News Project 2027/Purple: Delayed “World Record Breaking Coaster" (Phantom Spire?)
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
With a project like this which has seemingly been delayed vs original plans, it's really hard to say whether or not we should expect things to happen in the most normal order. There's probably a good chance that some arrangements were made pre-delay and some post-delay. Whether those pre-delay plans have been adjusted or not is probably completely unpredictable. I wouldn't be surprised to see track shipments tomorrow, but I also wouldn't be surprised not to see them for another six to nine months.
As in the coaster track is in the US already?
If it was, it was imported by a company other than Six Flags. Which wouldn't make any sense. Tariffs are applied at the port on arrival. So there's no going back on what the tariff rate was the day it was declared with customs for entry.
They certaintly aren't sitting at a port unloaded, waiting to pass through customs either. Port storage fees are retarded high. I've had containers stuck at port before, they have the receiver by the nuts and charge through the roof for storage. If a container gets pulled for a custom exam, forget it you're looking at 3 weeks at port with storage costs plus the customs exam expense.
Also, Magic Mountain just started receiving track from Vekoma, so they weren't phased by the tariff rates. Unless the thrill glider was intended for the 2025 season and they pushed it back a year, someone else would have to chime in.
The ride is almost definitely not paid in full yet. Probably like 30% down payment if I had to guess. So its not very far fetched that Six Flags could've had an issue coming up with the money in time for the 2026 season, and decided it would be best to hold off until 2027 and take the net profit from the 2026 season to use as payment. I would say that is the most likely scenario. They could've had this thing easily ready for 2026.
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You're acting like Six Flags is the little Monopoly bankrupt logo with a guy in a suit turning out his pockets and shrugging when he realizes he's out of cash. This just isn't how financing huge, many multi-million-dollar projects works. They didn't plan the coaster for '26, suddenly realize they were a couple million short, and were like "oh shucks, guess we are gonna have to try to make enough money again next year!" This isn't RollerCoaster Tycoon.
It was delayed from '25, yes—looking more and more like it's bound to be two years late at this point.
And lastly, could you just not? It's a completely unnecessarily controversial, abrasive, and for many, offensive term being used for literally no reason at all. At best, it's just trashy and disruptive. At worst, it could be a rules violation.
It was delayed from '25, yes—looking more and more like it's bound to be two years late at this point.
And lastly, could you just not? It's a completely unnecessarily controversial, abrasive, and for many, offensive term being used for literally no reason at all. At best, it's just trashy and disruptive. At worst, it could be a rules violation.
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“We could be killed! Or worse, expelled.”
SFMM's coaster was planned for 2025 in order to beat Hollywood Drift, but new management opted to defer the project a year in order to focus on other issues at the park first. Barring delays outside of their control, the ride should open at some point this year (I'm predicting late summer/early fall).
Regarding SFGAdv's coaster, everything I've heard seems to indicate the delay to 2027 was most likely due to design and/or manufacturing taking longer than anticipated rather than anything related to finances. My suspicion is that this project is similar to Tormenta: It was originally in development for a Cedar Fair property prior to the merger and a down payment had already been made, but as details hadn't been finalized the combined chain chose to move the project site to a different park, necessitating some adjustments. You don't start pouring footers until a ride is 100% certain, and if there was a question about being able to pay for the ride, it's absolutely not. My gut feeling is we're going to wind up with a similar situation on this one as we saw with Flash...the ride will be complete and operational before the end of the 2026 season, but rather than open it for a few weeks they'll save it to run from opening day the following year.
Honestly as a planned approach it's not a terrible one at all, as it will give the park's schedule room to breathe and focus resources on offseason activities. European parks do this, Rapterra did it, some of these big coaster projects there were able to begin commissioning in the fall before opening season, SFGADV could benefit from the same.
I’m not sure why the financial angle is being brushed off like it’s some fantasy scenario. When a company posts the kind of numbers Six Flags just did, a $1.2B loss in the first three quarters, a $1.5B impairment, soft per-cap spending, and more than $5B in debt, major capital projects absolutely get delayed. That’s standard corporate behavior.
This isn’t about ‘whoops, we’re a couple million short.’ When your financials crater, the CFO and the lenders tighten everything. Discretionary spending gets paused, cash flow gets protected, and big capital projects get pushed until the balance sheet stabilizes. Companies do this constantly when operating cash flow doesn’t line up with future commitments. They aren't in the business of giving great guest experiences right now, they are in the business of keeping the lights on. Literally
A major coaster is a multi-year, multi-tens-of-millions investment. If cash flow is stressed or lender confidence dips, delaying it a year isn’t just possible, it’s the most realistic outcome.
For the record, nothing I said violated the TOS. It wasn’t directed at any person or group. Calling my post "trashy" actually lands closer to the personal-insult rule than anything I wrote, but I’m not trying to turn this into a side issue.
My point is simply that the financial picture absolutely supports the 2026 to 2027 delay. It’s not far-fetched. It’s basic business
I’m on my way to the park now. I’ll see if I can get any more pictures
WOW, that’s a huge development. I did not expect to see any deliveries before the Spring. A few thoughts:
- Are track supports manufactured at the same plants as the track? Curious if we will be seeing track arrive soon or if they are completely separate shipments.
- We have gray/black supports. Wonder what color the track will be.
-Supports don’t give us a great idea of manufacturer, but perhaps more pictures or crates will give us clues.
-I feel like they prepped the site so that once these shipments came in, they can get to work fast on assembly. Will they start right away or wait until the Spring? I’d be surprised if they got shipments in now, just for the pieces to sit there all winter. The season is ending this weekend, so perfect timing for them to have full access to the site without having to store things over the weekend.
- Are track supports manufactured at the same plants as the track? Curious if we will be seeing track arrive soon or if they are completely separate shipments.
- We have gray/black supports. Wonder what color the track will be.
-Supports don’t give us a great idea of manufacturer, but perhaps more pictures or crates will give us clues.
-I feel like they prepped the site so that once these shipments came in, they can get to work fast on assembly. Will they start right away or wait until the Spring? I’d be surprised if they got shipments in now, just for the pieces to sit there all winter. The season is ending this weekend, so perfect timing for them to have full access to the site without having to store things over the weekend.
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Well the nice thing is grey supports looks good with pretty much every color track.
Attachments
Same color as the original Ka supports (the ones not used for the tower)
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
Some better views of the supports and some new markings in the parking lot.
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