Cedar Point Removing WildCat

Sad news, especially that the ride is going for scrap.

Obviously, I haven't been there to personally see, and Jeff has been, but from the few published construction pics of the new plaza, I wondered how they expected to accommodate near the crowd capacity of the old night show that held people from the big screen all the way back to the Dragon Lagoon. That show was always packed and this new show promises to be an even bigger draw.

I understand not having to be directly in front of the stage to see, but I also think that what looked big enough on paper turned out to be an uh-oh situation once construction was well along. And yes, Wildcat may have been nearing the end of its service life, and future plans had been considered for its removal, but my own thoughts are that the decision to accelerate the plans for its retirement was to relieve the now apparent capacity issues of the newly developed area.

After all, the article, itself, says the ride removal was accelerated and they were expanding the Luminosity area.

Or maybe it was just a mechanical issue after all. ;)

I'm with Walt S and kpjb, something happened that essentially resulted in it not being a viable attraction anymore. A used ride will usually bring more than being sold for scrap. The fact that it is being scrapped instead of being turned over to a ride broker suggests that it was very serious issue.

Jeph said:

I've already posted my dramatic thoughts on Point Buzz, but I still think

Please post them in a letter to the park president. Posting online is fun and all, but it's important to let the people know that actually make decisions.

You're opinion counts to them - even if they don't purchase 2 newly manufactured Wildcats :)

swampfoxer said:

I'd love to see CP do something in the Wild Mouse category...

I'd love to see them build something that has better capacity than a mouse. Save the mice for the smaller parks.

Bummer they are losing a coaster. I rode Wild Cat about 2-3 times and cannot remember a single standout moment. Translation: I'm ambivalent!

I fell in love with WC twice. Once as a teen. Then I skipped it for years in favor of larger rides. And then I fell back in love when my daughter started riding coasters.

I hate to see it go, but I also understand the reasons why. To me it's not just one big thing but several little ones. Seems that the stars aligned.. age, Luminosity and seven injured last June in the rollback.

WC would have been a good addition for Mich. Adv.

Let's see, two really bad mechanical issues two years in a row (or was is it '08 then '10?), had to accelerate removal and it's going to scrap instead of getting moved/sold, and they were testing and had a full ride crew hired. Yeah, this was not an "Oh crap, we really need the space now!" decision. Something during testing/maintenance inspection threw a red flag. 99.999999% sure all the cries of foul for Luminosity capacity are wrong and it had much less to do with that than a mechanical/structural issue. A friend in operations pretty much confirmed as much without directly stating it as well.

EDIT: Missed the post above mine, guess it was '08 and last year. Did something happen in 2010? I could have sworn there was some talk about it amongst the former CP ride ops that have migrated down here the last few years in 2010...I might just be confusing it, though.

With this being a last minute decision, I wonder if it was even shopped around (or if there was a catastrophic failure, it may not have been worth shopping)....it seems like it could be a cheap little investment for the Koch's at Kentucky Kingdom....errr...I mean Bluegrass Boardwalk. Even if it didn't stay there for the long haul, they could get a few years out of it and add an attraction while still saving for larger capital expenditures.

But then again, those guys run a pretty tight ship and may not have wanted a possible liability given Wildcat's reputation...and another incident at that park could really hurt PR....

ANother thing to think about regarding this announcement. Cedar Point was scheduled to open very shortly. Most major maintance on coasters (and other rides) goes on over the winter. So, for Wildcat to open this year, last winter, most likely all of the cars were torn down and had wearable parts replaced, parts inspected, etc. Assuming that Wildcat was seen testing a few weeks ago, that would probably indicate something with the outside structure being a problem. (Think: if it was a problem with a car, it would be a problem with one car. It would still run, just one car short.) I'm not certain exactly what is done to inspect coasters for opening in Ohio, but I would assume that part of the process involves XRays of metal and / or some type of imaging on the track and supporting structure. A problem uncovered there would come on quickly, impact the entire ride, and lead to a quick removal unless it could easily be fixed (which it probably can not be, as if that were the case, it would go to a ride broker instead of the scrapyard.)

It has become seriously obvious to me that I care way less about coasters and parks than I once did. Letters to the president, boycotts, outcries? Nah. Deed is done, can't change it, and I'm sure something good will come of it, and/or everyone will forget about it soon enough.

I felt the same way Josh, but I'm so uninterested that I couldn't even bother to post about how uninterested I was. :)

Seriously, there's no reason to turn this into something. The ride had to go for some reason. It's a roller coaster, it doesn't matter. And the plethora of reactions and suggestions in just this thread show that letters and boycotts and petitions and such don't matter because they're going to be pissing someone off no matter what they do.

You do what needs done, hope for the best and try to make good for as many as possible.

To me the story here is that they actually removed a coaster. Maybe this sets a precedent and opens up the possibility of cutting other dead weight.

Yeah, I feel the same, and I'm a rabid Schwarzkopf fan. If (or when) Hershey decides to remove Sooperdooperlooper, my first ever upside-down coaster and a favorite of mine for decades, I'd be disappointed...and then I'd get over it.

Wildcat is a carnie ride. While they're becoming more rare, there are still several operating in the US.

Edit: Is it time to start another bran muffin petition? Maybe I'll pull a 180 and lobby for some Pepto.

You know what the difference between this thread and it's "sister" thread on Pointbuzz is?

Rationality.

Yeah, all of the people who still think Geauga Lake is a conspiracy are back on PointBuzz, only instead of Dick being the bad guy, they want it to be Matt. No words... no words.

I can't see a single arrow anywhere, even remotely, that points to fault on this one. It's amazing to me how desperate people can be to go there.

Cedar Point bought Wildcat just to close it!

[Edit: OMG, really? Six upvotes for that? Sweet.]

Lord Gonchar said:

Seriously, there's no reason to turn this into something. The ride had to go for some reason. It's a roller coaster, it doesn't matter. And the plethora of reactions and suggestions in just this thread show that letters and boycotts and petitions and such don't matter because they're going to be pissing someone off no matter what they do.

You do what needs done, hope for the best and try to make good for as many as possible.

Ouimet owes us! Doesn't he owe us? Huh? He owes the coasterbuzzers, right? F'in A right he owes us!

Gonch: You're scaring me Clark:

Don't be scared! I just think somebody owes us an explanation that's all!

Vater said:

Wildcat is a carnie ride. While they're becoming more rare, there are still several operating in the US.

This is also how I feel about the ride, and why I don't care much. I can't even recall the last time I was on the ride.

Wildcat always seemed out of place to me at CP. I like Schwarzkopf and all, but I don't compare a small portable coaster to something like Sooperdooperlooper or Scorpion.

OhioStater said:

You know what the difference between this thread and it's "sister" thread on Pointbuzz is?

Rationality.

Agreed...another difference? 3 pages vs. 13 pages.

I can't say much, because I have contributed to those 13 pages, but sometimes it hard to wade through it without firing something back.

Meh. The reaction to this is no stronger than the one to Paddlewheel being closed. The difference is just bad timing. Someone is going to get emotional over any removal. I would think getting to take a last ride would placate a lot people, even if they are not all smiles about the decision.