Which 6 SF parks are getting new rides.

Just curious to know which 6 SF parks they are refering to in this article that states "Only 6 of the company's 39 parks are getting new rides this year". I know about SFGAM and SFEG, anyone know the other 4? (still hoping for a Disk-O at SFMW, but realize most likely will just be much needed park improvements).

http://www.nola.com/business/t-p/index.ssf?/base/money-1/107518683944840.xml

SFEG, SFFT (Proslide Tornado), SFGAm, La Ronde (Shoot-the-Chutes), SFNE (waterpark expansion), SFoG (several new family flats).

But that's not really all, because SFoT's Hurricane Harbor and Atlanta's Six Flags White Water are also getting Proslide Tornadoes...but of course, those are just waterparks (not the theme parks themselves).

-Nate

So as far as the theme parks go only 3 continental US parks SFEG,SFOG & SFGRAM are getting rides while the rest only get improvements?

It's probably gonna get worse next year when probably nobody gets anything at all... after the 04 expansion SFGRAM won't be on the list in 05 that's for sure.

Of course we should be a bit more optimistic about what's possibly in store for 05 when we really havn't started the 04 season yet,still I think the downward trend in fewer new rides being built for SF parks will only continue into 05 though.

WOW. Six Flags New Orleans attendance jumped 165% in comparison to the final year it was under the name Jazzland? That's insane.

kRaXle - you didn't read the entire article. 165% sounds like a lot until you read this:

That's not necessarily saying much, though, because attendance at Jazzland plummeted as the park failed. After turnstiles recorded nearly 1.1 million visits during the park's inaugural year in 2000, attendance fell to 558,000 in 2001 as dissatisfied customers deserted the park, according to documents filed later in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Attendance had been expected to fall further in 2002, the year the park was in bankruptcy, because it had little money for promotions in its meager court-supervised operations budget.

Amusement Business reported in December that Six Flags New Orleans was the only Six Flags park to see an attendance increase in 2003, with attendance climbing to 1 million.

Taken together, Wills' statement and the Amusement Business estimate suggest that attendance fell to less than 400,000 during the year the park was in bankruptcy.

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It's probably gonna get worse next year when probably nobody gets anything at all... after the 04 expansion SFGRAM won't be on the list in 05 that's for sure.

I would be suprised if we didnt get anything at SFGA in 05 as we have gotten something every year for the last thirteen years -I say thirteen as I cant remember past that also the way to make money is to spend even when profits are down whether on advertising in sales or new rides in amusement parks.you wont bring more people in bt cutting spending.

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I'm drawing a blank...but didn't the park get ziltch in the way of rides for the 2002 season (SFGAm, that is)?

Joe

Well it does look bad for those of us waiting for new coasters.

In the article it states that SFI isn't looking at major rides such as coasters as a way of raising attendance levels in their parks,so for those of us that have been neglected in that general area lately don't expect any new coasters to be added anytime soon.

With that in mind it almost certainly means I probably won't renew my season pass come 2005.

Heres what SfGaM got from 2000 on:

2000: New Parade Floats(said to cost +$1 million)

2001: Deja Vu and Vertical Velocity

2002: Uh.....

2003: S:UF

2004: Rajun' Cajun, Revoultion, Big Easy Balloons, Jester's Wild Ride, King Chaos.

2005: ??? If the parks attendance rises this season don't count out a new coaster in 2005, possibly the highly rumored B&M Floorless. *** Edited 1/28/2004 2:33:25 AM UTC by SfGaMOwnz***

Out of SFGAm's 29 seasons (the upcoming season included), I can only think of 8 where the park didn't get at least a thrill ride of some sort (water, flat or coaster). And they've gotten a coaster in nearly half of those 29 seasons.

What is it with this "boycott" mentality around here as of late? ("If my park doesn't get a new coaster I'm not going there anymore") It's not just in this thread, but several others. Are you perhaps under the impression that the park owes you a coaster? Or maybe you're secretly hoping that some "higher up" reads you comment and changes his mind? I just don't get it.

Prior to the coaster boom of the 90's, it wasn't at all uncommon for parks to go up to 4-5 years before adding a new coaster. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since parks back then focused on adding a variety of new attractions rather than just adding coaster after coaster year after year. I think that's what we'll be seeing again from now on, history does repeat itself!

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see SFMW continue to add new coasters every year, but I think with the coaster build up SF did for most of their parks in the 90's - early 2K, this should be enough to hold them over for a few years. Think about other places around the world that never get new coasters, we're just coaster spoiled here in the US! Or just be thankful Libertyland isn't your home park!

YES! SFDL isn't getting anything...again. It will have been 6 years at the earliest that Darien Lake has gotten a roller coaster(Superman in 1999).

Legendary-you guys are right I guess I didnt count 2002 because we got 2 coasters in one year in 2001-barely cause deja vu didnt run till oct so I carried it over to the next season.We were lucky to get 2 coasters in one season thats three coasters in three years-but you guys are right because it was 2 in one ,none the next and one a year later.

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colincsl said:
YES! SFDL isn't getting anything...again. It will have been 6 years at the earliest that Darien Lake has gotten a roller coaster(Superman in 1999).

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And before that, Darien went six years between Predator and the Nightmare, and eight years between Viper and Predator. Why are you complaining?

-Nate

While I hear several complaints about select Six Flags parks being chipped again, I feel very confident in those that are getting new rides. Not just because I visit SFGAm more than any other park, but because the parks getting major additions continue to bring in the most significant revenue for Six Flags or they need some extra convincing because of nearby competitors.

You can all argue about it, but SFGAm DESPERATELY needed an update in thrill ride attractions. Our premier flat ride was a Schwartzkopf, Fiddler's Fling (not saying it isn't AWESOME, just a bit dated). I think Six Flags is making smart decisions and playing their cards carefully during this low point in the amusement industry.

Also wouldn't necessarily rule out rehabbed/relocated rides. A "new-to-you" ride works just as well marketing-wise. And this isn't really a surprise...but if SF really DOES make the improvements they've been talking about, I think the the turnstiles will get busier, and the reduced investment will be temporary....

bill, thinking the SFEG new ride might prove to be the surprise "hit" that the Zamperla flyers weren't....or WERE they? ;)

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coasterdude318 said:
And before that, Darien went six years between Predator and the Nightmare, and eight years between Viper and Predator. Why are you complaining?

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Well, I think the main reason is because SFDL could be competing along sides with the big parks. During the 80's & early 90's, many medium to large parks similar in size to SFDL went many years without coasters... and now they've basically surpassed SFDL in both quantity & quality.

Also another reason is because since they've been branded, they've really only recieved one MAJOR addition, which, of course, was Superman. Their Huss Top Spin barely squeaked out the doors in 2000, and to this day... still doesn't make their official web site! The Shipwreck Falls was basically a dud, and up-charge attractions really shouldn't count formuch.

So I think the main complaint is that since the '99 season when they were officially branded Six Flags & went thru a mild face-lift, Six Flags has denied Darien Lake any other major additions. Yes, I realize the market it's competing in, but you also got to realize how large of a park it truly is with the on-site hotel, campground, and ampitheater... it could really be a vacation destination in the middle of the sticks.

SFDL is going to continue to get snubbed because i think that SFI thinks that "Okay the attendence is great for the size park that it is, and we haven't invested in a major new attraction since '99 if it ain't broke don't fix it".

I pretty much sum this up to their mentality as of right now so this means we won't receive anything major my guess being till at least '05..........or maybe not.......

Coasterdude why don't you just quit with the "rub it in our faces" attitude ok? your park is getting major additions every couple of seasons while a majority of us aren't getting anything!

I think they really should split the chain into two seperately managed divisions...the first can be the "big four" along with a couple of other parks(SFOG or SFNE) while the remaining parks including SFSTL,SFDL,SFEG,SFA,SFAW & SFKK should just be managed seperately.

It's obvious that they aren't at all interested in making wise expenditure choices toward these parks that could help them rise to the level of "the big four" & the reason why alot of the coaster installations didn't make such a marked improvement in attendance was because they were all sent to the wrong parks that didn't really need them instead of the low attendance parks that could've benefited from such a ride being added for the season.

I'm quite sure if your homepark wasn't SFGRAM but was SFDL,SFAW or even SFA you'd probably feel the same way that we do & as a result we do have the right to express our opinions on the subject whenever we feel it's neccessary to do so.

Your homepark (SFGRAM) hasn't been as overlooked as mine or darienlakefan's(in fact it's been quite the opposite) but if it was then you'd probably feel very much the same way as we do about it.