Six Flags Florida - What would you do?
How would a Six Flags do in Florida?
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 3, 2011 at 12:34 AM
How would you design a Six Flags Florida Park? What would be the location, size,and themes?How many attractions, and what types will you have to compete with other Florida parks?
Time to fire up RCT3 i think....
It would have to have at least 5 major rollercoasters and a lot of other good family ones. The problem with Florida parks is there are themed family parks so thrills are not a major focus. Case in point the really thrilling rollercoasters are spread out. Universal does a good job with it's coaster line up but just like Seawworld the there aren't enough coasters and other thrill rides. Busch Gardens unfortunately has a bad location in Tampa being two hours away. They have the best coasters and the most coasters in Central Florida. So Six Flags needs to be located in Orlando. They also need to push the limits of thrill rides. Disney and Universal push the limits of theming so Six Flags has to push thrill rides. It would have all the newest coaster designs and new thrill rides. They would have many thrill rides for people big to small. Six Flags should go the way like Orlando Thrill Park was going for.
http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/new-rides-attractions/la-trb-otp-photo-gallery-20102411-pg,0,6164235.photogallery
By having top and new thrill rides (while still having lots of rides for kids shy and adventurous) this park will bring real thrill junkies out of their shell over to Florida. Also the price should be around 50 dollars since you don't want to be like Seaworld and charge a lot trying to be like Disney.
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 3, 2011 at 6:45 PM
I would put the park in between Orlando and Tampa,probably in the Lakeland area to get tourism from both ends.It would be atleast 250 acres.It would also be themend, unlike alot of the parks.
Gotham City
-The Dark Knight Rises,themed to next years movie.A indTYoor rollercoaster
Mr Freeze,Indoor Rapids Ride Ride through Underground Gotham
Batman The Ride,Invert Rollercoaster.The line would be themed to The Batcave
Batman Arkham Asylum,simulator like Spider-Man or Transformers
CrimeWave,Swing Ride
The Riddler,Looping Rollercoaster.
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 3, 2011 at 6:13 PM
Metropolis
The Daily Planet,Guest will tour the daily planet.It is a Tower of Terror type ride.
Superman Ultimate Flight,Floridas tallest,fastest,and longest flying coaster
Fortress of Solitude,Guest will walkthrough and tour Supermans home, and it will have interactive experince
Escape from Krypton,Indoor Rollercoaster,guest will tour Krypton in the queue,and will make their way to earth.
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 3, 2011 at 6:37 PM
World of Looney Tunes-Kids Section
Willie Coyote Cannon Blast-Family Coaster
Looney-Go-Round,themed merry go round
Bugs Bunny Playland,water play area with two waterslides
Florida USA
Goliath,230ft hypercoaster,makes it the longest and tallest in Florida.
Florida Ice,Standup rollercoaster
Great Floridian Scream Machine,queue themed to famous Florida cities,floorless coaster
Great American Scream Machine,queue themed to different American Periods,Floorless dive coaster
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 3, 2011 at 6:51 PM
Polk Park
Dare Devil Dive Extreme,X2 styled coaster.Queue themed to flight school,with a narrator and preshow
Monster,Wooden rollercoaster
Six Flags Mansion,an illusion walkthrough were everything is out of the ordinary
From chris cona
Posted September 3, 2011 at 10:24 PM
It would be a great idea but I wouldn't put it in orlando I would have it about 1 hour out of orlando and have crazy coasters which they do and make it a big park and family friendly
From David L.
Posted September 4, 2011 at 6:38 AM
Six Flags Over Florida(in keeping with the original six flags themes)... I think the location between Orlando and Tampa would be great. 7 roller coasters seems good as well. I think the part should focus on the best parts(and improving upon them) of every Six Flags park: Great mildly themed coasters, the occasional great dark ride, themed lands, unique water rides, a Loonytoons land, and a score or so of great midway rides. Here's some land ideas:
-DC Universe(like at Magic Mountain)
-Spain
-the Kingdom of Great Britain
-the Confederacy
-France
-the USA
-Florida
-LoonyTune land
I'll flesh out more details later.
From James Rao
Posted September 4, 2011 at 1:29 PM
I don't see how a Six Flags park could work in an already saturated market like Florida. Honestly, the chain has nothing to offer that is not already present. You want state of the art thrill-coasters, then head to Busch Gardens or SeaWorld. You want immersive rides and amazing narrative attractions, then head to Disney or Universal. You want rides for the younger set, then Legoland is on its way. You want midway rides (and goodness, why would you?), then Fun Spot and several other stationary carnivals are there to fill the need.
I would not visit a Six Flags park in Florida unless it was so different from every other Six Flags park that it was like starting a new chain. But then, isn't Magic Mountain already quite a bit different from other SF parks? And how is it faring in Southern California? I believe it has the lowest attendance of any of the major players in the area, and has not been among the top twenty North American parks in years. Heck, even with its 18 (soon to be 17) world class coasters, Magic Mountain's anemic attendance continues to decline as parks like Disney California Adventure, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Knotts Berry Farm grow their fanbase and draw all the attention.
While I appreciate the ideas offered so far, Six Flags has neither the money nor the imagination to compete with any of the already established Florida players and would likely be a huge failure.
Sorry to be such a party-pooper.... =(
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 4, 2011 at 2:21 PM
James, eaWorld has only four rides.I would not say they are state of the art attractions.
From James Rao
Posted September 4, 2011 at 2:29 PM
SeaWorld has many attractions, but only four rides. And we would have to agree to disagree on the caliber of those rides as at least two of them, Kraken and Manta, are considered among the best of their type in the world.
And while Journey To Atlantis could use some refurb love, it is still a top notch ride, not to be missed when visiting SeaWorld.
From Roy Duncan
Posted September 4, 2011 at 3:31 PM
I would make it SFSF. Six Flags South Florida and have it in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area. That metro area could support a mid size park, I think.
I think a Six Flags would do well in Florida, as Florida doesn't really have a "thrill capital" yet.
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 4, 2011 at 7:00 PM
I was a SeaWorld team member, Manta and Kraken are both great attractions, but SeaWorld does not have the attractions to compete.
From James Rao
Posted September 4, 2011 at 7:21 PM
And yet, Tyler, SeaWorld pulls better attendance numbers than any Six Flags park in the world.
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 4, 2011 at 7:54 PM
Lol,True.SeaWorld gets the Disney/Universal spill over.
From James Rao
Posted September 4, 2011 at 8:18 PM
The reason SeaWorld does get some of that Disney/Universal spillover is because it caters to the same family demographic. A Six Flags thrill park would not receive that same benefit.
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 4, 2011 at 8:32 PM
True, but they can adapt.
From David L.
Posted September 4, 2011 at 8:31 PM
The more I think about it, the 6 flags 6 lands(US, Spain, etc...) would be a bad idea since the Confederacy would have to be one and there are still some conflicts that occasionally appear,(at least in south GA).
James, you are right about Six Flags not having enough money, but Imagination? Have you been to a park other than St. Louis? Six Flags magic Mountain has a neat themed area that they have rethemed for DC Comics. Some of the roller coasters are just as good, if not better, than many of the coasters at Busch Gardens, Seaworld, and IOA, (X2, Tatsu, Goliath, Mind Bender, Texas Giant, and more). At least Six Flags Over Georgia also has some great themed rides: Batman, Monster Mansion(better than many disney dark rides), and Crime Wave. If Six Flags takes the best of each of its parks and ups the theme in some areas, then they can create an amazing park rivaling Sea world and Busch Parks in theme and getting close to Disney levels, but like you said, they don't have the money. Six Flags does have the ability to create a world class park in Florida.
I think some of you are missing the point. IF you stick a Six Flags park in the Orlando region (whether it be in the current theme park area of more north towards Busch) then your already sorted for your usual research, demographics and Speheres of Influence because the simple fact is, with the current line up you know that people are ALWAYS going to visit the area. You have a ready made tourism spot just waiting for you to take a bite out of.
Fact is the area works as a family theme park resort adding a Six Flags in there just caters to that same crowd. We went to the parks when my kids were 7 and 8 and yea we did the family rids but they all wanted to ride the thrill rides too and most kids do so i dont see that the argument of "Six Flags doesnt fit with the family theme parks image already established" It will work and would probbably be the most popular in terms of footfall and revenue purely because of its location. That income means that more money can be spent on the park, keeps it looking fresher, keeps the rides updated etc etc. Six Flags Over Florida would, SHOULD be a no brainer IMO.
From James Rao
Posted September 5, 2011 at 6:10 AM
I've been to lots of Six Flags parks (including Magic Mountain - although it has been many years since my last visit). Just this year I added two new Six Flags parks to my resume, Six Flags Over Texas (arguably the best of all the SF parks, IMO) and Six Flags New England (both of which were better than Six Flags Saint Louis, I agree!). The reason I say Six Flags parks lack imagination is that even though there is a minor semblance of theme and decoration, there is no sense of immersion - one never really feels as though they have left the real world behind. Also, I am eluding to the fact that Six Flags does not have an in-house creative team that drives development like Disney, Universal, Busch, and SeaWorld. Without that cohesive imaginative thread, how can Six Flags ever hope to compete with the giants of the industry in Florida?
As for it being a no brainer to build a SF park in Florida - if that was the case, the park would have been built years ago. But again, I point to Magic Mountain and its proximity to Disneyland, Universal, Knotts, SeaWorld, and Legoland as an example. Even with its 18 (soon to be 17) world class coasters, Magic Mountain's attendance has dropped out of the North American top twenty and continues to decline as the other nearby parks grow their fanbase and draw all the attention. Magic Mountain is the shining star in the chain's universe, yet even it cannot compete with the big boys in SoCal - why would it be any different in Florida?
Look, I am all for adding a new Six Flags somewhere, but why not pick an area without such a proliferation of better parks already present? How about Kansas City? Oh yeah... now that would be a slam dunk!
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 5, 2011 at 6:54 AM
As I stated before, Lakeland would be perfect for Six Flags, it sits directly in between Orlando and Tampa.
I think there is a way to get a park in there that could be successful. However, if they don't really pore over the numbers that James alluded to with regards to the California parks, and identify why they are trending that way, then I think it would be ill-advised. They simply couldn't plop down a Six Flags park, and expect it to do well based only on proximity. There are too many quality options in the area.
I like SF parks. . . I've been to SF Great America 7 or 8 times and SF Over Texas twice in the last three years. I addressed the issues I thought the parks had, which I think match some of what James said here, in previous threads. I think if SF management looked really closely (and maybe they have, but their hands are tied), they'd find that these things are at the root of their problems.
Even after all of that, I question whether it would be a good idea. . .
A Six Flags could work in Central Florida but I doubt it. The major problem I see, and I may be naive about this, is that the Orlando theme park market is primarily tourist driven. People go to Universal and Disney so often because they offer multiple parks and many experiences outside the parks (i.e. Shopping and Dining areas not to mention hotels) as well as unique rides. I just see a Six Flags in Orlando as a place where tourists would maybe spend one day of a week long vacation at most. Why come to Orlando for Six Flags when in many cases, there is a Six Flags with probably similar attractions near your hometown? Also, as Six Flags parks are primarily "Iron Parks," I'm not sure how they would fare in the "Sunshine State."
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 5, 2011 at 8:32 PM
Florida is missing a thrill park.
From James Rao
Posted September 6, 2011 at 1:07 AM
I think there are plenty of thrills in Florida. In fact, Florida has one of the highest coaster counts of any of the states besides California.
Furthermore, there's the beach. Why not spend a day or two at the beach during your trip rather than add an amusement park to the mix?
Honestly, if you want to visit a Six Flags park during a Florida vacation, you could just stop off at SF Over Georgia on the drive down....
I'm sure if Six Flags thought they could be successful there they would have tried by now.
Other than theme park fanatics, Six Flags = Six Flags. People aren't going to travel to Florida to do something they can drive to from home.
But if it were to happen, I'd say stick with thrill. "Tallest" "Fastest" "Only one in N America" etc. And near Orlando if it were to be in Central Florida. We'll see how Legoland does so far down 27.
People already travel to Florida and if there were a Six Flags there then people would just add in into their Iternary so in that sense its a ready made patronage. Heck, thats how we went to Sea World the first time. We went to Florida and thought "Why not just go there as well" im sure SF would be the same.
I believe that if the proposed, now-dead-in-the-water Orlando Thrill Park had been built and had become reasonably successful, Six Flags would have bought it and expanded it. I doubt SF would build a park from scratch ANYWHERE in Florida..but I'd never say never.
From Tyler Bell
Posted September 7, 2011 at 8:19 PM
If a park wete to go in the greater Orlando area, where would it go?
I would put a dc universe and in it a flash high speed roller coaster like chetta hunt at Bush Gardens but faster.
A superman ride like manta but better.A batman super rollercoaster the most thrilling ride on Florida.
And a Justice league ride like a the spiderman ride at ioa
A loony toons land where they could put a loony toons ride like toy story midway mania.And a Bugs buny ride like a Expedition Everest.
This discussion has been archived, and is not accepting additional responses.
