Hunting a WildCat: The Most Confusing Coaster(s) in CP History?

Cedar Point has had 2 different 65m Schwarzkopf Wildcats, which I will refer to as Wildcat I and Wildcat II

• Wildcat I was built at CP in 1970 and operated until 1978
  • It then went to Valleyfair as Rails from 1979 to 1998
  • It showed up from 1999 to 2001 in Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Maryland, where RCDB implies it was a carnival ride
  • The whereabouts of the ride from 2002-2014 are unknown, but I would guess it was a carnival ride
  • Since 2015, it has again been operating at Jolly Roger
• Wildcat II (the WildCat that most of us probably know) was built at CP in 1979 and operated until 2011
  • Wildcat II was scrapped

Wikipedia's article on Wildcat (which is intended to be about Wildcat I) says that Wildcat II was moved twice within the park. Obviously these were two separate models, as Wildcat II operated at CP while Wildcat I was being moved around the country. I am wondering if Wikipedia confused the first "move" with the replacement WildCat.

(Unless we have one Wildcat simultaneously in two quantum states, at which point it becomes Schrodinger's Wildcat. Highly unlikely.)

So I have a few questions:

• Where was Wildcat I?
• Was Wildcat I ever moved within the park?
• Where was Wildcat II when it opened?
• How many times did Wildcat II move within the park? If more than once, where did it move before moving to its final position in Celebration Plaza?

Wildcat I opened in the spot that currently occupies the Extreme Sports Stadium. When Wildcat I was shipped out, Wildcat II was built in the same spot. When the stadium was built for Oceans, in the early 80's I believe, Wildcat II was moved to where Jumbo Jet was. When Avalanche Run was built, Wildcat II moved to its final spot on the current Celebration Plazza midway.

^Thank you, that was a great answer!

A more challenging question might be what are the different colors Wildcat was painted? In the 80's and 90's it was a white color across for Iron Dragon, until it was painted lime green (I think) and purple in the early 2000s.

I believe it was red at some point when it was on the beach before Avalanche Run forced its relocation.

Pete said:
When the stadium was built for Oceans, in the early 80's I believe, Wildcat II was moved to where Jumbo Jet was.

The Oceana stadium was added in 1980, and incorporated the park's Sealand aquarium.

WildCat II opened in 1979 next to Space Spiral. 1978 was the final season for Jumbo Jet.

Slighty off topic, but what did they change with Gemini's station?

From what I can surmise, when Gemini first opened, there were two totally separate queues--one for each side, with two separate entrances (front and back) to the divided station. Later on (and I think the article is specifically referring to this decision), Gemini's front queue (the modern-day Fast Lane station entrance) was closed in favor of having a single queue (the back station entrance used today) for both sides. This situation is very similar to the Racer at Kings Island, which had its queues merged in a very similar fashion quite recently (probably within the last 5 years or so). Based on my previous personal experiences with the Racer's separate queues, the capacity problems arise when groups split up in order to race each other; since the wait times between the two lines tended to be rather variable, one half of a group in one line usually had to wait at the station for the other half of the group in the other line to catch up to them. Since people are waiting for their other group members and not getting on the ride, the station starts to get quite crowded, and seats start to go out empty. (A similar current analogy that comes to mind for me is the seat jockeying that occurs at Top Thrill Dragster in order for a group to be together on one train for the experience/ride photo.) Since most groups often choose to split up to race each other, this separate line setup ends up being a large detriment to capacity; therefore, combining the two lines into one enables groups to stay together all the way up to the station, where the split-up for racing each other is far more manageable, and capacity increases as a result. Hope that helps.

Wildcat was the only coaster to ever give me that "pit of the stomach" sensation. That is until Valravn. Thanks for this thread... warm and happy memories.

I believe when Gemini first opened, the only entrance to the station was the front entrance, the back entrance was added in 1979. If you look at the concrete by the entrance, you can still see that it was cut with a saw, which would indicate that it was modified after it was built.

Wildcat was, for lack of a better term, fun. It didn't seem to take up too large of a footprint and seemed to be popular as far as ridership numbers. I think a coaster similar to it would be a nice addition to CP giving "beginner" coaster riders something other than Mine Ride & Corkscrew. I was hoping for that type of ride or a dark ride at the STR site rather than Ripcord.

Just curious if anyone knows, how many Wildcat cars could be running on the course at any one time? I seem to remember multiple cars at various points along the tracks.

I can't seem to find the answer. I do remember seeing multiple cars at any given time. My uneducated guess is 4 on the course, 2 or 3 in the station max. I also remember passing-by when several (loaded) cars were stopped at numerous mid-course-break-runs (directly preceding drops as I recall) at least one higher-brass staff member standing with each car. Such events were taken seriously (and rightfully so!)

Interestingly enough, I have just discovered that the Wildcat (design) was Anton Schwarzkopf's first coaster produced. ..developed into several similar sizes I believe.

Pete said:

I believe when Gemini first opened, the only entrance to the station was the front entrance, the back entrance was added in 1979.

Ok, thanks for the info. It just seems kind of weird that they would go from one entrance at opening to two entrances in 1979, then back to one later on. Maybe they originally thought it would improve capacity, then changed their minds when it didn't? Also, the queue line for Gemini is split into two separate sections/corrals, so in my mind this lends credence to the whole double-queue idea; once they figured out two separate queues didn't work for whatever reason, they simply combined the two separate queues into the one long queue seen today and closed the front entrance.

jimmyburke said:

I think a coaster similar to it would be a nice addition to CP giving "beginner" coaster riders something other than Mine Ride & Corkscrew.

Yep. Something like Mad Mouse at MA - with its 44" height requirement - is something CP really needs more of.

bootymix96 said:
Ok, thanks for the info. It just seems kind of weird that they would go from one entrance at opening to two entrances in 1979, then back to one later on. Maybe they originally thought it would improve capacity, then changed their minds when it didn't? Also, the queue line for Gemini is split into two separate sections/corrals, so in my mind this lends credence to the whole double-queue idea; once they figured out two separate queues didn't work for whatever reason, they simply combined the two separate queues into the one long queue seen today and closed the front entrance.

I think it worked but outlived it's usefulness. Gemini isn't the #1 coaster in the park anymore. Sure it can still be busy and have a long line, but they've also removed a set of trains and most days I'm there they are only running the red side.

Also don't forget that the old queue for the front was repurposed for Fast Lane. Got to get that $$$!

Can we really say Wildcat 2 was "built" at CP? In my memory of walking past it every day to get the engine house, you could clearly tell it was a carnival ride ment to be transported. I don't recall it ever being attached to the concrete slab either.

Achterbahn Wildkatz is far from a "beginner" coaster. If you are looking for a starter coaster, there is a 300' tall kiddie ride with a 48" height requirement just across the railroad track from where the Wildcat used to be. Wildcat was not very intimidating to look at, but in terms of the ride forces, it hit you with much stronger forces over a much shorter period of time, going from a noticeable weightless drop into a +4Gz pull-out in less time than it takes Millennium Force to get down its first drop.

I miss the Wildcat.

As for Gemini, I took my first ride on that one in 1979, so I don't have first-hand knowledge of the changes, but I think Pete is correct, they changed it from a single queue and single entrance to a dual queue and dual entrance configuration. As for why they would do this...

At normal walking pace and social distance in a fast-moving queue, a single queue can move about 2,400 PPH.

I have personally clocked Gemini at 3,400 PPH.

This means the ride (when running 6 trains without seat belts or boarding gates) could move people faster than they could get to the platform. So it was necessary to get them into the station faster.

Now that two trains have been removed and platform operations have gone to fuvg, the ride operates at closer to 1,200 PPH, so only one entrance is needed.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^^We can say the WildCat was assembled and operated at Cedar Point. It is interesting to look at many portable rollercoaster at many parks, and see the only thing attached to the ground is the queue rails, and sometimes the station roof.

Speaking of which, Ray Cammack Shows has, or at least had, a Pinfari Looping Star portable coaster. There are a few of these single loop coasters around. The coaster has three ballast tanks on it, enclosed structures intended to be filled with water to stabilize the ride while it is operating. Two are rectangular tanks under the vertical loop, the other is a circular tank in the middle of the foundation frame on one end of the ride. On the RCS ride, this round tank had apparently rusted out, so they replaced it with a small swimming pool. Complete with a small fountain in the middle.

Wildcat didn't use any ballast tanks, it just bolted together to form a rigid foundation that sat on the midway. But can you name a Cedar Point ride that does have ballast tanks under it? They aren't filled with water, but the tanks are still there serving as the foundation for the ride.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

My guess would be the giant wheel.