What's New in 2019- Coasters and More!

 Welcome to 2019 and the Construction List!
Every year we try to do a comprehensive list of 'Who's Building What' so folks can plan and know what is coming to an amusement park near you. Mostly, we focus on roller coasters but also one the expansions and updates that seem enticing to us, as park visitors.

The list is divided by 'company' which owns the park, for simple searching. It is also, by no means, a complete list of everything.


Busch Gardens

Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Finnegan's Fliers. FlySwatter Ride.
Busch Gardens Tampa: Tigris. Looping Launch Coaster.





Cedar Fair

Canada's Wonderland: Yukon Striker. Steel Dive Coaster.
Carowinds: Copperhead Strike. Steel Sit-down Coaster.




Disney Parks

Walt Disney World- Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Land Expansion with multiple rides.
Disneyland California- Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. Land Expansion with multiple rides.




Dollywood 

Wildwood Grove: Land Expansion. Multiple flat rides.  Inverted, Steel Family Coaster.






Kennywood

Kennywood Park:  Steel Curtain. Steel Sit-down Coaster. Themed after local football team. Small land expansion.








Six Flags

Six Flags Darien Lake: Sky Screamer. Swing Ride.
Six Flags America: Firebird. Steel Floorless Coaster (converted from Stand-up). Relocation from Six Flags Great America.
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom: Batman, The Ride. 4th Dimension Wing Coaster.
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom:  Kentucky Flier. Wooden, Out-and-back coaster.
Six Flags Great America: Maxx Force. Launch Coaster.
Six Flags Great Adventure: Wonder Woman: Lasso of Truth. Spinning Pendulum.
Six Flags Magic Mountain: West Coast Racers. Dueling Launch Coaster.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas: The Joker, Wild Card. Spinning Pendulum.
Six Flags Over Texas: Lone Star Revolution. Single Loop Coaster.
Six Flags New England:  Cyborg. Indoor Spinning Ride.
Six Flags Over Georgia: Pandemonium. Spinning Pendulum.
Six Flags La Ronde: Chaos. Single Loop Coaster.
Six Flags St. Louis: Supergirl. Whirling Wheel Ride.


SeaWorld

Seaworld San Diego: Tidal Twister.  Steel, Dueling Coaster.
Seaworld Orlando: Sesame Street Land. Expansion. Multiple flat rides and family rides.
Seaworld San Antonio: Sesame Street Party Parade. Interactive Parade for Families.

Wicked Cyclone Construction Further Along at Six Flags New England

This past weekend, the folks at SFNE Online were invited out to the park for an up close and personal look, as part of the American Coaster Enthusiast Great Nor'Easter event, at the RMC rework of the park's famous Cyclone roller coaster.

Not only did they get the chance to get up close and personal with the construction site but also with the new trains, delivered only a couple of weeks ago. Overall, this thing is shaping up to be one insane ride and definitely going to be interesting to check out in the future.

For now, here's a few pictures of the progress and the trains that will grace the tracks of Wicked Cyclone!

Wicked Cyclone Construction at Six Flags New England Plowing Through Winter

Cold weather be damned, the Rocky Mountain Construction team that's up at Six Flags New England has been trucking along. Even with the bitterly cold temps and the recent snow, though it wasn't that much, things look to be fairly on schedule so far.

No matter how some folks feel about this recent trend with Six Flags as a whole, it's definitely interesting to watch them take what was once a beloved wooden coaster and transform it into something all together insane and alien, gotta say that.

So, anyway, let's get on with the pictures of the current status of things as posted up yesterday by some of the crew on site!

Six Flags Magic Mountain- Colossus Fire and Partial Collapse

Image from KNBC

Six Flags Magic Mountain- Colossus On Fire and Partial Collapse

 Six Flags Magic Mountain hasn't had much luck with their roller coasters lately. Less then two months ago, Ninja had an accident where a tree collapsed onto the track- Now Colossus get's even for it's RMC Re-make.

Image from @tslauson7 on Twitter

The iconic coaster which is closed for a make-over by Rocky Mountain Coasters has caught fire and partly collapsed today at Six Flags Magic Mountain today between 1:30 and 2:00 pm. A portion of the lift hill was lost along with what appears to be a decent section of supports.Some reports are saying the full section of the track collapsed, right now we're not entirely sure of the true damage.

 Construction on 'Twisted Colossus' has already begun and fans believe that the addition of the new steel rails is what likely caused the very dry wood to catch fire. Thankfully Six Flags Magic Mountain was closed today and there was no chance of injury to park guests.

 No word exists right now on what started the fire, nor has Six Flags released any kind of statement over the matter. There is also no word on if this will delay the 2015 opening of "Twisted Colossus'.

Justice League: Battle for Metropolis Coming to Six Flags Over Texas and St. Louis!

In a bit of a weird twist, the newest interactive dark ride additions to the Six Flags parks is actually coming to two parks for 2015. Both Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis will be getting Justice League: Battle for Metropolis as their new attractions.

Sorry, no new coasters, but this one definitely looks like an interesting spin on things as well.

“Introducing a dark ride that combines this level of technology and the popular DC Comics brand will bring an unmatched, interactive experience to our guests in 2015,” stated Tom Iven, senior vice president of U.S. park operations for Six Flags. “The addition of JUSTICE LEAGUE: BATTLE FOR METROPOLIS is another example of our company’s commitment to delivering new and innovative thrills in every park, every year.”

The pair represent a first for Six Flags and definitely nice to see more dark rides out there. So, what's the whole story behind this? Well, here's the rundown from the park on just what riders will get to experience before and during their ride through the Hall of Justice and the rest of the 20,000sqft attractions:

After touring the fully immersive 3D Hall of Justice, you’ll receive your very own stun gun to battle the bad guys then it’s a swift ride through a dazzlingly designed Metropolis cityscape, deep into the shadows of Lex Corp. Lifelike animatronics, cutting edge special effects, 3D video, eye-popping graphics, real-time gaming and a mind-tingling sound-scape make this journey to justice an utterly interactive experience. Will you help SUPERMAN and BATMAN rescue the other members of the JUSTICE LEAGUE from Lex Luthor’s and The Joker’s evil plans? Join the JUSTICE LEAGUE Reserve Team today to save your favorite superheroes!

For anyone that's ridden Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Orlando, the concept is pretty much the same as here. Well, except for the 3D part that is. So, now that we know the details, here's a little video of what to expect as well. Interesting thing to note, the ride cars in the video aren't the ones that will be used for the ride at all, they only seat four people and the ones at Six Flags will seat six.


Stay tuned for more updates from the rest of the Six Flags parks as more announcements have been released about projects for 2015 at every park!

More Clues about Six Flags Fiesta Texas' 2015 Plans

Six Flags Fiesta Texas is definitely up to something and recent observations, along with the park's own postings, have only confirmed such. There's also some rumors as to just where this new ride might be going in as well.

Now, I'm not nearly as familiar with the Texas Six Flags parks, so bare with me a little on this one. If there's any info you can give, please let us know in the comments!

So with that said, let's take a look at the newest clues. The first comes in the form of a tweet sent out the park saying that Rockville Reality was having a little big of a snake problem...

Rockville Realty is having problems finding buyers due to a snake problem. Sounds like we need MK Bozer. #SFFT2015 pic.twitter.com/JJBRCGPOD3
— Fiesta Texas (@SF_FiestaTexas) July 26, 2014

Now, the park already has Iron Rattler so the snake bit fits there. However, diving a little more and calling the number in the picture that accompanied that tweet revealed a little more information. As it would turn out, Rockville is getting set for a "renovation and renewel project" and hints at a "thrilling challenge" as well as "making history". 

Not much to go on, but definitely hinting at a new attraction coming to the section of the park. So far it seems like it'll be a thrill ride at least, would imagine that it's going to be a coaster of some kind. However, there are many flat rides that reach the earlier mentioned height of 92.5ft at as well.

It's from here that things get a little more interesting. In another clue, they seem to be hinting at something that dips and dives, also why I believe this is going to be a coaster.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas Teases 2015 Project with Huge Balloon!

Not to be left out of the insane 2015 building spree that's going on, Six Flags Fiesta Texas has hinted at their next project as well.

Last night they posted a picture on Twitter showing off a huge balloon floating high above the park with 2015 written on the side of it. The interesting thing about it is that they mentioned the height of the balloon, 92.5'. Seems too short for a coaster, though some are only that height, but could be something entirely different as well.

Here's the Tweet that was sent out;

Wow... You can see #SFFT2015 from everywhere! If I were to guess, I think the balloon is flying at a height of 92.5'. pic.twitter.com/8X0UWM5EtX
— Fiesta Texas (@SF_FiestaTexas) July 24, 2014

Seems like a peculiarly accurate statement to make, so anything other than height I'd be suspect on. Some are thinking maybe drop angle if it were a coaster, but there's really no telling what this could be right now. We'll just have to wait and see what other clues come out of the park in the coming weeks and months and hope that we get an answer sooner rather than later!

Six Flags Over Texas Begins Teasing 2015 Project

Just last night Six Flags Over Texas began hinting at a new project for 2015, joining the ranks of several other parks that are also building something new.

Now, there's really nothing else other than the image that they released on Twitter. Could a new coaster be in the works? It will have been 4 years since their newest and that was just an overhaul of Texas Giant by RMC in 2011. Their last actual new coaster was Tony Hawk's Big Spin in 2008, now known as Pandemonium.

So, just what are they planning down in Texas? Anything goes so feel free let your imagination run wild and I'm sure that we'll be getting news of what's to come soon enough. For now? Here's all we have to go by...

Six Flags Magic Mountain- Colossus Goodbye Party

Six Flags Magic Mountain- Colossus Goodbye Party

 Six Flags Magic Mountain and local radio station ALT 98.7 are hosting a 'Goodbye Party' for their famous and now doomed wooden roller coaster, Colossus.

 The wooden coaster made famous by being featured in several movies, most notably as the "Screaming Mimi" in 'National Lampoons Vacation'. The ride was built in 1978 and like many great wooden coasters from Six Flags Parks, has suffered a lack of maintenance in order to be made over by Rocky Mountain Coasters into something easier to maintain (we hope).

  Tickets are $36 per person and the event happens this Saturday, July 26th. The event will feature exclusive night rides from 11pm until 3am. No other details are available if anything else will be open during this time.

 You can purchase tickets though the Six Flags Magic Mountain Website (Click for link).

Six Flags Magic Mountain Reopens Ninja

Officials from Six Flags Magic Mountain have announced that the suspended swinging coaster, Ninja, has reopened following an accident that took place about two weeks ago.

According to Six Flags spokeswoman, Sue Carpenter, on Friday; "After a thorough inspection by Cal/OSHA, Ninja has been cleared to reopen for operation."

The official investigation of the accident by California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health, has also revealed the actual events that took place as well.

“A tree had fallen against the ride track and a train had struck the tree, severing its right front wheel and causing the front axle to derail. The train continued approximately 30 feet further, stopped, and then rolled backward 20 feet before coming to a final rest with the front coach hanging on an angle,” said Peter Melton, a spokesman for California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

As a result, a total of 6 riders were injured in the accident. Four of them were treated at the park for minor injuries while two others were taken to hospital for further evaluation. None of the injuries were considered severe or life threatening.

Ninja received it's final inspection on Saturday, July 19th and opened later that day for guests, sans the train that was damaged. This is likely to mean the coaster will remain on one train operation for quite some time until it can be repaired.

Of course, considering the rarity of these types of coasters, it may never be and continue with one train for the rest of its life within the park.

Park Review- Six Flags Magic Mountain

Hello peoples! So, yes this review is months behind BUT there are reasons for that. Most of which have to do with that no one wanted to write it, but since it was decided that I'm "good with the bad" here I am. 

Let me start with the obvious: we were not invited by Six Flags nor given passes so my opinions are my own. We did ask for media passes, but according to the park you need a certain type of credential that is given to TV and Newspaper reporters and the City of Pittsburgh does not require nor issue.

DATE: March 9, 2014

STAFF: +Carrie H.C., +Kitsune Hazard, and myself.

RATING: Broken heart

RECOMMENDATION: Until the MANY issues are taken of; it's a pass.

We started off our morning super excited for the park, we all wanted to do was ride X2 and Colossus.  As you pull into the parking lot you can see the coasters just laid out for the picking and see the fire effects on X2 going off.  We park, grab the cameras (no filming of ANY type is allowed on rides, so no need for the Go-Pro, or so we thought), and head for the tram.
We get into the park, set our plan for the day, and start out.

The first order of business is riding Revolution, the first looping coaster in the world.  As we walked up to the entrance you can clearly see that this ride needs a good cleaning, it is very very rusted.  The ride itself also needs some help because one of the ride cars didn't even line up with the station queues.  In summing up the ride: "Ow Ow Ow pain Ow."

After dropping some pain killers, and cracking joints back into place, we headed to Tatsu.  

This coaster is a B&M flying coaster with a dual load station and a queue that included TVs playing classic Looney Tunes. At the entrance everyone is given a numbered ticket so you can't line jump and if you leave and reenter then new ticket for you. So the wait was a hour and a half, but since we wouldn't be back out to California for a while, it would not be skipped. We played phone charades to pass the time when it finally kicked into our consciousness that we hadn't moved in a while nor had we heard a train move either. It had now been two hours when the ride ops finally decided to mention that Tatsu went down about 45 minutes ago and there was no ETA on reopen. We made the decision to continue on with our day.

Next came the "Big Hill of Death" so we could ride Ninja*. I think Kitsune got the biggest laugh watching Carrie and I walk up this hill, you really have to work for the ride. The theming that was left was wonderful; it was supposed to be a temple. But unfortunately this was also left to deteriorate, you could see where tapestries had once hung from the ceiling and the ones hanging on the walls weren't in great condition. The ride was fun and probably would've been cooler if the water effect was working.

We worked our way down the "Big Hill of Death" and over to their mine ride called Goldrusher.  While this surprising little ride was fun and very fast, the ride ops were distracted and not doing their jobs, one ride op was on their cell phone and didn't notice the couple in front of me that pulled out their cell phone, IN THE STATION RIGHT IN FRONT OF OPS! (trust me a few looked right at his big ass phone and waved), and commenced taping the ride. I spent much of the ride praying that the guy didn't let go and that I wouldn't get a face full of phone. When we got back to the station there were many, many unhappy words.

Finally it was lunch time and it was recommended to us to try JB's BBQ; which we did and it was really really good. Almost surprisingly so, which was a bit funny since most people seem to complain about the food, at least that's what some regulars to the park told us afterwards. While eating we adjusted our plans for the rest of the day.

Apocalypse: Down.

So we headed into DC land because Batman was running backwards...for season pass holders only.  You had to walk up the to ride line to find this out from the park employee; it wasn't posted at the park entrance and since the coaster is in the back of the park it's unfair to guests to not have that out there.  Apparently their stores here also only cater to the main four: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash.  With only the Joker as the only villain making a major appearance.  FYI Six Flags: DC Comics has a huge variety of heroes and villains...take your pick. 

I will give them some credit here because the theming was straight out of a comic book and with a little knowledge you could find Dick Tracy's office and other little tidbits mixed throughout the area. Definitely a nice touch to see.

After walking past Scream and vetoing it (we've ridden these types before so why wait and ride it again?) we came to Colossus. This where Carrie and I said "To hell with this" in regards to our day at the park. 

Now understand that it is a great woodie and was a fun ride, but there was epic line jumping going on and as people were leaving the ride station and even going up the ride hill there were cameras, cell phones, and we think a DS out filming. 

Kitsune pulled out his camera and got photo proof of the passengers going up the ride hill holding camera.  There was no way in hell that the main ride operator could miss it because there are cameras filming you as you go up the hill.  They just didn't care about it and trust me there was epic bitching in line about us being told no filming of any kind and yet this is going on.

This led us to go to share our grievances with Guest Services.  It was here we learned that X2, Tatsu, and Apocalypse had been down pretty much all day; Superman was off and on all day; and here was where we found the sign saying that Batman was closed to the general public.  The woman working was very nice and understanding, but she did try to brush us off regarding her employees actions until it was mentioned that we had photographic evidence from Colossus, which we gladly showed to her.  You could see the poor woman go pale looking at the photos, once of which you can see to the right.


She gave us exit passes, three for rides of our choosing (except Batman), one for Tatsu, and one for X2 (should they come back up).  We chose Goliath, Superman, and Green Lantern.

We headed toward the park's people mover: Orient Express instead of walking up the big damn hill again. Since Superman is on it's own platform the overlook is a hell of a view, but that's all we got to enjoy since right when we got to the ride, mind you again we had to walk all up to the queue line, before the employee standing there decided to tell us that Superman went down again. 

As we were walking away we at least told others so that they knew what was going on.

Since we were already in DC land we headed for Green Lantern, which is a weird little 4D coaster.  Seriously, look this ride up sometime and watch it because riding it is even weirder. The cars only seat four and we are three, I choose to ride with the group of three already in a car because it made life a little on the ride ops.  Lucky me I sat on the side the went down first and I screamed bloody murder, suddenly I'm facefirst looking at the ground.  Kitsune and Carrie have said they were in the station waiting to go (it runs only one car at a time) and I was so loud that they knew when I went over. This was a surprisingly fun little coaster and we are glad we picked it for a freebie.

We used our last exit pass and went straight to Goliath. I loved the ride entrance signage and theming and this was a wondrous coaster and we thoroughly enjoyed our night ride. 

I think the funnest bit with this ride was the kid that bullshited his way on with us, no Flashpass or exit pass just straight bullshit. It was very impressive to be honest but not something we endorse, get on a ride honestly.

 
At this point the park was closing down for the night and as we were heading out we had to walk past Full Throttle; Magic Mountain's new coaster.  Since most park close lines at the end of the day and cycle the riders left we didn't think we'd get on especially because there were fences up and security standing there but nope..we walked right past them and into the line. This was probably the most entertaining line of the day and none of us will ever look at Power Rangers the same again.

But, here again were ride ops and security issues because when riders would get off the ride they would just get right back into the now closed line. And it's not like they couldn't see it happening because the area in front of Full Throttle is wide open and people were running to get back in line with security standing right there. This was a great closer to a really crappy day because the coaster has a loop that it goes through, a part where you get launched backwards, and for the finish it travels on top of the world's largest loop too.

By the end of day we were disappointment all around and except for the bare minimum which we used for food we spent no money. None. We just wanted to put the day behind us and move on.

FINAL COUNT: Over the whole day a total of 7 coasters went down and stayed down or went down and came back up repeatedly. This is nearly half of Magic Mountain's coasters breaking IN ONE DAY!

PROS: The good was stated above where it needed to be.

CONS: Horrible ride ops, dirty bathrooms, dirty walkways, signs for stores that no longer exist, general employees who don't know their own park when asked for directions, foliage WAY too close to rides, general unsafety all around.

To close, we do not recommend this park until they get their shit together and clean up the rides, staff, and the environment for the safety of all involved.

As usual we try to find the bright side of things but Magic Mountain made this rather difficult.

You can find us on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr reporting on the latest news and updates from amusement and theme parks around the world!

*Yes, we at  ISI have heard about the accident at SFMM and that's one of the reasons to get this out there so that people can see how much this park needs work. Please read about the Ninja accident here: Article 1 and Article 2.

*Updated* Six Flags Magic Mountain- More Info about "Ninja" Coaster Accident

Image from Reddit User Ohkaythxbi

*Updated* Six Flags Magic Mountain- More Information about "Ninja" Coaster Accident.

 Well, I've managed to dig up some more information about yesterdays 'Ninja" roller coaster derailment which happened at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

 I try to tell people the power of the internet but often they discount it. Well, the Reddit community was on top of this accident due to an unfortunate problem- one users sister was on the ride.  Thankfully she wasn't injured but doesn't wish to speak about the accident at this time. OhkayThxBi also gave me permission to use the photos which where posted up to the forum which give us a much better idea of what really happened.

 From this photo, taken by his sister while on the ride. You can clearly see the front car is nearly completely off the tracks. It appears to be hanging from the back wheel set, which is keeping it attached to the track. You can also see the rest of the cars are left at an odd angle.

 This image also showed up but I haven't been able to re-trace it back but it shows that a massive tree fell onto track. While Six Flags and the News Stations are attempting to play this off as "a tree branch or tree limb" we can clearly see, that is NOT the case.

 It's a tree, a complete tree which fell onto the empty track. Which when the ride was dispatched, struck the tree and caused the derailment. This goes a long way to show just how much negligence is really found at Magic Mountain, which we saw with our own eyes back in March. The park was not well kept, especially on the mountian which houses both the Ninja Roller Coaster and Superman: Great Escape.

 The mountain was highly overgrown, with tree limb nearly touching the track of Nina to begin with.. and this was back in March. It was fairly clear that Horticulture isn't high on their priority list, this accident which likely could have been avoided, shouldn't have happened. Add into this completely disinterred ride operations employees and your looking at a disaster.  Honestly, we saw ride operators ignoring their jobs and the park rules. People with camera's and cell phones on the rides (not GoPro Units, Hand-held cameras and call phones) being allowed to ride. Ride Operators ignoring questions, chatting with each other and ignoring riders, eating and talking on their own cell phones.

  Although due to this accident, I'm concerned for the fate of Ninja. Six Flags doesn't have a great track record and Suspended-Swinging coasters are 'out of fashion'. Their also hard to maintain and keep in running order, with one train likely totaled the fate of the ride could be grim.

 I also wouldn't be surprised if many other parks suddenly scramble today to trim back trees and brushes around roller coasters.

As always, more information when we find out about it..

Six Flags Magic Mountain- "Ninja" Coaster Derails after Hitting Tree

Image from KTLA

 Six Flags Magic Mountain- "Ninja" Roller Coaster Hit By Tree, Derails.

 Honestly, I hate writing this damn 'shock' headlines and I hate it more when their the truth. Double this level of hate when it's one of the few rides at Magic Mountain I enjoyed. Sadly, tonight that's exactly the type of news I'm having to report.

*Breaking News* - Zoomanjaro Passholder Event Cancelled, July 4th Opening Questionable!

Looks like Six Flags Great Adventure has a bit of a problem on their hand with their newest ride, Zoomanjaro: Drop of Doom.

According to the park, they had to cancel their media event that was scheduled earlier today and the season passholder preview tomorrow. The reason? Well, it appears that the state of New Jersey hasn't fully inspected the ride and given clearance for the park to open it. Oops!

While the folks at Great Adventure are no doubt trying to get this little hiccup resolved, it brings the full opening that is planned for Friday, July 4th into question. Here's to hoping that they can things taken care of, but knowing how these things work, it could be a long shot and I wouldn't bank on it happening.

UPDATE 7/6/14: Turns out Six Flags Great Adventure was able to get the permits necessary and the ride was able to be opened on July 4th to the public as planned.

Why do I say that? Well, the park itself has come out and said that they would be rescheduling the passholder event and that likely means the media event as well on Twitter.

Stay tuned for a new date for #zumanjaro season pass holder preview day! #worldstallest
— Great Adventure (@SFGrAdventure) July 2, 2014

Since those two things usually happen before they officially open the ride, it's safe to say they wont' have it open this weekend at all.

Stay tuned for more updates on this as the info reaches our ears!

World's Tallest Drop Ride - Zoomanjaro: Drop of Doom - Opening Announced!

After a bit of a delay, the folks at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey have announced that their record breaking drop ride, Zoomanjaro, will open this coming weekend!

Yep, that's right, for those brave enough to take the 415ft plunge at speeds of 90mph, your wait is almost over.

On Friday, July 3rd, the ride will be open for a preview event that is limited to Season Passholders. Then, on July 4th, it'll be open for everyone to experience the insanity of it all.

The ride, attached to the support structure for the world's tallest and fastest roller-coaster, Kingda Ka, should definitely be one helluva experience for all those who are brave enough. Here's to hoping that high winds don't keep this one closed like they can Kingda Ka at times.

Curious of what it'll be like? We got ya covered. Here's POV from one of the recent test runs that Six Flags Great Adventure!


While we're not sure if we'll be making it to Six Flags Great Adventure this year, we'd love to hear of your experience on Zoomanjaro if you do go. Comment and let us know what you think of it and of your ride if you do go!

Colossus ERT for Honda Owners This Friday!

With the close of Colossus coming up fast on August 26th, that's in less than two months, the folks from SoCal Honda have teamed up with Six Flags Magic Mountain to get some ERT in starting at 9:30am this Friday, June 27th. Apparently this is part of the much wider "Helpful Fridays" campaign that they've been doing at the park as well.

In addition to the ERT on Colossus, Scream will also be open earlier as well for Honda owners. Yeah, that's right, have to own a Honda to get on the deal. So if ya do, or you know a friend that does, might wanna look into it. Not to mention the first 50 Honda owners get free parking and lockers for the day too. Really can't go wrong with that one there.

They will also be in the park with helpfulness for all thrill-seekers with helpful essentials like misters to help beat the heat, Bugs Bunny Bucks to help guests save money in the park, and more. Who doesn't like saving money, right? 

Need help finding the restrooms or directions on how to get to Colossus, taking a family photo, or have a dead cell phone that needs a charge from one of the Helpful Honda charging stations?  The Guys in Blue have you covered; just look out for the blue shirts!  Six Flags guests will be able to enjoy helpfulness from the SoCal Honda Dealers every Friday all summer until August 29th, for both Honda drivers and all thrill-seekers.

Reminds me a little of the stuff that Six Flags has done with Discover Card, letting folks into the park early and the like as well, but on a much grander scale. Definitely a fun thing and pretty cool if you or someone you know happens to own a Honda.

Either way, if you're so inclined, you can find out more at Six Flags or by following @HelpfulHonda on Twitter and via their Facebook page as well.

Six Flags New England to Close Cyclone July 20th

Photo by: John A. Hunt via ACEonline.org

ACE News Now has reported that Six Flags New England will be closing the iconic wooden coaster, Cyclone, on July 20th of this year to make way for a new attraction in the future.

The coaster, only 31 years old, has been a favorite for coaster lovers since it's opening in 1983.

To mark the occasion, Six Flags New England will be hosting a special Exclusive Ride Time on July 20th from 9pm-10pm for season pass holders only.

Additionally, from 10pm-10:30pm there will be a special, private ERT event for American Coaster Enthusiasts members as well. You'll have to present your ACE membership cards to gain access to the final farewell event.

At this point it's unclear what could be taking it's place, but there seems to be an alarming trend rippling through Six Flags operated parks with their wooden coasters as of late. While I doubt that Cyclone will be getting a Rocky Mountain Coasters update like many of their others, the chain does seem to be getting ride of their classic wooden coasters. Definitely not a good trend at all, but at least they are sending this one off somewhat properly. 

Six Flags Great America Confirms Opening Date for Goliath!

Six Flags Great America has confirmed that their newest monster of a coaster, Goliath, will be finally opening to the public this coming Thursday, June 19th. Yep, that's right, in just a few days riders will at last be able to experience the newest creation from Rocky Mountain Coasters.

Breaking 3 world records, Goliath is the park's 13th coaster and features a ton of unique elements never before seen on a wooden coaster. The ride features three over-banked turns, dive loop, a zero-G stall, a negative G stall, and two tunnels. Top that off with the fact that it's the tallest, steepest and fastest wooden coaster in the world and you've got one helluva combination there!

Now, if you're curious as to what it's like to ride this world record breaking coaster, here's the official POV from Six Flags Great America!

Rumor Mill - Six Flags Great Adventure to get a New Coaster for 2015?

Rumors are circulating that Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ could be preparing to build a new coaster for the 2015 season. This would fit in line with the park needing something new in the coaster end of things, especially with so many other parks opening new rides and attractions this year.

That said, it's hard to pin down just what they might do at this point. There's a lot of options a park like Great Adventure can go with.

Screamscape seems to be on the line of thinking that they could go with a Rocky Mountain Coaster of some kind, maybe similar to Six Flags Great America's Goliath. Would be interesting and with Rolling Thunder being gone, the park only has one wooden coaster. There's a ton of other options out there too which would work for the park. Since the departure of Batman & Robin: The Chiller, there hasn't been a launch coaster in the park for quite a long while either. Maybe something similar to Cheetah Hunt or something along those lines? It's definitely possible. Another likely choice would be a wing coaster like Gatekeeper at Cedar Point. Not sure I'd be 100% happy with that, but anything could happen.

The only other question would be, where to put it? Well, I'm kind of with Screamscape here on this one as well. The back of the park doesn't have a lot going on for it these days and it's been a really long time since new blood was infused into that area at all. Definitely could see something happening either towards Nitro or even near the old ski show area too. If the rumor of the RMC coaster that "goes under the lake" is true, it would have to be back somewhere in either area.

All we know right is that this is a rumor and until further details come out from Six Flags about this, all we can do is speculate. Hopefully we'll find out more concrete information on this in the near future!

Six Flags Great America- Goliath Opening Delayed.

Image from Screamscape

Six Flags Great America- Goliath Opening Delayed by Park.

 For those of us who've been watching the construction of Goliath closely, this isn't much of a surprise.

 The newest wooden coaster which will feature full inversions has been delayed. Six Flags Great America has stated they need more time to complete the complex ride going into their Chicago amusement park.  So far the park hasn't yet announced a new 'opening date' for the ride, although as far as I can tell the roller coaster is still set for a 2014 opening season (according to the Six Flags Great America website).

Image from Screamscape

 Construction on this coaster has been slow going at best and stalled at the worst. The bitter winter played a large factor is delaying the start of construction. In addition to the complex nature of the roller coaster and steal track, this seems to have slowed the park down even more.

 Right now, you can see the full inversion and parts of the lift hill but you'll notice plenty of the rides key elements are still not even off the ground level.

 While we don't have any information about how delayed the progress is nor when the ride is now slated to open- we'll report back when more information is available!