So the summer is coming to an end and many parks around the country are sharing their 2015 plains with us. But some have yet to share what their bringing to the table next year, why not try to speculate what these new additions might be? Today, I’m going to be talking about the things I would love to see at my home park, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, in the future! Now before I start, I need to be clear on somethings. This is just a speculation, this is NOT an actual article on what the park is really getting in 2015 or later. This is just the stuff I would love to see over there and think would fit perfectly. So, lets get on with the show!
The Rocky Mountain treatment for Roar:
So if you didn’t know, there’s a company in Idaho called Rocky Mountain Construction that will take an old busted wooden roller coaster, rip out the wood track, and add new steel track onto the ride. But it doesn’t stop there, not only do they it give new track, but they will also add inversions, 90 degrees banks, airtime hills, and even extend the height and length of the ride. For that, they have a man named Alan Schilke, the mad man behind X at six flags Magic Mountain. The “new” ride will also review new trains, typical from the German ride company Gerstlauer. Six Flags was the first to do one of these crazy “make overs” on one of there rides on 2011, and have already done it on 2 others, with 2 more on the way. With this new trend coming on, I think it would be awesome to see this happen on the parks wooden roller coaster, Roar.
Edit: I didn’t know this got posted. Well, since the only new attraction the park is adding this year is a looping ride you could find at your local carnival, let’s continue on with this post and do some more speculating/ dreaming!
Stand alone Rocky Mountain coaster:
Although the idea of RMC working their magic on Roar is an awesome one, it’s not very likely since Roar draws in riders of all ages and is the park’s only woodie. (Although the didn’t stop Six Flags Mexico.) But that’s OK! Because not only does RMC pump up old rides with a crap load of steroids, but they also build stand alone wooden coasters that contain just as much awesome the referbs. 80 degree drops, dives loops, jet fighter stalls, and crazy airtime hills are just some of the amazing elements that can be found on these rides. (All two of them!) So with more and more Six Flags parks get rides from Rocky Mountain, it would only make sense that Discovery Kingdom would be on the waiting list. And with their last coaster being Superman which opened three years ago, a new one is definitely be a possibility for the next few years. And having it be a crazy new RMC ride would certainly make it one to remember!
S&S El Loco
Like many other amusement parks, SFDK has its fare share of limitations and restrictions. With the park being on and the smaller side, space is becoming harder to come by without having to take anything out. And to add insult to injury, there is a height limit of 150ft which becomes lower the closer they get to the lake. So that means that the park has very small amount of room to play with if they want to add a major new coaster, which mean they have to get creative. They already brought us the wacky Superman, which has been a success for both the park and the ride manufacture, Premier ides, so what else could they do? Well, I personally think than an El Loco coaster from S&S (Now S&S Sansei) would be a perfect fit for the park. An El Loco essentially at Wild Mouse that has been fed massive amounts of crack and then some. You sill have the very compact layout and sharp turns, but are paired with beyond vertical drops, outwards banking, dive loops, and tones of other craziness that only S&S could provide. I think an El Loco would work for SFDK because A. Their awesome B. Their Insane C. It would allow the park to have an awesome world-class coaster without taking up very much room and it would easily stay with in there height limit. (And there budget of about $15 million per-year).
Chance Rides Hyper GT-X Coaster (Chance Mega Lite)
What happens when you take all the best elements of a mega coaster and smash it down into the size you average family coaster? Two words: MEGA LITE! These things where first introduced by Intamin back in 2008 and treated riders to airtime that would make any B&M mega coaster wee them self’s. But mostly due to very high price tag of about $15 million, they never made it into the States and leaved junkies crying them self’s to sleep. That was until Chance Rides introduced their own version of the mega lite in the form of Lighting Run at Kentucky Kingdom in 2014. Steep drops, quick tight turns, and of course LOADS of airtime, it has all the elements that made the Swiss versions awesome. So why am I telling you this? Although the stuff I mentioned above would be really cool to see, I think that one of these Hyper GT-X coasters would be the absolute PERFECT coaster for Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, and here’s why:
1. It’s over all small size would mean that it would not only meet the restrictions mentioned before, but it would be pretty easy it fit it into the park with out taking to much out. (And by not much I mean Kong.)
2. With a price tag of around $7 million for LR, it fits perfectly into SFDK budget with plenty of room for more.
3. And lastly and most important of all, I think that the parks audience would love it! Because the park is a large mix big rides and animals, it attracts both young families and teenagers & young adults, so having a ride that isn’t to intimidating for younger riders, but provide the thrill that older riders are looking for is exactly what the park needs.
Seriously Discovery Kingdom, if your reading this, please at least consider blessing the west coast with America’s very own mega lite!