's a wooden space shot.

That'd make me just a little uneasy.

This is bad that a coaster this old isn't getting support from the locals or the coaster community.

We have managed to loose Hercules @ Dorney, and we are going to loose the Swamp Fox@ Myrtle beach Pavallion.

When will we see we are loosing all the great rides that have been with us for many, many years. All that happens is that it's discussed in forums and that's it gone with the wind.

I for one am very disturbed of this trend of demolishing the old "woodies". This makes me afraid that one day my hometown coaster which is the Jack Rabbit @ Seabreeze will come down next, and this is now the 2nd oldest coaster now that Clemton's is getting torn down. This is really a sad year for the oldies.

dlf, Swamp Fox is at Family Kingdom, not the Pavilion. I honestly don't believe it's going ANYWHERE....thankfully. Sure it's not the most intense wodie, but it's VERY photgenic, well-maintained, and a LOT of fun...:)

Well, dlf, Hercules wasn't exactly an "oldie", but I hear you. As I've been saying all along, it feels like coaster preservation has taken a few steps backwards in the past few months. For close to two decades, so many coasters have been preserved (in some shape or form): The San Antonio Rocket, the Paragon Park Giant Coaster, the Crystal Beach Comet, the Roseland Park Skyliner, the Fairyland Wildcat, the Belmont Park Giant Dipper, the aforementioned Swamp Fox, just to name the most "famous" examples. In the past few years, we have lost Whalom Park's Flyer Comet (I don't ever see that one running again, at Whalom or anywhere else), the original Elitch's Gardens coasters, the Coney Thunderbolt, Dorney's Hercules and soon, the Jack Rabbit. Quite a disturbing trend, regardless of whether some of those coasters were too far gone to sensibly repair.

Its odd, because in the midst of all this, there are great preservation projects taking place. The Raceworld Thunder Eagle, while not a classic, will find new life in Canada. Hillcrest's Little Dipper will move to Little A-Merrick-A (and become the only wooden coaster I know of to be relocated twice). And, if all goes to plan, the Lincoln Park Comet will soon be "preserved" at the same park (at least the NAD trains and the actual design).

I know its naive to think that every single wooden coaster will operate forever and ever, but it seems like too many losses have occured in recent years, and I can't help but wonder how many more classics will be lost before there are but a handful left in the country. Let's hope that the day never comes where Kennywood is the only place to ride a John Miller ride and Knoebels operates the last remaining Herb Schmeck coaster!

rollergator...

Swamp Fox may be all of those things, but it's not as good as Hurricane Cat 5! :-p

Joe, who will actually go to Clementon Lake Park now!

For the park, removing JR for a new coaster is a good idea. Would I go next year if they don't get anything new? Probably not. But I most likely will go to Clementon next year if they do get the new woodie.

Joe, HC5 held a LOT of potential for me, and I certainly can see getting some GREAT rides on it, but the roughness really detrtacted from the ride, IMO, and I'm not usually one to complain about it being a little rough....;)

I go to Jersey at least once a year anyway with family in the area, and Clementon WILL get a visit in '04....since this isn't an Intamin, I expect it to be up and running when I get there.....ROFL. :)

bill, thinking of the three new S&S woodies in '04, Tsunami sounds like the *intense one*....

Well finally a S&S Woodie on the East! My homestate! I live 50 miles from it. Anyway, it's really sad to see JR go. It's a time machine back to 1919 before pneuamtic brakes, gigantic heights and high speeds. And why is Clementon removing a coaster which is in no way intuding on the footprint of the new woodie? Well in May I'll go and see if it's worth it.

The park has not confirmed they're removing JR.

mOOSH

That is true. Although all signs indicate that this will be the case. I've heard from a number of people "who know" that the structure of the ride is in poor shape and the ride would basically have to rebuilt in order for it to operate again (it appears that the JR's structure has been deteriorating for some time now). Despite the fact that the new coaster is being built in a different spot, I would bet that some rides need to be relocated, and the JR's current site would make a good home for them.

I still hold out some hope that the JR will operate again, either at Clementon or elsewhere.

What's all this talk of the Swamp Fox going out?

I think that people are confusing Pavillion with Family Kingdom. Supposedly, Pavillion is moving/being forced to move, and people are wondering what this says about the future of their wooden coaster, which would be Hurricane and not Swamp Fox.

Is this move already underway? I don't know if I'd worry about the future of Hurricane, the ride is fairly new... Hopefully, the move will do it some good, because the state it was in during my previous visits was not glorious.

This thread is starting to meander, but I'd like to know WHY the Pavilion should move. Sure, we know about the Hard Rock park, and at half a billion dollars, I'd expect the Pavilion and Family Kingdom to see some changes in the next few years....but is the land that MBP is on leased from the city or something? Is this a similar situation to PNE?

I've been trying to figure that out myself. I would have to assume that someone other than Pavillion owns the land, because that would indicate the existance of a lease that could be denied renewal. If Pavillion owns the land, I don't see how they could be forced to relocate, unless the government exercises their power (eminent domain, is it?) to purchase the land, and that would have to be for a highway expansion or something along those lines.

Perhaps there are issues with the lease? I remember hearing somthing about Myrtle Beach leasing the land to the park bacause it was such a big draw or somthing along those lines, but thats from a long time ago, so I don't think it's accurate. :)

ok...here goes my first post.

The Jack Rabbit is unofficially gone. No official announcements yet but ill tell u why i know this.

A) I work there B) The JR cars have been sent to ptc to be fitted with upstop wheels for the new coaster C) we have stripped the station and queues down to nothing. Any info you wanna know about this just ask.

Do i wanna see it go? NO!. Have I been wanting a new coaster since i started working there? Yes!. Did i want to get a new one at the expense of losing the old one?No *** Edited 12/1/2003 10:25:43 PM UTC by Jswiga***