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Six Flags: General Discussion

So it appears Slammer will be the only Sky Swat left:

Coasterforce said:
Six Flags New England recently confirmed that their S&S Power Sky Swat ride, will be removed to make room for their new Funtime Star Flyer ride. Although SkyScreamer isn't scheduled to open before 2014, Catapult will not open this season & has been removed from the park's website attractions page.

Unless a new home is found for Catapult, which is unlikely due to the reliability issues inherent to the ride, Thorpe Park's Slammer will be the only Sky Swat in existence.
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Danny said:
So it appears Slammer will be the only Sky Swat left:

Coasterforce said:
Six Flags New England recently confirmed that their S&S Power Sky Swat ride, will be removed to make room for their new Funtime Star Flyer ride. Although SkyScreamer isn't scheduled to open before 2014, Catapult will not open this season & has been removed from the park's website attractions page.

Unless a new home is found for Catapult, which is unlikely due to the reliability issues inherent to the ride, Thorpe Park's Slammer will be the only Sky Swat in existence.
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Wow. That is quite a coup for Thorpe Park really if they can keep theirs running.

There are very few flat rides, that are as impressive visually as that is - I wouldn't go on one lol, but Thorpe Park's skyline simply would not be the same without it.

Love them or loathe them to ride, they are absolutely awesome aesthetically - and potentially now only one left!
 
Screamscape have heard a rumour that Medusa at Six Flags Mexico might be getting converted by RMC to use RMC's I-Box rails but with an improved layout, much like what happened to Rattler and Texas Giant:

2014 - Iron Medusa - Rumor - (4/15/13) Wild rumor time… Screamscape sources tell us that Medusa at Six Flags Mexico may be the next Six Flags coaster to get the Iron Horse treatment. While the coaster really isn’t all that old, the old CCI coaster is in need of some heavy maintenance later this year anyway and Six Flags is rumored to have contracted the job out to the Rocky Mountain Coasters crew who will work in some impressive new improvements to Medusa as well as replace the Gerstlauer trains with a set of the new RMC trains that just premiered for the first time on Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City.
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Goliath at Six Flags New England...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB114haAD4U#ws


...has new trains:

db_2013_0416_GoliathTrain11.jpg

Image from Screamscape.
 
Viper is pretty crazy too! I was happy to see where I was going on it, so that I could brace myself. I don't understand the obsession with backwards rides.
 
At least they are only for limited time periods each. I'm genuinely starting to fear for what their annual announcement for next season is going to contain.
 
Interesting news from Screamscape today about what Six Flags Great Adventure will be adding for 2014:
2014 - Giga Drop / Giant Drop - Rumor - (7/17/13) According to the early rumors, Six Flags Great Adventure will announce a “record-breaking” new attraction for 2014 on August 29th. Could this be the long rumored drop ride that might be attached to Kingda Ka, or perhaps something else entirely?
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Might we be looking at an even bigger version of 'Lex Luthor Drop of Doom'?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCpd6uD12c8#ws
 
^ It's official...

1238349_10151624042888513_1111264503_n.jpg



Three Lex Luthor style drop towers on the front of Kingda Ka for 2014. It'll be called 'Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom' (catchy).


Looks a bit daft, and... three? Really?



Edit: Sorry, John! :-[
 
^ Beat me to it ::)

Here's the press release:

New Jersey’s Six Flags Great Adventure will shatter the world record for tallest drop ride with the addition of the 41-story Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom in 2014.

Connected to the iconic Kingda Ka roller coaster—the 456-foot monster that ranks as the world’s tallest coaster and fastest in North America—Zumanjaro will hoist riders 415 feet into the sky and rocket them back to Earth at 90 miles per hour while Kingda Ka trains launch right toward them at speeds of up to 128 miles per hour.

"Zumanjaro solidifies Six Flags Great Adventure’s dominance as the Northeast’s thrill capital,” said John Fitzgerald, park president. “This is precisely the world-class, record-breaking attraction our guests have come to expect from Great Adventure. Zumanjaro is destined to top many ‘must ride’ lists in 2014."

Three soaring Zumanjaro towers will be built on the face of the massive Kingda Ka coaster debuting during the park’s 41st season. Each drop tower will feature a gondola with eight riders.

The gondolas will rise to the top of the tower in approximately 30 seconds. Riders will pause for a few terrifying moments, 41 stories in the air—even higher than London’s Big Ben and twice as high as the Statue of Liberty—allowing them to catch a glimpse of the skyscrapers in Philadelphia 52 miles to the south before gravity plunges them back to ground level in less than 10 seconds.

"Zumanjaro pushes thrills to heights never imagined when Great Adventure first opened in 1974,” said park historian and author Harry Applegate. “You could stack the tallest major attractions from Great Adventure's opening season on top of one another, including the Big Wheel, Log Flume, Runaway Train and Skyride, and you would still be more than 50 feet shy of Zumanjaro."

The name “Zumanjaro” was inspired by the African influences of Safari Off Road Adventure, the attraction that combined Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari into the world’s largest theme park. A newly-themed animal section adjacent to Zumanjaro will feature mischievous and playful Anubis baboons native to Africa. For nearly 40 years, these baboons were a favorite of Safari visitors, but not included in the new Safari Off Road Adventure.

“Throughout this season, guests have inquired about the baboons. We can finally announce that they will be the stars of this newly-themed area,” Fitzgerald said. Guests will be able to see the lively primates, also known as olive baboons, up close in their new habitat formerly known as Safari Discoveries. These members of the Old World Monkey family “have a highly organized social structure and their interactions are fascinating to watch,” he added.

Zumanjaro and the new baboon exhibit are slated for a spring debut in 2014.

http://content.sixflags.com/comingin2014/

The End of an Era: Rolling Thunder

The introduction of Zumanjaro spells the end of an era for one of the park’s classic roller coasters, Rolling Thunder. The coaster, which opened in 1979, has delivered more than 42 million rides in its nearly 35-year history. Although the classic, dual track “woodie” remained a staple at the park, its popularity waned over the years.



“Advances in technology have led to a new generation of rides with the sleek intensity of El Toro, the world’s No. 1 wooden coaster,” Fitzgerald said. Guests will be able to enjoy Rolling Thunder until it closes to the public September 8, 2013 to make way for construction."
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Exciting stuff, capacity should be half decent with 3 towers and seeing the trains hurtling towards you will no doubt be spectacular.
 
All of Six Flags 2014 announcements can be seen here.

I think it's great that they do strive to bring something new to every park every year. Inevitably it does lead to some attractions being replicated somewhat, and they clearly have a deal with RMC at the moment.

They are turning two coasters at Magic Mountain, Batman and Colossus, backwards. I really hope this whole coasters backwards 'trend' doesn't catch on too much, I really don't see the point of it.

:)
 
That drop tower looks insane! And it will actually have a decent capacity as well, unlike Lex Luthor.
 
Alastair said:
That drop tower looks insane! And it will actually have a decent capacity as well, unlike Lex Luthor.
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It's only got 8 more seats than LL, it's not going to be much better...
 
Benzin said:
Alastair said:
That drop tower looks insane! And it will actually have a decent capacity as well, unlike Lex Luthor.
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It's only got 8 more seats than LL, it's not going to be much better...
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That ups the throughout from 550 to about 800pph though which is quite a significant improvement.
 
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