I'm going to FREESTYLE MUSIC PARK!

This morning, FPI MB Entertainment anounced the new name for the former Hard Rock Park. The name they settled on....

"Freestyle Music Park."

My first reaction.... what?

It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue when you first say it. Actually, I've been saying it a few dozen times as I've been writing this and it hasn't gotten any better.

It's not that I don't think it works. I bet when a new park called "Six Flags Over Texas" opened in the 70's, people thought that was a weird name too. Now, it's one of the most famous brands in the amusement industry. (Even if the stock was de-listed last week.)

But these days, people have short attention spans and even shorter memories. The name of an amusement complex needs to be catchy, memorable and easy to say. It needs to be something that can easily become park of the pop culture lexicon.

When you hear the words "Freestyle Music Park," what does it mean? What images does it invoke?

The new owners say "Freestyle Music Park" represents a renewed vision and direction for the Park in 2009 and beyond. They plan for the park to celebrate the excitement of rock n' roll but also include other genres of music including country, reggae, beach music, pop, R&B, alternative, Christian, and disco.

The plan is to make "Freestyle Music Park" the prototype and launching point for a "Freestyle Park" brand with parks throughout the world.

During the next few weeks, most of the rides, restaurants and areas throughout the park are being re-themed to better fit into the vision of the new owners. It should be interesting to see the differences between Freestyle and the old Hard Rock Park.

I'm excited about new direction of the park and happy that the owners were able to save what looks like a pretty great place to visit. And who knows, maybe the name will grow on us and won't seem so strange a year from now.

Maybe that's what the new owners are hoping.

I bet the readers of this blog could come up with some good names for the park. Let's see what you can do in the CoasterRadio.com Forums.