What do you think were Cedar Point/Cedar Fair's worst investments?

Rides are considered investments. -> Dinos Alive isn't a ride.

Worst: Shoot the Rapids hands down, for obvious reasons.

Best: Maverick. It goes to show that height and record breaking speed is not important to make a good ride. I love this thing and the 2nd launch tunnel is just amazing. A little part of me gets sad once the train I'm in passes the on ride photo section because you know the ride is almost over :)

I looked at the history of defunct/retired rides and see that Vertigo started and ended in 2001. I don't know if it's the worst investement financially.....but putting something in that doesn't last a year has got to be pretty bad.

TwistedWicker77 said:
Rides are considered investments. -> Dinos Alive isn't a ride.

But DA is an investment.

Worst investment would be the aqua stadium. It has been reinvented several times, and yet still detracts from what could be the best area in the park.

djDaemon said:
So instead of this being a discussion about poor investments, this thread is really "rides I don't like".

That wasn't the objective of this thread. Many people are saying STR. But I think many people see it as a boring ride. The only problem I recall was the incident this year. I chose Windseeker as a bad investment because of all the mechanical issues. I think the one at KBF has been SBNO for about a year. The one at Carowinds broke down a few weeks ago which caused CP to close theirs as well for inspecitons.

I'll go with this list

1a. Top Thrill Dragster

1b. Over-paying for the Paramount Parks

2. Shoot the Rapids

3. Disaster Transport

"We put a $4 million building around this dog ride and named it "Disaster Transport." I still remember on opening day a gentleman walked out of the ride and came over to me and said, 'You named that one right -- that's a disaster.' And you know what, he was right. That was by far the dumbest thing I ever did."

I don't know how you could say TTD was one of the worst investments. Sure, it might of been at first but look at it 10 years later. The best investment was by far Magnum. Magnum started it all and put Cedar Point on the map.

I'll never understand the hatred for Dragster. Despite its growing pains in its first few years, it has come a LONG way from what it use to be. And in many trips, I've seen it up more than other "more reliable" rides. It may be a one trick pony (something else I'll never understand since a lot of rides are otp's)or pointless to some people, but it's still one of Cedar Point's more popular rides. And it definitely brought in a lot of people to the coaster scene (like myself).

If it was still as problematic as it was in the past and people didn't enjoy the ride, then I'd be more willing to agree with it being a bad investment. But I just can't agree with it being on a list of the worst considering it's past. It's far more marketable than STR and it's a crowd pleaser. And I swear I'm not just saying this because I'm its biggest fan. ;)

I will agree, though, that STR is turning out to be one of the worst. I don't really hate the ride but it really feels like it was a missed opportunity on CP's part. It just doesn't deliver what a classic style log flume could and it's recent problems have put a really dark cloud over it.

As far as best, I would have to say either Magnum or Millennium due to their influence on the industry.

^Adam I agree with the first two paragraphs you mentioned. I want to bring up one point though. Even though Shoot the Rapids had this mishap this year, It still seems like the average park guest enjoys the ride. I remember coming in June before the Incident and people were simply just enjoying the ride. I'm not sure how long the lines were but, it still seems like a fun ride to the average park guest. It may not be like the traditional water flumes, but to me anyway, it's a fun water ride. My only question for anyone on here is does anyone know if Graffica at Holiday World has the same amount of problems that Shoot the Rapids has?

^^I completely agree with everything you said. I also find it amazing how many people still view TTD as a terrible investment.

Maverick00 said:
I don't know how you could say TTD was one of the worst investments. Sure, it might of been at first but look at it 10 years later.

Well, it helps that the CEO at the time said it was the worst investment. However, that was 2005 and even Mr. Kinzel said that he hoped he could say otherwise in the future.

When a company invests in a park to build a new ride, they do so with the goal of making more money by drawing more people to the park. Having that ride be a part of a solid overall line up is a secondary concern. This is true of all new rides and attractions.

Cedar Point built Top Thrill Dragster with expectation that it would make a gigantic splash. It was the tallest and fastest in the world. They expected it to be at least as successful as Millennium and Magnum had been. Instead, it was a complete flop for 2 whole years. They couldn't keep it operating. The launch system had problems. It could never run 6 trains. It tossed theming from the train into the lagoon. It failed to draw the attendance and positive media attention that it should have given the $25+ million price tag.

To look at it another way, Raptor cost $11.5 million and Mantis cost $12 million. Do you really think TTD was worth the investment of those 2 coasters combined? At best, I think if TTD had been $12 million it would have been a worthwhile investment.

I don't hate Dragster and I don't think it's a bad ride. It just wasn't even close to being worth $25 million dollars. (I did hate standing in line a dozen times in 2003-2004 only to have it break down before I got to ride.)

djDaemon said:

TwistedWicker77 said:
Rides are considered investments. -> Dinos Alive isn't a ride.

But DA is an investment.

Correct, which is why I was replying to your comment at the bottom of page 1 in the first place. Not everybody's response is about "rides I don't like", seeing that DA is not a ride and was also said to be one of the worst investments at the park :)

I feel it would have been a better investment if they would have had exclusive rights to the design. If they would have done that, it would still hold the title of the tallest in the world.

Chuck Wagon said:
It failed to draw the attendance and positive media attention that it should have given the $25+ million price tag.

Does anything really do that anymore?;)

p.s.- Yes yes, Gatekeeper is an exception. :P

That's a good question. I have no idea how Cedar Point or any park determines if an investment was a success or not. So really it is all just opinion.

I thought they asked enthusiasts

I think I once heard that parks like to make 30% of ROI. That number seems a little low but I've heard it before.

Sometimes, the low numbers are good. :P

Avalanche Run/Disaster Transport was definitely a poor investment.

Arguably the black eye the park took in 2003 and 2004 for Top Thrill Dragster could be considered a poor investment. The thing still breaks down often 10 years later. It generated a heck of a buzz though.

Geauga Lake for sure was a bad investment, although getting rid of competition was surely good overall.

Some great investments include Magnum XL-200, Millennium Force, Raptor, and the Paramount parks (especially Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland)

I'm sure Carowinds will be at the top of this list in the next 5-10 years. It sounds like they really want to make it one of the top parks in the chain.