Round Table: Theme Park Shake-Up 2: Electric Boogaloo
And Transit Camp Philadelphia 2025
March has proved to be an interesting month. The theme park has been shaken up from the implosion of Kingda Ka on February 28th, greater consolidation, plus Transit Camp Philly 2025 world to dissect. Without further ado, lets get rolling.
Top Story-Transit Camp PHL 2025
On May 22nd, the 8th Transit Camp Philadelphia took place. I got to reunite with Samuel from the Acela Video last year plus Emma, Rose, Alan, and met Lev Boonin of City of Lions who started making a lot of content on social media over the past few months. He’s based in the DC area.
The first session I went to was an obligatory Philadelphia Regional Rail revision talk. A Unique takeaway from this one was to making Ambler a short turn point vs Glenside or deadheading to Landsdale. This service would continue through Center City to Cynwyd hourly, with Landsdale trains also continuing to Doylestown hourly, all other lines would see full 30min services (although only to Paoli/Malvern on the Paoli/Thorndale line). We also had SEPTA leadership sit in and noted how a pocket track in the middle at Ambler would not work because of crew facilities required. I guess you could keep Ambler’s ticket office open all day for public restrooms for both crews and riders to use so you can all cars to turn around-but this would require timing with Landsdale/Doylestown and potential Quakertown/Allentown service. However, there is room for a layover facility north of the station, as the south is apart of redevelopment project.
After lunch, I went to a talk from a Philly native who went to UCF for a masters in City Planning-which he’s wrapping up now. I was expecting more big picture on Lynx and the parks, but the anecdotal experience was nice to hear about.
Sure Disney and Universal are big deals, but how does that compare to Phantasialand and the Colone-Bonn area (and the greater Rhine-Ruhr Region just above that). Sure Phantasialand isn’t really connected to any of the “bahns” directly-which would put that park on an even higher pedestal. Sorry, rant.
I still am mixed on the Sunshine Corridor is as how much I want it and will help provide a direct connection between the airport and the parks Disney severed (at least as an included amenity) that all the resorts (since SeaWorld has had hotels on and off the table for about a decade), with the convention center having the potential to be a massive intermodal hub, including for the Busch Gardens and Legoland/Peppa Pig World shuttles.
The third talk I attended was hosted by 3 representatives from Cincinnati’s Coalition for Transit and Sustainable Development about their latest alternative to I-71/I-75 on both sides of the Ohio River to convert into a boulevard with a bus lane dubbed “People Over Pavement”.
I later went to the Wannemaker Building with two of them afterwards since the Macy’s there was closing and they actually have an organ in there. I wasn’t hungry and maybe would’ve just got a soda at The Post by 30th Street if I did go before popping down to City Hall to pay my respects. They were even sealing off mannequins and other fixtures at the store. Its a shame a downtown store in such a historic building is somewhat in danger.
Alan pulled a quick and humorous history of transit that I went to close out the day first though, and a random fact on how the Metroliners almost looked like Cadillacs of that era.
With connections to the parks, it only makes sense to learn more about the transit and urbanism, and advocacy thereof, in Central Florida and Ohio. I even follow All Aboard Ohio on Instagram/Threads and the 3C corridor could help ease traffic north of the study area to Dayton (although I would like a 3C rt + a Cinci/Detroit-NOLA train down to Louisville too) as well as service to Sandusky in year-round daylight (more or less).
Endings:
Revelations From Ka
It seems old rumors were true, Kingda Ka was initially planned to stick around for one more season. However, it was the state of Zumanjro: Drop of Doom, the drop tower strapped to the tower itself. However, being a mile away from Kingda Ka’s entrance, it was often closed or the walk back always made it basically a walk on.
Maybe the state of New Jersey was initially right on not letting the rides duel, except the strain was more felt on the drop tower vs the original ride. With New Jersey how they are on ride safety, it seems it cost about the same to pull the plug on the two rides in 2024 vs duct tape Zu for Ka to run for only 5 more months in the 2025 season.
Coliwood Studios has an excellent behind the scenes video from filming the implosion that I will link for anyone interested.
Other News
As for good news from Six Flags, they introduced the Fun Jumper, a regional passport for the legacy Six Flags properties in DFW/OKC, rest of Texas (Jeffery Siebert has already been in charge of both Fiesta and Splash Town in Houston), and New York/Quebec + Six Flags New England.
I hope this expands to include the Schlitterbahns for Texas and cross-chain next year.
Mistaken Information
It has been previously announced that Europa Park in Germany plan to keep their Russia (Russland) area. A follow up to this was taken out of context, believing Euro-Mir, the area’s spinning coaster, would be leaving after the upcoming season. However, it seems the ride and area are looking more for general enhancements, and retracking certain spots.
Euro-Mir is weird for a spinning coaster with a first half that is more like a Wild Mouse with a spiral lift and a second half of mostly high speed turns and the spinning. I’d honestly be down for a Euro-Mir: Mission 2, but keep it a family spinner.
A Blow to Welsh Tourism
On March 3rd, Oakwood theme park in Wales, announced they would not operate in the upcoming season. Signs point to the current owner, Aspro, continuing to take rides they can use at their other parks such as the two Walygator parks outside of Metz and in Agen (about halfway between Toulouse and Bordeaux).
I don’t expect the park’s two largest coasters, Megafobia (CCI Wood Coaster) and Speed: No Limits (an early Gerstaluer Eurofighter), but Walibi Sud-Ouest could really use a new thrill coaster like Speed since the park has gone 23 years without a new coaster-Six Flags owned the park at that time and Aspro is the third owner in that time.
The original family who opened Oakwood actually opened the adjacent Bluestone resort after selling off the park. I could see the family take over the parts with Megafobia and Creepy Crawler and just retire the Oakwood name and then sell the rest off for new development since the park looks very empty despite its size in video I’ve seen, in addition to acquisition costs.
The company only invested $25million across their 15 years from 2008, compared to many parks who might get $25mil in a single investment, which just shows what little investment Aspro does into their parks.
I see this as a massive blow to Welsh tourism as this part of the UK often feels shafted by outsiders, which means less investment, creating a vicious cycle of downturn.
Meanwhile, in California
Another park has announced its demise as Playland Fresno plans to close for a second time. While the Central Valley deserves better, this is all they’ve had-being a bog standard kids park. It’s located right across from the city’s zoo in Roeding Park, which also has a storyland walkthrough. I would really want the zoo to take some of the rides-but then they’ll probably just level it for more parking-probably in addition to and not at the cost of all the on street parking on that side of the park.
More Shuttered Rides
Back in states, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Over Georgia have both pulled the plug on their Flash P’sgetti Bowls from Skyline. I hope that Skyline can get contracts in other area instead of being absorbed back into Great Coasters International (GCI) or worse. Over Georgia also announced the removal of their Skycoaster and Go-Kart upcharge attractions. I hope this leads to a more fleshed steampunk-themed area like at Six Flags America and Magic Mountain.
Even United Parks got in on removals as Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s flying machines were announced to be closed for good.
At least we have 3 new launch coasters in the mega chain right?
More Mergers?:
The past week has even busier with more acquisitions.
Stateside
Parques Reunidos of Spain on the 18th relinquished control of Palace Entertainment to Herschend Entertainment, the owners of Dollywood and Silver Dollar City.
Palace owns Kennywood (and the adjacent Sandcastle Water Park), Idelwild, and Dutch Wonderland here in Pennsylvania as well as the nation’s oldest park, Lake Compounce in Connecticut, Castle Park in California, Storyland in New Hampshire, and the recently acquired Adventureland Iowa in addition to water parks in the Wisconsin Dells, Greensboro North Carolina, LA, Riverhead New York, and Portsmouth New Hampshire.
Parques Reunidos already divested most of the family entertainment center aspect of the company they bought into in 2014, but Herschend still had 2 Boomers! locations in California as well as two other FEC’s near the company’s headquarters in Norcross, Georgia. However, already owning Aquariums in Kentucky, New Jersey, and Vancouver BC, the additional aquariums at Storyland and in Hawaii will fit in nicely in the portfolio.
The company inherits the problem child of Steel Curtain, which I feel puts even more pressure on it to work out finally, although Cedar Fair corporate’s actions at the helm of the new Six Flags should be taken as foresight-but I feel Herschend wouldn’t waste the ax as Palace wanted to give the axe to Wildcat at Lake Compounce a few times. I think Kennywood management would concur in Herschend’s feeling at this point about Steel Curtain though.
I feel Herschend will work out since most of these parks just need general beautification and focus on their history and themes. Castle Park feels kind of like a similarly named park in Arizona I discussed not long ago, but a weird mix of trying to be a kids park but has a ring of fire. I believe Castle Park has been on the chopping block before in recent time-it does deserve a connection to La Sierra on the Perris Valley and Orange County lines.
In Europe
The Following day, The Looping Group acquired Parc Saint Paul in France. The park is known for its Gravity Group wooden coaster and an incident on their Formule 1 coaster in 2020 that seems to still be unresolved, unlike the Rapids incident at Adventureland in 2022 that led to its acquisition by Palace/Parques Reunidos.
Final Thoughts
The theme park industry has suffered a lot of loss over the past off season, especially at the hand of Richard Zimmerman. Icons rise and fall. Each comes a lesson. the original Penn Station headhouse in New York led to a movement in preservation, which has led to some tough love between a certain Coaster Club and parks with their classic coasters as they move to alternative retracking solutions due to the cost of wood.
You could feel the grief in the Wannamaker Building with the empty shelves and the trumpet that played alongside the organ.
Despite the losses, there have been bright sides with Georgia Goldrusher at Over Georgia and Flash Vertical Velocity at Great Adventure finally opening in March 2025, as well as Rapterra at Kings Dominion-which really fleshes out the line-up alongside the rechristened Pantherian, the RMC conversion Twisted Timbers, and elder cousin Dominator. From video, it does complete the Jungle-X area and a long road to redemption that started after Hurler closed 10 years ago.
Coaster enthusiasts right now need to be more optimistic like those in Transit and Urbanism despite the old white men with the axes in this country. It’s Great Adventure’s turn for that glow up. Besides, the hype for Epic Universe is real as it will change the industry forever-its just how.
Transit sees the long-delayed Avelia’s entering service any day, the reopening of Franklin Square on PATCO April 3rd, and hopefully NOLA-Mobile service before Summer.
As for the channel, the plan is to start, but likely not finish a Parks & Transit series on some parks Down Under plus Blue Sky for New Zealand over here-which will be finished in April since its a 5-week month.
I’ve been a lot of stress at work (plus allergies) despite only working 4 days and 30ish hrs/wk at the moment, so being up to and actually sitting down to record will take a lot, but I do want to do this-so stay tuned.