Farewell, Wildcat.

Well, we'll all get to form an actual opinion based in reality next week.

:)

Kevinj said:
I don't feel the park has a responsibility to "psychologically ease" the loss of a ride. That's taking it a bit too far. Outside of enthusiasts, no one is going to lose sleep over Wildcat being gone.

Unfortunately, running a business is as much a psychological game as anything else (which really is a great part of successful marketing/PR.) Wildcat leaving impacts: rollercoaster enthusiasts, Cedar Point fanboys and historians, families with children 48"+ but not 52"+ for the bigger rides....those are core marketing demographics, or the "base," of Cedar Point. Losing a coaster also impacts the long running marketing tagline of "Rollercoaster Capitol of the World" when in fact Magic Mountain now officially holds that claim. It is the responsibility of a public company, which is what Cedar Fair is, to execute business decisions professionally, intelligently and with integrity (which I might add is a Cedar Fair "cornerstone") for the financial benefit of shareholders.

I am certain this decision is worthwhile and will be in the best interest of Luminosity based on what I know, I just hope and pray this isn't how issues and projects are handled in the future.

^ I just wanted to add that even though we lost a roller coaster, I believe we will gain that title back! It might take a couple of years, but I think Cedar Point cares about quality for families rather than pleasing the Thrill Seekers all the time.

99er said:
Has Disney officially announced that Snow Whites Scary Adventures is closing in a couple weeks for good? Asking because I didn't hear one.

They told everyone that Snow Whites Scary Adventures was being replaced with a giant princess meet-n-greet about a year ago or whenever it was they announced the revised Fantasyland expansion. As far as publicly announcing it (i.e. using newspapers and local news stations), I honestly don't know. What people here need to realize is that Disney has the luxury of being open year round. They don't have an off-season when decisions are made and people can't possibly ride an attraction before it closes.

Reality check: Other than a vocal minority who visit sites like this one a dozen times a day, no one is going to care that Wildcat is gone. 99.9999% of people will not suffer any psychological damage from the removal of Wildcat. The only obvious psychological damage I can see is on behalf of those spending much of their day coming up with silly theories and irrational motivation for the park taking the action that it did.

I ran into the GM today, and he asked me if people were that upset about it, and I told him what I perceive as the reality: That yes, a very vocal but very small group of people can't let go.

It was a favorite ride of mine, for sure, and one that I'll unfortunately never get to share with my kid. That's a bummer. At least I've got the sense to move on, and enjoy what is shaping up to be one of the coolest things the park has done outside of rides probably in my lifetime.

Jeff, you forgot to mention the substantial number of people who *won't even notice* that Wildcat is gone. That group, by the way, includes people who ride it on every visit.

I'm remembering when Kings Island fixed Flight of Fear back in '01. People got off the ride and looked at their on-ride photos, which were surrounded by copies of a sample taken years earlier. In the photos, you could see the obvious change...and people stood there, looked at the photos, and still couldn't figure out what was different.

In other words, people tend not to pay attention.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^Yep. I will miss Wildcat, but most people will just walk by. I'm not even going to tell my family when we go, just to see how long it takes them to notice. Wildcat was an OK ride that outlived it's stay.

Ffej said:
I never said the leadership was questionable in general...

Your posts certainly implied that, though maybe I'm misunderstanding you. Regardless, all I'm saying is that you've been questioning management an awful damn lot for someone who's not privy to all the relevant information.

...it really made the whole Luminosity project look poorly planned, which will cast doubts on the leadership.

...especially right out of the gate under a new CEO, you don't want to make questionable decisions.

...this whole situation just seemed poorly planned out.

... it really makes me question the new management style.

I think anyone has the right to question that decision making.

...management's past decision making.

I'm questioning the new decision-making, plain and simple.

...this decision just seems really off and poorly planned.

I get that you don't agree with the decision, or at least, how the decision was reached. I think you've made that crystal clear. But again, that's an awfully strong opinion for someone who simply doesn't know all the details. And no, I don't know all the details either, but then again, I'm not repetitively second guessing those who do.

Just because we don't know all of the details we're not allowed to second guess? Or is there some kind of threshold to the second guessing that you feel he has crossed?

This is a forum after all.

I never suggested second guessing is out of the question. But yes, I am saying that without having all the relevant information (as CP/CF management does, obviously), there is such a thing as too much second guessing.

The people in charge are professionals. I have a feeling that if some of you walked into a meeting with them, you'd be a lot more withholding in your criticism on the issue, simply because you're not hiding behind the relative anonymity of a fan forum. Furthermore, if they explained their decision making process with you, you'd likely feel silly for making such a big deal about how bad their decision making abilities appear.

There's a reason why armchair quarterbacks are so derided.

I'll miss Wildcat, it was a fun ride that I liked to get on once per visit even though friends I was with usually "didn't want to waste their time on it." But I won't miss it as much as I miss Pepsi Blue. I'll never forget the day I walked into my highschool cafeteria to the vending machine and it was gone. That one cut me deep.

To be honest if I were sitting down and having a discussion with them that would be the first thing I ask about. As someone who respects the company and wants to see it do well of course I'm going to wonder why and give them my criticisms. Of course that doesn't mean they have to listen. I don't know if I would feel silly or not and neither do you.

Derided, good word, to be honest I had to look it up to be sure of the definition. Learned something new today.

djDaemon said:

A crap ton of quotes....

dj,

I normally enjoy your posts, but dude, you seriously need to chill out. I'm getting to the point of just skipping over your posts. Just trying to be nice.

~Rob

Seriously? I made two posts in this thread yesterday, and this is my third today. I suppose if that's too much, then yeah, go ahead and skip them.

I am no good at posting pics or webcam stuff on here, but if you look at the dragster cam, it looks like a fence went up where the edge of WildCat stood, so you won't be able to walk in that area anyways.

It could be the sun reflection but it looks like a fence at the back of the booth tower.

I'm guessing Cedar Point will gain more money than they will lose as a result of removing Wildcat. They may lose a very few who MIGHT have traveled there due to them sharing the title of most roller coasters in a park. What would have hurt them more, is putting in this show and not having enough room for guests to view it properly.
While I do love roller coasters more than shows, in my older age, I have come to the realization that drawing people in who will spend more money than us coaster enthusiasts do in a day will get a new ride that much sooner that we will enjoy.
I am actually more excited to get to the Point this year to see all of the improvements they've made than I was about getting there to ride Windseeker last year

PB-Reader said:
...it looks like a fence went up where the edge of WildCat stood...

You might be right. It may be that the fence is up while they finish that small section of the midway, so they can concentrate on finishing the main area of ID's midway. After all, Luminosity doesn't start until June, so the extra space won't be needed for a few weeks.

dj, yes, it could be for hiding construction in that area while the park is open.

For those interested here is the webcam picture. http://bit.ly/J0Br0J

djDaemon said:
After all, Luminosity doesn't start until June, so the extra space won't be needed for a few weeks.

But they don't need any extra space;)