Possible new announcement date, 9/11/15.

I hope this link works. The leaked layout and FAA zoning don't quite line up at the scale I used. It is very likely they would reroute the Marina Entrance if they are extending the path from the Blue Streak Midway.

That appears to be closer to scale than the other suggested image. I think it makes more sense to have the lift and first drop close to the main midway though. On a dive coaster, the first drop is the big attraction. Seems like having the entrance be near the former Dodgem location makes more sense.

Well, the majority of stations for rides are set back from the midway, with the exception of the few that head "out" of the park (Magnum, Blue Streak, GateKeeper) so I've got no problem with the lift being away from the midway. But this layout does put a lot of the ride along the midway itself, like Raptor or Gemini, which reduces (somewhat) usable space alongside the main traffic flow. If we rotate that layout, a significant portion of low zones will be around the Cadillac Cars.

Upon further review, if the ride is indeed over 220 feet (and we don't have much reason to doubt that at this point), it should be pretty easily viewed from anywhere. So the location of the lift probably doesn't matter as much as I thought.

I still tend to think the station will be near the former Dodgem/Theater location. Putting it back near Blue Streak seems like such a dead end. You could make an argument that it helps crowd spacing though, and there certainly is precedent (Mean Streak).

Near Dodgem's former location might be a bad location because that area gets congested with Luminosity at night.

Do you think the track will be sand-filled to muffle the noise with it's near proximity to Celebration Plaza?

I'm pretty sure all new B&M coasters are muffled.

Chuck Wagon said:

Putting it back near Blue Streak seems like such a dead end. You could make an argument that it helps crowd spacing though, and there certainly is precedent (Mean Streak).

What I will never understand is why they don't relocate Raptor's exit to the Blue Streak midway. Raptor pulls so many people in from the main midway, that it just seems like a no-brainer to have the exit over there, so that crowds are spread out a little better.

They could do the same for Dive Coaster 1. Put the entrance over by the ID midway (though I agree with Thabto that congestion could be an issue, which is why they need to fix that mess of an area, but I digress...), and have it dump folks out on the BS midway. Though in that case, the large distance between entrance and exit could be an issue.

Part of the problem with putting Raptor's exit on the BS midway is that the photo shop for Raptor is near it's current exit. They would need to move that if they want to sell photos. And another issue would be that there are buildings over there. In theory, it could come out where that sidewalk is next to C&P's, but I think you will need to cross some low zones to get there and that area is an employee backstage area.

Of course there would be logistics to work out, but I don't see any "show stoppers" that would make it that difficult to accomplish.

As for the photo building, given that Raptor is one of the park's most popular and iconic rides, it really should have its own gift shop (see Maverick, Gatekeeper). I would think increased souvenir sales alone would pay for most of the rework.

Agree, Raptor deserves a better entry/exit, the old entrance and exit has always seemed odd. Could utilize that grassy area under Raptor next to C&P (or re-purpose C&P itself) to get a gift shop/exit photo building, with a nice new entrance immediately to your left as you cross under Raptor to the "blue streak plaza". Alternatively, utilize part of the old pirate building for the gift shop and connect to the station and queue line by adding a path next to blue steak. Seems like the backstage areas would be minimally impacted by a fenced off walkway running along the edge, the trickier part is connecting it logically to the station.

Then you would have a plaza with 3 major rides, 2 of them bird themed: Birds of prey plaza ;)

Thabto said:

I'm pretty sure all new B&M coasters are muffled.

Not necessarily. It's still an option. Thunderbird is somewhat "roary," but I think the wheel type they're using is definitely less noisy than others.

Fury had a significant roar this summer when I visited Carowinds. It's not a Raptor roar, but it is quite loud.

I just hope that with a new shiny coaster beside it, Raptor gets some love and paint. Keep the same color scheme, but make it look shiny and new as well.

I just find it funny that they still need an FAA filing. You would think that after a few things were built over 200 ft in a very small amount of land that the FAA would just know that in the area low flying is a no go.

Weird how the FAA wants to know exactly where tall things are so the tall things can be avoided by things flying through the air....

....I mean, what with all those skyscrapers in Toledo and Cleveland, the FAA would just know low flying between the two is a bad idea.

And I don't see any reason why a plane should be flying that low. 200ft is very low for a plane and leaves very little room for error.

djDaemon said:

given that Raptor is one of the park's most popular and iconic rides, it really should have its own gift shop (see Maverick, Gatekeeper). I would think increased souvenir sales alone would pay for most of the rework.

The thought of Raptor being Iconic has me wondering which coasters at the Point people feel are most iconic. That would be an interesting thread. As great as Dive Coaster 1 is, I doubt it will have the iconic status that Millennium, Top Thrill Dragster, or GateKeeper have achieved at the park.

I always thought the layout of the coaster was kind of odd and didn't really interact with any of the midways as I thought it should. So I'm hoping a few tweeks happen.

I could foresee the station being located where the dodgems were, seeing as thought they are adding additional concrete there and not removing the stairs. Not sure why else you would need stairs if it's just a normal walkway.

And don't even get my started on bad entrance/exit locations. That's my biggest pet peeve in RCT3. My exits are never too far from the entrance, but never too close either. I believe Raptor's exit SHOULD be relocated to the BS midway and remove/refurbish the pirate ride into the on-ride photos.

^^ I wouldn't go as far as calling Gatekeeper "iconic."

I would. Have you seen the statement it makes at the front gate?