State of the Park

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sharpr1 said:
God, Facebook park groups are a cesspool. In one under a post trashing Bakunawa, there's a guy in the comments insisting that he's heard that parking included with passes and memberships will be removed next year and everyone will have to pay to park any time they visit. The trolling and shitposting is just so wide and deep. 😄 Grateful for places like this board. The level of hate for GAdv and this ride even as things are turning around is actually impressive.
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I mean, from a casual enthusiasts of the craft who doesn't really travel outside my market for parks, nothing has changed in 20 years.

20 years ago, I was told "Great Adventure sucks, go to Cedar Point instead".

Today, it's still the same deal.

That's the perspective I've seen from the "General Public who can afford to travel" crowd anyway.
 
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sfgadvfan91 said:
I mean, from a casual enthusiasts of the craft who doesn't really travel outside my market for parks, nothing has changed in 20 years.

20 years ago, I was told "Great Adventure sucks, go to Cedar Point instead".

Today, it's still the same deal.

That's the perspective I've seen from the "General Public who can afford to travel" crowd anyway.
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Oh, I get it and agree with you and @Zachary. Any change in attitude will have a lag of at least a few seasons before the average parkgoer notices and judges any changes pro or con. Some won't come around because they feel burned by the park getting away from the War on Lines thrill era. I respect that opinion and those that can't get passed it, or all the changes from what the park was way back in the day. GAdv more than earned this rep after a decade or so of letting the park decline, then new management doing the necessary amputations so the park could get on a healing and growth path again, even if they did those in a cold-blooded way. And, there's always been the "Cedar Point is God, and Hershey Park is his Son" attitude out there that'll always have GAdv somewhere way down the list of park respect.

What drives me nuts are those who keep coming to the park, or actively follow events and comment in thoosie groups, while repeatedly telling everyone the park sucks and this or that new thing is crap and only makes the park suck even harder. Then there are the trolls that just start sh*t and make stuff up just to get a reaction. The Facebook thoosie groups are full of those, though every thoosie online hangout has some. At a certain level, I get it as a sports fan. You stick it out with your team even when they suck and drive you crazy *cough* Phillies *cough*. Yes, things are starting to change at the park that are taking it in a slightly different direction, and everyone can have their opinion on whether the rides and changes make the park more or less appealing to them. But just nuking it all and saying you AND everybody else should hate the changes or have no hope for the park, is so cynically stubborn in the same way some of that type accuse those of us seeing hope in the changes of being sheepishly naive. It's just, damn, I'm not trying to convert you to my side, so why you insist on peeing in my cornflakes all the time? 🤪
 
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sharpr1 said:
Oh, I get it and agree with you and @Zachary. Any change in attitude will have a lag of at least a few seasons before the average parkgoer notices and judges any changes pro or con. Some won't come around because they feel burned by the park getting away from the War on Lines thrill era. I respect that opinion and those that can't get passed it, or all the changes from what the park was way back in the day. GAdv more than earned this rep after a decade or so of letting the park decline, then new management doing the necessary amputations so the park could get on a healing and growth path again, even if they did those in a cold-blooded way. And, there's always been the "Cedar Point is God, and Hershey Park is his Son" attitude out there that'll always have GAdv somewhere way down the list of park respect.

What drives me nuts are those who keep coming to the park, or actively follow events and comment in thoosie groups, while repeatedly telling everyone the park sucks and this or that new thing is crap and only makes the park suck even harder. Then there are the trolls that just start sh*t and make stuff up just to get a reaction. The Facebook thoosie groups are full of those, though every thoosie online hangout has some. At a certain level, I get it as a sports fan. You stick it out with your team even when they suck and drive you crazy *cough* Phillies *cough*. Yes, things are starting to change at the park that are taking it in a slightly different direction, and everyone can have their opinion on whether the rides and changes make the park more or less appealing to them. But just nuking it all and saying you AND everybody else should hate the changes or have no hope for the park, is so cynically stubborn in the same way some of that type accuse those of us seeing hope in the changes of being sheepishly naive. It's just, damn, I'm not trying to convert you to my side, so why you insist on peeing in my cornflakes all the time? 🤪
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Yeah I get that too. I do t understand it.

Personally, I'm a big believer of when people go "the general public won't like this", my response is "yeah, they won't when you keep telling them to not like it".

I know Great Adventure has had it's issues, but I've never understood why it specifically has always been a magnet for hate, maybe because it's been always a rival, officially or unofficially with Cedar Point and Magic Mountain?

I'm pretty much ride or die for Great Adventure, as my market is basically Great Adventure, Dorney Park, maybe Hershey Park, and Morey's Piers. I'd add Clementon too, but sadly that park is on the shape a lot of peoole treat Great Adventure as being in...
 
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Some noteworthy cliff-notes from Colin's livestream with Mike and Ryan E. It covers a lot so putting it in this thread. Some things have already been posted about in the relevant threads.

Bakunawa's full name is "Bakunawa: Serpent's Wrath" for trademark purposes.

Things Mike said:
  • Shoreline Pier was only approved on January 27, 2026
  • two more "pretty big pieces" [landscaping/decoration] still to-be-added
  • Bak will have free double-side lockers
  • in the Bak queue, you'll have to pick which side of the station you take to get on
  • the planning and design team are currently working on Bak's queue and station theming; lighting, too; can't share details because he doesn't know exact look or features they'll go with as the team is still figuring all that out
  • he thinks the park is missing a "traditional clickity-clack, lower height" wooden roller coaster
  • hears everyone's ideas along with the park team's own; all options for future rides are on the table; "Mike World" would have a lot of gigas; he also wants a tilt-a-whirl and a music express if it were solely up to him
  • conversations have been had about celebrating, highlighting, and sharing more about park history and past rides in the park thru signage and photos; on the list for when time allows them to get to such a project
  • discussions have been had about the western and Batman arenas; currently on the backburner; western arena not able to be re-activated to host shows
  • a Nitro repaint is on the to-do list as they work their way down the lengthy list they have; Mike would prefer to keep the original color scheme
  • Superman's white tent is not going anywhere
  • a lot of "fun" discussions about what could be done with Superman's theming; "I'll leave it at that"
  • more ideas than we have funding for
  • lots of visits and communication from Six Flags corporate
Things Ryan said:
  • "Serpent's Wrath" is a "little niche nod to the ride experience"
  • 2:17 ride time is accurate for time from sitting in your seat to getting out of it; includes the switch track moving
  • he's a big advocate for Big Bear Mountain from personal experience; loves Werewolf Gorge concept
  • when they have time, they will put something in the park to honor Kingda Ka's legacy, along with recognizing other storied rides
  • re-approached NJ Transit re busing to the park discontinued in 2021; talks ongoing
  • on-site hotel not in the plans; multiple projects nearby that could/should see a hotel actually built in the next few years
  • in and inter-park transportation rides are being discussed; no skyway return, though
  • all future ride ideas (family woodie, drop tower, etc) are options; "stay tuned"
 
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Krusty said:
LIP SERVICE TO THE SUPERMAN RETHEME!!!

Even if a lot of it amounts to "we're listening/considering ___", it's nice to hear park leadership address community hot topics like this. Kudos to the team for, at the bare minimum, being far more transparent than past leadership.
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Their comments and expressions seemed to suggest it's a little more than just kicking around the idea. Looks like it will happen and it's just a matter of timing. Nearer the top of the to-do list.

They also talked about the fort refurbishment actually getting postponed after the recent soft announcement. But only because Mike didn't want any more disruption for the Runaway Train ride after all the delays from the repaint. So they'll hold off until the off-season.
 
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Another thing to add to @sharpr1 summary.

Some changes to Fright Fest:

  • Dead Man's Party will be in a different place but not ready to reveal just yet
  • 9 total mazes
  • Friday the 13th replacing Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
  • Trick or Treat getting a makeover called Dead Woods Cabin (The team that created the Asylum maze working on this new one)
  • Total Darkness and Wreckage also getting makeovers (new theme not revealed yet)
  • Another new thing coming to Fright Fest yet to be announced.

Other areas of the Park:
  • El Toro retrack expected to be completed this offseason
  • Looking for ways to expand Hurricane Harbor but nothing planned just yet.
  • They would like to integrate the lake more into the park but not sure how to do that yet.
 
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desardes said:
Did they elaborate on the issues preventing reactivation? I know the El Toro track/workshop is in there right now, but I'm curious if it's a demand or a structure issue.
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I got the impression that it was about capacity. Neither arenas offer enough attendance to attract the bands they would want to make a financial investment in refurbishing them worth it. But they have previously discussed the concept of reactivating the stunt show, so I think that arena has a better chance of seeing a new lease on life down the line.
 
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harry580 said:
well then, tear it down
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That's sort of what everybody's been wondering about. That costs money. And they won't tear it down until they have a plan for what to do with the land. Which is also something we've all been talking about. A lot of people want to put a coaster back there. So it's an open question what happens with that space in the future. For now, they're using it as a maintenance depot and that's where they've been putting all the track for re-tracking El toro. So they are at least using it even if not as an arena.
 
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sharpr1 said:
That costs money. And they won't tear it down until they have a plan for what to do with the land.
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This! Park management isn't operating this park in OpenRCT2 with unlimited money cheats or sandbox mode functionality. They have limited cap ex budgets and have to figure out what to prioritize - AKA, "what's going to potentially provide the biggest immediate ROI?" It's fun for us all to throw around ideas for ways in which we'd like the park to be updated, but unrealistic to expect them to just DO it. It'll all take time.
 
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MikeGS6789 said:
  • They would like to integrate the lake more into the park but not sure how to do that yet.
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I’m a big fan of this! In the past decade, the park has basically pretended like the lake does not exist. It’s such a great feature of the property and I wish it could be utilized more. Joker was placed right in front of it and it basically hides the lake from the entrance.
 
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mattkopp23 said:
I’m a big fan of this! In the past decade, the park has basically pretended like the lake does not exist. It’s such a great feature of the property and I wish it could be utilized more. Joker was placed right in front of it and it basically hides the lake from the entrance.
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Yeah, Joker placement sucks. It's truly a villainous move on his part. I'm sure Batman gets pissed off at the thought of the Joker being in movie town, but that is where he belongs.
 
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