SDC's 2017 Project(s) and Park Developments

[mhguy77]

I hope they really carefully remove trees and dont clear cut like the Wildfire setting.  Great coaster but ugly landscaping.
Also the removal of trees loosens the soil in the area.  Thats a fairly steep hill in places and slides are not unheard of.   I know in Northern Ar.  We have so little top soil they cant afford to let any of it erode away, we have had major roads closed because of slides, the fix seems to be coating the land with large white rocks.  For this reason and really for the beauty of the park SDC PTB, dont rape the land for your coaster.
Stepping down from soapbox.

BTW PTB, we are really excited about your new ride!

[mhguy77]

Second, once track begins arriving, would seeing it alone give us the ability to discern whether or not this is a winged or dive coaster, or any other variety for that matter?

I believe the gauge of the track........Swoosh can you clarify this ?
I would not be excited with a dive coaster, its a 1 trick pony and SDC has been wise enough ( discounting Buzzsaw Falls) to hang any rides on "one trick" Thoughts?

[HumphreyHawk]

I'm not buying any 2020 hype yet.....I just starting to believe something will happen next year....lol

I read these and other forums as OR was being speculated and vividly remember the 'insider' claims about what was coming and it was only step 1 of all the 'bigger' installs for the next few years.

[BackInTime]

I also recall a similar 'insider' claim definitively stating that OR would NOT be a record breaker. How did that pan out?

[Swoosh]

I'm not buying any 2020 hype yet.....I just starting to believe something will happen next year....lol

I read these and other forums as OR was being speculated and vividly remember the 'insider' claims about what was coming and it was only step 1 of all the 'bigger' installs for the next few years.

All long term plans are fluid.  In fact even this coaster (which has been planned for awhile) was on the verge of being pushed back to 2018 until earlier this year.  Regarding the steps you mentioned, when the initial post was made there were plans in motion and then the economy collapsed.  One of those projects was canceled forever (there's an interesting story there) and others were postponed (we are now seeing the 3rd of that trio come to fruition). 

Also, when OR originally was being planned it wasn't going to be a record breaker.  That didn't come along until later in the process when RMC and the park decided to push the envelope.  FWIW, the end product of OR looks nothing like the original plan. 

[Swoosh]

Second, once track begins arriving, would seeing it alone give us the ability to discern whether or not this is a winged or dive coaster, or any other variety for that matter?

I believe the gauge of the track........Swoosh can you clarify this ?
I would not be excited with a dive coaster, its a 1 trick pony and SDC has been wise enough ( discounting Buzzsaw Falls) to hang any rides on "one trick" Thoughts?

Yeah the gauge of the track is wider for dive to accommodate the wider trains.  The ties on the track are also different for the various styles of coaster. 

Dive coasters are fun and it would still be a rare style in the USA

[HumphreyHawk]

I have absolutely no insider knowledge....just using my common sense....I would guess that the park is constantly putting together a wide variety of options year after year that includes both immediate and long-term capital investments.  Probably just comes down to the timing of what ideas are best received as the capital dollars come together every year.  Long-term ideas would tend to get vetted out year over year depending on the money available and/or changes in creative direction. 

All that to say....until they start building....its just fun to speculate from the rumors that are posted....don't make things personal cause even the parks plans change up to a rides opening day.

Famous project manager quote is....."Plans are Useless.....but Planning is in Priceless"  (think it was an Eisenhower quote about planning battles in WW2)

[shavethewhales]

As Shave pointed out, I think it would be foolish to take anything posted here as a presumptive fact. As recently as OR, there were posts shared insinuating aspects of that ride as a virtual certainty, which turned out to be completely false (by a long shot, I might add), once the ride was completed.

Everything is speculative until an official announcement, or we see indisputable physical evidence to support it.

All that said, I have a few questions. First, is there a legitimate description used to categorize a "family" coaster? I've seen rides like Wild Eagle described as such, but in my book, a family coaster immediately takes me to a more tame ride built to accommodate a broader audience. For me, TNT and Fire Chaser are more legitimate "family" coasters.

Second, once track begins arriving, would seeing it alone give us the ability to discern whether or not this is a winged or dive coaster, or any other variety for that matter?

Lastly, why is anyone assuming the 2017 attraction is not a dive coaster, and that a dive coaster is coming in 2020? We don't even know what's being built as we speak, let alone what might be coming in three and a half years.

The "family coaster" term is another that is often abused and can mean whatever the given entity wants. These days just about every coaster that is built is referred to as a family coaster unless they are specifically going for the thrill seeker demographic. I mean, a family can ride any B&M together once the kids hit puberty and are tall enough, so why not market it as a family experience? When we call something a family coaster though, we typically mean something <45 mph, without any inversions or huge drops. Essentially something a small child would be able to ride, but not so small to be just a kiddie coaster. TNT could barely squeak into that category, but Firechaser Express really is the archetype family coaster in my mind.

Recall that SDC sent out a survey clearly describing a B&M dive coaster and a Mack spinner/looping coaster. If they are pondering a Dive coaster for their next big project after this one, then this one surely can't be a dive coaster.

And yes, plans are fluid and rumors come and go for all kinds of reasons. You can't trust any info until you see the track actually arrive.

[BackInTime]

Selfishly, I pray to God we aren't getting a spinning coaster. I personally don't like much of anything in the spinning camp, and I think it would appeal to a somewhat limiting demographic, too. Of course, that's just my opinion. It would be interesting to know what the results of the survey revealed. Based on how novel the dive coaster category still seems to be in the US, combined with the success and reliability of WF, I would be inclined to believe that HFEC and SDC would favor looking to B&M again to keep the current park momentum going. Excited to find out.

[sdcfan88]

Selfishly, I pray to God we aren't getting a spinning coaster. I personally don't like much of anything in the spinning camp, and I think it would appeal to a somewhat limiting demographic, too. Of course, that's just my opinion. It would be interesting to know what the results of the survey revealed. Based on how novel the dive coaster category still seems to be in the US, combined with the success and reliability of WF, I would be inclined to believe that HFEC and SDC would favor looking to B&M again to keep the current park momentum going. Excited to find out.

Agreed with these points. Not a fan of spinners myself and I think it would be wise for the park to take what was great about WF and crank it up a notch. WF is still my favorite coaster in the park. At least until next year. lol

[Madtwins]

I really hope it's not a spinning coaster too.  I'm ready to get there and see the progress.  My family loves TNT and I'm really hoping that TNT gets some extra tlc since this new coaster is gonna be right next to it.  And sdcfan I hope the ptb take your ideas for TNT lol

[Dewayne]

Will the coaster go sideways, backwards, or any other way except the way you are facing (forward)?

[Swoosh]

The 2017 coaster will not be a spinner and will face forward the duration of the ride.  Now who knows about the 2020 coaster, but for now I'd say not. 

[Duelist]

Changing from the original plan for a ride is definitely nothing new for the park.  Didn't Fire in the Hole's original idea name it The Devil's Den and had nothing to do with Baldknobbers?

[mammalone]

Exciting stuff. Like sdcfan88 posted awhile ago, I'm also a little skeptical that the plot of land isn't large enough to at least support a coaster the size of Wild Eagle. But if it is interacting with TNT then maybe it will be. Who knows. I just thought it would be bigger. However, the terrain may prove me wrong. Also, if it is a wingrider, there's now way there won't be an extreme amount of tree clearing.