Opening this year... sort of

[Tim]

This is just a random thought but I think it could make an interesting discussion.

2019 is a year of late opening / delayed rides, Intentional or otherwise. This is normally the time of year in which all the big players have opened their new attractions but so far there’s still a lot to wait for.

Starting with Disney we have Galaxy’s Edge, which has half opened in California but is still months off in Florida and we won’t be expecting the headline ride until the end of the year.
In Europe It’s a similar story with Rulantuca opening right before Christmas and FLY pushed into next year. The story is the same for other smaller projects such as the construction delays at Kennywood and Magic Mountain. The list goes on, just look at RCDB where pages 5 to 11 of all new coasters are still under construction!

From an enthusiasts perspective I’m excited that we still have so much to look forward to. However the problem with all these random opening dates and delays is I now have no idea when it is a good time to visit a park? It used to be a simple matter of going early in the year to visit when the park is fresh and not as busy, even if some things are still under construction. Or later in the year when you can guarantee a full line up.
I chose the latter option last year when I visited Europa, piking a date months after CanCan could possibly open... it didn’t. I could have just visited this year but then the whole cycle repeats again with Scandinavia... which has also been delayed.

This makes me question if it’s still valid for parks to claim in their marketing that an attraction is new for 20XX when for most guests they’ll never be able to experience it that year?
And also what do you do to avoid new ride disappointment?

 

[RicketyCricket]

Its not just coasters, look at Phantom Manor at DLP. It went way over schedule and having rode it recently, the changes are nothing special considering how long it was down.

 

[Themeparksandy1981]

Well as many parks are open all year round they now open major rides at different times of the year so guests will keep coming back.
They say Orlando is a once in a lifetime but I ended up going back 5 times so far.
Where uk parks main season is March to November they mainly try to open there new rides around April/May time.

 

[spinba11]

Let’s not forget GE opening (on both coasts) was brought forward, Orlando wasn’t meant to open until December.

 

[Rob]

Interesting thread. Parks in the US have often not opened new rides until around Memorial Day with the odd exception, however there has been a trend in Europe over the last few year for new rides open later on in the season. In some cases this is logistical. Walibi Holland and CanCan Coaster for example, for these to have opened at the start of their respective seasons the coasters that they replaced would have to have closed much earlier. In other cases it could be a marketing thing; you get the initial start of season marketing push and then the new ride marketing push.

Something like Rulantica is different in my opinion. 2020 is its first major season and by opening it in November 2019 they have a few months to let it bed in which makes perfect sense. And for rides at Disney parks with are open all year round, when even is the start of the season? Magic Kingdom itself openeded in October.

Of course it is better for trip planning if you know that a new ride is going to be open on a parks opening day. But construction projects can be complex and it just is not always practical.