Cedar Point announces Wicked Twister and Snoopy Rocks on Ice

Quote: "They could have built a second track to really boost capacity."

I think that would have detracted from the experience, in a way.  With two impuse coasters side-by-side, you would see the other twisting spike as you were launched into the sky.  That would take away from that vulnerable feeling of twisting up into the sky, with nothing but air on all sides of you. ;)  With only one impulse, all you'll see is blue sky... and on the reverse spike, all you'll see is beach.  Nice.

I have ridden S:UE, but this looks like it will be a more thrilling version, at a more classy setting: the beach!  I can't wait to see the beach twist further and further away, as we blast backwards into the sky.  I know my girlfriend & friends & I will be there to ride in May. :D

Ok, that ride will never hit 1,000 rider per hour.  The math just doesn't work out.

In order for the ride to achieve 1000 rph they would need to dispatch 31.25 cycles per hour.  Assuming the ride cycle is approximately one minute(v2 is 55 seconds), that is 31.25 minutes.  v2 has a required ONE MINUTE downtime in between cycles to let the lims cool down, this is a requirement of all the intamin impulses, that adds an additional 30.25 minutes.  The total there equals out to 61.25 minutes, right there the math says that is impossible (over one hour).  Not to mention, it is nearly impossible to hit the one minute dispatch interval.  In order unload/load in that one minute cycle the crew needs to be close to running speed at all times while checking.  It is done on occasion on v2, but v2 also has one less car(4 seats) to check.  I think reasonably if the crew worked at an acceptable rate the capacity will be around 700 riders per hour.

Well, the day has finally come.  All the hype, all the crazy rumors, and early this morning, they were all gone.  CP confirmed it was building an Intamin Impulse.

Now, much to the dismay of CP loyalists everywhere, I am going to express my opinion on this ride, but it won't be 100% positive.  Side note, I am one of Cedar Point's biggest fans...with that said, here goes.

The name:  Disappoinment.  I think it sounds very, very childish and almost confusing.  It's like they thought it was going to ryhme and sound cool coming off the toungue, but doesn't.  I actually think some of the other rumored names fit better.  That sums up *my opinion* on the name.

The ride:  It looks pretty darn cool!  I have always wondered, while looking at V2 on my way to work in the morning, what it would be like to go up that twist backwards.  Now thanks to CP, I will know.

However, CP is installing an Intamin Impulse.  Having been on SUE and V2 I can say that I basically know what the ride experience will feel like, and most of the ride will not be anything new to me.  Granted I *like* the ride a lot, I'm saying it will not feel any different (save the back spike) than the other Impulses.

Capacity:  Completely disappointed.  Even if they *did* hit 1,000pph like Intamin is telling them (the will not, I guarantee it) that still isn't much for a new major coaster attraction.  I was told once that a Cedar Point rep could be quoted in saying "At CP we either live or die by our capacity."  In this case, I think they will die (not literally! ;)). 

Having operated an Impulse before, the highest number I saw was 720pph one hour when I filled every single seat for the whole hour and there wasn't one second of downtime.  I think I'm correct in assuming WT (lmao at that acronym :)) will have a similar ride time as V2, so I could see maybe 850pph with the addition of an extra car.  Folk, this will be like waiting for a Giant Drop, and that scares me.  :(

Location:  You cannot beat this location with a stick!  I think I can confidently say, without riding it yet, that this will easily be the best location on any Impulse to date.  At night, going up the back spiral in the front and seeing the black abyss that is Lake Erie only feet from you will be incredible.

Phew, having said all of that, would I sell back my CP season pass if I had the chance, now that I know what they're adding?  HELL NO!  They have *plenty* of other rides that I enjoy immensely (MF #2 baby) and that will have short[er] lines than WT.  Will I wait an hour - 2 hours for WT?  Of course, I'll wait as long as it takes to ride it once.  After that, I'll be less inclined to wait longer than 30mins for it, but at least I have the option of riding it [as opposed to if it wasn't there].

And lastly, this is something I am thinking about that basically could change this whole opinion.  If in fact, this coaster is a filler, and 2003 brings an incredible mind blowing ride, I will be 1000% happier for this addition.  Because I'd look at it like CP could have installed a flat ride but they chose to do a good coaster, and then the big money maker would go in in '03.  However, if we have to wait two to three more years for another custom, unique thrill then I'd be less excited about WT.

So there you have it, my opinion of WT, and soley mine.  Don't accuse me of "you can't please everyone" or "you just can't have fun" because trust me, anyone that knows me, knows I enjoy basically everything the amusement park world has to offer.  And I will obviously enjoy WT when it opens.  But it doesn't get me all excited like MF, Raptor, Mantis, or Magnum announcements did//would have.  And I'm sure a MAJOR part of the GP will recognize this coaster and say "That's exactly like the one at Six Flags."  The only interesting part I think will be if they care or not.

Done rambling now, looking forward to Knott's announcement more than ever! :)

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"Words are like...funny...you know?"

IslandKG said: ... and on the reverse spike, all you'll see is beach. 

And a 4 hour line... all I can say is get there early...

Chitown, we have opinions becuause most of us *have* ridden an Impulse. And I agree with Ravenguy, what would you prefer, a thread full of "way to go CP" posts? *** This post was edited by DWeaver on 11/20/2001. ***

Coasterr: 

For the record I counted 17 posts from people who think WT is a cool/good/great/ addition to CP and only 6 who are disappointed/frustrated/angry that CP is adding WT.  Doesn't sound like a whole lot of complaining to me.  Let's face it no matter what ANY park puts in for a new attraction you're bound to disappoint some people.

More of my .02 cents:

Here's what it boils down to, IMHO:  For those enthusiasts who live near CP or have not ridden an Impulse this addition will most likely make them want to visit CP in 2002.  For those, like me for example, who do not live anywhere near CP *and* have already ridden SUE and V2 this addtion alone will most likely not make us jump on a plane and visit CP in 2002.

BUT...WT will most likely be a big hit with park-goers and I know when I finally get around to visiting the park I'll enjoy it as I've enjoyed SUE and V2...a lot.  In traditional CP fashion they've taken something that exists and made it bigger, faster, and different, just like they did with Raptor, Mantis, Power Tower, and Mean Streak.

Like the Stones said, "You can't always get what you want..."

   Not Cedar Point quality.  This type of ride breaks down too much.  Oh well.  Maybe they are just saving up $$$ for a big ride next year!?!?!?

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44 coasters and counting....

With the other high caliber rides they have at Cedar Point, I kind of expected more.  No, I'm not saying that they owe it to us to bring in something other than a modified clone, but I sure thought they would have seeing as how SFWOA has pretty much the same ride but a little smaller and w/o the backwards spiral.  I like the back spike w/ the holding break, and will miss it if this ride doesn't have one.  By the artists rendering, it doesn't look like it will.

How can any of you say that it is impossible to hit 1,000 riders per hour? Granted, I am a bit skeptical. BUT, how can you know for sure? Intamin may have better technology now, maybe they found a way for the LIMs to cool down faster (or not heat up as much), maybe Intamin and CP have discussed the staffing of this ride so WT can reach this capacity, who knows? Have any of you personally spoken to Intamin about this? I highly doubt it.

We'll find out soon enough. Until then I have faith that they can do it.

Well said, Legendary.

Mamoosh: If you would have read my previous statement, I was referring to *OTHER* coaster boards, not just Coasterbuzz.

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Dayuum, Your HOT!

O.K. You guys are right. My statement was to general. I take back what I said.

"We now return you to your regularly scheduled news item"

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"The Peoples Elbow" or "The Spinaroonie?. Cant decide which is the most electrifying move in sports entertainment!!! LOL

I've never ridden an impulse coaster, so this will be a new experience for me, and it means I do NOT have to drive another hour to ride the closest one to me (SFWoA). Yes, I'm worried about the capacity issue, and with luck, CP will insitute their "ticket to ride" system like they did with MF. I recall 3 and 4 hour waits for MF the first year (although I never experienced them).

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Danimales:  There is no way that they could hit 1000 riders per hour.  If you read SFGRAMBoy20's post, they would have to dispatch a train more than every two minutes.  Considering that the ride itself is a minute long, that is not possible.  On average, it takes about 80 seconds to load a train with 28 people, so for a train with 32 people it will be about 85 seconds.  Coaster manufacturers always overestimate capacity anyways.   For example, I doubt that Magnum gets over 1500 per hour, even though the manufacturer may claim that it gets 2000. 

As for the ride itself, I think it will be a nice addition, but because it is 'cheap' I have to think that something big is in store for next year.  I'm not saying "They have to or I'll be disappointed," but it wouldn't make much sense for them to have three years in a row with marginal additions because the crowds don't come for additions like this.  The crowds come to CP for brand new, recordbreaking thrills like MF, and if they stop building things like that then attendance will fall.  Just look at how many people on this post said that they wouldn't make a special trip for this ride, but you can gurantee they made a special trip for MF. 

Wow...I would have never guessed....Just another reason to make a stop at CP this coming season(as if I wasn't going to go anyway.) ;)

Coasterr:

Sorry for the misunderstanding.  Since you made no distinction of where you were seeing the negativity I assumed it was here on Coasterbuzz. 

Now that it's offical, I'm looking foward to riding it in May next year.  You can't get a Millenium Force out of a park every year, and Wicked Twister will be a nice addition to the best collection of coasters on the planet at one park!

What!!! You mean it isn't Vektron???? ;) ;) =P

Cool!

The ride looks awesome and it will fit right in.

 Perhaps when they were naming it, the whole boardwalk area was meant to be kinda like a time warp. It sounds kinda like something like it would be named back in the 20s.

Plus, the twisting spike backwards sounds great. Twisting downward, and seeing the ground twisting... getting smaller and smaller... sounds really awesome!

The only problem I see, as others also see, is the capacity problem. Maybe Cedar Point has yet another trick up their sleeves... ;)

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"There ain't nothing worse'n when a woman gets pushy." -Ferris Layman, The Diviners

From the press release:
"The coaster will continue to propel its passengers up and down its U-shaped steel track a total of five times - forward three times and backward twice - during an intense 40-second ride. "
I enjoyed S:UE, and expect I will like this ride, too.

Lets look at this from the park's veiw.  There has never been a shuttle coaster at CP.  There has never been a launched coaster at CP.  Think about it, a lot of the GP hasn't even ridden a launched coaster before, or even known there was such a thing.  When people tell eachother about this coaster, i can imagine a lot of them will be like

"AND THEN IT GOES.........BACKWARDS!!!! ISN'T THAT NUTS!!!?!!?!"

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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.