Amusement Park Alternate History WIs

[Kalvan]

1: What if Cedar Fair acquired Beach Bend (Bowling Green, KY) Lake Winnemauga (Chattanooga, Tenn), and Lake Compounce when they were for sale in the late Eighties/early Nineties.

2: What if Paramount had acquired Action Park (New Jersey) in the Mid-Nineties, about the same time it had acquired King's Island, King's Dominion, and Carrowinds, and then sold them to Cedar Fair?

3: Six Flags bought Kennywood Entertainment instead of Parques Reiunidos?

4: Six Flags didn't call it quits with Six Flags New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina?

5: Cedar Fair bought Kennywood Entertainment, and Six Flags bought the the Paramount Parks

6: Six Flags had the merger with Parques Reiunidos and Kennywood stayed independent and/or merged with the Anheuser-Busch parks when they went public.

I'm working on a few more WIs, but feel free to respond to these and/or post your own.

 

[TimTurner]

4: Six Flags didn't call it quits with Six Flags New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina?

Wow, a place to behold.

 

[Kalvan]

Wow, a place to behold.

Now, imagine that with the windows and lights still in place and the without the gang tags and extra, uh, social commentary.

Anyone else?

 

[Bomster]

An interesting one would be if Walt Disney lives long enough to build EPCOT City.

 

[AnonymousSauce]

Now, imagine that with the windows and lights still in place and the without the gang tags and extra, uh, social commentary.

Anyone else?

You could just have Southern Star not flake out and go thru with the plan to make it into Nick Universe South in '09

 

[ejpsan]

The Walt Disney Company wanted to buy Knott's Berry Farm in the '90s and turn it into Disney's America but the surviving Knott family members did not want their parent's vision to go away.

 

[unclepatrick]

A alternative version of Disneyland.
https://www.themeparktourist.com/fe...yland-walk-through-disneyland-it-couldve-been

 

[unclepatrick]

And I still want Disney to do the Discovery Bay idea that they considered in the 1970's. If any thing, Steampunk is more popular and would be more popular with vistors to the parks.
They could start with Updated 20000 League Under the Sea ride that they developed for Disney Sea in Japan as well the Journey To the Center of the Earth Ride from the same park.
https://www.themeparktourist.com/fe...ventive-tale-disneylands-astounding-lost-land

 

[unclepatrick]

Other What if from Disney theme parks
The different ideas that they had with Mountains in the parks
https://www.themeparktourist.com/fe...bilityland-never-built-disney-parks-mountains

The Western River Ride that should have been made
https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20170916/33192/possibilityland-western-river-expedition

Tomorrowland 2055 a proposed 90's remodel of Tomorrowland
https://www.themeparktourist.com/fe...isney-almost-built-and-failure-it-got-instead

Project Gemini a proposed remodel of Epcot
https://www.themeparktourist.com/fe...i-lost-redesign-wouldve-changed-epcot-forever

And Beasty Kingdom for Animal Kingdom
https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20131017/14745/avatar-what-was-beastly-kingdom

 

[Joe Bonkers]

Any way Pacific Ocean Park can survive?

 

[Joe Bonkers]

Knoebels buys San Souci in Wilkes-Barre and Rocky Glen in Scranton PA; later becomes site of Scranton Zoo

 

[GTStinger]

1: What if Cedar Fair acquired Beach Bend (Bowling Green, KY) Lake Winnemauga (Chattanooga, Tenn), and Lake Compounce when they were for sale in the late Eighties/early Nineties.

I grew up minutes away from Lake Winnepesaukah in Rossville (Chattanooga).
The biggest limitation to expansion is road access. It is only two lane roads leading to it and it is surrounded by established residential neighborhoods. (Actually had a friend that could hop a six foot fence in his back yard and be in the park.) Widening roads to the nearest highway would be a daunting project.

Only locals really go there. Outside tourists go a short drive south to Six Flags Georgia or north to Dollywood (or Opryland before it closed.)

It still has a pay-per-ride system with a nominal entry fee.

The best improvement in the 90’s would be to improve the quality and frequency of musical acts. Parents can watch the show while the kids ride the attractions.

Returning the miniature golf course and adding go-karts / motorboats and a couple decent restaurants might also broaden it’s appeal as a fun night out place vs a “gonna be there all day” type park.

 

[unclepatrick]

Another What if for Disney. The proposed replacement of Adventure Land with a World based on the Indiana Jones Movies.
https://www.themeparktourist.com/fe...ver-disneylands-indiana-jones-lost-expedition

 

[unclepatrick]

And it not just Disney that had ideas that never came to light.
Universal had a number of ideas that were never build.
https://www.themeparktourist.com/fe...rlando-rides-and-attractions-were-never-built

 

[unclepatrick]

At one point Disney almost did the World of Harry Potter in their parks.
Here is the story

 

[Mad Bad Rabbit]

- Disney builds in Houston Texas (on the Kingwood tract) instead of Florida (and instead of Astroworld being built in Houston).

- Kruschev is allowed to visit Disneyland, and immediately orders construction of Rodinaland when he gets home.

 

[M79]

A) Disneyworld gets its original location just north of Daytona Beach - they lowballed a lot of land and raised the suspicion of locals who figured out where the money was coming from. That forced a relocation to a cattle-town called Orlando.

B) Skyplex is up and running on time in 2015 with a 500-foot drop...

C) Las Vegas Stratosphere gets its proposed 700 fopt drop roller coaster in 2001

D) Actually build *this* but make the twists more gradual & add more vertical elements:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h6wSy...BMAt6BAgJEAU&usg=AOvVaw3x6MvEcs1Lv_oWIFqr82jr