I've been promoting a CP dive coaster for over two years lol. CP doesn't have anything like a Dive coaster. There are only two on the continent, and if B&M is rolling out new tricks for them who knows what this one would do.
A dive coaster would fit well with all the clearing they are doing this off season because it will open up more land for future coasters in the space they are working with for 2016. I think its a good move for CP, one that they haven't made in the past lol. CP is [[[LANDLOCKED]]]]] yet every time they build a signature coaster they sprawl all over the park. It's about time they started building more compact thrills rather than every new coaster stretching from one shore to the other. CP can't just buy more land like other parks may have the option of doing, and as they add, sooner or later more rides are going to have to come down and we are starting to see that. If the rumor is true I'm glad to see that they are thinking of space conservation
finally.
I am worried about a few things for it... First is the price tag, that's not a big dive coaster at off the shelf market price unless there's some type of planned deal or bulk buy project. If they get one, and I would still be happy with it, I hope its not a Griffon/Sheikra clone. And it certainly wouldn't be the super record breaker that they need regardless of coaster type. The park may be doing well, but there is a stale feel in the air with the crowds and I feel they are picking up on that and are doing a lot of changes to shake things up and you can see that by these huge sudden landscape changes. I'll even go as far as to predict
another major coaster/ride for 2017 as well, over in the Frontier Trail by MF. That area is now the least touched area in the park. Not changing for over 20 years! As well as being a huge area for possible themed land expansion once the Dinosaurs are gone. Another spot to look at is the old dolphin stadium. Take a lot of pics because I'm sure this might be the last year for that as well. It has not been maintained at all, the stunt show has never been nothing more than carnival act with no real budget, and with the renovations to Breakers, it is blocking some serious views and is pretty much a worse 80's eyesore than the cinema. I was shocked that the cinema came down first actually. I guess they want to spread the "park hotspots" from season to season instead of focusing on one area for too long. They started with the front, went to the back with the Gemini midway, now are working on the left shore while expanding usage of Breakers on the right.
Maybe we'll see that modernization of Soak City as well. It feels like a nineties infomercial back there.
VF15 wrote:
While a dive coaster wouldn't necessarily be a bad choice, I think the GP would see it as being too similar to Gatekeeper because of the wide trains.
Also, does Cedar Point really need a new coaster two years in a row? I know Rougarou isn't 100% new, but still... this is what is starting to annoy me about Cedar Fair. They give all of the attention to Cedar Point and a few other parks, while the rest of them seem to get left out, and since Canada's Wonderland is probably getting another $25 million+ B&M in 2016, I guess the smaller parks don't have much hope.
The mantis conversion I think is more about optimization of an investment more so than branding a new ride. It's a world class layout that (as much as I love Stand-ups) really took a lot out of the riders and was pretty painful after several rides. There has never been such a forceful stand-up before or since Mantis and while I was angry to see the change I can't deny that it was a good move for the park as a whole. I'm more glad to see that they realize its
not a new coaster (you still market what you can though) and they haven't slowed plans for more additions to include it as one.
To say the GP would say Gatekeeper and a new dive are similar is a pretty far reaching and biased stretch. If they get a full scale Dive like I'm sure they would, there is no way anyone would compare the two. That's almost as bad as confusing the Iron Dragon with the Corkscrew because they both are 2 across Arrow coasters. Not to mention the GP here in Ohio are noticeably more coaster savvy than in other places.
It has been said in a few different ways but more bluntly, it makes no business sense to Starve the masses for the few. Nobody is beating down the doors to travel to nowhere PA, MI, or MN to go to those local parks. It sucks for those of us that have them for home parks that they are often on the backburner for decades but sorry it's life. It's just common sense.
Helo9797 wrote:
CP's new coaster has to be something the park and the area is missing. A dive coaster doesn't seem like the best option, a flyer seems a lot more likely. Or a modern woodie (not RMC, a modern woodie).
As for the Flyers, management had already stated several times they don't really like them. And for Cedar Fair I can see a ton of reason why a Flyer wouldn't fit well at Cedar Point. The biggest being the loading times, quickly followed by mechanical maintenance. Not only that but the ones they have already haven't really done much besides add to the count and are often not re-ridden by the GP. At King's Island a lot of guests forget Firehawk is even in the park. Not to mention they haven't really been too much of a draw even for the parks that have B&M Flyers compared to other rides. At least in terms of the costs and hassles. Even chains that were excited to build them kinda let that trend die out in the west.
I agree totally that Cedar Point has been in tremendous need of a new wooden coaster for quite some time. I also know how horrendously battered the ones they have get all off season by the subzero temps and constant lake spray. I think if they do get a new wooden coaster it would be more towards the center of the park, where trees and other buildings can help buffer the elements a bit. With that in mind I'd look towards T-Rex island to fit in a mid-sized wooden coaster.
As a bonus thought, there may be two new coasters coming to CP in 2016. Another niche that is currently missing is the one left by the Wildcat which was an unexpected removal for the park. Adding another boardwalk like corridor to the Midway in the space cleared would beg for another smaller mouse-ish coaster similar to how Knotts added Coast Rider. That would boost Cedar Points count back to normal, as well as living up that slow stretch from Raptor to Corkscrew and wouldn't even be a hiccup in the bottom line.