Terminator themed GCI to open at Magic Mountain on Memorial Day weekend 2009

^ It never really stopped.

Knee, meet Jerk... ;)

Oh good grief. Someday I am going to build a wooden coaster and call it Yellow Pine and then you folks can't complain that it is not related to the coaster.

Then we'll start arguing whether it's yellow or not . . .

I'm guessing that this is going to be GCI's first wooden coaster with a barrel roll?

About complaining about the name and theme...

Everyone has expectations of how a theme should be connected to a type of ride, usually from perception of everything around them in everyday life, and from past experiences. Things one person notices or does not notice or think important about the world reflects why we may disagree that a theme for a ride works or not.

No one is wrong. No one is right. Of course we all see it from a different perspective.

...And MY perspective is that a wood coaster themed to robots is goofy. This opinion may be changed once I see the movie and it is about a wooden robot, or has a great action scene on a wooden coaster, or something (anything please) to connect the ride experience with the movie in a more substantial way then just a name.

Why is that a problem?

If Bender can get a downgrade and get wooden legs, why can't a Terminator? To those of you who DON'T watch Futurama....you need less of a life. :)

ApolloAndy said:
I think Prowler is about as close to an Out n Back as GCI is going to get.

But, is it made of cat? or Plymouth car parts? Because, if not....

I can't beleive it, but I agree with LostKause. The theme/name is just plain goofy for a wood coaster. That being said, I think a GCI woodie is a fantastic addition to a relatively wood-starved Southern California.

As for the layout or the semi-new thing, my guess is a straight drop, and perhaps (knowing SFMM) breaking the West Coast wooden height record. I realize that is held by SFMM themselves, but a middle-of-the-road sized wooden coaster doesn't seem to be something that will grab headlines. Unless they are solely relying on the Terminator theme tie-in.

/want to ride it no matter how goofy the theme seems.

It's made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good.

^^ Dark Knight didn't break any records or do anything particularly novel but they marketed the crap out of it anyway.

I don't think it's possible, seeing as Cedar Point hasn't done it yet.

That was supposed to be a burn?

But hey, that's fine by me. I hate theming.

Lost Kause, I personally see nothing wrong with your opinions on the theme. I kind of agree with it to a ceratin degree. But since the ride's details have not been announced yet, it seems a bit silly to go on about theme of a ride who's full details have yet to be revealed. How do we know that ride is going to be themed to the "robot" aspect of the film? We don't. Why when we think of wood do we forget that the trains (the vehicles that actually carry passengers) are anything but wood?

And at the end of the day, I think any theme (if carried off well) can work on both wood and steel. Now you may very well end up being right, this may be a bonehead move. But I also think that people who are so connected to their expectations as not to allow any room for flexibility, just end up removing all the fun.

Wood coaster trains are anything but wood? Chasis, frame, and wheels sure...but what do you think the bodies are made of?

Soggy said:
I can't beleive it, but I agree with LostKause. The theme/name is just plain goofy for a wood coaster.

/want to ride it no matter how goofy the theme seems.

Goofier than when Dollywood decided to theme/name a wood coaster after a Cumulonimbus cloud? Goofier than when Busch Gardens Africa named their dueler wood coasters after a Tiger and Lion? Goofier than when Holiday World named their newest woodie after a Pilgrim migration? I could go on...

Mamoosh, those were the things I was speaking of. Poor choice of words I guess. But I stand behind the rest of what I said. ;)

kRaXLeRidAh said:

Goofier than when Dollywood decided to theme/name a wood coaster after a Cumulonimbus cloud? Goofier than when Busch Gardens Africa named their dueler wood coasters after a Tiger and Lion? Goofier than when Holiday World named their newest woodie after a Pilgrim migration? I could go on...

Yes, to all of the above. Theming a wooden coaster to a high-tech wizzbang morphing killer robots from the future movie franchise is goofier than all of those.

It seems as though many of us think the theming tie-in is dumb but a good coaster is a good coaster all the same. I don't see why the conversation keeps going in circles, some people think it's silly but doesn't matter, and some people think it doesn't matter. Seems like it's all the same in the end.

^ I can clearly see why it keeps going in circles. Because there is nothing else to talk about in regard to the ride yet. So every few days, someone else will show up to say what a dumb idea it is, without adding anything new to the conversation. We knew what a crazy idea it was back on page 1.

OMG, did you guys hear that Six Flags is theming a wooden roller coaster to the new Terminator movie?!?! What a stupid idea! Good thing I didn't read the first page of this thread! (Okay, that quota is filled for the day...:))

Has GCI done 90+ degree banking, yet?

We should just wait on an announcement. We all know how much an idea can change from concept to final plans to construction. It's all just rumor until an official annoucement is made by the park, not the LA Times.

With all due respect to my friends at Great Coasters I hope this project gets cancelled. The last thing SFMM needs is to spend a few million dollars on a new coaster of any kind. That money should be spent rebuilding the collection of non-coasters (flat, spinning) rides...

...not that doing so would get me to return to the park. New woodie or not I won't be stepping foot inside SFMM (or any SF park) in 2009.