Spot on analysis. I predicted this may start a mini coaster war in that smaller parks finally have options to bring world class attractions at a reasonable budget to the smaller chains / FEC’s
18 million isnt going to help smaller chains. The Raptor and Trex are perfect for FEC and small parks but they havent pulled the trigger on them and they been out for 5 years now. But ive always thought RMC should make a i box shorter, (50-70 ft)more compact but still full of airtime n maybe a inversion and market those for smaller parks
Heard that John Arie Jr said their spring break attendance has tripled from last year, so this definitely has had some impact. What'll be interesting is if this leads to sustained attendance growth and increased awareness of the park. I heard several of the general public say "this is better than anything at Six Flags" so its very possible that word of mouth will be a strong marketing force for them.
I believe this was actually the smartest move ever, because all of a sudden, everyone is like “we gotta go to fun spot to ride this ride” me who lives in Cali is trying to get out to fun spot alanta now😂 that should say something
This is a very unique situation. I've been telling my parents we gotta go ride this thing and they didn't even know Funspot Atlanta existed until this year and we LIVE about an hour out from it.
I’m glad Fun Spot Atl is getting a well needed upgrade, I’ve been going to this park since it was Dixieland and the gradual additions are making this park a fair alternative to Six Flags
It worked on me. I was aware of the chain, but I never went to any of the parks. The announcement of this ride was enough to get me to buy a season pass. I visited the Florida locations in December and February, when I was in the area to go to Universal.
I don't think the RMC "formula" is a problem. How many B&Ms of each type go through the same handful of elements? It's really just RMC's individual style, like how most manufacturers have a "style". Plus they have a lot of unique ones too, like Lightning Rod and or New Texas Giant--and they've even evolved over time, too. Notice how they phased out the overbanked turns of Storm Chaser and Goliath in favor of outer banked turns. Plus they've been getting better and better, with a big shift starting with Steel Vengeance
It's a lot like Holiday World. Before Raven, most people did not know about the park, even though they had been around for long time. And then when they announced Thunderbird, that completely caught me off guard! I would have never imagined a small park like them to invest in an expensive coaster from B&M.
"Bold and risky" is what I've thought since ZDTs built Switchback. Not the scale of Arie Force One, but it's a 65 ft unique, major multi-million-dollar coaster that shocks most enthusiasts. There is little else of significance at ZDTs. Awesome enthusiast owners. Perhaps studying/interviewing them would help as you probe the fascinating topic of this video? They've had 8 years of experience in this scenario. Kemah is _kind of_ there with Boardwalk Bullet, Trader's Village, too (Prairie Screamer _kicks ass_ BTW). "RMC fatigue," LOL! I feel that, as their coasters have a sameness to them. B&M, too, big time IMO! But the GP isn't affected by this, only enthusiasts. In fact, one reason I'm a wood coaster guy is that, to me, steel coasters in general have a similarity & personality deficiency that detracts from their being as special as wood coasters. Great video & very interesting subject!
this is actually not the first time a coaster of this size was built at an unknown park. not even the first rmc. wildfire at kolmarden is similar in that it was a zoo with a few small attraction. nobody outside sweden knew of this park until they decided to built a huge topper track rmc from the ground up here.
Funspot probably plans on putting a lot more investment into this park in the coming years. They are already talking about working with RMC again in the future. Maybe they will finally enter the "family coaster" space? They said a few years ago they wanted to do that but who knows with the change in management at RMC since then.
I rode it four times today. The ride is intense!! I think the park being so small kind of takes away from my opinion of the ride. I would put it slightly behind Lightning Rod just because the aesthetics at Dollywood are so much better.
I think that while this is a major step for everyone involved, smaller theme parks and the coaster industry as a whole, I do think that RMC should continue to branch out of the states as they have so many possible markets to pander to. Us Americans are kinda spoiled now, and while we keep begging for more, I think this is what will likely lead into what you mentioned with RMC fatigue. I hope we can see a few more around at smaller parks more than I do the larger chain parks, but not every park needs one like people keep saying.
Definitely not one in every park, but one per region would be nice so we don't need to take a road trip or book a flight to ride one. Nearest to me is 4 hours still, which isn't awful, but definitely not ideal (especially since it's SteVe so just riding that one ride alone will take a considerable amount of my trip time with the queue).
To me it proves that a ground-up RMC should be at least considered by every major franchise for their lower tier parks too. $13 million, even with added infrastructure costs, is a relatively low number for a top tier roller coaster addition at a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park. So no new B&M coaster for Valley Fair, ok, but they could probably spring for one of these, that sort of thing.
"In your opinion".... thank you for saying that, I try to respect all opinions, we all have them and it's nice to share them & here what others think. IMO the ending on Arie is amazing!!! I want all the aggressive ejector airtime I can possibly get back to back to back so no i dont agree at all with that part but its definitely a game changer in the way in which you described. Nice video
This opening and how it was handled made me go check out the two Florida parks just to toss some money their way again. I was going to head up over the last few days for Six Flags and Fun Spot, however decided to wait due to the forecast. Glad Arie Jr. is very open to working with rmc for a florida park.
I was aware of the Florida parks, and was semi-interested in visiting them, but the Aerie Force One announcement was thing that got me to buy a season pass and actually visit.
When Michigan's Adventure installed the Corkscrew in 1979 it was basically a petting zoo! And there weren't many other Corkscrews around so it was a huge deal - apparently the people at Arrow couldn't understand the logic. But it worked out pretty good and transformed the park into what we see today.
4:50 "[These hills] mostly just throw your thighs and shins against the restraint" This was the one big complaint I had about Twisted Timbers... the hills at the end were not fun for my thighs
i think this would change the perception of these type of rides. With RMC paying attention to a small park chain and having this project be so far very successful it will undoubtedly open the eyes to other manufacturers and park owners to the fact that a park doesnt have to be huge or be part of a big entertainment chain to have world class rides. and im convinced we will see more colaborations between world class manufacturers and smaller parks. and not only from RMC but i think other manufacturers will want a piece of the pie. my bet is on vekoma seeing how they are trying to step up their game from being a lower class manufacturer and trying to innovate and reach out to a wider market.
I bet that study didn't include buying a attraction of this magnitude and what effects it can have. Maybe Arieforce 1 was such a big investment it broke all the rules and made an unknown little family fair known worldwide (I am from Finland myself) :D
Regarding the similarity of RMC coasters, the same could have been said about L.A. Thompson scenic railways or PTC woodies back in the early days of the industry, only there were no traveling enthusiasts then to notice and complain about it. Regarding this particular RMC, with the price of major theme parks becoming out of the reach of more and more people, this could potentially help spark a revival of smaller local parks having at least one major coaster. Imagine places like Family Kingdom or Waldameer becoming the norm again instead of the exception. That would be great for everyone.
Idk about your local Scene 75. Actually finding a small family run FEC is getting harder and harder these days. As for the clumps of corporate run FECs, I still think their best buck is made by expanding into new markets rather than trying to draw regional interest with a single attraction. However, smaller water parks may follow the Lost Island blueprint (maybe less thematic) and start adding amusement rides and look to RMC for their crowning jewel. Actually, DelGrosso's Should order the same model with the double hump camelback ending to draw from the hersheypark crowds the way Fun Spot is drwawing from Over Georgia.
Isn't there an FEC in Europe that did the same thing? I think the park will be re-named Funnest SPOT! I'll BET that the coaster will bring in lots of biz for the next several years. They also did other ride installations + improvements as well. Remember Knott's started w/ chicken, Boysenberry pie & a ghost town. Existed before Disneyland. So there's that.
I could see an even smaller version of the raptor with like 4 personae trains and maybe a launch being popular with fecs aswell as the intamin hot racer
Idk how twisted Timbers and steel vengeance are so highly rated they really just repainted the track and called it a new ride I haven’t even ridden either after their repaints they can’t trick me
Great video, and interesting opinion on the industry. But what you’re discussing is nothing new; it just hasn’t been done in a long time. The 1910’s and 20’s was the first renaissance of this mindset. North America was littered with small family-owned parks featuring one large roller coaster amongst several smaller rides. Hopefully Fun Spot is successful, and we see other smaller parks adopting this approach. 👍
LOL....he needs to slow down and figure out what direction he is actually trying to go in. This was supposed to be the season Niagara Amusement Park was a full park (it's year 3)...and they are still using the excuse of cleaning the place up. There's like 4 rides there🤣😂🤣💀💀
@@chrismdb5686 nope it's the 3rd season technically. They opened the waterpark Ann kept the park closed the 1st. Last season...being the 2nd...they opened the park.
@@chrismdb5686 it's OK to be wrong💀💀 and if you read what I wrote above clearly having the 2 parks open at different times would mean they are seperate now wouldn't it🤔🤔🤔
Yeah. ArieForce One is just like Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point - the first big ride at its park. Before Magnum, Cedar Point just had a few small rollercoasters like Gemini and Blue Streak. Also, Colossus at Thorpe Park. Before that, Thorpe Park was just a small family amusement park, with rides like Mr Monkey's Banana Ride and Flying Fish. And Nemesis at Alton Towers. And (maybe) Silver Star at Europa-Park. And The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. This sort of thing is pretty normal when it comes to building up a small park.
to me it sometimes feels like RMC comes to the end of their ride and is like "wait... the station is still very far away" and just defaults to adding short airtime hops, regardless of them being rather jarring and unpleasant.
@@FCSlim right I get that. My point isn't on the quality of the rides. My point was just that since arrow had to rely on bending steel in a specific fashion, they couldn't profile things like in the modern day and age.
@KrimsonStorm yeah. For me though that one usage seemed to be where it actually shined. What rmc did was a modern version tbh, but i want to feel it in person to see if its too much. I just enjoy ejector airtime and even rough rides. Hell i liked mean streak for beating me up, although its better now as vengence.
HOW did such a small company like Fun Spot actually manage to even AFFORD a $13 million coaster?? I’m guessing this will end up being $15-20 a ride just to cover whatever financing the Arie family needed to cobble together….
@victoriag9801 Fun spot did say they made redonkulous money during the pandemic because they came from the outset of distancing, stay outside, and cleaning off rides, and also because it was lesser known tons of people flocked. I remember hearing from somewhere that they doubled in attendance since the middle of the pandemic, and during that time they opened literally nothing new, so it was just pocketed money for future investments... like this!
Spot on analysis. I predicted this may start a mini coaster war in that smaller parks finally have options to bring world class attractions at a reasonable budget to the smaller chains / FEC’s
18 million isnt going to help smaller chains. The Raptor and Trex are perfect for FEC and small parks but they havent pulled the trigger on them and they been out for 5 years now. But ive always thought RMC should make a i box shorter, (50-70 ft)more compact but still full of airtime n maybe a inversion and market those for smaller parks
@@tinypoolmodelshipyard coaster was 12 million, the station and other land work costed 6 million
Fun Fact: The first ever RMC to feature a full steel support structure is actually Storm Chaser at Kentucky (opened 2016) Kingdom. NOT Arieforce One
Heard that John Arie Jr said their spring break attendance has tripled from last year, so this definitely has had some impact. What'll be interesting is if this leads to sustained attendance growth and increased awareness of the park. I heard several of the general public say "this is better than anything at Six Flags" so its very possible that word of mouth will be a strong marketing force for them.
That's encouraging
Hoping it keeps up, attendance has been noticeably higher!
It gives me Twisted Cyclone vibes mixed in with some Goliath...but like the reviewer said, the ending is a tad painful for thighs.
How have the lines been for this ride? And what else is there to do in the park?
Q
I believe this was actually the smartest move ever, because all of a sudden, everyone is like “we gotta go to fun spot to ride this ride” me who lives in Cali is trying to get out to fun spot alanta now😂 that should say something
Local coasters are often overlooked. By Maintenance, cough, Rampage
This is a very unique situation. I've been telling my parents we gotta go ride this thing and they didn't even know Funspot Atlanta existed until this year and we LIVE about an hour out from it.
Cried at the “giga t-Rex at my local scene 75” 😂😂
I’m glad Fun Spot Atl is getting a well needed upgrade, I’ve been going to this park since it was Dixieland and the gradual additions are making this park a fair alternative to Six Flags
It worked on me. I was aware of the chain, but I never went to any of the parks. The announcement of this ride was enough to get me to buy a season pass. I visited the Florida locations in December and February, when I was in the area to go to Universal.
Very well said! 👏
ArieForce One is so good! Super happy for Fun Spot and RMC working together on this. Can't wait to see what the future brings!
Same here!
I don't think the RMC "formula" is a problem. How many B&Ms of each type go through the same handful of elements? It's really just RMC's individual style, like how most manufacturers have a "style". Plus they have a lot of unique ones too, like Lightning Rod and or New Texas Giant--and they've even evolved over time, too. Notice how they phased out the overbanked turns of Storm Chaser and Goliath in favor of outer banked turns. Plus they've been getting better and better, with a big shift starting with Steel Vengeance
It's a lot like Holiday World. Before Raven, most people did not know about the park, even though they had been around for long time. And then when they announced Thunderbird, that completely caught me off guard! I would have never imagined a small park like them to invest in an expensive coaster from B&M.
"Bold and risky" is what I've thought since ZDTs built Switchback. Not the scale of Arie Force One, but it's a 65 ft unique, major multi-million-dollar coaster that shocks most enthusiasts. There is little else of significance at ZDTs. Awesome enthusiast owners. Perhaps studying/interviewing them would help as you probe the fascinating topic of this video? They've had 8 years of experience in this scenario. Kemah is _kind of_ there with Boardwalk Bullet, Trader's Village, too (Prairie Screamer _kicks ass_ BTW). "RMC fatigue," LOL! I feel that, as their coasters have a sameness to them. B&M, too, big time IMO! But the GP isn't affected by this, only enthusiasts. In fact, one reason I'm a wood coaster guy is that, to me, steel coasters in general have a similarity & personality deficiency that detracts from their being as special as wood coasters. Great video & very interesting subject!
this is actually not the first time a coaster of this size was built at an unknown park. not even the first rmc. wildfire at kolmarden is similar in that it was a zoo with a few small attraction. nobody outside sweden knew of this park until they decided to built a huge topper track rmc from the ground up here.
Funspot probably plans on putting a lot more investment into this park in the coming years. They are already talking about working with RMC again in the future. Maybe they will finally enter the "family coaster" space? They said a few years ago they wanted to do that but who knows with the change in management at RMC since then.
So hype to ride this. Really hope it works out well financially for fun spot bc you’re right, this really could change how smaller parks operate.
Thank you so much for making it out to opening day and giving the park this attention! The ending had me cackling, maybe that’s next here😂
What I would love to see is more Gerstlauer Infinity coasters in small parks with that beautiful lighting package
POSTING BACK TO BACK BANGERSSSSSS AMAZING JOB PARK PROS!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤
I rode it four times today. The ride is intense!! I think the park being so small kind of takes away from my opinion of the ride. I would put it slightly behind Lightning Rod just because the aesthetics at Dollywood are so much better.
The idea of ArieForceOne is nuts, but if they can pull off the Hail mary, it could lead to another Coaster war between FEC & Chains 😂
“RMC fatigue” can never become a thing for me, as long as B&M is still out there making boring ass rides
Idk how much longer my shins can handle all these new RMC's 😂
Thanks for the great video. You're right about this being a possible game changer in the industry.
I think that while this is a major step for everyone involved, smaller theme parks and the coaster industry as a whole, I do think that RMC should continue to branch out of the states as they have so many possible markets to pander to. Us Americans are kinda spoiled now, and while we keep begging for more, I think this is what will likely lead into what you mentioned with RMC fatigue.
I hope we can see a few more around at smaller parks more than I do the larger chain parks, but not every park needs one like people keep saying.
This is 100% a spoiled take from me. I think RMC has quite a few more markets around the country they can go to.
Definitely not one in every park, but one per region would be nice so we don't need to take a road trip or book a flight to ride one. Nearest to me is 4 hours still, which isn't awful, but definitely not ideal (especially since it's SteVe so just riding that one ride alone will take a considerable amount of my trip time with the queue).
@@chrismdb5686 The Midwest is probably the most in need at this point, especially with how spread apart it is.
@@ParkPros I agree. I’m saying as far as the more popular regions go, they’ve already been covered.
To me it proves that a ground-up RMC should be at least considered by every major franchise for their lower tier parks too. $13 million, even with added infrastructure costs, is a relatively low number for a top tier roller coaster addition at a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park. So no new B&M coaster for Valley Fair, ok, but they could probably spring for one of these, that sort of thing.
"In your opinion".... thank you for saying that, I try to respect all opinions, we all have them and it's nice to share them & here what others think. IMO the ending on Arie is amazing!!! I want all the aggressive ejector airtime I can possibly get back to back to back so no i dont agree at all with that part but its definitely a game changer in the way in which you described. Nice video
This opening and how it was handled made me go check out the two Florida parks just to toss some money their way again. I was going to head up over the last few days for Six Flags and Fun Spot, however decided to wait due to the forecast. Glad Arie Jr. is very open to working with rmc for a florida park.
I was aware of the Florida parks, and was semi-interested in visiting them, but the Aerie Force One announcement was thing that got me to buy a season pass and actually visit.
really enjoyed this video. I wonder how wildcats revenge will turn out...
When Michigan's Adventure installed the Corkscrew in 1979 it was basically a petting zoo! And there weren't many other Corkscrews around so it was a huge deal - apparently the people at Arrow couldn't understand the logic. But it worked out pretty good and transformed the park into what we see today.
4:50 "[These hills] mostly just throw your thighs and shins against the restraint"
This was the one big complaint I had about Twisted Timbers... the hills at the end were not fun for my thighs
Been going to six flags over Georgia for 30 years every summer and never heard of fun spot atlanta. I now have a season pass for fun spot.
i think this would change the perception of these type of rides. With RMC paying attention to a small park chain and having this project be so far very successful it will undoubtedly open the eyes to other manufacturers and park owners to the fact that a park doesnt have to be huge or be part of a big entertainment chain to have world class rides. and im convinced we will see more colaborations between world class manufacturers and smaller parks. and not only from RMC but i think other manufacturers will want a piece of the pie. my bet is on vekoma seeing how they are trying to step up their game from being a lower class manufacturer and trying to innovate and reach out to a wider market.
I bet that study didn't include buying a attraction of this magnitude and what effects it can have. Maybe Arieforce 1 was such a big investment it broke all the rules and made an unknown little family fair known worldwide (I am from Finland myself) :D
Regarding the similarity of RMC coasters, the same could have been said about L.A. Thompson scenic railways or PTC woodies back in the early days of the industry, only there were no traveling enthusiasts then to notice and complain about it.
Regarding this particular RMC, with the price of major theme parks becoming out of the reach of more and more people, this could potentially help spark a revival of smaller local parks having at least one major coaster. Imagine places like Family Kingdom or Waldameer becoming the norm again instead of the exception. That would be great for everyone.
Idk about your local Scene 75. Actually finding a small family run FEC is getting harder and harder these days. As for the clumps of corporate run FECs, I still think their best buck is made by expanding into new markets rather than trying to draw regional interest with a single attraction. However, smaller water parks may follow the Lost Island blueprint (maybe less thematic) and start adding amusement rides and look to RMC for their crowning jewel. Actually, DelGrosso's Should order the same model with the double hump camelback ending to draw from the hersheypark crowds the way Fun Spot is drwawing from Over Georgia.
Isn't there an FEC in Europe that did the same thing? I think the park will be re-named Funnest SPOT! I'll BET that the coaster will bring in lots of biz for the next several years. They also did other ride installations + improvements as well. Remember Knott's started w/ chicken, Boysenberry pie & a ghost town. Existed before Disneyland. So there's that.
There is a ground up RMC at Energylandia in Poland and it kicks ass...I'd rate it better than gwazi and on a level with steel vengance
I could see an even smaller version of the raptor with like 4 personae trains and maybe a launch being popular with fecs aswell as the intamin hot racer
Modern day Desperado
Incredible ride...but I do agree about the thighs sustaining a bit of pain from those last humps at the end!
I like the comparison to COTALAND.
#1 rmc hands down.
Idk how twisted Timbers and steel vengeance are so highly rated they really just repainted the track and called it a new ride I haven’t even ridden either after their repaints they can’t trick me
Both of those rides are nowhere near the woodies they replaced. I’ve ridden the originals and the RMC conversions. Not even close or remotely similar
just AIRTIME POINT , AFTER AIRTIME POINT😭!
cool i gease
Great video, and interesting opinion on the industry. But what you’re discussing is nothing new; it just hasn’t been done in a long time. The 1910’s and 20’s was the first renaissance of this mindset. North America was littered with small family-owned parks featuring one large roller coaster amongst several smaller rides. Hopefully Fun Spot is successful, and we see other smaller parks adopting this approach. 👍
All eyes on you Gene Staples
LOL....he needs to slow down and figure out what direction he is actually trying to go in. This was supposed to be the season Niagara Amusement Park was a full park (it's year 3)...and they are still using the excuse of cleaning the place up. There's like 4 rides there🤣😂🤣💀💀
@@mattr3922 Year 3? This is the second season the park will have been open under Staples and they have done a ton of work on it.
@@chrismdb5686 nope it's the 3rd season technically. They opened the waterpark Ann kept the park closed the 1st. Last season...being the 2nd...they opened the park.
@@mattr3922 You do understand that the water park and dry park are two separate things, yes?
@@chrismdb5686 it's OK to be wrong💀💀 and if you read what I wrote above clearly having the 2 parks open at different times would mean they are seperate now wouldn't it🤔🤔🤔
I think the first RMC really changed the game this is now just a good coaster.
False wrong it's the best coaster
Rollercoaster enthusiast community is reeking of recency bias rn.
Yeah. ArieForce One is just like Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point - the first big ride at its park. Before Magnum, Cedar Point just had a few small rollercoasters like Gemini and Blue Streak.
Also, Colossus at Thorpe Park. Before that, Thorpe Park was just a small family amusement park, with rides like Mr Monkey's Banana Ride and Flying Fish.
And Nemesis at Alton Towers.
And (maybe) Silver Star at Europa-Park.
And The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
This sort of thing is pretty normal when it comes to building up a small park.
@@me-myself-i787 and then arie force becomes doodoo shit
i predict a rmc giga at Santa's village 👍
to me it sometimes feels like RMC comes to the end of their ride and is like "wait... the station is still very far away" and just defaults to adding short airtime hops, regardless of them being rather jarring and unpleasant.
Not on Zadra ..
You could say that all wooden coasters are similar and the same thing as well, but they're not... like RMCs
Ending looks like the magnum and looks just as painful
knoebels is now in danger if rmc comes,and lots of backlash.
The end of the ride ruins it imo even visually. That last run would even look cooler with bigger hills and less supports
that ending just seems like a more intense take on magnum's ending. so for that im down
@@FCSlim It's magnum's ending if Arrow had the ability to actually profile hills.
@KrimsonStorm the profile makes the ride though. It works for that part. The turns and dives are where it hurts on arrow loopers.
@@FCSlim right I get that. My point isn't on the quality of the rides. My point was just that since arrow had to rely on bending steel in a specific fashion, they couldn't profile things like in the modern day and age.
@KrimsonStorm yeah. For me though that one usage seemed to be where it actually shined. What rmc did was a modern version tbh, but i want to feel it in person to see if its too much. I just enjoy ejector airtime and even rough rides. Hell i liked mean streak for beating me up, although its better now as vengence.
I’ll never ride this 😭
Everything I've seen is that park is always empty. I have doubts this coaster pays off
Hold up outlaw run is RMC?!?! It has a different track style tho?
Of course Outlaw Run is RMC. The track style is simply another TYPE of their track.
Rmc also makes wooden coasters bro
@@Apollosdemise Made, RMC pulled their topper track model off the market after L Rod
Get this:
Wonder Woman: Golden Lasso Coaster is also RMC.
HOW did such a small company like Fun Spot actually manage to even AFFORD a $13 million coaster?? I’m guessing this will end up being $15-20 a ride just to cover whatever financing the Arie family needed to cobble together….
They’ll make it back in soft drink sales
@victoriag9801 Fun spot did say they made redonkulous money during the pandemic because they came from the outset of distancing, stay outside, and cleaning off rides, and also because it was lesser known tons of people flocked. I remember hearing from somewhere that they doubled in attendance since the middle of the pandemic, and during that time they opened literally nothing new, so it was just pocketed money for future investments... like this!
@Victoria G I know, but the two existing Fun Spots are barely bigger than your average Family Fun Center…it’s just a REALLY BIG RISK
I believe it $12 a ride, but this is the type of attraction that people start seeing the value of the $35 all day pass
Cry baby the ending is goat, he said flaws cause he a little softy that can't handle the air time 😂
Ya and I want a rmc single rail at the airway fun center in mi 😂