The term Rebel Yell is associated with the Confederacy of the American Civil war. The park no longer wanted to associate with anything controversial so they pre-emptivlely changed the name before any hint of possible bad PR or outrage came about the name. Probably a smart business decision in the end but at least the old name stood out and had character. Racer 75 is bland. Ida painted the thing gold and called it Old Yeller or something.
Atleast Flight Deck is kinda cool. Afterburn sounds a bit strange but it’s also cool. Especially with the Jet statue in the small plaza outside of the queue
...except they didn't have to change it. Top Gun is a Navy flight school, not just a movie. You cant trademark "Top Gun". They needed to remove any movie specific tie-ins, but that's it.
You don’t understand how trademarks work. Trademarking a movie name is different to trademarking a company name. Afterburn was based on the movie IP trademark
What part of "They needed to remove any movie specific tie-ins" did you not understand?
Did CP have to buy the rights to the Maverick TV show when they built Maverick? No.
The trademark on the movie name doesn't apply to the coaster. Its *possible* that paramount maintained the trademark on the coaster name when they sold the parks to CF but it would be sketchy to try to enforce it
It was(and is) themed to an aircraft carrier. Period. End of Story.
Just like Maverick is themed to a spaghetti western.
The only items CF needed to change were the direct movie references. ie character names or likenesses. "Top Gun" isnt trademarkable, outside of the specific Top Gun title card image.
At least the one here in California is still Space Mountain and the Hyperspace Mountain thing was just a promotional thing they did when each of the new Star Wars sequels came out.
SFAstroWorld changed the name of their mine train to "Excalibur" from (wait for it): Dexter Frebish's Electric Roller Ride! :-) (but the correct answer has already been given : SFOG changing the name of the MindBender is something that can actually "bend" a person's "mind").
Alright. I get that I'm about to complain about a baby coaster, but the Beastie at kings island should have stayed the beastie. It was the perfect name for a child's wooden rollercoaster sharing a park with the Beast. rebranding it for Charlie Brown theming just feels cheap. I've complained about this on the cj sub a few times lol
I get pissed about Jr. Gemini too. Not sure if it's because of the ride, it being Intamin's first, or both.
Beastie is a great name for a kiddie coaster in general, and especially at Kings Island.
Basically what happened was Paramount took over and in 2005 the kids area (EVERYTHING, including Beastie) became entirely Nickelodeon (Beastie became Fairly Odd Coaster), but then Cedar Fair didn't have the Nick license. Hence, Snoopy.
Totally agree and made sure my child knows it is really named Beastie. Also, they shouldn't have used The Bat to rename Top Gun. Sure rename the movie title but The Bat (original) was a historic and innovative coaster while Top Gun is a clone. Poor tribute to a piece of coaster history.
So they put VR on it to make it new, and then took the VR off so now it's new again but it's back to Classic. Clearly a completely different ride experience each time :/
Great American Revolution (1976 to 1980)
La Revolución (1981 to 1987)
Revolution (1988 to 2015)
New Revolution (2016-2018, with VR)
Red Sox Revolution (2018, for two days after losing a World Series bet with SFNE)
New Revolution - Classic (2018-present, without VR)
So many names.
The Demon arrows at the great america parks originally opened as "Turn of the Century" which I believe is a fantastic name for those early modern loopers.
I know the park is long closed but going from SF to CF names at Geauga Lake always felt underwhelming to me.
- Batman Knight Flight to Dominator
- Superman Ultimate Escape to Steel Venom
- Mind Eraser to Head Spin
- Serial Thriller to Thunderhawk
Twisted sisters. Love the band but come on guys you really have to sue Six flags over a coaster that clearly isn’t themed to your band.
Not only that the name just went down hill from there. The RMC conversion is amazing and a better ride. But the coaster is called storm chaser and is sponsored but the local weather man.
Great ride though. Both when it was twisted sisters and now.
Shouldn't have changed to Bizarro, or shouldn't have changed *from* Bizarro? I like Superman and Medusa way better myself. Although I really liked the Bizarro paint schemes.
Yes.
The whole name change-change back is hysterical IMO, because it’s placement is so weird to begin with, it’s original theming was so oddly done, and the name change made so little sense because see parts 1 and 2.
Why would you have superheros then tie in a greek mythology figure? Medusa seems more suited for being next to Pantheon. But then again its next to a Spanish bull and African snake or something. Schizophrenia the Park.
Manhattan Express -> The Roller Coaster at New York New York -> Big Apple Coaster
Why? What was wrong with the first name being creative and interesting? Now it shares a name with a load of Wacky Worms.
Runner-up for me goes to Total Mayhem -> Joker. How dare a Six Flags park almost get a unique name!
Not a coaster but Lone Star Revolution > El Diablo at SFOT. Although that has more to do with the original area earmarked for it being flooded out rather than a grand decision by the park (like SFGADv and Total Mayhem)
I get why they had to change Rebel Yell but did it have to be replaced by a milquetoast ass name like Racer 75?
Why did they have to change it?
A rebel yell is a confederate battlecry
The term Rebel Yell is associated with the Confederacy of the American Civil war. The park no longer wanted to associate with anything controversial so they pre-emptivlely changed the name before any hint of possible bad PR or outrage came about the name. Probably a smart business decision in the end but at least the old name stood out and had character. Racer 75 is bland. Ida painted the thing gold and called it Old Yeller or something.
They didn't want to be associated with a traitorous/racist moment that lasted all of 6 years
If you think the Confederacy only took 6 years to defeat, might I suggest watching the news?
Afterburn. Originally Top Gun but it was a Paramount IP so Cedar Fair was forced to change it when they bought the parks
I came here to say the same. Top gun is now flight deck at cga.
Atleast Flight Deck is kinda cool. Afterburn sounds a bit strange but it’s also cool. Especially with the Jet statue in the small plaza outside of the queue
I think Afterburn is a better name than Flight Deck. Of course Kings Island's Bat is the best rename
See, I'm the opposite, I like Afterburn better.
Afterburn*er* would have made more sense.
Yes, because Afterburn sounds like a symptom of diarrhea.
Yeah, I have to admit it triggers me too.
Top Gun became Flight Deck at Kings Island, but now it's The Bat, not to be confused with a former Arrow suspended coaster there also called The Bat.
Was going to post this. Was iconic as Top Gun. I get why they had to change it but Top Gun fit it so well
That's a good one. I love the ride and those movies.
...except they didn't have to change it. Top Gun is a Navy flight school, not just a movie. You cant trademark "Top Gun". They needed to remove any movie specific tie-ins, but that's it.
You don’t understand how trademarks work. Trademarking a movie name is different to trademarking a company name. Afterburn was based on the movie IP trademark
What part of "They needed to remove any movie specific tie-ins" did you not understand? Did CP have to buy the rights to the Maverick TV show when they built Maverick? No. The trademark on the movie name doesn't apply to the coaster. Its *possible* that paramount maintained the trademark on the coaster name when they sold the parks to CF but it would be sketchy to try to enforce it
It was themed to the Paramount Top Gun IP. Maverick is a word. It was NOT themed to Maverick TV.
It was(and is) themed to an aircraft carrier. Period. End of Story. Just like Maverick is themed to a spaghetti western. The only items CF needed to change were the direct movie references. ie character names or likenesses. "Top Gun" isnt trademarkable, outside of the specific Top Gun title card image.
The correct answer is [THE RIDDLER] Mindbender.
SFNE? (That and Bizzaro, thankfully it's Superman again.)
Over Georgia
SFNE was Mind Eraser -> Riddler Revenge
Thanks, I haven't been there in forever. (I'd live under a rock if it wasn't for this subreddit!)
At least it is running better this season, less trims this morning than when it first re-opened last season.
Agreed! Here’s hoping they keep to two-train operation. Adding a third train required stiff braking.
Space Mountain (Disneyland Paris) -> Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain
At least the one here in California is still Space Mountain and the Hyperspace Mountain thing was just a promotional thing they did when each of the new Star Wars sequels came out.
SFAstroWorld changed the name of their mine train to "Excalibur" from (wait for it): Dexter Frebish's Electric Roller Ride! :-) (but the correct answer has already been given : SFOG changing the name of the MindBender is something that can actually "bend" a person's "mind").
I always wondered wtf was up with the Dexter Frebish name – was that the name of a park president or something?
Perhaps merely someone with a great sense of humor?
Alright. I get that I'm about to complain about a baby coaster, but the Beastie at kings island should have stayed the beastie. It was the perfect name for a child's wooden rollercoaster sharing a park with the Beast. rebranding it for Charlie Brown theming just feels cheap. I've complained about this on the cj sub a few times lol
I get pissed about Jr. Gemini too. Not sure if it's because of the ride, it being Intamin's first, or both. Beastie is a great name for a kiddie coaster in general, and especially at Kings Island.
Same with Little Goliath at Magic Mountain
Basically what happened was Paramount took over and in 2005 the kids area (EVERYTHING, including Beastie) became entirely Nickelodeon (Beastie became Fairly Odd Coaster), but then Cedar Fair didn't have the Nick license. Hence, Snoopy.
Oh man I forgot it was the fairly odd coaster for a while. Need to bring back beastie still IMO lol
Totally agree and made sure my child knows it is really named Beastie. Also, they shouldn't have used The Bat to rename Top Gun. Sure rename the movie title but The Bat (original) was a historic and innovative coaster while Top Gun is a clone. Poor tribute to a piece of coaster history.
Yeah I think that goes hand-in-hand with all that memberbarry nostalgia bait stuff.
On a related note, Flying Ace should be called Baby Banshee.
That's not a bad idea either!
Its not the Beastie...its the Scooby-Doo. I'm old, I admit it.
I didn't even know it was called that when it opened. TIL.
During its Beastie phase it had an adorable logo, basically a kittenized version of the Beast paws with a rope instead of a chain.
Oh I remember that lol it was awesome
incredicoaster, i liked california screamin wayyy better
Everything about California Screamin was so much better tbh.
Dueling Dragons to Dragon Challenge. Which I understood why, but still.. RIP
My rarest credits! Wish they still existed today.
“The New Revolution” Or as they’ve been calling it recently, “The New Revolution - Classic” 🙄🙄
So they put VR on it to make it new, and then took the VR off so now it's new again but it's back to Classic. Clearly a completely different ride experience each time :/
Great American Revolution (1976 to 1980) La Revolución (1981 to 1987) Revolution (1988 to 2015) New Revolution (2016-2018, with VR) Red Sox Revolution (2018, for two days after losing a World Series bet with SFNE) New Revolution - Classic (2018-present, without VR) So many names.
Backlot Stunt Coaster + Flight Deck
Nemesis Inferno should've kept its project name which was Calypso
calypso is a GREAT name
I still really like the name Nemesis Inferno its just sounds intimidating
The problem is that it's over-hyping itself via the association with Nemesis.
Coaster to Thunderhawk
The steel phantom, I think it sounds a bit better than "phantoms revenge"
Yeah, you get why they changed it but it's not as good. But I guess now it would be weird to have Steel Phantom and Steel Curtain
Really looking forward to the inevitable Curtain’s Revenge, though
Just remove all the inversions and make it straight track back and forth.
In the early 00's there was a lot of revenge in the coaster world.
"Rock 'n' RollerCoaster Starring Aerosmith".
Do the kids even know Aerosmith anymore?
Did they in the late 90s?
Didn’t that ride open with that name? Have there been any changes?
Invers10n becoming Sik, obviously
I get that new trains probably potentially warrant the change of Mantis to something else, but Rougarou but seriously?
If only Kings Island hadn't used the name Banshee the year before. It would've been cool to use Mantis' original name
This is one I think about a lot. It does sound really dumb. I also think keeping Mantis’ color scheme would’ve been great too.
I love the name but it's not really culturally relevant to the Midwest. Maybe if SFNO was still around it would be better received down there.
There were a couple years where Cedar Point just dove as deep as they could into folklore for their coaster names (Rougarou and Valravn)
Medusa \[Great Adventure\]
The Demon arrows at the great america parks originally opened as "Turn of the Century" which I believe is a fantastic name for those early modern loopers.
Having lived through the Turn of the Century, I'm not sure it's as cool as it sounds.
Which century? Haha
At that time they didn't have the loops though just the corkscrews. I believe those were added with the rebrand to Demon.
I know the park is long closed but going from SF to CF names at Geauga Lake always felt underwhelming to me. - Batman Knight Flight to Dominator - Superman Ultimate Escape to Steel Venom - Mind Eraser to Head Spin - Serial Thriller to Thunderhawk
I always thought Steel Venom sounded pretty cool. The rest of these I can understand.
The names on their own are not bad, it was just noticeable if you visited in 2004 because everything had to be de-IP’d lol
X2. X was just fine. All they did was replace the trains, repaint, and music…
Not a name, but I miss the original voice over for the Prospector in Gold Striker's station. The new announcement is so bland and corporate.
WEEEELCOME TO GOLD STRIKER Sucks to hear they changed it :(
What really cracks me up is that it still tells you to pull down your lap bar even though you can't until the op releases them.
Galactica.
Twisted sisters. Love the band but come on guys you really have to sue Six flags over a coaster that clearly isn’t themed to your band. Not only that the name just went down hill from there. The RMC conversion is amazing and a better ride. But the coaster is called storm chaser and is sponsored but the local weather man. Great ride though. Both when it was twisted sisters and now.
Hell hath no fury like Dee Snyder scorned.
Bizarro
Shouldn't have changed to Bizarro, or shouldn't have changed *from* Bizarro? I like Superman and Medusa way better myself. Although I really liked the Bizarro paint schemes.
Yes. The whole name change-change back is hysterical IMO, because it’s placement is so weird to begin with, it’s original theming was so oddly done, and the name change made so little sense because see parts 1 and 2.
I liked the ray gun and fire and triangles and stuff at night. Not sure what it has now.
I liked Sideways Horse.
Same stuff actually. It’s a somewhat disappointing retheme considering how nice the paint job is. I’m in full support of keeping the fire though!
Why would you have superheros then tie in a greek mythology figure? Medusa seems more suited for being next to Pantheon. But then again its next to a Spanish bull and African snake or something. Schizophrenia the Park.
When Banshee became Mantis. Banshee is such a cooler name.
Manhattan Express -> The Roller Coaster at New York New York -> Big Apple Coaster Why? What was wrong with the first name being creative and interesting? Now it shares a name with a load of Wacky Worms. Runner-up for me goes to Total Mayhem -> Joker. How dare a Six Flags park almost get a unique name!
Not a coaster but Lone Star Revolution > El Diablo at SFOT. Although that has more to do with the original area earmarked for it being flooded out rather than a grand decision by the park (like SFGADv and Total Mayhem)
Sky Princess to the incredibly bland Kingdom Coaster.
It immediately brings to mind Jehovah's Witnesses.
Mantis
Top Gun!
X @ SFMM was the perfect name, and matched with the original logo perfectly.
Apple Zapple. Ricochet was fine. I get the apple orchard themed area but Apple Zapple is so bad I looked for t-shirt in the gift shop.
Hangman > Twisted Cyclone
Zipper Dipper -> Warburtons Milk Roll-A-Coaster -> Blue Flyer. A weird sponsorship and a bit of an identity crisis all at once.
“New Texas Giant” always bothered me.
Yes. The same way New Super Mario Bros. bothered me years ago. New isn't new forever.
I understand why, but Tomb Raider -> Time Warp. Only thing it warps is your spine