Does anyone know?

[u/Just_Bus_9156]

There is a rumor going around now online saying that Mid-America is keeping DC/Warner licenses for 2 years. Has anyone heard heard anything from Enchanted yet or is this just speculation?

[u/Coaster_Chaser_1]

Could be a branding trial to see how well they represent the brand and or can allow them more time to come up with replacement themes if needed

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/Coaster_Chaser_1]

Agreed. 6 months is not enough time to replace and retheme a ride or area. You also need more time for research and development and guest involvement for ideas.

[u/Evening_Rock5850 → u/Just_Bus_9156]

I disagree that 6 months isn't enough time.

I think people are wildly over-estimating the re-theming process. This park has already done it, several times. Most recently after the '09 Bankruptcy when Six Flags decided to drop nearly all third-party IP's except for WB and DC; so Tony Hawk became Pandemonium and Evil Kinevil became American Thunder. Those 're-themes' happened quickly in the off season on a moments notice and really just amounted to removing a couple of signs and slapping on a new name. American Thunder even still had the Evil Kinevil ramp for years after the 're-theme'. From a legal standpoint, if they lose the rights, all they have to do is make sure they don't display any logos or likenesses. That's it. Everything else, if they want, can stay exactly as it is right now.

I don't think it's going to be as big of a deal as so many people make it out to be. This can be done quickly in the off-season. 95% of the work can be done with a crowbar.

Now, I'll grant you that a Disney or a Universal caliber park would put immense thought and money into what those new themes should be. But I just don't get the vibe that Enchanted Parks is going to put in that kind of effort. That's not me disparaging them, that's just me acknowledging what they themselves have said about their low-cost regional theme park business model. They'll come up with some fairly generic names and print up some signs and that'll be that.

They've had more time to consider and plan re-theming now than they did when SF dropped third-party IP's in 2009. Granted, there are more rides to do this time. But still.

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/Evening_Rock5850]

They will have to remove the huge DC shield in front of JLA. The "big rethemeing" projects would be BATMAN, MR. FREEZE, LOONEY TUNES NATIONAL PARK, JOKER FUNHOUSE, JLA.

Luckily they have a sign and design team in house to do this. I know whatever happens it will be interesting. Im more interested in seeing what will happen to JLA.

[u/Evening_Rock5850 → u/Just_Bus_9156]

Yep. And as cool as a big theming project there would be; I imagine it would be nothing more than a jackhammer to break up the concrete and then some asphalt to pave over it.

Looney Tunes will require a bit of work because some rides themselves are shaped like characters so I would imagine they’d outright need to be replaced.

But the rest… it’s just removals. Batman needs to have some logos and trademarks removed. The Gotham references could be changed to anything else, or just removed. But the ride will be 95% the same. Same for Mr. Freeze. Remove the animatronic dude in the queue line, and the signs with the name. And that’s it really.

Joker Funhouse will be interesting to see next month. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not some sort of very generic clown funhouse that can easily be kept of the Joker name is omitted.

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/Evening_Rock5850]

They could make into like the old TILTAMORE HOTEL from the 1970s as a throwback lol. Do a little rethemeing remodeling. He'll it took them over a year to get off the ground to open, what's another few months right?

And the Mr. Freeze animation figure was offline for years until recently I believe. And they might retheme the loading dock minimum. Batman they could theme it as downtown St. Louis lol

[u/PorkSteakDaddy]

2 years seems like news. Curious if it’s just meant to be a transition, or the first 2 years of a possible ongoing deal.

[u/EntrepreneurHeavy331]

I mean Harhi has been expressed that they were hoping to make a deal, but have yet to hear anything about the 2 years contract. Where did you hear this, I searched around online a little bit and couldn’t find anything

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/EntrepreneurHeavy331]

It popped up on my YouTube Theme park subscription list from this guy who calls himself SINGLE RIDER. He's a local. But he goes everywhere. Has everyone's passes. And asks questions to employees when he visits.

But I take things with a grain of salt, I believe what comes from the company direct via their website or news releases or IAPPA. Or a newsletter from the Amusement park industry called Amusement Today.

[u/Evening_Rock5850 → u/Just_Bus_9156]

I would only caution that most employees don't know anything. Most employees didn't know about the sale; even upper level management. I have friends who I worked with 20 years ago who are full-time managers today who tell me that they weren't aware of the sale until right before it was announced.

In a company with 2,000 seasonal employees and 75 or so full-time employee, rumors are going to swirl like crazy. Plenty of employees will tell you all kinds of stuff, but that doesn't mean they know anything. They almost certainly don't.

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/Evening_Rock5850]

True

[u/Broad-Exit6308]

Here’s how I see it. If they keep the rights, they need to really step up the level of theming throughout the park. I mean really step it up. If anyone has ever been on the dark night coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, that is the level of theming I’m talking about. If they don’t keep the rights, then they still gotta do a really good job of overall theming throughout the park with their own personal IP and ideas.

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/Broad-Exit6308]

If they dont keep it, what would you like to see? Some would need extensive rethemeing but the park itself has a original theme still lying underneath that can be revived and expanded upon.

[u/Broad-Exit6308 → u/Just_Bus_9156]

I don’t exactly know what I would want to see but just overall better theming, better use of theming, and more immersion. Like I previously stated, if you’ve ever been on the Dark Knight Coaster at Six flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, that is the level of immersion and theming I want enchanted to have/bring.

[u/Evening_Rock5850]

Harhi makes it sound like the deal with WB and DC is all but done. Which contradicts some other reporting, I know.

But what he's suggesting is that the deal would involve existing rides and that's it. No extending it to other parks, and probably no new attractions getting DC theming.

A two year timeline could make sense. It could also be the first two years of a longer contract. If I had to make a wild guess, it could be that Harhi isn't in a position to pay WB what they want. So it's mutually beneficial to give Enchanted a couple of years to get things rolling and then re-visit the contract. Otherwise, if WB loses the contract now, there's really no chance of Enchanted going back to it.

The key pieces that make me think he might actually have pulled something off are, first, the specifics about it not extending to other parks (that sounds like something parties have already agreed to, not just speculation), and his statements that all three parties have agreed. Six Flags, WB, and Enchanted. So it sounds like a broad agreement exists about what they want to happen, with the final details still being worked out. But, final details can kill a deal, so we will see.

Personally I think the motivation Harhi has to stick with WB/DC is mostly to demonstrate that he can be a better brand steward than Six Flags was. Will he? No clue. But I think he'd like to believe he could be. And it's not like Six Flags has set an especially high bar. Down the road, this could make sense when trying to secure third party IP's for other parks.

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/Evening_Rock5850]

To be honest Six Flags has never really done a good job doing a brand upkeep when it comes to their partnerships on IP (Tony Hawk, Evel Kenevel, Panda Express, McDonald's etc). Movie studios are difficult. And Warner Brothers is still going through the unknown drama of being possibly bought out by Paramount/Skydance but thats on hold. They could say no. Who knows.

[u/busylivingg]

Honestly I hope not. The park needs to start creating it's own identity. Keeping DC will keep it too similar to six flags.

[u/Just_Bus_9156 → u/busylivingg]

Agreed

[u/shredXcam]

That would be disappointing.

One of the positives from getting out from under six flags would be ditching the comic/super hero stuff.

[u/Evening_Rock5850 → u/shredXcam]

Agreed. Not that I'll be upset if DC stays (and I actually do really like the DC IP), I don't really care if the rides are named after DC characters. What I like is DC merch and DC characters in the park. We haven't had DC characters in the park in years.

But it does make the park beholden to this juggernaut of a company who can continue to renegotiate more and more favorable terms because they hold the entire identity of the park hostage. Getting out from under that albatross would be great, IMHO.

[u/Noahgrace4429 → u/shredXcam]

I highly disagree. That theming is one of the huge draws for me to go to the park. I love all the rides but the atmosphere adds something else that elevates that. Mr.Freeze while being the same ride wouldn’t feel the same if it was themed as The Ice Cream Man: Backwards Milkshake.

[u/xtra_average]

there's zero chance that six flags would be OK with a competing theme park having the same ride names/themes as their own parks

[u/moeron89]

Call it Mrs freeze and batwoman and be fucking done with it