Ways to Make SFA More Competitive

[MikeLovesKD]

Been a long time. Visited the park in 2020 for Fright Fest, after 10 years of not going. This park is the closest park to our nation's capital. Why hasn't it received more love from the company? We have tones of undeveloped land for record breaking attractions, but haven't received any in over a decade. The park's overall family experience has definitely improved over the years. I give them a B+ or an A in this category. When are the thrill seekers going to get their long awaited treat? I'd like to see the company do something outside of the DC Comics theme, unless they are willing to put some serious money into a well themed comic book attraction. Other than that, the parks current themed areas permit some rather good themes to be introduced.

Coyote Creek is a good spot for a park expansion. I'd like to see what RMC could starting from the ground up. The current area obviously permits something within the realm of the western day. But if they wanted to go more up-to-date, they could always just use some creepy forest encounter. Medusa-RMC at Six Flags Mexico was well themed. Add a little spooky night effect for the evening time and you got yourself a cool ride.

Gotham City is obviously where most of the action manifest within SFA. It's current roster has held it's reputation throughout the early 2000s. Does SFA need to fly higher than the Ride of Steel? Should we start partying with another villain? Harley Quinn joined her beloved last season. If we're talking another DC Comic attraction, I'd say we need something exclusive, that isn't going to be built at 5 other parks. My request would be: Cheetah, Scarecrow, Reverse-Flash or Riddler. I'm aware that SFA currently has "Riddle Me This", but it could do a lot better. Something with a unique forward and backwards ride elements. If we're talking pure speed, Reverse Flash is favorable in the idea of a coaster reaching 120 mph. Does it have to do, Kingda Ka height? No. Will it include tight high speed-turns that rival many existing coasters. There is a lot of room for creativity.

 

[netdvn]

The park has tried to compete with the big boys and it didn't work out well for them. While the park is overdue for a new coaster, I feel the park should keep making infrastructure improvements over building big new coasters all the time.

They'll never draw as many people as HP, GAdv or BGW, but they've found their niche and are working on improving their image

 

[CoasterTalkBob]

The park has tried to compete with the big boys and it didn't work out well for them. While the park is overdue for a new coaster, I feel the park should keep making infrastructure improvements over building big new coasters all the time.

They'll never draw as many people as HP, GAdv or BGW, but they've found their niche and are working on improving their image

I think parks in general miss the mark on record breakers. It seems if they'd just go to designers and say "make us a really fun and thrilling ride" without putting constraints on them they'd probably be a lot better off. This is especially true with SFA. I thinks this is the perfect park for a coaster like Lightning Run that doesn't do anything on paper but completely crushes most other coasters. It won't break attendance records but it'll keep people coming to the park for many years following -- just like their current line up is doing.

 

[Crunchewy]

They are making infrastructure improvement. They added a lot more benches and trash cans. The latter being important for keeping the park clean. They did say they are going to add new shade around the park, though when I was there several weeks ago it didn't appear to have been done yet. Adding shade would be huge. The park is rather lacking in shade which sucks on a hot day. Except, curiously, in the parking lot. There's a lot of trees in the parking lot which is appreciated. Just need to add lots more trees to the park itself.

 

[panopticon31]

I think parks in general miss the mark on record breakers. It seems if they'd just go to designers and say "make us a really fun and thrilling ride" without putting constraints on them they'd probably be a lot better off. This is especially true with SFA. I thinks this is the perfect park for a coaster like Lightning Run that doesn't do anything on paper but completely crushes most other coasters. It won't break attendance records but it'll keep people coming to the park for many years following -- just like their current line up is doing.

They could absolutely stick in a Chance HyperGTX inbetween Superman & Batwing. If they did that, RMC'd Roar and put some real effort into upkeep and staffing I could see attendance going up quite a bit.

 

[CoasterTalkBob]

They could absolutely stick in a Chance HyperGTX inbetween Superman & Batwing. If they did that, RMC'd Roar and put some real effort into upkeep and staffing I could see attendance going up quite a bit.

Why does it always have to come back to RMCing Roar? It's such a great coaster and currently tied for #1 in the park for me.... honestly, it's a huge part of why I go to SFA. It also doesn't really make sense for them to have a RMC Hybrid with one of the best being just a little over an hour away.

 

[horsesboy]

Why does it always have to come back to RMCing Roar? It's such a great coaster and currently tied for #1 in the park for me.... honestly, it's a huge part of why I go to SFA. It also doesn't really make sense for them to have a RMC Hybrid with one of the best being just a little over an hour away.

I have been a huge no on RMCing it for a long time. I honestly don't get why there seems to be a segment of the population that wants to RMC every wooden coaster out there.

 

[panopticon31]

Why does it always have to come back to RMCing Roar? It's such a great coaster and currently tied for #1 in the park for me.... honestly, it's a huge part of why I go to SFA. It also doesn't really make sense for them to have a RMC Hybrid with one of the best being just a little over an hour away.

I have been a huge no on RMCing it for a long time. I honestly don't get why there seems to be a segment of the population that wants to RMC every wooden coaster out there.

While I admit I myself haven't been to SFA in sometime what I have seen out there the word is that Roar is pretty rough these days. I do agree the call to RMC a wooden coaster simply because it exists does seem a bit rediculous but to me in this sort of scenario it's math.

Rough Wooden Coaster that needs TLC + SixFlags hesitance to spend money on maintenance + Marketing boost from new coaster = RMC

Now if Six Flags were to decide to pony up the money for retracking and associated maintenance by all means that would be fine. I just have seen their history where they prefer to RMC than to give a major refresh.

 

[SLC Headache]

I used to be in the "Keep Roar wooden" camp, but it's given me some pretty nasty rides lately. "RMC it" is the wrong answer for a GCI like Roar. The correct answer is now "Titan Track it" since that is a GCI product.

 

[horsesboy]

While I admit I myself haven't been to SFA in sometime what I have seen out there the word is that Roar is pretty rough these days. I do agree the call to RMC a wooden coaster simply because it exists does seem a bit rediculous but to me in this sort of scenario it's math.

Rough Wooden Coaster that needs TLC + SixFlags hesitance to spend money on maintenance + Marketing boost from new coaster = RMC

Now if Six Flags were to decide to pony up the money for retracking and associated maintenance by all means that would be fine. I just have seen their history where they prefer to RMC than to give a major refresh.

That would be a valid point except SFA is sending money on a multi year retracting of it that started this last off season.

 

[MikeLovesKD]

The park has tried to compete with the big boys and it didn't work out well for them. While the park is overdue for a new coaster, I feel the park should keep making infrastructure improvements over building big new coasters all the time.

They'll never draw as many people as HP, GAdv or BGW, but they've found their niche and are working on improving their image

This is not true.

In the early 2000s the park drew big numbers. Not going into a long history post, but the park had big numbers back in the day. Numbers began to decline as soon as Snyder & Shapiro were in charge. The reason numbers declined is because the company did not give us anything for nearly a decade, while it's competitors Hershey Park, Kings Dominion and Bush Gardens Williamsburg continued to receive new attractions. Not to mention we lost Two-Face and Iron Eagle and never received replacements for them.

Overall, it wouldn't have hurt the parent company to have given us a bigger ride. I never said it had to be 400 ft, but after such a long wait; many people thought the park deserved something bigger than Firebird. We are in a high traffic area. How can the company or anyone else say, the park wouldn't receive the attendance numbers, when records truly show that the early 2000s showed high attendance numbers when we added rides like Superman and Batwing.

Above all, there Six Flags is a parent company needs to make their parks unique. When it comes to Great Adventure and Magic Mountain, they have done this. But aside from all the other small parks; if you've been to one, you've been to three or four others. Many of their smaller parks have enough space to accomplish this.

 

[CoasterTalkBob]

While I admit I myself haven't been to SFA in sometime what I have seen out there the word is that Roar is pretty rough these days. I do agree the call to RMC a wooden coaster simply because it exists does seem a bit rediculous but to me in this sort of scenario it's math.

Rough Wooden Coaster that needs TLC + SixFlags hesitance to spend money on maintenance + Marketing boost from new coaster = RMC

Now if Six Flags were to decide to pony up the money for retracking and associated maintenance by all means that would be fine. I just have seen their history where they prefer to RMC than to give a major refresh.

SFA Maintenance isn't your typical SF maintenance crew.... they really are on top of things a lot more than you'd expect despite what you see people saying in forums. Most of what you read about SFA is extremely outdated information or it's experiences that were had with the effect of a self fulfilling prophecy (they expect it to be bad because of what they are reading and, therefore, that's all they can see). There is always room for improvement but, honestly, SFA is far better than the majority of people yapping about it online give it credit for. Also, unlike other SF parks the maintenance team at SFA has a far better ability to deal with wooden coasters than most parks and they honestly do take care of Wild One and Roar. I haven't been there this year yet but if there is an issue with Roar I would chalk it up to confusion that occurred with the rapid switching of GMs at the park and expectations that went in a different direction but the bottom line is that they have been vocal about taking care of Roar and any issues that popped up the end of last year into this year I expect will be resolved within the next year as they progress on the project.

 

[Crunchewy]

Roar is running great already and more retracking is promised. I definitely don't want to see it converted into a steel coaster. The reason RMC fanatics always say to RMC everything is that they don't like wooden coasters at all. Any bumpiness is bad in their mind. They want a steel coaster in its place and RMC-ing it does that while others can pretend it's still wooden which it most certainly isn't.

 

[bill s]

RMC conversion adds a lot, but I can't see it really being "cheap". Roar is a solid coaster even now, and should be excellent if they can finish the retracking (they missed the worst part but it should be next). I'd certainly rather SFA get something else. Not sure of the service life of their collection either.

I think the park got off track with the Vekoma gimmick coasters. They still could use something smooth and fun for everybody. Maybe something like Lightning Run but a bit milder and and drawn out.

 

[CoasterTalkBob]

RMC conversion adds a lot, but I can't see it really being "cheap". Roar is a solid coaster even now, and should be excellent if they can finish the retracking (they missed the worst part but it should be next). I'd certainly rather SFA get something else. Not sure of the service life of their collection either.

I think the park got off track with the Vekoma gimmick coasters. They still could use something smooth and fun for everybody. Maybe something like Lightning Run but a bit milder and and drawn out.

Service Life...... nothing more than when a park wants to quit bothering and if Batwing is any example, they are die hards (and I thank them for that). Honestly, I think their coasters run really well for their age and they have a very unique collection. Keep in mind that what you're questioning being toward the end of it's life is not far off from the likes of Millenium Force.

I honestly do think a Hyper GTX is probably the best thing that SFA could add whenever they are ready to add a coaster. It just fits really well and the closest ride like it is in Pittsburgh.

 

[bill s]

Service Life...... nothing more than when a park wants to quit bothering and if Batwing is any example, they are die hards (and I thank them for that). Honestly, I think their coasters run really well for their age and they have a very unique collection. Keep in mind that what you're questioning being toward the end of it's life is not far off from the likes of Millenium Force.

I honestly do think a Hyper GTX is probably the best thing that SFA could add whenever they are ready to add a coaster. It just fits really well and the closest ride like it is in Pittsburgh.

To be clear, by service life I had in mind Mind Eraser, Batwing, JJ and Firebird; the wood coasters can be maintained indefinitely. No real idea how long but all around the same age effectively.
Service Life is a conveniently vague term that allows them to sweep serious concerns and expenses in with the ones that are just a bit too old and crusty or unpopular.

 

[Crunchewy]

If they were to add a coaster, where should they put it?

 

[warfelg]

If they were to add a coaster, where should they put it?

Back by Batwing is a spot that’s been IDed as needing development.

 

[EdK]

I live about 33 miles from SFA but haven't been there in two decades. What brought me back to KD after a couple of decades was Twisted Timbers - but how CF made the park a lot nicer is what keeps me going back now. If SFA built an RMC or B&M hyper I would definitely give it a try again. It doesn't need record breaking coasters - just something decent. To keep me going back would require some kind of landscaping and a better beer policy. The last time I went you had to drink beer in the restaurant and couldn't walk around with it. The beer selection was lacking as well. But it would be great to have a nice park closer to home.

 

[Crunchewy]

I live about 33 miles from SFA but haven't been there in two decades. What brought me back to KD after a couple of decades was Twisted Timbers - but how CF made the park a lot nicer is what keeps me going back now. If SFA built an RMC or B&M hyper I would definitely give it a try again. It doesn't need record breaking coasters - just something decent. To keep me going back would require some kind of landscaping and a better beer policy. The last time I went you had to drink beer in the restaurant and couldn't walk around with it. The beer selection was lacking as well. But it would be great to have a nice park closer to home.

I don't know what the beer policy is in that regard, but they have at least a couple outdoor bars with beer and other drinks. So at the very least you can be outside with a beer. SFA certainly isn't as nice looking of a park as KD, but then again SFA didn't tear down an iconic coaster because they were too cheap to get the real parts for it. SFA is maintaining their rides to keep them running well. I would love for them to get a new coaster, but for now they seem to be working on park improvements, which is important too. And they did add Harley Quinn, which is a great flat ride. Hopefully a new coaster is in the near future.