Thursday, August 29, 2013

Flat Rides Make a Comeback at Six Flags Parks in 2014


A nice trend seen in today's announcements is the addition of tradition flat rides to many of the Six Flags parks.  Granted some are much more modern, but the style of the rides being built represent something that you could say had been missing for many years at several parks.

Six Flags New England is going to build the world's tallest tower swing ride, named the New England SkyScreamer.  Granted the ride is big, but still a flat ride at its core.

The New England SkyScreamer will lift passengers up to over 400 feet in the air, swinging them around at speeds reaching 40 miles per hour.  The attraction will be more than twice as tall as any other ride at the park, and will give some astonishing views of the area surrounding Six Flags New England.

Following the success of the Texas SkyScreamer, installed this season at Six Flags Over Texas, the New England version is sure to become an instant landmark for the theme park.


Both Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom will be adding the Tsunami Soaker to their attraction lineups next season.  The interactive water flat ride features a tea cup style motion combined with individual water blasted at each seat.

This style of ride successfully debuted this year at La Ronde, and guests loved the ability to blast other riders as they twirled around - so much that the chain decided to build more of them!

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom also announced that they will now be open year round, including weekends during winter months they previously closed.  Also, due to the exceptional reception to Cirque Dreams Splashtastic this year, the show will return again for next Summer.


Alright, a coaster is not a flat ride, but that's only one of the new additions to Six Flags America in 2014.  Set in a brand new Mardi Gras themed area, the park will add the Ragin Cajun spinning family coaster, along with the French Quarter Flyers, a set of Flying Scooters.

"Guests will discover a celebration every day as snappy jazz and zydeco tunes pour into the streets of Mardi Gras. The entire area will be a party inspired by the energy of New Orleans with delicious foods, exciting games, tasty beverages and fun retail items to match the lively spirit of the South.

“Not one, but two new rides and a completely new look will bring the celebratory style of the Big Easy to Six Flags America,” said Rick Howarth, park president. “The new Mardi Gras area marks a considerable expansion to our excellent collection of rides and a major enhancement to our theming.”

At this point I believe it is still speculation, but the Ragin Cajun coaster could be being moved to Six Flags America from Six Flags Great America.  Six Flags America sounds like they have a promising new area on their hands, with new theming coming along with the two new rides.

The Great Escape is going for thrills next year with the addition of the Extreme Supernova, a pendulum style flat ride.  Seating sixteen passengers with the feet dangling below the gondola, the Extreme Supernova will rotate and swing riders up to 50 feet above the ground, almost inverting them.

To be located near the Comet roller coaster, the new ride is definitely one for thrill seekers.  From the concept art and video on the official website, it appears as though this will be a Zamperla Midi Discovery.

Our friends up North at La Ronde have a new Demon to fear, at least in the form of a flipping new flat ride coming to the amusement park in 2014.

Seated back to back on a giant gondola, riders will be pulled like taffy once the ride begins.  This includes fully inverting riders during the course of the dizzying action.  To make things even more fun, there will be fountains located under the ride that will shoot up at random times, potentially soaking riders.

Two parks will also see their children's areas expanded, including new rides and a general refreshing of the grounds.  Six Flags Over Texas will totally renovate their section for small children, adding new rides and providing more shade and comforts for families.

Six Flags Magic Mountain will also renovate their Bugs Bunny World, and add another kiddie coaster to the mix - the park's 19th overall.  While certainly not for little kids, the park will also run Colossus and Batman the Ride backwards for a limited time during the season.


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