New England SkyScreamer is coming to Six Flags New England in 2014!

It’s finally official! Six Flags New England will be adding the all new, world record breaking New England SkyScreamer to their park in 2014. Back when we wrote about Catapult being removed from Six Flags New England we told you about the possibility of the New England SkyScreamer “replacing” it, so it is great to see this confirmed. New England SkyScreamer (we need an abbreviation… how about NESS? Okay yeah, NESS. That’s what we’re going to call it from now on) will be in the same vicinity the Catapult previously occupied! In fact it will be where Taz’s Dare Devil Drop currently is. Last summer Six Flags New England presented their proposal for “tallest swing ride on the planet” to the town of Agawam. Take a look at the plans.

Now obviously they weren’t expecting that Catapult would have to be removed suddenly so that’s why it’s in the picture.  We’re getting conflicting reports of where exactly NESS will be located. The plans currently show that Taz’s Dare Devil Drop being removed. However, we have also been told that the current plan is to use the same queue structure they had for Catapult and that the ride will overtake Catapult’s spot. If you look at the plans again it seems like it would be impossible to fit the ride into Catapult’s old spot. If they go this route, I hope they enclose the queue structure because when waiting for Catapult the sun would be beating directly on you. Enclosing it will also look better aesthetically seeing as it currently doesn’t have much of a New England theme to it.

But when I think about it, I sort of hope that they don’t use Catapult’s spot for NESS because I just think it would look better on the perch where Dare Devil Drop is. Six Flags New England also posted a picture to their Facebook page which you can see below. While it’s not Photoshopped to scale (I don’t think the color is correct either) you can see that they eliminated Dare Devil Dive. So maybe they are going with their original plans? Who knows? We will get confirmation soon.

EDIT:

On August, 31 Six Flags New England gave us some more information about NESS on our Facebook page. Here is what they had to say:

 So there you have it. The New England SkyScreamer will be replacing Taz’s Dare Devil Drop and the queue line will be where Catapult was. It’s interesting that Dare Devil Drop will be in storage for the 2014 season while it is being refurbished. Last year we were told that they were thinking about relocating it to the South End of the park between Rt. 66 and Mind Eraser. This way they could sell tickets to both Dare Devil Drop and Slingshot at the same place. The way it would be positioned, it would fly over the ledge that is above Catwoman’s Whip. Now wouldn’t that be an extreme rush?

Back in May, Six Flags Over Texas opened up a similar ride called the Texas SkyScreamer. To give you a general idea of what NESS will be like, take a look at this video.

Texas SkyScreamer also received a Guinness World Record for being the tallest swing ride in the world back in June. Supposedly New England SkyScreamer will beat that record. Now wouldn’t that be exciting? I believe that it would be Six Flags New England’s first ever record.

 Included in the press packet for New England SkyScreamer was this color chart. It says that it’s for Texas SkyScreamer but we have confirmed that New England SkyScreamer will be using the same colors.

Here is an excerpt from the official New England SkyScreamer press release from the park:

“The New England SkyScreamer will officially be the tallest attraction to join the already amazing line-up of rides at Six Flags New England and become the park’s newest icon. The ride will tower over 400 feet in the air and circle at speeds of up to 40 mph. Once the twenty-four thrill seekers board the ride, it quickly rises, taking guests 40 stories into the air and while spinning round and round, riders will experience breathtaking views of the Connecticut River and New England skyline. At night, the New England SkyScreamer’s bright lights will beckon guests from near and far. 

“We take great pride in offering the finest, biggest and most innovative attractions for our guests,” said John Winkler, Six Flags New England’s Park President. “The addition of the New England SkyScreamer only enhances our commitment to delivering world-class thrills and attractions to Six Flags New England every year.”

The New England SkyScreamer is scheduled to open summer 2014 and this new attraction will be a “must ride” for thrill seekers of all ages.”

That’s it for this post. Like we did with Bonzai Pipelines and Goliath, we will be providing construction updates throughout the off season. Stay tuned to this blog and on our social media sites for links to those updates. Enjoy this video highlighting the main attractions, including New England SkyScreamer, coming to the Six Flags parks in 2014.