Funtime Group says Wind Seeker headed to Cedar Point, threatens legal action

I bet you can count on two hands the number of people who have had the following coversation:

"You know honey, I think we need to take a trip to an amusement park this year."

"Gee...that sounds great, but which one should we choose."

"Well, there is a park in the midwest called Cedar Point that has a whole lot of rollercoasters. But, there is a park in California that has one more than Cedar Point."

"Well, duh honey...let's go to California."

Anybody that is visiting Cedar Point from anywhere other than the midwest specifically because of the number of rollercoasters is in all liklihood going to be visiting Magic Mountain...if they haven't already done so.

Say it was a war...say it wasn't. But, the bottom line is that building coasters was a way to get people into the admission gates throughout the 80s and 90s. But, as Jeff pointed out earlier, there has been no better year than '94 when Raptor was installed at Cedar Point even though they have built plenty of record breaking coasters and "flats" since.

It is for that reason, among others, that I continue to insist that Cedar Point needs to start building and marketing for the family as opposed to the thrill enthusiast. Building a 400 foot spinning ride sounds exciting. But, is it going to bring ANYONE to the park who wasn't already going to come because they have a 400 foot coaster? I don't think so.

I call that the opposite of creative and that is yet another reason why I think it is time for Dick to walk down the beach into the sunset.

Considering where he lives, that won't be a very far walk.

crazy horse said:

Nope....it was 8.5 as seen here...

http://www.rcdb.com/3231.htm

I am just going with what Holiday World says.

http://www.holidayworld.com/news/voyage-fact-sheet

It's possible that costs ran over and Duane has the final number posted where as Holiday World's is the press release which wouldn't likely be modified.

I think 6.5 was the coaster and 8.5 was the entire cost of the expansion including the coaster, dark ride and the area around the two.

If the management at Cedar Fair has any real leadership they should learn a few things from this entire ordeal, flat out cancel the outstanding order to whoever has it, and use the $ they are going to spend on lawsuits on price reductions in the park. We all would be a lot happier.

No one has really ever wanted a drop tower. Overwelmingly, just about everyone would like to see DT and Meanstreak done away with, and the sillyness of keeping these projects "top secret" is yet another weakness of the current management's style.

Whoever is making the top level decisions clearly needs to read the signs here. Late delievery, unhappy blogs, and legal issues do not make shareholders or patrons happy the bottom line proves it. The board of directors need to play RollerCoaster Tycoon 101 before applying for the position!

I still point to Disney's World of Color, Universal's Harry Potter Attraction, and other projects as an example of what can be done when you cut the hype, spend the $, and produce a product everyone wants.

No one has really ever wanted a drop tower.

What does that have to do with anything being discussed?

Overwelmingly, just about everyone would like to see DT and Meanstreak done away with

And you're basing this on what? What you read here? To know this you would have to conduct some kind of survey. If you do read here, you'll find that there is actually a pretty decent split here on both of these issues.

the sillyness of keeping these projects "top secret" is yet another weakness of the current management's style.

What are you getting at here? Are you saying it's silly to keep it secret? If so, I could not disagree more...it's fun. If you are complaining about the secret getting out, that's because it's 2010 and the internet exists (and you have only yourself to blame if you know what the ride is...that means you were the equivalent to a child snooping before Christmas and then complaining there are no surprises).

My frustration is directed at solely at Funtime for using this opportunity to rain on CP's parade. Whether you like Kinzel's leadership or not, there is absolutely nothing that can be done outside of the board room about the decisions that are made, so you might as well do what you can to try to find a positive way to make the park you love better. Write a letter. Ask to speak with someone at the park to illustrate your frustrations.

SteveH said:
If the management at Cedar Fair has any real leadership they should learn a few things from this entire ordeal, flat out cancel the outstanding order to whoever has it, and use the $ they are going to spend on lawsuits on price reductions in the park. We all would be a lot happier.

No one has really ever wanted a drop tower. Overwelmingly, just about everyone would like to see DT and Meanstreak done away with, and the sillyness of keeping these projects "top secret" is yet another weakness of the current management's style.

Whoever is making the top level decisions clearly needs to read the signs here. Late delievery, unhappy blogs, and legal issues do not make shareholders or patrons happy the bottom line proves it. The board of directors need to play RollerCoaster Tycoon 101 before applying for the position!

I still point to Disney's World of Color, Universal's Harry Potter Attraction, and other projects as an example of what can be done when you cut the hype, spend the $, and produce a product everyone wants.

I almost disagree with everything you said. CP is a seasonal park and will never be able to compete with Disney and universal as a theme park. CP is a thrill park and a damn good one. I like drop towers, and I want more coasters and thrill rides. CP is a successful park that has built a reputation around thrill rides. Parks dont care about stupid blogs from people like you. I happen to enjoy DT and Meanstreak.
After your done playing your little roller coaster tycoon game, take your family to florida and stay away from CP. Leave their rides for us to enjoy.

^Someone needs to step away from the computer for a while.

Sounds like it's all about what "you" want. Nevermind what anyone else wants.:)

Look up Intamin Flight Trainer and tell me thats not the same as a wind seeker just smaller? and with what happens with this lawsuit i wouldnt be suprised if CF went with Intamin. Just Kidding

http://www.amusementpics.com/PKD%20History/Scan10003b.jpg

What Flight Trainer and Wind Seeker have in common--

They are tall
They are round
They use rigid car suspension

Ride action wise, they have pretty much nothing in common. Wind Seeker has more in common with a Huss Swing Around or a Chance Aviator. The Flight Trainer has an actuator on the arm that allows it to be driven in or out much like a roto-Jet, and the car is mounted on the end of the sweep so that it can do motorized barrel rolls. Also, the ride circle is much smaller. And like modern Intamin rides, the Flight Trainer has thrown a rider to her death (Candy Taylor, June 9, 1991).

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

crazy horse said:

Cedarpoint has cookie cutter coasters as well, but not that it matters. Just look at wicked twister, raptor, and woodstock express.

I couldn't agree with this more. It's just that if you look at the more recent ride additions, CP has tended to lean towards something a little more cutting edge (for lack of a better term). My impression is that CP may have decided to move on from the "coaster wars" and wants to bring in new rides that nobody else has. I'm not looking for record breakers. They are neat to have, cool to say you have ridden and all that. If they never build another, it's cool by me. I'll still go multiple times over the summer and have a blast. After all, I ride MF because I think its the best ride on the planet, not because it was the first over 300 and the first over 90mph.

SteveH said:
No one has really ever wanted a drop tower.

Well, I can prove this wrong right now. Not only do I want a drop tower, I'm disappointed that they got rid of one of the two.

RideMan said:
And like modern Intamin rides, the Flight Trainer has thrown a rider to her death (Candy Taylor, June 9, 1991).

You just about ruined my monitors and keyboard with Gatorade Dave.

crazy horse said:
Really?

Then what is this?

You aren't paying attention to anything I said. I'm well aware of Orachi. You can't suggest Raptor is "cookie cutter" because it was cloned later, or that it shares elements with other non-inverted rides. Hell, your comparisons are so general that you could say anything like a coaster with a train on it is cookie cutter. As I described, Raptor was, and continues to be, fairly unique in its layout and design.

Mike: I think there was a general fad or trend for rides, but it was never really competitive since few parks compete fro the same markets.

Kevinj said:
This article makes no sense. They say they are angry at Mondial for "copying" their ride, and then they say they are going after CP, and not Mondial. How do you have a case against CP?

If I was CP, I would sue Funtime for ruining the announcement.

IMO I would think CF would have Funtime sign a hush order before they started talking business.

@Jeff:

Just curious as to why you think there was no coaster wars when there is video evidence of Cedar Fair executives using the term.

Not trying to call you out. Just curious.

Who was at war, specifically?

This is a good time to watch this video :)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlypPJnEJBk&feature=player_embedded

@KevinJ.

Given the content of the discussion, I would say various parks in the amusement industry. I'm pretty certain folks involved with the industry (the making money type, not enthusiasts) have used the term. I'm not saying they were in boards rooms slamming the table, but for a time built roller coasters to attract the masses to their park. Someone earlier referred to them as nothing more than a glorified carnival barker in a suit with a public offering. Thats a pretty good way of looking at it.

So when they had the opportunity to talk to the media, they "barked" their rides, and they all wanted to bark louder and more than the other guy. It lead to a boom and a renaissance of the industry. Its not necessarily a bad thing to call it a war, but there was definitely some competition with number of roller coasters popping up.

Anyway, thats all anecdotal evidence. I know I've seen an interview of some sort with a Cedar Fair suit using the term.