Six Flags Great Adventure just posted some new photos (here) of the construction of their Green Lantern ride being built. However, as a regular at Six Flags Magic Mountain, all I see is The Riddler’s Revenge (here). It’s basically the same coaster, from the same manufacturer, and the same color as The Riddler’s Revenge, so why are they calling it Green Lantern? To further confuse people, Magic Mountain is adding a new coaster this year called Green Lantern (here), but it’s like no other coaster in the country.
I do not like having coasters of completely different styles, in different parks, having the exact same name. Most people are already confused enough. We don’t need any help. When I read that someone rode Green Lantern at Six Flags while on vacation, I may not have a clue as to what kind of ride it was unless I knew which specific park they were in and which rides have which names in that park.
I understand that there is a major tie-in to the movie coming out. I also understand there are only so many DC Comics characters to work with, and that not every park has the exact same rides, and that they try to keep the theme of the ride consistent with the ‘land’, or area of the park, that they are placing the new coaster. However, I think they should at least put forth some sort of consistency with their naming conventions. Can you imagine going to Disney World and hopping on the Indiana Jones ride only to find out that it’s like the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland? Then going to Disneyland Paris and finding out that the Jungle Cruise ride is really Small World? It would be totally confusing!
This all leads into my thoughts on the whole licensing debacle and whether or not rides should be themed after third-party brands, but that’s the topic of an upcoming post, so stay tuned.
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