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So apparently today Anaconda turned 30 years old via the KD Instagram account:

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Yet in most of the comments are people trashing the ride.


I wouldn't say most. There aren't that many comments and one of them is mine. Only a few outright trash it. I didn't exactly trash it, just said that the shown part is the best part (which is true - the corkscrew is fun).
 
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I took a ride in the back row today, and knowing that old Arrows are a bit janky I braced myself. Doing that, I honestly enjoyed it - it was a bit of nostalgia though I still think the figure 8 is the dumbest element on any coaster of that generation.
 
I noticed on my visit today, that the water jets that they usually have are either just turned off today, or they’re no longer there. I say this because watching the ride (it was one train ops because it was SO SLOW in the park, was told there was around 400 people in park today), I saw no water effects at all. On the upside, anaconda really isn’t a bad ride, it just has some bad transitions. The attraction is took the sidewinder it goes through almost glass smooth today, same goes with the transition into the midcourse. Why do people hate on this ride so much? Sure it’s not an ideal ride to go there, but it’s not bad. The only part I’d say is ~rough~ would be the transition between the two inclined helixes, and that’s only because there’s like 4 bad transitions in there. It was so nice not getting slammed to a stop though, just rolling on into the station.
 
Last I remember - only half the of the jets were working, but I'll be honest that I don't pay any attention to this ride. Also, Anaconda can only run one train when it is raining. So if it is forecasted to rain most of the day - they'll most likely start the day off with just 1. Otherwise, Anaconda will always run 2 no matter the crowds usually. Removing a train off Anaconda takes a lot longer than it needs to and usually causes more problems than it is worth.
 
@CoasterTalkBob

Hey, we were getting on a good topic for Premier. Wanted to continue the idea in here, since it involves Anaconda's land.

In my honest opinion, it would be too much of a squeeze for the park to try and fit something record breaking in Volcano's spot. Premier would have more success working with a sizable plot of land that Stunt Coaster and Anaconda currently sit on. To get more ride, the station queue and the event building would be two separate structures. Same thing that Verbolten did. What would work better in this case is that Anaconda's land creates a lot more space for a longer event building experience. I'd like to see what new style of indoor coaster could be created with Premier using a big plot of land. As we discussed, I like the time travel dinosaur experience. Given Verbolten's success; I think this would feel better with LSM launches. The feeling of urgency of escaping a raptor breaking from it's cage is a lot more suspenseful if the train can launch while it's already moving. Riders could also enjoy two launches within the building, rather than using the second launch to send them out. Whether it's a backwards element is totally up to the designer. Creativity seems endless when escaping a chase.
 
@CoasterTalkBob

Hey, we were getting on a good topic for Premier. Wanted to continue the idea in here, since it involves Anaconda's land.

In my honest opinion, it would be too much of a squeeze for the park to try and fit something record breaking in Volcano's spot. Premier would have more success working with a sizable plot of land that Stunt Coaster and Anaconda currently sit on. To get more ride, the station queue and the event building would be two separate structures. Same thing that Verbolten did. What would work better in this case is that Anaconda's land creates a lot more space for a longer event building experience. I'd like to see what new style of indoor coaster could be created with Premier using a big plot of land. As we discussed, I like the time travel dinosaur experience. Given Verbolten's success; I think this would feel better with LSM launches. The feeling of urgency of escaping a raptor breaking from it's cage is a lot more suspenseful if the train can launch while it's already moving. Riders could also enjoy two launches within the building, rather than using the second launch to send them out. Whether it's a backwards element is totally up to the designer. Creativity seems endless when escaping a chase.
Truthfully, I think Anaconda is gonna stick around for a while. It fits the new area well and is more popular than a lot of enthusiasts assume it is. I also honestly think that KD would make a mistake if they go for a record breaking ride to fill Volcano's spot. What they need is something that is unique and just straight up fun and I think the S&S Axis remains a good fit and possibility. All that being said, you don't need a lot of room to have a fun and thrilling coaster (Look at Lightning Run). There is also the psychological need to physically fill Volcano's spot with Volcano's replacement because it'll never be replaced until that spot is filled. I don't think an indoor coaster is going to be the solution for Volcano but I do hope that things continue the way they are going and we see an additional attraction added later that incorporates the indoor type of thing you are talking about.

I do think it would be cool to see some additional theming added to Anaconda..... maybe some sound effects and props. Oh.... and MK1212 trains..... those would be the most important thing to hit the ride since it opened.
 
I think the Anaconda plot is too tough to fill and replace with a traditional coaster. My suggestion would be to clean up the lake and replace Anaconda with an Intamin or Mack water coaster - decent Family/thrill ride that gets you wet, allows for theming that fits Jungle-X and could be a nod to Diamond Falls. Plus it still counts as a coaster credit and is something that BGW doesn't necessarily have.

You can still build a decent coaster in the old Volcano plot, especially if KD can design it to cross over FoF's launch tunnel and go into the woods on the other side.

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Why does everyone say it would be hard to fit a coaster in where Anaconda already is?
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Almost 50% of the area is unused. While they probably could not fit a Giga in here I absolutely see no reason they couldnt fit any sort of looping coaster.
 
Why does everyone say it would be hard to fit a coaster in where Anaconda already is?
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Almost 50% of the area is unused. While they probably could not fit a Giga in here I absolutely see no reason they couldnt fit any sort of looping coaster.

I personally think it's not so much the square footage available, it's more about the investment needed to pour footers in that area. They'd need to either drain the lake or use cofferdams.
 
Whenever Anaconda is finally removed, I'd fully expect them to use the plot for a Soak City expansion.

TBH, I disagree. They’ve barely touched the north side (park side) of Soak City since the first year Cedar Fair bought the park, with 2015’s addition of a small splash pad being the only addition since then. We have seen the removal of three adult slides from that side though — Torrential Twist sometime in the late 2000s, Shoot the Curl in 2015, and Tornado in 2018. Other than sprucing up that area’s remaining opening day attractions, all of the investment and effort in the waterpark has gone to the south side of Soak City.

In my opinion, all signs point to the park not wanting to significantly invest into expanding the north side of the waterpark. In fact, I’d bet there’s at least been a discussion of phasing it out once its aging attractions reach the end of their service lives.
 
FWIW I like anaconda as a layout. I think it suffers a touch from too few supports, add in terrible pre-CF maintenance, and you end up with a ride that isn’t really reridable.
 
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It was bad the year it opened. Loop-sidewinder combo was good, corks were slow and fun, and the rest ranged from mediocre to unenjoyable. I first rode it within 1-2 months of its debut. My personal take on it really hasn’t had any reason to change for 30 years.

Anaconda was rougher than Drachen Fire the year Drachen Fire opened. So was Steel Phantom. All early-90s exemplars of Arrow overreaching. Anaconda was the strangest and most frustrating overreach of the three because it did the least.

Colors were on point, though. I miss the original paint.
 
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