FrontierTown Missing Something?

It seems like all the lore that was built up in FrontierTown in the leadup and aftermath of Steel Vengeance is slowly but surely starting to be pulled back. The walkaround characters of the SV Trio and Maverick are long gone, the names of some of the townies described in the SV queue have changed ('Sidewinder Sue' is now 'Sagebrush Sue' per the food stand, but the sign in the queue is unchanged), and now with the absence of Forbidden Frontier, all the crazy characters described on flyers and wanted posters around town are no longer people you can actually meet.

Also, I think a lot of people missed this, but with the park giving up on Snake River Expeditions, the ending of the Steel Vengeance plot is gone! (The small print on the ride sign stated that the Expedition was a venture of the now- reconciled Chamberlain brothers (Maverick and Blackjack), and the explosives featured in the ride were made by Digger.)

I know it's not a huge deal in the big scheme of things, but I'm a huge fan of good storytelling and atmosphere and it feels like all the awesome effort put into FrontierTown's lore was tossed aside when the park got tired of putting effort into it.

I hate to say it, but it's typical Cedar Point/Fair. They don't see value in maintaining theming or charm. I kind of think aside from the signs themselves, the area around TT2 looks cheaply thrown together. The painted concrete was a bad idea. It's bubbling up and shows dirt really badly. I bet it would peel off if they power washed it.

I actually thought you were going to talk about the missing benches in Frontier Town! I swear the park is missing like 30-50% of its benches and it's very noticable in Camp Snoopy, The Boardwalk, and Frontier Town. Not sure if this is some stupid conscious management decision or what. Definitely was noticable though. I remember McClure talking about adding a bunch back when he was GM. They seem to have reversed course.

I honestly found the lack of trash cans a bit interesting too. They'e gotten rid of most of the older open cans and they have a lot of new , sexier looking, more sealed metal ones that have to be pushed open. But the quantity of them is kind of lacking.

Subtle things that probably aren't worth making a huge deal about, but still noticable.

I agree with everything MDOmnis said above... they'll put a bunch of money and effort into updating an area when a new ride debuts, and then just... never maintain any of it. I was actually thinking about that while walking down the Frontier Trail today... remembering all of the lighting infrastructure they installed for Starlight Experience. Basically all of the lighting for that has been removed over the years, with the exception of the flood lights. Or all of the lighting they installed for the revamped games are back when MaxAir opened. Even noticed a number of lighting fixtures on the main midway and Gemini midway either completely missing or not functioning.

Or the water cannons on Maverick... or misters on Iron Dragon... the lights on the Magnum lift hill aren't even chasing tonight.

I wish the park saw the value in maintaining that stuff. It really adds to the experience.

And where in the world have all the benches gone? I spent half of my time leaning against a fence or sitting on brick pavers lining a landscape bed while my kiddos marathoned rides in Camp Snoopy.

Does all this have anything to do with Six Flags?

I remember Tony saying at the Coastermania Q & A last year that they got rid of the water bombs on Maverick because they’d have to send someone into the pond with waders every morning to un-clog the 4 pipes.

as for the rest of it, I am not sure, but I wish they would bring it back.

Its been a running joke here for years that Cedar Point doesn't do theming well. And certainly not on a sustained basis. To a certain extent, I can understand. Its an amusement park not a theme park. Views vary, but I prefer amusement parks over theme parks.

I was at Cedar Point on Sunday. Didn't notice any of the issues noted above (other than the water bombs on Maverick) or didn't care that they are gone. Different people have different views on that though.

Benches are not theming though. Odd they would remove benches. Thinking back, I cannot recall benches in Camp Snoopy because my wife and I rode the rides with our kids when they were younger. I can recall people sitting on benches in various parts of the parks. Just don't have specific recollections of them doing that in Camp Snoopy. Not saying they weren't there and it is odd they would remove them.

There were a fair number of wooden "log" style benches throughout Camp Snoopy, many of which were beneath a small canopy. Being wood it may be that they are no longer safe to use, but one would think this would/could have been discovered and dealt with prior to opening day.

the park has never been good with theming. Remember what happened to disaster transport? Yeah that...

but all the matters is most of everyone on here seems to have gone to the park this year already, so they got your money. Don't know why they would remove benches. I guess people can sit on the ground.

If you find yourself lucky enough to be resting on a bench in frontier town, sit tight because if you get up park maintenance may remove it after you get up.

“People Gotta Sit, but if they sittin, they ain’t spendin”

- Dick Kinzel

From day one of the steel vengeance storyline I found it to be way over complicated and I'm sure I've mentioned that before. We already had our hero maverick, why not keep the three outlaws as outlaws. But instead some convoluted story where maverick is bad and the outlaws are good? I never got into it all.

I’m honestly confused about the bench / seating issue. At worst we had to walk a few hundred feet but so far this season we’ve always found a nice place to sit. Maybe there were more places 20 years ago and I didn’t notice because I never sat down.

You aren't remembering wrong about benches. The park just about had something to sit on around every planter in the park. Look at this picture from 2004 and notice all of the seating around the trees, shade by the games area. As those planters are replaced with updated landscaping, they do not replace the seating. Anywhere that had shade, had places to sit.

My observation has been .... any time shade/ seating has been replaced it's unfortunately been with a whole lot of concrete. I think to the games area along the main midway, the marina exit gate with pavers, etc. I could go on and on....

Concrete is easier to maintain than shaded areas with benches.

So did they have to send somebody to wade/swim every day to the water cannons of the Western Cruise?

I don’t think so, of course Western Cruise was before my time. I just remember Paddle Wheel Excursions and the Snake River Expedition.

Now the special effects on snake river expedition, when going around the corner by Snake River Falls, where they had the beavers on the left, I think that just slapped/skimmed the top of the water if I remember remember correctly

I just found the first thread I could find about Frontier Town.

Pointbuzz posted this on Facebook. There is a new Cedar Point Museum opening up in Sandusky (The Sandusky CP Museum).

https://www.cpmuseum.org

To quote the website:

The Sandusky CP Museum acts as repository for these thousands of items which vary in nature and range in time of over almost 150 years. The display, both physical and audiovisual in nature is sure to rekindle fond memories, ignite loving emotions and educate as to the rich heritage of the Cedar Point peninsula. This historical and unique exhibit is located in downtown Sandusky and included at no additional cost with your admission to the Merry-Go-Round Museum.

I wonder if this flames out any hope that an in-park museum will ever be a thing. Not that there was any kind of renewed hope (if anything it seems less likely with each passing season).

Maybe they can move the Town Hall Museum into this museum.

Speaking of theming, did they add a new light in Maverick’s tunnel to make it look more like a train headlight? Something seemed different last time I rode. Regardless, it was nice to see the tunnel effects fully functioning.

"Included with admission to Merry-go-round Museum". It doesn't explicitly state the location, except downtown Sandusky. I mean, I know I sometimes miss the obvious, but is it in the same building, or one of the other vacant spaces in town?