Six Flags parks for thematic makeover

Wham! Bam! Ka-Pow!

A bruising brawl involving comic-book superheroes, Saturday morning cartoon characters and extreme sports icons will change the ride and roller coaster landscape of Six Flags' 11 U.S. amusement parks in 2011.

An intellectual property housecleaning at the amusement park chain has left Bugs Bunny, Superman and Scooby-Doo victorious and Thomas the Tank Engine, The Wiggles, Evel Knievel and Tony Hawk vanquished.

In a sudden about-face, Six Flags is undoing several licensing agreements established since 2007 for 60 amusement park rides and attractions. The extensive slate of name changes and thematic makeovers are expected to begin in early 2011. The cost-cutting move comes in the wake of a Six Flags management overhaul after the company emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year.

Six Flags will re-theme the Thomas Town kiddie lands, based on the children's television show "Thomas & Friends," as unbranded Whistle Stop Depots, amusement park officials confirmed.

Since 2007, Six Flags has added Thomas Towns at Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia), Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo), Six Flags New England (Massachusetts), Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags America (Maryland). Six Flags America opened its Thomas Town in June 2010.

Six Flags also plans to de-theme the Tony Hawk Big Spin coasters at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Six Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis, officials said.

The spinning coasters, which made their debut in 2007 and 2008, will be called simply "Big Spin." The Tony Hawk Halfpipe ride at Six Flags America also will be stripped of its affiliation with the skateboarding star.

In addition, the Evel Knievel wooden coaster, which opened in 2008 at Six Flags St. Louis, will be renamed American Thunder, ending Six Flags' association with the late motorcycle daredevil, officials said.

Screamscape reports that Six Flags will also remove the Wiggles World theme added in 2007 and 2008 to five parks: Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey), Six Flags Great America (Illinois), Six Flags New England, Great Escape (New York) and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. The Wiggles World theme, based on "The Wiggles" children's television program, has already been stripped from five Fiesta Texas rides, according to the park's website.

The intellectual property retrenchment returns Six Flags to its core branded relationships: DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Riddler, Joker and Green Lantern), Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Tweety) and Hanna-Barbera (Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear).

Changes: The Tony Hawk Halfpipe ride at Six Flags America also will be stripped of its affiliation with the skateboarding star.

Evel Knievel wooden coaster, which opened in 2008 at Six Flags St. Louis, will be renamed American Thunder, ending Six Flags' association with the late motorcycle daredevil, officials said.

Six Flags returns to its core branded relationships: DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Riddler, Joker and Green Lantern), Looney Tunes (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Tweety) and Hanna-Barbera (Scooby-Doo and Yogi Bear).

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/the ... 7615.story

thats stupid. but the thing that matters is the rides.

20 bucks says cedar fair will use the names

Looks like they are trying to save money. Not stupid, very smart. Cedar Fair has no need to take those names. They are branded with the Peanuts corporately and others like "Dale Earnhardt" on the park level.

^Actually, Cedar Fair just did the same thing, when they got rid of the Nickelodeon sections in favor of Planet Snoopy.

Good move if you ask me,I`d always prefer them over Nick.

Originally posted by Jonny Richey

^Actually, Cedar Fair just did the same thing, when they got rid of the Nickelodeon sections in favor of Planet Snoopy.

Paramount added all the Nickelodeon stuff. Once Cedar Fair bought the Paramount parks, they transformed into Planet snoopy.

Yay no more wiggles when I'm near Nitro!

Imagin what would happen when Six Flags would get rid of the Superman and Batman ride names...Sure we would not get Six Flags:The Expierience(that name is reseved for their restrooms)but I see Shapiros fantastic adventures coming...

Originally posted by Jonny Richey

^Actually, Cedar Fair just did the same thing, when they got rid of the Nickelodeon sections in favor of Planet Snoopy.

NO. Those were pre-existing in the parks when Cedar Fair bought them from Paramount. When that contract was up, you saw the switch over to the Peanuts.

Originally posted by Live on earths ass

Imagin what would happen when Six Flags would get rid of the Superman and Batman ride names...Sure we would not get Six Flags:The Expierience(that name is reseved for their restrooms)but I see Shapiros fantastic adventures coming...

Shapiro's gone, love him.

Thank god

According to Screamscapes "sources" Terminator Salvation at Magic Mountain will receive a new theme and a new name.

In addition to our Superman update below, Screamscape sources have confirmed to us that Terminator Salvation will have the Terminator theme removed and given a new name for the 2011 season.

http://screamscape.com/html/six_flags_m ... untain.htm

I like "American Thunder" instead of Evil Kinevil. Never liked the name. Also, thank God Tony Hawk is going away.

er only two summers, Six Flags Magic Mountain will dump the Terminator name from its newest wooden roller coaster as part of a company-wide cost-cutting initiative.

The ride will be renamed Apocalypse beginning Jan. 8, officials said.

The debranding will remove the animated Terminator robots from the queue and force Magic Mountain to reshoot the post-apocalyptic backstory video featuring two stars from "Terminator: Salvation," the critically panned fourth installment of the science-fiction film franchise.

In the Terminator story line, riders waiting in the queue were encouraged with video clips featuring rapper/actor Common and model/actress Moon Bloodgood to "join the resistance" and help fight the Terminator robots. During the "training session," riders were warned that the "machines are coming" and to "go to the safe house" to await further instructions.

The new Apocalypse story line will follow a more traditional good guys-bad guys scenario, with riders implored by fellow survivors to "come with us" into a bunker to prepare for battle. The rechristened ride will retain the existing pyrotechnic and fog effects, but the exit queue store will shift focus from "Terminator" keepsakes to teen and tween items.

Six Flags is undoing several intellectual property licensing agreements established since 2007 for more than 60 amusement park rides and attractions, resulting in an extensive slate of name changes and thematic makeovers.

Debuting in 2009, the $11-million wooden coaster tied to the "Terminator: Salvation" movie was heralded by the amusement park chain as a new push toward more themed rides.

Magic Mountain spent $1 million adding the incongruous Terminator-factory-turned-safe-house theme to the wooden coaster, mostly in the pre-show queue areas. The coaster itself got only a few flourishes: a trio of fog-filled tunnels and fireball-spewing special effects. But by and large, the 55-mph coaster largely dropped the futuristic "Terminator" theme as soon as the train left the station. (On-board audio, a first for a wooden coaster, has long since been removed.)

Regardless of the theme, Terminator/Apocalypse has everything I like in a roller coaster -- a smooth ride, unrelenting speed and plenty of off-your-seat airtime. It perfectly threads the needle as a hybrid family-friendly thrill ride -- providing a healthy dose of terror-tingle for tweens and soccer moms while delivering just enough adrenaline for speed junkies and coaster freaks.

Enthusiasts apparently agreed, placing the ride in the top 25 of an unscientific yet comprehensive annual poll of wooden coasters in 2009.

The tightly twisting and turning Great Coasters International coaster with Millennium Flyer trains replaced Psyclone, a reviled wooden coaster mercifully removed from the Valencia amusement park in 2006.

http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/the ... 3895.story

Apocolyps seems like a cool name actually

When comes the Fallout Coaster or Metro 2033 coaster?

They should have named it "Eternal Damnation"