New for 2011

Drachen Fire.....I also have some really cool footage of this one on tape. Unfortunately, I never got to ride it. 2 years ago when I was there, I had to look at it all day just standing there all alone, by itself, just waiting to be unleashed. How painful was that? This coaster was practically brand new and they ended up closing it before they even got a chance to let the paint dry. WHY!! Because a bunch of puddin' pies thought that it was to much of a head banger? .... That is so lame, so poor, and quite frankly, that just SUCKS! And I really can't believe that Busch Gardens was taken in by that crap. Was it really that bad? I have a lot of trouble trying to convince myself that it was. And even if it did jolt you around a little, SO WHAT! Fix it. Don't flush the whole thing down the toilet and ruin it for everyone else. UNBELIEVABLE! *** This post was edited by Superstew on 11/23/2000. ***

The Roller Coaster Database is a fantastic site (unfortunately, not mine *Grin*), with all sorts of rankings. And "inversion breakdown" can be found here:

http://www.rcdb.com/rcdb.dll/inversions.htm

which lists Six Flags in NJ as the park with the most inversions, 26. CP comes in at #7 with half that number, 13. I think CP does need another coaster with inversions, but who knows what will happen!

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/
Don't make me RECOUNT! Take the CP Coaster POLL!

Ya that was me Superstew, and I still maintain we need a good wooden coaster before we need more inversions.

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Natalie
CP Ride Operations '99-'00

I'll take the wooden one first. You definitely don't have to twist my arm for one of those.

Ghostrider clone in the "L" in the front of the park--named Banshee.

Superstew "... Because a bunch of puddin' pies thought that it was to much of a head banger?..."

Puddin' pies, that is one of the funniest ways of calling somone a wuss I have ever heard LOL!!!

BTW, Lynch, it is hard to pick up on sarcasim by reading alone. Besides, some people might actually think it would be a good idea. (buying DF)

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Only 2290½ miles from Cedar Po!nt *** This post was edited by Soggy on 11/26/2000. ***

Being one of the most sarcastic people you'll ever meet (if you actually do one day, that is), I've learned that the hard way... and sadly, on more than one occasion, and about things both a lot less and a lot more trivial than Drachen Fire.

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How dare you vanquish the Steel Phantom without his consent? Fear the Phantom's Revenge.

The Drachen Fire was all the way in the back of the park. I think the reason why they took it down is because those "puddin pies" were not strong enough to walk back their and turn the turnstile to tell President Busch that the ride is a reason why people are coming to this park. I rode it like 5 times in a row becuase no one was in line. I feel bad for you superstrew. I did not think it was a bad ride at all, especially that sweet first drop. That 5 million that it cost would be chump change for Cedar Point. I'm not saying lets buy it, but an off year acquirement (like 2003) would just give people another reason to go to the point and give a nice lead in the most coasters at one park category. It may actually fit since its route is similar to the Mantis where the lift starts one way and the bottom of the first hill run the other way. I had no idea that the Drachen Fire would be brought into this, but it is.
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Joe E

The Millennium Force Makes Me High

CP NEEDS 2 more types of coasters.

1>>>>>a launched!
2>>>>>a backwards!

Does anyone know where Drachen Fire is as we speak? Knowing the kind of bull that's already went down, it's probably rusting away in some ham and eggers junkyard. I do like the idea of CP snatching this one up, assuming nobody else has already. WHY? Just to show all the little leaguers how the big boys operate.... and also..... because they can! *** This post was edited by Superstew on 11/28/2000. ***

Drachen Fire is still at BGW, it hasn't been taken down. I rode Drachen Fire and thought it was a very good ride, one of Arrow's most innovative loopers. Sure, you received a little bit of head banging, but nothing really bad. No, I don't think CP should buy the ride, but I think BGW should reopen it. I'm sure when CP does install another looper, it'll be a record breaker, not a used ride.

Last I heard, it was still at BGW where is has been for years... SBNO.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Guide to The Point
Millennium Force laps: 50

And still up for sale. I know at one point Dave Althoff had a used rides seller's website, which had DF on it. (I'm sure he still does... Dave?)

It has caused/is causing a bit of hoopla, being SBNO after only 6 years or so.

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How dare you vanquish the Steel Phantom without his consent? Fear the Phantom's Revenge.

Anyway we cut it, this is a shame and nothing short of absurd. Get this ride reopened, if not at BG's then somewhere else!

Well ... They sort of threw a wrench in this theory by going out of sequence a little with Dragster in '03, but assuming there's nothing big coming next year, could this almost 9 year old "prognostication" (for the lack of a better word) be starting to hold some weight ?! A 500 footer doesn't sound that far fetched to me.

The company's business plan never followed this ridiculous theory in the first place. My guess is you won't see anything over 500 feet at CP anytime soon. The coaster wars have long been over. The beginning of the end was around 1999-2000, and there has been less coaster installations since then.

If it is at 440 feet we don't have a record breaker...

What an old, yet timely, topic.

An economical (and I think good) trend in coasters these days is low to the ground yet thrilling. I'd point to Maverick and Prowler as examples of both steel and wood rides that aren't the tallest, but still deliver. Mavericks price tag was high, but I think the electric, the lift, and the launch were a big part of that. It's also a fairly long layout with 2 "passes" to the circuit, but in a relatively small footprint.

As far as resources go, the less steel or wood a designer uses the better. Not only is it environmentally sounder, it also saves on maintenance costs I'd imagine. Companies and parks are re-learning that they can provide a quality ride that doesn't scrape the sky.

Having said that, I'm glad to report that Cedar Fair seems not completely averse to high steel - where would we be without Behemoth and Diamondback? But even with those there was no attempt to break any records, except in-park. So maybe they'll invest in a third such ride (for Carowinds we'll presume) and Kings Dominion will likely get a smaller yet thrilling ride, more like Maverick. Just my guess, but with those two they'd get a lot of bang for their buck.

Ok, so then there's Cedar Point, who's traditionally known as the Record Breaker, no matter how ridiculous. While 520 feet would certainly seem next in the line up, I kinda hope it doesn't happen. We like to think that if anyone could pull it off CP could, but it would probably be done with some new technology that, surely, would result in a season or two (or three) of headaches. And then, as records are made to be broken, some ride will appear somewhere that eclipses that record by just a titch. From Gemini to Top Thrill Dragster it's happened, just like that. And if it were me, I don't think I'd want my park full of has-been record breakers. The marketing department would be damned to eternity using phrases like "When (fill in name of coaster here) opened in (fill in year) it was the (fill in record breaking statistic here), but, well, not any more..."

My vote is for the greatest rides in 2011 and beyond, not the tallest.

Wow i didn't even notice this was from 2000 wow.

Once I read "The industry is booming" I knew something was up ;)