The Rumors

I know this topic is 20 years old, but I didn't want to start a new thread about rumors, when we have one in storage. My friend heard a rumor that my favorite ride at Cedar Point might be going to another Cedar Fair park after this season. Has anyone heard that rumor lately? I know right now there's rumors that gerslauer or a new wooden roller coaster is on the rise so I don't know how true this rumor is.

What ride, Shawn?

Rougarou

Rumors can be fun. There's a certain logic to Rougarou, like Wicked Twister. Also ran coasters at CP that could be bigger hits at small parks in the chain that NEVER get new coasters anymore. I think of Scream like that at Magic Mountain as well. I really enjoy Rougarou and would miss it, but it certainly is a location they could put something very exciting on, were it to be removed.

While I'm not sure the Mantis to Rougarou conversion really paid off with increased ride popularity like the park may have hoped, the location of the ride intertwined with the water, the train, and Iron Dragon may make them a little less eager to remove and relocate than if it was in a parking lot like Scream at Magic Mountain. That said, a ride like Rougarou that is lower second tier for CP could easily be the headliner at a park like Valleyfair, Worlds of Fun or Michigan's Adventure.

^ I found this link online yesterday that could be a hint towards Rougarou. I think a lot of people we're expecting the restraints of either Maverick or Gatekeeper when they did the conversion. Also some people thought the route might be somewhat different from Mantis to Rougarou. That's my thought on that. While I would be sad to see Rougarou leave Cedar Point, I would be happy to see it have new life at a lower tier park like the one's you mentioned.

Not to be THAT guy... Although rumors can be fun, speculation is always fun, I would take a video from a youtube channel with less than 500 subscribers with a YUUUUUGE grain of salt. I mean, even more well established "news and rumor" sites are wrong more times than not. Heck, when I worked at GL we used to send in rumors to certain sites just for sh*ts and giggles.

I am not gonna say it's impossible, I personally think removing Vortex from Carowinds, doing a floorless conversion and installing at MiA would be a fantastic idea. So removing Rougarou and installing in Valleyfair as an idea isn't a stretch, I just wouldn't work myself up over it. I think this channel is just a few fans giving their thoughts and ideas on what they hope will happen as Valleyfair has gone a few years since their last coaster install.

On the brightside, if it happens the ride still exists and may motivate you to visit Valleyfair. It's a fun little park if you've never been. That and with MoA in the area it makes a fun little trip. I even flew in from CLE, went to Valleyfair and flew back all in the same day. Sadly, when I went I completely forgot about MoA or I would've made it a overnight trip. lol

When Rougarou's days are done at Cedar Point, it really is a perfect candidate to get transferred.

Mantis/Rougarou and Iron Dragon both sit on a sweet piece of real-estate in the park with their interaction with the lagoon and, to some degree (for ID) the trees...not to mention each other.

Just anecdotal, but Rougarou seems to have a pretty decent ridership.

Kevinj, I don't have the ridership stats, I will just give my "eye" stats. I believe Rougarou's rider numbers were greatly inflated last season, that is to say to me it seemed to be much more crowded than usual. Due to all the Covid-19 protocoll's I observed guests going to any old ride they could to try to get on something, and Rougarou certainly was jammed. Previous seasons it seemed easy to glance at the line when riding the CPLE RR and make the decision to hop into that relatively short line.

When Cartwright labeled it as "lower second tier for CP" I thought Shawn would have quite a reaction to that, but I commend him for his restraint.

I like the layout of Rougaru but I just can't stand the head banging. I've brought groups of friends and they would get excited about the idea of Rougaru, but I can't help but shoot down their expectations because of the fact you get a mild concussion each ride because of those restraints. It just seems obvious that they should install the best style that are on Gatekeeper and Valravn and Maverick

I've been disappointed by that as well. I've found "target tracking" (picking a point of the ride to track visually) helps my neck actually prepare for most manuvers without headbanging too much but it's still there.

It's an ok ride that would be a lot better if they changed the restraints out. But as other have discussed it's not top of the line for the park.

It's been my understanding that such a retrofit is not possible, since the new B&M trains are too wide for the station. Well, maybe it's technically "possible," but would require B&M to design entirely new trains, which sounds way beyond cost prohibitive.

Rougarou is one of my favorites (#5) after TTD MF Mav Val. I haven't established a like/dislike yet for Steel Vengeance because of a lack of somewhere/something to hold onto.

'Head banging' on Rou is no different from 'head banging' on Mav. After riding any ride a number of times, you learn when to hold on, stiffen your body, and stiffen your neck. Since the track was left the same as Mantis, I've learned long ago where those 'points' are. I don't think I've ever had a 'bad' ride on Rou. I really enjoy the last row and watching the forward parts of the train go thru all the twists.

I don't think there is head banging on Maverick, but it is a perfect example of how the vest restraints are the reason. I remember riding is and banging my ears on the restraints. And then a few years ago they switched them to the vest style. Now more head banging. Head banging is different than head movement. Sure my head moves around on Maverick but it doesn't hit anything while it's flying around. Rougaru is terrible. The vests could make the ride, rideable.

Im not sure why installing vest restraints wouldn't be possible. Those trains were made by B&M only a few years ago. Anything is possible, and making a perfectly good ride layout usable by making it more comfortable seems like a no brained compared to the cost of removing the ride and replacing it with something else. Especially assuming that installing a coaster in a swamp seems more complex and expensive than a coaster on land.

MrJohnJLewis said:

Im not sure why installing vest restraints wouldn't be possible.

Do an image search for, say, Banshee and compare the restraints to those on Rougarou. You'll clearly see that the newer restraints are significantly wider, and there's four of them in each row, meaning the entire train must be quite a bit wider, meaning the entire station would need an enormous overhaul. Hence, cost prohibitive.

...making it more comfortable seems like a no brained compared to the cost of removing the ride and replacing it with something else.

Says the person not writing the check... ;-)

Not to mention they already had to make the stopping points wider in the Rougarou conversion. All the handrails on the lift and brake sections throughout had to be pushed out or offset just to accommodate the clearance envelope of the floorless trains.

Rougarou would have been fine by me if they had made 3 across trains with the vest restraints. It's not the most popular ride, so, lower volume with 3- 24 person trains would have been fine.

As far as head banging goes, ride near the back of the train, you MIGHT get a head tap in the corkscrew. In the front, my head felt like a ping pong ball. Not one of the best floorless coasters out there, but I still enjoy it.

Curious as to if there are any 3-across trains out there? Seems like there would be a lot of single empty seats being sent out.

^There are very few coasters, such as Thunderbolt(LOVE) at Coney Island. The thing is, wouldn't you rather wait in a longer line if your head won't get beaten up in any row?

When I think back to 2015, Mantis being converted wasn't the best thing that happened at CP...For me, it was Maverick getting new OTSR's.

I feel like you're trivializing the amount of resources required to design and manufacture a new train. For a one-off conversion of a then-19 year old ride, no less.