Six Flags - What The HECK Are You Doing??

[@ajtopia]

The only thing I would disagree with is Ka not being a big draw. Ka was a global icon. Many people of the general public have no clue about roller coasters but they still know of the worlds tallest roller coaster. Heck! I came from CA specifically for Ka!

[@MrCpfans4]

It will become a much less of a draw this year as Falcon's Fury is opening and taking every record.

@@MrCpfans4 Indeed

[@williambooth6524]

such a great channel with amazing consistent content. Always sharp crisp editing and imaging and overall the whole experience is very engaging. i loved the tier list but i'd argue that carowinds and kings island could swap places.

[@JJJJ-he8bz]

Dragster had even worse mechanical issues than Ka and literally almost killed someone and Top Trill 2 couldn’t last longer than 8 days but somehow Ka had to get removed even though it was still running without any incidents? That’s straight BS. . Cedar Fair ruined great adventure there are so many people in this community that act like cedar fair can do no wrong and act like they are so much better than Six flags when they are not. They feed a couple parks and leave the rest to rot. Tied of the Ka cost excuses they sent millions to tear it down and then will have to spend 30 plus million on a new coaster that we all know will not come close to replacing it.

[@nycomet]

Six Flags should sell Great Adventure to Universal or United Parks (Sea World/Busch Gardens).

[@jaydenchrist6152]

Yes I agree 100%

[@themeparkreconnoiter9787]

Actually, to Warner Brothers due to the fact Great Adventure was founder Warner LeRoy is actually the Grandson of Jack Warner of Warner Brothers. As part of the family Business

[@otterkeeper13]

Pruning for growth. Legacy Six Flags was neglected for a very long time.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

KI is not a mid tier CF park. Honestly, KI has been the best ran CF park for years now. Its not quite as good as it has been, but its still top tier park. If it wasnt in Ohio, I am positive that KI would be getting better investments. Being so close to the crown jewel though, means that the additions will always be just a little under what CP would get.

[@pizzafroth1521]

See? They only care about Cedar Point. Cedar Point is the king and it will be at ALL Costs. FUCK Cedar Fair.

[@markvolpe2305]

It looks like SFGAd is also removing Cyborg Spin and Canada's wonderland might be removing Time Warp.

[@kagome122885]

Kingda Ka sounds like it was becoming a maintenance nightmare, which is why it closed

[@Mforcebob]

Good video and a lot of great points. Thank you

[@Mforcebob]

Each park needs to be profitable, and I believe this is a giant lessoned learned from the Geauga Lake purchase back in 04.

[@coastercentral1]

Its globally recognized and even GP knew about it they won’t recover from closing it and now they are gonna lose relationships with the enthusiasts too because they didn’t give warnings about rides closing showing a lack of care towards guests

[@coastercentral1]

Won’t recover from losing ka*

[@sunrise3216]

Great adventure should get a roller coaster like Red Force with a 380-ft top hat and a full layout in the Green Lantern spot. They could market it as the world’s tallest and fastest multi-launch coaster.

[@JSXSProductions]

The new coaster at Great Adventure is confirmed to be the World's tallest and fastest New Jersey roller coaster.

[@money200476]

king da ka DIDNT DO MUCH TO ATTRACK CROWDS??? tf... King da Ka was the only reason i traveled from chicago to NJ to visit it for the first time in 2023, and then multiple again in 2024. I dont have great adventure on my calendar for 2025 and depending on the 2026 coaster, maybe not then either. Ka was the reason people traveled to the park. Yes it wasnt the coaster to attract locals, but it got customers, GA wouldnt otherwise get. CF ruined this park. Do not sugarcoat.

[@KnighTron404]

I think that’s exactly it though, it attracted people who really care about roller coasters, but not the general market. Unfortunately not nearly that many people travel outside of their own market to visit just a theme park with a few standout rides that may or may not be open. Especially since this park SHOULD be pulling a ton of people, given the proximity to NYC and Philly, but it has declining attendance even when other parks across the US don’t see such a drop. Unfortunately I do think this is the right decision mid- to long-term, though executed horribly from a PR perspective and will absolutely sting for the next handful of years.

[@troublenyc4092]

I go to 11….. 😄 Love the post, and yes I’m hoping for the best for my home park, Great Adventure! 🤞

[@shanepetyko8004]

Everyone loves cedar fair why? This is what they have always done. They are going to kill great adventure

[@YoFrost]

nah fck them respectufully

[@francescov.3610]

I'm telling you, SFGADV is going to go the way of Geauga Lake. They're not going to recover from losing Ka.

[@darealsavage3472]

I think they should just turn into a full on safari park and relocate all the b&ms plus jersey devil and flash to other parks in the chain, leave el toro and some of the family coasters think Kolmarden

[@SunshineStateCoasters]

Yep I’ve been saying that since the beginning. It’s too big of a park to operate and that land is worth at least $1 Billion now. If they sell the park it will help their debt.

[@BarrelRollProductions]

I cant tell if you guys are joking or not?

[@francescov.3610]

@@SunshineStateCoasters By getting rid of Ka, they literally handed Hersheypark the title of coaster capitol of the east coast on a silver platter.

[@jandrew1994]

@@francescov.3610 Pennsylvania isn't on the east coast, but the rust belt in general has the best parks. CP and Hersheypark at peak are the best and second best parks for enthusiasts imo. Magic Mountain if it ever fully operates again is top 5, but Great Adventure took a huge step back and isn't probably even top 10 currently. Kings Dominion is underrated and Carowinds is overrated because it doesn't have the complete experience like CP or even KI on meal plan food and doesn't have an RMC hybrid nor an Intamin. Canada's wonderland is similar, B&M central. Something like the Herschend parks especially SDC are cute but they aren't enthusiast dreams they are GP+ parks from experience. The Busch Gardens parks are good but not elite, and then there's only so many times an enthusiast can marathon Velocicoaster for a $200/day ticket before getting bored, so Universal's parks don't really make the top cut either.

[@joeskis]

Kingda Ka was a destination attraction though. I traveled a long way just for that ride. Despite El Toro being fantastic I don't think of it as significant enough to warrant that journey again. Nothing else they have does either. All their other coasters can be found in similar styles elsewhere. KK was totally unique. So I don't buy the "too costly to maintain" idea.

[@KnighTron404]

I understand this idea, and unfortunately I think that’s also part of the problem with Great Adventure. The market for it is both New York City AND Philadelphia, but it’s not pulling nearly that level park attendance. A big change is needed to give a brand new face to the park, to bring a new experience for anyone who might’ve been there once, was underwhelmed by closed for maintenance rides, and in general had a negative experience. Breaking that expectation requires a new Great Adventure, and might as well start with cutting rides that remind of old problems, and that cost the most in maintenance. Please feel free to disagree, but after going through a couple stages of grief I think I can see why this happened.

[@ChuckE.CheesesIllinois]

Low-key want Great America to become more cohesively themed, it fits more naturally for that park than a supid record breaking coaster. Six Flags kinda misunderstood this park despite the coasters they introduced

[@Novakiller]

Cyborg closing at GA too.

It was always half closed anyway.

[@LucyLoud2002]

I really do not want CGA to close. It would be so bad to see it shut down.

[@thomaswood8167]

I would love to know the reliability comparison between a normal, B&M hyper or giga coaster, and an Intimin Launch coaster (single and multi)

[@darkridedan1]

SFGAdv at 2.5 million in annual attendance?! 😬 I remember when they averaged 3.5 to 4 million. I guess that’s what happens when you fail to maintain rides and need to take out the classics. Chiller, the Great American Scream Machine, Rolling Thunder, Freefall,Evolution, Jumpin Jack Flash, Pendulum, Rodeo Stampede and Chaos made up a more enjoyable and more well rounded lineup than Green Lantern, the Larsen looper, Zumanjaro, Tango, and whatever they did to Movietown. Was it worth it to remove all of those classics? It seems that Cedar Fair hasn’t learned this valuable lesson. Sure, the star flyer, Justice League, Joker and Jersey Devil are good, but that’s 4 good rides in 13 years. Now they’re removing Kingda Ka, The Sky Way, Parachuters Perch and Twister. History has a funny way of repeating itself.

[@Kilbaneisking]

I think Great Adventure is going to get massive investments, in the near future. It's located relatively near 2 major Metropolitan areas with NYC and Philly. There's no reason this park shouldn't be on par with Cedar Point, yet there it was underperforming for years upon years. I think Great Adventure is going to get a huge overhaul in the hopes of drawing more of the 10 plus million people that live within a few hours of the park. It makes sense to get all the money sucking rides out the park and bring in far more reliable and more economical ones.

[@oneandonlysound99]

The 50th anniversary of absolutely pathetic proportions was their biggest crime since the mid 2000's. There crime then was shoving in too much near prototype level very expensive stuff and expecting it to go well in the future. Of course, dating back to Viper and Chiller in the 90's, they have a really odd idiotic streak of buying prototypes or very unproven designs doomed for issues. What am I saying? They never should've asked premiere to go past such boundaries, or they'd still having something like Joker's Jinx/Poltergeist or Mr Freeze still. If they didn't force making a larger top thrill dragster which broke down more then than kingda ka did most of it's existence, they wouldn't be tearing it down now. And if they hadn't decided they needed to try and have the biggest and baddest wooden roller coaster, it wouldn't have the issues it does now. Also they should've gotten a dive when they removed great american scream machine, green lantern did not belong there it belonged at a park in need of a converted floorless or sit down. What they need now is a string of new flat rides like 2 every year to replace all the ones removed and they should NOT be focusing so heavily on ANOTHER launch when they are opening one in 2025. They should already be adding at least one new ride and not removing anymore. The far side needs a secon entrance, Nitro needs repainting, and they need to take a long hard look at what company to call to give El Toro a proper restoration or revamp. Also WHAT? Skull Mountain is iconic, you can see the lake all over the place, way better than dark knight, original theming can be enhanced but skill nice, not boiling inside. They need a family-thrill coaster to fill in the huge gap between basically skull mountain and then what, pick a B&M? A gravity group family wooden coaster or a not too big GCI could fill in two gaps at once. Forget the 2nd launch coaster, they eye candy back at the front of the park, fix what they have up to proper levels, and a proper 2nd woodie. They can built a mack extreme spinner or something else from someone reliable in 2028 at the earliest, another multi launch is NOT the answer in any way to all the problems and gaps.

[@NicholasAlarcon-h1h]

'The first 12 seconds' said every themepark in the usa. Yes, (not) signal one.

[@Lucky_9705]

Richard Zimmerman hates Intamin so much

[@Honald-yt5dy]

He hates intamin because they didn’t take fault in the accident but put the blame on cedar fair

[@nathanmcmenamin3748]

promise you that they know what they are doing. We may not always like the results but they are a company tuned to make money. Period.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

They are a company that is showing they care more about "shareholder interests" more than guest experience. If guest experience falls too far, people stop coming. People stop coming, shareholders lose money. Maybe they should pump the brakes on the silent closures, and show their guests that they actually do care. You want to know what shows the most people you do care, GP, and thoosie alike? An announcement that their favorite ride is going to be closing, in time for them to plan a trip. Universal gets it. Sea World gets it. A little bit of transparency goes a long way with people you are trying to lure to the park. And your regular visitors feel the most slapped in the face. If anyone deserves a bit of transparency, it's your season passholders. They are the ones you want to spend the money on their passes in August and September, to hold you over until the next opening day. Keep pissing off the regular guests, that come all the time, and always buy new merch every year. A park needs those regular guests. Who do you think makes up the majority of attendance sunday-thursday?

[@Cuteanimalandtravelshorts]

St. Louis is a low tier park not a midtier park St. Louis hasn’t got any major coaster years

[@reesejackson2601]

They getting no rid of the best coster in the past 10 years smh i use to visit every year idk how much more i will b going unless they have somthing as good or better then the kingda ki

[@kp007__]

No point if getting any type of pass at SFGA. Same price for less rides and more wait times…yeah right

[@DenverPicton]

I Am very optimistic abot the future of Great Adventure. I feel like it will drop the Six Flags out pf ots name in the next 3 years, Get a hotel by the beginning of next decade and receive some amazing additions. Kinda Ka's removal was sad but this could be the start of something amazing.

[@michaelrock2265]

I hate this merger so much!

[@money200476]

also kings island isnt a tier 1???? LMAO WRONG

[@dustinkuebler4801]

I'm tired of KI playing second fiddle to the point when KI is the sole reason the point, cedar fair, or six flags ever installed another coaster. KI deserves better. I hope the Hershland family buys it.

[@Jcjc-lr4bf]

I agree!! Skull mountain is an eyesore and is blocking the lake view. I’m so upset with my home park. We went from one of the best (06’) STACKED with food, entertainment, rides, and coasters… it all went downhill a year after. I’m devastated. I miss all my old coasters… Scream Machine, Rolling Thunder, The Chiller, and now Kingda Ka… I purchased a Hershey park King Size season pass for the FIRST time in my twenty-six years of life.

[@spentron1]

KI is definitely top tier. Carowinds is kind of special-mid tier, they've been trying to upgrade its low-mid tier lineup to be consistent with its mid-upper tier location, and still has a way to go -- if Rapterra is good KD will be the better park again. With SF spending almost $1B you would expect at least one huge coaster, I'm not seeing anything else in their plans except maybe the SFoT Dive that big, so GrAdv should be getting it!

[@skyrushyesminderaserno1150]

#FireRichardZimmerman

[@jandrew1994]

You have the tier lists wrong. Kings Island definitely up there with CP and Carowinds for Cedar Fair more so than Canada's wonderland. For Six Flags, Over Texas is middle tier and St Louis is low tier.