The Wii Experience at Six Flags

[YoshiFan1]

I was at Great Adventure today and they had this event set up (I think it's for at least the whole season) called the Wii Experience. They had about 8 Wii's set up and 4 DS lites with various games. Warioware, Wii Sports, Cooking Mama, Zelda, SSX Blur were the ones I remember. The Wii remoted had a cord attached to them so no one could take them and they had an attendant there the entire time offering help if neccessary.

I think this is being put in many if not all Six Flags parks.

It was a cool way to take a break from riding coasters nonstop all day and was a more relaxed environment than trying it at the mall since they typically only have 1 kiosk so you might feel more rushed with so many more people waiting to play.

The only problem I see with it is that it won't be able to handle the crowds. Since it was a school day, Great Adventure was dead with almost all the coasters having no lines and still every Wii was being used and people are waiting. What's going to happen when the park is 5 - 10 times as crowded as it was today?

[FriskyTanuki]

The only problem I see with it is that it won't be able to handle the crowds. Since it was a school day, Great Adventure was dead with almost all the coasters having no lines and still every Wii was being used and people are waiting. What's going to happen when the park is 5 - 10 times as crowded as it was today?
The lines will get longer. That's how it always works at amusement parks (more people, bigger lines). ;)

[YoshiFan1]

I know but I don't know if people are going to be willing to wait 15 + minutes to play the Wii when the lines for the coasters are going to be long and the room could get a lot more crowded which won't give you enough room to use the remotes. It just doesn't seems like 8 systems would have the capacity for a park that can get close to 40,000 people on a peak day.

[FriskyTanuki]

I know but I don't know if people are going to be willing to wait 15 + minutes to play the Wii when the lines for the coasters are going to be long and the room could get a lot more crowded which won't give you enough room to use the remotes. It just doesn't seems like 8 systems would have the capacity for a park that can get close to 40,000 people on a peak day.
If people want to wait that long, they'll wait that long. If the park can't handle the traffic this thing will bring, they shouldn't have introduced it. The typical theme park crows are the kinds of people that will wait an hour+ just to ride the popular ride, so these aren't people that care about spending their time efficiently.

[pasteater]

i was working on the signage graphics for the six flags wii experience throught my company...and according to a few of the layouts i saw, the amount of wiis and ds's depends on the available space. most plans that i saw involved taking over old/unused theaters. i'm not sure where each one was, but some floorplans had upwards of 20 or so wiis labeled to be installed in these areas...and it differed greatly between each six flags. the bigger the area...the more wiis they plan on piling in.

[squirrel007]

This seems cool, I am going to texas this summer to visit my brother. It is our ritual to go to six flags.

[furyk]

I thought that Six Flags already provided the Wii experience. Waiting in line for an experience that probably wasn't worth the wait. [/ice burn]

Seriously though, who goes to an amusement park to play video games (besides maybe Disney Quest)? It's good promotion for Nintendo though. Hell, everything is good promotion for Nintendo these days.

[Kendal]

Another reason to hate Six Flags. They are hording all the Wiis! CP4Life!

[Strell]

Hmmm.

Must be hell to try and keep track of all those wireless controllers...

[Chris in Cali]

Sounds like a cheap way for them to have new attractions without actually having any good shows, or new rides to me. I don't drive hours to a Six Flags to play videogames that I can use anytime at home for free.

[SaraAB]

Its a way for them to satisfy the kids who do not want to leave the house because they want to play video games yet get dragged to the amusement park by their families.

I have always thought the idea of a video game themed amusement park would be extremely popular and would draw in the people like none other, besides the obvious license issues with this idea (obtaining licenses). I fail to see why parks cannot implement video games into the theming of the park. For example have mario kart themed gokarts and crash bandicoot bumper cars and things like the sonic coaster. If amusement parks did this I might actually go to them.

I don't really like six flags and I am very glad they are gone from my area but I still cannot really find an amusement park that I enjoy, I guess I am getting too old for this stuff. Amusement parks seem to be all fluff and no rides or just the same old rides they have always had these days. I like a park where I can just ride. I have been going to carnivals which works out well for me however thats starting to get boring as well because they just don't get any new rides in my area.

[FriskyTanuki]

Hmmm.

Must be hell to try and keep track of all those wireless controllers...
The Wii remoted had a cord attached to them so no one could take them and they had an attendant there the entire time offering help if neccessary.
;)

[Kendal]

I don't really like six flags and I am very glad they are gone from my area but I still cannot really find an amusement park that I enjoy, I guess I am getting too old for this stuff. Amusement parks seem to be all fluff and no rides or just the same old rides they have always had these days. I like a park where I can just ride. I have been going to carnivals which works out well for me however thats starting to get boring as well because they just don't get any new rides in my area.

www.cedarpoint.com


Back on track, Is King Da Ka up and running(this is the one in Jersey right?)? I don't have a Six Flags near me, Cedar Fair bought all of the big chain parks in Ohio and I don't have the money to make it to Jersey or Chicago. Anyway, good for Six Flags. About time they made a smart choice with their money and space in their parks.

[Strell]

;)

Do you expect me to read all...1..2....8 posts before mine?

Surely you don't.

[FriskyTanuki]

Do you expect me to read all...1..2....8 posts before mine?

Surely you don't.
No, but I'm pretty sure the OP is what you're expected to read before posting. ;)

[YoshiFan1]

Normally I would agree with the whole who goes to Six Flags to play video games, but I really liked it yesterday because it gave me a chance to relax for a few minutes from power riding and gave my stomach a break (after 25 coaster rides yesterday including 70 inversions/loops, I was starting to feel sick). Granted that isn't the case most days but I still liked it.


i was working on the signage graphics for the six flags wii experience throught my company...and according to a few of the layouts i saw, the amount of wiis and ds's depends on the available space. most plans that i saw involved taking over old/unused theaters. i'm not sure where each one was, but some floorplans had upwards of 20 or so wiis labeled to be installed in these areas...and it differed greatly between each six flags. the bigger the area...the more wiis they plan on piling in.

At Great Adventure, it's in part of the a small arcade with a few skee ball machines and a few skill cranes. I think they should have found a spot for 20 systems since it's the SF park with the highest attendance (for a seasonal park)

www.cedarpoint.com


Back on track, Is King Da Ka up and running(this is the one in Jersey right?)? I don't have a Six Flags near me, Cedar Fair bought all of the big chain parks in Ohio and I don't have the money to make it to Jersey or Chicago. Anyway, good for Six Flags. About time they made a smart choice with their money and space in their parks.

It is up and running but breaks down a lot and they sometimes only run 2 trains instead of 4. IMO, the ride should have never been built because all they wanted was to get the record and didn't look at the reliability. The smaller rocket coasters (Storm Runner at Hersheypark, Xcellerator at Knott's etc.) don't have as many issues.


Sounds like a cheap way for them to have new attractions without actually having any good shows, or new rides to me. I don't drive hours to a Six Flags to play videogames that I can use anytime at home for free.

That's been an issue with Six Flags for a while. Some parks get treated much better. Great Adventure got a new coaster in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006, one of which (Kingda Ka) was $25 million. SF Over Texas hasn't gotten a new coaster since 2001, Darien Lake (not owned by SF anymore I know) didn't get a new coaster since 1999 or 2000 etc. It's great for someone who lives near the major parks but not so great for someone who lives near a neglected park. SF is also against the CAG mentality. I don't want to get too off topic but pricing was ridiculous. $3.50 for a 20 oz coke, $4.99 for a soft pretzel, $6.49 for 1 slice of pizza, $15 for parking. I'm glad I ate out of the park.

[Sofa King Kool]

Now that I've read this thread, that Sonic commercial makes a lot of sense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoxZaZo5yJY

[SpazX]

Some parks get treated much more better

I think I hear the sound of a thousand English teachers screaming... :razz:

I think it's a pretty good idea. I would never pay to get into an amusement park to play games I can play at home, but yeah, kids are dumb.

[hufferstl]

The Saint Louis Six Flags has about 8 Wii kioks set up ready for opening day.

[SaraAB]

I live near the neglected Darien Lake, what they did to our park was absolutely inexcusable and I am not even sure if the new owners can bring it back from the mess that SF created. The WNY economy is very economically depressed yet they had the nerve to charge 10$ for parking and 6$ for a drink and even more for a sub-par slice of pizza. DL is the only park in the WNY area that elects to charge for parking, all the other choices are free parking and you are allowed to bring food into the park, plus they offer a better value. The other parks just offer a lot more for the average WNY family looking to go on some rides and have some fun.

This resulted in very low attendance and people running around and spreading the bad word about the park, and now the new owners have to pick up what six flags left them with, which is a real nice mess. I mean I have run into random message board conversations (like this one hehe) about how six flags sucks, you know its bad when that happens. My family has no interest in the park whatsoever but even they knew how bad it was, and our family members that went there because the kids wanted to go certainly came back with a real nice report...

Having video games in the park IS the right direction to go though, since the gaming industry is growing and growing and every kid loves video games it is in SF's best interest to tap into the market in order to make their parks more profitable and to draw in more customers, having a video game system playable in the park is a very good start to help do this.

I want to be a theme park enthusiast but the cheapass in me tells me its not really where my main interest is..

[scorpers]

Not hating the Wii but I personally wouldn't spend 60 bucks for a theme park ticket and then waste time playing video games whether it was for the Wii, 360 or the PS3!

[Serpentor]

Not hating the Wii but I personally wouldn't spend 60 bucks for a theme park ticket and then waste time playing video games whether it was for the Wii, 360 or the PS3!

My points exactly...

anyhow, you can bring your own DS if you're waiting on the line... however, i hate to bring those things though, b/c you can't carry them on the ride and chances are you might misplace those little gadgets at the end of the day.