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e_tapley0687 · Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 167 Location: Nashville, TN

So now that the layout is available to see, what do you guys think about it?

I knew GCI was going to have a good layout and I'm glad the west has a station fly-through section now. The only thing that's still bugging me is the fact that it's Terminator.... and wood.... it just doesn't match lol

Here's the link to the SFMM Terminator website: http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/rides/terminatorthecoaster.aspx

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R.C. · Joined: 08 Aug 2008 Posts: 46 Location: Foresthill, Ca

The layout is really low to the ground, which is cool. It will help the give the roller coaster a real sense of speed. I'm looking forward to experiencing a station fly through. It's one of those things that I've always wanted to see on the West coast.
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Doug_Barnes · Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2008 12:20 am Post subject:

Don't you think that 2800 ft is pretty short though? I mean, I don't want to sound like a snob... but SFMM is the home of the biggest and baddest!
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R.C. · Joined: 08 Aug 2008 Posts: 46 Location: Foresthill, Ca

That is really short, seeing as how Roar at SFDK is 3467ft. long (According to RCDB). Roar always seems to be just about the right length for me, but Terminator is going to be just about 1000ft. shorter? That's a big difference.

Even Grizzly at CGA is longer than Terminator is supposed to be at 3250ft....
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dougscoastergirl · Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 45

Well, from what I understand, it's not about the size of the ride, it's all in how you ride it........ (I'm so getting in trouble for that one).......ahem, moving on then.....

Short or no......I just can't, well I can't get around the fact that its The Terminator, it's, well, it's wooden. WTF?! I mean, really? c'mon now. It's in the way, way back of the park, basically close-ish to the Gotham City back lot..........and the otherwise unthemed carnival area at the base of Samurai Summit........The Terminator? How in the world are they going to tie that in. If it were Huge, Silver and frickin bullet fast, then sure okay, The Terminator it is. But a shortish wooden coaster, that should be, I don't know.......Commando? Predator, Conan the Barbarian? uhhh, heck Kindergarten Cop at this point just to stick with the Schwarzenegger theme, that's equally as stupid as what they chose. Hell, they could make it a racing coaster and call it Twins. Whatever, but The Terminator?

Puhleeze, wouldn't you just love to be a fly on the wall at the brainstorming meetings with the SF honchos on ride development, okay great, we have this fun wooden coaster. Okay, now what should we call it. The doof that suggests The Terminator is bad enough and should be slapped, but the fact that other people rubbed their chins and thought, hmmm, yes, The Terminator, that's the perfect name for this WOODEN roller coaster. ugh Ahh, and the t-shirt sales and keychains shall go through the roof, get ready for the Terminator gift shop........

No wonder SF is trading at like 2 cents a share. geesh

Unless they make the entire theming like the burned and ruined remains of Los Angeles after the nuclear holocaust with skulls and the whatnot, then I just can't get this in my psyche of understanding.

wazomike · Joined: 21 Sep 2008 Posts: 42 Location: San Jose, CA

^this goes back to when cedar fair took over paramounts and had to change half of the ride names
people were complaining a lot about how top gun was changed to flight deck but are you honestly not gonna ride something because of its name
when you think about it the only thing a name does for a roller coaster is propose merchandise opportunities and when you can get a name like terminator its gonna sell better than something that says, for example, silver bullet because people other than coaster nerds and locals to that park are going to recognize it
thats why disney merch sells so well because its recognizable outside of the theme park and not just to coaster nerds like us
sorry if it sounds like im angry, im not
im just trying to explain my point of view on this
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dougscoastergirl · Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 45

LOL, not once I'm in the park, of course I would ride it, but it wouldn't necessarily draw me to spend a chunk of my paycheck on either. --and I don't think you sound angry at all, if we all agreed on everything this would be a pretty boring board. I'd have to find a new one, like, I don't know, the Schwarzenegger movie ride theme message board or something like that. Very Happy

No, you have a valid point there. But, in all reality, for a struggling theme park in an even more so struggling company, to release a ride that is not necessarily the biggest and fastest with an incongruent theme to the genre of the ride, I don't know that it necessarily draws in the crowd. You're correct, I love wooden coasters, the theming won't stop me riding a ride, but it also won't stop me from talking about how ridiculous I think it is. You know, Goliath is called Goliath because it's this huge behemoth. Most of their rides are in keeping with the area that they are in and consistent with the theming. This ride is pretty far out in left field, literally and figuratively, with the location, theming and style of ride.

And, I don't know, necessarily, that the name of a ride just provides merchandising opportunities, it also offers the possibility of further expansion in an area for like theming. Look at the Gotham City Backlot, for example, Samurai Summit.

While I am sure that it will be fun, it will probably leave people wishing that it was longer and scratching their heads about how they tied in the theming.

I'm not saying it won't be fun, looks fun to me. But, in this superficial world of market draws, releasing a new ride that, like Doug said, sort of, that is not the Biggest and the Baddest, I don't know how that's going to work out. Is this SFMM last dying gasp at grabbing some headlines and new business? Or is it part of a larger marketing strategy? I guess that remains to be seen.

To address the point about "Flight Deck" which has got to be one of the worst ride name of all time, if I had never been to Great America, that ride name certainly wouldn't draw me in. That's lame.

I don't know if you are referring to Silver Bullet at Knotts or not, but the mere description of that ride was enough to draw me in, because I love inverted coasters and I wasn't disappointed. The only thing in the theming that is lost on me with that one is the fact that its painted ketchup and mustard......I don't know if that is to give the idea of flames or what.......But, on Knotts theming, most of their rides are consistent with their theming, either in the Western Theme or the carnival type theme.

I don't know, I just feel like The Terminator, while a great theme in and of itself, especially with the newest installment in production right now, is so not a wooden coaster theme. And, I think the idea of SFMM putting in a new woodie is a great idea, they definitely need it. I don't know, but I will offer the caveat that I am not a marketing major, I don't follow market trends. Maybe there are prospectives about the tie in of the theming to the marketing and what the general public is asking for. That's entirely possible. But, if the idea is to draw in not just the locals, I don't know that putting a new ride that is not the "Biggest and Baddest" in the butt back of the park, and I mean the farthest corner of the park there is, where it takes close to 10 minutes to walk to where it is, up a huge hill, down a huge hill, where NOBODY will see it until they get into that area......I mean, you won't even see it from the freeway coming over the hill, and it has a kinda weird theme for a woodie? idunno

But, like you said, I won't be NOT going on the ride just because of its theming. Unfortunately, SFMM is in an area of the country where theming is everything. With Knotts, Universal Studios and, of course Disney, they need to be spot on with their theming and offer the customer a compelling reason to spend $$ and time there. I went to SFMM last month and stayed for about 6 hours. Granted I was tired, but there was not anything there beyond a few rides that held me there and asked me to stay. Had I been at Disneyland, I would have left more reluctantly, no matter how tired I was, because the theming is flawless and begs you to walk around a little more, go into that last shop, or think "you know what, the parade starts in a little less than an hour, let's get a coffee and watch it before we leave." That's marketing genius my friends.

I think parks like SFMM tend diminish the importance of visual and auditory theming throughout the park, and consistency.

wazomike · Joined: 21 Sep 2008 Posts: 42 Location: San Jose, CA

wow i think thats the longest post ive ever seen in my life
lol
but yea you do bring up a lot of good points there
in the back of mind i think they are still competing with cedar point for most coasters and they took out psyclone (thank god) and just wanted to put back another cheap wooden coaster to get their count back to 16
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dougscoastergirl · Joined: 20 Apr 2008 Posts: 45

LOL, I was stalling not wanting to get back to work so I kept going and going and going.......LOL

I totally agree with you on that, they needed another woodie and maybe this was cheapest way to go and it gets them back up that elusive 16 number.

Doug_Barnes · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 10:39 pm Post subject: