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New for 2018: Post Your Predictions!

Jarrett

Most Obnoxious Member 2016
We have this thread like every year but I haven't seen it this year, so here goes. If I haven't seen it or something, if a mod could merge/lock that would be great.

So anyway, with announcement season upon us and our own little version of coaster enthusiast Selection Sunday less than a week away, post what you think each park is getting, any minor specifics are more than welcome!

Pleasure Beach Blackpool- Announced Icon Mack LSM
Six Flags Fiesta Texas- Announced Wonder Woman Golden Lasso RMC Raptor Track
Cedar Point- The Outlaws, RMC Mean Streak with a western steampunk outlaw theme.
Kings Dominion- RMC Hurler featuring a barrel roll drop, overbank, three airtime hills on the run out, and three total inversions. Branded with an insignia featuring a T and an upside down T right next to it.
Silver Dollar City- Time Traveler, a spinning Mack thrill coaster featuring heavy clockpunk theming that starts with a vertical dive out of the station into a themed tunnel.
California's Great America and Knotts Berry Farm- Clones of the same Morgan Hyper GTX layout designed to fit in a boomerang plot. Cedar Fair has mentioned a renewed relationship with a manufacturer they used to work with; Morgan did Mamba, Wild Thing, and Steel Force and I feel like this is them going back to them for these coasters.
Six Flags Over Georgia- RMC Georgia Cyclone
Carowinds- Area facelift to Vortex plaza, possibly in preparation for Vortex Rougarou conversion
Kentucky Kingdom- Gerstlauer Sky Fly next to Storm Chaser
Six Flags Great America- One of those weird Skyline Attractions figure eight Larson Loop thingamabobs in Southwest Territory
Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Mexico- Joker clones
Alton Towers- Wicker Man-themed family GCI, the first modern wooden coaster in the UK
 
Energylandia Announced Intamin Mega
Phantasialand Announced Launched Flyer
Land of Legend Announced? Mack Hyper/Looper Flash clone
Happy Valley Beijing Announced B&M Family Invert
Le Pal Announced Intamin Juvelen clone
 
Six Flags parks:

Six Flags Magic Mountain: World's tallest skyscreamer
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Kid's area revamp
Six Flags Fiesta Texas: Wonder Woman: Golden Lasso Coaster
Six Flags Over Texas: World's first/recording breaking waterslide for Hurricane Harbor
Six Flags St. Louis: Proslide Rocketblast Water Coaster
Six Flags Great America: Twisted Looper, flat package, or a Proslide Rocketblast
Six Flags America: S&S Free Spin
Six Flags Great Adventure: Mondial Blender (World's first)
Six Flags New England: Zamperla Giant Discovery
La Ronde: S&S Free Spin or Larson Superloop
Six Flags Over Georgia: RMC Cyclone makeover
Six Flags Mexico: S&S Free Spin or Larson Superloop
Great Escape: New paper towel dispensers for the bathrooms
 
TusenFryd will celebrate its 30th anniversary next year. Attraction-wise, I think it will be marked by showcasing the Rapids (built 2016) as the big new thing in the park for the third year in a row, as well as hosting some stunt shows in the car park for a couple of weeks in mid-July. Maybe they will shine up one of their restaurants, but still remain notorious for serving bad and expensive food. There might be a new attraction, but I'm not having high expectations.
 
@Pokemaniac I have no idea how they haven't yet made you head of TusenFryd marketing. You always paint such a joyful picture.

You would too, if your home park was brought by a chain with greater concern for its shareholders than its customers, and which couldn't care less about what their actual business is, as long as it keeps making money. TusenFryd had a great investment tempo and dared to be brave with their expansions until they were bought in 2007. They had built two large coasters in five years, three if you count the Mack SuperSplash, their visitor numbers were climbing, and every year brought something new to the park (sometimes big things, more commonly small things, but things all the same). Then Parques Reunidos came in and decided to just let status quo reign. The equivalent of leaving a park in RCT running overnight so you can get lots of money, just that the money earned is being given to shareholders instead of being used to improve the park.

As (yet) another example of how completely joyless this chain is, have a look at their website. They talk a lot more about their ability to make money, than their ability to run theme parks. Parks are continuously mentioned as "assets". Every single paragraph on their website brags about their "diverse portfolio", "strong performance", or "increased value for shareholders". You have to dig deep to find anything describing their core business with more concrete words than "customer experience". If not for the unintentionally symbolical washed-out picture of people screaming on a coaster on their front page, these people might as well have run an investment bank, a credit card company, or something to do with shipping. It is clear that they only see their parks as sources of revenue, and the company seeks growth by acquiring more parks rather than improving the ones they already own. There is zero enthusiasm evident on that website.

Contrast the home page of Merlin Entertainment. The first thing you see is a button for annual pass purchase, then scrolling, colourful logos of their parks directing you straight to their respective websites. The tabs at the top direct you to various colourful pages (including one with - ugh - automatically playing sound), but they begin their paragraphs with "we are first and foremost an entertainment company", and use pictures from their attractions to remind you of the fact. There is financial information and investor pitches, true, but it is not plastered front, back, and center like Parques Reunidos.

I could have written more (and knowing myself, I will in the future), but I think everyone who reads this have become pretty bored already (raise your hand if you only read the first and last paragraph!), so instead I'll let the websites of other theme park operators speak for themselves: Cedar Fair, Herschend Family Entertainment, Compagnie Des Alpes (admittedly, that one isn't particularly joyful either), Six Flags, Sea World Entertainment, Universal Parks and Resorts, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (even their corporate page is better than most others here), and for comparison, here are Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Deloitte, who somehow also come across as more colourful, ethusiastic, and engaging companies than Parques Reunidos, despite being accounting firms.
 
US list

SFMM Large flat package similar to what SFOT has near Joker, highlighted by a Star Flyer replacing the observation tower.
SFOT: one of those Infinity sign looming coasters that's not a coaster but is
SFFT: Capacity garbage disposal RMC that can go through 4000 riders per hour
SFM, La Ronde, SFStl: Free Fly
SFGAdv/SFGAm: Next year, we promise, but for now here's more pee pee slides
SFDK: More low capacity awesomeness!
SFOG: Not RMC cyclone, simple retrack of course. Definitely no stalls
KBF a mediocre coaster that is aimed at families and will restrict anyone over 5'5 from riding with bull **** shin restraints added on 3 years after being built
CGA: Raptor, not wonder woman clone, but won't have constant moving station and definitely will have no roof on said station
Cedar Point: obviously the world's best coaster that won't be overrated by fanboys for 15 years, that's for certain
Kings Island: Let's say nothing
Worlds of Fun: lol
Michigan's Adventure: lolol
Carowinds: not planet snoopy
Kings Dominion: Definitely not an RMC that will be a sleeper because everyone plans to go to this park
Canada's Wonderland: Maple Syrup themed dark ride that says sawry about that at the end. Largest investment ever
Valleyfair: See above, but instead of sawry, says you betcha
Dorney: Sure, water slide
Sea World San Diego: PETA blood and a sky rocket
SWSA: Go away
SWO: Rapids
BGT: Debt
BGW: Definitely not the beginning of a Star Flyer
SDC: Please be a Big Dipper, please be a Big Dipper
Dollywood: Markers for 2019 that will cause boners

And last but not least

Seabreeze: Long awaited star flyer as the views are ****ing gorgeous

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I don't know, 4000 riders per hour is actually pretty fantastic ;)

But, seriously, that was one of the best posts I've ever seen on this site
I appreciate that. Remind me next year and I'll fail to live up to your expectations.

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Final Six Flags 2018 predictions

Six Flags Magic Mountain: World's tallest skyscreamer
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Batman themed S&S Free Spin
Six Flags Fiesta Texas: Wonder Woman: Golden Lasso Coaster
Six Flags Over Texas: World's first/recording breaking waterslide for Hurricane Harbor
Six Flags St. Louis: Proslide Rocketblast Water Coaster
Six Flags Great America: Hurricane Force 5, world's tallest superloop
Six Flags America: Aquaman themed pro slide rocketblast
Six Flags Great Adventure: Cyborg themed Skyline Skywarp
Six Flags New England: Zamperla Giant Discovery
La Ronde: S&S Free Spin or Larson Superloop
Six Flags Over Georgia: RMC Cyclone makeover
Six Flags Mexico: S&S Free Spin
Great Escape: Kid's area makeover
 
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