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If I recall, it's a pretty screwy arrangement with multiple parties involved. The lack of investment over the past decade shows that it isn't working out too well these days. It's not that the demand isn't there, it's just that HFEC isn't seeing the ROI somehow based on the current arrangement. If HFEC owned WW outright, it would be twice the size it is now with new additions every few years at least. Right now they just seem to keep it maintained enough to not taint their brand.

I wonder what happens to it after HFEC divests... I imagine they will try to keep it going as-is. Can't beat the location, so if they just keep it maintained it should be able to stay in business at least.

At one point, SF had the opportunity to manage Magic Springs, but passed on it. I think they are savvy enough to understand what it would take to make the park work, and the ROI just isn't there. You'd think it has potential, due to being the only theme park in Arkansas and being part of the Hot Springs tourist area. That being said, most people don't go to Hot Springs to go to a theme park. They are either on the lake or going to the spas. Like I said earlier though, the water park did OK - or at least it was doing OK the last time I was there some years ago.

Interesting. I seem to recall way back in the day they tried the video thing for a couple of seasons, but it was an older technology. I think it was long enough ago that they actually gave you a CD with the video on it?

The vertical video thing sounds like a great way to both generate some free publicity and monetize people's social media addictions. Plus its another tool to stop people from taking their phones out on rides. 

Magic Springs has apparently announced their intentions to close the Arkansas Twister roller coaster. https://screamscape.com/html/magic_springs.htm

Weirdly, they are also saying that they don't plan to demolish it, but are just going to abandon it in place. It is in kind of a weird off-shoot location of the park, but it's large enough people are going to notice it... This raises questions about whether or not the whole park is about to shut down. The water park makes a bit of money, but the rides park is a mess and hasn't been invested into for years now. It's all owned by a property REIT that, last I checked, mostly invested into ski resorts. I think they also own Frontier City?

This coaster should have been their star attraction, but they never seemed to maintain it well - although that goes for just about every ride in the park. Years ago I ventured over there specifically to ride it. I really liked the layout, but the cars just absolutely bounced around the track to the point I felt like I was actually in real danger. I think they had the last couple of cars blocked off because anyone riding in them would get whiplash, lol. The front seat was the only chance at a tolerable ride - luckily there was no line at all. I haven't been back since 2018 or so... I can't imagine it improved. Something tells me they didn't have a choice with this closure.

They were in pretty rough shape, but I hope there is a plan to bring them back in some way. I miss all the signage and funny scenes. I even miss the big entrance signs for both Wildfire and Powderkeg. That area needed some attention after 20+ years of just sitting and slowly losing things. I'm sure they have a plan for it all.

Something is still screwy with these boards. I tried to move this to the "Other Parks" discussion and combine with the thread that I created, but I can't get it to select the right board to move to. Sorry!

https://www.hfecorp.com/whats-new/herschend-to-acquire-palace-entertainments-us-attractions-from-parques-reunidos/

HFEC just got a lot bigger. Now they will have Kennywood, Lake Compounce, and Dutch Wonderland.

I am stoked. I worry about them getting too big and corporate, but at the same time they have to grow to survive. This will make the chain a lot stronger, especially once they bring Kennywood and Lake Compounce up to the HFEC standard. As long as HFEC stays privately owned, they can still operate in a much better way than Six Flags by investing in things for the long term rather than worrying about quarter to quarter results.

Thanks for the photos mg!

That improvement to fireman's landing is great. Love that they continue to improve and adapt things like this.

I wonder if the plaza will be open year round once it is done? Mostly just because it makes a nice short cut between FITH and the expo area. Between this and the apparent new connection between PK and Wildfire they are making a ton of progress on connecting the park better (and thereby adding more capacity for growth...)

Just a reminder this thread is for actual tracking on the project.  Let's keep the speculation in the correct other thread. 

I know I'm not a mod but we created this thread for a reason - not having to search through a thread of off topic posts to find real info

It's kind of hard to keep speculation separate from updates. The natural thing to do when you see dirt moving at the park is to take a guess at what they are doing. Most of this board is basically just speculation between scattered updates from our trips to the park.

Here are some pictures from opening day. (Click on them to see them larger.)

The area being cleared is from PowderKeg, to the Lumbercamp waterfall, and then follows the path back to WildFire and includes the area around the American Plunge lift and channel.

...

Thanks for the photos mg! That is a big area they are clearing. Looks like more than just a pathway connection...

@TPF just posted this video with some info. I'm perplexed about the Thunderation clue.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pfzH9qvHb74

Rumor around the park today was that this may be Thunderation's last year.

We thought TNT was a goner a couple years ago too, but the thing is TNT is the one ride they can basically rebuild continuously themselves. It's a maintenance pain sometimes, but when the track is in decent shape it is a work horse and a crowd pleaser. It seems like a waste for them to replace it.

I could see a Vekoma tilt coaster going there.  It would be only the 2nd one in North America and they could make it taller/longer than Siren's Curse for better marketability

There are two tilt coasters opening soon: one at Cedar Point and one at COTAland in Austin. COTAland takes forever to build stuff, so it probably won't open this year, but they are at least making progress. I don't think HFEC would spring for one at this point since they've been beaten to the punch with the marketing aspect. The tilt coasters are more gimmick than anything, and they aren't worth the maintenance headache if you don't get to market it as something unique.

Lots of photos are flooding into the various SDC FB groups, especially from mg. Looks like the whole area behind the waterfall has been wiped out. The AP tunnel is exposed. Wonder if this project will involve any big changes to the plunge?

Ah, I see they've added more to the spring break/march days than they had in years past. The last time I went during March it was just "spring ride days" and they pretty much just had the rides open. They've certainly been pushing things out more in the past few years to expand the operating calendar. They noted on social media that this year will have the most planned open days ever.

All rides will be open. They used to even have the water rides running during spring break, but I'm not sure how it has been the last few years. I usually don't get there until at least April. Be warned that spring break can get very busy, and with only the rides open, the lines can be pretty long.

Seems like they are doing the same strategy they've used before at Darien Lake and Wild Adventures. They always refresh a kids area and use it to set the feel for the direction they want the rest of the park to take. "Discovery Meadow" is a bit generic, but regardless they are replacing a seemingly worn out section of the park with a bunch of decorative paving, stone walls, and fancier landscaping and architectural treatments, so that's nice. The real thing to pay attention to here are the ride relocations. Seems like they are making a coaster sized open area northeast of Lightning Run.

Thanks for the photos mg. I wonder how many millions have been spent so far on all the earthwork... That might be the most expensive part of this project, and it's probably a big reason why it took so long. I still wonder what the final bill was for all the parking lot work that they spent nearly two decades on.