SPOTLIGHT: Aquatopia indoor water park arrives Pages 11-15 TM & ©2015 Amusement Today, Inc. July 2015 | Vol. 19 • Issue 4 www.amusementtoday.com Six Flags opens DC Comics-themed dark rides at Texas, Missouri parks Sally, Oceaneering, Alterface and Pure Imagination Studios brought together to create new interactive attractions AT: Jeffrey Seifert [email protected] Nine days later, a nearly Cyborg, the youngest member identical attraction opened at of the Justice League, informs ARLINGTON, Texas — Six Flags St. Louis. guests that Lex Luthor and the On, Tuesday, May 19, 2015, Six "We are excited to partner Joker have teamed up to take Flags Over Texas previewed with the popular DC Comics control of Metropolis. The Former President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn its newest attraction, Justice characters to bring this level of Justice League is in need of Carter visited DelGrosso's Amusement Park in Tipton, League: Battle for Metropolis, unmatched, interactive thrills volunteers to join the reserve Pa. on Memorial Day. Shown here in front of the park's to the media, contest winners to our guests this season,” said team and help rescue Super historic Herschell-Spillman Carousel are from left: Fred and local park enthusiasts. Park President Steve Martin- Girl, The Flash and Green Lan- DelGrosso (one of the owners of DelGrosso’s Amusement This world-class attraction dale. “Justice League: Battle tern who have already been Park); First Lady Rosalynn Carter; President Jimmy Carter combines state of the art mo- for Metropolis is like no oth- captured. Intel suggests they and Carl Crider, Jr., DelGrosso’s park president. tion vehicles, 3-D imaging, er ride we’ve ever built. The are being held at LexCorp's COURTESY DELGROSSO'S targeting technology and ani- technology is second to none headquarters and the plan is matronics to give thrill seek- and guests will be fully im- to break in and rescue them. Former President Jimmy Carter and ers the opportunity to help the mersed in the action from start As Justice League reserve First Lady Rosalynn visit DelGrosso’s Justice League save Metropo- to finish.” team members, riders travel lis. Upon entering the queue, in sleek six-passenger custom TIPTON, Pa. — Former President Jimmy Carter and First designed, motion-based vehi- Lady Rosalynn, along with members of their family, visited cles and engage in a full-sen- DelGrosso’s Amusement Park in Tipton on Memorial Day — sory battle, complete with 4D May 25, 2015. effects of fire, cannon blasts, The President was in the region to spend time over the and explosions all while expe- Memorial Day Weekend at Spruce Creek, one of his favorite riencing hairpin, 360-degree fishing spots. During their stay in nearby Warriors Mark, the turns. couple and their family paid a visit to Tipton, taking in the Riders use interactive la- sights, sounds and flavors of DelGrosso’s Amusement Park. ser blasters and attempt to Owner Fred DelGrosso and his wife Cathy, who have known extinguish the 600 virtual the former President and First Lady for several years, invited and tangible targets featured the Carters to tour their family’s amusement park. throughout the attraction, in- As part of the tour, the Carters enjoyed the Marvelous cluding a life-like villain ani- Mutts Dog Show, took in the beauty of the historic Herschell- matronic, robotic henchmen, Spillman Carousel, and checked out the newest park ride for helicopters, a hologram and 2015, The Rock Star. No trip to the park would be complete an interactive fog screen. The without a stop at La Famiglia Gift Shop and, of course, taste realistic features take the ride testing some of DelGrosso’s famous amusement park food. gaming experience to an un- Fred DelGrosso remarked that, though numerous gov- Six Flags' new Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark precedented level. ernment officials, including U.S. Senators have visited Del- rides feature both 3-D interactive target imaging and lifelike The Texas ride, with a Grosso’s over the years, the stopover by the Carter family animatronics, as seen here with The Joker, to further engage cycle time of 3 minutes, 20 was the first ever Presidential visit to the park. “We are hon- the riders into the storyline. The rides opened in May at Six seconds, features 17 screens, ored to have Tipton receive such distinguished guest,” he Flags Over Texas and Six Flags St. Louis 4See SIX FLAGS, page 4 said. “And it was a lot of fun too.” COURTESY SIX FLAGS Dated material. material. Dated RUSH! SUBSCRIBE TODAY! NEWSPAPER POSTMASTER: June 22, 2015 Mailed Monday, PLEASE PERMIT # 2069 # PERMIT (817) 460-7220 FT. WORTH TX WORTH FT. PAID US POSTAGE US PRSRT STD PRSRT 2 AMUSEMENT TODAY July 2015 NEWSTALK OPINION: Tim Baldwin, [email protected] FLINT’S VIEW: Bubba Flint Where credit is due I’m a big fan of attention to detail. When it particularly exudes creativity, I am even more taken by such character. People who know me well know of my art education background. Because of such training, I am quick to notice imaginative touches on new attractions. While most properties can only Baldwin envy the mega-budgets for theming found in parks of the Orlando ilk — and those parks are indeed fortunate — big bucks aren’t always the necessity when it comes to theming. Creativity doesn’t have to be expensive, it just needs to be…well, creative. A case in point is Six Flags Magic Mountain’s new ScreamPunk District. With a makeover of marvelous proportions on their Colossus wooden coaster (see story, page 22), the entire area received a fresh facelift. Steampunk décor has become somewhat of a popular style in recent years. With Magic Mountain’s floorless B&M coaster, Scream, sitting adjacent to the new Twisted Colossus, the entire area has received a retro steampunk theme, cleverly titled the ScreamPunk District. Thematic touches are everywhere. During the media preview, I watched one of the park’s INDUSTRY OPINION: Scott Rutherford, [email protected] maintenance personnel add gold and copper touches to pipes spread throughout the loading platform. Copper knob The race is over wheels were added, for no other purpose than to look cool. Carowinds shocked guests and coast- brake run, the coaster is running the fast- And they do. I had to admit I was whimsically mesmerized er fans on Memorial Day weekend when est and smoothest it has since opening in by the simplicity of using the most basic of items and turning it announced the imminent closing of its 1976. largest wooden roller coaster, Thunder It’s difficult for me to be objective them into fascinating accents. Road. And they weren’t waiting until the about this decision since Carowinds has Even more so, the area is adorned with all sorts of end of the 2015 season. Instead, the been my home park for most of my life, steampunk gadgets, mostly of which the park would have popular ride would be shut down during and I’ve been enjoying Thunder Road each considered sheer junk. A large washing machine from an old the height of a busy summer, taking its last of its 39 seasons. While wooden coasters wardrobe department is now futuristic cool. An old tractor passengers on July 26. did see a resurgence in popularity during This news is especially puzzling for Rutherford the period when Thunder Road was built, now looks like something straight out of Jules Verne. Pipes a number of reasons. It’s known that a that tide is now beginning to ebb. Some and wheels and gadgets of all kinds have given a long- major expansion of the water park will soon spill wooden coasters are being transformed into steel- neglected part of the park a whole new flavor. It carries on over into a little-used section of the south parking tracked hybrids while others are simply discarded. into a new sandwich shop, the exterior of the area’s theater, lot. But this hardly justifies obliterating one of the It seems the traditional wooden coaster is once and reflects the charm of street performers. Six Flags Magic park’s most beloved attractions. Carowinds’ sister more becoming an endangered species. Thankfully, parks (Canada’s Wonderland and Kings Dominion) wise operators of parks like Kennywood, Knoebels, Mountain is quick to give credit to Maintenance Director expanded their water parks and BOTH elected to Holiday World, Lagoon and others recognize the Tim Dofflow for his savvy handiwork. build walkways through structures of neighboring historic value of traditional wooden coasters. These The takeaway from this is a brilliant use of resources. wooden coasters, allowing guest easy access to the few places may hold the future’s last pure examples Virtually every park has a bone yard. So how can a creative new areas. of this classic art form. mind utilize such random leftovers? A thematic prop in a And it’s not as if Thunder Road is in disrepair. In If Carowinds’ owner Cedar Fair ignores vocif- dark ride? A Halloween setting? A clever thematic twist to fact, it’s the exact opposite: the park was in the last erous guest protest over the loss of this ride and stages of an expensive multi-year plan that saw the doesn’t reconsider, Thunder Road will close just a bring new life to an older attraction? The possibilities are majority of the ride’s structure and track completely few months short of its 40th anniversary. The race vast. rebuilt. Aside from a few small hills just before the will be over and there will be no winners. Call (817) 460-7220 for advertising, circulation or editorial inquiries Amusement Today is an independent, privately- Founder, Publisher and Editor Editorial Print Issue & Extra Extra owned trade newspaper published 14 times Gary Slade • (817) 460-7220 x3 Tim Baldwin Desktop Edition Production per year by Amusement Today Inc., P.O.