pashacar

^ Fair warning that if you've done haunted houses or trails elsewhere you'll likely find Great Adventure's disappointing and overpriced. They're still fun, but embarrassingly cheap and poorly executed for a park of this size and scale.

If we're getting it, I agree with Tom and the others who say it's a great addition. No, it's not Busch-quality, but it's a solid ride and will really help round out our lineup. And the complaints about the location really don't make sense to me. They're revitalizing an area of the park that's been closed and neglected for years. They're adding a superhero ride in a thematically appropriate area, for once (not that the Boardwalk wouldn't have fit that bill as well). And I'm not sure how this is more or less "greedy" than a Boardwalk location, because first of all, we have no idea what games or stores or whatever else they'll include leading to this ride, nor whether the other Ka path would have opened up even with JL in Boardwalk.

Why? A park as big as ours can always benefit from increased capacity.

Yep. Product quality in most industries has. What was standard 20 years ago is now "premium." What was premium is now "super premium" -- or unavailable altogether. It's one thing in retail or travel where you can still pay to get better products or add on old amenities, but in more subjective and story-based areas like theme parks, cuts in theming and storytelling remove something that even a premium customer can't buy back. Plus, we see more profit-grabbing moves that totally disrupt storytelling (e.g., Princess-themed rooms in the bayou-styled Port Orleans Riverside, to use a Disney example) than when everyone got the same experience.

Fair enough. Though personally I'd say "mildly eroded" for Disney and "substantially diminished" for SF.

Um, JL super popular at the parks where it's been installed, including for re-rides.

For those of you doubting the clout and energy of a JL:BFM ride, I think you are miscalculating. The rides are very popular, and generally enliven the areas they sit in very much. I think it would easily brighten up Old Country or anywhere else it ends up.

^I think it's all a matter of how it's administered. I actually give SF a lot of credit for how they integrate it in their dry parks. But apparently it all goes to s*** once you set foot in HH.

Good find! Harry probably knows more, but my best guess is it's for a FF trail. Less likely, but could also be for #4seasonsofthrills photo op or something.

^Not entirely surprising. As the Kinzel era fadea, CF has been evolving to serve the market more and adopting the short-term-profit-above-all model that has ruined the SF experience over the course of a few decades.

^ WWK has a fast pass?

^They won't get any Jewish groups on Yom Kippur. It's the most somber holiday of the year. But still a large population of potential attendees to draw from.

Nicely said. I know they don't do everything right, but SF could learn a thing or two from CF....

I want to say that's happened before, but it was on a Monday. Any recollection, Harry? Does seem to make a lot of sense since it's only a small minority that observes the holiday.

^Cookie-cutter coaster with half-baked theme in Chiller's lot.

If they keep hitting capacity (or close) during FF nights, they should keep raising prices....

And they're not going cheap to save up for something big. They're doing it to extract more profit.

It's about as major as SF capex gets these days. I could see another ride of its scale showing up next year, but nothing like an ET or Nitro.

Lol, great point. Could definitely see that being the reason. Don't see it leading to the best themed experience, but then that's not what Six Flags is about anyway.

Scratching my head on this one. It makes no sense to me to name the sections after other parks. Even if they include clones of rides from the respective parks, how many visitors will have any frame of reference for what "Magic Mountain" means? Or for the difference between "Great Escape" and "Great America"? I feel it just reeks of the usual intellectual laziness we see from Six Flags.

^Omg yes it's DISGUSTING. But also kind of worth it....

Yeah, MF is great but overrated. IMO, its differentiating factor is speed more than airtime or laterals or anything else. Glad you liked CP and Cleveland. Bummer to hear people are still avoiding downtown so much. Maybe one day it'll rebound. And Vermillion! Love the Quaker Steak & Lube there.

^The announcement said live music, which could be nice. It may be that with a more traditional fireworks show.

As Premier's fate proved, their business model is not sustainable. In the short or medium term, while there may be some larger standalone additions like Goliath @ SFGAm, most of what we'll see will be smaller-scale, cheaper additions, as we have across SF in recent years. Nearly all of their "larger" coaster additions have cut corners on cost. somehow -- some are retrofits, some are relocated old rides, and some are smaller-scale/cookie-cutter coasters like The Joker. At least Cedar Fair is still investing in substantial new coasters.

Nice report. Sounds like a lot of fun. If I were you, I'd hold off on the dining pass until August. That's when they'll start to offer 2017 ones, so you'll be able to get 17 months of coverage for the same you'd pay for 6 months if you got one now.