Can Cp get another woodie?

Jeff is exactly right. To the average person a wooden coaster is old. Most people when they here the word wood make them think the ride must be old and rough.

Just another reason why CF needs to get some new woodies out there. Show these people that wood can still be fun. :)

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Jeff said:

I swear, enthusiasts can't think of anything other than their own views.

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hehehe...Jeff's being funny again. :P

Wood Coaster Fan Club - "Sharing a Passion for the Classics"

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Corkscrewy said:
Jeff is exactly right. To the average person a wooden coaster is old. Most people when they here the word wood make them think the ride must be old and rough.

Just another reason why CF needs to get some new woodies out there. Show these people that wood can still be fun.

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Exactly!! So they need to build a fun woodie that actually does something thrilling (the whole way through) and is worthwhile that people will enjoy instead of a cheap marketing ploy that's a maintenance headache.

Wood Coaster Fan Club - Sharing a Passion for the Classics"

I think there may have been one or two parks in the last decade to successfully market a new wooden coaster. It sure wasn't CF, but let's not blame the wooden coasters or the general public for that. ;)

Maybe if we all send them emails.. ;)

Start a Coaster Enthusiast Petition. :)

Its bound to work. But then again, reading the topic about branches on Iron Wolf, I don't think they'll do anything. Then again that is Six Flags and this is Cedar Fair. ;)

I can think of three parks and four coasters in the past decade right off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are quite a few more. If you (design and) build them (right), people will come.

Yeah if your gonna say CF built all those, you might as well say they built the Villian too. Villian was installed in 2000, what was the last wood coaster to be built? Cause I have no clue. *** Edited 6/9/2005 8:23:21 PM UTC by lakecrystal***

CF is just strange when it comes to building wooden coasters, maybe if it was the tallest and fastest then they would built it. Im not bashing Cedar Fair, but think about it, that was like the last thing they made according to all of us, meaning the Mean Streak. Maybe they dont want us to have another SOB on our hands, but they should at least give one of their parks consideration. Woodies give a whole different experience that isnt matched by most steel coasters.

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Jeff said:
Ask the average CP guest if they want another wood coaster. "You mean those old things?"

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Yet every time I go to Knott's the longest line and most hyped up people are all at Ghostrider. Even the coolest of cool teenagers pump their fists and throw their head back with glee while on the ride, full of smiles and laughter as the ride comes to an end.

Sure, people may refer to it as '"that old wooden coaster," but it's usually followed up by "kicks a##! I love that ride!" I don't know the numbers, but from what I've seen Ghostrider is the most popular ride in the park. Build it (correctly) and they will come.

Jeff:

Not sure if you really know what the average guest wants, considering you are an enthusiast also. I don't believe you have access do any guest surveys they do, and are just making assumptions on probably a few things you overheard guest say. Just anedotal evidence, and not any scientific survey to support your argument.

Anyway I think guest really don't care if the ride is wood or steel. As long as it a fast, fun, smooth ride, they will ride it. Some of the most popular rides are wooden coasters at the major parks. Most of the guest go are not enthusiast. Rides like the Beast, Ghostrider, and Texas Giant have some of the longest lines in their respective parks. I just think Cedar Points largest wooden coaster Mean Streak, is only average at best, and the guest show that by its shorter lines than some of the other major rides there.

I think a medium sized wooden coaster, built by either gravity group or GCII, could bring people in. I think wooden coasters are not the most marketable rides, but typically the best marketing is word of mouth. I think when I worked at Kings Island, the majority of guest, were not first time visitors. So guest experience, which includes liking the new ride, is very important.

Sometimes people make too big of a deal about a parks attedence the first year of a new big attraction. What really is key, is do people come back to ride it again, a few years after it is new or longer than that. I think rides like Legend, Raven, Magnum, Millenium Force, Beast, Lightning Racer, among others do. That is a sign of a great ride, and really what you want in a new attraction.

If I was running the park, I would like to add a GCII wooden coaster. The rides are exceptionally smooth, and well engineered. Also since most of the people that go to the park, are use to steel coasters, adding a smooth wooden coaster is the way to go. Gravity group has been involved in some great wooden coasters, but not sure if their type of intensity is suited for Cedar Point.

But as far as the GP's concerned, Gemini's a woodie. So is CCMR. Go ask as many of 'em as you want.

Add that to the woodies that actually are woodies and it's a little easier to understand their collective 'so what?' were CP to add more mid-sized wood.

-'Playa

I don't know. All depends on the marketing. I think that if they built any decent GCI or GG woodie it would probably win the Golden Ticket for best woodie since Cedar Point seems to dominate those awards... they could certainly market having the #1 wood and #1 steel coaster.

CoasterPlaya:

Your missing the point. The general public does not care what they add, as long as it is good. They might not know whether Gemeni is really a steel coaster, they just enjoy the ride. Which is why I think a really quality wooden coaster would be a good addition. They really have almost all the type of steel coasters out there. Sure someone might mention a flying coaster, but there are a few steel coasters there, like raptor with inversions and below the track. It might be too similar of an experience.

I also feel cost is another factor. The intial investment of a new steel coaster is typically much greater. A B & M flying coaster probably cost upwards from 12 million. I think a GCII or gravity group wooden coaster would go for a few million less. Although maintance cost are more for a wooden coaster, that is a different budget, and more of a yearly expense.

Besides a B & M flying coaster, what steel coaster would Cedar Point add? I am not sure, and think that they could use a coaster that perhaps appeals to a more broader audiance. Something with thrills, but not something to big to scare away riders, like some of their more intense/bigger rides. A wooden coaster would fit that. So would a themed ride like Italian Job, but Cedar Point is not really into theming rides.

Another attraction that I think would be a perfect fit is a Sally interactive dark ride. Similar to Scooby Doo, but of course with a different theme. These rides are really popular, and cedar point got rid of their dark ride a while ago, and could use one. Also it is indoors, so perfect for a raining or really hot day.

I have no doubt the GP would love it once they got there and rode it. The problem is motivating them to show up.

Dark ride? Yeah, now you're talking. A family woodie (read: Beastie) or suspended? I've been wailing about that for years. That would address a segment PKI nails much better than CP right now.

-'Playa

Having ridden the latest from S&S and Gravity Group last weekend at the Dells, there are definitely people out there who could build a 1st class woodie for CF.

Yup, The longest line at PKI is normally The Beast (Not counting FOF and Face off for capacity issues)

The friggin roughest coaster in the park, IS THE FAVORITE.

Chuck, who know's peeps will dissagree and say SOB is roughest but to me, SOB doesn't bounce or shake. It shuffles a bit in places and has extreme forces.

Playa, I don't think the public needs motivation to get to the Point at all. People flock to the park like Wal-Mart 'round these parts. It's too much of a resort for people in this area to ignore. They don't go to Geauga Lake, it's all Cedar Point, Cedar Point, Cedar Point, Cedar Point, Cedar Point. Besides the Lake Erie Islands and Marblehead are destinations for many as well.

But I'm with you on the junior woodie the park could use (not to mention they ever build a really slick new medium sized one). They already have two smaller steel(ugh) coasters, so why not a junior wood. I know...start 'em off young on steel(ugh), and when they're big enough to ride the wood, they'll think it's loud and rough. That way they are already honed into the steel(ugh) is better because it's new, and wood is just passe' old school. There's no place or future for wooden rides anymore. Man is that mentality lame!!

Ultimately they are helping in the demise of the image of the classic wooden coaster to the younger generations that flock there (especially when they claim to be the best coaster park). I know it sounds extreme, but it's what I feel they are ultimately doing to wood. That's why I make comments about the concrete and steel jungle. And lets face it, they have needlessly cut down way too many trees!!

Wood Coaster Fan Club - "Sharing a Passion for the Classics"

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Jeff said:
Ask the average CP guest if they want another wood coaster. "You mean those old things?"

I swear, enthusiasts can't think of anything other than their own views.

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That makes no sense. Of course I'm going to think like an enthusiast, because I am one. If I didn't think like one, I wouldn't be an enthusiast.

There are plenty of parks in the country where wood coasters are not just "old things" that no one wants to ride. Ghostrider is one of the most popular attractions at Knott's, which has two world-class steel coasters. The lines for the wood coasters at SFOG are just as long as the lines for any of their fantastic steel coasters. Toss a good steel coaster into the mix at Holiday World and Knoebels and see how many people still gravitate to the wooden rides.

The only people that refer to wood coasters as rickety "old things" are the ones that frequent parks owned by companies that regard their wood coasters as their own red-headed stepchildren. Many parks have proven that wood coasters are oustanding investments.

Look at Great Adventure, which is set to deliver a new wood coaster next year. I'll bet my yearly salary that the wood coaster does more for the park than Kingda Krap, which has been running sporadically for two weeks... that is, before it suffered a major breakdown. Talk about a stupid investment. What good is the biggest, fastest, tallest, bestest coaster in the world if it shoots pieces of metal out of the train and sits idle for days while being repaired? I've never heard of snapped launch cables, hydraulic issues and self-destructing theming on wood coasters.

But I've also never heard of a woodie getting as much media attention as TTD or KK.