Six Flags Great Adventure announces new "super boomerang" roller coaster

Can't be any worse capacity then the hunk of junk S&S 4D. Probably 30x more fun too.

LostKause:

I know, I know. Some of you guys don't understand

I understand that when a new ride is installed, the park's capacity increases. But thanks for the dripping condescension.

What I don't understand is, after over a quarter century of following this hobby, why coaster enthusiasts still insist on bitching about--well, everything, but primarily about capacity--every time a new ride is announced (and yes, I realize both the irony and hypocrisy of bitching about enthusiasts' bitching). It's gotten to the point where, when I see a thread posted with a ride announcement, I start counting the replies before capacity is mentioned. It almost never disappoints. It's somehow simultaneously comical and exhausting.

Number of posts it took to mention low capacity:

Post #10 (this thread)
Post #3
Post #2
Post #10
Post #14
Post #3

These are literally just the announcements from August. Three Six Flags parks, Kings Island, Cedar Point, and Holiday World. The only new announcements without capacity complaints (so far...don't let me down guys!) were Dorney and Silver Dollar City.

What I don't understand is why you would spend time to go back and look up not only the previous threads but the specific post.

eightdotthree:

What I don't understand is why you would spend time to go back and look up not only the previous threads but the specific post.

I like to provide data to back up my inane arguments.

The fact that we all complain about capacity (it's probably one of my biggest pet peeves) isn't just enthusiasts being entitled (maybe it is sometimes ;)). It's because it appears to be a real, actual issue. I'm not suggesting the parks should change their approach, because they know a lot more than I do, have the numbers, etc. but it's certainly not unique to hear random people on the midway complaining that lines are too long.

Case in point, we went to BGW for the first time in twenty years last month. Everything was a walk-on including Pantheon. We were literally allowed to pick a new row and ride again at one point in the middle of the afternoon. DarKoaster, the brand new ride, had a 90 minute wait. We skipped it and overheard people exiting saying "That was definitely not worth the wait."

Call it a complaint, call it curiosity, but I don't understand why it isn't a bigger concern to parks when, on the surface, it seems to have a significant negative impact on guest experience.

The only new announcements without capacity complaints (so far...don't let me down guys!) were Dorney and Silver Dollar City.

Dorney will get Cedar Point’s complaints in ten years or so.

ApolloAndy:

We skipped it and overheard people exiting saying "That was definitely not worth the wait.”

Possibly a corollary to “if it needed a hotel…”: if a ride is not worth the wait, it won’t have one in a year or two.

Anybody think it looks REALLY cool? Now if only this were an RMC...oh wait, launch issues? ;)

To question cap ex decisions and capacity isn’t complaining. I could easily see the Super Boomerang or the Intamin Surfboard going to a park like SF Great Escape, SF St. Louis, SFA, etc. where its capacity matches park attendance. The higher attendance parks really need coasters with a minimum capacity of 1200-1400pph to make sense. SFGA could add something like a modified Vekoma Ghostrider to get it above the advertised 1050pph.

Looking at SFGA attendance, in 2021 they did a reported 2.9 million. In the NYC metro region that park should EASILY be doing 3.5-4 million attendance (comparable to CP, KI, CW, etc.) We know part of the problem is a frustrating guest experience; cap ex plays a role here.

I don't particularly worry about physical ride capacity, it's the operations that bother me. There's nothing worse than standing in line for an hour in front of a gloriously engineered B&M made to eat people because the crew sucks. I'm not an O-C park visitor, so when you choke up my day with unnecessarily long waits, I don't dig that.

I don't think SF really cares. Between the Freespins and Larson Loops of today, the Boomerangs, SLCs and Batman:TRs of the past, SF has always taken the cheapest way. Only during the "Coaster Wars" have we ever really seen SF go really big or creative. (Yes, broad generalization and I know there are exceptions.)

My guess is, this is a quick, (relatively) cheap, easy plug and play that's unique enough for advertising purposes in a park that needs to keep jaded locals interested. Wouldn't be surprised to see 5 more of these at SF parks in 2025. Yeah, capacity probably will suck for the first year, but anyone pissed off enough to swear off the park for good will be lured back 2 years later with the next shiny new thing.

I’m definitely not complaining. This ride looks like a lot of fun. I am agreeing with the anticipated future park visitors that the wait is too long. They will be the ones complaining.

And no one is complaining about theoretical capacity of a shiny new B&M going in at Dorney Park for obvious reasons.

Jeff:

I don't particularly worry about physical ride capacity, it's the operations that bother me.

Yeah, if I were to complain about capacity, that's where my head is. Projected capacity of the ride itself isn't an issue to me, because Cedar Point has proven (at least in the past) that a ride can have an absolutely ridiculous line and it still moves. New rides always have crazy long lines, so I can't really get behind Andy's DarKoaster example, either. I spent 3 hours in line to ride Volcano its opening year, and decided from that point on that no ride is worth that kind of wait. I'd rather wait a year or two to visit and come back when the ride is no longer the new hotness. On a weekday.

And how many new rides have miles of unused queue after only a year or two? I just don't get the constant bitching if every new ride doesn't cycle 3000 pph.

I also think bitching about capacity at Magic Mountain, Great Adventure, and possibly Great America on a mid-tier coaster is reductive. All 3 have an overabundance of coaster choices, and obviously, the newest thing will be busy, but the Jersey Devil has had pretty ok lines and capacity. And I can still pretty much walk on Nitro when I want.

ApolloAndy:

Call it a complaint, call it curiosity, but I don't understand why it isn't a bigger concern to parks when, on the surface, it seems to have a significant negative impact on guest experience.

My theory: most visitors don't care that much about waiting in line when they visit a theme/amusement park. It goes with the territory. They go to parks expecting to wait in line. The people that do complain are the exception, not the rule.

For all the bellyaching we see on here about the uber planning that some think is absolutely necessary to visit WDW, I believe we would all be blown away at the number of people that take a vacation there, are completely ignorant about the existence or perceived necessity of Genie+ or Lightning Lane, and manage to have a hap-happy time in spite of it.

I think in some sense that's certainly true, but Disney clearly cares about lines and capacity and patrons clearly notice them. Whether they have a "good" time with long lines is somewhat independent from how much "better" a time they'll have with short lines.

Vater:

New rides always have crazy long lines,

I don't think this has to be true, but even if it is, more capacity would mean more people would get on the ride with the "crazy long line" which is presumably a good thing. In the most extreme and reductive example, wouldn't the park much rather have 1500 pph waiting 90 minutes to ride the new thing than have 200 pph waiting 90 minutes to ride the new thing? If you're going to build a new attraction, don't you want the most people to get on it and go tell their friends how great it is or want to come back another day? That's got to be better than most of the people telling their friends that the line was super long and so they balked at it and their friends should wait a year or two to go to the park.

hambone:

Dorney will get Cedar Point’s complaints in ten years or so.

Dorney already has had complaints about capacity of Iron Menace on socials.

ApolloAndy:

...but Disney clearly cares about lines and capacity and patrons clearly notice them.

I admit, this is what has ruined me going most other places (except for Universal, most of the time). Even with all of the Lightning Lane nonsense, you can sense the hustle and kinetic energy in the room.

Universal is getting better, but their rides still lack behind Disney and their operators aren’t always as fast either. If Disney had built Velocicoaster they’d have put in two unload and two load stations and run 6 trains.