Six Flags gets punked
SteamTown brings elevated themeing to DC-area park
Oil magnate Angus Wynne, Jr. is credited with introducing the first regional theme park when he opened Six Flags Over Texas in 1961. Debuting five years after Disneyland, it brought some of the California park’s innovations, such as themed lands and attractions that are rooted in storytelling, to folks in the Dallas area. Granted, the Texas park didn’t have the vast Disney library at its disposal nor the creative capital of the animators and filmmakers that Walt deputized to build his groundbreaking park. But Six Flags Over Texas was a reasonable facsimile of the model that Disney pioneered, which later became known as a “theme park.”
As it has built and acquired parks through the years, Six Flags has strayed a bit from its roots. While the chain still nominally operates theme parks and some of its properties have lands and attractions that conform to the template that Disney established, I’d argue that Six Flags falls more in the amusement park camp. That is, its parks are largely a hodgepodge of roller coasters and other rides that do little to advance any kind of storytelling and generally have halfhearted themeing at best.
That’s why I’m intrigued by SteamTown, the reimagined land that will be debuting at Maryland’s Six Flags America in June. It will be introducing a new theme that will tie the attractions in that area of the park together with what appears to be whimsy and style.
A far corner of the park that was previously known as Coyote Creek, SteamTown will enhance the Western-themed land with steampunk overtones. With the subtitle, “Where the Past Meets the Future,” the land will now feature Professor Screamore, a wacky inventor bedecked in a tophat and goggles. As the storyline goes, the professor purchased the town as a proving grounds for the wacky contraptions he creates (otherwise known as rides).
The highlight of the land will be the roller coaster, Professor Screamore’s SkyWinder. Opened in 1995, the ride perviously went by the generic name, Mind Eraser. Like other Six Flags attractions that bear that name, it is a Vekoma SLC, or suspended looping coaster, which has the reputation of being notoriously rough. In addition to the new theme, the coaster will reopen with new track sections and new trains that will feature more accommodating restraints. The ride’s original over-the-shoulder restraints caused passengers’ heads to ricochet back and forth on them. Six Flags promises the reworked inverted coaster, which has ski lift-like seats that hang beneath the track, will offer a smoother ride experience.
The land will also feature a new addition, SteamWhirler, a Nebulaz flat ride from Italian manufacturer Zamperla. With its gears and cogs, the spinning ride is particularly well suited to the land’s new steampunk theme. The former Renegade Rapids, a whitewater raft ride, will now be known as QuantumCanyon Rapids. Six Flags says that passengers will be transported back to the Jurassic era and will encounter dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures as they get soaked riding the rapids. Rounding out the land’s ride collection will be ElectroDerby, a re-themed bumper cars. Based on the park’s preview video, it appears that the ride building will be darkened and include effects.
Demonstrating Six Flags’ commitment to the theme, the land will also include SteamHeist, a stunt show that will star Professor Screamore. Amid the stunts, the presentation will tell the inventor’s story, including his quest to build SteamTown. Even the land’s eatery, Fillament’s SteamPub, will incorporate the land’s overarching steampunk theme.
“SteamTown is part of our team’s ambitious, multiyear plan to invest in our guest experience and park improvements,” says Ramar Vaughan, the park’s GM, adding that he is “excited to share our most detailed park realm to date.”
This certainly wouldn’t be the first time a theme park has turned to steampunk for inspiration. Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City, for example, uses the motif to great effect. Six Flags itself has used the genre. When Magic Mountain introduced Twisted Colossus in 2015, it renamed that section of the California park the Screampunk District. But what Six Flags has created in Maryland appears to be qualitatively different.
This would seem to be a richly themed land that is attempting to immerse guests more deeply in its original storyline. I hope that this is a trend that will continue at Six Flags America as well as throughout the chain and at its sister Cedar Fair parks. Let’s put the themeing back in theme parks.
What’s your take on SteamTown? Have you visited Six Flags America. What do you think the reimagined land will bring to the park?