GAcoaster Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 I would imagine 2009 will be the year for some relief and a rehabbed, rethemed Old Country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Adventurer Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 It's sad to see these go. One of my friends only likes flat rides, and most of the ones he loved most will be closed and/or torn down. Hopefully he will like TDK. My mom was also a big fan of the flat rides, especially the water ones; at least I've gotten her on a few coasters, and she's interested on more. I'm still not too satisfied, however. I would imagine 2009 will be the year for some relief and a rehabbed, rethemed Old Country. I would hope, but I'm thinking that since they're adding that new coaster in 2009 (or so I've heard), they would save all that stuff for 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 I'm hoping for 2009 but If there is a new coaster in 09 it will suffice and I am sure they will do a great job promoting it and everything. I just wan't wait for the upswing for the flats to come again. We shall see what happens though. I guess as long as revenues and money head up for the company and our park specifically we can hope it pays off with some new rides and scenery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 (edited) I think the rumor is either GAdv or GAm could get a diving roller coaster in 09. The park better add new flats in soon, it is becoming like MM with more kiddie rides. MM really could stand some flats too! A museum for old MM rides in the Sky Tower sounds cool, GAdv should also have one for old GAdv rides. Edited February 22, 2008 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up_Up_and_Away Posted February 22, 2008 Report Share Posted February 22, 2008 A museum for old MM rides in the Sky Tower sounds cool, GAdv should also have one for old GAdv rides. A few of us were actually talking about that recently; with GA celebrating 35 years in 2009, I think the Super TeePee would be a perfect spot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb Posted February 23, 2008 Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Speaking of 09', I wouldnt mind a coaster but what one's dont we have yet and where can we put it? Im 99% Sure Dan and others will agree with me but we need some Flats and/or A Dark Ride Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2008 Speaking of 09', I wouldnt mind a coaster but what one's dont we have yet and where can we put it? Im 99% Sure Dan and others will agree with me but we need some Flats and/or A Dark Ride We don't have a Dive coaster yet but at $15+ million that may be out of range for SF's budget. After listening to the Theme Park Review interview it seems SFMM's new coaster will be a Tony Hawk ride. The space behind the Chiller and TDK buildings is about the proper size for this type of ride at GA. And I too would love to see a dark ride (non-coaster) in the future along with those flats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmac031467 Posted February 25, 2008 Report Share Posted February 25, 2008 It bothers me also that they are removing these rides but lets take a step back and look at these rides. The Music Express was added to the park around 1977, The Fantasy Fling ( if still being removed) was from 1974, the Space Shuttle was installed around 1984, The Water Effect was from 1986, Free Fall was from 1983? and if the Wave Swinger goes it is also from 1974. All of these rides were between 20+ and 30+ years old. With the exception of the Chiller these flats have reached the end of the road where it is no longer feasable to run them. Also aren't the Six Flags Parks being run by an ex-Disney Exec? The Magic Kingdoms Growth has been slow, Animal Kingdom and MGM also slow. The Disney organization rarely adds something new without removing something old. ( of course there is exceptions for Disney) I am a traditionalist but I also understand that not just a Great Adventure but at all of their parks need to exchange out the old and upgrade. Some of the removals this year don;t make sence to me though although the dead area of the Old Country seems logical. Many times in the parks history they leave an area where rides have been removed and theme it to Ghetto'sville with its vacant lots and Trash themes. LOL. Anyway thanks for letting me put my two cents worth in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 ^ Very good point. Some of these rides are really old. The Fantasy Fling was a leased ride before being added to the park in 1974 so it could easily be about 40 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 If it weren't for the fact that the are by the boardwalk already has had so many recent changes to it, items like the Flying Wave, Autobahn, and a few others could have been relocated there to join the Carousel and give the area of the park leading to Superman, Kingda Ka and El Toro a real genuine Carnival feel to itwith the games and rides really resembling what one would expect to see. The old scrambler would have done well there as I can remember seeing such types of rides at local travelling carnivals growing up. The park had the rides to do it at one point but now it's probably not possible with what they have left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 My Chevy was built in 1986 and it still runs great. Had to rebuild the carb once but machines can last a very long time if taken care of right. I also have a tractor that was built sometime in the 1940s and it still runs great as well and new replacement parts are still being made for it. The truth is almost any machine can be rebuilt and be new again but it costs money, and most of the time the older it is the higher the cost of replacement parts can get, especially if it is a orphan make like a lot of GAdv's flat rides are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 The advantage with your Chevy is they built thousands of them, so some of them could easily be cannibalized for parts. Unfortunately they only make a few dozen of each ride generally, and many of the ones that GA has had and lost were VERY rare, and in some cases one of a kind, so parts are VERY scarce or need to be custom made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) They still make brand new parts for my Chevy(both GM and aftermarket) besides the used parts. But since alot of GAdv's flat rides are orphan makes even used parts can be hard to get let alone new replacement parts. I guess there are no aftermarket replacement part manufacturers for older rides like there are with older cars and tractors, shame. Edited February 26, 2008 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 There are...in fact a friend of mine used to work in a machine shop that made ride parts (among other things) but they cost a fortune! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 I can imagine. I mean replacement aftermarket parts for smaller machines can run a bunch I can only imagine how much replacements for some of those older rides would be. I think that's what amazed me with the last attempt to save The Chiller because having those custom tracks created for the coaster was a huge investment to make on a ride that had for so long been a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 There are...in fact a friend of mine used to work in a machine shop that made ride parts (among other things) but they cost a fortune! Oh yeah machine shop work costs big bucks. I had a flywheel resurfaced a few years ago by a machine shop, cost me $60. Replacing steel track sections for a steel coaster is unusually and probably required quite a bit of engineering to redesign those sections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 And in all honesty we can see that with the custom designed replacement tracks it didn't do much good so I can't really blam the park if they are wary of spending too much oh rehabbing any of the older flats at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 There is a difference, Chiller had design flaws and they tried a major modification to save it. I don't think the outgoing flats need major modifications like Chiller did, but they probably needed rebuilds which still costs alot of money the chain does not have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Very true. I may not be overly gifted when it comes to replacing and rebuilding machinery, but I would definately imagine that the two sets of circumstance are very different. I guess the point I was trying to make was just that for a company who is in the midst of financially rebuilding itself as a whole, after trying some major repairs to rides unsuccessfully I can't blame them if they don't want to worry about putting out a lot of money on anything they don't deem to be a high priority ride. Youe figure the 2 million spent on the Chiller was probably money that could have been spent on a huge amount of flat ride repairs and replacement work. At this point I am sure that any replacements or repairs that are not considered to be routine work will most likely be viewed differently by the company as a whole no matter what the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Very true. I may not be overly gifted when it comes to replacing and rebuilding machinery, but I would definately imagine that the two sets of circumstance are very different. I guess the point I was trying to make was just that for a company who is in the midst of financially rebuilding itself as a whole, after trying some major repairs to rides unsuccessfully I can't blame them if they don't want to worry about putting out a lot of money on anything they don't deem to be a high priority ride. Youe figure the 2 million spent on the Chiller was probably money that could have been spent on a huge amount of flat ride repairs and replacement work. At this point I am sure that any replacements or repairs that are not considered to be routine work will most likely be viewed differently by the company as a whole no matter what the ride. I agree, I just hope another ride does not have a major breakdown anytime soon. If it does happen again most likely the ride will be removed rather than repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Besides our parachute tower there are only two others in the United States and one in Japan. They already gave us some of Six Flags Over Georgia's parts when they dismanteled The Great Gasp. Ride it while you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 Wow I have to go on it this season then. It's been years since I've been on that ride and if parts are going to be that tough to come by in the future it could be on its way out in the next few years unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) It really would not be GAdv without the parachute tower. It is a icon of the park! I know SFOT has a shorter one and Knotts converted there's into a observation tower. If something does happen to the parachutes they should convert it like Knotts did. Edited February 26, 2008 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmac031467 Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 In all honesty I think that you should try to ride everything if you appriciate it. Things change. As much as I wish it could be that Great Adventure, along with all amusement parks in general were museums they are not. They are a businesses that are very organic in that every aspect. Every part of the park shelf life. Rides, shows, shops and even the general way the park is set up is all subject to change. There are rides, looking back that I wished I had one more chance to ride or photograph. There are areas of the park that I wish I could still remember as well as I remember them last year. Look at the Golden Kingdom area and the "El Toro" section of the park. They have changed a lot and in my honest opion for the better. We don't like change but it is important for any business to thrive. So my point is ride the Parachute. Enjoy the carousel. Take a Spin on the Ferris Wheel. Scream on Rolling Thunder. Photograph the Character Cafe because next year or the year after these icons may not be here for us to guess at there fates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted February 26, 2008 Report Share Posted February 26, 2008 (edited) Yeah but GAdv has been removing alot of rides and not replacing most of them. Like this year they are removing 7 rides and adding one new ride. If they keep going at this ratio they will end up a pretty empty park. I would also say the Skyride and the Log Flume are not 100% safe. Edited February 26, 2008 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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