Public scrutiny continues on Great Escape expansion

I can't believe the town wouldn't let them build a water ride because they were worried about increased traffic. It's nice to read that Six Flags Inc. wants to put major money into renovations and upgrades for a non-Six Flags named park.

Intamin Fan, i think that Six Flags is doing all of this because eithier this year, or sometime within the next few years they do plan on converting The Great Escape to 'Six Flags Great Escape' I sort of have a feeling that it is going to happen this year, because if you goto the Directions page at, http://www.sixflags.com/greatescape/general/ it now says 'Map to Six Flags Great Escape' which it never said until recently. Im keeping my eye on the local paper, and http://www.sixflagsmedia.com for any updates about the park converting over to a Six Flags.

What's the big deal, all I see is a park wanting to expanded a little, not a mile or 2. Give them the land and compromise.

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Feel the force--Steel Force

It's NIMBY time again. Got to protect those inflated property values.

If Great Escape turns into a Six Flags theme park, then you can just kiss the park of old goodbye. I bet they'd get rid of all the storybook themeing and replace the miniture houses with miniture loony toon houses (a Foghorn Leghorn hen house, Peppy LePew pen, & a Tweety cage).

There's only a few parks left that aren't completely themed after some money making priority, like Loony Tunes, DC Comics, Peanuts, or Paramount pictures... and The Great Escape is one of them.

I hope that the residents around the area will allow them to expand freely, or GE will just ignore their complaints and do it anyway, and I also hope that the park officials use a little common sense, a little thought, & have a little decency to not convert GE into a six flags property.

I've been to GE since when it was called Story Town. It's a pretty good to bring young kids to for a day's entertainment, not at all a park to go to for thrill rides.

If thrill rides are what you seek, there are enough parks within a 5-hour drive to go to -- not that I agree that they shouldn't modernize or that the residents should be able to prevent expansion. I've often wished to have a few big rides close to home. It will take a MAJOR expansion to make this park into a thrill ride park.

But I know the history of land problems in the area (residents took their fight to court to prevent ANY business from EVER building on the unimproved land on the north side of 254 across the street from Aviation Mall-Exit 19.) Residents there are fickle and conservative and they like the PERCEPTION of being a quiet little resort town (emphasis on the 'quiet' -- it's too close to Lake George).

A long-term settlement would be great, but I do not see GE becoming anything of a major draw for coaster enthusiasts, except maybe for those wanting to say they were able to ride the Comet. Even if SF wants to put money into it.

I also agree that it would be a shame for the characters to be commercialized and for the story town characters to be replaced. There are too few parks left (emphasis on PARKS) that provide the kind of entertainment for young children that don't involve some kind of commercialized focus. If SF was smart, they'd let the existing characters be, and expand in the back and on the side where there is ample room without disturbing the character of this park. There's more than enough room for them to put in enough bigger thrill rides & coasters. It doesn't take much space to add a major coaster. Ask Cedar Point!

As far as traffic goes, adding lanes, etc to Rte 9 will help, but they're close enough to 2 exits off I-87 such that additional traffic should not be a concern. I think that the locals just have a bug up their...
...but I'm just as happy to drive 5 hours to SFGA in New Jersey, 3 to SFNE or, better yet, 8 hours to Cedar Point to get my coaster fill.

Update:
Having missed the Halloween-theme park days, and having since talked with "people in the know", character replacement has already started to occur. Bitesa Biggun, donnit?