Could the New Wave Be These Gravity Group Monsters?

So, after Hades being build and riding Voyage this past weekend at HWN and realizing just how awesome wooden coasters can truly be, I have been starting to wonder:

With the national attention the park is getting for the ride, do you think its at all possible that we may soon see many of the larger chain parks adding a wooden coaster of this size due to its excitement rating amongst guests?

Just by riding it I can tell it will take an excellent maintenance team, (HW Staff anyone?) to keep it in tip top shape for many many years, but I could easily see some major parks seeing the perks in adding such an exciting ride?

Personally, while I think none will really bite because of the intensive maintenance such a ride surely requires, would not that be awesome to see GG pumping out these behemoths all over the country?

Just a thought..

New woodies could well be the new trend in many parks, both large and small. The upfront cost is much less than for a dominant steel coaster. Examples are rides such as Voyage at HW which cost $7 million. CP spent almost that much on their new flat ride.

Sure, the wooden coasters require more maintainence but the parks could allocate money from the savings in upfront costs.

Some parks that could benefit from new wood:

CP--the first question is, should Mean Streak be replaced with a new generation woodie that would hold up better? In addition, the park has so much steel but only two wood coasters.

BGW--Why doesn't this park have a wooden coaster? Their steel coasters are first rate but this would broaden the park's appeal.

DP--Only one woodie in a major PA park? Sure Hercules was a disaster but a new wooden coaster would add to the appeal of this park.

Idlewild--They should take a cue from HW. A Raven sized coaster would be perfect for this park.

Waldameer--They already got the message. Ravine Flyer 2 should be coming in 2008.

KW--Even without the new road, the park has to keep moving forward to compete with GL and to stay fresh. A signature woodie in the new ravine would do this and of course, KW is one of those parks that knows how to take care of wood.

TGE--They already have Comet but another woodie might help give this park an identity of it's own. And yes, this park would be better outside of Six Flag's control. Maybe this park could become more like LC.

Wyandot Lake--this park needs some beefing up in the rides area and a mid-sized woodie would help. Anyone for a 3-in-one park in Ohio that can actually make a go of the idea?

SFNO--This is a no brainer. The park is rebuilding from the flooding and needs new coasters. One big advantage to wood is there is less cost to write off in the event of another storm.

IOA or BGA or even Cypress Gardens--Floroda needs some good wood. Enough said.

Kemah (near Galveston)--No coasters anywhere near Houston? This small coastal park could do something to put itself on the map.

Coney Island (Cincinnati)--With LeSourdsville gone and Strikers basically limited to private events, a small but well-rounded traditional park would be welcome. Add wood for a proper image.

Coney Island (New York) -- There is talk about bringing more rides back. If this happens, another woodie would be welcome to compliment Cyclone.

Trimpers--Why doesn't this beachfront park have a woodie?

SFMM--It's time to replace Psyclone with something much better.

Wild Adventures -- The southern Georgia park has lots of coasters but needs one that is a signature ride. Wood might be the way to do this. This would also help promote the park to wood starved Floridians.

I was shocked when I heard Beech Bend was getting a wood coaster especially after adding the spinning wild mouse last year. I realize that GCI built Rumbler, but lets face it the GCI coasters are really great. I don't think Rumbler is quite as good as Thunderhead or Voyoage for that matter, but it could prove to be a fantastic move for the park. I'm anxious to see what happens over the next few years.

I certainly hope to see one of these GG go up every year and I think that is possible.

I'd like to see a wood coaster of any size go in at Fun Spot Park in Angola, IN someday. I guess that's my big wish.

I think its all just cyclical. You saw CCI really explode between, say, 94'-'96 and then you saw GCI really pick up its game, culminating with the wooden coaster craze peaking in 2000.

So then you had this glut of parks (and not just small parks either) who had just built wooden coasters so it makes sense for it to die down after a while. The economy had something to do with this as well, I would guess.

So here we are with a really good year for wooden coasters in 2005 and an even better one in 2006. I'd guess we'll see a few more years of good stuff getting built and then another slow period for a while after that.

While some of the big parks (and even a few smaller ones like Waldameer) will be adding big woodies, much of the potential is for medium sized wooden coasters. I mentioned parks like Idlewild and Wyandot Lake that could benefit from this. Delgrossos is another park that could use something of this type. One just has to look at the effect that Raven and Cornball Express had on the two Indiana parks where they were built. Coasters like these could fit into a smaller park's budget better but would give the attendance boost that some of these parks so desparately need.

Also, is there any wood planned for the new Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach? This park could certainly use a woodie as one of its signature rides.

I hope SFMM adds in a GOOD wood coaster in the next couple of years. All they have is Collosus and Pyclone.

I bet if SF is pleased with El Toro's performance we very well could see another Intamin woodie pop up at a SF park, possibly taking the wooden height/speed record. Probably not in the next couple of years but someday.

^ In SFMM I hope.

The problem with Cincy Coney is the flooding. They would pretty much HAVE to use a steel structure, or they'd be replacing wood more often then the ride was open.

I think if Strickers would expand a little more, they could do a decent business opening to the public more often, say one weekend a month to start with.

Wyandot could really use a new woodie. Sure they have Sea Dragon, but it's 50 years old, and there are identical/similar PTC Juniors at numerous parks. With the Zoo taking control of the park soon, and with the land reorganizations, They could easily build a small to medium woodie.

There's no reason Coney couldn't do well with a midsized GG ride with a steel structure. I think there's plenty of market in the Cincy/Northern KY market for a well run, small, traditional amusement park that you can take your family to for a simple day of fun.

The park would cement itself with a good quality coaster that I think would easily pay itself off in a few years. Counter programing against PKI, what that *other* park in the area that just closed should have been able to do if it had had some proper support and management.

I have yet to ride the Voyage, but will do so in two weeks. When you've got multiple coaster enthusiasts saying that's it's a little bit too much to handle, and that it's hard to reride for others, it makes me wonder how many other parks would want another coaster of its size and intensity.

On top of that, you've got the Gravity Group themselves admitting in the Cbuzz podcast that whatever they build next, it's got to top the Voyage. That's a pretty tall order, and whose going to bite?

I don't think Voyage has really set any sort of bar here. GG is going to build what the parks as them to build, and asides from taking some inspiration from Voyage, I don't really see what else a different park would take into consideration concerning Voyage. I certainly don't think the Voyage is going to spark some sort of return to massive wooden coasters or anything, like the Raven did with small to mid sized woodies.

If anything I see Voyage and Hades as remarkable anonmilies, at least for now. *** Edited 6/3/2006 8:34:22 PM UTC by matt.*** *** Edited 6/3/2006 8:34:44 PM UTC by matt.***

I had an opinion on this and now I have a thread to post it in. I thought Hades was too intense for the normal large corporate park to consider it. A fast forceful ride in complete darkness seems like more than they can stomach. Every time a large park has an option to go lights out, they often crack the door or turn on the nightlight on a much less intense ride. The Voyage, although not the dark ride Hades is, is much more intense. I am afraid that these first two coasters of TGG will leave them unconsidered for most or all projects of the big parks. Small parks who want a big thrill on a budget may call them, but those who can afford monster steel will probably go to GCI or Intamin for their wood. Also, the steel support structures don't really help their cause with the big players. Can you really imagine parks like BGW or IOA with bents towering over their midways? I just hope TGG does get more contracts and the closer to me the better.

I dunno dude, GG can build what the parks ask for, I'm sure. If a park comes to them and asks for a less intense ride, I see no reason why it couldn't happen.

And as far as the steel structures, is there a reason GG couldn't go with wood? In fact if you check out the bottom of this page:

http://thegravitygroup.com/options.html#out

obviously not. There are steel and wooden versions all over the website. I don't see BGW or IOA building a woodie anytime soon (lol) but with the right budget and planning anything could be possible. *** Edited 6/3/2006 9:57:58 PM UTC by matt.***

Of course they can, but the perception of the company will be altered by they rides they have built. With only 2 rides and both being nothing like what the big players want, it will be hard for them to get their foot in the door with the other manufactures already out there. Even if they do convince a large park they can build something different, it will still be different. I have a feeling that these two ride will have a bigger effect keeping TGG out of large parks than it will have convincing the large parks that their new rides need to be more intense.

I'd love to see a new wooden coaster over at valleyfair. They need it.

I'm still not buying it, RavenTTD. I don't think any park is going to dismiss TGG soley because their first two coasters under the TGG name have been large, intense, and steel structured.

Wouldn't a park also be able to look at CCI's output anyway? I mean its essentially the same designers and engineers anyway, which any park would know.

Also, does GG even need the big parks? Even if GG never built for Paramount, Cedar Fair, SF, Disney, or Busch, that still leaves an awful lot of parks out there, and really, aside from a few coasters, that has been most woodie designer's bread and butter anyway. *** Edited 6/3/2006 10:28:10 PM UTC by matt.*** *** Edited 6/3/2006 10:29:56 PM UTC by matt.***

Judging TGG on Hades and Voyage is like judging CCI on their first woodie: Sky Princess. You have to remember that Holiday World got Voyage because that is what they asked TGG for; same with Mt. Olympus and Hades. But to even suggest that TGG would limit themselves to only large projects it ludicrous.

First let me remind you two what the topic question is:

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Krypton said:
With the national attention the park is getting for the ride, do you think its at all possible that we may soon see many of the larger chain parks adding a wooden coaster of this size due to its excitement rating amongst guests?

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It is not about toned down rides or smaller parks.

Second, wasn't CCI mostly limited to smaller parks? They had a couple midsized SF parks, but it was mostly small parks and foreign parks.

And third, I still disagree. I just don't see the large parks taking TGG very seriously. I think it is HUGE mistake, but I don't think they seriously consider them for their large projects.

I've heard that Sky Princess is a decent ride, though!