Rivertown Rider

Hey look on the bright side John Matarese finally answered a question for the forum.

True, but they are still going to start selling the 2021 passes next Tuesday. Any passes they sell at this point is going to help the company.

Since they start selling season passes for 2021 next week, my thoughts would be if anything (i.e. a new ride) is getting announced it would be within the next week. I doubt they would announce something over the holiday weekend (they would want the smartest news cycle). That points to something either being announced today or tomorrow or Tuesday. If nothing is announced, then I think that points more towards this being infrastructure related.

I do think Action Zone is due for some love as it is really the only non-kiddie area of the park that hasn't gotten any sprucing up over the last several years. I don't think it is a coaster but some family flats in Action Zone are sorely needed. Action Zone still is the most Paramount-feeling area in the park with the exception of the Banshee area.

I can't see it being a patio. There is plenty of seating on the other side of the Diner. It is going to be funny if it has been a spot for a flat hidden in plain sight this whole time.

Other than the WindSeekers and the Larson Flyers (for the parks that didn't already have Flyers), I can't think of a bulk chain purchase recently.

I'm surprised the chain doesn't buy some flats in bulk like SF does. I don't think anyone would be that upset if for example, both us and Carowinds both got a Screamin' Swing in the same year.

I would love to see a Screamin' Swing. It could easily go in Rivertown, Oktoberfest, or Action Zone.

I agree with others that they need a new modern wooden coaster. A GCI twister layout would be my preference.

I totally can believe the SOB station may be getting torn down but I can't see any rides going there right now. I also don't think we would get a coaster anytime soon. Flats would not make sense in that location because of the elevation changes and also because they wouldn't be highly visible back there. If they really are removing part of Columbia Road it makes sense that Timberwolf may finally be going away. (If Cedar Point can do temporary staging / seating for their version of SpiritSong there is no reason that we can't either.) It would be great if they went to Mack and tried to get a deal for two flats (a Teacups style Keggers ride and a Musik Express) and put them in part of the Timberwolf plot. Both are relatively good capacity for flats and that area needs some family rides. As I mentioned in a previous post, opening that area up would also allow you to re-route The Bat entrance and exit.

They probably are in second place in the two worst coasters right besides each other competition. Only Flight Deck and Time Warp at CW probably have them beat.

I could definitely see Cedar Creek Mine Ride going away. It is a slow efficiency ride. The old Arrow mine trains load/unload so slow. If they replaced it with a three train GCI like Mystic they would end up with a more efficient ride. Gemini shouldn't go anywhere. It is a capacity machine. As far as Vortex at Carowinds, I have seen a lot of people suggest that it is too short of a ride to waste the money on conversion. But with its location in the park, I think it would do quite well if it was converted to a floorless.

Really cool article and video. I wonder if their hard hats fell off in the loop?

Apollo from Dorney Park. Just a really fun flat.

Did you take pictures?

So are there any more markers this week?

On Mt. Olympus. It has four woodies, a small kiddie coaster, one flat, a bunch of go kart tracks and a water park. There is really not much infrastructure and there are weird paths everywhere. It is really a go kart/water park with coasters as opposed to a classic amusement park.

^ Mt. Olympus would require a ton of money to bring that park to CF standards. While I think a fuller fleshed park in the Dells would work, I'm not sure it would be worth it to them. Adventureland is definitely one that I would have interest in them buying. It is far enough way from their other parks not to be direct competition but close enough that they could sell more Platinum Passes to the WOF and VF crowd.

St. Louis overall is one their lesser parks. I would compare it to like a Dorney in the Cedar Fair chain (I would argue Dorney is much more well maintained though). When you have Magic Mountain, Great Adventure, and Great America those bigger more popular parks are going to get a lot more love. I have also heard others say they are landlocked. American Thunder and Screamin' Eagle are both great rides though.

Given the fact that SpiritSong is really the only concert series they get every year, it makes sense just to use part of the parking lot and do the temporary stage and seating. That would get rid of the eyesore that is Timberwolf and better use that area.

I would like to see them go the Frontier Canada route and add some flats to flesh out the area and then add the coaster. That area of the park is so busy as it is that I think they will do what makes the most sense as opposed to just rushing to put something in.

Rides Entertainment works with Gerstlauer and Funtime among other companies. They also work with KCL Engineering, which was rumored to do the lighting for Orion although I don't know if that was ever officially confirmed. One interesting one on there is Arenas Americas who does among other things festival seating for concerts. Could that be a hint at Timberwolf going away or could it be something else?

I'm just going to speak to the CF parks other than KI that I've been to. Kings Dominion really needs to put in something great to replace Volcano but they are in a tough spot with BGW right down the road. Carowinds would be really well served to put in a GCI like Mystic. I would say the same thing for CP. Wonderland is tough because they really need something with high capacity. Going the RMC conversion route with Wild Beast would be good. Although there have been varying opinions on whether RMC can even work in Canada. I could also see a Mack. While I would have preferred a GCI at Dorney, the rumored Gravity Group shuttle coaster gives them something unique. Worlds of Fun could do well with one of the smaller Dives or even a Wing.

It was fun to read back on some of the wishlists in this thread. The great news: We got our Giga in X-Base and KI knocked it out of the park with themeing. We got a new food stand and new restrooms (sort of, not the full sized ones that people were probably wishing for). That being said, Action Zone still needs help. Seeing the markers around the Columbia Road area gives me hope that Action Zone sees some love in the next couple years. I do like the Black Forest idea and could easily see Oktoberfest just taking over the whole area of Action Zone. Renaming Invertigo to the Demon, Congo could become Rhine River Falls, and add some family flats like a Tilt a Whirl and Musik Express where Timberwolf is would really re-enliven that area of the park and wouldn't break the bank either.

I generally like tunnels on coasters as I feel that they add a certain character. The Beast wouldn't be nearly as great of a ride if it didn't have the tunnels. Another great example is Adventure Express. Sometimes they are so short, like on Leviathan, that they don't really add much but I would have loved to have seen a tunnel on Orion if it was long enough.