Re: Demon Drop To Knott's?
The Ohio vs Cali weather plays almost a zero factor, but in today's regulatory environment, it is getting harder and harder to move major rides. However, in this case, California already has significant engineering paperwork, case studies, litigation, and preferred maintenence records on a Generation One Freefall. Cedar Points and SFMM were built to the same specs, and Cedar Point's has been maintained.
The Geauga Lake model did have new cars manufactured when the ride was in Ohio. That little know fact did not make a better ride. One selling point of the older free-falls is that less adventurous riders will brave the free-fall in leiu of the mambo-jambo sized tower drops.
If this happens, its a good move on paper, since you only need about 3 trailers to move the ride, Intamin is probably dismantling it when they arrive to start on Shoot the Rapids, and the same crane rental can be used if the timing is there.
Intamin is a busy company now, and small projects like this keep the ball rolling for project managers, and well, if that ride is sitting in the parking lot with a 'for sale' sign on it, Intamin can't sell parts.
Whats the worse that happens? Once DCA removes the Mali-Boomer in 2011, Knott's has the free-fall market to themselves, minus Tower of Terror, which is in its own division.