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Flamingo Land | Sik | Intamin 10 Inversion Coaster | 2022

I don't want to sound negative, but let's be realistic.

Flamingo Land doesn't have anything like the level of investment that Busch Gardens does. The similarity of having rides and a theme park in the same gate is about where it stops. It's not a bad park, but in terms of attractions it's nowhere near the level that Busch Gardens operates at. If anything, it's closer to somewhere like Wild Adventures, and even that has big resources behind it.

Location isn't an issue, but it definitely helps. If an attraction is good enough, then people will visit. If it's convenient to get to, even more people will go. Busch Gardens Tampa is a great park that is only an hour away from the biggest theme park tourist locations/destinations in the US, so they've been able to generate that revenue and the major investments in their attraction infrastructure by getting involved in the joint ticketing options to get people through the gates, as well as on the strength of their own brand. It has just invested in two brand new many-multi-million dollar thrill rides, and Flamingo Land has just invested in a second-hand coaster which has been sitting in pieces for some time. That's the levels they're at.

Flamingoland knows its market and lives within its means. It would be great if the park could get anywhere close to the level of a SeaWorld Orlando or a Busch Gardens Tampa, but unless a whole load of huge tourist attractions suddenly pop up in North Yorkshire or a huge investor takes a stake in the park and invests hundreds of millions of pounds, its not going to happen.
 
Tomatron said:
Busch Gardens Tampa is a great park that is only an hour away from the biggest theme park tourist locations/destinations in the US, so they've been able to generate that revenue and the major investments in their attraction infrastructure by getting involved in the joint ticketing options to get people through the gates, as well as on the strength of their own brand. It has just invested in two brand new many-multi-million dollar thrill rides, and Flamingo Land has just invested in a second-hand coaster which has been sitting in pieces for some time. That's the levels they're at.
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Might I also add that Tampa Bay itself has a population of around 2.7 million?
 
otwidalepda said:
I really do not think location is an issue - if someone wants to visit a particular place then they will travel. It is the quality of the place that will attract or deter people. There will always be an element of travel - and lets face it, realistically... is an hour that far?
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Of course, you are correct, people WILL travel for a great park a couple of times a year. But regulars and enthusiasts make up a large portion of park guests.... So 30 mins to Alton Towers, around 2 hours to Thorpe, BPB, Mingo all parks we enjoy, (we don’t talk about Drayton Manor,) guess where we end up most weeks?

Plus, distance and transportation costs are always going to be a deciding factor to some of the ‘one theme park trip a year’ families too.

Nobody is saying that people won’t travel, just that, as with any business, the more ‘chimney pots’ around you, the more of competitive advantage you have.
 
Do we have any indication of theming yet? Velocity doesn't really have a theme besides the sound effects on launch, Mumbo Jumbo has the fibreglass rockwork queue and Kumali has a loose theme too, so I don't expect anything major, but Blackpool showed that you can do something reasonably good with very little with Icon. Not saying Icon's theme is fantastic, but it's nice in its simplicity*.

With the emphasis on the park's zoo, they could do something simple and effective with just some clever planting, and I'd be happy. I think heavily planted queues can be effective and welcoming, see Colossus and Inferno vs Saw and Swarm, which ones are nicer to be stood in for an hour?

*even if when I was there, another enthusiast was complaining, pointing out all the fixtures they'd clearly bought from B&Q... as if that's a bad thing, they had a budget after all.
 
gavin said:
I'm predicting a beautiful, concrete theme.
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That whole area now is an incoherent mess so I do not know. Metropolis has always been a weak theme (Jungle Joe's in a city theme??).

Velocity and Hero were meant to fit in to a 'city' theme but I never got Navigator?

Then it merged with Seaside Adventure to what is now a mix of Flamingo 1 and Riverside 1.

Now we have a pirate ship.... in a city theme.

So... who knows. Personally, I think 'Metropolis' should have gone a long time ago
 
otwidalepda said:
That whole area now is an incoherent mess so I do not know. Metropolis has always been a weak theme (Jungle Joe's in a city theme??).

Velocity and Hero were meant to fit in to a 'city' theme but I never got Navigator?

Then it merged with Seaside Adventure to what is now a mix of Flamingo 1 and Riverside 1.

Now we have a pirate ship.... in a city theme.

So... who knows. Personally, I think 'Metropolis' should have gone a long time ago
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I don’t think the entrance plaza was ever part of Metropolis.
For me, metropolis came about because they were getting a rollercoaster with motorbikes and didn’t take it much further.

I mentioned earlier in the thread I would defend Flamingo Land on most things but theming has always been very loose/a complete afterthought. I’d like to think they would plan some pirate based theme to tie in with the plaza area but I doubt it.

They’ve always tried to focus their themes from one ride but never expanded it;

Cliffhanger - seaside adventure
Lost River Ride - Lost Kingdom
Velocity - Metropolis
Little Monsters Ghost Train - Little Monsters area
Muddy Duck Tractor Ride - Muddy duck farm

At the end of the day a lot of people won’t give a toss and I know this will probably bring about a lot of visitors from the local area. Loads of non-enthusiasts I know from my area exclaim how ‘****e’ it is since the removal of bullet and magnum force and this is the type of coaster the park has been lacking for years.
 
Now, take this as a pinch of salt, cause the source is that one of my subscribers overheard a flamingo land staff member about this, but while this 10 looper is being built, he overheard a staff member say this year is Hero's last year of operation
If this is true, the gods have finally delivered more positivity ?
 
Coaster Chall YouTube said:
Now, take this as a pinch of salt, cause the source is that one of my subscribers overheard a flamingo land staff member about this, but while this 10 looper is being built, he overheard a staff member say this year is Hero's last year of operation
If this is true, the gods have finally delivered more positivity ?
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I'd say this probably isn't true, unless they are selling Hero to finance this new project
 
Ahh I remember that desperation technique. While they they are unlikely to solely be doing that (they are not Six Flags either) it could at least help offset the costs.

Also, swapping out a ride that I presume has negative guest feedback for one that could be the new star attraction is a clever move for satisfaction levels. A glass half empty view could be "lets not have too many painful rides in one place" but its still an improvement.

Plus, to run and maintain an extra ride may need extra infrastructure and staff on all levels so instead of getting bloated they can move focus onto this large installation. I guess that makes it more Parkitect than RCT.

Or they could be completely unrelated but often, if thought through, lots of reasons to do something work together with direct and indirect benefits.
 
While Hero is not the best i do not see them removing it, it's the current newest coaster at the park and its a unique experience as one of only two flying coasters in the UK. When i went to Flamingo it was one of the busiest rides ( maybe due to slow throughput ) and the GP seemed to find it fun ?
 
Niles said:
While Hero is not the best i do not see them removing it, it's the current newest coaster at the park and its a unique experience as one of only two flying coasters in the UK. When i went to Flamingo it was one of the busiest rides ( maybe due to slow throughput ) and the GP seemed to find it fun ?
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I agree - I cannot see this being the case. In my experience it is always busy and people do like it (my wife and brothers favourite coaster in the park, believe it or not!!!!). So I do not think the dissatisfaction is that high amongst the general public.
 
Let's remember that this "rumour" is one of our users reporting that somebody has commented on a youtube video saying that they overheard somebody saying something about it being Hero's last season. It is very tenuous and barely worth discussing. Also - it's a Volare - who cares!?
 
emoo said:
Plus, to run and maintain an extra ride may need extra infrastructure and staff on all levels so instead of getting bloated they can move focus onto this large installation. I guess that makes it more Parkitect than RCT.

Or they could be completely unrelated but often, if thought through, lots of reasons to do something work together with direct and indirect benefits.
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A bit off-topic here, but in Parkitect I generally will only hire more staff if my profits are around +1000 per month. That way, it's more financially viable and will not result in me adding dead weight to the park's expenses.
 
I think that this coaster could represent a golden opportunity for Flamingo Land to push itself back into the big leagues of the UK with a bang! Even though I'm not a fan of Colossus at Thorpe Park, I think that this could be much more enjoyable if it has the lap bars; the ones on Icon are fantastic, and these look similar, so they should make for a more enjoyable coaster experience, in my opinion!
 
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