Next rides on the chopping block?

[Pokemaniac]

Rita's days are also numbered, I think.

I find Rita really interesting as an example of modern a coaster type in its infancy. Built just when they got the new technology to work, but before they had any idea how to realize its potential. It's not old enough to be considered a classic, or to be plagued with pre-computer element shaping, but just old enough to be considered completely outdated for what it does. It doesn't really do anything that modern, equivalent coasters don't do better. It was built to feature a launch and a layout - any layout, provided it fit the space and didn't go to high, the launch was really the entire point.

Compare Rita to Taron to see how the coaster type grew over the years. The two are practically the same on a conceptual level (Taron just does a little more of it), but while Rita was built to launch fast and then meander back to the station in whatever way the designers cared, the launches are just the way Taron gets up to speed, its layout and forces being the focal point of the ride experience. The two coasters also share roughly the same acreage, Rita's footprint is just a little more P shaped while Taron fills a rectangle. You can really consider the latter an evolution of the former, which is a nicer way to say "superior in every comparable aspect and then some".

So yeah, Rita doesn't really do anything that makes it worth keeping around should it come to the question. I have a feeling Spinball Whizzer will meet its end first, though. And after all, Rita is only 13 years old, and should be designed for a service life twice that or so.

 

[Dar]

Infusion can't be long for this world, surely? It was rubbish when they bought it, ****e when they relocated it and godawful now. I can maybe see something new coming to cover that whole area under big one's drop, especially with the new hotel coming. I don't think they'll be able to advertise "dumping ground views" as effectively as the views from Big Blue

 

[Jarrett]

With Flags having purchased Darien Lake, I think it’s safe to assume Predator is on its way out to be RMCed. I’d put serious money on it being the next major US ride removal.

Iron Dragon’s days might be numbered too. If I’m correct its ridership is low, not to mention it isn’t exactly the best ride experience out there or historically significant. CP’s probably keeping it around for the immediate future with the whole “20 coasters by 2020” thing I’m hearing but I would expect it to be the next coaster removal there.

 

[Youngster Joey]

With Flags having purchased Darien Lake, I think it’s safe to assume Predator is on its way out to be RMCed. I’d put serious money on it being the next major US ride removal.

Iron Dragon’s days might be numbered too. If I’m correct its ridership is low, not to mention it isn’t exactly the best ride experience out there or historically significant. CP’s probably keeping it around for the immediate future with the whole “20 coasters by 2020” thing I’m hearing but I would expect it to be the next coaster removal there.

With Darien Lake having just been bought Predator, having received significant retracking by RMC over the last 3 years, and Tantrum opening now, I think the actual chance of Predator being RMC'd in the next 3-5 years is very low (as sad as that makes me). The probable truth is SF bought the park because of it's onsite hotel campground and concert venue. With minimal work and cheap additions they can likely make the purchase worthwhile without having to add new coaster.

My original thought for this pokemaniac used in the OP (Wicked Twister (though I could also see Windseeker being removed soon as well)).

The other attraction I feel like I always think may soon be on it's way out is Muppet Vision 3D at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The show's never too busy (at least in my experiences) and it's a little dated for sure (though I personally hope they keep it since it's one of the last things Jim Henson worked on before passing away)

 

[MestnyiGeroi]

What about their mine train? It's in the middle of the park, its layout is really uniteresting and takes a good amount of property. I feel SFMM could use that space for a better family coaster.

Tread not upon the sacred! Goldrusher was MM’s very first coaster, and for that reason alone I don’t think the park would touch it. Then again, it used to run through lush green hills and its main drop swooped beautifully down from a height to skim the surface of a lovely lake. Now the ride sits half-buried in the rubble of newer rides, and chugs its course through a baked-dirt construction site, so given the disdain the park has already shown this ride, who knows what they’d be willing to do.

But for me there is no coaster more steeped in personal nostalgia. Riding it in its current state is just heartbreak for me.

 

[GeodieCoasterFan]

Colossus at Thorpe Park?

a record breaker in its day but for me very outdated and uncomfortable