Monster Gone?
And just like that, the tired old "Cedar Point is running out of space!" argument feels even more awkward than it was already starting to. When was the last time the park had this many empty buildings or post-attraction spaces? I feel like during the Kinzel era you'd at least get like some random arcade machines moved around to keep from having a completely empty facade, Pirate Ride nonwithstanding.
It looks like that a fault that has been know for a long time with Octopus/Monster rides has reared it's final head. There is a history of problems with the points on the hub where the sweeps attach. You can only weld on the hub so many times. There is no longer any new parts available for this ride and it's variants. Now there are rides similar to this available in Europe, they are called Polyps. They are designed so that all the tubs can be loaded all at once. https://www.gerstlauer-ride...ides/polyp
For many years anytime CP has added something new they remove something old. This goes for rides as well as restaurant locations. Some of the empty buildings scattered around can be attributed to the construction of the Grand Pavilion and the Farmhouse. Without a doubt CP has staffing issues and has had them for quite a while, not sure that raising pay could completely alleviate these issues alone as recent events have made it harder to bring foreign students in. Whether the empty buildings are due to staffing, cost cutting, or simply lack of demand is up for debate.
Monster didn't take up a large footprint so its physical absence isn't going to be a large impact but losing a flat ride that families could ride together is an impact in that category. I wonder what the lead time is for a new family style spinny ride? The site prep work isn't much for rides like that - it would be great if Six Flags put up the money to bring something else in as a replacement but I don't see that happening. Maybe they could do a character meet and greet in that spot with a Travis Kelce mascot.
With the amount of parks in the chain now, seems like they could have a shop capable of manufacturing parts in house for anything that isn't still made by the original company. I am currently working with a company who when they can't find the part anymore, they simply have the part made custom from a machine shop (in house or bid out to a vendor).
This can get expensive of course but not nearly as expensive as a brand new ride. If it is a common part, buy in bulk and use the parts across the chain. With the amount of only getting older rides, this will continue to happen at the parks.
The Monster is NOT an orphaned ride. Battech still provides parts and services for it. That said, Cedar Point's Monster was one of the first built, constructed before Eyerly built a jig for the sweeps, so the sweeps on Cedar Point's Monster are slightly different from the ones on later rides. Such as the one now at Kings Island, which I understand was the last one built.
This one hurts. And I am getting rather tired of seeing the park slowly stripped, just as Paramount was stripping Kings Dominion and Kings Island.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ /XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /XXXXX
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Hearing Dutchman refer to it as Octopus/Monster brought back a very distant memory for me. I think one of my earliest amusement park memories, or memories in general was the Octopus ride at Boblo Island. I was five when they closed in '93. I'm not sure if I rode it but I think I did and I can definitely picture it.
We'll miss you MrScott and Pete
I see those Battech Spiders on various carnival midways and I wonder if they are merely refurbished Eyerly rides or if they are totally original. I don’t know anything about that company to know what they offer. And I know I can Google it.
The Battech tubs are weird, I think their odd shape is an attempt to streamline and lighten the tubs. They look like lawn chairs and don’t have the round, graceful curves of the Eyerly tubs. But it seems to be a faithful reproduction and the ride experience is the same.
Kings Island is on its second Monster. The original came from Coney Island and it probably dates back to late 60’s or 1970. I don’t know when or why they replaced it with a new model, but it’s spot sat empty for a while, at least part of a season. And if the replacement ride was the last one manufactured then the timeline makes sense.
How many Eyerly rides exist now? They were a staple at just about every park, and I always loved the different names some parks came up with. Does WoF still have theirs? Valleyfair?
I know I can probably Google all this^ too.
CP’s Monster was one of the ten “new for ‘70” rides on the Million Dollar Midway. It was original in that it was black with orange tubs. (When I worked at the park, the women that worked on Monster had crew T-shirts made that said “The Only Orange One”.) They would also throw a party when they hit their 100th puke of the season. Kennywood’s had green arms and yellow tubs. I seem to remember one at a Busch park that was black with beige.
I’m gonna miss seeing it spin- and on slow days I’d get on it so I’ll miss that too. Dave knows his stuff when it comes to things like maintenance and repair so if he says it’s huffed then it is. I was so happy that the park invested in Monster’s refurbishment for the re-imagined Gemini midway in 2014. It doesn’t seem that long ago.
Those are all the Monster musings I have for now.
Monster is not a ride I paid much attention to. I only rode it once and it made me very nauseous, making the long wait to unload torturous. Am I mistaken, or was it closed a good portion of the time last season?
I've only been frequenting the park since 2016, so I can’t speak to the "good old days," but in my opinion, it’s only getting better. Sure, we’ve lost a few food stands along the way—some I miss, some I don’t—but new builds include BackBeat, Farmhouse, and the Grand Pavilion. I don't imagine we’ve lost any capacity to serve.
We’ve also added some very major attractions that more than make up for what we've lost: Valravn, Steel Vengeance, TT2, Wild Mouse, and Siren’s Curse.
RCMAC:
They would also throw a party when they hit their 100th puke of the season.
That triggered a memory of the Geauga Lake Rotor where each season the crew would keep a tally on the outside of the door of the ride. As far as I know 1982 was the all time winner, because "Pukes of '82" with all of the tallies remained on the inside of the door for all boarding guests to see. I asked once why they kept 1982 on that side but the current year on the outside (where only the crew could see it) and the op said 1982 was still the all time record holder.
Those tally marks were still there when the ride closed in 1999. I loved it.
If memory serves me right, the park suddenly removed Wildcat before the start of the 2012 season due to a similar situation. Celebration Plaza just opened but there still a whole there despite the placement of bleachers for the stage entertainment, which looked like an afterthought. It took a dozen years before that area was finally done right with the addition of Siren's Curse. The park really needs to continue using the talent and creativity of staff to fill in the several empty spaces around the park. I not only enjoy riding Siren's Curse, but the story told by the theming and atmosphere. Maybe Six Flags could form their own Imagineering team if a group doesn't already exist within the organization?
- Uncle Jay
kylepark:
Maybe Six Flags could form their own Imagineering team if a group doesn't already exist within the organization?
Pre-merger Cedar Fair had a full creative team. That was the team responsible for theming and the storytelling that was starting to find its way in the parks (the Frontier Town characters, the crossover easter eggs on different rides at different parks, the themed designs of some of the new restaurants, etc.)
As far as I know nearly all (or all) of that team was let go in the post merger layoffs.
Other than:
- Forbidden Frontier (large plot of land currently unused)
- Snake River Falls (decently sized sized plot of land that will more than likely be tied into the FF area’s future plans)
- The old Town Hall building (decently sized unused building outside of Halloweekends)
- Monster’s smaller plot of land
I’m trying to think of other areas that are empty and need filled in. Those are already a lot, but what else am I forgetting?
In terms of land area where things were removed I think you got them all. There are the vacant restaurant buildings - Former Famous Daves, Chickies and Pete's, Melts, the old fried fish place by Gatekeeper, The Round Up in Frontier Town, Los Gatos Cafe by the Old Town Hall and Grist Mill Refreshments on the trail.
kylepark:
Maybe Six Flags could form their own Imagineering team if a group doesn't already exist within the organization?
Considering the P&D team is a shell of its former self, I am guessing the company has no interest in putting money into staffing a large creative team that has a desire to do more than the basic. They could always contract the creative out of course.
Vince982:
Octopus ride at Boblo Island.
I loved Boblo. The Sky Streak was my first non-kiddie coaster. I hadn't been there since 1985. The boat ride was the best part. I knew the park was doomed when they discontinued the classic ferries 2 years before the park closed forever.
Sad to see the Monster go. I rode it when I was a kid, in its original location near the Iron Dragon station.
I agree that they could have had parts custom manufactured, so this must have been a bean counter decision. Which worries me, because I think a park should do what it takes to keep their classic rides operational. I worry, because maybe one day they would scrap something like Magnum instead of spending on required maintenance. It looked really rusty last year.
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