I’m devastated. This is our home park, about 20 min from our house. All those memories with the kids.
I have known a long time that this park was in danger esp with the Cedar Fair merger, which is part of why we kept supporting it. Now the closest park, Kings Dominion, will be almost 2 hrs drive and require (for us) a hotel.
Yes, KD is better. Yes we are also close to Hershey. But dang I wanted to someday take grandkids on those same kiddie rides my kids went on so much. It’s mostly SF branded stuff so I don’t expect it to transfer if another park company buys it. I don’t even know if that’s possible.
For us, Cedar Point is a 2 hour drive…but only one time in probably 100+ visits have we stayed at a hotel. It may seem like a lot, but doing a park 2 hours away can still be a day trip!
I am sorry you are losing your “home park” though. It isn’t surprising. Honestly, I had never even heard of this particular Six Flags park, and we knew that with the merger several parks would end up closed.
Looking at the coasters there, I don’t know how many would be worth disassembling and moving to other parks. Maybe a couple could be, if they moved them to some smaller parks. (Michigan’s Adventure has exactly one decent coaster, and most people go to that park for the water park…but it isn’t worth the drive for us to bother…but inheriting a coaster might be something they could afford to do there.)
I was sad to see this! DD was going to get an AP when she turned 16 so she could go in the summer. When I first moved to the area, I loved going here. But it is decidedly not size friendly so it has been awhile since I was there.
Ride of Steel is worth transfering somewhere. It is a solid, fast, fun coaster.
They also have a wooden coaster from 1917 that would be a shame for its time to end.
@Kitty_Ellas_Mom - with any luck it may be like Kentucky Kingdom- six flags bought it filed bankruptcy and then sold it off again- it was just picked up by Herschend ( company that runs Dollywood, Siver Dollar City ect)
Hopefully it will be bought out by a good company.
I hope so too, although SF is saying they’re just selling the land.
However, the PG county government reps immediately said they were blindsided by this, and they have no intention of rezoning the land, which right now is zoned amusement park or entertainment. It’s 500 acres of which maybe half can be developed. There’s some sort of nature preserve. For that reason, hopeful SF fans argued for years online that the park couldn’t be sold.
The park went through a couple of incarnations before becoming a SF in 1999. It’s been around since the early 70s. Ross Perot started it, I think, as some sort of animal safari.
One PG government rep said they are going to go to Vegas for ideas for what could be put on the land, so my mind is spinning. I have no idea what they expect to find out there. They also say phones are ringing off the hook with people interested in the land.
One idea being thrown around on reddit is that Disney might be interested, because long ago they thought about doing something in Manassas, Virginia. I don’t know anything about that except people mentioning it there. But so too people are saying that SF Cedar Fair won’t want to create competition for their close parks like Kings Dominion.
Herschend has been snapping up little local amusement parks and trying to fix-em up over the last few years…especially since DW took off. You never know Kentucky kingdom sat abandoned for a bit.
I had no idea this happened a year before I got her. Its probably why I was so suprised and thrilled that there was an affordable amusement park so close by.
The original concept for the mid Atlantic park was based on an Americana theme. I suspect that is no longer of any interest to Disney.
I hope something interesting is put there! If the Commandars do move to the old RFK site, PG county could definitely use a draw to that area.