The Boardwalk - New for 2023

That would be nice, but hope springs eternal. At best they hung onto that fabulous, large Calypso sign with the lightbulbs. Fingers crossed. The fountain lights along the periphery were used on Tiki Twirl so I assume for now that they’re just off being painted. The panels with the hearts could be easily reproduced, but the original hearts had lights in them. I reckon any return of them would involve flat, plastic or painted things.
I’m all for CP holding on to their Calypso, it is by now a bit of a relic, but I wish it wouldn’t sit so close to Scrambler. Between those two and Troika there’s a lot of spinny/twirly along that stretch. I’ll mention again that I also wish I was happier about this new area, (which save for the Mouse, isn’t exactly).

There has been some debate among Cedar Point fans about whether or not the Matterhorn ride used to go backwards at some point. For those who have ridden the ride in the past, can you confirm or deny this claim? If it did go backwards, what was it like and what would you think about the ride returning to this type of operation?

Never a day. I worked right next to Matterhorn during its inaugural season and it ran exactly the way it does today. I’ve heard similar stories about Super Himalaya and the answer is the same. No.
Maybe your friends are thinking about the ones that travel to the state fairs. Belle City would bring a Rock n Roll (Bertazzon, I think) to the Ohio State Fair and it would reverse direction mid-cycle. I’m not a fan of backwards, and I’m not sure how to describe what “it’s like”. It’s backwards. I’m not sure what else to say.
I also tend to think that Cedar Point’s policy would be that stopping a ride to make it reverse is not the safest practice. At the park rides start once and end once per cycle. No stop/start.

Having rode Matterhorn numerous times I have no knowledge of it operating in reverse. The best thing I can mention about it is that a few seasons ago the music included hard rockin' "Space Truckin'" by Deep Purple. Also of note is that Mrs. jimmyburke dreaded being assigned to a car that was at a steep incline when entering or exiting as it was very difficult for her to climb in or out when it was rocking (bad hip). I would try to get there to stabilize it but was often in a different car with my son.

It's amazing how wild and creative some of the rumors about Cedar Point's rides can get. Thank you for sharing your knowledge about the park!

Say, Alex. Have your added your zip code to the pinboard? Hm?

Super Himalayas and Matterhorns at all the fairs I've ever been to run forward and reverse. I seem to remember CP's running backwards at some point. I could be conflating memories. I also remember one of them being by Gemini. Am I wrong about that l? Anyway, here's a video of a Matterhorn going backwards and forwards.

Those Wisdom rides are awful. All flash and no ride. Notice that (forward or not) it’s nowhere near the same as Cedar Point’s Matterhorn or it’s Super Himalaya for that matter. Cheap junk, if you ask me.
Anyway, nobody’s doubting that it happens, it just doesn’t happen at Cedar Point.

Maybe it doesn't anymore. But it might have. I remember it going both ways.

AIex:

There has been some debate among Cedar Point fans about whether or not the Matterhorn ride used to go backwards at some point.

Interesting question, and welcome to Pointbuzz.

First of all, memory can be a strange fuzzy thing, and I trust RCMAC's history of the park.

That said, I can't lie; I also have a memory of Matterhorn going backwards every other cycle as a kid (this would be mid 80's). In fact I know I've told my daughters "you know when daddy was your age, this would sometimes go backwards!"

Weird.

Looks like there's a Mandela effect going on here. I never knew that it could possibly go backwards.

I remember the ride reversing, but as a memory it doesn’t link to CP, pretty sure it was the fair version. I remember gliding to a stop (with the grinding metal rubbing sound) and it starting up again in reverse.

Is my fuzzy memory of Witches Wheel running backwards wrong?

Yes, that ride was never designed to run in reverse.

What about Wicked Twister? I'm sure I remember that going both forward and backward.

And I recall there being days when the park flipped the Upside Fun House and made it just the Fun House. But I admit those memories are a little fuzzy.

Did the Geauga Lake Musik Express and/or Matterhorn/Yukon Yahoo ever go backward? I know neither did in the years I went to the park (1993 to the end) but I'm not sure if either did in their earlier days.

I'm still not happy about the Witches Wheel removal. Lots of good memories riding that as a teenager with chicks. It brought a whole new meaning to "sit tight" ;)

I find you exhausting.

And definitely not fuzzy.