Shapiro makes his way to Six Flags Magic Mountain

Speaking of asphault under coasters, Shockwave was constructed just like Scream above a parking lot. When Shockwave was torn down and Superman replaced it, I don't believe they tore up the lot. From what I hear, they actually poured dirt over it and planted seed along with bushes and pre-mature trees.

I agree with Peabody. You have to keep the thrill niche at that park in your marketing along with appealing to families. That is the only way that park can be unique in that market and survive.

Honestly, no one can really doubt that Six Flags will remain predominantly a thrill park. The only way I will freak out is if they start tearing down existing coasters only to replace them with family or kid rides. Let's be realistic, that's not going to happen, at least I hope not. But from my understanding, the focus for now or a couple of years is going to be on improving the family appeal and making sure there are enough fun, entertaining things for everyone not tall enough or capable of handling the major coasters. Major thrill rides seperate the business aspect from Disney and always have. I believe that when the debt load gets to a manageable level, then we might start to see cutting edge attractions again, that's provided that most of the Coaster companies haven't gone out of buisness due to the largest bulk buyer not buying anymore.

*** This post was edited by Magicmike 2/18/2006 7:02:24 PM ***

Just my two cents. I've always LOVED rollercoasters. Not only to ride but the way they looked. I remember when I was ten (1988), Collossus used to look so cool at night. Freshly painted, with working colored lights. In the past years it used to bug me that DL could take care of the park (rides that are old still look good) and MM would look so old and dirty, faded. Look what the re-model did for Space Mountain. AMAZING. Anyway, I will always love SFMM because of the rides and think the changes might be good for the park. I know seeing Marvin the Martian (spelling?) walking around this past weekend brought a smile to my face.