Calypso and Turnpike Cars land

The latest version of Gorilla Glass is almost as scratch resistant as sapphire, putting a layer of that over structural glass or plexiglass would probably be pretty cost effective.

I personally do not think we will be getting a Dive coaster. However, If we were to refer back to the memo provided by the Register (and grant that it is true), the budget on there just seems too inexpensive for features like this. Not to mention, an outdoor glass floor bridge (especially in the shaded Turnpike Car area) just sounds like it would become very grimey rather quickly.

A dice coaster? That sounds like it would be awesome!

I don't know what you're talking about :)

TwistedWicker77 said:

I personally do not think we will be getting a Dive coaster.

For years, the phraseology of statements like this has fascinated me. Roller coasters aren't something anyone "gets" and "we" have no stake in the matter. That said, it does explain why people get so intensely vested in this stuff.

Is that really a pet peeve of yours? This is a forum , and we are a community dedicated to Cedar Point. So yes, by we, I mean Cedar Point AND us. Especially considering it is my home park, my workplace, and part of the community I follow up with regularly.

TwistedWicker77 said:

...the budget on there just seems too inexpensive for features like this.

I think it was Pete who mentioned the price tag might only include the coaster itself, and not all the "bells & whistles" (think land clearing, excavating, utilities, landscaping, etc.).

But yeah, the glass bridge idea is a bad one.

Ah gotcha! I wasn't too sure, because for some reason I thought when the Gatekeeper memo was leaked, it had the full $30million price tag on it, which included everything (from track, to new entrance, to reconstructed areas). I could definitely be wrong though.

The Register article tells the rumor of a leaked memo between Cedar Point and Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers Inc. If it is legit, the $15 million figure mentioned therein would likely only involve work that B&M is contracted for, so think of the engineering, steel and train construction, delivery thereof, controls installation / configuration / testing, and on-site B&M testing / sign-off on the final product. Anything else would likely be TBD client, meaning that B&M builds the ride and the client is responsible for everything else. This would include things like groundwork (elevation, excavation, utilities, etc.), theming, landscaping, and other area improvements (think front gate plaza, GateKeeper entrance plaza in 2013's improvement budget).

I could be entirely wrong about this but it's what the docs point to.

TL/DR: Don't write off the idea of a dive coaster based on the dollar amount. There are other costs in a coaster project that add up to the amount marketing shares.

TwistedWicker77 said:

...I thought when the Gatekeeper memo was leaked, it had the full $30million price tag on it, which included everything (from track, to new entrance, to reconstructed areas). I could definitely be wrong though.

So I went back and looked (thanks Wikipedia!), and while it's not crystal clear, it seems that by the time the memo leaked (31-May-2012), Ouimet had already told (on 24-April-2012) the Erie County Chamber of Commerce that they were spending ~$25 million on cap ex for the 2013 season, which of course included the cost of removing Space Spiral and Disaster Transport.

That's supported by Lee Alexakos' comment on the leaked memo:

“We have not announced any plans for 2013 but we did announce a $25 million investment...”

Awesome! Thanks for clearing that up for me fellas.

dj, I should note a difference between GateKeeper and this rumored 2016 project. For GateKeeper, the Register references a memo between Matt Ouimet, CEO of Cedar Fair, and its board of directors. For the rumored dive coaster, the Register instead references a memo between Cedar Fair and B&M. That would also help explain why GateKeeper's rumored cost was a lot more realistic of the entire project than the dive cost.

Jeff said:

TwistedWicker77 said:

I personally do not think we will be getting a Dive coaster.

For years, the phraseology of statements like this has fascinated me. Roller coasters aren't something anyone "gets" and "we" have no stake in the matter. That said, it does explain why people get so intensely vested in this stuff.

Not really, CP is a service that we pay for and when they build something new and we pay to use it, it is something that we are getting.

But Cedar Point isn't a service. Service involves the supplying of something -- a TV repair, a bus trip, water out of the faucet. Cedar Point is in the business of selling access to an enclosed assortment of rides, attractions and eateries.

When the park builds something, such as a roller coaster, the company pays for it and it's the company that "gets" the coaster. What you and I pay for is the opportunity to enter that enclosed area and amuse ourselves as we will. If I hail a taxi and pay the fare, I'm getting a ride to my destination. I'm not getting the car.

I have a similar problem when someone refers to his or her favorite sports team as "we". I always say "they", even though it may be my home team or my beloved alma mater.
And I live in Columbus, Ohio where we live and breathe for that team.

In saying "we" I feel like I'm indicating the team's success or loss actually has something to do with me, which is doesn't. Just because I'm a fan, or in Cedar Point's case a season pass holder, doesnt mean I should lay claim to the goings on up there.

It's a sad day when somebody gets upset when another refers to an amusement park ride as something that they're getting.

Now hang on, if you graduated from a school, you have every right to say "we" when talking about the success of their sports teams.

I don't "get" being a sports spectator to begin with. Playing football, I get. Watching football? I just don't get why that's interesting (and I, of course, understand that my fascination for chasing all over creation to ride roller coasters and eat in diners is equally impenetrable to other people).

So I really don't get the excitement and ownership of fans when a team wins some big championship thing. You bought your ticket (or a beer at the bar where you were watching the game), you watched the "show", you had nothing to do with the folks on the field winning or losing.

No one's upset. But no one who buys a ticket into an amusement park "gets" one of the roller coasters.

Yeah, but neither do you have to get all over them for not being perfectly aligned with your view of the world, which is wrong btw. There are goods and there are services. CP supplies both to me, but much more "services" than "goods." So yeah, them providing me rides on a roller coaster is a service no matter how you slice it.