Dive Coaster coming to Cedar Point?

Walt said:

Ride On_17 brought this up earlier in the thread. But assuming it's accurate and ignoring other factors, I have to say that $15,000,000 sounds low. Who knows for sure, but there's no harm in comparing apples and oranges based on hearsay while making assumptions. :)

Presumably, the $15 million figure is only for a potential contract between B&M and CFEC. I don't have personal knowledge of how CFEC's new ride builds work, but presumably CFEC has other suppliers and contractors to pay in addition to B&M. See also: thematic elements, site work and steel erection (unless paid by B&M), concrete and paver laying, etc. If that's the case, the total cost of the project could be well over $15 million. I'm not saying any of this purported memo is accurate, though.

Sicne we're on the topic of how much these rides cost, does anyone know how much it's costing the park to do the whole Rougarou transformation? Just wondering out of curiosity.

Only 15 for raptor and mantis? That seems kind of low to me

Steel probably didn't cost that much as it does today. It's like the demand for Gold, every year the ounce for it goes up. I would know since I work in the Jewelry world.

Walt said:

Other coasters (in 2015 dollars)

Griffon - $17,800,000

SheiKra - $16,300,000

GateKeeper - $25,300,000

Maverick - $23,900,000

Top Thrill Dragster - $32,000,000

Wicked Twister - $11,800,000

Millennium Force - $34,300,000

Mantis - $18,000,000

Raptor - $18,300,000

Mean Streak - $13,000,000

Magnum XL-200 - $15,200,000

Hmmm. I think I'll take 2 Magnums over a TTD.

Now whether I'd take 2 Magnums over 1 Maverick +$7m is a tougher question.

I wonder if B&M is proposing a dive coaster because they know (hypothetically) CP is looking to add something, or B&M is just suggesting ideas for CP.

Maybe CP is looking for some type of coaster, and B&M is simply suggesting a dive coaster. If that's the case, then we at least know CP is looking to add some type of new coaster, even if it's not necessarily a dive coaster.

Stop trying to make "CFEC" happen.

Wow. If the memo leaked to the Register is, in fact, real, this must set some kind of record. Has an upcoming attraction ever been leaked so early (and in such detail) before--at any park?

Still though, I'm growing weary of feeling trapped in "B&M purgatory" as a CF fan. Does no one else feel like "you've been on one, you've been on them all" applies to a good number of B&M installs?

I kid, of course, but for whatever reason, I feel like B&M makes some very forgettable coasters. It almost seems like the focus of B&M's design process is to make their rides as inoffensive (e.g. not unreliable, not overly forceful) as possible, leading to a general blandness in the ride experience.

My biggest issue with the dive coaster, specifically, is the slow pacing. (I admit I've only been on SheiKra, so someone please jump in if other Dive Coasters are radically different.) Perhaps it's due to the sheer size of the ride vehicles that necesitates this, but I feel that all of the elements are so large, drawn out, and spaced so far apart that the ride feels slow, forceless, and generally lifeless as a result. This is the same issue I have with Gatekeeper.

There are some B&M's I thoroughly love (e.g. Raptor, Tatsu, and Goliath at SFoG), and there are still many other B&M's I have yet to ride. I also understand why the company's products likely make good business sense for park operators. I can't help but feel, though, that B&M's coasters often lack the "bold character" of other manufacturers.

I am excited no matter what happens because when stuff starts to come out I enjoy reading and watching to see what happens. It helps to make the off season more interesting until we can all get back to our park!

I have mixed feelings on this article. I would love and welcome a Dive Machine, considering Griffon is one of my favorite coasters. However, I just don't think it's in the park's best interest to built a coaster at this moment. We would be looking at roughly 3 new coasters in 4 years. Don't get me wrong, I love it but I'm still interested in a dark ride....

Based on the GateKeepee, I do think this article is true and we are going to see a Dive Machine.

Jeff said:
Stop trying to make "CFEC" happen.

If you want to refer to the corporate parent using an acronym, do it right and use their ticker symbol. "CFEC" sounds like one of those half-anonymous content companies that do half-assed theming projects to try and salvage mediocre roller coasters with operational problems[Footnote 1]. "FUN", on the other hand, sounds...well, like Cedar Point. And in person, just call them Cedar Fair.

I don't quite get it. What does the dive coaster bring to the table that Cedar Point doesn't already have, with Top Thrill Dragster (vertical drop), Maverick (past vertical drop), GateKeeper (inverted dive off lift hill), and Mean Streak (holding brake at the top of the drop)?

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Footnote 1: I guess I was thinking about ITEC...

--DCAjr

All I can say is that this coming Winter Chill event will be quite entertaining. I can't wait to see just how Jason, Tony and everyone else play with it.....or if they ignore it completely. If you can't find me, I'll be the guy with the popcorn. :)

Since parks usually come up with multiple ideas for how to utilize plots of land or how to "redo" a certain area of their park, I think of this as just one of those proposals and not the for sure thing to look forward to in 2016. As usual, only time will tell what exactly is going to be going on in that area.

Maverick00 said:
...We would be looking at roughly 3 new coasters in 4 years...

...Which would put the coaster count back to where it was four years ago.

Sorry, but what they did to the Wildcat was a shame and a tragedy. And I am not particularly impressed with what we got in its place.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

TTD 120mph said:

All I can say is that this coming Winter Chill event will be quite entertaining. I can't wait to see just how Jason, Tony and everyone else play with it.....or if they ignore it completely. If you can't find me, I'll be the guy with the popcorn. :)

Since parks usually come up with multiple ideas for how to utilize plots of land or how to "redo" a certain area of their park, I think of this as just one of those proposals and not the for sure thing to look forward to in 2016. As usual, only time will tell what exactly is going to be going on in that area.

I'll be really curious to find out about park management's reactions and responses to this at the event, especially if no official park announcements are made between now and then.

Top Thrill 182 said:

It almost seems like the focus of B&M's design process is to make their rides as inoffensive (e.g. not unreliable, not overly forceful) as possible, leading to a general blandness in the ride experience.

But B&M isn't the only participant in the design process. They're working with the client parks and what the client parks have specified. If "not unreliable, not overly forceful" coasters are what satisfies the market (park operators, and in turn the public), then the company is doing something right.

Banshee, "not forceful"? Somehow, that doesn't add up.

I've got, I dunno, probably 30 laps on Banshee under my belt. If you don't think that's a forceful ride, I think you're high on haterade, or on some silly bandwagon. That ride kicks your ass, start to finish, and I'm not afraid to say it might be one of my favorite coasters ever, no contest.

I've pointed out before that many of the older B&M and Intamin rides were designed by the same people (Stengel). Look at Fahrenheit at Hersheypark or Colossus at Thorpe Park, and tell me the path of the track doesn't look like Kumba or one of the floorless coasters. Millennium Force, Raptor, Mantis and Maverick are all designed by Stengel. They might have different lift mechanisms and train designs, but the layouts all come from the same firm.

Talking to different people at the park, and at the corporate level, I think GateKeeper is exactly the ride they asked for. It's visually interesting, and I don't think it appears too intimidating.

Jeff said:

I've got, I dunno, probably 30 laps on Banshee under my belt. If you don't think that's a forceful ride, I think you're high on haterade, or on some silly bandwagon. That ride kicks your ass, start to finish, and I'm not afraid to say it might be one of my favorite coasters ever, no contest.

LOL! That's funny Jeff.

I would be happy to see this at Cedar Point if the rumors were true. This attraction would be like Mission to Space at Epcot but in 3D which would be amazing and honestly would be the first good installment to the park since Windseeker (my opininon). The only problem which may not be a problem if they put this in the park I really hope they dont get rid of any rides or coasters, shows being acceptable. I just feel like Cedar Point has gotten rid of too much in the last couple years. This 3D indoor ride could put different thrill into the guests! To be honest if they put this in Cedar Point 2016 there would be no minuses, only positives!

A dive machine is floorless right? Well they just added floorless trains as we all know to Mantis/Rougarou. So my question is, would Cedar Point really add two floorless coasters on back to back years? It just seems unlikely for them to do that.