life expectancy of rides

Now I know every ride will vary on how long it will remain in the park, but how long do you think the popular rides like Millenium, Dragster and Magnum will remain in the park?

surely they can't be here forever. Its just interesting to tthink about what might replace MF in the future. How long can we expect Gemini and BlueStreak to remain in the park? They are still in very good condition, but they are probably gonna go eventually.

Rides can remain indefinitely based on maintenance costs, parts availability, ridership and historical value. Now that steel coaster track is bolted together (versus welded back in the 70's) sections can be replaced easily if the gauge is worn; obviously wood coasters simply are rebuilt in the areas the wood is deemed needing of replacement.

Some classical parks have maintenance departments that build their own replacement parts when no longer available, Kennywood comes to mind in this regard.

Kennywood is impressive in that sense. I love that they have a Bayern Kurve, one of the greatest flat rides ever conceived. There used to be one on CP's "million dollar midway," which is where they do the nightly light shows now.

Just like any machine they can last indefinitely if properly maintained.

Yeah, you can't really assign a life expectancy to rides. Any attraction can be maintained and preserved indefinitely, if you're willing to invest in it.

What about Arrow Suspendeds? Wasn't BBW torn down because it reached the end of its lifespan?

It just got to a point where the maintenance cost was out weighed by the value of the land for a new attraction. Anything can be fixed or rebuilt if your willing to pay for it.

It's been a while since Cedar Point has removed a coaster, does anybody think we'll see a coaster removed in the next 5-10 years possibly due to maintence or expansion? If so what coaster?

This is realistically, don't say magnum because it's sinking or any other things like that or Mean Streak because everybody hates it.

With the extra maintenance being put in last year and this year on Mean Steak, I wouldn't expect to see it going anywhere for quite a while. If you look at rides that are slowly being neglected (like Whit Water Landing was) I would say the next coaster that would be most likely to leave the park would be Disaster Transport. My nephews will be disappointed if/when this happens. But, it seems to be the likely first choice to go whether it's next year or 10 years from now.

Id say disaster transport would be number one. I can also see wildcat going as well due to the number of problems it seems to been having. What is this? The third yet in a row there has been a crash?

It is a popular ride for the younger kids, so if it were to go, I would think they would put another kiddie coaster there.

2nd I believe. One one was a mechanical failure.

Both happened for mechanical reasons...

Both incidents that have happened on WildCat have been due to mechanical reasons. The last one to happen on WildCat before this year was in 2008.

I may be biased as I was the ATL this year and worked the ride last year, but WildCat deserves to stay and I think we made a pretty good case for it to still be here this year. Ridership was up 13% mainly due to our hard work. The ride still remains a classic and one of only 4 remaining. Plus it's a great bridge coaster for the little kids coming from the kiddie rides and working their way up to the big ones.

Long live Wildcat! I think it's the most underrated rides in the park.

If I had to pick one coaster to put in my backyard, it would be Wild Cat. As a plus, I think it might even fit...

Would anybody like to see a more modern wild mouse coaster?

Jeff said:
I love that they have a Bayern Kurve, one of the greatest flat rides ever conceived. There used to be one on CP's "million dollar midway," which is where they do the nightly light shows now.

I remember this vividly. It was Bayern Kurve, Schwabinchen, and Monster where the Wildcat currently stands. I need to get over to Kennywood and ride BK.

As Jason mentioned, it's all about cost per rider. However, I think historical reasons will save Blue Streak, Magnum, and MF forever.

Well, at least until Ragnarok.

Maverick00 said:
Would anybody like to see a more modern wild mouse coaster?

I would LOVE to see one at Cedar Point. But I am not sure if the park needs one. I wouldn't want them to get rid of Wildcat to put a new one in since it has it's own unique style compared to most wild mouse coasters. If they do add one, I would hope it would be a spinning wild mouse because you can do more with the layout and it still takes up a small amount of space.

If any coaster has a life expectancy it's a wooden coaster. There is only so much rebuilding you can do before the ride needs to be completely torn down and rebuilt. Putting a Band-aid over trouble spots can only go so far. Plus the harsh lake Erie winters can really take a toll out on some wood. That being said, Blue Streak has held up wonderfully over the years.

I also hope they don't remove Disaster Transport. With a solid refurb of both the ride and the theming they could make the coaster almost brand new. I know they spent all that money refurbishing it in the 90's but they didn't follow up on the maintenance as much as they could have.