What do you think about clones?

Here's my thought on clones. First off, the Raptor clone is no big deal at all, they are such a far distance from each other the chances of you riding both of them are slim unless if you are purposely trying to do so. I think the Batman clones for Six Flags parks was good at the time, but I'm afraid that continuing clones (as I see SUF possibly being cloned as much as Batman TR) may hurt the parks more than it may help them. This country gets smaller and smaller every year travel wise. People are travelling much more often than the early 1990's (when Batman was born) and rollercoasters/theme parks are becoming a more important part of people's vacations.

Because of this, cloning the same ride that many times is a gamble in my opinion. Believe it or not, I think there are several non-enthusiasts that know there are "lots of Batmans" throughout the nation. Even the gp that thinks every theme park is a six flags park. A person who goes to Chicago one year for vacation and stops at SFGAm and then the next year goes to LA and stops at SFMM and then the next year goes to Atlantic City and intends on stopping at SFGAdv, but decides that they have already ridden the top coasters at that park in the preceding years so they aren't going to pay near $50 a person to enter the park.

So, the idea and busines point of it makes sense at first, but digging deeper, several years from now, I think these theme parks may be realizing the mistake they made.

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Warning: I do not think like the average person. My remarks have plenty of thought behind them. Take it for what it's worth, if you disagree, please, feel free to express it, but don't put me down because of it.

The intamin impulse coaster is starting to be the next cloned ride. After SUE, we got V2 and SV. Soon, they'll be everywhere like the boomerangs. Parks like clones because they thrill and they're usually cheap. I can't argue about that. And they can gurantee a good ride. Medusa at SFGadv was cloned to Scream! at SFMM. We all know Medusa is a pretty good ride, so Scream! is gonna be a good ride too. No doubts or worries for the park when the coaster has committed.

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A.K.A. Batman Bastard

SFGAMDie HARD said:

Because of this, cloning the same ride that many times is a gamble in my opinion. Believe it or not, I think there are several non-enthusiasts that know there are "lots of Batmans" throughout the nation. Even the gp that thinks every theme park is a six flags park. A person who goes to Chicago one year for vacation and stops at SFGAm and then the next year goes to LA and stops at SFMM and then the next year goes to Atlantic City and intends on stopping at SFGAdv, but decides that they have already ridden the top coasters at that park in the preceding years so they aren't going to pay near $50 a person to enter the park.

So, the idea and busines point of it makes sense at first, but digging deeper, several years from now, I think these theme parks may be realizing the mistake they made.

A person who would travel like that as you described would already have a season pass, so that's no big loss for the park if he/she ends up not planning to visit.

And they won't realize it is a mistake because IT ISN'T one. It's a smart business move. And what is with you and this "digging deeper" crap? I have dug all the way to the bottom and hit solid rock, and clones are still the most economical way to go for a park.

Hmmm, just want to play devils advocate for a second here...

Honestly who is to say that clones will make just as much money for a park? I was thinking...wouldn't a kick ass custom design bring more bragging rights to a park (ala CP, where they do things bigger and badder)? Wouldn't that in turn bring in more people as it could possibly get nationwide (if not worldwide) recognition?

Let's face it, if CP had only built clones, I'm almost certain it would not be the destination park it is today.

Discuss! :)

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"No honey, the monkeys have already done enough damage on this trip." - Guy coming out of front gate at SFGAd

*sigh* I wasn't quite looking for that much sarcasm or personal attacks. (the get a life part was a wee bit immature) The question I was trying to convey was why would a park clone instead of an original design?

I'd also like to thank Legendary for his input. He touched base with what I was thinking. Glad to see someone is paying attention.

So, let's start over shall we?

Legendary said:

Let's face it, if CP had only built clones, I'm almost certain it would not be the destination park it is today.

But I don't think CP *is* a destination park. It attracts mainly people within a few hours driving distance. No one here in California has heard of CP.

A real destination park is Disneyland or Disney World. Everyone knows about those two and it attracts people not only from around the United States but from around the world! As great as a park as it is, I don't think that the term destination park describes Cedar Point at all. Its a big deal, but only in Ohio and surrounding states.

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The Trip: CP, SFWoA, PKI, KW, HW, IB, SFGAm, MiA and LeSourdsville too.
8 Days- 10 parks. May 2003

And we almost got through the off-season without having to resort to this topic...

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
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