CC's 2009 Project

[Swoosh]

Well like I said, Brad Thomas did not say which park the "attraction that would excite you enthusiasts" was coming too.

Laser would fit in at CC perfectly.

[shavethewhales]

If he was planning it that far in advance though, wouldn't Laser's sale have been a bit late?

Tch, I can't think of a better ride in that price range for them to pick up though... It's a real possibility all around. Hmm, Roaring Falls was announced last year in September right? Or was it October?

[Swoosh]

It was announced when the Season Pass mailing went out.

[sdcforever]

According to Screamscape, it sounds like Laser was bought by a smaller traveling ride group in Germany.  They'll put Laser on the road.  Read about it here:
http://www.screamscape.com/html/dorney_park.htm

Also, there was only one bid for GL's Sky Cabin, and it was of course the winning bid.  That auction closed on the 9th.  I wonder who bought it?  I like the idea of a sky cabin at CC.

[Swoosh]

Yep,  I was rather sad to hear that Laser was not going to stick around closer to home, but alas the coaster is headed "home" to Germany. 

Have not heard anything as to where the skycabin is going to go.

[shavethewhales]

That's really too bad, I almost had my hopes up there for a moment. I guess there's still that other droppel looping on ITAL... but of course it's too late now. Is it possible that they signed on with Gerstauler for a spinning coaster back when the rumors of a G-fighter coming to SDC were flying around? Lance mentioned some sort of deal he heard about between SDC and Gerstauler a long time ago, but who knows where he heard it from.

Anyone know how good attendance has been this year?

[Swoosh]

SDC - down
CC - flat
WWB - flat

at least the last time I heard....
I'll try to get final numbers again once the season is over.

[Johnny Boy]

I just rode Roaring Falls like 3 weeks ago.
I might have said this before, but they should have painted it.
Laser would be a great addition, and if they stuck with the neon color scheme, would fit nicely
with the "Celebration" Theme. Maybe even add a few laser effects? What ever they get, it better not be
another flat ride. [

[shavethewhales]

Better a flat ride than nothing. I'd say right now the prospects of them getting a coaster or anything too large are slim, but you never know... The economy isn't expected to really bounce back on track for another couple of years, so we may be looking at another carnival ride refurbishment, if a ride at all. Given the fact that the park is so often criticized for not having near the shows and shops as SDC, maybe they'll throw something like that in - maybe a partnership with some other entity to bring in a shopping area to the park.

[History Buff]

CC is definitely lacking in the show department.  They must do better than bring in the traveling show catalog.  The laser show is the only permanent, one-of-a-kind show they have.  Here is where they need to invest in order to fill a hole.

[Swoosh]

Why?  The park is not about shows, it is about the family enjoying things together.  If anything they need to add more rides because that is always what I hear people talking about when I am there... definitely not "we need more shows"

SDC = Shows/Shops
CC = Rides.

CC is the "Six Flags" park of Branson and HFEC needs to realize that.
That is why you see so many people there that are looking for RIDES instead of ponying out the $50+ to go to SDC.

[History Buff]

Well, it's off topic, but if CC wants to attract "families" they should look for more quality and less quantity.  If they keep trucking in "carnival" rides from the parking lots of America, they should stop charging admission and just sell ride tickets.  Honestly, unless they "build" rides instead of towing them in, I don't think you'll see this family returning - not when I can stay home and visit the carnival when it comes to town.  They can say they're catering to "families", but they're really only appealing to teens and preteens - that's exactly what keeps many families away.  CC is Branson's Frontier City.  To be Branson's Six Flags, they would have to try harder to create their own genre.

No, I never expected more than that out of Branson U.S.A., but had hoped for more of a Mutton Hollow.  Sorry to sound so negative - this is meant in the spirit of criticism, not argument.

[shavethewhales]

I think CC is in a similar situation to where SDC is. They're toeing a line to please the max. number of people that they can. One one side you have a crowd that never ceases to cry for more thrills, but on the other you have those people that look for quality atmosphere and amenities like shops and shows. It's an even harder line to walk when the economy is in the slumps, gas prices threaten to stab your profits at any time, and the park's profits have been flat-lining just above the black line. What can they do?

Adding small, cheap rides is really the best path for them, from the business point of view. Roaring Falls and the Stinger didn't exactly 'fit' into the park the way we'd like, but they looked great on the billboards and were an extremely cheap to make it seem like the park was making a lot of progress. I couldn't believe the fuss they made over a used Wisdom Tornado - but it worked.

I really want them to go back to the old Herschend standards at all the parks, but until the economy gets back up again and people start driving electric and/or hyper-efficient vehicles, we won't see a whole lot of progress. At least they're still pretty imaginative.

[History Buff]

I disagree.  It is in times like this that the investment should be made.  If they want to attract, they will invest, not hold back.  Why invest in good times - that's when people will come anyway.  And as for creativity, not so much.  They could have themed RF to their decades theme, but they went all out to bring in the Amazon theme.  We all thought that was a strange way to go when they did it; why would we think otherwise now?  The creative route would have made it fit.  Oh well, I've said my opinion and now I'll stop.  I'm glad this isn't CCFans.

[Swoosh]

I'm not sure why we are being so raggy on the fact that they have used carnival rides at CC.  This is no different than most other parks, including the other two big themers in the state WOF and SFStL.  Yes it was used, however I would rather them add that then nothing at all. 

CC is NOT SDC nor was it ever meant to be.  Comparing SDC and CC is apples and oranges, you just cannot do it.  Also no matte what HFEC does there is always going to be someone who doesn't like it -- and not just with HFEC, but anything in general.

I agree that they should be investing now when they need to bring in people and not waiting until people are coming just because they can.  Chances are, even more people from KC will stay in KC to go to WOF and Schlitterbahn next year then coming down to SDC... why?  Because WOF has that shiny new wooden coaster and Schlitterbahn has Master Blaster slides, which WWB does not.... plus Schlitterbahn is brand new, which automatically adds to the draw.

I will be VERY interested to see HFEC's battle plan for the next few seasons. They are pretty much being shut out with KC's market as WOF and Schlitterbahn will throw a pretty good one-two punch -- not to mention that SFStL's Hurricane Harbor is supposedly adding a DELUGE slide next year... not seeing something like that WWB either.  hmmm...