Why don't they buy new flatrides?

Just a question. Why doesn't CP like to buy new flat rides? Other than chaos I don't think I can remember when a new flat ride was introduced. There are some great looking rides out there with pretty decent capacity but you don't see them at CP.

I know you probably can't market a Hammerhead Stall but my thinking is the more people in line for those types of rides, the shorter the coaster lines which would make everyone happy. Any thoughts?

I think Chaos opened in 1998? Then they added all those Flat rides in camp snoopy in 1999.

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-Matthew Couts
RCT Recreations:
1.Cedar Point (vote best CP Recreation ever)
2.Kings Island

Judging by the current lines for flatrides, they attract a rather limited audience. Pretty much any day I'm at the park, the flat rides are still really short waits even if the coaster waits are decently long.

So, from a business standpoint, adding more flatrides probably would not help matters any, cost $$$, and will require more employees.

That said, I hope to a few new flat rides as part of an expansion such as the Boardwalk, but I see it as much more likely that they'd move their existing ones to the area.

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Joe McNally
01 MF Count - 9
Total MF Count - 23

www.fallentree.org

The Chaos was introduced at Cedar Point the summer of 1997. The boardwalk (Oceanic Midway) could see some flat rides by Huss.

Greg

Adding flat rides, if they're in the right locations, doesn't necessarily mean more employees. Lots of ride crews double or triple up on rides: Turnpike Cars runs Calypso, Space Spiral runs Schwabinchen, Matterhorn/Scramber/Dodgem are all the same crew, etc. It can be a nice change because you get to run totally different rides throughout the day. I think adding some new flat rides would be a good idea, filling in some lower-key thrills rather than roller coasters.

By the way, what rides does Camp Snoopy have that can be ridden by anyone (adults without a child present)? I was only by it once or twice last year, didn't get a chance to really check it out too much.

I think more flat rides could definately be added toward Oceana, back by Blue Streak (that's a huge blank space of Midway that could potentially be used for a not-too-big flat ride), and I'm sure other places around the park.

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/

Just Tilt-a-Whirl and Woodstock Express.
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VirtualMidway
http://www.virtualmidway.com

*** This post was edited by Gemini on 8/6/2001. ***

Wouldn't more flat rides still mean more employees because the first crew would need more people? Or does CP have more people than it needs on many rides?
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DIPPIN DOTS!!!111 THEY ROXOR YUR WORLD!!1!

You're right, the first crew would need more people, but not as much as if they were starting a whole new crew. In no way is CP overstaffed, however! Not with employees working 60+ hours each week, they don't have too many people. Earlier in the season the hours are shorter and the crews are more fully staffed, but certainly not now.

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/

In this post CedarPoint! said:
"The Chaos was introduced at Cedar Point the summer of 1997. The boardwalk (Oceanic Midway) could see some flat rides by Huss. "
In a post dealing with the Boardwalk Project, CedarPoint! was quoted as saying:
"The boardwalk project was'nt ever going to happen anyways.That was a bunch of smoke..I know certain people it wasnt in the plans. "
Hm, can we say hypocrite? Good, I knew you could! CedarPoint!, just for future reference, try to keep all your "facts" straight before you try to sound like a Lemon Chill guy.
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ANYWAYS. Back to the topic. Flat Rides are sometimes called "fillers" because they don't really cause that significant of a change to the park. They just kind of "fill" an area.
Another Correction: The Climbing Wall was the last flat ride put in. It was placed in 2000. It was never really announced. It just showed up.
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MF Laps: 2
Raptor Laps: 3
Magnum Laps: 2
Power Tower Launches: 1
Power Tower Drops: 1

*** This post was edited by ddogg on 8/7/2001. ***

I'm not sure I consider the climbing wall a flat ride. Don't you pay extra for that? I think the reason you don't see long lines for the flat rides is that the one's they have are past their prime. Chaos still draws a good line.

SFWoA has the Texas Twister which is a neat ride and gets a long line. For those of you that get Amusement Today there are always very cool looking "flat" rides being introduced and I think CP might do well with some.

I agree though, it probably would be part of creating a whole new "section" of the park.

The Rock costs $6.00 extra if it's the same price as last year...

Sure, Flat rides are nice, but don't we have enough to do at Cedar Point already?

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Jes
Webmaster, Jes's Roller Coasters
http://www.jesms.cjb.net

*** This post was edited by Zero-G on 8/8/2001. ***

yeah, 68 rides is alot!

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MF...taking thrills to new heights!

Yeah but 2 dozen of them are the rides in the kids section so there aren't a whole lot of 'thrilling' flat rides, just a bunch for little kids
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Matt - Skull Man of the Elite Eight
I stay crunchy...even in milk!

CP needs some flat rides that do not have overly-emphasized womens' chests towering over them.. ex: Schwabinchen and Ocean Motion. You'd think it would distract the male ride ops as well. ;-)

I'm sure that Cedar Point doesn't install more flat rides because the ROI (return on Investment) isn't very high. Everything Cedar Point puts in is there because of the money gained by the addition. Just go over to Coasterbuzz and check out the interview with Dick Kinzel...I don't know how many times he stresses ROI. Cedar Point's just like any other business or company...if it makes more money than it took to put in, it's a good investment. And frankly, I don't think all that many people would go to the park just to ride a new flat ride.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

*** This post was edited by CP_bound on 8/9/2001. ***

CP installs no new flats because no one rides them.

No one rides them because CP installs no new flats.

This, folks, is called a Catch-22. The real trick is that CP neuters the cycles on their flats, so no one *wants* to ride them.

Still, the Wave Swing, and any of the cars seem to do a pretty good business (this is universally true, it seems)