Project 2003 and Paddlewheel Excursions

With Project 2003 taking form, we all know some of the lagoons have been pumped out, and somewhat filled in. We also know that PWE is going to be altered again once Project 2003 is finished for the 2003 Season.

PWE has become more of a tour of the coasters around it, than the original scenery that once was there. Yes, many of the sets are still there, and the same old jokes are told day in and day out, but it appears that another coaster will just be added to the routine. Will Project 2003 kill the spirit of PWE? I have to say yes...

This season was my first ride on PWE. Although I'm probably missing out on the old wilderness-type setting, MF just adds another joke to the list :) I'm sure that once Dragster is up, we'll have some type of joke to laugh at... "This is Dragster, the fastest coaster on the planet. If only the line moved just as fast."

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Tommy Penner - Variable X
Cedar Point FanBoy since 2001. || Cruiser Boy since 2002.
"Pessimistic people are the happiest people on the planet. They're either right or pleasantly surprised."

hahaha...and...ha

I can honestly say by looking at the evidence presented by the construction that Paddlewheel will not be distrubed at all. It looks like it will travel the same route and the lagoons not altered at all. I don't see any evidence of the construction traveling to Millennium Island. I looks to me that the dirt and rock chunks filling in the lagoon section by Iron Dragon is going to be a minor change. I looks like there is plans to still have lagoon water on that side, but just a smaller amount.

My guess for 2003 is The paddle whel station will be in the exact same place as the building still stands. They could have very easily torn it down if it was no longer needed this year. And I think we'll see some sort of quus with a small lagoon channel beside them.
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- Chris -
http://www.thepointOL.com/~simplycp
2002 ATL Monster/Witches' Wheel

When I rode PWE early this year, before the tower began to rise, I asked the "driver" "Whats that over there..?" while pointing at the huge piles of dirt and he responded "that is the worlds largest sandbox.....wait 'till you see the pail and shovel that come with it!"....I just thought that was pretty funny. But I definatly see PWE changing, not too much tho, unless they tear up more. As of now it only looks as though they only "cut out" the area where they docked the xtra boats.

Yeah, I noticed the que building still intact when I was there this past weekend. I'm not doubting whether it will run the same circuit, but I'm merely stating that PWE will lose its original appeal that it once had. I want this new coaster, but if PWE becomes a bunch of jokes about coasters, then it is no longer a fun attraction to ride.

It was said somewhere earlier that Paddle Wheel was going to be redeisgned into something new for next season......dinosaurs pleeeeeeeeeeaaaase............

No one said it will be redesigned, CP said it will be reconfigured. To me that means it will have the same theme, but there will be detail differences in course of the ride.

I don't think there will be any water at all in the section of lagoon that is drained. I am thinking that this part of the lagoon system will be filled in completely, and will form the loading station and queue line for the ride.

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Florida may have Disneyworld and Key West,
but Ohio has Cedar Point and Put-In-Bay.
It's great to live in Ohio!

You don't call a 400ft tower behind the station a change? Think of the photo ops you will get of the pullout of the drop while riding PE. I shot POV in '99 before the Force was built. I would love to get PE POV before Mantis was built and see a WC POV as well.

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Dan Haverlock
"How do you own disorder?"

For my money, paddlewheel is already a ghost of the former boat rides (particularly western cruise). Perhaps this is just because I was a kid at the time, but you felt like you were leaving the park back there (much as with the frontier lift). With the coaster buildup around the lagoon, that effect is lost.

A quote from a post on 9-4-02:

Received a reply from Sandra Jenkins----"Cedar Point will build a major new ride for next summer.. Parts have already begun to arrive and construction is scheduled to begin after Labor Day. Chaos, Troika, and Paddlewheel Excursion will close on Labor Day due to construction of the new ride. Chaos and Troika will be relocated next season and Paddlewheel Excursion will be revamped next season. A formal announcement with additional details will be made at a later date."

"Revamped" sounds like more than just possibly moving the queue and station, both of which do not seem to be in the path of the coaster, so far. It also seems that PWC will still be able to complete it's current circuit from the various satellite views available.
Time will tell.......

Or could "revamped" mean that the scenes will be updated?

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Scott W. Short, Rail Junkie
mailto:scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

That's what I was hoping Shivering Tim. It would make an awesome Jurrassic Park-type ride. There are a lot of dead spots along the train track where they could place much of the classic scenes it has now.

Finally, someone is analyzing and reading into someone else's words!

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP
Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure

And you're surprised by that? You're the closest thing to a CP official who is publicly saying anything about the ride outside acknowledging it's existance. :)

As for the dino themed ride. That's a neat idea, but I'm not sure CP will go for any sort of highly themed extravagantly complex animatronic attraction. Heck, I'm just happy that Bucky Beaver and his tree work on a regular basis :)
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Scott W. Short, Rail Junkie
mailto:scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

*** This post was edited by ShiveringTim 10/8/2002 1:57:06 PM ***

I would hate to see PWE become a dinosaur themed ride. It has moved enough away from Western Cruise, it doesn't need to move any more. Besides, didn't the dinosaur craze more or less end with Jurrasic Park in the mid-90's?

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

*** This post was edited by Gemini 10/8/2002 2:05:29 PM ***

Kids never tire of dinosaurs.

No, Jurrassic Park kind of started the craze off. Dinosaurs are still pretty huge, especially if you have kids. They had an exhibit here at the Detroit Zoo two summers ago that was very impressive, without being too involved mechanically. The detail to the dinosaurs was incredible, and they were life-size. It was a walk through the woods, in a part they don't usually use at the zoo. It really packed them in that summer. I think it was called "Dinosauria." The word "revamp" itself sounds like a shot in the arm, or a make-over to me, not a relocation of a loading dock.

The last thing PWE needs is to become a children's ride.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

It would still be a family ride actually, like it is now. Don't you think? We're not talking Barney-type dinosaurs.