It at least seems like a healthy indicator that they plan for the building to stick around, even if the coaster doesn’t.
I was hoping that they just hadn’t gotten around to painting the building yet. I’m glad that seems to be the case!
Flight of Fear
- Thread starter Ludwig II
- Start date
I was hoping that they just hadn’t gotten around to painting the building yet. I’m glad that seems to be the case!
Only thing I will say is based on the info from El Toro Ryan's FOF video, KD's FOF was built first and then the structure was placed around it while KI was structure first and then had indoor cranes to connect the track inside. I do not know how practical a ride demo would be while keeping the structure intact or if that is even possible.
If FOF does go, I feel like it would be a hard sell to replace it with another launched coaster.
Maybe with all the heavy theme elements working, a powered coaster reusing all or parts of the FOF gravity building would be a really cool use of the space to expand on Jungle X.
Maybe with all the heavy theme elements working, a powered coaster reusing all or parts of the FOF gravity building would be a really cool use of the space to expand on Jungle X.
To me, it's fine to remove rides. The issue I have is the trend where it seems to remove it then have the area sit empty for a significant amount of time with nothing. Anaconda was removed now what? Berserker removed now what? Possibly FOF removed, then what?
Noticed yesterday shadows of Tumbili and Rapterra projecting on the big show building as sun was setting around 7:30, pretty cool.
At least Anaconda's removal opened back up the lake, so not a complete negative.
And anaconda was trash too, so they were really just taking out the trash
Ok, whatever - so FoF isn't iconic like Space Mountain (or Nessie) where it's potentially worth it to either completely upgrade and refurbish or replace most track/supports or other components, as though it helps round out the park's lineup I'm guessing it's not a major selling point.
I hope they still sell those fof shirts with the old logo so I can get one. In case it closes I can at least have a memory of it.
Taking out FoF would be a bigger problem for KD than taking out Nessie would have been for BGW. FoF isn't quite as big a deal as Volcano was, but it would probably be a bridge too far for a lot of the customer base, as they don't see it as a troublesome ride.
I agree. Seeing as its the most popular ride in the park (not counting Rapterra) losing it would be a serious blow.
Placing Flight of Fear anywhere near the prominence of Volcano or Nessie is downright delusional in my honest opinion. And since when is it the most popular ride at the park other than Rapterra? What metrics are we using here?
I'm sorry, I like Flight of Fear, but when it dies (which, to be clear, it will—and probably sooner than many of us would wish), it's not gonna doom the park. People will be sad, sure, but it will be far from a five alarm fire.
I'm sorry, I like Flight of Fear, but when it dies (which, to be clear, it will—and probably sooner than many of us would wish), it's not gonna doom the park. People will be sad, sure, but it will be far from a five alarm fire.
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As much as I dont care for nessie, not even im as crazy to say lochness and FOF are on the same important impact level to their park
Nessie is important for being photogenic, not actually filling up the queue with guests. FoF is at this point still a key park of KDs lineup and guest experience. If KD has a replacement plan in plan, then taking it out is fine. If they just close it down the way Volcano happened without warning, that's not going to go over well with the customer base.
Personally I find FoF to be a cramped, uncomfortable mess. Granted, its design was cool 30 years ago and still is. The concept of a magnetic launch combined with an indoor experience is very, very cool. I do not however, consider it part of KD's core like I do Rebel Yell (Racer), Eiffel Tower, I305.
At the end of the day, it's a machine. Kings Dominion wouldn't owe us a thing if it one day was simply done and they decided to use the land for other things. One day FoF and I305 are going to reach the same question just like Nessie did, do we refurbish, or do we scrap? Besides routine maintenance, capital projects are what keep rides alive like that and the research does get done. They count every last person that enters each ride's queue. Nessie got the attention because it still gets the numbers. Flight of Fear's day is coming when one large expenditure will raise the question and they're going to look at budget first, then popularity.
Which is also why Volcano was not salvageable. While popular, it was WAY too much money and time to fix what was going on with that thing.
At the end of the day, it's a machine. Kings Dominion wouldn't owe us a thing if it one day was simply done and they decided to use the land for other things. One day FoF and I305 are going to reach the same question just like Nessie did, do we refurbish, or do we scrap? Besides routine maintenance, capital projects are what keep rides alive like that and the research does get done. They count every last person that enters each ride's queue. Nessie got the attention because it still gets the numbers. Flight of Fear's day is coming when one large expenditure will raise the question and they're going to look at budget first, then popularity.
Which is also why Volcano was not salvageable. While popular, it was WAY too much money and time to fix what was going on with that thing.
Big difference with Volcano (and Hypersonic before) is the average guest could see how unreliable those rides were being down all the time. FoF just doesn't have that perception with crowds, and it's very popular, unlike Anaconda.
A swap out for another ride would probably be fine with customers, but straight leaving a hole in that location isn't going to go over well with all the other coaster removals over the years.
Honestly, no. Not to me. Going to the park and walking around with constant reminders of bungled mismanagement would not be worth it. But that's the fun thing about expendable income- You don't get to tell anyone else how they can use theirs, nor determine how they define value. Plus, when you have a large family, "$7" is only the first part of the equation - especially if you typically get food and drink plans, too.
FoF isn't as much an icon but comes close to Volcano in getting lines beyond what the ride itself deserves and could easily appear to be the most popular ride in the park. 305, Dominator and even Anaconda (and Nessie at BG) may have delivered more rides due to their higher capacity however.
The line does drop off later in the day, except Haunt it's often in the hour range even though it's dark outside.
FOF isn’t even in the top 5 at the park by ridership. Source