announcement date 8/18/15

^^^ That makes good sense, opening day 2016 ? I believe they have pulled a fast one in the announcement date folks. There is more to this coaster than anyone might have believed. It may be a diver, it may not, this could be the last Mega Steel coaster until 2020 when I think a woodie comes but, what if they want to beat Orlando at the 500ft mark ? I maybe wrong, but, they hid this one good.

You're wrong. Val... Dive coaster won't be that tall, and they definitely didn't hide it good (or well)

I don't know what's hidden. I think it's common knowledge that the coaster is a B&M dive coaster about 225 feet tall. It's been all over the media in addition to online forums. Although nothing is officially announced, sometimes the evidence is so overwhelming that an official announcement is not necessary.

Now the details as to what else is going on is not known. Is Cedars going or staying? Is the train being changed or extended? What will the marina gate look like? Those are all interesting items that are not known yet.

I remain unconvinced that there's going to be a change of name. The park wants the focus of the announcement to be talking about their new coaster, not answering questions about the Raptor incident, and are correctly delaying the announcement. Changing the name would be an unnecessary expenditure of time, money and resources.

Ok, like I said maybe I am wrong, but, didnt TTD make History as the 1st to break 400ft ? And wasnt it said that History and Records would be broke ? If it is a dive coaster ok, so be it. I got np with that. But, the build up, the pics on the app, seems a lot to go 25 ft higher. To me, they are saying this coaster is something like never before. And , the color is maybe strange for a Bird of prey. But, then we Native American Indians see the bald eagle as sacred and its brown.

"And wasn't it said that History and Records would be broke [sic]?"

Doesn't say what history or which records.

"But, the build up, the pics on the app, seem a lot to go 25 ft higher."

Why?

"To me, they are saying this coaster is something like [sic] never seen before."

A dive coaster, if a dive coaster indeed it is, is something never seen before.... in these parts. Cedar Point's marketing area and those of the Busch parks don't overlap.

"...see the bald eagle as sacred and its [sic] brown."

Sacred can't be brown?

Yes, noggin Brown can be sacred, and yes so is the adult bald eagle. But, 25 feet is like saying Columbus discovered America. For one its realy not that much, and We discovered Columbus. Yes, it will be the 1st of its kind in the area. Oh, well, time will tell all the answers.

Sorry; you seemed to be suggesting that sacred and brown were at odds.

Saying 25 feet is like saying Columbus discovered or was discovered is, to me, being rather over dramatic. A record is a record. Colossus stole the record for world's tallest coaster from Gemini by six inches back in '78.

I'm also completely unconvinced that the name will change. I see absolutely no reason for it. Not only that, but the cost associated with such a change would have to come at a fairly hefty price (i.e., things with "Valravn" printed on it, including (but not limited to):

Souvenir magnets; sunglasses; cameras; cell phone accessories, namely, headsets, skins, face plates and cell phone covers, Posters, notepads, postcards, pens and pencils, photographs; paper pennants; stickers; decals

Umbrellas, all-purpose carrying bags; sports bags; tote bags; back packs; fanny packs; purses; wallets
Non-metal and non-leather key chains, picture frames, paper picture frames for souvenir photographs; plastic pennants; non-metal beach safes

Eh, you get the point. Who whats to re-print umbrellas? Not me.

The investigation is in its waning moments and people's memories are short, even for tragedies like this. The seasons are changing, kids are back to school, the park is morphing into Halloweekends mode day by day...in short the proverbial winds of change are blowing, which is exactly what CP needs. If I absolutely had to guess the announcement will certainly take place sometime during Halloweekends (if not sooner).

I would assume that the park is treading very, very carefully in these days since the incident, and kudos to them for doing so.

It's only August of the previous season.. I would not expect them to have ordered let alone taken delivery of Valravn merchandise yet. Not until sometime in the off-season..

Also, the list of items claimed for protection does not translate into immediate plans to utilize those items. It's more of a general category for protection in case they should ever wish to make them. Claim more than you think you're going to need, not less.

That was part of the joke, but...

You are correct. Claim more than you need.

And I could be way off, but I would venture a guess that August of the previous season is the perfect time to be ordering all sorts of Valravny goodies.

Wait, there was a joke?

I always thought Columbus was an idiot. He had one job, to get to India, and he failed miserably.

topthrilldragster4lyf said:

It's only August of the previous season.. I would not expect them to have ordered let alone taken delivery of Valravn merchandise yet.

I think you underestimate the magnitude of the task.

Remember, Cedar Fair is not needing merchandise just for Valravn for 2016. Cedar Point needs a broad, broad array of merchandise covering many rides and attractions as well as more generic park merch. As kevinj noted, that covers everything from magnets to cell phone accessories, umbrellas to key chains, pennants to postcards, notepads to decals...

And the artwork for each of those has to be developed in keeping with the particular manufacturer's specs and within the approved cost guidelines from corporate and signed off on by the appropriate Cedar Fair and park execs.

Multiply that out by the other ten parks in the chain, with all that design work being done by one central team.... that all takes time.

Once all that is done -- the manufacturers dealing with these massive orders need notice and time to make sure they have the necessary materials and resources on hand to complete the contracts.

Most -- if not all -- of these items are going to be produced overseas. Which, in turn, means the merchandise is going to be shipped by boat to the States (by far the most economical way to ship goods, especially when they're not time sensitive).

Once at the parks, all the merchandise needs to be sorted and distributed or stored as needed.

I'd be surprised if they change the name just because someone was stupid enough to climb two fences to get into what is clearly a restricted and dangerous area. I rode Raptor last Friday not long after it re-opened. I think the lines were longer for Raptor the rest of the day than for any other rides. This hasn't hurt Cedar Point's image at all, and it's a very clear case of irresponsibility on the part of the individual that was killed, and anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together can see that. Was it tragic and avoidable? Yes. But people sometimes do stupid things that sometimes lead to their death.

At this late stage in the game, a name change would be a huge amount of work. I can see them delaying the announcement out of respect for the deceased, but I'll be surprised if the name is not Valravn when the coaster is finally announced.

There is precedent for a name change, though. Cedar Point did rename Banshee to Mantis after it was announced (a friend of mine who collects Cedar Point merchandise has some Banshee-related items, even a Banshee pin).

On a side note, I was born the year after Mantis opened so I have wasn't really in the loop with these sorts of things, but why did Cedar Point change the name "Banshee" back then in the first place? If it was that people complained about the meaning, why did they not complain again when Banshee opened at King's Island? It seems that people would be more sensitive to random things like that these days.

TTD6262 said:

On a side note, I was born the year after Mantis opened...

You're making me feel old. :)

...so I have wasn't really in the loop with these sorts of things, but why did Cedar Point change the name "Banshee" back then in the first place? If it was that people complained about the meaning, why did they not complain again when Banshee opened at King's Island? It seems that people would be more sensitive to random things like that these days.

You know how it goes, even though 99.9% people couldn't care less about the name's meaning, that remaining 0.1% can complain very loudly and ruin it for everyone else. All it takes is one person to start making a big stink and it can snowball. Guess that didn't happen at King's Island. :)

It does amuse me that Cedar Fair did manage to get the name through that time.

TTD6262 said:

On a side note, I was born the year after Mantis opened so I have wasn't really in the loop with these sorts of things, but why did Cedar Point change the name "Banshee" back then in the first place? If it was that people complained about the meaning, why did they not complain again when Banshee opened at King's Island? It seems that people would be more sensitive to random things like that these days.

At the time some people were offended by the name "Banshee" because people used it as a derogatory name for women. 20 years later no one would even think to call someone a "banshee"... It's just lingo that changes all the time and unfortunately they thought of the name not knowing about that lingo. Since then, the negative connotation behind the name has slipped away and they now think its an appropriate name for a ride.

In 20 years it might be insulting to call someone a grapefruit... Hopefully I'll be around to see the day.

Hmm that's too bad. Just like Albert said, I think 99.9% of us know that it is completely pointless to change the name, but unfortunately that vocal minority that thinks Valravn will remind people of the incident can be tough to beat.

In my opinion changing the name will bring far more attention back to that than leaving it will, but I'm no expert :P

^ I agree with you TTD6262. It makes no sense to backtrack because of someones misfortune. I think they'll announce this ride when daily operation ends after Labor Day. That's my opinion.