Thought-provoking question

cpthomasf91 said:
They added Maverick this year, which proved to be a very successful ride here at CP.

The ride has been open a week. It hasn't proven anything yet. The question is what it does in 5, 10, or 15 years. Not what it does in the first week of opening. The new ride is ALWAYS popular.

OK, here's my serious "not attempting to throw off the thread with my wit and sarcasm" answer.

The beauty of CP is that it is ever-changing. In the 1960's the corkscrew would seem unimaginable, in the 1970's Gemini was inconcievable, and in the 1980's the Demon Drop was INSANE! (insert creepy demondropdemondropdemondrop commercial voiceover here).

The BEST part about Cedar Point is that absoultely no-one here has any idea of what the year 2027 will look like...but we can all be guaranteed that it will be a blast, and I'll be taking (maybe) my first grandchild there.

Let's just pray to whatever respective gods we pray to that Disaster Transport is gone by then.

Who is hoping for a 500-foot anything? Hopefully no one. They don't need it.

^ I am. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of this low to the ground/high speed approach. But I would love to see and ride 500 ft or higher in my time. *** Edited 6/4/2007 2:01:55 PM UTC by Coastern3rd***

I would love to see a 500+ coaster "in my time" as well. Given coasters are planned years in advance and Mr. Kinzel is retiring in 5 years - Only Mr. Kinzel knows?

I also concur that a large mix of family rides are critical to success. The good news is that they are very inexpensive compared to rides like, potentially freeing up long-term capital.

My guess is that a woodie and maybe a "wingwalker" will arrive at CP before we see a 500+ footer. With that said, I'd love to be wrong!

Kinzel said himself that the technology is there to do 800'+ roller coasters, its just the initial investment would be a fortune, and it would not benefit the park as far as finances. Lets leave it up to Six Flags to make those decisions for now ;)

I would rather see them replace a few of the coasters like Iron Dragon and Cedar Creak Mine Ride and replace them with coasters of the same caliber, but with more interesting layouts. A nice Boardwalk woodie would be my next personal choice in a new coaster.

I guess I really dont see "what direction they're going in" as being a big mystery.

Magnum ushered in the "biggest fastest tallest" era, and the last rides installed were Maxair, SkyHawk, and Maverick.

Seem pretty obvious what direction the park is headed, and it's needed.

But, I mean, you're talking about the next 20 years. Not the next five or even ten. Chances are they probably will go for another record breaking coster for height. Technology is always moving forward at an accelerated rate. The technology for a higher coaster will be there at a cheaper price as time moves forward. Cedar Point will probably get one for themselves...hopefully after it has been tested somewhere else.

Personally, I've seen enough steel for now. Lets use the latest and greatest technology to build a knock your socks off wooden coaster, and it doesn't have to be on the same scale as MS. Maverick has already proved that point in the steel category.

A better question is how high are riders willing to ride?

S&S power stated that the abolute limit for a space shot (up) ride is about 300 ft. But that there are no mechanical limits to how tall they could make a turbo drop (down).

Would you ride a 400 foot turbo drop? What about 500? 600+? I think at some point you'd reach a height where fear would start to adversely affect ridership.

In the 1980's were people thinking, oh, I wonder when CP will build the first 400fter? Probably not. Probably not even thinking about 300ft.

20 years is a long time. Who knows what will happen...

mk522,

Take a look at Voyage. It is taller than Mean Streak yet a far superior ride. The hybrid structure uses steel supporting.

The issues with Mean Streak are generated from a wooden structure that cannot handle the fatigue wear of full speed operation for long. Steel is stronger and tougher than wood and can be used in structural shapes simular to wood.

The track is wooden and would make the ride simular to a wooden coaster. Because of the significantly lower structure maintenance cost, the work can be concentrated on keeping the track in good shape. The result would be a ride that isn't painfully rough but gives an out of control feeling.

Also the intensity of the ride can increase without causing excessive maintenance costs.

Outside of that, Mean Streak's layout is poor and is tamed down from that with trims. It does look like a great coaster, especially at night.

Ok this may seem odd or maybe even impossible but i was thinking of a great idea. think of a hanging stand up coaster. like a mantis with an inverted track like raptor. is this even possible? if so it would be an amazing new type of ride to see

There's no real reason to and Maverick proves that. I can't seem them doing it.

I think there is no need for a 500+ ride at Cedar Point. It would be very costly to build and maintain. I think what Cedar Point needs now is some sort of unique flying coaster. I've always thought that a flying coaster would fit right in the park and would attract crowds :)

Jump to Conclusions,

I appreciate the follow up, but I didnt mean to say that MS is bad ride or anything, but something new and fresh in a wooden category would be a great addition.