Daily Spin 4.15.2009

Tokyo Disneyland has officially opened their new attraction, the awesome looking darkride named Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek. The $100 million, 4 minute dark ride takes passengers on an amusing trip through the world of Monsters Inc and allows them to use their on-board flashlights to find characters and bring the sets around them to life. I know I say this a lot but I want to go!

Declare bankruptcy and get $3 million? Looks like that's what will happen for Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro if the company successfully completes a restructuring in or out of bankruptcy court. The "success bonus" comes as part of a renewed employment contract for the CEO that lasts through 2013. With what he's been doing for the company the past few years though - all the good that is, I say enjoy!

Good news for Conneaut Lake Park fans, it looks like "most" of the park's rides will be open this summer. BUT, sadly, the park's classic wooden coaster the Blue Streak will not be ready until 2010 at the earliest. The park's rides sat closed for the '07 and '08 seasons, so even with the closure of the coaster this is a great step forward! Stop by and visit this summer if you can!

Congratulations are in order for one of everyone's favorite parks, Holiday World. The park was the first in the nation to receive certification in the federally-recognized Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) from the Indiana Department of Labor. A commitment to safety is essential at any park and Holiday Worlds clearly shines at it!

Will Wild West World ever reopen? Nothing is certain at this point, aside from the fact that it will not reopen as hoped for this summer. The failed Kansas theme park was purchased out of bankruptcy and planned a reopening, but most of the rides were sold to pay off debts. The future doesn't look too good considering the economy, though.

SFNEonline has another great Bizarro update for those wanting to see more of the scenery and other items that can be found along the track. I'm rather impressed with the makeover that Six Flags New England is giving the ride!

Worlds of Fun is in its final stages of prepping their new wooden coaster, Prowler, for its opening. The trains were recently placed on the track which means that testing should start very soon. There's photos of that located here. Also, the park is having a first rider seat auction for charity as well - feel free to bid for a good reason through here!

This is pretty neat - Six Flags Over Georgia is holding a contest to name one of the monsters in the park's new Monster Mansion ride. The monster that needs a name is the official photographer for the park, and will be featured in the ride. Winner is to receive a 4 pack of season passes to the park and the new ride opens May 16th.

Sabrina's Brochure Spotlight: Six Flags Over Georgia 1985

It's been a while since I dipped into my '80s brochures, so this week's SBS feature is long overdue! I hesitated to apply the title "Six Flags Over Georgia" to this particular brochure, as that name is never actually used in any of my early SFOG brochures. The name appears in some places as "Six Flags Atlanta", but in most cases they seem to avoid the matter altogether and simply call the park "Six Flags".

This practice may seem quite odd by today's standards, but you have to remember that the opening of SFOG in 1967 signified the beginning of the "chain park" era. Up until that point, no single company operated multiple parks in the United States. So it's no wonder their marketing department was confused--They were sailing uncharted waters! ...Of course, this brochure was printed nearly 20 years after that happened, so you'd think they would have it all figured out by this point!

Mind Bender sure did look drab back in the day, but I would take this color scheme ANY day over the great NASCAR advertising fiasco of 2008. (In case you missed it, Mind Bender's trains were briefly covered from head to toe in horrifyingly tacky promotional material.) Note to Six Flags: ROLLER COASTERS ARE NOT BILLBOARDS! I understand that you've gotta pay your bills and all, but there are some lines that were never meant to be crossed! And to victimize a classic coaster to boot...Shame on you! But as usual, it appears I have gone waaaaaaay off topic, so let's get back to this exceedingly brief walk down memory lane!

Ah, the ever popular Wheelie. It's nice to see a park that's willing to preserve a dying breed such as this, and to know that this classic ride continues to thrill patrons to this day. Too bad the same can't be said for the Freefall. First generation free fall rides seem rather archaic by today's standards, but there was a certain charm about them. Perhaps it was the novelty!

The Great American Scream Machine (not to be confused with its newer, loopier cousin in New Jersey) also makes a cameo appearance in this brochure. It was SFOG's third coaster, and preceded Mind Bender by five years.

Wow, the marketing team was [still] so confused by the whole "chain park" thing that they put their new ride announcement at the END of the brochure instead of on the cover! Could this have been Six Flags' first foray into the Bizarro world?? We may never know... But what we do know (finally) is that SFOG welcomed a Looping Starship in 1985.

In addition to Looney Tunes paraphernalia and miscellaneous other park swag, apparently SFOG also sold gasoline and diesel fuel "at competitive prices". Huh? That's just weird!

And finally, we get a glimpse of how the Six Flags chain of properties was shaping up by the mid-80s. Funny how all of the parks listed in this brochure have specific names with the exception of the park that's actually being advertised! Bizarro fo' sho.

Some Six Flags Parks Open... One Doesn't

Yesterday marked the opening day of the 2009 season for 4 different Six Flags properties: Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags Over Georgia, and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

Discovery Kingdom will premier their new attraction, Odin's Temple of the Tiger in May, but opened for guests starting yesterday.

Six Flags Georgia was the park that actually didn't open as planned this weekend. The rain and snow combination that hit the park this weekend caused the park to delay their opening to next weekend. Bummer!

Hopefully some photos from the park openings will start to surface soon. Let me know if you have any!