Six Flags Magic Mountain announces Terminator: The Coaster

RatherGoodBear said:
What's wrong with just enjoying riding a wooden coaster? I've never felt sensorily deprived on any other wooden coaster I've ridden. And I didn't feel it while watching the video of this one either.

That's the "hey you kids, get off my lawn" in you coming out. ;)

This is exactly what's been talked about so much - competing with the internet and videos games and cell phones and instant messaging.

This is clearly (based on X2, the SROS redo and additions like this) the direction SF feels they need to go. I don't necessarily disagree.

Cake is good. Cake with icing is better. Cake with icing and decorations is even better.

The world is changing. The parks need to keep up if they want to stay relevant in the public's eye.

Yeah, but when it comes to coasters is that even a competition they can attempt to contend with? The technology is constantly changing in the markets you mention. How could they ever keep up with the renovations necessary to prevent obsolescence on these large investments? I mean, what's the shelf life of a coaster vs the shelf life of the average video game?

If people are skipping the park visits because the alternatives seem more attractive then this is just a case of trying to make the product seem more like the alternative.

I don't think it's a matter of obsolescence. It's a matter of the experience.

Things like this are just the first step in an industry that's already fallen woefully behind in many areas.

How do you keep it from becoming (or seeming) obsolete? You continue to push forward with new additions. The problem is that the public (or at least someone) seems to think the standard amusement park experience is already obsolete. We've heard it time and time again - the parks have so many distractions to compete with that people are just choosing to not visit the park. This is a step forward in enticing those kinds of visitors again.

Perhaps the masses feel amusement parks are too expensive to visit. Maybe Gonch's "make more profit from less volume" business plan is a bust. ;)

And I would like to add that I think The Hurler is a fantastic name for a roller coaster regardless of any tie-in with Wayne's World. :)

Acoustic Viscosity said:
Perhaps the masses feel amusement parks are too expensive to visit. Maybe Gonch's "make more profit from less volume" business plan is a bust. ;)

Totally different argument - even if you added the winky.

To further elaborate with random thoughts:

Do you think you'll see any parks of resonable size and profile ever add a plain vanilla dark ride ever again? You know - cheesy stunts and static decor?

I doubt it. We're in the age of the interactive shooter. The world has moved on. The old way of doing it just isn't that appealing.

Heck, Disney took it to the next next level with Toy Story. It's like riding through a Wii game.

That's where things are headed.

Come to think of it, your price questioning may have some validity after all. You have to discount old technology to make it attractive. The price is too high - for the product being offered. :)

Well, if amusement parks are competing with the Internet for the hearts and minds of teenage boys, clearly we need more porn-themed roller coasters. ;)

Ha! Oooh...let the fun begin! ;)

What's wrong with just enjoying riding a wooden coaster? I've never felt sensorily deprived on any other wooden coaster I've ridden.

Sorry to back up the conversation a bit, I agree with Bear whole-heartedly. Many people in this overstimulated world have lost the ability enjoy the little things around us. For example, I delever air ducts to Boston & Cambridge, MA quite a bit. Unfortunitly, I gotta spend time in taffic. So, I try to look around me. I was stopped on the Mass. Ave bridge and marveled at the rowers on the river below me. Very cool.

As for the porno-coaster, just make sure the ride ops are Playboy bunnies (for the guys) and Chipndale dancers (for the ladies).

Oh, if you look at Power Tower, TTD, and Corkscrew, the line up so they look like a schlong, condem & cajones, respectivly. :)

Well we can see for sure that HopMan is definitely hetero-centric...He obviously forgot that about 20% of roller coasters riders are gay/lesbian. Dont believe me? Visit a party called Odyssey Adventures at Magic Mountain in late September. To that end, I would much rather see beefy, burly, lumberjack, athlete, or military types with broad hairy chests and big arms as ride operators than mechanically enhanced buxom blonds or airheaded closet Chippendale dancers =).

In any case as I said my only bone of contention is that this ride could have been so much more. Even with all the debt Six Flags incurred, it still spent a minimum of $14million on the area surrounding El Toro. Im not suggesting that it has to be anything that elaborate. I mean a simple refurbish of the current boardwalk area and a brand new Intamin woodie would suffice QUITE WELL. I mean having ridden El Toro a few times, I can honestly say it is a wooden coaster experience like no other. Dont get me wrong...I do enjoy being tossed around on The Boss, The Texas Giant, and even on the Son of B-----....Oooops, I meant Son of Beast. But not not everyone is gonna want some coaster that sends to the chiropractor in traction in 10 years of operation. An Intamin designed ride could be one of the crown jewels of coaster world on the west coast. I mean it would definitely make some ppl say "Ghost-what?" ;) Thats just MHO.

Hopman said:Sorry to back up the conversation a bit, I agree with Bear whole-heartedly. Many people in this overstimulated world have lost the ability enjoy the little things around us.

*Putting on my Gonch-hat and business degree - does it really matter whether you agree that this trend toward hyperstimulation is a "bad thing" for society in general? What matters in terms of profitability is that you understand it and react to market forces. If you think it's bad for businesses to either: a) adapt, b) take advantage, or c) meet customer demand - that's a matter of your POV. But for shareholders, that viewpoint makes you less profitable.

Ensign Smith said:
Well, if amusement parks are competing with the Internet for the hearts and minds of teenage boys, clearly we need more porn-themed roller coasters. ;)

"Kings Dominion today announced Dominatrix..."

Coasterhound36 said:

In any case as I said my only bone of contention is that this ride could An Intamin designed ride could be one of the crown jewels of coaster world on the west coast. I mean it would definitely make some ppl say "Ghost-what?" ;) Thats just MHO.

Maybe. But I have a feeling this new Terminator coaster is going to do just what you mentioned. I agree with what someone earlier said. SFMM has enough "stat" obsessed rides. What they needed was a thrilling family ride that doesn't scream out for more obnoxious teenagers to take over the park. That's exactly what GCI provided here. Hardcore enthusiasts looking for record breakers and Inatmin intensity simply need not apply. This is a ride that families can ride together without intimidation and it's the best 'coaster' addition the park has made in years, whether you like the movie tie-in or not.

The fact that people are complaining already about an unfinished project just says to me that Jay Thomas was completely successful in his goals.

1) Get people talking about what would normally be a pretty standard addition.

2) Underwhelm enthusiasts and obnoxious teens that don't spend money anyway.

Mission accomplished.

Oh, and this coaster looks terriffic!

Has anyone ridden 'Roar' at Six Flags in Vallejo? I rode it about 6 or 7 years ago and thought it was an awesome ride and the millenium flyer trains are pretty cool. They allow for maneuvers that could not be made with traditional 2-row cars. The ride was much better than I'd anticipated. I remember thinking that I wished GCI would build a coaster at SFMM and now they have and I'm excited.

I get just as excited as the next person about height, drops and speed, but after riding some 100ft tall GCI and GravityGroup coasters I have come to love the sensation of flying through convoluted track that is close to the ground and terrain. I'm sure some of you will be pleasantly surprised...unless it is just completely against your nature.

Also, do you really think that there will be no wooden structures in the not too distant future? I'm in real estate development and wood is one of the materials that is rising fastest in cost. This coaster could have been built for 6-7 million about 3 years ago. Maybe in the Terminator film wood is the new gold and is considered a priceless commodity. I dunno.

I think we should see the film, ride the coaster, then make a judgement about the theming (in that order).

Until then.....woohoooooo...we're getting a new GCIcoaster!!

MadCoasterFan said:

Also, do you really think that there will be no wooden structures in the not too distant future? I'm in real estate development and wood is one of the materials that is rising fastest in cost. This coaster could have been built for 6-7 million about 3 years ago. Maybe in the Terminator film wood is the new gold and is considered a priceless commodity. I dunno.

I think the main reason why many parks are shying away from woodies is long-tearm costs. To maintain a wood coaster, you need at least 5 full-time carmpenters at $50k a year. For a park, $250K x 10 years, and you have $2.5 million before you see any ride time.

Lord Gonchar said:
How do you keep it from becoming (or seeming) obsolete? You continue to push forward with new additions.

But how often is Six Flags known to do that? Most coasters built at Six Flags parks are more or less neglected after two years... right around the time the next big thing opens and steals the headlines. Many of the parks can't even seem to find room in the budget for new paint more than once a decade. Unless the parks are able to secure sponsors to pay for the upgrades necessary to keep the high-tech bits modern and appealing, I see rides like this becoming laughably obsolete in a very short amount of time.

I'm with RGB. Build a good ride and there is no need to try to turn a roller coaster into some kind of interactive, high-energy experience. There isn't anything remotely high-tech about coasters like Nitro, The Voyage, Boulder Dash, Raptor, Phantom's Revenge and Mindbender. There's no need for those coasters to allow riders to sync their iPods while riding. They're popular rides because they're good rides. Good rides sound like a good business plan to me.

Interestingly enough, I have never heard anybody say, "If that ride only had music blaring through speakers, it would be a great ride," after leaving the ride.

Hopman said:
To maintain a wood coaster, you need at least 5 full-time carmpenters at $50k a year.

You're generalizing. That's what Mean Streak needs (six carpenters, actually), and that isn't the norm. I believe Holiday World employs six guys total for three rides, and they work on the trains as well.

How many parks have more than three full size woodies to maintain? CP has four (or 3 1/2, depending on your perspective), but only two of those are wood-tracked. I imagine a wooden-structure only coaster takes a little bit less maintenance than a structure-and-track complete woodie. Purely guessing, though.

MadCoasterFan - a bunch of us attended the recent SpringCon in NorCal...the overwhelming general consensus among our large group was that Roar West (the one at SFDK) was by FAR the weakest of the GCI coasters. No idea how it might have run 6-7 years ago, but if our rides were any indication, you could be in for a REAL treat (and surprise!). I'm not the biggest GCI fan going, but their rides are typically much much better than that one.

Rob Ascough said:

I'm with RGB. Build a good ride and there is no need to try to turn a roller coaster into some kind of interactive, high-energy experience.

That's no surprise. :)

Seriously though, I have nothing else to say. Seems like the standard aversion to change and lack of vision that permeates the enthusiast community.

A ride might not need the interactivity, but it cuts both ways - a good ride will still be good even with those elements. So why not add the extras if it draws an expanded audience?

a_hoffman50 said:
Interestingly enough, I have never heard anybody say, "If that ride only had music blaring through speakers, it would be a great ride," after leaving the ride.

And I've never heard anyone get off a 'plussed' ride and say, "You know that coaster would've been fun, but the music killed it." or "That would've been more fun if we didn't have those guns to shoot at targets and could've just sat there with our hands neatly folded on our laps"

I just don't see the problem, I guess.