Vertical Construction Has Begun!

Shawn Meyer said:
Does anyone know if they are going to put a roof up for the entrance?

What makes you think they wont? :)

As far as the gap in the tower goes, I think it's fine. If it is indeed suppose to be that way and not filled, then they did it for a reason.

Also, check out these renderings of the entrance! And holy crap am I LOVING the new look!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/Dragster420/awesome_zps8a08c97e.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/Dragster420/wow_zps04f48e09.png

Here's the video those renderings are from. Another awesome behind the scenes look.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=277929

Rcoaster10 said:
They must be putting some paneling up over the gap.

Not likely. Those bolts holding the two sections together need to be inspected on a regular basis. Doesn't look like covering the gap would allow for easy access for said inspections.

Why not just put a little door. That would make easy inspections.

The new entrance looks amazing!!! It kinda looks like a modern version of Kings Islands entrance. Cant wait to see it in person. =)

^^ looks fantastic. I just hope they plant that many trees. Love the sign idea too. I never thought of that. I'm pumped

Rcoaster10 said:
Why not just put a little door. That would make easy inspections.

Not as easy as simply leaving the joint uncovered.

At first, the disconnected look was strange, but I think it actually looks really nice.

It reminds me of a giant tuning fork. :)

Here's my *mean* statement of the day...

If the gate is going to look that good (as shown in the renderings), before you get into the park..

Won't just inside the park look run-down a bit. (Immediate impression)

Ocean motion looks good, but old buildings to the left and right, old sky ride.

Just a weird thought... Hope the inside get spruced up a bit too.

Sky Ride did just get a paint job and a recovered platform at the end of last season. Who knows what else they have planned for the main entrance area inside the park. We'll have to wait and see.

the new front gate looks amazing. My first thought was the magic kingdom entrance. How and where the ticket buildings are and how they funnel you toward the center really remind me of that style of entrance.

In other words, i love it!

I think that the gap is growing on me too. I think once we see everything finished the gap will seamlessly blend into the rest of the architecture.

I really hope that they stay true to the amount of trees there are in the renderings. Standing right by that new cedar point sing is really going to be an interesting experience.

And PB-reader. Word up. i think they do intend on giving certain parts of the entrance a reboot.

I don't think the bolts would necessarily need to be inspected regularly. I guess it depends on how it would be classified. If they're considered supports for the ride then probable but if they're just normal structural bolts that might connect members of a building then they probably wouldn't.

Either way the fact that there's no connection point at the top of the tower would lead me to believe that there may not be any paneling after all. The tops of those tower would move quite a bit with wind and the force of the trains going through.

BleauxJays said:
I don't think the bolts would necessarily need to be inspected regularly.

The tops of those tower would move quite a bit with wind and the force of the trains going through.

You kinda contradicted yourself. Your second statement is reason the bolts would need to be inspected regularly.....

But look at any high rise building. Those sway a bunch, but you don't inspect bolts holding the steel members in place. Once they're torqued you're done. You inspect bolts on Coaster supports because you have massive dynamic loading hundreds of times every day. The bolts tend to shift and come loose.

That's why I said it depends on how the engineer would classify the bolts holding the two tower sections together.

The towers are coaster supports, quite obviously.

The gap to me would look alright except for the connectors in the middle. Not too fond of those but oh well

Well yeah of course, but I'm not sure how a piece that connects the two would be treated, probably would also be subject to inspection requirements, you guys are right.

I can't say I'm a fan of the blue obelisk with the logo in those renders, as much as the rest of it looks awesome. I'd have rather they had the logo across the roof of the main gate or, if it wasn't there, something a bit more muted, because that blue slab as it is sticks out really badly.

I assume they're intending that point in the plaza to be a major photo spot, so it seems they wanted the logo to be framed by the towers to anyone positioned in front of the planter.

Has anyone thought that maybe the gap is there for track installation??

How would the gap running up the middle of the column 20 feet below the location of the track aid in installation?