Project 2022: Tumbili, Reptilian, Arachnidia, & Jungle X-Pedition

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rswashdc said:
We went to KD the first open weekend and I wouldn't describe it as remotely packed though all the season ticket slots were sold out. The only reason the rides had lines is they severely cut back on capacity and added in protocols which greatly lowered throughput on rides - 60-75% by my guess.

The issue KD is going to have, along with BGW, is that their customer base has just spent a year not visiting the parks and has developed new habits and activities they do that aren't KD. Getting those customers to come back involves more than just opening the gates. It means a lot of marketing, promotions, and other actions to get people back in the park, and new rides help in that department. Hershey's took a good 2-3 months to get back to a more normal attendance and it involved a lot of marketing and sales to do it. KD and BGW are going to have to go through the same pains to get their customer bases back so opening a new ride up is a good tool in that process.
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I would say the counterpoint is that there may be pent-up demand for the parks in a (somewhat) post-COVID world. It's been a year since anyone has gotten the full experience at KD or BGW, and there are probably lots of people who are afraid to visit the parks at all right now. If a vaccine is widely enough available by the summer season, I think the mere fact that the parks are open again will be enough to drive people to the park. Plus, the parks' marketing departments can certainly devise a campaign to drum up excitement for the parks' reopening.

Also, like I was saying earlier, even if KD doesn't open the coaster next year, they still have a brand new section of their water park to incentivize people to visit.
 
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rswashdc said:
One thing I noticed at HersheyPark this summer is they really had to work to get attendance back up and Candymonium likely helped quite a bit in making that happen. KD will likely have the same problem in that they'll need to get their customer base to return and simply opening the gates is likely insufficient. Based on the prospective vaccine schedules, at least the first half of 2021 is going to be a grind, so if this ride can be in place for 2021 that's going to help marketing even if there's competition down the road.
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Candymonium did not do much in regards to increasing attendance at the tail end of the summer. The main reason why attendance increased was because COVID restrictions got relaxed, admission prices were lowered, and people got more comfortable with travelling during COVID.
 
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b.mac said:
Candymonium did not do much in regards to increasing attendance at the tail end of the summer. The main reason why attendance increased was because COVID restrictions got relaxed, admission prices were lowered, and people got more comfortable with travelling during COVID.
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Candymonium has had the longest lines by far since it opened, despite having better capacity than most other big rides at Hershey's. Really busy days had 3-4 hour lines at some times.

I don't think KD's 4D will be the biggest draw in the park, but if well themed (which it appears to be) and promoted it can definitely make a difference on the margins in attendance
 
rswashdc said:
Candymonium has had the longest lines by far since it opened, despite having better capacity than most other big rides at Hershey's. Really busy days had 3-4 hour lines at some times.
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Mind you on those days the ride was running at approx. 20 trains per hour because guests couldn't wrap their heads around the loose article policies and the seatbelts. And that most of those trains were running with a quarter to half of their seats open because of social distancing policies.

Comet's line got so long in the tail end of the summer it would cross over the creek and start flirting with the aqua stadium. Again, Candy did not have much influence on attendance this year. Hershey made up for it by what I brought up in my quoted post.
 
I irrationally love Comet and can confirm I’ve stood in stupid long like that might be the worst to queue in at Hershey.
 
rswashdc said:
Candymonium has had the longest lines by far since it opened, despite having better capacity than most other big rides at Hershey's. Really busy days had 3-4 hour lines at some times.

I don't think KD's 4D will be the biggest draw in the park, but if well themed (which it appears to be) and promoted it can definitely make a difference on the margins in attendance
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I agree with this.

That ride design is not the most praised. The concept is good; but it more of a cheaper version of SFMM's X roller coaster. Not to mention Six Flags Entertainment has built a tone of these S&S 4D Free Spin attractions at all their parks. KD went with a cheaper alternative with this one. They could easily fit it in Crypt's spot. My prediction is based on the pandemic being lifted. If the park is fully opened, the lines will be long for the first season only. After that, most of the crowd will continue to wait for I305 and Twisted Timbers.
 
So no 4D Freespin in 2021? Is that definite? Seems crazy that it would take them that long to build it, though I get that covid slows it down. Well, I'll get to console myself with the retracked Grizzly. Well, assuming I actually do get the vaccine this year. Hmm.
 
Crunchewy said:
So no 4D Freespin in 2021? Is that definite? Seems crazy that it would take them that long to build it, though I get that covid slows it down. Well, I'll get to console myself with the retracked Grizzly. Well, assuming I actually do get the vaccine this year. Hmm.
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I wouldn't assume that it official. It might be that since the park hasn't announced it that they are putting 2022 as a place holder till the park announces.
 
Zachary said:
Not definite yet. The timeline for 2021 is still technically possible I believe. That said, my expectation is 2022 at this point.
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Maybe they'll get it open in June / July if construction starts?

I know these things can go up quick but I have my doubts this thing will be up, ready, commissioned, and have a crew trained on it for Opening Day.
 
b.mac said:
Maybe they'll get it open in June / July if construction starts?

I know these things can go up quick but I have my doubts this thing will be up, ready, commissioned, and have a crew trained on it for Opening Day.
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There is absolutely zero chance it hits Opening Day.
 
Crunchewy said:
So no 4D Freespin in 2021? Is that definite? Seems crazy that it would take them that long to build it, though I get that covid slows it down. Well, I'll get to console myself with the retracked Grizzly. Well, assuming I actually do get the vaccine this year. Hmm.
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Who says it's taking that long to build? If it doesn't open this year, and I highly doubt it will, it's probably because they won't even be starting construction until much later this year.

My guess is they decided to let Coconut Shores have the spotlight for 2021 and decided to push this project back to 2022, but they'd already made plans with S&S to ship the parts in.
 
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Based on the video above; if that ride represents the model KD has in their parking lot, then it can fit nicely within the Crypt footprint and immediate surrounding land. Would not touch any of the volcano/mountain site. The only thing I could see KD doing is rotating the footprint 180 degrees by putting the lift side toward avalanche and the drops toward the main path & entrance.
 
Idk when Volcano's actually gonna be replaced but I would much rather them wait and put something proper in that spot. The free spin is fine for now.
 
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