Why did Avalanche Run get a makeover?

We all know the story of Avalanche Run. It was built in 1985 and later upgraded to the indoor coaster we knew and loved called Disaster Transport. I've always wondered what pushed that upgrade after only 5 years of operation. Was the ridership low or was the coaster not as exciting as Cedar Point had hoped for? I tried searching the forums for the answer, but couldn't find anything. Does anyone know?

I think it had been mentioned here before that they were having a problem with sand blowing into the troughs. Whether or not there is truth to that, I don't know.

Having ridden an outdoor version of the same ride at Six Flags over Texas, it's just as boring as it was enclosed.

I rode a similar version of this ride at Kings Dominion and I enjoyed it. It was the only big kid roller coaster my 40" tall son could ride.

It was a decent ride and one that diversifies the portfolio of rides.

One of the things that people hated with DT was the misleading cue line with a disappointing ride. You'd unknowingly commit yourself to over an hour wait only to be sorely disappointed in the end.

Right, but it seems like an awful amount of money to throw at what some could consider a sub-par coaster. I rode it back in 1990 or 1991 when I was 5 or 6 and it was ridiculously fun. But I was also a kid.

Kinzel was emphatic about bring something like Space Mountain to Cedar Point. He took the entire board of directors to Orlando, and more or less said..."we need this at Cedar Point". He was like a kid in a candy store seeing what he wanted, and "no" wasn't exactly an option.

They more or less agreed.

They found a cheap route to take for the scenery, never bothered to factor in $$ for upkeep, and Kinzel said "never again" to extensive theming for a ride.

Story from a highly reliable source. :) It wasn't sand, it was impulsiveness.

Kevinj said:

...and Kinzel said "never again" to extensive theming for a ride...

That explains a lot! I was shocked when I visited Kings Dominion on how nice the themeing was there - it was a completely different culture and experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4p3uwUpZlo
Fast Forward to 5:30

Yes, Kinzel took the trip to Disney but it was not just Space Mountain - it was the recent opening of Star Tours and the whole Disney/Lucas partnership. The kicker was the queue line theming on Star Tours and the theme of the shuttle trip gone wrong.

And honestly, as much as Kinzel may of hated the theming (costs)within the new Disaster Transport, I thought that the designers got it right - both in the queue and during the ride - especially for where Cedar Fair was/is compared to the Disney level of theming rides.

Also - how believable was it to place a "bobsled"/alpine themed ride next to the hot beach in summer - really. Total contradiction. That kind of theme should have been done in the woods with lots of trees where "cold" would have been more believable. Those pine trees they planted through out the ride layout looked so pitiful and out of place there next to the beach. That I think had as much to do with the re-theming as did the Disney factor.

AlexGillman said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4p3uwUpZlo
Fast Forward to 5:30

Great video, never saw that before. Beautifully done. Thanks for sharing

Your welcome, I just want to put this out there, I didn't make the video, and I don't want to take someone else's credit. Also, yes they did a great job with the video, some parts of it even gave me goose bumps. :)

Great video. I seem to remember reading a Kinzel interview somewhere where also said the Avalanche Run was "not as exciting as they hoped".

Motion in every shot is a bit of a rookie mistake. Just because you have a dolly or jib doesn't mean you need to use it in every shot, especially for talking heads.

I'd rather have the smooth motion over the inexplicable trend of shaky and intentional amateurish camera shots a la The Office.