The Biggest WINNERS & LOSERS in the Amusement World (2024)

2024 was a rough year for a lot of parks and companies, but we also saw some entities hit it out of the park. Let's run down the winners and losers of the past year.
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[@josiahsimmons9866]

Honestly, SFGAV's 2024 year seems like it'd crack the top 10 worst years of all time, excluding years when parks were completely closed.

[@OtakMilans]

I mean they had a year were like 7 teenagers died so it could be worse

[@coastingalong]

i think great adventures 2024 would crack the top ten worst years of all time even if kingda ka wasn’t being removed. that’s how bad this year went

[@MidwestBoom]

I would agree if they just removed it and didn't announce anything else. But you know, the ride that's going to replace it is gonna be awesome.

[@G3R0George]

We already know who’s #1 for loser, even before watching the video

[@cpdragster420]

Exactly, that one isn't even up for debate 😭

[@coasterjuice02]

Cedar Fair/Six Flags as a whole

[@cancercentral9997]

Me?

[@meowmeowgeorgcat1881]

Yes

[@edt-ze3ke]

@@coasterjuice02 I think it’s mostly SFGAdv. Maybe SFOG as well due to them having a horrible time dealing with Kid Flash’s problems and pushing back their supposed to be 2024 coaster to next year.

[@johnfoltz8183]

Biggest loser: great adventure. 😭

[@jeffbizie]

1000% lol

[@asudevil316]

Do we know why they closed all those rides?

[@F7COASTERS]

@@asudevil316cedar fair cheapness

[@Coaster_Crash]

@@F7COASTERSsix flags actually 🤓

[@asudevil316]

@F7COASTERS so there was nothing wrong with the rides?

[@mulinhuan8410]

As a NJ local, Great Adventure's 2024 season started off VERY bad with one train on El Toro and many other rides for a couple months (salvaged somewhat by the amazing operators, you guys are awesome and check restraints incredibly fast). And then of course Flash got delayed. The only silver lining at that time was how the park was seemingly refurbishing Kingda Ka and restore the ride to its former glory with all the train paint jobs and maintenance (I've also heard from some people at the park about them wanting to restore 4 train operations and using both sides of the station again). But we all know what happened after the merger went through: corporate FORCED the park to close down Ka and did not allow them to say anything to the public. What a horrible season. Welp I guess it can only go uphill from here.

[@ninjagirl226]

You say it can only get better but I am fully prepared for el toro to close in the next 1-3 years. I also am somewhat prepared for other ride closures. I am also prepared for Ka to become a hotel and green lantern to be some family/kiddie launch coaster. Flash might open next year but the wait time…yeah why they want to open these low capacity ride idk. That’s also why I suspect Green Lantern’s replacement to not be anything spectacular because it would end up too much like Flash. I will be watching from DE at the shit show next year!

[@DeevFactor]

Also contributing to Great Adventure's bad year is NJ Transit no longer running the buses from NYC/Newark due to budget issues and the only bus option costs an eye watering $60.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

At least they didn't close the whole park on you, like they did with my old home park when they acquired it. Same way too. Day after close, they announced it was forever, and F you to anyone who loved the park.

[@terrancepounds1090]

@@Spike-sk7qlyour park had the distinction of being operated by both SF & Cedar Fair before the merger. I miss GL

[@Spike-sk7ql]

@terrancepounds1090 yeah, don't remind me. I miss Geauga Lake BEFORE six flags destroyed it. Yes, I said it. Six Flags destroyed GL. They built it up too big, WAY too fast. You have to take into consideration that Geauga Lake was a Michigan's Adventure/Valley Fair tier park in the 80s and 90s. Families went there. GM had its picnic there, along with others. Sea World next door made it the PERFECT family day out. Geauga Lake was never going to compete with cedar point. Never.

[@urbex_coasters]

Had you told me Cedar Point and Zamperla wouldn’t be #1 on the bad list back in August I would have called you a Cedar Point fanboy sucking up to anything that place does, good or bad. But sure enough I agree with putting them only at #2. A double coaster removal plus several flat rides with ZERO sendoff? That’s so bad I didn’t know it was possible.

[@dreamy.reader52]

Frr. What happened at Cedar Point was BAD enough but what happened at great adventure is unbeatable in terms of being #1. It was so sad :(

[@darock233]

CP Exec's - We're going to be #1 in Airtime Thrills Loser List with this TT2 disaster. Zimmerman - Hold my Beer SFGA Execs - WTF do you mean we gotta close Ka?

[@Spike-sk7ql]

@@darock233 yeah, I don't have high hopes for this new mega chain. Cedar Fair parks were low key starting to slide these last few years. Time will tell, but maybe all of these parks are going to find themselves under new management in the next decade. Maybe America is just better set up for REGIONAL parks, ran by people that spend their days IN THE PARKS THEY RUN. Kind of like all of the smaller parks are run now. Like maybe CP, and KI are owned by the same people, and KD, and Carowinds or something like that. Or maybe all the parks will be independent. It seems like even in the chains their were in, the parks got the investments that they could "afford" on their own. Maybe some of them would be better off being independent! Michigan's Adventure, and Valley Fair probably would have gotten a big new coaster, probably 2 each, in the time since CF took them over.

[@alantrotter2077]

B&M should actually be a loser. All three new B&Ms in the US don’t track well. B&Ms use to be smooth but that seems to be changing. Voltron and Europa park is the biggest winner. What a great coaster.

[@AirtimeThrills]

All 3? Dang. I was hoping Menace was a one off

[@jtw1981]

@@AirtimeThrills Phoenix rising is just fine, but penguin trek is down right awful

[@josh0108]

And it doesn’t look promising for Rapterra either.

[@Fury325Fan]

@@josh0108what makes you say that?

[@zacharyyamashita8554]

@@jtw1981 Good thing San Diego went the Intamin Straddle Coaster way, with Arctic Rescue.

[@FryGuy909]

adding to great escape's wins is them renovating flashback with new paint and trains plus redoing their story town houses

[@COASTER_CHASER_1]

the Lodge also opened a new restaurant as well

[@coasterkraken9544]

With Great Adventure being my home park, season was incredibly disappointing. Flash was delayed, the Ferris Wheel renovation took forever. The log flume took even longer to renovate and that opened right at the end of the summer. Then they remove 2 coasters and 4 rides. I only went to the park twice this year, would have been once but I had to get final rides on Kingda Ka. So much for a 50th anniversary celebration

[@dreamy.reader52]

Omg yeah, I feel so bad for you! It truly was not a great year for great adventure :(

[@generaldoof7334]

My choices for this year: Winner: Kings Island. We went near the beginning of Haunt when it rained all day Friday and the beginning of Saturday. We left Cedar Point and drove through the pouring rain, it clearing as we were arriving to KI. Walked up to the park with dense fog and death metal over the speakers. The coasters were walk on most of the night and i was able to take my son on all the coasters he could ride for his first rides and first night rides. Beast, Bat, Banshee, Racer, Backlot, Mystic Timbers and the kiddie coasters. He's just tall enough for Banshee, so hopefully Diamondback and Orion next time we go if he hits 54" Loser: we all know. Cedar Flags really chopped a lot from Great Adventure.

[@dreamy.reader52]

Cedar Flags lol. They should've called it that! 😂

[@24kOwlz]

Thanks for recognising our UK parks, most American youtubers don't do that so thanks!😀

[@DJJODolla]

Great vid. Haven’t seen you do a quiz in awhile. Those were fun to watch and test my knowledge, being a low key enthusiast that I am.

[@TheWolfXCIX]

2024 was definitely Macks year. Love to see them make insane attractions like Hypieria and Voltron

[@DaanBruins]

yeah number one loser was a given, such a shame. Btw Efteling also pulled huge crowds with their new Danse Macabre attraction

[@Splater765]

Me to how six flags treated great adventure this year: “Stop! He’s already dead!!”

[@brazpack]

I’m very surprised Kings Dominion wasn’t on the winners list… anyone who has been there this year can tell next year will be special

[@derailedcoasters]

To add some more salt in Great Adventure's already DEEP burning wound.. - Big Wheel/Log Flume were promised to reopen by Memorial Day Weekend, Neither opened until Labor Day weekend. - Nitro was supposed to be repainted -> cancelled and Goliath at Over Georgia got it instead. - Zumanjaro was closed for most of the season and then confirmed to be getting removed. - Houdini did not open for the season until Fright Fest. - 6 of the Fright Fest houses being built were not ready on time for Fright Fest and delayed 6 mazes from being open for Fright Fest for 3 weeks, leaving the start of Fright Fest with only 3 houses. - The sale of the Dream Street bricks fell way below what the expected income was supposed to be leaving 90%+ of the brick midway with blank bricks. - Skyway never opened this season leaving the park with absolutely 0 transportation rides. - Nearly half the coasters at the park was down to one train ops all spring and summer long due to budgeting issues and lack of staff capability on the maintenance team. (Jersey Devil has 4 trains and has only run with 2 all season, Medusa ran 1 train until fright fest, Nitro only 2 trains most of the season when it normally consistently runs 3 but varied on and off with 1 train ops, Toro was 1 train a large portion of the season) - Superman went down for an entire month due to complications with electrical upgrades required by the state of NJ. - Skull Mountains iconic skull on the building had the jaw of its mouth break completely off and likely will never get fixed. - Hardly any special events took place to "celebrate" the 50th anniversary season, and wasn't advertised much throughout the park that it was the parks 50th anniversary. TL:DR I love my home park, but unfortunately this season is far from anything to be proud of, so many things hit below the bare minimum this year and so many different factors being involved makes this one of the roughest seasons the park has ever seen. I also just want to state that none of these things are the fault of the Park Management level, and a lot of this stuff came to be because of Corporate. Brian is a fantastic park president and I cannot wait to see what he does with the park in the future.

[@dreamy.reader52]

That's so sad :( very unfortunate year for GA even though it's supposed to be their special anniversary

[@cpdragster420]

And now a derailment. They're just asking for it at this point

[@dreamy.reader52]

@@cpdragster420 what's a derailment?

[@garygandhu7770]

the ride just messes up and the wheels come off the track (el toro’s issue)

[@dreamy.reader52]

@@garygandhu7770 oh ty! But what derailment at SIGN?

[@pdkev]

Great Adventure also lost Zumanjaro and their B&M record. Just brutal.

[@DoswarePictures]

SeaWorld Orlando is gonna be so happy.

[@edt-ze3ke]

@@DoswarePictures SFGAm would like a word with you

[@tigerrocks503]

@@edt-ze3keWell we are going to be tied with SWO once Wrath opens

[@dreamy.reader52]

What B&M record?

[@DoswarePictures]

@@dreamy.reader52 most B&M track at one park I believe.

[@impracticallychristopher]

GADV really schruted it on their 50th

[@AirtimeThrills]

Schruted it 😂

[@WhatAG23]

Schrute would be 100x better than Zimmerman. Hell, Eric Cartman would.

[@mitchellries256]

I think losing Green Lantern was a much bigger deal than most people think as it could've been a great addition for another park like Six Flags Darien Lake, Six Flags America, Michigan's Adventure, or La Ronde among other parks.

[@Huntly23]

SFGA had a crazy run of L’s this year like how do you mess up that bad 😭😭

[@Fury325Fan]

Great Adventure had so many L’s you’d think they’re Florida State

[@SlimFury]

Grizzly at Kings Dominion is a winner for 2024. The work done by the Gravity Group made it much better. It is off my worst list.

[@DoswarePictures]

Ditto for Wolverine Wildcat.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Dude, I got to ride Grizzly for the first time this year, and LOVED it!

[@collinparsons3363]

Great Adventure isn't my home park, but I have visited regularly since 2007. I don't see myself returning anytime soon. This season could be the worst seasonal effort on the part of Great Adventure in the 15+ years I have been visiting, and they have been going downhill for years. Their operations and services have steadily declined to my breaking point. Whether it be running rides at reduced capacity with one train and ultra slow operations, rides closed, broken, or delayed for reasons under the park's control, failure to complete off-season projects even close to schedule, tight-lipped and delayed communication practices, serious food and beverage deficiencies, lack of transparent and consistent pricing, reduced operating hours, and unannounced closure and demolition of 6 rides, the product they have settled on simply isn't worth it anymore. I am disgusted with what Great Adventure has become.

[@Jason_Maier]

Well Zamperla shit the bed with TT2 (should've gone with Intamin). And we all lost with Kingda Ka closing (fuck you Cedar Fair)

[@thebestdecepticonSoundwave]

technically Six Flags too..

[@DanielBlaney]

@reteledman Legacy Six Flags had no intention of removing it. They just spent big money completely refurbishing the trains this year including new paint and graphics.

[@thebestdecepticonSoundwave]

@@DanielBlaney oh damn.

[@brandoncole5533]

Nah this has cedar fair written all over it. Six flags may not have been the best but damn at least we would have at least gotten an announcement and a FAR BETTER send off to The WORLD'S TALLEST COASTER FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS.

[@wutmagna7222]

If I had a nickel for every time a Strata coaster shut down in 2024, I'd have two nickels... ...which isn't a lot but it's really unfortunate that it happened twice to bookend the theme park year.

[@dreamy.reader52]

WAIT, I could've sworn I heard that nickel saying somewhere... Was it from coaster studios or eltororyan??

[@wutmagna7222]

@dreamy.reader52 Well, the original joke was made by Dr. Heinz Doofinshmertz from Phineas and Ferb, and it's been requoted and altered into a thousand variations.

[@dreamy.reader52]

@@wutmagna7222 ohh that explains it lol. Thanks 😅

[@ColeYote]

Little surprised opening Hyperia and Voltron the same year didn't get Mack in the winner column. From what I've heard, you could argue they've built the three best coasters in Europe now.

[@Fury325Fan]

You know what? I didn’t notice that at first, but I 100% agree

[@Mini_V4]

Let’s Hope 2025 is a Year we don’t forget in the Coaster World

[@Artbyhurricanyounot]

For GOOD reasons lol don’t wanna invoke anything negative here 🤣

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Let's make it for good reasons this year though, huh?

[@sebasllaura7254]

But, it might be possible that Falcon’s Flight can end up being an over ambitious coaster.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

@sebasllaura7254 over ambitious coasters are Intamin's specialty though. Millie, Dragster, and Ka, we're all once "over ambitious". They also all worked, and are, and were icons of their parks.

[@jaysmiles2]

Crying or laughing when we say that?

[@alexbrown2696]

The whole state of NJ, specifically South Jersey is the biggest loser. No more Ka, no more Green Lantern, no more Gillian's (pronounced Jill-EE-ans, same way its pronounced spelled with a J), Great Adventure having a poor 50th anniversary celebration, Flash postponed to 2025. Now Morey's Piers is putting Millennium Flyer trains on Great White.

[@aledandrian]

The new trains for Great White are a good thing

[@AirtimeThrills]

I actually found a news story on Gillians to learn how to pronounce it and they used the G

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Millenium flyer trains are great man. They're roomy, comfortable, and seem to track very good.

[@Wlii25]

⁠fr

[@michael7054]

Great video! Top Thrill 2 was such a big flop this year. I really enjoyed watching this!

[@ToastGhost]

I'd put Alton Towers on the biggest losers list and here's why: Food prices went up, quality went down The Skyride was closed all season The park's inhouse themeing department was shuttered Possibly the worst season for operations in the park's history 2026 Intamin Multi Dimension Coaster cancelled and reallocated to Chessington Retheme of Galactica cancelled Park's oldest ride pirate ship "Blade" seemingly closed, no announcement Rapids closed 2/3 of the way through the season Nemesis Reborn has similar issues to Iron Menace

[@edt-ze3ke]

I don't know what's worse, Either SFOG Having a huge headache with their problems Kid Flash was facing and barely starting constrution on their newest coaster that got it pushed back to next year or SFGAdv screwing up their 50th anniversary along with removing 6 different rides in one year and pushing back their big 50th anniversary coaster to next year as well.

[@jjvavrik5509]

I hadn't heard about Lost Island getting new track for Nopuko. That's awesome! I love that park so much. And if they can smooth out the track and remove the pothole... man that's a pretty good top 3 assuming Fire Runner is good (it will be at least good haha) and Matugani is already great I just wish the best for that park always haha

[@brianmacdonald7297]

What a great year to have SFGAdv as your home park. Yay.

[@dreamy.reader52]

:( I feel bad for you

[@B-b-bot1]

THIS man, deserves way more subs

[@derekp308]

Voltron really is worth the hype. Plus it’s at a great park that’s worth adding to your European vacation. We can hold our breaths for a Voltron in America, maybe KBF or SDC since I think such a ride is perfect for those parks.

[@RUKrisfan07]

Great Adventure has always meant a lot to me as a park, especially since I have so many great memories from the time I spent at the park with my parents and siblings over the years and since I worked my first job there. But, as of right now, I'm real worried about the park heading forward, especially after what happened during what should have been such a special season for the park. And I'm still so upset about how they handled Kingda Ka's closure and fear it's replacement won't be anything to write home about. I guess we'll see what happens, though.

[@katashworth41]

I’m hoping to get a great start to 2025 by possibly going to Phantasialand.

[@1BillionMarbles]

Biggest winners and losers personally so far: Winner: Went to SDC on a day where the park was foggy the whole time, even at night. Everything was running insanely fast. It was a magical experience. Loser: Valleyfair. They had to deal with a flood, Thunder Canyon closed for the season, and possibly forever because of it, park got rained out for almost half the season, and the new food options are overpriced and not good. I have never seen such low crowd levels in the park during summer. There were a few fights in the summer causing the park to close early. None during haunt though, and speaking of which, haunt was the busiest it's been in 5 years. After the crowd levels that haunt had, I must say the lack of investment in the park is shameful. Shame on you Cedar Fair corporate, shame on you.

[@AFCompany]

Valleyfair is supposed to be getting their coaster in the next two years but I didn’t see them listed in upcoming investments. Ryan at Dorney pretty much said they are next in line. It sucks that they had a poor season. I hope that doesn’t stop them from getting an investment. However there was also a 10 year plan to invest heavily in Dorney if Iron Menace did well due to its market area and park attendance went up roughly 25% this season. Now they are already starting construction in the water park for a 2025 attraction. Part of me wonders if Dorney will start getting the most investments of the smaller parks due to the proximity of Great Adventure and the company trying to use both parks to compete with Hershey.

[@1BillionMarbles]

@@AFCompany VF has a plan in place, honestly they are most likely to get a coaster in 2026 because they keep hinting at it. I know a higher up and when I made a grim comment about the park' future, they said "Oh the secrets I could tell you but I won't. Have faith." The park president hinted at a new coaster for 2026 back during Valleyfair Thaw in April, and in October, the park had a city council meeting regarding a softbed lot for both car parking and rollercoaster/slide pieces. They said specifically that they didn't want to go into what the park was getting. All this is to say keep an eye out. The park is being very hush-hush about it.

[@alex33952]

Great adventure= definition of trainwreck 2024. Their log flume also didn’t open until end of summer, jersey devil was on one or two trains a lot, the Ferris wheel barely got open and Wonder Woman had downtime. Now on the flip side, in 5-10 years they might be cedar point east. Fantastic possibility

[@broodwars64]

It feels really odd to not have Disney on the "Losers" list considering the sheer number of attractions they have announced closing or have closed this year, not to mention the rides they opened (i.e. Tiana) can't manage to stay running. And they're in for an even worse 2025 with Epic Universe opening.

[@cbjgirl23]

that color scheme on the SLC at lost island... love it soo much

[@ejectorairtime73]

Also 5:27, I know hyperia wasn't open a lot but I was happy it opened for when I went. It is an amazing, but short ride that really does pack an punch for what it has. Kudos for Thorpe Park for having such an amazing fit.

[@SuuuhhhhDude]

Biggest Winner: Six Flags Great America and Batman: the Ride. I’m planning my trip next year around riding the new and improved Batman The Ride. It’s like my favorite queue and it’s the original B&M invert, it sounds amazing with awesome new lights.

[@C3T1C]

I went to SFGA excited for el toro, only to find out it was closed.

[@hurricanegproductions5525]

@@C3T1C Least disappointing great adventure moment tbh

[@danielward4868]

Thorpe Park has had an amazing season. Not only have they opened hyperia but they have refreshed a lot of the park and rethemed a whole area

[@IRDeady]

On the whole i think its fair to say six flags/cedar fair in general had a bad year. I feel like a lot of people (myself included) just ended up with more anxiety about the future of the company and where anyones given home park now falls on the food chain. To say the least, anyone who thought the merger was a bad idea in the first place was probably not given much confidence by 2024. I know here in KI land a lot of people were really disappointed when we read "family thrill coaster in 2026." Heres hoping the right the ship, but eh, idk man.

[@MattMcIrvin]

Under-the-radar winner for the year: Gravity Group! Not only did they make one of the few well-received new US coasters of 2024, their precut wooden retrack is rescuing older coasters all over the country without turning them into steel coasters. For people who like old-school woodies or even Coaster Wars-era woodies, this is an amazing development. It seems to be the kind of fix that RMC's Topper Track was supposed to be, but more effective. I guess we'll see how well it holds up over time. This contributed to my one new coaster cred of 2024 and an instant favorite, Excalibur at Funtown Splashtown USA. I think the first drop has Gravity Group retrack.

[@ItsSiebay]

Adding to Over Georgia’s woes, I’m sure the flooding didn’t help with construction. I’m hoping they can find a solution to that problem since it affects about half the park.

[@jamescrawford1320]

I have always felt blessed living 15 minutes away from SFGA... until now edit: We need something on the scale of Alpen Fury. Inverting, multi-launch, long layout. It's always been a hole in the lineup as Kingda Ka was the only launched coaster. It is time.

[@Sean-gn4gl]

IMO TTD was a much bigger loss than Ka, but it does suck that CF made sure we don’t have any of those type of launches left, feels like a giant middle finger to anyone who enjoyed TTD

[@aydenperry2622]

favorite thing i've seen about the kingda ka removal is someone saying something along the lines of "for those not into coasters, this is like if nintendo took mario out back and shot him"

[@JosephIII-l2o]

Great Adventure had the worst 50th anniversary of any park ever, no park will reach that again 😬

[@edt-ze3ke]

@@JosephIII-l2o True, but hopefully KD and SFGAm’s 50th goes well for them

[@Spike-sk7ql]

No shit. I totally forgot about it being their 50th. Wow..... what a way to celebrate the golden anniversary.

[@chekherjoy]

Please refrain from jinxing California's Great America.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

@chekherjoy Is their supposed last year their 50th?

[@chekherjoy]

@@Spike-sk7ql They don't have an actual close date. At least as of June when ACE was there for Coaster Con. Park management told us they were instructed to keep going like nothing happened. The city wants the park and won't rezone the land, so only an amusement park can be there. I was being sarcastic since Chicago's Great America has 50th plans the recent Six Flags plans for 2026 recent announcement. But California's isn't on it. It was a really fun park. I hope they can stay open. Just please no jinxing it with "no park will reach that again". Of course I'm sitting here with Cedar Point as my home park after Geauga Lake closed unceremoniously. Anything could happen.

[@LancoasterPA]

It occurs to me that the Airtime Thrills excellent "Complete History of SF Great Adventure" honored their 50th anniversary far better than anything they, themselves, did. That makes them twice the Loser, while Chris is twice the Winner.

[@thee_jpp]

Bold prediction: 2024 will be the last year that Great Adventure is seen as a top tier park in the chain. It will take A LOT for the community to see the Ka replacement as worthy one, and signs already point to that not being the case. Taking out the sky ride too, and probably losing skull mountain soon, not to mention El Toro getting rougher by the season, and I fear the park is about to take a nose dive it may not recover from

[@AirtimeThrills]

Seeing how the chain has grown, could very well be

[@JD.778]

I don’t care what people on Facebook or Reddit say

[@edt-ze3ke]

@@thee_jpp It’s possibly going to be seen as a mid tier park

That could very well happen. During the Paramount years, Kings Dominion was seen as top tier. KINGS DOMINION.

[@ashmenser7959]

It makes me wonder if cedar point will add some additional advertising to tt2 in 2025 about it now being the worlds tallest roller coaster.

[@williammcnulty4031]

You should do a video on kingda Kas Fate would it be the different if falcons flight failed and top thrill 2 was a huge success

[@markfedorenko3515]

I'm surprised Kennywood's closure of Steel Curtain for the entire season didn't make the biggest losers list.

[@shanedenmark5536]

It’s only a loser if Kennywood can’t fix Steel Curtain once and for all.

[@AirtimeThrills]

Definitely could have made the list

[@pipepicasso8112]

Holiday World and Kings Island gets a family boomerang, the winners are family’s. Could these two parks be having a family park rivalry?

[@AirtimeThrills]

I highly doubt it but they may see the appeal of family rides, at least for a while

[@bonnyd.5334]

Honestly, any investment in Great Escape in Queensbury is throwing money away. Lake George / Queensbury is an extremely tired resort area. As parks go, it's appropriate for families with children under 12. If I was in upper management of Six Flags / Cedar Fair, I would quietly put this park on the market, look to sell it to local interests. This is your basic locals only park. It's draw is the Capital District Area and nothing more. People from Central NY generally go to Darien Lake. People living in the Hudson Valley generally go to either Six Flags New England or Great Adventure. There's no good reason for them to go to a tired park that's further away.

[@generaldoof7334]

The rumor regarding TT2 and Intamin is that their proposal would have involved removing Iron Dragon. Cedar Flags officials wanted to keep ID, so they went with the Zamperla solution we ultimately received.

[@Brandon-qd2lb]

It’s either skyline or zamperla as the biggest loser. Damn great adventure is in shambles!

[@AirtimeThrills]

Both on the board

[@seanagulan9481]

Great Adventure(my home park) suffered badly this year.

[@drewcorry5056]

Absolutely biggest loser hands down is new management of Cedar Point for closing Kingda Ka, there afraid of there own shadow

[@Spike-sk7ql]

It's not the management of cedar point. It was cedar fair. You'll get used to it. That chain has been losing the past few years all around. I don't have high hopes for the new mega chain. Especially after the way its starting off.

[@KnotWithJosh]

My personal biggest loser this year was still not being able to get a coaster credit at my home park.

[@airtimeaddict]

Thorpe’s year was even better because project sparkle.✨

[@coasterjuice02]

You missed BGTs botched closure of Scorpion and how bad theyve been operating this year!

[@AirtimeThrills]

I am not aware of BGT's problems, that's too bad

[@coasterjuice02]

@AirtimeThrills tbf some stuff has been manufacturer problems. I'm just not overly satisfied this year. That Scorpion closure though.....

[@jmmcartoonz]

Great Adventure: soooo is the loser in the room with us?

[@IntaminFanGRLPowerCoasters]

YAAAY INTAMIN!!

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Holy crap, I accidentally hit translate to English. And it translated this to "who is it!"😂😂

[@plighting_engineerd]

2024 has been wild... sorry last year's airtime thrills thanksgiving prediction video

[@AirtimeThrills]

Ha, we will definitely get to that on Thursday

[@plighting_engineerd]

@@AirtimeThrills I'm really looking forward to it

[@finaliest]

​@@AirtimeThrills bro istg harry Applegate would be so disappointed such a bittersweet moment he died (I mean this in that he would not want to see gadv in a state like this) before gadv fell into shambles on their 50th cause holy hell I think his soul would be murdered

[@alex33952]

Six flags New England is a low key winner as well. They needed a launch and it’s a great fit for the park their new addition. Can they get it often by summer though?

[@UncommonManFromEarth]

Putting B&M in the winner even though all their recent coasters have a rattle is a little surprising. That's kind of a huge step back for me coming from a manufacturer known for their glass smooth coasters.

[@TheBolligerMabillardLover]

You forgot to mention and include that Europa Park rebuilt and reopened their burned down water ride and roller coaster, and retook the Golden Ticket for best amusement park after Dollywood got it last year. I'd say Europa Park is definitely the 2024 winner!

[@JSXSProductions]

6:41 ARIZONA MENTIONED! :(

[@JSXSProductions]

I just want my Barbieland ™️ 😭

[@DoswarePictures]

Another potential big loser is ValleyFair. The press release is very likely to derail the rumored 2026 coaster.

[@AirtimeThrills]

Im not giving up on them yet

[@TXairportlover]

Another loser for the 2024 season was great Wolf Lodge, first they removed a rare water coaster from their park, I will replacing it with the worst attraction which was a proslides saucer with only one saucer And nothing special I forgot to add that they didn’t announce the water, coaster closure pretty unique. It was one of the only conveyor belt water coaster left don’t forget that they open their Houston location was supposed to open October 2024 and they pushed it up two months that sounds good but they weren’t ready to open the park. And 16 people have to be hospitalized due to a chemical exposure in the waterpark the waterpark.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Those conveyor belt water coasters are a maintenance headache, from what I have heard. Lots of belt issues.

[@TXairportlover]

@ yeah they do, but it was rare and people really couldn’t get their last rides Great Wolf Lodge didn’t announced it also it’s great Wolf Lodge, Mason it’s like removing kingda ka or la vibora not announcing it and yes, they are problematic, but they are loved they should’ve has replaced it with another water coaster just look up Wolf Lodge, Mason, new ride and you’ll see how horrible than you attraction is love the color scheme, but yeah, no.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

@TXairportlover No, I get it. I was just sayin that they were a flawed model. Yeah, they should have replaced it with a water coaster, but at least they aren't gonna tease you next year, like Kings Island is. I got REAL excited when I heard KI was getting a water coaster next year. And a racing one, at that! Sign me up! Then they announced it, and it's like 25' long. 🤨....... SERIOUSLY?!?!?! Do they NOT know that Holiday World has 3, BIG water coasters? Waldameer has a really good one, Kentucky Kingdom will likely take some of that $25 million they're getting, and put one in. And their big new water coaster is like 550' long. And they took out the wave surfer thing for it!

[@SamStewart-m5h]

Falcons flight isn’t open yet it was supposed to open sometime this year

[@AirtimeThrills]

Yeah i never believed it would open this year. I know originally they were guessing maybe late 24

[@edt-ze3ke]

The coaster was assumed to be open later this year before confirming it to open in 2025 and also SFQ as a whole.

[@racheljackson4428]

no mention of Efteling's newest Attraction, Danse Macabre.

[@Thrillversee]

Biggest winners and losers of 2026 should be interesting, can’t wait for that year.

[@tigerrocks503]

Since Great Adevntures 50th anniversary was a bust, I’m praying my home park’s (Great America) 50th will go better under Cedar Fairs control.

[@JD.778]

People only look at the big announcements they made but they did a lot of nice things around the park like dream street.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

You better ride EVERY ride there, like its gonna be your last!

[@tigerrocks503]

@@Spike-sk7qlCGA?

[@kyrocity]

As a UK enthusiast, Alton Towers has to be on the losers list, despite opening Nemesis Reborn which is easily a top 10 coaster in Europe, the park operations, ride closures, rising prices compared to Thorpe Park having such an amazing season

[@jacknight10]

I will say Seaworld San Diego which is my home Seaworld park with Jewels of the Sea: The Jellyfish Experience not opening in 2024 and being press back till 2025

[@sammorris6104]

Great America being a win for the same reason Dorney is a lose is interesting. I know Rakshasa isn't even built yet but I feel like we're making a big assumption that it'll be smooth like the B&Ms of old. Also, big thumps up for Emerald Park. na Fianna Force is amazing

[@bmont170]

Was planning on riding king da ka next year and I guess that will never happen. I guess I get what for living so close and keep pushing it off

[@AvoidTIMtation]

Skyline should be higher (or lower) in my opinion. The fact that none of their rides have worked should be talked about more than it is

[@heathconely3573]

Honorable mention king’s island cause they are getting nothing even though they need something

[@ejectorairtime73]

I feel bad for the Great Adventure social media managers because I am sure they also had no knowledge about the ride closure so they got hated on for pretty much for what the overall company did

[@mikes6457]

FYI Bobcat is an AWESOME coaster at SFGE

[@cobblebalt4835]

gadv was a shit show this year. everything they promised wasn’t finished and was delayed until a future date, plus 6 ride closures. what a terrible park

[@asudevil316]

Dumb question...what happened with the Kid Flash rides to cause them to close?

[@AirtimeThrills]

I know one had a derailment. Not sure what other issues they had

[@asudevil316]

@@AirtimeThrills thank you for the response...that sucks, they looked like they could be cool night rides for kids and families

[@seankearns8303]

Unrelated, but Buy or Sell: If Kid Flash doesn't reopen in 2025, Skyline runs into financial problems and files for bankruptcy

[@AirtimeThrills]

Skyline does work with GCI, but i highly doubt theyll sell another coaster

[@dytamic]

honestly i would put USH as an honorable mention because this year they finally started work on their new headlining coaster, which is peak

[@TheEpic22]

GAdv could become a winner, but they are taking an enormous risk and better have a really good plan. If it’s not something truly special this will break the park for a long time imo

[@samives8807]

Havent even already watched those vid yet but can already predict: winner (europa park, voltron, mack) loser (cedar point, TT2, Zamperla)😭

[@AirtimeThrills]

Close

[@jimmy3people0]

you can't convince me that there isn't some grand industry conspiracy against certain regions of the country. the northeast (particularly the NYC metro) and California have both had miserable first halves of the 2020s, while meanwhile it seems like Texas and Florida get coasters by the truckload and a new park opens in some nowheresville like Waterloo every year. the rampant incompetence in terms of basic tasks like getting coasters open on time doesn't help. just seems like an industry in a death spiral.

[@CedarThrills]

The word I was thinking the entire intro CEDAR POINT

[@GDAccelerate]

n-no? they lost nothing and got a brand new rollercoaster announcement.

[@CedarThrills]

TT2 gave them awful publicity and was an utter failure this year

[@GDAccelerate]

@@CedarThrills GADV still lost more idiot

[@dannymiller3315]

​@@CedarThrills still better than losing ka and gree lantern

[@ninjagirl226]

@@CedarThrillsMaybe it’s just me but that’s on Zamperla not Cedar Point. Safety comes first and they over promised. But that’s just me.

[@bubblegaminglol]

Losers: the entirety of the United States of America (minus Great Escape)

[@melasnexperience]

If that resort actually does get built in place of Gillian's Wonderland Pier and isn't NIMBY'd to death, I will be shocked.

[@nykohastoast6894]

Kings Island be like: I love family coasters Vortex Plot: Any form of launch coaster: Any new looper:

[@alex33952]

I’ll call penguin trek incomplete. Good layout maybe they can tweak those restraints

[@ItsAllGood_]

Loser: Nickelodeon Universe. TMNT SBNO since January. WTF SpongeBob, fix your coaster.

[@AirtimeThrills]

True but I was impressed with the way the rest of the park was operating this year

[@ItsAllGood_]

​@AirtimeThrills Fair Enough. But I just started being an enthusiast recently and that park is only like a 2 hr. drive for me. But I'm not going without that credit. It's probably top 5 bucket list coaster right now for me.