Biggest surprise

Chip: Cedar Fair acquiring Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and renaming it Geauga Lake took me completely by surprise. I almost spit my drink on the screen when I saw the headline. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Cedar Fair buying a Six Flags park, especially one so close to their flagship park. But they did it, and things already seem to be looking up for Geauga Lake.
Steven: I would definitely have to say the Cedar Fair buying Geauga Lake took me by surprise. The fact that it was bought and renamed back to Geauga Lake didn't surprise me at all. What did surprise me was that it was Cedar Fair that did it, and to top it off, fellow Grand Valley State University alumnus Bill Spehn was named general manager. Spehn deserves to run a park. If only it could have been sooner (with Michigan's Adventure, then he can catch some Grand Valley football on the weekends).
Kyle L: The biggest surprise for me of 2004 was the announcement of SheiKra. The idea of this incredible vertical coaster, with one inversion, two vertical drops and a water splash is a completely crazy, yet logical idea. I feel that a quality coaster such as SheiKra will blow any record-breaker out of the water any day. Things got going with the announcement of Kingda Ka, but SheiKra for me just blows it out of the water.
Matt M: The biggest shock of the year for me was B&M's new approach to building rides. They added unique elements on mostly every new coaster. Silver Bullet has the overbank, Hydra has pretty much everything and Sheikra has the two vertical drops. Who knows what's in store for the future? Another thing that shocked me was the announcement of Europa Park's second Mack water coaster. They already have one, and they're installing another. This took me completely by surprise, and I didn't see it coming.
Kyle Rehm: The selling of Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and the sale of Six Flags European Division was quite a surprise to me. I was quite surprised that Cedar Fair would want to buy another park that was so close to its flagship park. And with the European Division it was looking like there might be a profit in there for Six Flags. Even so, the sale will help relieve their debt load, which in the long run will be a good thing for all of Six Flags key locals.

Biggest news event

Chip: SheiKra's announcement was a biggie. Seeing track start appearing at Busch Gardens Tampa showed enthusiasts that they were getting a B&M dive machine. We just didn't know it would be this extraordinary. One inversion, two vertical drops? That's wild. I can only imagine it as something made in Roller Coaster Tycoon. The layout is completely original, and the trains hold more passengers than its two overseas cousins. SheiKra is going to be the biggest coaster in the Southeast.
Steven: Yes, we've had some big ride announcements. Yet, I would say the biggest news event was when Stanley Mordarsky was thrown from Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England. While we did have the Kingda Ka and SheiKra announcements, I honestly think the Superman incident had the most profound impact on current and future Intamin rides. Yeah, some of us can't fit on these rides anymore when we know we used to be able to, but as Americans we're getting fat and we need to drop some weight. If we didn't learn anything from the Raven incident last year, we should have learned something here.
Kyle L: In terms of popularity, buzz and speculation, the cable snapping on Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point was quite a story. Four people were injured on Top Thrill Dragster when the cable of the launch system shred pieces of metal into riders. I remember this well because with the news story, came loads of speculation, rumors and fears of Top Thrill Dragster being modified or even torn down. Despite those false rumors, Top Thrill Dragster opened no more than two weeks later.
Matt M: I'm going to agree with Kyle and say that the biggest news event was the snapping of Top Thrill Dragster's cable and the chaos that ensued. So many people thought that Dragster was done for, and it was just a huge mass panic. Rumors flew everywhere, but the ride opened later and has operated without incident.
Kyle Rehm: While everyone else may be saying things like SheiKra, or other events of that nature, I have to go with Six Flags Great America’s Hurricane Harbor announcement was a huge event for me. Six Flags Great America had been looking for a long time to build an “Entertainment Complex” as it was dubbed right across the street from the park, and those plans were approved way back in 1997. But then the locals became involved and passed an initiative on the ballot to block the planned “Entertainment Complex.” When Six Flags finally sold the land, many people, including myself thought the idea of a water park died with it. When I saw the plans for Hurricane Harbor I was quite surprised in the fact of the sheer size of it as well as Six Flags’ ability to cope with the “loss” of parking. The loss of parking is solved by laying down a new pattern of parking spots, and Six Flags has actually added 500 new spots.

Biggest letdown

Chip: Geauga Lake not soaring miles above what it was when it was a Six Flags park upset me slightly. I didn't visit the park, but I heard employees and members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts complain that there was not much difference between the way the park ran under either management. Steel Venom, the Intamin impulse coaster, was down for a part of the season, Raging Wolf Bobs isn't completely retracked, seat belts were added to Big Dipper and all the wildlife was gone. No more SeaWorld/animal side. Things should look up in coming seasons, but not flying ahead leaps and bounds in the first season is to be expected. It's just a bit disappointing.
Steven: The biggest letdown in my opinion was Disney. First off, Roy Disney, Walt Disney's nephew, resigns and becomes critical of the way CEO Michael Eisner has run the company down. Next thing you know, Comcast was ready to buy out Disney. As much as I hate Comcast (if you know what I do for my real job, you'd understand why I do), I would have not had any faith had they had taken over its operations. I really do think Eisner needs to go, then Disney needs to get some fresh people on board and make its entire operation work.
Kyle L: One of the greatest things about watching construction and following news of parks installing coasters is that there are often times a race to build coasters and improve parks. Most parks in 2004 didn't install any new major coasters. That was sort of a letdown for me because I think that if parks want to get people through the gate, they need to add new thrills to their parks. No, I'm not talking about the lack of Cedar Point or Six Flags Magic Mountain getting anything new for 2004, I'm talking about the smaller parks that haven't gotten anything for years. The neglected parks you might say.
Matt M: SFGAm's new water park. I really hate that addition. The parking is going to be completely messed up now that they killed off the entire side part of the parking lot. Plus, the world’s largest interactive play structure? What is that? I would have expected that somewhere else! I really wish that they invested the money into park improvements or something more useful than that.
Kyle Rehm: What was my biggest news event was also my biggest letdown, when I heard that Hurricane Harbor was announced I thought that was pretty interesting, but I wanted to see what it would offer before I would start jumping for joy. After reading through all of the fine details, the only thing that stood out was a large play place. I’m sorry, but if I want a large play place for children I can go to my local McDonald’s for that. Why no ProSlide Tornado? How about a Master Blaster even? Something? There seems to be no “awe” factor in the new park.

Most room for improvement

Chip: Six Flags Magic Mountain took two years off building anything major: 2003 and 2004. Scream! opened in 2003 but it's a mirror of the first floorless coaster, and it's built over a parking lot. It's not too thrilling, and it's far from the extreme rides Magic Mountain has been building since Riddler's Revenge debuted in 1998. Last year we saw a Tornado water ride built at Hurricane Harbor -- the latest addition to the water park. But the park hasn't spent the two seasons working on existing rides. Superman The Escape still operates one side and doesn't reach 100 mph anymore. Sky Tower and Metro haven't operated in God knows how long. The park needs to start improving park appearance and upkeep instead of adding new attraction after new attraction. Taking a break in 2004 seems to be a step in the right direction.
Steven: Six Flags theme parks need to improve a lot. I really think they grew too big too quickly, and they keep on blaming the weather for everything. It was because of that they sold Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair, and the Six Flags Europe parks to StarParks. Don't get me wrong ... I am not a Six Flags hater. However, I do find it hard to swallow an investment on one park (Kingda Ka and its related attractions at Six Flags Great Adventure, which I estimate in the $30 to $40 million range) when there are so many other parks that look like they need the investment. In addition, they need to invest more in maintenance, upkeep and other aspects of park operations. One thing I am glad is that for once they have an original theme, not something that's been cloned or re-used multiple times. They need to carry this to other parks.
Kyle L: Six Flags Marine World has tons of potential in my eyes. They already have a fairly decent park they have to work with, and they pack crowds in almost every weekend during the summer season. I feel that they have too much unfinished business they could do in the future. Marine World never completed the purchase of the fairgrounds, they still never had added any new radical landscaping and their park management is still sub par. Since Paramount's Great America got rid of Stealth, a lot of Northern California coaster enthusiasts have been seeking Marine World as their park for thrills because Marine World has a wider coaster selection. Marine World packs the people in. They need to fix up the park, manage their coasters better and finish projects they should've done years ago.
Matt M: I am very ignorant in this area, and all I can say is that Six Flags America needs to teach staff how to not say "motherf&@#er' on the loudspeaker, and that Six Flags really needs to skip a coaster and invest the money in making the parks nicer.
Kyle Rehm: Six Flags Great America really needs to work on their staffing issues. This year many rides were closed daily simply because of the fact that the park did not have enough operators. If Six Flags raised their pay rate even slightly, I’m sure that would help attract new hires to help keep the park running like a well-oiled machine. The maintenance department also needs some serious help as their response time to rides that are known problem causers (aka Déjà Vu) can be almost 15 minutes. Oh, and don’t forget, American Eagle needs some new paint, badly.

Looking ahead at 2005
Chip: SheiKra, Kingda Ka, Hydra The Revenge, Italian Job: Stunt Track and Hades all look promising. Powder Keg: A Blast in the Wilderness is taking shape, and it winds in and around the lift hill like crazy. Outside the United States, Rita Queen of Speed and Kanonen bust out Intamin's Rocket Coaster design in Europe. The 2005 season has its share of new designs, record-breakers and just-plain-fun coasters. It will be another good year for coasters.
Steven: I'm sure Busch Gardens Tampa will prosper with SheiKra, America's first dive machine (and the only original design of that type), and I would like to believe that ride becomes a consistent top 10 coaster. I am also hopeful that Dorney Park manages to do well with Hydra, despite the competition from nearby Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. I also believe some parks will make some gutsy moves and announcements to bring in even more visitors, especially with Six Flags. I hold out for the day that they report a profit, actually have an increase in visitors and quit blaming things on the weather. Also, with the United States becoming motorcycle crazy, I would also like to see at least one U.S. park put in a motorcycle-themed coaster. Vekoma may actually have an excellent ride idea they can capitalize on.
Kyle L: I suppose you could say it’s "the year of the Beemer," or in other words: coaster manufacturer Bolliger and Mabillard took this year by storm. Sure Kingda Ka will be the new tallest, fastest coaster in the world, but how about riding one of the most unique coasters in the world? You certainly cannot say that about Kingda Ka, seeing as it has almost a clone-like feel. B&M took their coasters to the next level this year with SheiKra and Hydra. Who would imagine hitting an inversion before you even reach the lift?
Matt M: I honestly don't know what to expect. Hydra, Kingda Ka, Rita, Stealth, the Screaming Squirrel installment, the new custom Vekoma inverted coasters: I really have no idea what to expect, except that we'll be surprised.
Kyle Rehm: The outlook of Six Flags as a company should become interesting in 2005. With quite a few large capital improvements around the Six Flags chain the company is banking on these new attractions to bring in new guests. With Six Flags in its current financial bind, it needs things to turn around fast. It cannot afford another year where park attendance was low due to “weather.” That excuse will really not work this year. Investors want to see black ink, and they want to see it now.