SonofBaconator

Looking back at this thread, I think its kinda funny to ultimately see Firehawk replaced by a B&M I'd still love to see KI get a better flyer though

If BLSC ever bites the dust I'd like to see a Mack launched spinner. It doesn't have to feature inversions but I think a spinning coaster is definitely something missing from our lineup.

I'm just curious as to what chain would take a gable with any of those concepts. Sea World maybe but I could only see them interested the in water models. Aside from Sea World and Universal, no US based chain has worked with Intamin in over a decade. Those small concepts show me that they're trying to undercut manufacturers and aim for smaller parks.

I think having too big of a portfolio is a bad thing. Have you ever went to a restaurant that has like a 7 page menu? The food is often bad. Intamin has made wooden coasters, steel coasters, flat rides, water rides, tower rides, the list goes on. When you have a portfolio that large, you're bound to be stretched thin somewhere. Some of the better companies have a formula they stand by. Even companies like Mack who branch out have worked hard to perfect their product.

Maybe they're trying to build back up their track record by knocking off tried and true models.

I see what @silver2005 was saying. Intamin's responsible for rides like Xcelerator, Maverick, Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Kingda Ka, El Toro, etc. Heck, their rapid switch track coasters look so promising and reminiscent of what made them popular to begin with. To have them go from those innovative masterpieces to making blatant knockoffs of current, small scale coaster models like power splashes and sky rockets is pretty funny. In response to the Surf Coaster, I don't see that as copying or knocking off since B&M avoided the launched game for so long and literally almost every manufacturer has a launched coaster on their product list.

I felt the same way, but I think Airtime Thrills said it best. He said it encourages competition. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattering after all. If I'm Premier, Mack, or RMC, I know my product is doing a good job if other companies are trying to knock me off.

I think RMC has done a good job undercutting companies like B&M, Mack, and Intamin with their raptors, hybrids, and woodies. I think they're in trouble if they don't do something with their raptor model seeing as Intamin took the idea and added a launch aspect to it. Also I see them doing more over seas work like with Zadra.

There's only 4 of them in Florida

@BeastForever you are 100% correct! I was focusing more on the fact that we've been the most "tame" of the big 4 Cedar Fair parks when it comes to breaking records. I agree we're the more built up park vs CWL and CWS. I guess what I'm saying is as long as the quality is there, our additions don't need to be super innovative or ground breaking.

I'm interested to see how this announcement plays out. To be honest, I'm interested in all 2021 announcements

Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think the ROI would be there if we got a game changer. We're not set up as a destination park so I'm not sure getting something on the level of say Steel Vengeance would help us. Like I said earlier, Carowinds got blessed with Fury 325 because Cedar Fair wanted to build that park up more. Unless metro areas such as Cincy, Dayton, Columbus, Indy, Louisville, or Lexington get a sudden increase in population I don't think Cedar Fair feels the need to stretch super far with us.

You can thank Son of Beast for that. KI already pulls in over 3 million people attendance wise so logically there's no reason to give us a ride that pushes boundaries like Steel Vengeance, Pantheon, etc right away. Granted while those styled coasters could come to the park someday, we don't necessarily have to be the 1st to do it. Cedar Point, Canada's Wonderland, and Carowinds all have been getting record breakers recently. They want these parks to have high attendance numbers so they're willing to risk more (to a degree.) Cedar Fair realised that they don't need to give KI anything game changing in order to keep their 3 million + annual visitors happy. If anything, taking a risk might actually hurt the park's attendance. Imagine if we got a ride like Pantheon and the rapid switch track was having issues... that's a new ride that has to go down for maintenance and after a while the GP start to notice. That's a huge reason why we haven't gotten anything game changing since Son of Beast. Experimental rides have never boded well for us as a park (look at the original Bat). I think for the most part people are just happy with safe and normal. I'd love to have something new and creative but the problem with acquiring a prototype is that your park becomes the guinea pig. Heck look at the issues Cedar Point ran into with Steel Vengeance just a few days after opening it. In a world where everyone's craving the newest and most innovative, I'm perfectly happy with the path we're currently going down.

I'm sorry, I just don't see KI immediately doing anything like that. I used to have a thought that we could get something like a modified/ higher capacity Sky Rocket II model as filler until Vortex gets properly replaced. However, I think with where KI is now as a park, they're more interested in saving money for higher quality rides. If we were still under Paramount management, we'd have low budget clones galore. I'm quite happy waiting if it means something of a higher quality will come.

Eh, Backlot went to two other Cedar Fair parks so I'd say that was more planned out

I don't think anyone's denying that things could be improved. I'm not one to make excuses but these are strange times we live in. I think pointing out stuff like @BoddaH1994 mentioned could benefit the park and I don't think its meant to be a blatant attack on one person, but rather a call to action; a call to improve on something. With technology constantly evolving and social media being ever present in the marketing world, what worked last year might not necessarily work now.

Wait.......what? They got Silver Streak and Timewarp which were pretty cheap additions. Also that was when Paramount was in charge. I hope we'd never get something like Timewarp to boost attendance..

If its stretching to Soak City maybe its indeed a shuttle road for either employees or guests.

It would be awesome to have something like Kumba, Medusa, or even Kraken (which I've heard nothing but good things about)

Not just elements but stuff to set KI apart: Diamondback got a splashdown. Banshee featured new trains, no pre-drop, a dive loop (usually parks opt for an immediate immelman), better theming (the scream at the drop for example) and a station without a drop floor Mystic Timbers was themed extremely well- the que, the shed, its own IMAScore, etc Orion was also themed very well- it brought in all the A72 theming, has IMAScore, has its own preshow building, and a stellar lighting package There's just a lot of extra character and thought added into KI's rides that I don't think a lot of people notice. Its almost like they give their rides personality.

I like to think of it as a twister version of Escape from Krypton at Magic Mountain. I agree it seems somewhat gimmicky but I think they're just trying to appeal to the GP. Visually the concepts look stunning

I'd like to think if KI got one it would be unique enough. KI typically does their own thing with the coasters they get. Maybe they'd get a 6 seater with a thinner track spine that focuses more on inversions. Maybe they'd get one to feature an element like a zero-g stall, cobra roll, etc. Maybe they'd get one and have it feature two 90° drops vs just one. The list goes on. I agree they get repetitive but I think KI goes the extra step to differentiate their coasters.

They don't, but it helps paint a picture. At least we have some frame of reference going forward. Like I said earlier, Covid might change everything but I feel like the nearly 50 years have painted a pretty decent picture

@Kenban I'd argue Congo's lack of popularity is mostly based off of its placement. Also it could be because it doesn't do as much vs WWC or RFYLCB. Back to coaster timelines, here's the giant one (including defunct ones): 1972 (x3), 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2017, 2020. The largest gap is still 5 years which is a tie from 1972-1977 and 2009-2014. By this logic 2025 would be the absolute latest the park could get a new coaster of some sort, however some of those years like 1992 and 2001 saw smaller kiddie coasters.

A lot of their coasters seem mediocre besides Superman and Wicked Cyclone. It just seems like it could be a much better park than it is.