Cedar point's forgotten coaster

How many of you remember the Scamper, a Wild Mouse type coaster that sit at the site where the Matterhorn sits now? It was added to Cedar Point in 1962 and was removed by the 1970 season. I am wondering who built that ride and why was it removed. I am also curious as to why they added a second Wild Mouse to the park then removed the original that was removed for the old Chicken Patio stand. While the regular Wild Mouse has become somewhat of a symbol of the early days of the "modern Cedar Point" the Scamper has been all but forgotten.

I remember the Scamper very well. It was a classic wooden wild mouse, I'm sorry it was removed.

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Florida may have Disneyworld and Key West,
but Ohio has Cedar Point and Put-In-Bay.
It's great to live in Ohio!

I believe I remember it, but was too afraid of coasters to ride. I'm sure it was removed before the 1970 season because I was riding coasters by then.

Those old wild mice were so scary to me with their little cars and the feeling you were going to go straight off the track on those tight turns.

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

I do remember it, but missed being old enough to ride it by a couple of years. What frustrates the hell out of me is that no one can seem to produce any photos of it. I remember it very well, but I'd really like someone to donate a few pictures of it for the site. Heck, even CP's PR department has a hard time getting data on it.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP - Sillynonsense.com
"Climbing as we fall, we dare to hold on to our fate, and steal away our destiny to catch ourselves with quiet grace" - The Stairs, INXS

You can see the ride in this photo. Here's another one, but it isn't as clear. I have never seen any good photos, but knowing how much movie film we have from the 50's, 60's, and 70's, I might just have it somewhere on tape. That's a good winter project.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

*** This post was edited by Gemini 11/14/2002 9:43:47 AM ***

Gosh that photo brings back memories! Especially of the Western Cruise. Remembering how we stood in the covered queue with those yellow buzzing lights (or was it the bugs making that buzzing sound?).

You can see the walkway that used to go through the parking lot. I believe they had a tram back then as well
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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

I rode it, I guess that show's my age. I think it actually was the first roller coaster I ever went on . I was in high school and afraid to ride the Blue Steak!!! My first "real" roller coaster was the Zephyr at Ponchatrain Beach in New Orleans, I was out of college and working by then. Hard to bellieve I was such a chicken.

It's pretty ridiculous how much the park has changed........

Yeah it is. It's hard to believe, looking at the photos that Gemini posted, that the park was that small at one time compared to the huge monster park it is now.

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Turkeys, the only animal smarter than man

Waltz on over to www.virtualmidway.com and check out Walt's collection of memorabilia. (play on words :)) His History section is bar none, the most comprehensive...as well as the rest of his site!

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Launch: Tophat: Twistage: Brakes...

...Denial is an ugly thing.

D. A. Rossi said:
I rode it, I guess that show's my age.

How old can you be, I still remember riding the Monorail, how many folks remember that one around here.

I do remember the scamper and one of my faves is the old style wild-mouse, forget the Wild Cat (although its a fun ride too) it pales in comparison!!

[Edited to remove quote from deleted user with offensive screen name - Gemini]
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YOU BETCHA!! I remember going on it with a girl friend and screaming so loud we ended up with company riding on the back of the "boat" for the balance of the ride. The employee really scared the (expletive deleted) out of us, and had a puzzled look on their face after hearing all the noise we were making! Not that it was a scary ride, but screaming always seems to be the thing to do at an amusement park!! Probably folks like me that helped cause the demise of the ride, although I never got caught leaving the boat! What was the other one called... San Francisco Earthquake maybe??

*** This post was edited by Gemini 11/16/2002 7:28:17 AM ***

I remember the Monorail, and the Stagecoach...I wonder if Jeff will honor our Golden Buckeye Cards for a discount;)

Two other things I noticed from the first photo:

1. It's funny how a road of automobiles litterally cut right accross the main midway into another parking lot that is now home to the Peanuts Playground.

2. Scrambler has not moved an inch since it was first installed, and still is in the exact same place today as it was in this photo.

How things have changed, and how they haven't.

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Final 2002 counts:
Millennium Force Laps: 14
Magnum Laps: 15
Raptor Laps: 15
Trips to CP: 14

I think it's too bad that rides can simply be forgotten. It's also too bad that the forgotten rides might have few records of them even existing.

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Andrew L. of Waterville, Ohio
"Gentleman, you can't fight here! This is the war room!"

What about the REALLY old CP coasters? I'd love to take a spin on the CP Cyclone myself.

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-Paul

Tim, your older than Dirt though! ;)

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http://www.msu.edu/~armbrus9/cp.html
I Met Brittney! Shes SOOOOOO Cool!

Jeff according to your profile..you were born on July 2, 1973...So how is it that you remember Scamper very well, and were only a few years shy of riding it when the ride was taken out before 1973? Or were you thinking of something else?

Did the mouse rides get a bad rap for injuries back then ,I seem to remember some stories at Geauga lake that people got hurt on them ,me I liked them. Being jerked around was part of the fun.All it takes is one bad story to spoil it for all .I would think if it was a good ride it would still be here. Like the *Bobcat Timeless.

*P.S. Like the new paint colors

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I'm not an old fogey, I'm just an old coaster rider..

I've never heard of the Scamper. I knew there was a Wild Mouse but I thought that one was from the late 50's/early 60's.

I have it where there were nine different coasters (including variations, etc.) that have been razed/modified in Cedar Point's history. Switchback Railway, Three-Way Figure Eight Toboggon: (Racer) , Dip the Dips: (Leap Frog Railway, High Frolics), Leap the Dips Scenic Railway, Cyclone, Wild Mouse, WildCat, Jumbo Jet, Avalanche Run. I wonder if that's a record... Considering that most parks haven't even had nine coasters in their history, I'd bet it's safe to assume so.

So are there others besides Scamper?