2004 the year of the Mouse?

There may have been some big rides that eventually failed to make a difference for their parks, but they almost always make a positive difference in the short-term. Think of the big rides that put heretofore "unknown" parks on the map, e.g. Shivering Timbers.

X and the Deja Vu trio... well, that's another story.

http://pouringfooters.blogspot.com

Jeff said:
And there never were any coaster wars, only the realization that building really big coasters was good for business.

Good busisness decisions, yes. However, from 1989 - 2000 (and then some you could say) it seemed that everyone was out for bragging rights. I think this is the time frame that folks refer to when they say "coaster wars." Every park that built something slapped some "-est" superlative on it and marketed the snot out of it.

It's kind of funny that Cedar Point started the "wars" with Magnum and seems to, for now, have finished it with TTD.

This is what a wild mouse should be like... http://onride.de/bilder/klotten100104/6.jpg

Picture taken from onride.de http://www.onride.de/viewtopic.php?t=3422

It's a welcome trend, but not yet going far enough. Bring back the wooden mice, THEN you're talking...

--Greg
"You seem healthy. So much for voodoo."

According to AB, there is 22 new coaster installations underway for 2004 in the US. Three woodies are being built (two by S&S, one by GCI).The rest are various steel coasters, the largest project being the Mack built Journey to Atlantis at Seaworld San Diego. Looking at the list, yes the majority of the steel rides are mouses, with Mauer Sohne being the dominant supplier. Is this a bad thing? I'll take a good mouse to a Boomarang any day!

The wooden mice are truly wild. They never really got their chance to shine, because steel came around about the same time as well. Either bring back the wood, or some kickin' steel designs that have a modern tilting cars. With the twistability of steel and the novelty of tilting, a heck of a lot could be done.

I remember riding the wooden mouse at CP in the late 60's. It was called the Scamper and was located to the right of Jungle Larry's entrance about where the Matterhorn now sits. Those old wooden mouse rides are the best. They may not have spun, but boy did they feel precarious. My favorite mouse today would be Blackpool's. That mouse is truely wild, and it's a woodie. The best woodie at Blackpool in my opinion. Well...at least the scariest!!;)

Wood - anything else is an imitation

dexter said:

I LOVE Reverchon's sinning mice.

They make mice that committ adultery?!?!

(Sorry Dexter..I am not making fun of you..I just found it comical how the simple omission of a letter made that statement so much different.)

As for the original posters question. I think that the abundance of mouse installations this season is more a matter of economics. Parks are looking for a less expensive way of bringing people into the parks. A new coaster almost always brings new people in, but the larger steel structures are too expensive given the state of todays economy and the lower attendance at many parks last season. I wouldn't say this is the end of the coaster "boom"...but maybe a small dip in the cycle. The GP still want the "-est" coasters, but right now many parks just can't afford to build them.

Sean

No further explanation needed. I'm hopelessly lost.

auscoasterman said:
The wooden mice are truly wild. They never really got their chance to shine, because steel came around about the same time as well. Either bring back the wood, or some kickin' steel designs that have a modern tilting cars. With the twistability of steel and the novelty of tilting, a heck of a lot could be done.

Mack has a new wild mouse concept that will open at Linnamäki this year. The cars can fit 6 riders and they can tilt! The concept is called Fun Coaster and anyone who has been to the latest IAAPA shows might be able to explain the concept further on...

How about the wooden coasters that are opening this year? Thunderhead is shaping up to be GCII's best coaster to date, Clementon is investing in their future and building a new wooden coaster and the Dells will become even more saturated with wood coasters with a fourth one being built. Let's not forget that, not too long ago, there were years when NO wooden coasters were built. I'd say that things are a bit slower than they have been in the past, but things are still very good overall!