This will be a long post, but please bear with me:
As a long-time coaster enthusiast and avid member of ACE, I have to put in my two-cents here. Let’s stop and look at the facts: two classic woodies are being removed from two separate parks this year: Six Flags Magic Mountain and Six Flags New England. Last year, a classic woodie was removed from Six Flags Great Adventure. I know we all like to think that RMC replacements/retrackings are coming, but we shan’t get ahead of ourselves. Rolling Thunder bowed out without any hint of a RMC coaster in it’s place. It is entirely possible that this will be the case for either Magic Mountain or New England. If I had to guess, I would say that Magic Mountain will get the RMC coaster, New England will not get a new coaster period. In 2015, at least.
I would say that Great Adventure is probably the highest-valued park in the entire chain. Look at where it’s located: equidistant from Philadelphia and NYC, and not too far from Baltimore (granted they have Six Flags America). It is in the best interest of Six Flags to give guests a reason to keep coming back to Great Adventure in particular year after year. Hence: Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom. RC98, I like to believe that Zumanjaro is indeed that calm before the storm. A sub-$3 million dollar record breaker before Six Flags really unleashes the beast. A few inexpensive (relatively) attractions that are cost effective here and there i.e. Zumanjaro, Safari Off Road Adventure, SkyScreamer, before unveiling that brand-new $25 million coaster.
With the #1 wooden coaster in the world a short walk away, it would be pointless for Great Adventure to add a RMC coaster that would directly compete with ridership on El Toro. Six Flags is smart that way: they know how to build a diverse coaster lineup, which is exactly what they have at Great Adventure. A wing-coaster seems like a most probable next move, as a B&M coaster would be exciting, smooth, and low-maintenance. Six Flags won’t add anything that will directly compete with an already existing ride.
As for Bizarro, that ride might honestly just be experiencing declining ridership as a result of where it’s located in the park. Shame on Six Flags for that one, because I personally would prefer a ride on Bizarro any day over Batman (too condensed, head banging) or Green Lantern (makes jelly out of my legs). Imagine if Bizarro and Green Lantern switched places. Problem solved, although I know I just speak for myself about my ride preferences. In my opinion, Bizarro is here to stay, especially since it was just recently transformed from Medusa to Bizarro.
One last thing: Six Flags Great Adventure is slated to host Coaster Con in 2015. Coaster Con is the biggest, most important ACE event of the entire year. I cannot wrap my brain around why Great Adventure would host Coaster Con as opposed to, say, Carowinds, for the unveiling of what we all know is a brand-spankin’ new giga. Or for that matter, Magic Mountain, for Iron Colossus. OR, New England, for Iron Cyclone (possibly.) Six Flags Great Adventure must have something big up it’s sleeve. What more a perfect time to open a brand new coaster, and host Coaster Con 2015 to commemorate the unveiling. Now, C’mon Great Adventure, let’s see that wing coaster!