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      Everyone likes a good read from time to time, or even all the time. That's why our team of writers is constantly at work putting their opinions and insights into words, and this is the place to find their work: the Editorials & Articles section! We write about anything and everything, from the implications of the latest topics of news around the amusement industry, to the timeless topics of interest, to just plain satire. If you can think of a topic you would love to see in the form of an article, chances are you'll be seeing it in the future!

Six Flags New England: What Lies Ahead?
Six Flags New England: What Lies Ahead? / By: Coaster Force, Monday, June 07, 2004 -
Six Flags New England is highly regarded as one of the best, if not the single best, amusement park in New England. It offers an excellent collection of roller coasters and thrill rides, in several different varieties. However, the park could use several improvements to make it among the elite parks in the country.

Although many people wonder about Six Flags New England’s future, many people can agree that the park’s current coaster lineup is good enough, but it is lacking in some aspects. Easily the most popular and most thrilling attraction in the park is the Superman: Ride of Steel hyper coaster, reaching heights of over 200 feet and speeds of up to 72 miles per hour, created by Intamin AG of Switzerland. This is one of the most heart-pounding, scream inducing rides in the world; it was recently voted as the #1 coaster in the country by the Amusement Today magazine. Another popular roller coaster in the park is the Batman: the Dark Knight steel floorless coaster, which features five inversions. However, the major downfall of this ride is that it is quite short, meaning the thrills don’t last for a long time. The park’s other coasters are not as strong and are really nothing special. Besides Superman: Ride of Steel and Batman, Six Flags has an average, poorly maintained Vekoma suspended looping coaster, known as Mind Eraser; the Thunder Bolt is a classic wooden coaster which has its fans, but doesn’t provide major thrills. The Cyclone was designed by William Cobb and originally opened when the park wasn’t owned by Six Flags, and was called ‘Riverside’. The Cyclone originally had one of the most thrilling, craziest layouts of any coaster, but when Six Flags bought the park, they decided to make tamer modifications to it, and it has never been near the same quality as it once was; now it is slow, covered with brakes, and poorly maintained. Concluding the remaining coaster lineup for the park is the Flashback, an average Vekoma boomerang that is nothing special, a family coaster called Poison Ivy’s Tangled Train, and a kiddie coaster.

So what does Six Flags New England really need? In my opinion, it’s time that the park gets one more new, thrilling coaster, especially now, because several coasters are losing their popularity and the public is beginning to notice what the park lacks. All Six Flags New England really needs is just one more excellent coaster, and it will have one of the best coaster lineups in the country, putting them up there with Six Flags Great Adventure, Cedar Point, and Six Flags Magic Mountain.

The park desperately needs a new wooden coaster to start out with, considering that the Thunder Bolt truly isn’t a world-class coaster, and the Cyclone is now slow and poorly maintained, so basically, it is useless. A good wooden coaster built in the back of the park behind Blizzard River would be a perfect choice, but the park does not have much space to work with, so this may not be possible. Also, a wooden coaster requires careful maintenance and a dedicated staff, which is something the park has yet to show, due to the poor condition of the Thunder Bolt and the Cyclone.

A more possible choice for a future coaster is an Intamin Impulse, a ride like the Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, or Steel Venom in Valleyfair. An Impulse coaster is a unique type of steel coaster, using a train that hangs beneath the tracks where riders dangle their feet. The train launches to speeds of about 72 miles per hour, shoot up a vertical twisting track, come back down and speed through the station backwards, then ascend another vertical track; the process is repeated several times before the ride comes to a stop. An Impulse is a more possible choice because it doesn’t require a lot of space and can be built on small plots of land, plus it is a unique coaster and would be the only coaster of its kind in the Northeast.

However, roller coasters aren’t all that Six Flags New England could use improvement on. The rides need to be maintained better, especially the Thunder Bolt, Cyclone, and Mind Eraser, all of which are in poor condition and are quite rough. Also, many of the bathrooms are dirty and desperately need cleaning, and several areas of the park are dirty as well. Six Flags New England should strive to have a traditional, peaceful amusement park atmosphere, which is something that suddenly disappeared when Six Flags bought the park in 2000. It already has a perfect location and a good collection of rides; now it just needs the commitment of its staff and a few more improvements.

Nobody knows what the future holds in store for us with Six Flags New England. All we can do is sit back, relax, and predict what the management will do. We can however, hope that us park fans get what we want: more thrill rides and a better atmosphere.