railfan_andrew
Roller Poster
I hate to bump this thread, but there are rumours that Busch Gardens wanted to open Iron Gwazi before Velocicoaster opened, but SEAS wouldn't let them.
Busch Gardens Tampa | Iron Gwazi | RMC Gwazi | 2022
- Thread starter MakoMania
- Start date
TPoseOnTantrum
Giga Poster
Busch Gardens dropped their 2022 blockout dates, Saturday March 19 is listed as one of only 8 throughout the year. Iron Gwazi grand opening date?
Ffs, we're staying in Orlando from March 7 till 15. Why does the coaster god hate me?
CanobieFan
Strata Poster
If you have the fun card, you cant go in... on a day that's blocked out. block = 'no'
Yes, it is! Everyone, shun the unknowing one! Shun, I say!
... it has something to do with plumbing, doesn't it?
I fell for that one this year - you're not fooling me again!
Intamin to Win
Mega Poster
They’ve waited so long to open this, the hype is totally dead. Kinda a shame
Lori Marie Loud
Giga Poster
I know. It's like an RMC version of Hotgo "2 B&M's That Will Never Open" Dreamworld. At least this one actually DOES have an opening in store...
Munchy Road Hippopotamus
Mega Poster
You mean the hype in the Coaster Enthusiast Comminuty i'm guessing? I guarentee the GP, who the ride is mostly aimed at (we make up a tiny proprtion of park visitors each year), will still be up for a new attraction. Plus most people outside the US wouln't have been able to get over last year anyway. It's a fanatatsic looking coaster, an upgrade on what was there previoulsy and will be greatly received by most people (judging frpm the POV i've seen and nothing else obvioulsy).
Honestly I don't get why people are upset aout the delay in opening this aside from the fact that you want to ride it NOW! How they've handled is exactly what I would have done, wait until the new year when more people are coming over, plaster a NEW FOR 22 logo over the whole thing and drive up the "hype" for the season in which they are likley to have more visitors rather than tagging it on as an afterthough at the end of this year. They are a business and are here to make money. Them making money means they put new attractions in which makes us happy and so the circle continues.
ScottLann
Mega Poster
Honestly I lost interest in it last year but since they announced the March 2022 opening date along with all the other SeaWorld coasters, I'm genuinely getting excited for it again and seeing what the enthusiasts/general public think of it. My excitement could, however, be from the fact that I'm going in September 2022 and also that this will be my first RMC (I'd say it's a pretty good one to get started on!)
JoshC.
Strata Poster
Once it gets close to opening / opens, the hype will all come swarming back.
It's hard to sustain high levels of excitement for anything for so long. Just look at the most recent James Bond film...delayed multiple times, hype faded, but as soon as its release came about, hype was real again.
It's hard to sustain high levels of excitement for anything for so long. Just look at the most recent James Bond film...delayed multiple times, hype faded, but as soon as its release came about, hype was real again.
Munchy Road Hippopotamus
Mega Poster
I'll let you know as I'm scheduled to go in June 22 and it'll be my first RMC too!
It’s not the business decision for opening in 2022 that is the rub, it’s that Busch plastered promos for Opening in
Just open the damn thing - we didn’t see Cedar Fair, Six Flags, etc. purposely tank their opening dates to ride the “visitor return” wave.
Youngster Joey
Strata Poster
It may be want it now for some enthusiasts, but I suspect for most it's this
Announcing a date, promting many people (myself included) to plan trips and buy passes for the rides they told us would open in 2021 only to push them back to out of range of the passes many people bought, and making it so people who scheduled trips either had to go again and not go at all for no apparent reason other than SEAS higherups didn't seem to want to open the done rides is why people are upset.
slightly off topic but I'd note that many people to my visit to BGW were complaining and confused as to why the Pantheon which they were told to be open in 21 was sitting there done but not open. Not just enthusiasts but a TON of GP as well.
tl;dr the problem was the reneging on the dates were were announced abd HIGHLY advertised.
Munchy Road Hippopotamus
Mega Poster
What else were they supposed to do in the circumstances??? I think you're being really naive here if you think they are doing something wrong. Why wouldn’t they delay the opening for the “visitor wave”, they need visitors to make profit, they want to maximise the effect, they’re not running a theme park for funsies!
They would have wanted to open in 2020, believe me they don't want that capital outlay sitting there and not bringing in visitors. They would have then been told to hold off until 2021 (eventually), unfortunately communication doesn’t always travel correctly, especially in big organisations. I work in marketing and we’re often the last to hear about changes in plans even if we’ve designed a campaign for the last 6 months. Plans change, things have to be done on the fly especially in unprecedented times like we’ve had the last 18 months!
Ultimately what you or I think doesn’t matter to them, we’ll still visit anyway, what matters is getting the GP into their park and the best way to do that is to have a brand new attraction for a new season.
*Double checks to see if F.L.Y., Orion, Nickelodeon's Universe (NJ), and 168 other roller coasters opened in 2020*
*Takes additional stock of 235 roller coasters that opened in 2021, such as Abyssus, Universal Beijing, Ride to Happiness, Stunt Pilot, and Velocicoaster*
Yeah, somehow many other, larger chains and park operations somehow managed to work out how to open prize attractions in 2020 and 2021, even despite certainty on park attendance.
I'm not naive, I know it's a sheer money grab and attempt to reclaim whatever marketing presence was lost to Velocicoaster opening this year in claiming the "exclusivity" of 2022. And still, it's a very disappointing business decision (including withholding Pantheon and Ice Breaker openings too) - if this is true brilliance, fascinating Busch/SEA is alone in making these maneuvers. But what more should we expect from a park chain that made the most splash in 2021 about having a lien filed against them for lack of payment: https://behindthethrills.com/2020/06/seaworldliens/
Lori Marie Loud
Giga Poster
Didn't those open THIS year, Hyde?
Time is a flatbread pizza.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Just playing devils advocate here… Do all of those other parks rely on foreign visitors as much as the Orlando parks?
Obviously there’s that stunning machine at Universal as an outsider here… And obviously this does NOT explain pantheon etc… But I really am not surprised they decided not to open Gwazi. Florida has always felt like theme park capital of the world to me, not just America. So with absolutely no International travel to the US since March 2020, they can be forgiven for making that decision.
Out of interest, how busy were the Florida parks this year without international travellers? Did the pent up local demand make up for it, as I feel has happened in the UK, or were visitor numbers down drastically?
Edit: I can’t get the stats as it’s behind a pay wall, but I managed to screenshot the graph before the annoying ‘subscribe now’ box popped up… Yeh, I don’t blame them at all!!!
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