Cedar Point announces Siren's Curse tilt roller coaster

GoBucks89:

Cedar Point doesn't really do theming/backstories well.

I think we’re in agreement here. The backstory ought to remain in back, as it were, if you’re not going all out. Let it help you find the name, station design, theming elements - and yes, the colors - and then put it away. You don’t need to tell the public how you came up with those things, but having them be harmonious will be pleasing even without a goofy story about sirens in Lake Erie or Medusa in the wild west.

(I’m thinking the Voyage at Holiday World gets it about right.)

It’s all about customer expectations. Nobody expects parks like Six Flags or Cedar Point to have rides with fancy theming. It comes across as Temu Disney.

At Dorney, the amount of money they put into theming their dive coaster is kind of astonishing. (By Dorney standards, of course.) With that said, it's kind of jarring to go from one of the blandest parks in the country to a fairly detailed themed area.

one of the blandest parks

Considering it has the Zephyr, a stream running through it, multiple bridges, a nicely restored Whip, Afundos house put back, sits in a wooded valley, has a-lot of trees compared to some CF parks, two custom B&Ms, still has its flume, a great placed rapids, and SF has one best landscaped entrances of any park… Dorney to me is one of the most underrated Parks for charm in the chain. I just imagine what it would look like if Premier/SF bought it instead, no carousel, cheap DC clones, no SF, and lord knows what else.

For the record, Six Flags and Steel Force have the same acronyms. Had to do some mind gymnastics to figure that one out.

I know people who knew the park before CF bought it and they all agree that it was decimated.

CP does really great with Western, see Maverick and SV. Valrayvn and Gatekeeper not soo much, feels like Busch parks lite. The Boardwalk was a great execution of placement and recolor, and landscaping. Mantis to Rougouro is a great color, with a terrible name. And I always wanted more neon and space mountain and dance music in the Magnum station, which could be done with LED way for the cheap these days.

Jungle Ex at Kings Dominion is old BGW level, I just wish they could keep that up chain wide, but now with SF parks kiss that goodbye. Considering what BGW did with Pantheon, actually way better, but United seems to have gotten its groove back.

Sharpel007:

Mantis to Rougouro is a great color, with a terrible name.

Dale would agree to disagree with you on that.

Vekoma recently posted a highlight reel, and it's hard to believe that this is the same company that we loathed around the turn of the century.

I believe that enthusiasts have had issues with Vekoma because the company tended to cater to the more budget-conscious segment of the industry. Their quick builds and minimal additional engineering allowed many parks around the world to add major attractions at half the cost of competitors, and the generally public were none the wiser. I personally think quality has always been part of their DNA; we just haven't really seen it outside the Disney bubble.

Arrow: design it with coat hangers

Vekoma v1: design it with computers, somehow is rougher than coat hangers

That highlight reel feels as if the culture of Disney has had a strong impact at Vekoma.

Back in the day they only made SLC's, boomerangs and roller skaters, and they were all awful. Then they tried the giant inverted boomerangs, and those were awful and closed a lot.

I still always have to take a minute and remember that Tron and Guardians were built by the same company that built the SLC, boomerang and flyer I grew up riding at Geauga Lake.

I think itself more the amusement park business development in Europe, along with China, that helped Vekoma more then Disney…also the rise of semi affordable cnc

Although this looks like the most revolutionary Disney/Vekoma project…

Question is would they ever do this at the American parks?

Revolutionary? There's nothing remarkable about Tron if you strip away the building and theme.

Sorry meant “evolutionary”.

Tron is a letdown, because the thrill does not match the budget of the theme.

The new Tokyo Space Mountain looks way more intense plus the theming then any existing Disney/Vekoma project.

I could be wrong, but it looks way more intense then Guardians…

I hate to be that guy, but if you disembark a ride like Tron and think it's a letdown because of the "budget", you need to go back to school and take a "have fun" class.

Yeah, I wouldn't call it a letdown in any sense, whether it were in an empty field or where it is. But we've all been on similar rides (though likely more comfortable) that do similar things.