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Industry News:
2009 Park Attendance Report - (4/27/10) The official 2009 Theme Park Attendance Report has been published to the TEA website, with data gathers and put together by TEA and AECOM. You can see it all here.
You can also still download the attendance reports from several previous years too:
Download the 2008 Report
Download the 2007 Report
Download the 2006 Report
 Coaster Videos - (7/21/10) The guys behind the old DVD, “European Coaster Thrills” send word that they are preparing to make a second edition and are asking people to take a survey about what you’d like to see on the next version. Check it out here.
(5/25/10) For you coaster video fans dying to get a little coaster action in HD, Theme Park Review is now shipping their first ever Blu-Ray DVD – Roller Coasters In The RAW HD. It features POV footage from over 30 different roller coasters, all shot in either 1080i or 1080p HD. Read all the details and list of rides included here.
(2/10/10) Theme Park Review is now selling Coaster Expedition Volume 13 which features video shot at all the parks they’ve hit along the Eastern half of the US lately including: SFGAdv, KD, BGW, Lake Compounce, SFNE, Knoebels, Hersheypark, Canada’s Wonderland, Morey’s, Coney Island, Darien Lake and many more.
Coaster Trips - (2/4/10) Theme Park Review is looking to get some feedback on where they should plan group trips to in 2011. I’m told they are looking into the possibility of taking an early 2011 trip to Australia. Other possible locations being looked at include Japan, Spain and Cedar Point. If you are interested in going on a future trip with TPR and want to give your opinion on where you would like to go, take the survey here.
(11/19/09) The CoasterZombies will be taking a trip to Mexico in 2010, with a tentative schedule of July 7th to 11th. The trip will include stops at 3 parks (Six Flags Mexico, La Feria Chapultepec Magico and Parque Bicentenario), 14 coasters… and 2 pyramids. For all the details on how you can go too click here.
General News - (7/30/10) Ever wonder just what happens to all your insider organs and body fluids when you ride a roller coaster? Turns out that the creepy feeling that your stomach is floating up isn’t just your imagination. Read all about it here.
(7/26/10) An interesting article here claims that the ultra rich out there have begun to spend even more than normal when visiting theme parks, explainging some big new expansion projects in the works in Orlando.
(7/17/10) Earlier this week we had heard that Apollo may be seeking out a new theme park company to take-over and according to the latest rumor they may be in talks with Compagnie des Alpes who owns Parc Asterix, Hellendoorn, Bellewaerde, the Walibi parks and man other smaller attractions.
(7/15/10) Haunt lovers… I’ve got a little something new and interesting for you. Check out Fright Tour. Instead of visiting haunts at theme parks this fall… they’ll take you to visit real haunted locations like the Eastern State Penitentiary and more locations to be announced. Too Creepy…
(7/13/10) Apollo Global Management… that name should ring a bell to most Cedar Point enthusiasts at least, as the group that attemped a low-bid takeover of Cedar Fair. While we had thought that Apollo had scuttled back to where they came from when the Cedar Fair deal turned against them earlier this year, I’m now hearing a few rumble that Apollo may have only been lurking in the shadows, looking for another smaller company to take over. More when we find out.
(7/12/10) Give Kids The World needs everyone’s help; they are competing for a $250,000 grant from Pepsi as part of the Refresh Everything program, and the top two voted on ideas by the end of July in the $250,000 category both win. You can vote daily between now and July 31st… but as of right now Give Kids The World is only ranked 27th. So please give them a vote and lets see this worthy cause get some much needed funding for the upkeep and repair of their 140 villas in Orlando.
(6/24/10) Many have written in to comment on a new show of interest to thrill ride lover on the Travel Channel called Bert the Conqueror. It seems he drops into Cedar Point in one episode and into Lagoon in another… with a Vegas episode on deck as well as other parks slated throughout later episodes. Check it out.
(6/9/10) Summer is now here and so begins the busy Fair season as well… along with the introduction of new oddities. Case in point, the San Diego Fair (formerly Del Mar Fair) kicks off this Friday with a theme all about food… and plenty of odd new food items to choose from. It seems the latest food to get the deep fried treatment, in the wake of Deep Fried Twinkies and Oreos, will be Deep Fried Pop-Tarts. Other interesting items expected to surprise guests on the fair circuit this summer include Corn-Dog Battered and Fried Avacados, Texas Fried Jelly Bellys and more. Of course guests to California’s own Knott’s Berry Farm have also come to enjoy their latest snack offering… Chocolate Bacon Funnel Cakes.
(5/13/10) Could a major theme park chain be considering offering new included benefits like Free Parking and/or Free Soda? Apparently one of them is thinking about it apparently, because one of our readers was asked to take a survey this past week that pitched just such a concept. No names were given to even give a clue as to who it may be, but I’d wager it was either Cedar Fair, Six Flags, or PARC Management, with SeaWorld Parks in a very distant fourth.
In any case, the survey proposed different pricing options to see which was deemed to be the most popular or best value. They options could best be broke down into 3 types.
Option 1 - A normal pay for everything approach, as we have now at 99% of all the parks. Option 2 was to pay a higher ticket price to get into the park, but all parking would be free. Option 3 was an even higher daily ticket price, but parking was included as well as free sodas to drink while in the park.
(4/30/10) Reuters reports that Sega of America has decided to shut down and liquidate their chain of Sega Gameworks locations across the country.
(4/8/10) Train cars and other items from Big Bad Wolf (BGW) and the Texas Giant (SFOT) have been loaded up and taken to the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives. You can see a few pictures at Amusement Today.
Internet Fun - (7/29/10) Amusement Insider has now started a unique section of the TOC3 poll, where it’s “?” VS “?” week. Yep… you get to pick which dark rides not in the poll will go head to head against each other through the use of a write in vote. You’ve only got until Friday to write in your suggestions, then the mystery players will be voted upon.
(7/26/10) The next Tournament of Champions 3 poll will be: Alice in Wonderland VS Monsters Inc: Ride & Go Seek VS Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Vote now.
(7/24/10) The next Tournament of Champions 3 poll is up putting Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage VS Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure VS Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls. I’m pretty sure Yosemite Sam is gonna get slaughtered here.
(7/22/10) The next TOC3 Poll is now live putting Labyrinth of the Minotaur VS Toy Story Mania VS Challenge of Tutankamon.
(7/19/10) The latest TOC3 starts off today with a three way battle between Journey to the Center of the Earth VS The Great Movie Ride VS Spaceship Earth. I figure Journey will take the lead, but the second place battle is going to get very interesting. Meanwhile fans of theme park and attraction concept artwork, you may want to check out the Falcon’s Treehouse website. They’ve got a number of wild looking pieces of concept artwork posted there, plus they’ve worked on a few attractions you may recognize as well.
(7/17/10) The next TOC3 poll is now live, this one puts Buzz Lightyear VS Small World VS Curse of DarKastle.
(7/15/10) A intresting book with a unique take on the attractions industry can now be found in bookstores called The Tragic Kingdom or; ‘Prisoner in a Chinese Theme Park. It’s a interesting take on working in the amusement biz in China over the past ten years by an American, pointing out the cultural differences, strength and weakesss in the Chinese culture.
According to the author, Broc Smith, "I have lived and worked in China for over ten years, competing within their system, making my way as everything from a freelance artist in small operations to a senior designer for large corporations. I have witnessed a
formidable decade in which China has commanded a modern presence on the world stage. I have participated in the planning, designing, and building of mega-theme parks in Beijing, world-class aquariums in Shanghai, gigantic malls in the Pearl Delta, resorts in Tibet, and panda relocation projects in the foothills of the Himalayas".
The true stories and themes found in The Tragic Kingdom, spring from one man's journey. At the same time they disclose truths about a globalization that eventually will impact every economy, lifestyle, and person on the planet. You can find it at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
(7/14/10) The next Tournament of Champions 3 battle of the Dark Rides starts Wednesday putting Cat In The Hat VS Phantom Manor VS 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Tokyo DisneySea version.)
(7/13/10) Coaster101 is holding their 3rd Annual Coaster101 Photography Contest. Read up on all the details here.
(7/12/10) Time for a new TOC3 Dark Ride poll on Monday… this one puts Pinocchio’s Daring Journey VS Droomvlucht (Efteling) VS Splash Mountain. Videos for all three are also there to watch, which is a great inroduction to Efteling’s Droomvlucht (Dreamflight) to many who are unfamiliar with this well known European dark ride.
(7/11/10) The Season Pass Podcast has rolled out two great episodes over the last two weeks. New this week is Episode #133 which features myself and Arthur Levine talking all about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Disney’s World of Color. If you missed it, last week’s Episode #132 was actually focused entirely about me and the creation of Screamscape. Who would have thought that I’d be the subject of an entire podcast interview? Strange but true… cross that one off my bucket list.
(7/10/10) The next TOC3 poll is now live where we see a three-way battle between Sinbad’s Story Voyage VS Piraten in Batavia VS Spider-Man. Never heard of the other two? There are video clips showing them off to help you decide. Gotta give the nod to the webslinger on this one.
(7/9/10) Time for a look at a very rare park… Vaiku Pasaulis, which features the only known coaster in Lithuania: The Jet Star.
(7/7/10) A new poll is going live at Amusement Insider’s Tournament of Champions 3 today and the voting may get nasty here. It’s The Haunted Mansion VS Small World Holiday VS Men In Black: Alien Attack.
(7/6/10) Amusement Insider has launched a couple of new polls this week for the new Tournament of Champions 3. First up is a three way battle between Snow White’s Scary Adventures VS Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride VS Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin. There is also a poll between Peter Pan’s Flight / Indiana Jones Adventure and Six Flags’ revamped Monster Mansion.
(7/1/10) Amusement Insider has re-launched today along with a brand new Tournament of Attractions bracket system this time focused entirely on the world’s best Dark Rides. Everything from Journey To Atlantis, Spiderman, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, DarKastle, Droomvlucht, Pirates, Monster Mansion, Maelstrom and many many more.
The voting for the first of several brackets goes live sometime July 1st for:
Jurassic Park River Adventure VS Pirates of the Caribbean VS E.T. Adventure
Haunted Mansion Holiday VS Scooby Doo Ghostblasters VS Journey To Atlantis
Valhalla VS Tower of Terror VS Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror
Dinosaur VS Pooh’s Hunny Hunt VS Maelstrom
(6/30/10) Check out one of the latest episodes of the Season Pass Podcast (#130) which talks with the legendary Bob Gurr. Also keep your ears open for a soon to air episode featuring yours truly.
(6/28/10) It seems the creators of the Blair Witch project are at it again… and will open a few film this summer with a carnival ride focus called Give The Kid A Ride. You can see the odd preview site here.
(6/22/10) We’ve marveled at the amazing CoasterDynamix model ride creations in the past, but what do you get with CoasterDynamix decides to start playing with Legos?! You get this… an awesome lego wooden coaster model created by CoasterDynamix and Lego Architecture put on display at the Brickworld 2010 show.
(6/16/10) Here is a little crazy fun to watch… giant floating hamster balls… filled with people. Makes me wonder, is it a timed experience or do they wait until the people inside pass out from lack of oxygen? Sure is fun to watch!
(6/11/10) I’m a bit confused by the whole concept, but it seems a new park has been proposed called Game Nation, described as the “world’s first Experiential Video Game Theme Park and Resort.” You can find the official site for it here, but there isn’t much to see yet. They do claim that they will be deciding the best location to build the park in the next 12 months… which seems a bit odd that they don’t even have it narrowed down to a couple of basic regions yet.
It sounds like they are going to slowly be releasing details about some of the proposed theme lands for the park as well. Up first is a little something they call the land of Chroma and The Alternet.
(6/9/10) Brave explorers… check out this article about 8 Abandoned American Theme Parks that may be ripe for a little exploration… as well as putting you at risk of trespassing. Scroll down through the comments and you’ll find others sharing their own experiences and ideas for a few other parks not on the list like the Hertitage USA waterpark in South Carolina, Dogpatch USA, Disney’s own Water Country and many others.
(6/4/10) Two years ago you may remember a story about a couple of UK coaster enthusiasts who traveled to the US with the goal of traveling across the country in an effort to ride all the remaining wooden coasters that they had not yet experienced. While they did make it all over the country, their attempt to ride every wooden coaster was interrupted when Mother Nature brought in Hurricane Gustov that prevented them from getting a ride on the Cannonball at Waterville.
Starting this weekend the duo is back at it again with the goal of hitting the Cannonball, and three other new coasters that have arrived at parks since their last attempt. You can check on their efforts at the Coaster2Coaster.com website. Good luck boys!
(5/28/10) A few more details about the crazy announcement regarding Roller Coaster Tycoon: The Movie can be found here. The movie has been described as a kind of theme park version of “Night at the Museum” where a theme park comes to life.
(5/14/10) In a weird news article Slash Film reports that Sony Pictures Animation has signed a deal with Atari to create a big film adaptation of Roller Coaster Tycoon. Yep… RCT: The Movie. Whaaaa?! Aparently it will be a mix of live action and GCI graphics (for the coasters I assume…)
(5/6/10) Taking the cake for creepy theme park news of the day is this website full of pictures showing off several different abandoned and overgrown amusement parks in Asia, with entries frolm South Korea, China, Laos and Japan. Not to be missed.
(5/5/10) A great collection of old theme park photos has been posted to Theme Park Review this week. They’ve got some rare shots, such as The Beast’s staton at Kings Island when it had water under it, the Mountain Express at Magic Mountain, Lightning Loops, Z-Fore from Six Flags over Georgia, Kennywood’s Little Dipper and much more.
(4/23/10) Screamscape readers…it’s time to show your support for a fellow reader. Andy Kelemen has wrote in to let us know that he has been selected as one of the five finalists who created their own unique promo video for The Ultimate Lost Fan contest with his entry, “The LOST Life”. The winner is chosen by votes, so check out the final five and if you think a fellow theme park lover is deserving, then give him your vote. Voting is only being accepted now through the end of Friday night, April 23rd. Yep… today.
(4/21/10) The Western New York Coaster Club has announced the details of the 29th Annual Coasterfest event which will take place from May 29th through May 31st at Morey’s Piers, Six Flags Great Adventure and Clementon Park. You can read up on all the details and find out how to attend here.
(4/17/10) The second chapter to the creation of a proposed Dinosaur themed attraction can now be found over at Disney and More.
(4/15/10) I’m always fascinated with themed attractions that were designed but never built… and today we get a nice long look at a whopper of an attraction themed around Dinosaurs over at the Disney and More blog. Check it out!
In other news, The Season Pass Podcast has posted episode #112 which includes a book giveaway for Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World. Chad Emerson, the book’s author, joins them on this episode. Check out all the details here.
(4/12/10) While the Battlestar Galactica coaster at Universal Studios Singapore has been all over the news lately, a mechanic at New York’s Seabreeze Amusement Park put his skills to work and built his very own street legal Viper. Check out the photos of it here.
(4/8/10) The city of Primm has been confirmed to not only be featured as a location in the new Fallout: New Vegas video game, but according to the Official X-Box Magazine the video game version of the post-apocalyptic city will also include the city’s famous roller coaster… the Desperado.
(4/1/10) Andy Shine’s April Quiz is now online and features a ton of questions about Flat Rides this month.
(3/19/10) You have got to see this creepy collection of 69 pictures taken inside the ruins of the former Six Flags New Orleans park. The place looks perfect for a horror movie set locations. Zombieland 2 anyone?
B&M - (7/22/10) One of our readers dropped by the B&M track production faculty in Ohio again th
is week and took a bunch of new pictures of all the brown track on site. Could this be for the new X-Raptor coaster in Gardaland? The code name on the tag on the ends of the track pieces is labeled as “X-WORKS” if that means anything.
(7/17/10) I’ve been sent two new pictures from B&M’s track production facility in Ohio. Looks like a bunch of new dark brown track has been produced and set outside waiting for transport. According to our source there were also quite a few shipping containers on site, so I can only assume that this sucker is going to an international destination. Given the color and yesterday’s leak about X-Raptor, I’ve got to wonder if this track is for Gardaland.
(6/1/10) It seems one of the readers over at Theme Park Review has achieved a very interesting feat. They have now ridden and photographed every single B&M coaster built to date and posted a complete set of pictures of the set… all 75 of them as of 2010. Check it out here.
(5/31/10) A Screamscape reader went by the steel plant where all the world’s B&M track is produced. While there was no bright freshly painted track on site, there was a few pieces of unpainted track laying around. There is no telling what this is for yet.
(1/7/10) Early rumors are starting to drop here and there indicating that B&M is hard at work on some kind of new coaster design. I suppose it’s about time anyway sinc e B&M haven’t really invented a new design since we saw the first Flying coasters open back in 2002. So I guess the real question is… what’s left? We’ve got Standing, Sitting, Flying, Floorless, Inverted and Diving… so perhaps they are ready to full embrace the Launched coaster concept, as Incredible Hulk was a special one-shot only creation.
(12/21/09) One of our readers has posted a few new pictures taken outside the plant that makes all the world’s B&M coaster track. While there wasn’t all that much to see in the snow, there were a couple of pieces of Blue-ish track in the background here, as well as some small support pieces on the ground here.
(11/24/09) If you take a listen to the Season Pass Podcast with John Wardley, he mentions near the end of the interview (aprox 56:40) that he is “working with B&M on their next new product.” Hmmm… let the speculation begin!
(10/20/09) Just an update on all that missing B&M track… one source tells me that it’s most likely all heading to China at this point as there are still a few new major theme parks set to open in the next couple of years.
(10/19/09) Just to recap what has been seen at the B&M fabrication plant over the past year that was never identified. In Jan 2009 Yellow track was spotted that has yet to be found anywhere. In April 2009 bright red track started to appear which was likely for Intimidator at Carowinds, along with some leftover pieces of that unknown Yellow track. In May 2009 the plant was full of more Red track and a bunch of Yellow track again. By September 2009 all the Yellow track was gone... but we still don’t know what it was for. Previously shipping containers were also seen on site, so it more than likely may have went to an international destination. I don’t think it’s for Universal Studios Dubailand just yet, but we’ve heard rumors about a Mummy parts being shipping already for that project so you never know.
Blackstone - (4/13/10) According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal and SeaWorld Entertainment are quietly approaching the end of their alliance contract that saw the birth of the Orlando FlexTicket that offers a great discount price for up to 14 days to visit the various non-Disney owned theme parks. This deal is set to expire in December 2011 and the two groups will have to decide if they want to continue on or go their separate ways. Of course since Blackstone now owns the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks, as well as 50% of Universal Orlando I’d say that the chances of the deal being extended are quite good. I’m sure the 2011 addition of Blackstone’s own Legoland Florida park may also be considered as another option to be added to the mix.
Cedar Fair - (7/17/10) Cedar Fair announced that they will make a $405 million offering of unsecured notes due in 2018 in an effort to restructure their debt load.
(7/7/10) Screamscape sources tell us that we may see more new wood coasters built at a Cedar Fair parks in the next few years. So far the results have been good and with the rising cost of steel in the world marketplace, they are looking more attractive than ever.
(7/2/10) Cedar Fair has signed a deal with Hipcricket to provide a new mobile marketing product at 8 of their parks. Look for Cedar Point to launch their version in July.
(7/1/10) Cedar Fair will host their Q2 Conference call on August 3rd, which will be web broadcast as well. Find out how to listen in here.
(6/22/10) Our sources tell us that the situation between Jack Falfas and Cedar Fair may not yet be entirely “over”. According to our sources all questions and attempt to contact Jack Falfas by the press are now being redirected to an attorney.
(6/21/10) It’s official... Cedar Fair has confirmed that their COO, Jack Falfas, did indeed resign on June 12th. In addition to Screamscape sources backing up the story about an argument betweek Jack and Dick Kinzel being the last straw, this article also points out that just two days prior two new members were elected to the board of directors at the request of Q Investments, their largest shareholder. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are other political backstage events afoot here.
(6/16/10) The big stink in the water, according to several connected sources who have contacted me over the last two days, is that Jack Falfas did indeed resign from Cedar Fair. While the company has made no official statement, they did remove Jack already from their official list of company officers. The move is just shocking to say the least, as to me Jack was the new heart and soul of Cedar Fair and not Dick Kinzel, who’s time really has come.
According to the scuttlebutt, and this is a rumor only, Jack and Dick got into some kind of heated argument on Friday that was apparently the straw that broke the camel’s back. According to one source, the argument may have been about the lack of response to the Rockband Live show touring the parks this summer.
While both gentlemen are said to be the “stubborn” types, and in this biz its hard to find someone successful who isn’t, I’m really hoping that they can come back to the table to work something out. Kinzel’s time at the wheel is done… and should have been done a few years ago when he was slated to retire. I can’t think of anyone better to run the company than Jack, so I’d hate to think about who may be taking over instead in a couple of years. Maybe the board can be convinced to give Dick an early retirement and bring Jack back… but I doubt it.
(6/14/10) I’m not certain why, but several fan sites out there have been reporting a strange rumor all weekend that Cedar Fair’s popular COO, Jack Falfas, had reportedly resigned from the company. As someone who was fully expected to not only be a “lifer” in the company, but also assumed to be the man being hand-groomed to succeed Dick Kinzel when he retires, this certainly would be very shocking news if true. I’m extremely hesitant to believe it myself until I hear something firm from the company to confirm it so stay tuned.
(5/24/10) Cedar Fair has announced plans to refinance $1.7 billion in debt through a new credit line, a new billion dollar loan and issuing half a billion in unsecured bonds to investors.
(5/17/10) Last week we were sent a report from a reader who took an online survey that indicated that a major national park chain was getting feedback about possible new pricing options that could include more expensive tickets in exchange for possible benefits like free parking or free soda.
Now according to another reader who was at Cedar Point on opening weekend, they were approached by an employee collecting survey data who asked almost identical questions regarding those very same pricing options. That said, it seems like a logical match that Cedar Fair was likely behind the anonymous online survey as well.
(5/7/10) Cedar Fair has reached an agreement with Q Funding, their largest investor, to add two new members to the Board of Directors, going up from 7 to 9. No word on who they may select, but apparently the search has begun. Hmmm… wonder if I can throw my hat into the mix…
(4/23/10) Now that the deal with Apollo has been put behind them, Cedar Fair has started working on plans to meet with their various lenders to reduce their $1.6 billion debt load any way they can. There is also some talks expected to happen soon between CF and their top investor, Q Investments, who owns 18.1% of the company’s units. No word yet on what this could entail.
(4/17/10) Cedar Fair has announced that they will hold a conference call to discuss the Q1 report on May 6th at 10am (EST). You can listen in online here.
(4/14/10) Cedar Fair has been on a roll this week since bailing out of the Apollo deal. Already this week they’ve filed a lawsuit against the city of Santa Clara and have taken the necessary steps to create a financial Poison Pill to ward off any possible attempt at a hostile takeover. The pill will automatically be triggered when another company has acquired 20% or more of Cedar Fair’s units.
(4/12/10) Following the announcement that the deal between Cedar Fair and Apollo was now off the table, the price of Cedar Fair stock has actually gone up 9.5% to $14.11.
(4/8/10) It has been confirmed that Cedar Fair has pulled out of the deal to be purchased by Apollo. According to CEO, Dick Kinzel, “The board has heard from Cedar Fair unitholders and it is apparent that the merger transaction does not have the required level of investor support.” Cedar Fair will have to pay Apollo $6.5 million to reimburse them for expenses during negotiations.
(3/4/10) Cedar Fair and Rockband have announced a new collaboration that will see something called “Rock Band, Live” brought to various Cedar Fair parks this season. A season-long version of this live interactive show experience will take place at Cedar Point and Canada’s Wonderland while a traveling version of the show will go on tour hitting 9 different parks along the way.
From the sound of things, the ‘preshow’ experience will involve the public playing the Rockband video game, resulting in the top players being invited up onto the stage to rock out with the live band… while you get to play along on your Rock Band plastic instrument. While some have blasted the idea, I think it’s a fun new project myself, and sure as hell to be more enjoyable than yet another American Idol themed show.
The Rock Band, Live tour will begin at Dorney Park over Memorial Day Weekend and slowly work their way Westward. According to the LA Times, the Tour will likely end their run with dates at California’s Great America (July 22 – Aug 1st) and Knott’s Berry Farm (Aug 5 – 15th) according to the LA Times.
Disney - (7/24/10) Fantastic news for Disney theme park fans as it was announced on Thursday that Disney is working with Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) make an all new and scary movie based on the Haunted Mansion ride. Guillermo will write and produce it, but will not direct. The film will be inspired by the Disneyland version of the mansion, complete with a Southern plantation style mansion, many of the familiar ghosts from the ride, sound effects and tons more. While the release date hasn’t been set, it is clear Disney trying to correct the mistake of the last Haunted Mansion themed film with Eddie Murphy that bombed as a goofy comedy piece. Obviously the $2.6 Billion+ that the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise brought in must have given someone a little bit of a reality check.
(7/21/10) Disney has confirmed that they will open the new Aulani resort in Hawaii on August 29th, 2011. I’ve embedded Disney’s animated tour of the resort below. Pictures from a preview of the resort held in Orlando this past week can also be found at MouseSteps.
(7/13/10) Amusement Insider now features a great posting all about the hidden easter eggs in Toy Story 3, which like most other Pixar films contains hidden characters and icons from past works, as well as glimpses at characters from future Pixar films in development. It’s a great read and points out lots of stuff you may have missed. Plus they have video links to the Lots-O-Huggin Bear toy commercial from the ‘80s. Yep… that wasn’t a typo.
(6/21/10) The times, they are a changing... especially with the new dress code revision at the Disney them parks that now drops the 1950’s era requirement for female CMs to wear pantyhose. The rule does not apply of course to entertainment staff who perform or protray characters in the parks. The last big change to the Disney dress code before this was the relaxation of moustache ban back in 2000, though beards are still not allowed.
(6/9/10) The LA Times reports that Disney is preparing to shut down most of their ESPN Zone sports-themed restaurants. As of right now, the only sites that are expected to remain open are those connected to a Disney property, such as the location in California’s Downtown Disney.
(5/31/10) Disney has gotten together with KNEX and launched a couple of new toys themed to Disney rides… a kit to make your own Dumbo and Space Mountain. Check out DLRToday.com which has a video showing them both off.
(5/14/10) Now that Disney has begin to market the Marvel characters in some of their theme parks, apparently they felt the time was right to sell off the aged Power Rangers franchise back to it’s former owner… Haim Saban. Apparently Saban has inked some kind of new deal for the future of the Power Rangers to go with Nickelodeon… and to that I say good riddance. I’ll take Iron Man, the X-Men, Hulk, Spiderman and Captain America over the Power Rangers any day of the week…
(5/3/10) Disney reports that Aulani, the Disney Resort in Hawaii, has officially been topped off upon reaching the 15th floor. They’ve even posted a picture showing off the beautiful view of the ocean and their crescent shaped lagoon, as seen from the resorts 9th floor.
(4/15/10) New construction pictures of Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii have been psoted to DizFanatic.
(4/12/10) According to this article, Disney is one of many major tourism companies looking to possibly put in a bid to take over the business of giving boat tours to the famous Niagara Falls as a long standing exclusive and shady contract for the Maid of the Mist Company comes to an end on the Canadian side of the border.
(3/11/10) Disney announced their new all-in-one Disney Premium Passport is now available for $700, which gets you unlimited access to both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort parks… with no blackout dates. For those of you big Disney fans out there who travel to both coasts every year, this will certainly save you some money on park admission. Currently the combined price of owning a Premium pass to both resorts right now is $928. Current passholders will be contacted with an offer to upgrade their existing pass if interested.
Disney has also announced a few new D23 exclusive events today. The first is something called Destination D, which will take place on Sept. 24-25, 2010, but the next D23 Expo wont take place until August 19-21st, 2011. You can read all about them here.
(3/10/10) Disney has announced the end to their Give A Day free ticket promotion after the program had reached their goal of 1 million volunteers in just 10 short weeks.
(1/20/10) Disney has revelaed the name as well as the official website for their new Resort Hotel in Hawaii. They have named it Aulani, You can sign up for official updates on the site as work towards the grand opening in Fall 2011. In case you were wondering, According to an official Disney tweet, Aulani means “the place that speaks for the great ones” or “the place that speaks with deep messages.” Judging from the artwork they’ve got on the site, it looks like a beautiful resort.
(1/18/10) An interesting article came out over the weekend at the Orlando Sentinel reporting that Disney is spending around $1 billion dollars on a long-term multi-branch concept top secret project referred to only as “NextGen”. The whole point of the NextGen project is to eventually transform the Disney theme parks to offer an entirely new set of experiences for the 21st century… changing forever the experience and concept of your typical park visit. The project is said to be so big that even the various groups working on particular aspects of the project have not been entirely made aware of the big picture behind it all. Meanwhile various security measures have also been put in place to keep any and all information leaks to a minimum. That said, the general feeling is that Disney does consider this to be a game-changer… something that will once again set the Disney parks apart from the rest for years to come. For a good read about some of the technology that may be involved with some of the NextGen concepts, click here.
Gerstlauer - (2/2/10) Gerstlauer has announced two new rides this year: the Suspended Polyp and Sky Fly. The Suspended Polyp actually premiered during this
past Oktoberfest and is owned by German showman Thomas Aigner. The ride concept is based on the old Octopus / Polyp rides from the past era, but adding the new twist of open seating.
The Sky Fly is actually an updated version of the Sky Roller, with both rides allowing the riders to control the rotation of their car by adjusting the wings. Sky Fly changes the experience a bit more however, as the “boom” is now tilted at 45º and every rotation features an elevation change of some kind. The Sky Fly is available in 6, 8, 12 or 16 seat versions.
Great Wolf Lodge - (7/30/10) Remember the Undercover Boss episode where they followed the head of Herschend Family Entertainment around their attractions? CBS is going back to the theme park well one more time and will now follow around the head of the Great Wolf Lodge resorts in a future episode.
(6/30/10) Great Wolf Resorts is full of surprises this month it seems. In addition to dropping in unexpected at Disneyland’s doorstep they also announced earlier this month that they had acquired controlling interest (62.4%) in Creative Kingdoms, the company behind MagiQuest.
(5/28/10) I’m not sure how true this is, but we’ve heard a rumor that Great Wolf Lodge may be looking at a possible new resort site in Ontario, Canada not too far from the Casino Rama. Anyone else know more?
(5/11/10) In a bit of a freaky news article, the head of Human Resources at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA was arrested the other day, charged with allegedly making over 1,500 obscene phone calls to woman, including some to co-workers at the Lodge. According to the police, no guests at the resort were involved.
(5/7/10) According to this article Great Wolf Resorts may be considering a sale of the Blue Harbor resort in Sheboygan.
(4/17/10) Great Wolf Lodge will announce their Q1 results on May 4th at 9am. You can find a link to listen in at the time here.
Herschend Family Entertainment - (1/26/10) Wondering what plans Herschend Family Entertainment has for the former Celebration City park? Apparently nothing yet… as they are still unsure of what to do with the 110 acre property and have reported that they are not ready to make any kind of announcement about it anytime soon. Read more here.
IAAPA Convention Schedule - IAAPA is currently scheduled to take place in Orlando in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019.
Lo-Q - (3/27/10) Lo-Q has announced that they have signed new contract extension deals with five parks. Legoland Windsor and Dreamworld have signed up for 3 more years, Mirabilandia (Italy) for four more years, Dollywood for one more year and Parque Isla Magica (Spain) has signed up for a one year rolling service contract for Lo-Q’s Q-txt service.
(2/20/10) Lo-Q has announced that business has been quite good for them over the past year. On top of that, they are working on expanding the use of their Q-Txt product as well as the launch of a new product line that will be given a test run at two waterparks this year. They claim that this all new system will be even more revolutionary than the original Q-Bot system was and could have a much father reach of practical world applications.
While the official statement doesn’t mention the locations of these trial runs, Screamscape sources tell us that one of them will be put to use at a waterpark in Georgia. To me that pretty much narrows things down to Six Flags White Water Atlanta or Wild Adventure’s Splash Island. It’s a tough call, as both owners (Six Flags and Herschend Family Entertainment) are already Lo-Q customers. According to our source, this trial run will actually involve requiring every guest at the park to use the system, so I can only assume it will use some kind of RFID embedded wristband, similar to what Great Wolf Lodge has been using. Though Great Wolf’s use of the wristbands was for cash-free purchases as well as being able to use them as a convenient room key so you can enjoy the resort’s waterpark without wondering where to keep your wallet or keys. As for the second location, I’m going to guess it may be tested somewhere in Europe. More on this trial run when we find out.
MagiQuest - (3/2/10) According to this press release, MagiQuest Chicago will open April 1st in the Yorktown Shopping Center near Lucky Strike Lanes.
(11/23/09) MagiQuest has announced that they will open a new location in the Chicago area (Yorktown Center) in February 2010, similar in size to the location just opened in the Mall of America. However coming in December however, MagiQuest will be ready to launch their new MQ Online multiplayer game that will recognize players wands used in the real world game somehow.
Maurer Sohne - (3/13/10) An interesting brief article about Maurer Sohne was posted at Interpark which includes an interesting technical items of note. Maurer is using LSM launch systems on their coasters in part because the latest version of the technology allows for them to recover braking energy as one train returns and re-use it again for the next launch.
Merlin Entertainment - (6/22/10) Merlin Entertainment close to finalizing a deal to sell a 30% stake in the company to CVC Captial Partners. The final result would be a 3-way ownership deal between Blackstone, CVC and KIRKBI A/S (a private Danish holding company that owns nearly 75% of the Lego Group).
(4/1/10) Merlin Entertainment is taking over the Blackpool Tower and Winter Gardens attractions, buying them for a reported £40 million. Click here to read more details.
(3/13/10) Merlin Entertainment has reported an attendance increase of 3 million from this past year, which strikes a strong contrast to how most other theme park chains faired in 2009. You can read more here.
No Limits 2 - (4/22/10) The long in development, No Limits 2, coaster simulation program, has released a couple of new screen shots from the program earlier this month. It really shows off the level of detail being used for the track models that even show off the bolts that hold the segments together.
PARC Management - (6/8/10) PARC Management revealed the details behind their new PARC Rewards program being launched at six of their parks this season. The rewards program allows guests to earn points towards discount admission, parking, merchandise and more. Even more, the program also includes PARC Team Members who also earn points for adhering to the companie’s core values. The parks in the program this year are: Darien Lake, Elitch Gardens, Frontier City, SplashTown, White Water Bay and Wild Waves. For more information visit PARCRewards.com.
(5/17/10) PARC Management has launched a new website for the new PARC Rewards program. Check out all the details here.
(3/3/10) Screamscape Exclusive - As PARC Management is gearing up for the 2010 season, they’ve paused for an internal review of their own leadership team at the corporate office. As part of a “commitment to healthy growth,” the company realized with the help of outside resources and consultants that it needed a flatter organizational structure for the long-term. “As a result, three executive positions were removed from the organizational structure to accomplish this. We believe that this simplified organizational structure will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness as well as streamlined communication across the entire company.”
“As part of our other efforts to increase efficiency and streamline communication, we are holding two management meetings this Spring. We are currently at one of the meetings right now where our theme and water parks are hearing about some industry-revolutionizing new programs coming out next quarter for our team members and our guests. We also have some colossal partnerships and programs under our not-for-profit, PARC Foundation, that are going to be big news! Our focus this year is truly all about our team member and guest engagement, and we have all banded together to make 2010 our best year yet.”
(1/31/10) PARC Management has launched their own Facebook Fan Page. Check it out here.
Parques Reunidos - (5/21/10) Parques Reunidos bought Movie Park Germany. Since they also own Parque Warner Madrid, I’ve got to wonder if the dropped WB themeing may return to the park or not.
(4/17/10) Candover Partners Ltd is considering a sale of their Parques Reunidos company, which may be highly sought after as they are Europe’s second biggest theme park company. From the sound of things they are also considering their options of spinning off the company with a public IPO stock offering as well.
Premier Rides - (6/14/10) Premier Rides has sent word that they have moved their headquarters to Baltimore as part of an expansion plan for the company. They purchased the former Baron Co. & Cigar Building back in 2005, which was actually built back in the 1800’s, located in the heart of Baltimore’s Little Italy, and completed an extensive restoration and upgrade to the facility.
ProSlide - (1/26/10) Looks like ProSlide has come up with another new innovation… a little something they’re calling the RideHouse. Think of it as a next generation water fortress where they’ve added in pint sized version of many classic ProSlide attractions. Two will be installed for 2010, one at the Olympic Watercube in Beijing, China and the other is going into a waterpark in Colombia. Check it out here.
S&S Worldwide - (4/8/10) During a presentation at the West Coaster Bash, S&S Power showed off a new ride concept for 2010… the Free Fly X-Treme. Take a look at the concept art and you can see that it’s a sort of merger of the family friendly Free Fly Coaster concept with 4th Dimension style seating. Wow…
(2/16/10) S&S Worldwide has announced the sale of a brand new 4th Dimension roller coaster for the 2011 season. The new coaster, only the third 4-D coaster ever built in the world, will be going into Dinosaur Park in Changzhou, China. The press release describes the experience at featuring a 250 foot tall lift hill before taking the vertical plunge down at 80mph. From there the layout is only described as featuring, “raven turns, dives and half-twists”. The trains are described as holding 24-passengers each… so we’re looking at six cars per train it seems. X/X2 at SFMM had 7 cars while Eejanaika in Japan cut the trains back to only 5 cars. I’m hoping to find out more about the layout soon as well so stay tuned!
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment - (4/29/10) SeaWorld Parks have launched a new special priced ticket option where you can buy a childs ticket (12 and under) to any one of the three SeaWorld parks online for just $5 with each full priced adult ticket purchase. This deal is only available online through this special website where the proceeds from each child ticket will be donated to fund wildlife conservation efforts. For details visit SeaWorldCares.com.
Six Flags - (7/11/10) I’ve heard a new rumor that the new board at Six Flags is making plans to not only roll out a new marketing campaign for the chain’s 50th Anniversary next year, but once again it sounds like Mr. Six may be retired and sent back to the old folks home once again.
(6/30/10) From the look of things, the Six Flags Facebook game, Mascot Park, is now up. I’m not sure how good it is, but according to this article, the gameplay is kind of questionable. Check it out for youself, it’s listed in one of the tabs at the top of the Six Flags Facebook page.
(6/24/10) The latest buzz about the cutbacks being made at the parks all stems from Weber it seems. The new management team coming on-board wants to make sure they make a good impression with Wall Street at the end of the 2010 season, so they’ve asked each park to cut a significant amount from their budgets to ensure they all hit their new target figures. The company is also looking to shave funds here and there to cover the costs of all these contract buyouts, the NY office lease buyout, and to help cover the moving expense of setting up the new office and team in Dallas.
(6/23/10) More changes are rumored to be rolling out those the Six Flags chain this week, with a new focus on small operational tweaks being made to the parks on an individual basis. We’ve heard stories of the closing times being trimmed on weeknights at certain parks, operational days for water parks being trimmed, and various entertainment related productions also getting scaled back. Again… this is all apparently on a park by park basis, so changes made to one park may not happen to others. Unfortunately there are so many rumored changes in the works, it’s too hard to post them all with any confidence.
(6/22/10) New updates regarding management changes at Six Flags are flooding in this week. For starters, it has been confirmed that Six Flags has cut three top execs (Michael Antinoro – Exec. VP of Ent/Marketing, Andrew Schleimer – Exec VP of Strategic Development and Mark Quenzel – Exec VP of Strategy and Mgmt.)… all of which came in with connections to either Shapiro or Snyder. The article also confirms that the offices are going to slowly be moving to the Dallas area, starting with Weber himself who is ready to move before the end of the season.
Back in New York… I’m told that 20 other job cuts were made this week from the NY office, along with a rumored 10 more from the Dallas corporate office. Now it seems that Six Flags will be keeping some office people in New York from certain divisions of the company, which is thought to mostly be marketing related positions, but the primary majority of the labor will be handled from the Texas office.
I’ve been told that the writing is thought to be on the wall for quite a few people in New York, who are safe for the time being (the next 90 days) due to some rules in place to prevent a massive and complete workforce layoff. However after the 90 day window expires, a larger workforce reduction is expected, which also happens to fall perfectly into place when Six Flags hits the end of their 2010 season.
(6/21/10) Big changes are in store for the Six Flags corporate office I’m told. Under the direction of Al Weber, SF is expected to vacate their current digs in New York in favor of a new Dallas location. I’m told that the company has long had an IT office and possibly other corporate infrastructure in Dallas anyway. This isn’t good news for most of the New York based staff who aren’t expected to make the shift... with few even being offered the opportunity. Apparently the first cuts have already been made in an attempt to weed out many of Shapiro’s old “ESPN” crew that he brought in with him.
Meanwhile it is also rumored that Weber may have already brought his former Marketing VP from the Paramount Parks days back into the fold to help reinvent Six Flags. On a side note, I‘ve also heard a rumor that Mark Shapiro may have filed a lawsuit against Six Flags now, and memo to such was sent out to the staff instructing them not to have dealings with him. Should be interesting to see where things go from here.
In other news Six Flags will return to the New York Stock Exchange today under the ‘SIX’ symbol.
(6/11/10) Six Flags has partnered with social media website/app Four Square to launch a new “Fan Badge” called the Six Flags Funadict Badge. It will be available to FourSquare users visiting any of the 11 domestic Six Flags parks and from June 10th through Sept. 7th, players can win special prizes such as a 2011 50th Anniversary “Exit Pass” allowing you to have front of line access to all Six Flags coasters all season long. Each of the final FourSquare “Mayors” for the parks will also win a 2011 Season Pass.
To get entered into the drawing for the Exit Pass, you’ve got to check in at the same Six Flags park 10 times.
(5/28/10) Six Flags has announced a new online social media game at Facebook with something called Six Flags Mascot Park. Look for it to launch later this year.
(5/19/10) A couple of Six Flags news items today. For starters Six Flags has entered into a new promotional agreement with Post Foods to promote many of their cereal brands at the paks and will put promotional offers for Six Flags parks on cereal boxes that will offer a free child admission with a paid adult admission. There will also be a Post sponsored early-morning ERT event at the parks on July 13th called Rise-n-Scream.
It’s not all good news however as Six Flags just posted their Q1 results which shows a loss of $183.5 million, up from $140.8 million in the same quarter last year. A lot of blame goes to costs involved with loans and bankruptcy filing issues, as the revenue gained in this time period was $57.3 million, up from $51.1 the year prior. Plus with the exception of Six Flags Magic Mountain, the rest of the parks are closed in this quarter.
(5/14/10) Al Weber has taken the interim control of Six Flags for now, but is this a good thing? After talking to a few others and thinking things over a bit, I’m now inclined to say that this isn’t exactly the best news. How so? Well the best example may be his track record at Paramount Parks as top dog from 2002 to 2006. This is also known as the end of the road for Paramount Parks, the final years before they sold themselves off to Cedar Fair.
These were bad years for the Thrill Seekers at Paramount Parks as we really didn’t see anything ultra exciting, innovative or super-thrilling added to any of the parks. What little was added, was a long series of “Copy & Paste” attractions added one by one to two, three or all of the parks in the chain. On the coaster front, we saw three of the “so-so” Italian Jobs added to Kings Island, Kings Dominion and Canada’s Wonderland, as well as the lackluster Tomb Raider themed Flyer in Canada and a couple of Ricochet wild mouse coasters. Perhaps the biggest thrill ride to premier during Weber’s tenure at Paramount was Borg: Assimilator at Carowinds… which really was just the original prototype Vekoma Flyer (Stealth) moved over from PGA… but given nice theme and look. Speaking of PGA… they have no love for Weber either as they lost two beloved coasters during his reign… Stealth and Tidal Wave (aka: Greased Lightnin’). Two coasters taken OUT… and ZERO put back in.
Weber did seem to have a fondness for new kiddie lands and waterpark expansions however as we saw the Paramount Parks flooded with new “Boomerang Bays”, Nick Centrals, a slew of quickie Turbo Tour sim films and a couple of Tomb Raider Top Spins. Now five seasons is hardly enough to make a solid judgment on someone’s career, especially someone with 40 years experience in the biz… plus budgets were tight all around the industry at that point in time, as he took control in time for the first season post 9/11 and the years that followed. The Paramount Parks were a successful chain for sure… they just didn’t get the corporate support from their Viacom owners, so you’ve got to play with the cards your dealt. So I’ll give Weber the benefit of the doubt for now… and we’ll see if he just makes a go of it for one season or if the board decides to keep him long term.
(5/13/10) The big news bomb that dropped early Wednesday was that Mark Shapiro had parted ways with Six Flags that and Al Weber was stepping in to server as the new President and interim CEO for the time being. Al has over 40 years experience in the biz and previously served as President of Paramount Parks (2002-2006) as well as Palace Entertainment.
I’m told that Al has a “different approach” with his ideas for the parks. While he is very pro for “family friendly” attractions, he is said to also value the addition of new thrill rides for the teen and adrenalin rush seekers. The inside word is that Al may already be setting new plans in motion for the parks for the 2011 50th Anniversary… but no one seems to know what this may mean exactly. All we’ve heard so far is that they may “downsize” some of the previously planned anniversary related projects.
As for Mark Shapiro… well according to the e-mail memo sent out to employees, “With the Company’s financial restructuring now complete, the Board and Mark Shapiro decided to part ways. We wish Mark all the best in his future endeavors.” That said… I’ve heard from my own sources that Mark Shapiro was essentially “fired” by the NEW Board of Directors at a meeting on Tuesday night. This was said to be a complete surprise internally as all the statements released during the end of the bankruptcy indicated that Mark Shapiro would be kept behind the wheel. Having survived long enough to lead the company out of the bankruptcy, I believe Mark just earned himself a nice little Golden Parachute bonus as well.
(5/4/10) It’s official; Six Flags emerged from bankruptcy early on Monday, eliminating over a billion dollars of debt, but also had to turn over control of the company to Stark Investments, Pentwater Capital Management and Bay Harbour Management. All Six Flags pre-bankruptcy shares were wiped out from the reorganization, but the company will soon apply to list new shares on the NYSE.
(5/3/10) While Mark Shapiro will keep his seat on the Board of Directors as well as remaining in place as CEO of Six Flags, the man who hired him in the first place, Dan Snyder, will be losing his own seat as Chairman of the Board. Read on here for more details.
(4/30/10) Six Flags has been approved to exit bankruptcy protection this Monday. I’m told that control of the company will now fall to a new board of directors who will be giving Mark Shapiro his directives on how to lead the company in his continuing role as CEO.
(4/23/10) Ad Age has posted a funny little snippet giving their thoughts on the new Little Six character introduced this year by Six Flags.
(4/12/10) In the fallout of the breakup between Cedar Fair and Apollo, Six Flags stock prices actually over doubled from 15 cents to 39 cents for a time, but have settled back down currently at the 22 cents mark.
(3/24/10) I was invited to take part in a ‘Super Fan” call with Six Flag’s CEO Mark Shapiro on Saturday night which was actually quite informative. There were reported to be around 75 callers on the line for the 90 minute call, a mixture of park fans and a few “bloggers”, so unfortunately I only had the chance to get two of my own questions in to the mix. The good news is that many of the other questions asked also answered quite a few of the question suggestions you guys had sent me. So lets briefly go over things that I learned:
For starters, Six Flags is off to a good start this season already. Attendance at SFMM has been positive so far this year and SFOT and SFFT already had their Spring Break weeks and hit record crowd levels already. This was hampered by a bit of bad weather in the SFOT area however, forcing the park to actually remain closed for one day that they intended to be open.
Six Flags Magic Mountain, in addition to adding the park’s 17th coaster this year, when it will tie with Cedar Point for having the most coasters in one park, Hurricane Harbor will also see the addition of a kid friendly play area: Mr. Six’s Splash Island.
When taking about La Ronde’s new unnamed coaster, set to open in May, he also mentioned that the park would be getting something called “Terminator X Laser Battle”.
Six Flags America – While this year’s Thomas Town is said to be a bit behind schedule, Shapiro is pushing for them to get back on target and open it on time. Thomas Town will be SFA’s largest expansion in over a decade. This isn’t all they have planned for the park however, as they are looking to bring in a new coaster for the ‘tween’ market in the next couple of years.
The new progress with the Six Flags bankrucpty settlement will have no impact on the future of Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. There are no plans to change their mind and reopen the park, however Mark did mention that they have come to an agreement with the fairgrounds that they will not attempt to remove any rides from the park while the fairgrounds is attempting to find a new owner for the park.
I was impressed myself with the number of callers who mentioned that they felt most of the parks were severely lacking in the Flat Rides area. Over and over people helped to drive home the very good message that most Six Flags parks had focused entirely to much building either big coasters or kiddie rides, all the while slowly removing all the fantastic flat rides that everyone could ride together. Comments about the lack of flat rides at SFMM and SFGAdv were common, though at one point Mark joked that SFA seemed to have plenty of flat rides and maybe they should look into sending a few out to the other parks. (He was kidding…)
Mark Shapiro got the message and promised that they were looking ahead to adding more flat rides in the future, to “balance out the parks”. Though he commented that they were not something likely to be advertised, just something they would simply install into the parks, but I disagree with that myself. Years ago parks had no problem advertising the addition of a new flat ride as a major project, and I think the marketing types need to do a little homework as they seem unable to fathom how to market anything that isn’t a kiddie land, IP themed attraction or new coaster. In addition, since the parks are so lacking in flat rides that they could each use 4-6 new flats, that should only make it easier to advertise as a major addition to the parks.
Looking ahead to the future… in addition to bringing back flat rides, Mark said that they were looking at 2011, the 50th anniversary of Six Flags, as a new ‘rebirth’ period for the company. A time to move ahead, break new ground, and redefine their brand name. One aspect being looked into is the return of themeing back into the parks… bringing back the theme to areas that may have faded over the years, or coming up with entirely new themes for some areas.
When it comes to new themes, Mark feels that the various new IP’s added to the parks have performed well: Wiggles, Thomas Town, Tony Hawk, Terminator, Evil Knievel, Dark Knight, etc. While he couldn’t divulge any news about possible new themes being planned, he did reinforce that they were constantly looking into new opportunities with movie studios and TV programs to create branded attractions. They are carefully watching the DC Comics universe for future opportunities, and as of right now there are numerous films in development at WB that include another Dark Knight film, a new Superman film, Green Lantern, Flash and even Justice League.
Of course not even big summer tent-pole film is ripe for picking however, as they have to be careful about not backing up something that could end up being a box office bomb. A good example of this was the Speed Racer film that came out a couple of summers ago. From the guys who made the Matrix… on paper it seemed like a sure hit and WB was pushing Six Flags to take property into the parks. What seemed like a good idea at first, started to skew very differently into questionable territory and Six Flags decided not to get involved with it, and wisely so, as the film was not a hit at the box office. Sometimes backing a popular film can cause problems, as they saw with The Dark Knight. The movie ended up having a much darker adult tone than what was expected, which in turn seemed to cause Six Flags’ guests to expect a bigger more intense thrill ride coaster than the family friendly Dark Knight themed indoor coaster.
As for future developments… Six Flags is working with someone to bring in a new “5D” concept attraction. Mark Shapiro confirmed that as of right now they currently have no coaster projects in the works with B&M. Mark also confirmed that there have been no discussions between Six Flags and Apollo involving a possible buyout or merger with Cedar Fair. Six Flags will also launch a new iPhone app in April that will feature GPS Maps of each park and a friend finder option. (No word on if an Android version is next or not).
Finally, in case you’ve ever wondered a bit about what make’s Mark Shapiro tick… here are his two pet peeves. Top of the list would be litter… more than anything else, he says he can not stand to walk in one of the parks and see any kind of litter on the ground anywhere. Right off the bat, it just sends the wrong message to their guests because no matter who you are, no one likes to see wrappers on the ground or overflowing trash cans. After that, his other major irritation is slow employees. While waits are to be expected for rides and food stands at any park, if the slow down is caused by a very slow employee, your career at Six Flags wont last long if he catches you. He wants to see the staff “hustle” and do their job quickly and efficiently… not goofing off.
That said, it was an enjoyable experience and I hope to have the opportunity to chat with Mark Shapiro again some day. He is a very on the ball personality who does seem to know his parks inside and out. When a few situations were brought to his attention that he felt were just wrong, he promised immediate action on those fronts, with calls to those park’s GMs scheduled for first thing in the morning. (For example, numerous water effects on the Rapids ride at SFGAdv being down, and employees at SFNE telling one family that they had no child swap policy when Six Flags does have this at all of their parks.) Big Thanks to Mark and Six Flags for making this call happen.
(3/22/10) Interesting news for Six Flags this week as a group of bondholders led by Stark Investments will be taking ‘control’ of Six Flags by investing $725 million into the company and borrowing $1.1 billion to pay of creditors and use as new capital for Six Flags. The agreement between Stark and the current Six Flags management will allow for them to stay in place and continue to run the company. Details still need to be hammered out and there are still other parties on the outside looking in, claiming that they aren’t getting their piece of the pie, but so far this looks like where things are going if the court agrees with the plan. A few more details can also be read in this Business Week article.
(3/15/10) I don’t know too many details, but I’m told that many Six Flags parks will be launching a new premium priced level of FlashPass this summer. They’re calling it the Plantnium FlashPass and it along will cost you more than what you paid to get into the park… but they promise that it will cut down your wait time on attractions by 90% as well as include a benefit that lets you ride two times in a row without getting off. Much like regular FlashPass, the price of the Platnium access will also vary from park to park. For example… according to my source the cost set for Six Flags New England right now is $80… while Six Flags Great Adventure is pricing it at $102.
(3/3/10) It has been announced that the Bamboozle Roadshow will perform at five Six Flags parks this summer featuring: Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Forever the Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. Look for it to hit:
Six Flags over Georgia – May 23rd, 2010
Six Flags over Texas – May 29th, 2010
Six Flags Fiesta Texas – May 30th, 2010
Six Flags St. Louis – June 13th, 2010
Six Flags Great Adventure – June 24th, 2010
(11/23/09) It was confirmed at IAAPA that Six Flags has struck a deal with 5D International to build the first 5-D attraction to the US market in time for Six Flags’ big 50th anniversary celebration in 2011. To be honest, I’m not sure I know much about 5D International or their products, though I did try out the FlyBoard at IAAPA 2007 which was quite interesting as it was a stand-up solo simulator style experience. Given that Six Flags has a bunch of old simulator theaters at some of their parks (SFOT, SFDK, SDGAm, SFKK, etc…) sitting around, some open and some closed, this could be a plan to remodel them into something new.
Universal Studios - (4/21/10) NBC / Universal reports that while attendance at their theme parks so far in 2010 is down slightly, guest per-cap spending is on the way back up.
(2/10/10) Looks like the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC-Universal is already hitting troubled waters as opponents and critics alike have come out of the woodwork to express deep concern over the potential disastrous consequences of the deal from the content, broadcasting and internet sides alone. It looks like Comcast hasn’t made too many friends over the years at all… anywhere.
(12/7/09) According to this article about the Comcast purchase of NBC Universal, it sounds as it Comcast does plan to hang onto the Universal theme parks, rather than try to sell them off as InBev did when they bought Anheuser-Busch.
(12/4/09) Sad news to report today, as expected G.E. has confirmed the sale of 51% of NBC Universal to Comcast. The jokes have already started to pour in about how Universal Express times will now become 4-6 hour long windows, Passholders may find their services disconnected without warning and guests who will wait all day in lines for broken rides because the technicians decided not to show up.
Vekoma - (3/3/10) When asking for more information about that new “Kneeling Coaster” from Vekoma, CoasterFusion got a reply that clears things up a bit. It seems the name is misleading. You will still be seating in the normal fashion, “on your buttocks” but your knees much be bent to fit into restraint system. Another Screamscape source describes it best, telling us that you will be seated on this inverted coaster in the same position used on the Vekoma Booster Bike coasters. So just imagine going for a quick flight around the park on what may feel a little like a Sky Bike.
(2/5/10) According to this article posted at Park World Online, Vekoma is showing off a new Kneeling-Suspended coaster design called Dragon Fly. Riders will sit four across and be leaning forward slightly while in a kneeling position. As interesting as it sounds, it also doesn’t sound like the most comfortable position to ride in. Remember, not all ideas like this are good... remember the Stand-Up Drop Tower? I’m sure ever guy who has ridden it does...
WaveLoch - (3/27/10) WaveLoch is working on two new WaveHouse attractions. The first new one will open in Spain in 2011 followed by the largest one to date, and first indoor location, in Wembley, UK, when it opens in 2012.
WaveLoch isn’t done however, as they have dreams to build a little something they call the Flow Park. Think of it as a wet version of a skate park, full of water half pipes. They’ve also teamed up with UK baed Body Flight to build Flow House attractions, described as a smaller toned down version of the Wave House concept. The first Flow House will open at the Body Flight location near Bedford, UK in May 2010.
WhiteWater West - (4/28/10) The Theme Park Guy takes a quick photo tour through Canada’s WhiteWater West slide manufacturing plant. Check it out.
(4/16/10) WhiteWater West has announced a new product today… a line of slides they are calling MEGAtubes. The general concept is to use a giant 20ft wide enclosed slide tube that serves as a kind of water-halfpipe section, which can be combined with many other slide designs. The MEGAtube is so big that another smaller sized slide can actually pass right through it, so combine this with the new see-through slide pieces and you’ve got some really twisted ideas that can come from this.
Zamperla - (2/5/10) Zamperla has confirmed that they have sold a dinosaur themed version of their MotoCoaster to Changzhou Park in China that will open sometime next year.
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