announcement date 8/18/15

Well technically Iron Reef is the "copy" of Guardian, as that was the first Trio-Tech ride that I know of. I certainly hope we are all surprised by how good it is, and I do think its possible (especially since Reef seems to be a significant improvement).

From what Ouimet-on-the-midway spoke about, we can expect a marine/pirate type of theme for Cedar Point, which makes perfect sense and could even ring a little bit of nostalgia in the air. I will hold out hope that Cedar Point's installation will hit the mark, even if it is an interactive model, which I am not a fan of at all.

I wouldn't for a second put faith in the "Cedar Fair will perfect the dark ride" mantra. The flume ride has been perfected for decades and they installed Shoot the Rapids. ;) It's not up to Cedar Fair to perfect it, it's up to Cedar Fair to decide if Triotech has perfected the dark ride to the standards they see suitable.

I'm not sure why there is such a big push for a Cedar Point dark ride. The quality of the dark ride installations at sister parks the last couple of years seem to be questionable (see the reviews from CanadianPointKid and Kevinj). I also have seen zero reviews that would support the need for Cedar Point to have a knockoff of one of them. Also, do you trust Cedar Point with creating a themed ride, sticking with it and seeing it through?

The really good dark rides cost huge money, and I don't think Cedar Fair/Point is in the business of installing a world class dark ride (which is what we would all expect, don't lie to yourself, especially when a B&M Dive Machine is getting panned). I have seen no evidence to support that Cedar Point will put up the money for this world class dark ride.

I do support the need for family rides that provide lasting memories. These would be rides like FireChaser, Manta, Ripsaw Falls, etc. Ripsaw has an extensive theme, so I'm not sure that would fly, but the other two would be perfect. There is a glaring hole where Paddle Wheel Excursions used to be.

I also like being outside at Cedar Point, it's one of the highlights of being there. Hey, who would've "thunk" it? I'm inside half the year because the weather sucks, so I think of sunny skies and nice weather when I think of Cedar Point.

So, I'm perfectly happy with a B&M dive machine. Hopefully a family coaster is coming in the next couple of years. Please keep the dark ride on the shelf, unless there is a shift to a Disney-like mindset in creating one.

I really don't see why everyone is drooling over dark rides either, myself. I thought we had a somewhat similar ride in the past.... Disaster Transport... and it wasn't successful whatsoever. The second CP takes out DT, these "dark rides" become all the rage. It would require to be situated in a large building, and I'm not sure we want to see a large steel shoe box on Lake Erie. I mean, isn't that what we just got away from? CP has never been good at theming, how could one possibly think CP could theme a dark ride... and actually keep the theme alive for at least half a season? (Yes that was a bash on Rougarou's fog that worked for maybe the first half of the year). Don't mean to sound negative, because I love Cedar Point. I just feel like a dark ride is nothing special.

If/when the dark ride is installed i'm hoping for more along the lines of Curse of Darkastle at BGW. Rode it for the first time this year and was blown away. Not sure the cap ex that goes into something like that. But I feel for a 20-30mil investment CP can have something very similar. Hide the structure for in in Mean Streaks ride yard where that haunted house is currently.. After an RMC converstion of course ;) and BOOM! that corner of the park is hoping!

I think the majority is like, "Disaster Transport sucked, how about a dark ride that doesn't."

Am I particularly faithful in CPs ability to keep up maintenance on "themeing" in the park? Heck no. But If CP built a purpose built dark ride themeing is not a secondary thing like it is on Rougarou and Maverick. It is a main draw to the ride. I feel like the themeing in that regard would be manageable. It is not really that CP cannot keep up themeing as much as it is not a priority. Safety and reliability are much more important for a Coaster.

^ not true, see DT for a perfect example of this. They opened this as an outdoor bobsled style ride, then built a building around it and themed it as a space shuttle ride to Alaska (still scratch my head on that one) and themed it with special effects, lighting, and sounds only to have it fade away. Then somewhere around 2000, CP put an extra 2 million into it for more special effects and added 3D experience. Then slowly it all faded away until the ride was completely dark, no effects, sounds, or lights save for the lift lights.

Disaster Transport was not a dark ride by any stretch of the imagination; it was an attempt at pulling off Space Mountain in Sandusky. Just because takes place in the dark does not make it a "dark ride", at least in the sense that is being discussed.

A dark ride should be family inclusive, meaning anyone from 3 to 93 could board the ride and enjoy the experience. I particularly love the term Ensign Smith came up with; "immersive whimsy". In fact, I'm not sure I've ever read a more brief yet perfect definition of what a dark ride can and should offer the audience.

The simple reason so many have been clamoring for a dark ride resurgence at Cedar Point is because of two things: 1) first and foremost the paucity of family rides at Cedar Point, and 2) they used to have them, and they were big hits, and a lot of us miss them.

They don't "need" one, but it sure would be swell. And guess what? A dark ride is coming. It's just a matter of when.

I wasnt saying DT was a dark ride, I agree it was far from it (unless you count the last few years when it was dark lol) I was simply referring to CP keeping a intentionally themed ride themed which isnt the case.

I know a true dark ride is coming, and cant wait to see what CP has in the bag of tricks.

They did a pretty good job of keeping everything In the Pirate Ride and Earthquake Ride working. I have faith that when the whole point of something is the theming, that they will do a good job.

Didn't you hear? They added the Snoopy Dark Ride in this snoopy gift shop!

^ Very nice. :)

And what Pete said.

The Pirate Ride, for what it was, was kept up very well up until the bitter end.

Cedar Point certainly could maintain even a highly themed dark ride. That's simply a choice of putting resources where they are needed.

So by that logic, there was no reason CP couldnt have kept DT themed the way it was meant to be themed. I mean, the whole reason they put it in a building was to theme it as a new dark ride, am I wrong? They couldve just as easily removed Avalanche Run and been done with it, but they chose to dump more into it and theme it as a dark ride.

I'm not familiar with how important the utility/storage building next to Mean Streak is, but that looks to be quite a bit of land to fit a dark ride. Not to mention it is in an area that would not look too bad with a somewhat large building for the ride. Plus I always thought it would be nice to connect the mean streak and gemini midways...

Even if it is a prominent storage or utility building, they could easily relocate that, or move it off site.

Edit: I would they they could put the dark ride in the middle area of Mean streak, but I don't think that's plausible seeing as though something is bound to happen to it in the next few years (RMC or totally remove).

Er, isn't that Planning & Design?

CanadianPointKid said:

How many posters have been on Wonder Mountain's Guardian, or Voyage to the Iron Reef? Many members here seem to be screaming for CP to put in a family friendly dark ride, but as someone who has experienced Guardian, I can promise you that it's not spectacular by any means, for both thrill seekers and families.

I can tell you firsthand that Voyage to the Iron Reef wasn't an amazing experience by any stretch of the imagination. I don't mean to bash KBF or Cedar Fair in any way, but I feel that the reviews were overblown. Indeed, it was a unique type of ride that the park needed, but nowhere close to a Toy Story Mania kind of experience.

Had I not read reviews prior to my ride, I would not have understood the story at all. In terms of ride experience...yes, it was immersive, but I felt that everyone who rode with me was too busy going ham (pardon) on their triggers to even realize that there was a story involved. We left the ride not only with sore index fingers, but also a certain level of disappointment, as the ride wasn't quite worth the two hour wait in our opinions.

Finally, I'm extremely happy that this type of ride wasn't installed at CP first. After two delays during our wait and briefly speaking with a ride op, the general feeling I got was that there are a lot of moving parts..meaning a lot can go wrong. And I don't think it was a result of the occasional "bugs" associated with new attractions.

I'm quite interested to see how CP plans to make their dark ride better.

Millennium310 said:t Voyage to the Iron Reef wasn't an amazing experience by any stretch of the imagination. I don't mean to bash KBF or Cedar Fair in any way, but I feel that the reviews were overblown. Indeed, it was a unique type of ride that the park needed, but nowhere close to a Toy Story Mania kind of experience.

Had I not read reviews prior to my ride, I would not have understood the story at all. In terms of ride experience...yes, it was immersive, but I felt that everyone who rode with me was too busy going ham (pardon) on their triggers to even realize that there was a story involved.

Which is exactly why I don't like the interactive-ride genre; not even Toy Story Mania. If you want to play Duck Hunt, I have a NES in my basement.

When you look at the direction that the park has been headed in over the last few years, it seems that Cedar Point is currently in a position to support a new indoor attraction with an unprecented level of design and thematic elements that historically have not been associated with the park. The new front gate, the lakeside pavilion, the refreshed Gemini Midway, the refurbished Breakers Hotel, and other investments have really strengthened the park as an attractive multi-day resort.

The question is that from a long term perspective does management want Cedar Point to just be a big amusement park where they do "more of the same" or are they ready to take the park to another level ? I guess only time will tell.

It's always nice to have an indoor ride choice, no matter the theme. Sun, rain, cold, hot, bugs, wind, whatever. It's nice to have the option.

CoasterGuy15 said:

Even if it is a prominent storage or utility building, they could easily relocate that, or move it off site.

something is bound to happen to it in the next few years (RMC or totally remove).

Yes, this is the planning/design office. I never realized just how big this building was until I went inside during the Winter Chill Out to see the new Rougarou trains this year. It's HUGE, and seemed to be a primary storage site for the park. I understand the need to move things off site (hopefully Cedars is gone soon) but it may not be easy with a building used for this purpose. Some stuff has to be stored on site, and you can't forget about the office space in the building too. I don't believe the park has any offices located anywhere off the peninsula right now either. They do still have an old dark ride building in the park already... in an area that seems to be getting attention in the near future... And why is Mean Streak guaranteed to be revamped at all? From hearing Bryan Edwards respond to questions about the subject, the park continues to put millions into the ride each year, from the trains being completely revamped a few years back to the addition of Eden Musee in the infield and the track work they continue to do each offseason - I don't see anything happening to the ride in the next few years. It's difficult to gauge its popularity with it being so far away from the rest of the park - ridership data doesn't always tell the full story. Alot of times with rides you can begin to tell when the park refuses to upkeep a ride (DT, Wildcat, Chaos) that its days are numbered and I haven't noticed that at all with Mean Streak. I have actually noticed it recently though with the golf course at Challenge Park. One 18 hole side has been closed for years now and is in disrepair - and the open side is not nearly as well kept as it used to be. It's interesting...