New for 2015

PR announcements are usually aimed at getting maximum media exposure, so it's unlikely they'd announce on a weekend. And to get the media to the announcement, the media has to know when and where the announcement will be.

I think it's not unreasonable to presume that this off-season's capital investment (other than the continuing revamp of Breakers) won't be a banner year. Me, I 'm betting on some newfangled hard-core flat that breaks down every sixteen minutes.

Last years announcement was a video uploaded to YouTube. There was no announcement in the park. I was there the day they uploaded it and there was nothing going on in the park that day.

The walk up food options at Cedar Point stink, Kings Island has much better options. Hank's Burritos, Chicken Shack, Blue ice cream, and hometown favorites Larosa's and Skyline compared to...what does CP have again? Generic burger and hot dog on a stick?

Conversely, the sit down options at Kings Island stink, Cedar Point has much better options. The Reds grill is mediocre at best.

The difference is what has changed recently. Kings Island upgraded a bunch of their walk up places this year. Cedar Point converted a sit down place to a sit down place without a bathroom. :)

For an article in the plain dealer it said

In Sandusky, a spokesman for Cedar Point said no date had been set for the park to announce its plans for 2015.

The title was New coasters planned in 2015 for Holiday World, Hersheypark; no word yet from Cedar Point

In that case, I bet we will get something like last year's announcement. Speaking of which, did 2011 have a big official park announcement? All I remember was entering the park through the Soak City entrance and seeing a big sign for WindSeeker, right before you go underneath the Magnum, on a wall.

Wait, here is a thought. What if we are not getting an announcement until the lat day of the season. The events page on the park website says "The final day of the 2014 season will be a special one". I wonder if this could mean anything?:/

Walk up options at CP:

Cheese on a Stick, chicken tenders, corn dogs, hand cut fries w/ Diabetes inducing garlic sauce, burgers, milkshakes, turkey legs, Chick Fil A, etc.

Hanks is..ok..it has it's bad days and good days, it also depends if it's open, it's hours are all over the place. LaRosas is..wow..Larosas is..yuck, I'll go get real pizza. Skyline, alright, but between Pinks & that, I'll take Pinks. They both have Panda so that's a whatever.

Ensign Smith said:
I noticed you wisely didn't include Coasters in your list. Blech.

I spy with my little eye, Ensign Smith. :)

Welcome aboard.

Damn. I was hoping to slip in and out unnoticed. You caught me, Stater. ;)

If you believe the numbers on Wikipedia, Cedar Point's attendance hasn't really grown since before the Millennium Force was built. It's a 364 acre seasonal park that has very little room for expansion - except in areas that are already developed. Cedar Fair has expressed an interest in tapping Carowinds' growth potential by making it one of their largest parks (it is already larger in acreage than CP). Cedar Fair wants to make Carowinds a destination and they've opened a satellite corporate office in Charlotte.

The announcement of Fury 325 gives me some slight cause for concern about Cedar Point's future. Don't get me wrong, the park itself isn't going anywhere and the investment in Hotel Breakers is a good sign that the park is quite healthy. But from a long term perspective if they continue to build their record breaking attractions elsewhere, the point could start falling behind and may one day be just another amusement park. Why continue to make a landlocked amusement park that hasn't grown in attendance the "thrill capital" when you can head to another market? Will Cedar Fair eventually move their headquarters out of Sandusky if Carowinds grows and becomes the new flagship park?

Having said that, Fury 325 may also just be intended to have a brief moment in the spotlight and perhaps Centurion is headed to the point to solidify its stature. 2020 will mark Cedar Point's 150 year anniversary and that's bound to be a big year. They opened the MF in 2000, the Maverick in 2007, and Gatekeeper in 2013 so they seem to add a new gravity coaster every 6 to 7 years. The 150th anniversary of CP seems like perfect timing for the biggest, baddest, coaster in the world to make its debut.

Either way it's fun to speculate. :)

jsmith7300 said:
It's a 364 acre seasonal park that has very little room for expansion -

Response to quote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axCCAUUnUPU

CP will have a future, and I'm sure it will have a record breaker, be it world record, or the records like GK (longest Wing Rider, etc.). It won't fall behind, they're just investing wisely in future growth. CF may move to Carowinds, they already have a regional HQ down there. You also forgot TTD, Twister, etc.

I watched your video and I guess I'm lost on how stating a fact is "coming across as stupid". Cedar Point is located on a peninsula and has to operate within a finite space. It's not like they can go out and buy additional acreage from a neighboring land owner or tear down an old strip mall to make way for new expansion. They have to work within the confines of their limited space and while they do a pretty good job at it, they are constantly working under a redevelopment scenario. Personally I think this lends to some more creative design as opposed to just sprawling out onto a vacant piece of ground but at times it can be more costly, especially when demolition / relocation of infrastructure is involved. Going forward that presents some challenges.

CP is never out of room. When they need to add something new, they will remove a ride that reached the end of it's life or put some rides elsewhere in the park. Rides don't stay forever. And if there are too many rides, maintenance would be cost prohibitive.

Plus look at Google Earth..there is PLENTY of room undeveloped, see behind Stockade to Mean Streak, easily room back in that area..

It seems that one fact some keep passing over is that Cedar Point is currently in middle of the largest project they have ever undertaken. The renovations at Breakers were said to be both the largest project in terms of scope, and expenditure that the Point has ever seen.

Cedar Fair sold a water park, in part to help cover the costs of the Breakers renovations. The CEO has also stated that there are no plans to add any additional hotels at the remaining CF parks. They want CP to become more of a resort destination, with families spending several days at a time there. The amount of investment they have put into CP in recent years dwarfs what they put into most of their remaining parks.

Any talk of CF starting to neglect CP is more than pre-mature... It is ridiculous.

The dynamics behind Carowinds and Cedar Point are vastly different. I think it makes sense to expand Carowinds and try to increase the attendance based on the population dynamics at play here, but I don't think they're going to look at it as a "replacement" for Cedar Point and the infrastructure there. Unless they manage to build a couple more gates, no one is going to go spend 3-4 nights in Fort Mill, SC for a trip to Carowinds.

All parks have a finite amount of space to use. Cedar Point's may be more noticeable, being on the peninsula. SF Great America, Indiana Beach and Hersheypark are a few that come to mind.

And if Cedar Fair only builds record breaking attractions (by which I assume you mean really tall or long coasters) at other parks -- what of it? There's much more to a successful park than its rides.

JUnderhill said:
It seems that one fact some keep passing over is that Cedar Point is currently in middle of the largest project they have ever undertaken. The renovations at Breakers were said to be both the largest project in terms of scope, and expenditure that the Point has ever seen.

Cedar Fair sold a water park, in part to help cover the costs of the Breakers renovations. The CEO has also stated that there are no plans to add any additional hotels at the remaining CF parks. They want CP to become more of a resort destination, with families spending several days at a time there. The amount of investment they have put into CP in recent years dwarfs what they put into most of their remaining parks.

Any talk of CF starting to neglect CP is more than pre-mature... It is ridiculous.

Thank you for the added insight but I think you missed the part where I said the investment in Breakers was a sign that the park was healthy. It shows that they are committed to making sure that CP remains vibrant.

What I'm saying is that in the future as CF continues to develop its other parks, how will people identify with CP? Will it continue to be known as the "roller coaster capital of the world" (and that's already debatable) or will it someday just be known as "the roller coaster capital of northern Ohio" when people start to identify CF's other parks as having flagship rides.

I get what you saying, but if you think about it Carowinds is getting a ride similar to one Cedar Point built 15 years ago. Last year, Cedar Point added a wing coaster, which is still the only wing coaster in the Cedar Fair chain.