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Makes sense. HFEC has historically dialed things way back during economic upheavals. Back in 2008 they delayed Riverblast a year to control costs and due to falling visitor counts that year. They've also famously pulled the plug on things quickly rather than sending good money after bad (Celebration City, numerous small brands and water park ownerships, etc).

They're obviously a much larger company now, but I imagine they are still pretty fiscally cautious around economic forecasts. Hard to say what the near term outlook is, but inflation is really biting people and everyone is cutting back. I know a lot of people are eating out a lot less. Entertainment will the next thing to cut...

I imagine most of HFEC's revenue comes from domestic tourism, but they do have some parks in the NE now that are going to be impacted from the fall of Canadian tourism. Domestic tourism to SDC and DW *could* see a small upswing if people opt for "staycations" instead of going to Florida or overseas. Hard to say, but I'd be nervous opening a massive new resort with these market headwinds right now.

Thanks again for the photos mg! With this much clearance around AP, one has to wonder if any changes will come to it. They went through the effort of extending the tunnel, so I assume it is sticking around. I wish they would extend the flume a little after the tunnel and add some more thematic sections like the old days.

Very odd that this construction is taking place on both sides of AP. Seems like more than just a coaster station. Hopefully we'll end up with another set of bathrooms along with more storefronts to fill in this corner of the park.

It's definitely a 2027 addition. We'll see how much they announce on the 27th. They must have something they are bringing in for next year, other wise having a whole "fan fest" seems overkill. On the other hand, what they consider a big announcement and what we might are often different.

It looked to me like all the vehicles are getting vinyl wraps. Trams included.

It's not quite a major announcement, but it's nice that they are putting a little attention into something that could easily be ignored - or even worse, slowly converted into all-paid parking like pretty much every other park now. Does Dollywood even have free parking anymore? SDC would be well justified in charging at this point considering what they spent to completely re-do the parking over the last decade. They probably spent tens of millions on just parking, with all that grading and fill not to mention repaving everything...

Nice they got a few extra dollars from slapping some O'Reillys logos on there, lol. At least it's not as bad as the Six Flags coaster train wraps 

Oh, they'll have some interesting things to share if they are setting up a whole event. I'm guessing they'll be providing a sneak peak into the plans for the coming years. Probably going to pre-announce something big coming while also showing off all the festival changes/additions, minor new things, etc.

They may also announce that a ride is leaving in the near future. I don't think we'll see another FITH-style exact replacement, but rides like TNT, FM, and AP are clinging to life and don't seem to fit what corporate wants for the park anymore. Like I've said before, I expect them to continue replacing things with fancier modern versions. They may announce that 2026 is the last season for one of those rides. Just my guess.

The fact that they straight up scrapped a train from TNT does imply that they aren't intending on keeping it much longer. Could go a few seasons more before they are ready to let it go though. It seems like they have a backlog of projects. Flooded Mine nearly bit the dust years ago, but other things took higher priority and it ended up getting more popular with guests again, so it has stuck around.

I have a feeling in the next 10 years or so TNT, FM, AP, Riverblast, and maybe even PK will get replaced.

That guy is 90 something years old and was clearly being duped through targeted manipulation tactics. Fortunately most of his money was already tied up in trusts, but this was elder abuse to get whatever they could.

We all assumed that this guy was leading the charge - like he wanted to go out with a bang and build something to be remembered by. It's crazy that it was never actually his idea and he was being strung along with it. I honestly didn't see it coming, despite our obvious doubts that anything like what was presented would actually be built.

That is definitely an indication that the larger part of this new expansion isn't coming until 2027. We know "something" is coming in 2026, but at this point I am guessing it is only the pathway connector and perhaps a new food stand or something else along it. If the new ride was coming, they'd be saying something by now. Announcements for next year should be coming in the next few weeks.

Are we sure part of the construction isn't for American plunge? They have some log boats and other things above the tunnel just sitting. And some of the construction looks like boat channels.

I asked a group of AP operators if they were improving/adding on to AP with that construction and one of the ladies said "Yes we are just" until she was cut off by another that said we know nothing about the construction. I said you may have slipped up and she smiled and nodded. Obviously I am probably being trolled and don't take any stock into that interaction. But the construction still looks boat ride-ish to me there and behind the waterfall.

That doesn't explain any of the footers that have been spotted though. Anyways just making conversation.

What you are probably seeing is the old Jim Owen's channels, which have been left there for decades. The water for AP actually circulates through these channels. Not sure why they never cut them off before now. Up until a few years ago I think some of the original props from Jim Owens were still back there along the old channel.

According to the latest MIG update, Swoosh seems to think the station will be located in the clearing right up in the middle of AP. I was hoping it would be pushed back a little more and that this area would be used for more stores/pathway connector/themeing/etc. It's going to feel odd with so many rides right on top of each other in this area all of a sudden.

For 20 years Wildfire, AP, and PK have been right next to each other and yet felt so far apart.

I as to the speculation about the next expansion, I can see them moving M&C to the clearing near OR and using that spot next to FiTH/Mystic river as a decent expansion. But I personally think that the next project after this project will be where the original FiTH was and that back area.

With speculation surrounding the old FITH building/site, and a possible future replacement for FM, I'm wondering if there would be any possibility that they would eventually level FM and repurpose that area for expanded retail/demos, as well as a larger and improved loading station for the train? At the same time, leveling the original FITH building to build a larger and more advanced Flooded Mine replacement or indoor dark ride.

As the park seemingly stretches westward, I think it will be critical to retain an indoor ride option that offers much needed refuge from the elements on that side of the park. With the closing of the original FITH, the park is absent of that from a ride perspective right now.

There's been speculation about FM being leveled for a long time now. It seemed like they would retire it on it's 50th season, but that was over ten years ago. There was speculation at one point that we'd get our version of mystery mine to replace it. Then eventually we got Time Traveler instead.

I still think it's days are numbered, but there are too many higher priority things for them to do first. I think that's the only reason it has remained in place for the last decade.

I think if they were going to announce it this year, the teaser campaign would be more intense than it has been. There's been a few bits here and there since they can't hide that work is happening, but not like a big build up to a big new ride.

Most likely, we'll see the pathway connector open up next year, but the new ride is coming in 27. Unless there's more than one "thing".

I think that clearing is simply a backstage service road. It connects the back of the park to some of the key backstage areas and the main road. It's massive due to the amount of grading required to make it passable for large trucks. Guessing this will become a primary haul route for the park for many back of house things. I also originally thought it was too huge to just be BOH, but the satellite view makes it clearer.

I'm wondering what they needed the flat area for to the west of PK, but that is probably also a new back of house area for things like landscaping greenhouses, storage, or whatever. If this is going to be a coaster, it looks like it will be sandwiched between PK and wildfire. Since they are now clear cutting all the trees around coasters, this is probably a good thing.

I don't think they will expand the park much more beyond the area they have now. It's already as large as most parks. You can't get too big or it's burdensome on guests to get around to everything, especially with the hills.

lol I'm not sure what we are arguing about but be chill. Speculate all you want. Believe what you want. It doesn't matter. Sometimes the people designing these projects don't even know where it's going to end up 

General rule though: don't drag employees into this. They can theoretically get in trouble for it. Just say you heard it from a good source. It doesn't matter if people believe you or not - all rumors on this site can be taken or left as an individual sees fit. This is just for fun.

There's no way there will ever be a 1000ft tall roller coaster. At the speeds needed to achieve that, you'd have to enclose the car, use special wheels, and so on - and in the end it would feel stupid and not like a roller coaster anyway. Not to mention the extreme costs. It's already too expensive to even build another 400ft coaster.

I don't see SDC going taller anytime soon. We've already got a couple "big" coasters in Wildfire and Outlaw Run. Hopefully they'll focus on quality and theming and get more rides that compete with what Disney and Universal are doing rather than focusing on height and inversions.

Screamscape reports that they've heard rumors of this being a Thunderation replacement, with Mack being the manufacturer. Anything is possible I guess. TNT is still very popular though, and I was under the impression that it was both one of the easier rides to keep operating and one of the least expensive to maintain? Could be way off on that though, or perhaps that is no longer the case. They have had to rebuild sections several times due to ground shifts, and I feel that got worse when Time Traveler was built. Plus the mysterious loss of the second train does say something...

I don't think they've updated FB in a year either. That means they've let all their lower level people go. Never heard about any resolution to the lawsuits, but surely that has been wrapped up by now? They probably bankrupted the AH business to reduce their legal exposure/losses for the lawsuits. The contractors/designers they stiffed can only recover the money that AH had on hand.

I can't believe they couldn't even get the RV park going...