New for 2015

Where exactly in Frontier Town do you think the Terror-tory will be located? I always thought that area was cramped with haunts back there (SW,CS,CTC,EM,and ET). Maybe they will make that back area the official 'Fright Area' of the park if the Terror-Tory haunt means letting the Ghouls and Monsters free-roam throughout that area of the park. If not, then I wonder how else they would do it?

Thabto said:
I was thinking the same thing. I don't remember Mantis ever being open on Fridays, but I never ride it anyway so I never paid much attention. I don't think MS was ever open on Friday.

Can't speak about Mantis, not a regular ride for me, but Mean Streak was always open on Friday nights during Halloweekends, except the last few years while they were using that time to retrack it. And then it wasn't open at all.

I've never really knew what a dark ride was considered, so I looked up guardian on YouTube and I'm not sure how I feel. I feel like it would be fun the first time you ride it, but then it would just get boring. Then again it's something unique that cedar point doesn't have and something that appeals to all ages. One question, where would it go? Personally id say it should go where the Good Time theatre is by the luminosity stage. That's kind of the perfect location in my opinion. What even is the theatre used for? Performances? They have the stage right next to it and the jack Aldrich theater. Am I missing something that's specifically unique that happens there only? That's my prediction for 2016, I know I'm jumping ahead lol

Then again all the speculation for 2015 was a dark ride in the ballroom colliceum building? Honestly that space is wasted by an arcade that no one uses. Games are only 25¢ each which seems like it wouldn't make the park any profit. The colliceum ballroom building, the good times theatre and the one building next to the wicked twister all seem like big wasted space.

If Cedar Point gets a dark ride, it could go where Point Pavilion is now, if they're getting rid of it (we all know there's construction going on there). Also, if they do get a dark ride, I hope it's not like WMG at Canada's Wonderland. I hope it's something like The Mummy at Universal Orlando, because that ride gives a combination of thrills and scenery. That combination would- I assume- attract teens. Instead of the mummy theme it could be related to Rougarou. Not sure how they would do that....

Cedar Point.

^Yes.

Is it just me, or did they already take down the HalloWeekends page?

Yeah, it's gone. Wonder why? Maybe they accidentally put it up too early.

CoasterGuy15 said:
... a dark ride in the ballroom colliceum building? Honestly that space is wasted by an arcade that no one uses... The colliceum ballroom building, the good times theatre and the one building next to the wicked twister all seem like big wasted space.

The Coliseum houses offices, rehearsal spaces and other such facilities, so the building is not a "big wasted space". The Ballroom may still be used for events or private rentals, as well.

Maybe no one uses the arcade, maybe not; but it's a hard space to re-purpose. It's too big for a restaurant, has too low of a ceiling to be used for shows, hard to install a dark ride in since the ride would have to be configured around the structural supports... maybe the arcade, filled with machines that require little attention and minimal staff is the best use for it, after all.

Tilt-a-Whirl said:
^^ exactly. The quality is just not there. I get that regional parks can't spend huge amounts of money on attractions, but why not budget $20 million for an attraction that can ultimately be marketed to any demographic.

Also when comparing Guardian with rides like Sally has put out (Even rides like Gobbler Getaway) the budget should have nothing to do with it. There are many solid dark rides at regional parks. I do not throw away the entire concept of Guardian, but it seems like what is currently there needs "cleaned up" by a dark ride company like Sally or Garner Holt. Adding in show scenes, animatronics, etc. would help solidify this attraction that seemed highly unfinished when I rode it. Those that like it probably have not been to Orlando--- not that the park will ever accomplish anything like Transformers, Pirates, etc. But what I saw from Guardian is in my opinion a very poor excuse at an immersive, interactive attraction that I would consider "timeless".

Budget has a lot to do with it. You can easily see the difference between a low budget Sally dark ride and a big budget Sally dark ride. One is full of glow-in-the-dark cutouts and the other is full of animatronics and detailed sets. The honest truth is that Cedar Fair in general doesn't place the same value on a dark ride as they do roller coasters. Hell, the 10 million they spent on Guardian is actually the most the company has ever spent on a dark ride (the refurbished dark rides at Knott's cost around 6-7 million each) and I guarantee you the majority of that budget went towards coaster track. We've seen Cedar Fair easily drop 25-30 million on a roller coaster, but they're hesitant to spend even half that on a dark ride that would fill many gaps in their ride lineups. Yes, regional parks can have high quality dark rides but those parks have different priorities than Cedar Point. I'd lower expectations when it comes to high quality dark rides.

CoasterGuy15 said:
Then again all the speculation for 2015 was a dark ride in the ballroom colliceum building? Honestly that space is wasted by an arcade that no one uses. Games are only 25¢ each which seems like it wouldn't make the park any profit. The colliceum ballroom building, the good times theatre and the one building next to the wicked twister all seem like big wasted space.

How do you propose to put in any kind of decent dark ride with all the vertical columns in the Coliseum building? That was always wild speculation that makes as little sense as putting floorless trains on Mantis.

How did you determine that no one uses the arcade? The redemption games are always busy and they are probably very profitable to run as they take very little labor.

As for the Good Time Theater, they have a very good ice skating show on the ice rink they installed a number of years ago. It is not a waste of space in my opinion.

There is an annoying trend happening on Pointbuzz where people are presenting speculation and rumors as fact.

rider16017 said:
If Cedar Point gets a dark ride, it could go where Point Pavilion is now, if they're getting rid of it (we all know there's construction going on there). Also, if they do get a dark ride, I hope it's not like WMG at Canada's Wonderland. I hope it's something like The Mummy at Universal Orlando, because that ride gives a combination of thrills and scenery. That combination would- I assume- attract teens. Instead of the mummy theme it could be related to Rougarou. Not sure how they would do that....

Cedar Point.

I agree 100%.

I'm not proposing putting a dark ride in the colliceum building at all. I said that's what the first rumor for 2015 was. Anything is possible to refurbish...

And "how do I determine no one uses the arcade"? I walk past it every time I'm there, or go through it as a shortcut? Lol. Why would someone go to cedar point just to go to their arcade? That's never made sense to me. I'm sure if someone said "Do you want a new exciting flat ride or coaster or an arcade?" They would most certainly choose the flat ride or roller coaster option. There's a ton of space there for future additions to the park, not to mention a prime location.

I've honestly never heard of any ice skating shows there. When do they take place? Because whenever I'm there the place looks vacant and blocked off...

And where did I say anything was going to happen? I'm stating my suggestions and opinions. I thought that was allowed?

That arcade has games in it you will never find anywhere else. In the back, they have a collection of some of the oldest and coolest pinball machines that I feel lucky enough to have had a chance to play. Maybe you should stop the next time you're walking through.

They have several performances of the skating shows there 6 days a week and quite a few people go to them. It's been there for years now.

The CP arcade is probably one of the best around.

My concern is with the overwhelming support of removing certain attractions in favor of roller coaster.

I can attest to the fact that after moving to Orlando my sentiments toward huge roller coasters has changed. I love Cedar Point, but a loop, corkscrew, barrel roll, bunny hop, etc. feels pretty similar no matter what ride you go on.

Our park, in my opinion, has reached its capacity to providing the thrills that roller coasters bring. Name me any roller coaster out there, and you won't have to venture far into Cedar Point's collection to find an experience that is similar (notice I said similar).

It seems when I walk the midways all I am seeing is more and more track, and less and less charm. I would be in favor for 10 more years of in park improvements. Almost all of the park's quick service restaurants are outdated and go back to the 1950's. Imagine a main midway that has entirely new structures to serve modern park-goers. Quick service restaurants that produce efficient, quality tasting food in an immersive environment would be great (along the lines of Pacos Bill's, Star Voyagers, etc. at Magic Kingdom). I think Carowind's latest addition of "Harmony Hall" is a step in the right direction, perhaps one of those will be taking over the existing Point Pavilion?

I am SOO thankful for the return of things like THE BEACH BAND, THE FRONTIER FOLKS, THE BREAKERS REFURB, etc. and opening up the beach at night. These are things that matter. These are the things people remember. Sometimes its not the ride on Millennium Force, sometimes its the game of cornhole on the beach. I am hoping that next year's attraction is something different, unique. Which would mean I am (don't kill me) actually okay with it being NOT a roller coaster--- as this is what the park is lacking.

The speculation in this thread is just as ridiculous as right before the announcement of Gatekeeper. You guys think there should be a new ride constructed in every nook and cranny of the park.

^^I'm totally with you. As someone who developed motion sickness a few year back for anything that spins or goes backwards (never had this problem before but now one ride and I'll feel nauseous the rest of the day), I've had to search elsewhere for my entertainment as it's extremely limited at Cedar Point. I really don't feel like I'm missing out though, since I've always enjoyed theme parks more. It'd just be nice to have something local and more affordable.

CoasterGuy15 said:
And "how do I determine no one uses the arcade"? I walk past it every time I'm there, or go through it as a shortcut? Lol.

I've honestly never heard of any ice skating shows there.

Got it. The five? -- ten? -- minutes you spend in the vicinity of the arcade that you have no interest in enjoying, on your presumably not daily, likely not weekly visits to the park, during which, whether passing by or cutting through you can't possibly see how many people may be spread through the arcade, with such an acute attention to detail that you've never heard of the park's ice skating shows, allowed you to determine no one uses the arcade.

Weird how Cedar Point keeps the arcade in the face of such facts.

The only thing I would like to see happen to the coliseum is a renovation of the arcade. Every time I walk in or through there I feel trapped and overall the arcade area just seems old and run down. If they redid it, opened it up more allowed more natural light in some how, then it would be a much better use of space than it already is.

As for the ice shows, every time there is a show going on I see strollers parked all over the area giving me the impression that the theater is full. The Good Time theater, although very large, provides not only a great show for families but also a time for the families to rest and take a break, primarily to keep the young children distracted so that the parents can rest.

I love thrill rides as much as the next enthusiast but I also realize that there needs to be other things to do at amusement parks. I think Cedar Point's days of replacing family attractions for thrill rides is done.

Back to what this is about, where are we with 2015? We know the thrill ride will go where the Point Pavilion is, maybe even something at the Pirate Ride Building. Most likely named Rougarou. Possibly some Mantis revamp. But besides what Cedar Point (Tony) has told us, is there any news in the industry to give us hints to what we could be getting? Come on Tony, we are getting frustrated, throw us a bone ;)