New for 2015

This

I think you'll find the Pirate Ride building torn down and a FAMILY attraction, including brand new bathrooms, in its place with relocation of the Blue Streak entrance back to its old location (The current exit)

Cedar Fair has just been thrashed for the removal of big family attractions and insufficient replacement with big attractions with no thrill factor involved...

My own bet, and this has been discussed before, is on a brand new old fashioned Observation Tower going into the footprint that is currently the old Pirate Ride Building, and a complete retheme of the Blue Streak midway area. Non-thrill. Big family (read also those of us with no interest in coasters) attraction that is moderately priced and would lend itself to big advertising/tv visuals.

RonAnnArbor said:
Cedar Fair has just been thrashed for the removal of big family attractions and insufficient replacement with big attractions with no thrill factor involved...

I guess this thrashing is why they have been reporting record revenues and attendance the last few years.

Um, can someone whisper in Ron's ear that we have been told it will be a thrill ride aimed at teens and high thrill-seekers?

Call me weird, but I like Ron's Idea. ;)

I'm not putting a value judgement on the idea, it's just not happening for next year, and that's kinda-sorta a "fact".

Then again, Shawn, you like STR and Mantis. :)

Now for 2016? Great. Unfortunately for family-ride enthusiasts, 2015 will not be "the" year for Cedar Point.

OnPointTony said:
700-foot-tall AquaTrax. Just sayin'.

How bout just go with Schlitterbahn Development Group. They offer sick airtime on version 1.0 :P

Also for y'all wanting a dark ride..Every ride is a dark ride if you close your eyes :)

Or if you ride it at night.

Yea, but closing your eyes makes it the darkest ride.

Do you think that Cedar Point making Dinosaurs Alive free to Platinum Pass holders could be a sign that it will soon go the way of the dinos (haha pun). That is a rather large swath of land that could hold any number of large thrill rides.

I will never understand why people want to fill every piece of land on the peninsula with a ride.

Agree with you. They got more rides than almost every park in the country, but they need more. Maybe maintaining what's there should be more important. Safety and maintenence should be more important than being in a competition with Six Flags or any other park you'd choose to go to. What more could you ask for than CP.

Agree that any ride is a dark ride at night. Best time to ride is at night. Mean Streak and Millenium are definitely dark rides.

Agree that Dinosaurs wasn't billed as a permanent attraction. Just had the oppertunity to add it at no cost on unused land. That unused land is where they intend on building when they choose to put in the Trip To The Moon And Back.

Shawn Meyer said:
Call me weird, but I like Ron's Idea. ;)

Low hanging fruit...

Pirate ride has a purpose these days, and a good (necessary) one, but it's also prime real estate. If indeed the Blue Streak midway is set for a re-do, as some of you suggest, I'd think that poor Calypso would be on the chopping block. If the thrill ride is a flat of some kind maybe it would fit into that area. If Pirate ride was removed I'm hard pressed to come up with a suitable replacement. The trouble with that space is that it backs right up to Raptor's queue and that would limit the possibilities for a new coaster unless it would be another Wildcat or even an El Loco. But I have a feeling those just aren't what Cedar Point would have in mind. It might be right, however, for a large thrill ride flat.

The picture of the Matterhorn makes me wonder if it's in it's last season. A new, small flat could fit there, as well. That, Calypso, Monster, and Super Himalaya are the last of the flats that have been hanging on since their debuts in 1970 and I would think, (aside from Monster with its shiny new look,) that their days are surely numbered. Cedar Point has drifted away from carnival-style flats and the latest "thrill ride" installations have been maXair, Skyhawk, and Windseeker. I'm trying hard to think of another large thrill ride out there that isn't somehow already represented in CP's portfolio of rides. S&S rides like the Sky Swat or Screaming Squirrel haven't met with much success. The Huss line of Giants hasn't seen much action either, save for the Frisbee.

Concepts like Carowind's Harmony Hall and whatever they call the one at Cali's Great America are getting a lot of attention and good reviews. Something is obviously happening at Point Pavilion, and I can easily see where Cedar Point might follow suit and convert some if not all of that old shelter to something similar. It would be a nice, climate controlled venue for food, events, and entertainment and would be the perfect fit for that spot.

Just some late night ramblings here. The thing I know for sure is I'm glad a new thrill ride, coaster related or not, is coming to the Point and I hope it's a goody. For those nostalgics who wish for a return of dark rides, funhouses, and space needles, well, sorry for the disappointment. (not really)

I wonder if something like Riptide at Valley Fair might be the future for the Blue streak midway or in a new midway created by the removal some of the shelters. It is billed as an aggressive thrill ride and has a 54 inch height requirement. https://www.valleyfair.com/rides/Thrill-Rides/RipTide
It has a fairly small foot print and people like to watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Cvy3nK2XQ
Having ridden it several times , it does not soak you , but merely flips your feet into the water for the most part.

And I believe it has horrible reliability, from what I recall hearing.

My money is on a wild mouse coaster.

I would not see a wild mouse ride being billed as a thrill ride with teenagers and thrill seekers in mind.

Coasters are a sub category of thrill rides, so I'm not sure how that description doesn't fit.

And really, the ride wasn't being "billed as" anything. Rather, he was giving a vague response to a question. I think folks are reading WAY too deeply into what was reported by the Register.

I seem to remember the Dinosaur investment was a 5 year deal or something like that. So, I wouldn't expect them to be going anywhere for a while. They will likely become part of Haunt attraction before it's all over.

I worked at Dinos the first year it was open at the photo booth at the end. From everything I was told CP could opt out at any point after 3 years. Obviously I could be wrong but that's what I remember being told.

jo linn said:
I wonder if something like Riptide at Valley Fair might be the future for the Blue streak midway or in a new midway created by the removal some of the shelters.

Hmmm...Knott's Riptide has been drained. Standard refurbishment? or Cedar Point's 2015 capital expenditure being readied for transport??? lol

I'm thinking a new coaster is a possibility.

CP took 6 years between Maverick and Gatekeeper but in the past CP didn't usually take this many years between major attractions.

Gatekeeper was a surprise last year and I think it's been covered that it wasn't part of the long term plan and actually was something that was put together pretty quickly by CP standards.

CP removed two coasters in recent years (DT and WC) so I could see them adding another coaster again only 2 years after GK, remember they probably had a plan for another coaster that was shelved when the GK project was decided on.

It's possible they may take out Mantis (move it to another park) or re-configure the ride for CP, but I think they're done removing coasters for a while.

I think a thrill ride aimed at teens and thrill seekers indicates a coaster with a taller high requirement. So something that is 52 or 54 inches and not the standard 48 inches.