Detective Work for 2022 ( Get your $$ ready!!)

Hope all of my fellow Pointbuzzers' Holiday season has been a productive and also a safe one. It's been a VERY slow off season on here so I felt it was time to liven up this forum and stir the pot. I've been doing some recent detective work over the last month and felt compelled to post this topic to get some discussion going. Feel free to agree, disagree, hopefully not bash me too much (LOL) and discuss points (which I will also touch back on in the coming days) , etc. but..... hear me out over the next 10 days on why I think CP is hiding something from us and why I feel a NEW RIDE is right around the corner. I will post a new idea to expand on this each day for your discussion amusement leading up to the conclusion on December 31st (New Years Eve).

Firstly, I have NO inside park information, just a long time CP goer for the last 45 years (hence my screen name on here) and have been on these CP forums (including Virtual midway & GTTP since around the early 2000s.

We already have heard about the new Frontiertown restaurant coming in the now defunct Antique Cars location, renovations of Sawmill Creek and Castaway Bay to allow for more lodging options for the 2022 season but.... is there more to come (with possibly the addition of a new ride hopefully this upcoming season)!? Past history is telling me YES! and I'm about to expand on why I'm starting to believe this. BTW, get your $$ ready for 2022 Season passes & Winter Chill out tickets if this comes to fruition. Some of you are going to call me crazy but...... Hang around especially for points #9 & 10, I promise you it will be worth it. These posts will ALL hopefully tie nicely together at the end for you.

Here we go.......

1. Maxair. In my opinion, the best flat ride hands down for the sheer amusement of weightlessness, air time, views of the park, and one of the best rides in the park that isn't a coaster. Also just the off -ride view of just watching as a spectator is just incredible. I've seen many a flip flop go flying over years past from this ride (dam bins now!) ; my best memory being in 2010 when one flew and hit the old 12-E building of Disaster Transport. Ahh.... good times.

Yes, it has Sucked (with a capital S) that this ride has been down all season from supposedly a broken part (gears?) not being able to be replaced. We can get a lift chain for GK, a cable for MF, even Replacement parts for TTD but we really can't get a part for Maxair? Blame it on the supply chain and covid I guess. LOL. SPEAKING OF BROKEN RIDES - Point #2 coming tomorrow......

In the immortal words of Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman..... "I'm just getting started." Come back on the 31st (read all of my posts) & then let me know what you think. LOL. Anyhow.....

Posted Thursday 12/23

2. THE UNEXPECTED.

Cedar Point has had a long standing relationship with many different ride manufacturers over the years but sometimes the unexpected happens with parts breaking, acts of nature, freak accidents, etc. Case in point.... Back in 2001 , Cedar Point purchased a ride called Vertigo from a company called S & S Amusements (?) I believe. About 5 months later, for no foreseeable reason, one of its 3 towers collapsed during the winter time due to possibly high winds or a structure flaw but I'm not sure if the exact reason was ever found. Needless to say, the manufacturer pulled all of these similar attractions from other parks. It would take almost 5 years for this same company to make amends with the park with an installation we know today as Skyhawk. A far better attraction in my opinion and it has proven to hold up structurally and for the sake of popularity over the past 15 years as another great flat ride addition to Cedar Point.

#3. PAST / RECENT History....

Past history of the park mostly seemed like a teardown & replace mentality (think Mill Race for Raptor, also Disaster Transport for Gatekeeper but..... CP has also been known to transform rides in the past (due to lack of popularity/ low ridership). I can think of this going back to 1985's Avalanche Run being converted into Disaster Transport, but we're even seeing more of a trend with attractions being "recycled" lately with the Mantis to Rougarou & Mean Streak to Steel Vengeance conversions. The new conversions seem to appeal more to the GP, boost ridership numbers and these conversions have most likely been cheaper for the park in the long run without having to disrupt the land footprint around them.

**Score at home (for anyone keeping track), Cartwright 5, me 0. I'm taking it in stride, LOL.

I think it’s questionable how much the Mantis conversion had on long term Ridership increases.

And if the ill fated Disappointment Transport conversion is of any relevance to the fate of Rougaroo, we may be pleasantly surprised with something new in its place…. But I doubt it.

Past CP decisions were made by a wildly different management team with a sole focus on CP. That laser focus is gone now, and I think it will continue to show in a much more measured capital expenditure on the Lake Erie shoreline.

^ Agree w/ you 100%, stick around for a while. Which leads to our our next point....

#4. The plot of land

Now that we've seen the blogs from Tony of Wicked Twister's demise, it being torched away and heading for the recycle dump.... what to do with that plot of land left over from the teardown? After all it certainly is an oddly shaped rectangular piece of land stretching from the entrance of Gatekeeper realistically all the way over to Windseeker (nothing now in between).

Some would argue to expand the boardwalk, close it off (ala pre 2002) when the park boundaries from the fence ended right behind Giant Wheel, maybe put a stage there for a nice backdrop over Lake Erie, hell maybe even put a few flat rides in there along the waterfront. Or as Tony would say... save it for "future development". Four out of five of these ideas aren't happening.

Hope everyone have a great holiday yesterday. We are now halfway to the end of this discussion about my thoughts for what this possible new ride might be. And yes I believe it's coming.

#5. The lean toward family

If former management and past experience has taught us one thing it's that bigger isn't always better, something will usually come along at a later date to beat your records. Kingda Ka for TTD, Steel Dragon for MF, etc. Rides can be added that are unique (not necessarily the biggest/ fastest of their kind) and still cater to a demographic of the GP population. Tallest/fastest hasn't always translated into more attendance coming in through the gate either. Two additions to the park (in the not tallest/fastest category but that are unique) that came to my mind were Maverick and the recently revived Snake River Expedition. I've consistently viewed long lines for each as they seem to be quite popular. Both are unique experiences but aren't world record holders.

CP is has brought back the focus to family recently with the makeover of CP Shores in 2017, the addition of Forbidden Frontier with its kids playground, actors, and adventure in 2019, the delayed opening of SRE in 2021. With the recent theming/ makeover of restaurants on the peninsula, additions of the new FT restaurant, makeover of the Hotel Breakers and waterpark, and just giving the park more of a resort (stay for days!) vibe..... This family focus will continue.

Good Monday AM. Hope you're enjoying the conversation so far. Feels weird to posting at this time of day but I'm finally enjoying a week of vacation time away from my normal day job. If you're just joining in, I'm discussing my suspicions of a new ride coming to CP in the very near future although nothing has been formally announced yet. I highly recommend you go back to the beginning of this topic and look over all of the points made so far. Let's continue.

#6. What is old is new again....

If you've been a regular park goer (such as myself) over the last few decades you will notice that CP has a habit of recycling/ reusing a ton of different props/ parts to add in new attractions. Just some of examples of this are: the use of the old Earthquake fortune teller in the window of Boo Hill during Halloweekends, some of the old Pirate Ride/ Paddlewheel Exercursion characters that have been used multiple times outside the old Ocean Motion location and now currently in the Cutthroat Cove walkthrough during the fall season also. I've recently noticed old hanging scary looking pumpkins and the Jack in the Box from Happy Jacks' toy factory even used this past year from the early 2000s! I've seen ride height signs (think of the boy with the outstretched arm saying "you must be this tall to enter") from the 80s even being re-used in their Melt restaurant location. If you take this to the next level.... CP has even re-used parts of old rides to utilize for future rides: the basic track layout from a stand up coaster to re-use for an entirely different sit down floorless one, just the wooden timber support structure from a rickety back breaking ride to use as base for an entirely new experience albeit a smoother one. Heck does anyone remember Kid Arthur's Court? Parts of that can be seen outside of the current day Kiddie Kingdom. Also how about White Water Landing's station and revolving loading platform. Yes, you can still see those outside/ inside of the Maverick queue. My point is, at CP, what's old is usually new again. If it CAN be re-used for any purpose, the park will definitely do it. If it can't (ala Space Spiral or the Good Time Theater) you will generally watch it get torn down/ imploded to never see or hear from it again. Hang in there, I promise this topic is about to get very interesting starting tomorrow. Please feel free to chime in if you'd like about points 1-6 made so far. Conversation is always welcome from long time lurkers, regular members, or even first time posters.

Didn't mean.to vote the Dec.25 post up, but I can't change it.

Update on Sawmill:

https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog/sawmill-creek-update-2

I don't know what the history of the aquatic stadium is...but...if they eliminated it there would be an opportunity to extend the boardwalk from Windseeker to Gatekeeper. They've done a good job of activating the lake front and beach over the years...going back to the adult bar at Cedar Point Shores to the improvements at Breakers. The aquatic stadium and Wicked Twister really cut off what is one of the most unique aspects of Cedar Point...the beach (and views/access to Lake Erie).

I think there was a missed opportunity with the Breakers Tower and, in hindsight, a restaurant at the top would have been dramatic.

If a coaster is in the future...I think we are long overdue for a "Lake Erie Monster" roller coaster.

The aquatic stadium has been gone for for about four years now.

This feels eerily similar to one of those click bait stories where they post a provocative photo or sensationalized story headline at the beginning and you have to click through two dozen pages of tiny article snippets with <next> or <continue> buttons at the end of each page to finally get to a payoff that is ultimately not worth the time of two clicks let alone two dozen.

Here's hoping that the manufactured suspense of this story has a better result! ;-)

Rusty, very good comparison, but I admire the poster's enthusiasm.

Title is "Detective Work for 2022(get your $$ ready). I'll put my favorite Detective, or P.I. right on this. Jim Rockford will charge a mere $200.00 per day plus expenses.

No, I agree! I didn't mean to sound snarky toward the OP.

No harm taken & I promise you as a long time 45 year CP fan / park goer.... this isn't clickbait. I'm one of those diehards always checking utility markings/ clues at the park during the autumn time for next years upcoming season. Kevin J, Chief Wahoo, Rusty, Skydiver and others all I can say is stay tuned til tomorrow, it's going to get better and better......

Kevinj said:

The aquatic stadium has been gone for for about four years now.

Man, don't I feel stupid? I was referencing a Google Map that is obviously old because it still shows up on the satellite photo taken for Google. I went to Bing Maps where it is gone, of course.

What is worse? I was at the park this past summer and exited at the beach gate to walk to Breakers...and walked right past the site. I think I was focused so much on watching Windseeker that it escaped me that the stadium was gone.

In any event, I still think every opportunity to take advantage of the lake/beach front should be considered.

Good Tuesday AM to all. You'll want to check back here daily going forward. It's going to get REALLY interesting....

This..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXu5TEoHSts

#7. The closing video. Most of you have seen it. If not check out the above link again. The park announces a final hurrah for this 20 year old ride, gives everyone a chance to say their final farewells (or good riddances in some cases, LOL) and get those last precious rides in. This closing announcement video became confusing for a small minority of enthusiasts because some immediately noticed the girl in the video paging through the parks' history book focused on the Mantis page, and now it just doesn't make sense, especially since Wicked Twister has been shown recently to start being dismantled and some of its parts being shipped to other parks such as ValleyFair,etc. I struggled with two different scenarios myself for the final outcome of this ride, which I will share with you later, but narrowed it down to just one possible outcome in the end based solely alone on analyzing the video. I finally figured this video out (boy CP is sneaky!) and I'm going to explain it to you very shortly, just not YET. Your patience will be rewarded. Let me close by asking you this.... Have you seen these closing videos in the past only to be surprised later on? The park is always one step ahead of us, is full of "smoke and mirrors", but again my friends.... CP didn't lie to us with their closing video, it's all in the way that you at home watch, and perceive/ interpret it.

I watched video. I noticed that the reflection on her glasses is the Mantis page, but then she turns to the Mantis page. So how do we see the reflection when she is not on that page???