Cedar Point 2013

I don't even know what the hell you're talking about now

By any chance are you on meth? Just checking

^+1

For the record, I like both chains, but to say one is more innovative than the other doesn't sound "legit". Once again SteveH, tell me how Full Throttle is so much more innovative than GateKeeper?

Don't get me wrong though, I think Full Throttle is innovative too and I think it looks like a great coaster. Can't wait to get out there to ride it.

Chuck Wagon said:
It is a completely new concept, being built by a company that has never designed and built a wooden coaster,

Actually Chuck Wagon, RMC has built a bunch of wooden coasters and has been designing retrofits and re-tracking profiles for years. Their work just doesn't get acclaim because they are not the primary designers. And based upon what they did for New Texas Giant (which was designed and built in-house), I feel as though they have gone a long way towards becoming a very recognizable name in the roller coaster design world

http://www.rockymtnconstruction.com/clients_portfolio.html

I would absolutely LOVE to see RMC come in and see what they could do to Mean Streak.

How much did new Texas Giant cost? Would a re-boot be accepted by the general public at CP? Seems what really pushes the needle is brand new around here.

Ensign Smith said:
Sheesh. Why do the new ride announcements have to turn into an us-vs-them conflict? Last I saw, the back of my shirt doesn't read "Team Cedar Fair".

Both companies are introducing some interesting and fun-sounding new rides for 2013. And considering there are few markets where CF and Six Flags genuinely compete, more power to both of them.

Couldn't have said it better. I will never understand why some people can't understand that what other parks do can be good for the industry as a whole.

Full Throttle Innovation:

Record vertical loop - that you experience twice in the circuit.

Three launches - 2 Forward, 1 Reverse.

Special effects tunnel (vs. keyhole towers)

So, Wicked Twister does 5 launches.

Gate Keeper has a taller inversion.

And what exactly is a "Special Effects Tunnel"? Cedar Point had a whole special effects ride, and we know how well that went.

Maverick has a 'special effects tunnel' essentially, doesn't it?

Bleauxjays, according to RCDB the changeover into a 'hybrid' coaster cost $10 mil. I would imagine that while maintenance costs of Mean Streak would not approach $10 million over a long period of time, I'm sure it still costs the park a good deal.

I would also further surmise that the park might be able to save on their yearly maintenance costs if it was totally re-done from the ground up using RMC's methods. But, I obviously have no statistical or firsthand knowledge to back that up, so take it with a grain of salt.

Further, Six Flags over Texas was able to essentially market New Texas Giant as a new coaster. The GP's perception doesn't seem to be very high for Mean Streak (given the Facebook posts and other comments I see) so I would think this would be a win-win for CP if they ever undertook the opportunity to do it.

SteveH said:
Full Throttle Innovation:

Record vertical loop - that you experience twice in the circuit.

Three launches - 2 Forward, 1 Reverse.

Special effects tunnel (vs. keyhole towers)

Record vertical loop, I agree, it's cool. However, Cedar Point has the World's Tallest Inversion, that's not innovative? Also, you only experience the loop once.

Backwards launch? Wicked Twister does that twice, also Superman: Ultimate Flight at SFDK launches backwards too.

Once again, looks like a great ride and Premier is stepping up their game. But besides the spine being the same for the Top Hat & Loop, what makes it so much more innovative than a ride like GateKeeper?

^^ If they could get away with it for 10 mil I'd say do it. I'm just not sure yet what the overall plan for the park yet is. Are they going to continue to focus on the beach etc.

SteveH said:
600 - IF you could go all the way to the top of each. Which, you can't.

You're at about 290' on WS and at least 280' on SS so yeah, much higher than 400'. That's a crazy statement. Cedar Point has been an innovator in the amusement park industry for its life span. Six Flags has made a habit of following instead of leading. See Kingda Ka, for one example.

It would be nice to see CF make improvements to their other parks. With my family, I visited King's Island, Carowinds & King's Dominion (we have platinum passes) all this summer. Aside from Intimadator, Intimadator 305 & Diamondback most of the coasters seem to be old (or left-overs from Geauga Lake & Paramount). I understand that CP is the flagship park but as a platinum pass holder I would like more incentive to visit the other parks. It's disappointing that Windseeker is at all of the parks. We didn't even bother to ride it at KI, KD or Carowinds bc we can ride it at our "home" park (CP). The only reason we didn't mind the dinos being at KI & KD is bc my 3 yr old loves dinosaurs, so it gave us something else to do with him (he needs a season pass for Dinosaurs Alive...lol). In my opinion, it's exciting for KI that Son of Beast is being demolished & there are plans to expand the park. Anyone know what the plans are?

Btw...my husband thinks I-305 is a better coaster than MF. My oldest son & I love Raptor & Afterburn...I think Afterburn is better, just sayin'! We all thought Volcano was pretty cool:)

One more thing, you guys need to stop arguing about SF, CF & innovation....the competition isn't going anywhere!

SteveH said:
Full Throttle Innovation:

Record vertical loop - that you experience twice in the circuit.

You clearly don't know what you're talking about. That loop is traversed once.

And buy yourself a dictionary and look up the words "lose" and "loose".

Three launches - 2 Forward, 1 Reverse.

As John pointed out, WT has 5 launches, 2 in reverse. So by your own metric, there's nothing innovative going on with Full Throttle.

Special effects tunnel (vs. keyhole towers)

You mean like the one on Maverick, a coaster CP installed 5 years ago (and wasn't even innovative then)?

Seriously - stop trolling. Get a new hobby.

I've never understood why people think that, except for looks, a hybrid with steel track is anything other than a steel coaster. There are lots of steel coasters with inversions.

OTOH, a hybrid with wooden track is NOT a steel coaster

WaterDummy said:

Chuck Wagon said:
It is a completely new concept, being built by a company that has never designed and built a wooden coaster,

Actually Chuck Wagon, RMC has built a bunch of wooden coasters and has been designing retrofits and re-tracking profiles for years. Their work just doesn't get acclaim because they are not the primary designers. And based upon what they did for New Texas Giant (which was designed and built in-house), I feel as though they have gone a long way towards becoming a very recognizable name in the roller coaster design world

http://www.rockymtnconstruction.com/clients_portfolio.html

I would absolutely LOVE to see RMC come in and see what they could do to Mean Streak.

Yes. I am not discounting that they have done good work in recent years. Both the topper track and iron horse treatment seem to be genuine successes. Those both build upon an existing design. It just seems risky to have your first design project require custom trains.

SteveH said:
We can only hope CF has more projects and enhancements they aren't disclosing for 2013, or they are going to loose the coaster record war in more ways than one.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=A4VbOHvaPRc

I wonder if Cedar Fair regrets not going with the Starflyer model after seeing how well they have operated at some of Six Flags' parks.

AnnieM. said:
It's disappointing that Windseeker is at all of the parks. We didn't even bother to ride it at KI, KD or Carowinds bc we can ride it at our "home" park (CP).

Cedar Point is our home park as well, but loved Windseeker - having a different view on the same ride.

You don't feed the troll!

That being said - I wanted to give my opinion on Full Throttle in a little more detail.

Personally, I think Full Throttle has the potential to be a very fun and intense ride. Launching into that loop at about 70 miles per hour could make for some powerful forces. The 90(?) degree drop before the backwards launch, the backwards launch, and the top hat all look like elements that I'd really enjoy. Still can't get over how bad the capacity will likely be.. After Green Lantern and Lex Luther, I really expected a people eater to help alleviate the lines. Who doesn't remember reading the horror stories with how crazy the X lines were when it opened?