New for 2006 - Skyhawk

Another advantage of waiting till 2007 is you get to see what SFMM does. There supposed to be getting a flyer this year so CP is probably going to sit back and see what happens with them.

All I can say is WOW! People are very oppinionated here. First off, I have to say although the ride isn't what I would have built, it's not half bad. Let's face it, if each of us owned Cedar Point for a day our plans would be extremely different. You really just can't win them all. Second, you have to understand you can't build a coaster every year nor is it needed. They just don't have the money or even close to enough room. Third, the name of the ride...Yuck! I think they should have done what Kennywood did. Kennywood had people send in names and then had an online pole to vote for the best one. What did they come up with? Swing Shot. Which isn't bad at all. Skyhawk, however, I just don't get it. And the colors. Ewwie. I mean I love America but I don't want to be swing on Uncle Sam's swing set when I go to Cedar Point. Give some originality like MaXair's colors. And speaking of originality, built something that is original, not something that is dupilcated. Lastly, why is Cedar Point flaunting the fact they "it's the biggest in the word," when Cedar Fair is building the exact same ride at Vally Fair? Intresting...

In the end, Cedar Fair kicks Six Flags @$$ anyday!

Well Cedar Point did manage to find a way to work in "record breaking." They are the kind of "record breaking" attractions. While many have pointed out that this is very different from maXair. I am just not a fan of the work that S&S does. I do enjoy Power Tower..but S&S does not make me think excitement. I am sorry. I am just not a S&S fan. Why does compressed air cost so much?

OK. I am sure that this is wishful thinking, and I will ride SH, and I will love the ride. I am going over to the park tommorow to watch from perimeter road. Do any of you think that there is a slight possibility that they would hide the construction of another ride directly behind the lens of the camera. Where WWL is/was. I myself am about 90% sure that this is not happening but the thought crossed my mind.
*** Edited 11/1/2005 10:44:12 PM UTC by Mikeybo2004***

I read most of the pages here, and I have a serious question to ask here. How many parks have you visited outside of Cedar Point that you visit on a regular basis?

Cedar Fairs operates other parks, and for those to be successful in their areas, need improvements, too. Cedar Point, as it is right now, is very self-sustaining. Most in the Midwest know about it, enthusiasts know about it, and there's enough advertising elsewhere that people will still come to it (believe it or not, some people haven't heard of Cedar Point before). Those people will see cheaper admission and look at that as a plus. They also see what Cedar Point already has to offer, and that's also a huge plus. The other parks CF owns aren't nearly as good as CP is, and they need to develop more there to attract new customers. Michigan Adventure is only getting a $5 million dollar ride this year, but that's actually the biggest ride investment that park has ever had. That tells me the other parks have a ways to go to really be great parks.

I wasn't alive as long as many of the older members here, but I know CP history, and I know that coasters haven't always been built a couple years apart. In fact, the first time we ever had 3 coasters opening in under 4 seasons was, well, just 2000-2003? That may have been their mistake, because your expectations are too darn high.

So you guys are sad there's no coaster. Deal with it: this new ride will be good, and it's been established that it'll be different. Just because it's the best park in the world doesn't mean it has to shell out a new coaster every other year. Cedar Point isn't running out of space, but if you guys want so many coasters so fast, they certainly will start to.

Would you have wanted them to start building a coaster right this second? WWL still hasn't been torn down yet, no footers in place, etc... if we were to get a coaster this year, it wouldn't be amazing. If you've seen the videos for Raptor or Magnum, there was a TON of clearing done ahead of time, and they used every bit of time to get it open on opening day.

Let them clear out WWL this year. If we see footers at the end of next season, then your wishes are coming true, but don't hold your expectations so high. You'll still go, even though you say you won't. If you honestly feel the park is getting stale of big rides, PLEASE try another park this year. Come back to Cedar Point next year if you honestly do not feel like you want to go this year. It may actually give you a better perspective of how great CP actually is.

This ride is going to be great. I am excited to see that CP is finally realizing that coasters are not the main draw to a park. A well rounded park with a lot of quality attractions is what will draw crowds. Everyone on this board that is dissappointed seems to not understand what goes into developing a good park. Some of you young ones might have enough time at how to try out rollercoaster tycoon. There you will learn the basics of how to run an amusement park. CP is obviously light years ahead of RCT, but the basics will help you understand.

At first I was a little dissapointed about the the new ride, I was hoping for a flyer where white water landing was. But then I read on this that they aren't putting this ride where WWL was and that got me excited! I'm glad then they are at least giving us something before they put in a monster for 07'. Plus i kinda figured since they weren't starting construction until after the park was closed, there wasn't going to be a monster coaster! I can't wait for opening day to ride this!

My head hurts.

I like Skyhawk.

kthxbai.

Lakeland05 said:
They wasted a good name on a fricking ride that is similar to maXair. This is so stupid!!!

For you and the others who think the ride is similar to maXair, what about other pairs of rides in the park that are similar?

- Matterhorn and Himilaya

- Scrambler, Calypso , and Troika (to a certain extent)

- Antique Cars, Cadillac Cars, and Turnpike Cars

- Midway Carousel and Cedar Downs

- Power Tower and Demon Drop (to a ceratin extent)

- Camp Snoopy and Kiddy Kingdom

You can even compare with defunct rides as well:

- Dogem I and II

- Sky Ride and Frontier Lift

I think it will be GREAT FUN!!! any ride is cool....helps lines in other parts and gives ya something to ride!!!!!

Am I disappointed that we didn't get a coaster at Cedar Point this year??? Yes.

Do I think that SkyHawk is a bad idea??? No.

With nothing new that really fits my personal tastes, I doubt I will be making the trip to Cedar Point this coming season (a 13 hour drive each way) While I won't be there this season, I will be saving to take an even longer roadtrip in 2007, when the next record breaker is built on the WWL site. Without new coasters, I would probably visit CP every three or four years, instead of every year.

Worlds of Fun and the Patriot are a lot closer anyways. Believe it or not, in each of the past three summers I took a roadtrip to Cedar Point spending two days in the park each time, but didn't step foot inside Worlds of Fun, which is only 10 minutes from my house. I only made it as far as the Season Pass office to get my WOF Season Pass (which is valid at most CF Parks and is a lot cheaper than buying tickets at CP's gate)

My point is, Skyhawk will help CP continue to build their local and regional customer base (as I am sure MaXair did last year) without siphoning as many visitors from Cedar Fair's other parks. BUT, if Cedar Fair wants to retain its "Hard Core" roller coaster fan base, they will need to keep building taller, faster and steeper coasters.

I lived in Toledo from 1982-1990 (Before some of you were even born probably) and from experience I can testify that we have been spoiled over the past 20 years with new coasters built at regular intervals. Most of them are still amazing and some are now considered "lame", but they were all innovative and exciting when they were built (I even remember waiting for an hour or more on a weekday for Disaster Transport as well as its previous incarnation, Avalanche Run) Given that history, we all expect big things from Cedar Point. The truth is, even Cedar Point can't meet our excessive expectations and build a record breaker every year (or even every two or three years), without sacrificing the quality of their other parks or risking loosing their less "Extreme" visitors to other regional parks.

Do I want a 500 foot coaster in 2007??? YES!
*** Edited 11/2/2005 12:18:15 AM UTC by Chris from KC***

I cant wait to ride Skyhawk because for how many people that have never rode it and say that it sucks, I dont think that their will be a big line. Also we cant get a new coaster every year. How many coasters do we have to flat rides??? Cedar point obviosly doesnt have enough room to add a taller and faster coaster each year if the had to tear down another ride for future plans... We should be happy that we are getting a new ride for 2006 and something HUGE to look forward to in 2007...

Ok some of you are saying that all the ones that don't think the SH was a good idea just want a 500 footer.

I happen to not be one of them. As stated above in my other posts if the SH was built 3-4 years from now I really woulden't care. I still think that CP needs more flat rides. A Huss Top Spin would of been to me a better choice for that area. Why? It's very diffren't from other rides in the park.

I'm no expert but how far apart were all the flat rides that are similar to each other built? I'm will to guess at least a few years apart.

Really it's the timing not the ride. Two consecutive rides that are very similar is pretty pointless. Just to name a few better choices, Huss top spin or a Sky Swat.

I will still go to CP like always and everything else. Even through all that I still can't wait to ride it.

On a final note, Walt, I know you need to support the park to keep getting into the media events and keep good relations with Bryan and alike, but damn dude, let people voice their opinion without being attacked. You are sounding like the biggest fanboy of them all!

Wow, check out the tone of the other posts before you criticize mine! Attack? What is this? War? People voice their opinions and I voice mine. That's why they call it a discussion board.

No one tells me what to think or what to write. My opinion is based on visiting the park for 32 years, a three generation family history, and six years as a seasonal employee. I've been behind the scenes and I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly (and there were plenty of each). I'm not someone who fell into a fan site on a whim. I don't think it's a stretch to say that when I give my opinion, it's based on a very solid background and isn't just the company line.

It's unfortunate that instead of discussing why I'm wrong, you just play the fanboy card. In case you were wondering, the last time Bryan and I talked at length, the conversation was dominated by fantasy football and home improvement, not what a great corporate shill I was.

Discounting my opinion because you think I'm just a "fanboy" would be like me discounting yours because you're just a disgruntled ex-employee.

bobthecoasterguy said:
Hmm? You know, the park has two woodies.

TWO!?!?!?!?
Come on, give blue steak some credit too!

Yes... two woodies. Blue Streak, and Mean Streak. Two.

For those of you who don't understand, techincally Gemini and CCMR are not Wooden coasters because of their steel, tubular track. To classify as a woodie, you need the supports AND the track.

Chris from KC said:

BUT, if Cedar Fair wants to retain its "Hard Core" roller coaster fan base, they will need to keep building taller, faster and steeper coasters.
Do I want a 500 foot coaster in 2007??? YES!

They don't necessarily have to build a 500 ft tall coaster to become Hard Core. They could build a flying coaster in 2007 and still have a good hard core collection of rollercoasters. What Cedar Point needs is to build a coaster thats not record breaking, but fun. So If we see a Floorless/Flyer come in the future, thats hard core enough.

You know, you people that say that Skyhawk sucks because it is too similar to maXair really make me feel smart, because of the pure idiocy of that comment. So just to point out to you how silly it is I'll post what I posted somewhere else.

I guess I'll say what I've been waiting to say for two seasons now, TTD sucks because it coasts on a track just like all the other roller coasters, and is launched just like Wicked Twister! Its too similar to all the other coasters in the park.

Now, if that didn't make any sense to you, and a light didn't go off in your brain to show you the idiocy of complaining that Skyhawk sucks because it swings like maXair, I highly recommend seeing a phsychiatrist.

CPdude05 said:
How do you know what CP is doing to get Top Thrill Dragster to work? Obviously, the system and design isn't simple, so quit being mad at CP for not having dragster running 100%.

How are they going downhill when they have TTD, which is a very unique and the worlds tallest and fastest coaster. How do you consider that going downhill. All of a sudden they have 3 seasons where they don't add something major, and you think they're going downhill...silly. Next year when they do add something major, you'll be praising them again.

Finally! someone besides me and Gomez who appreciate Dragster!!!:)

BlueStreak64, I get what your saying....But why Dragster??!!!:(/;)

I am a tall coaster freak, and as much as I DO want a 500+footer in 2007, I guess it doesnt matter if I have to wait a good while. Anything good in 07 is all that matters.

Oh and heres my 2 cent about SkyHawk: "I like!! And there is a HUGE difference between it and maXair....just wait and see":)