Parking lot coaster?

Jason Hammond said:
Trees were not added for DA. It was that wooded.

They actually removed quite a few trees in the transition between Terror Island to Dinosaurs Alive. I believe most of the removals were to make room for the dinos themselves and to facilitate adjusting the path in some places.

Dutchman said:
Nice. That map is pre 1970, as the railroad is in it's more or less original location and the Million Dollar Midway has yet to be built

The map is 1969

Titandwedebil said:
...I'd like to see a coaster that utilizes CP's natural surroundings just as the Beast does with the woods at KI. The natural surroundings being the lake of course, so perhaps a coaster entirely over water. I don't know how deep the lake is around the shores of the island, but I do know they must have some ways of laying footers in deeper water if they can do the same for massive bridges.

It would also be a first for any park, as far as I can see from googling "Roller coaster over water"...What pops up are roller coasters partially over water, but nothing without a majority of the ride on land.

There would be a quite a few reasons for that:
(A) Cost. It's less expensive to build on land than in the water.
(B) You think evacuating a MCBR outside the gate in the parking lot has logistics issues? Try over water.
(C) They don't want to foul up their beach in front of the Breakers Hotel or Sandcastle with a coaster (Magnum already occupies the majority of beach front down closer to the break wall out to the lake on the backside of part of Soak City and Camper Village. Wicked Twister and soon GK will be on the other available land on the other side of the Breakers up to the parking lot).

Actually the water right off the beach (and the entire lake shore right along Cedar Point) is not that deep at all -- about 15 feet or less for a good distance -- not counting the shipping channel along the break wall into Sandusky Bay. Lake Erie can get nasty waves from storms both in the summer and winter months (and big ice flows in the winter). So anything built out into the lake has to be able to withstand storm waves and ice.

There are other reasons I haven't mentioned why you don't see a coaster out over the lake, but I think the above is enough to see why your dream coaster does not exist. If you think GK will go out over the lake, keep dreaming with the very wishful thinking. I would say 99.99999% it is not going to happen.

^So you're telling me there's a chance???

Please someone understand the reference

I could be wrong on this, but if Ohio is anything like Michigan, Cedar Points ownership ends at the shoreline. So building over the lake would require building on land actually owned by the state. There's enough red-tape when they want to fill in the swampland they DO own, I don't want to know what it would take to build on wetlands they don't own.

Sause said:^So you're telling me there's a chance???Please someone understand the reference

actually watched that movie the other day

That movie nearly made me pee in my pants at the theater.

(A) Cost. It's less expensive to build on land than in the water.

Definitely.

(B) You think evacuating a MCBR outside the gate in the parking lot has logistics issues? Try over water.

MCBR = Maintence crew break room? Sorry for my stupidity, I'm not good with terms. If you're referring to the staff, the station could be on land including the beginning portion of the ride.

(C) They don't want to foul up their beach in front of the Breakers Hotel or Sandcastle with a coaster (Magnum already occupies the majority of beach front down closer to the break wall out to the lake on the backside of part of Soak City and Camper Village. Wicked Twister and soon GK will be on the other available land on the other side of the Breakers up to the parking lot).

That would simply depend on where they build. If they extended the coaster from Thunder canyon outward no one could see it from the hotel.

Actually the water right off the beach (and the entire lake shore right along Cedar Point) is not that deep at all -- about 15 feet or less for a good distance -- not counting the shipping channel along the break wall into Sandusky Bay. Lake Erie can get nasty waves from storms both in the summer and winter months (and big ice flows in the winter). So anything built out into the lake has to be able to withstand storm waves and ice.

I'd imagine they'd have to build some sort of Marina type barrier enclosing the space to prevent waves, as I do realize that would be an issue.

I could be wrong on this, but if Ohio is anything like Michigan, Cedar Points ownership ends at the shoreline. So building over the lake would require building on land actually owned by the state. There's enough red-tape when they want to fill in the swampland they DO own, I don't want to know what it would take to build on wetlands they don't own.

Didn't they get ownership of the marina area when they built that? Assuming they'd have to build another rock type enclosure to house the supports, would they not be able to claim that as their own?

I do think it's unlikely, don't get me wrong, but I'm just viewing it as somewhat of a possibility in the case that CP wishes to make a large investment.

MCBR = Mid Course Brake Run

It's a block brake where the train can be stopped if necessary and people evacuated.

Also, the marina was built in 1959. I'm pretty sure it was much easier to get stuff like that done without red-tape back then than it would be now.

Titandwedebil said:
MCBR = Maintence crew break room

Mid Course Brake Run

It may be technologically possible to build a coaster over water. But keep in mind it's also technologically possible to build a coaster on the moon. And both are terribly stupid ideas.

I dunno, a coaster on the moon would be pretty kick ass.

And it would teach riders who unbuckle their seat belts a pretty good lesson.

MCBR=Mid-course brake run. This is what allows coasters to run multiple trains on a course, at the same time. A train will brake/stop at the MCBR if the train ahead of it has not cleared a designated portion of track/proxies.

This is why skiboi said it would be difficult to evacuate guests from a brake run over water, not for maintenance to go eat.

There's a simple solution: Don't have the MCBR over water. End of question.

Unless that portion of the ride was over land. ;)

...Okay, I'll stop. It's definitely more of my fantasy than I think. You guys have great points as to its faults, so I'll stop trying to defend it.

Something else I wanted to ask on another thread, however, though I feel it's more appropriete here. Is there any chance that CP will ever physically expand the island by bringing in land? Does "red-tape" prohibit that, forcing them to work with only land that's always been there?

One more thing.....you are forgetting the moron factor. Just as coasters on land have to have a fence to prevent people from walking under low zones, the park would have to close off that section off the lake to keep some moron on a jet ski from being decapitated.

^ HAAAAA!!!!

Sad but true!

JuggaLotus said:
I dunno, a coaster on the moon would be pretty kick ass.

And it would teach riders who unbuckle their seat belts a pretty good lesson.

A coaster on the moon would be as slow as molasses. 1/6th earth gravity = 1/6 earth acceleration.

I know.

But it would be on the freakin moon.

Just getting there to ride it would be worth the price of admission.

Yeah, but my rides on Disney's Coaster was awesome with Moon gravity! And Magic supports!!

Ensign Smith said:
1/6th earth gravity = 1/6 earth acceleration.

Then make it a launched coaster--1/6th the resistance