Cedar Point to remove Schwabinchen

I'll admit it, I only rode Schwabinchen once or twice a year, but I'd have to say I'm one of those people who hate seeing CP remove yet another family ride. Too often I hear someone saying they went to SFWoA or King's Island because those parks had more family attractions. Don't get me wrong though, I love having the biggest collection of roller coasters only an hour away from me, and I can't wait until 2003!

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"The only drug I need is adrenaline"
-Chris Woodard

MACK is still alive and kicking! They sell WILD MICE like mad, did the B&M collab on SILVERSTAR (for EUROPAPARK which is owned by the MACK family) and did join forces with RCCA (although they did not build a ride up till now).

There are still Mack Trabants/Hully Gully travelling the fairs around the world, so the "spare part-theory" Is certainly no reason for the rides removal.

@sharpel007: I think you meant ZIERER who went bankrupt last year! But they are still in business as well.

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F_T

An article in today's Sandusky Register said the decision for the ride's elimination was because it was one of the park's "older and least popular rides." They also quoted PR rep Robin Innes as saying, "I can't divulge all the details, but that location will have a new use."

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
*** This post was edited by Gemini on 10/23/2002. ***

It ain't binchen that they are removing Schwabinchen.

It isn't popular because that midway has sucked for years. Think about it, if it was in the former location of Troika or Calypso, it would get just as many rides.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure

Sharpel007 wrote...

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Well first about schwab the ride is actually worse than it looks, if it was at a six flags im sure they would keep it for a few more years. (...)

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The ride is in decent mechanical shape. Some people complain about the 'missing' lights on the top of the frame, but I suggest that if you sit to the inside of the seat and reach inward toward the center of the ride, you can see why those lights were removed. It's a remarkably simple ride, and it's really the last ride left in the park with both decoration and flash. Chaos has a nice lighting package on it, but the last rides Cedar Point installed with any decoration on them were both put in for 1979: the Wave Swinger and the Pirat (Ocean Motion).

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(...)I(t) was origanoly going to MA, just like Dodgem #2, but the ride would of needed a complete overhaul and didnt make much $en$e.(...)

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It wouldn't make any sense at all to send that ride to Michigan's Adventure, because Michigan's Adventure has a Trabant, which is pretty much the same ride. At least that's how the MA crowd would see it.

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Also since Mack is no longer around you cant get new parts like you can for a Huss(aka Troika, Witches Wheel, Ocean Motion,(...)

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What are you talking about? Heinrich Mack GmbH is still around, building Musik Express rides and flume rides and roller coasters and...well, have a look at their web site: http://www.mack-rides.com

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About CP removal, as above Dodgem #2 went to MA, but CP kept the cars from the 30's that where at Dodgem #2, while MA, got the 60's cars from the Dodgem #1.Good Move.

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Slight correction. The building mechanicals from Dodgem 1 went to Michigan's Adventure, but CP moved the 1970's Jhle cars from Dodgem 1 to Dodgem 2, and sent the 1960's Soli cars from Dodgem 2 to Michigan's Adventure. That Dodgem 2 was the older of the two Dodgem rides at Cedar Point has always been an interesting situation that goes back to the fact that Dodgem 1 technically should have been Dodgem 3...

Schwabinchen is a really simple ride. It has, if I remember correctly, a single motor mounted on the turret which provides hydraulic pressure for the turret drive motor and the lifting cylinder, and two electric motors on the turret that drive the rim. The turret is a ring-and-pinion gear drive similar to a carousel, and the rim has a friction drive. There is really very little to go wrong with the thing, and quite frankly, Calypso is in mechanically worse shape. As to the ride getting low ridership (until this season), that can be easily attributed to the fact that it's hidden behind the Coliseum in an area that has been utterly devoid of any major attraction (and hence any significant foot traffic) since the dolphin show went away. It's a midway that has been basically ignored for about a decade; it's a small wonder that nobody went back there to ride that ride.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:

"... the last rides Cedar Point installed with any decoration on them were both put in for 1979: the Wave Swinger and the Pirat (Ocean Motion)."

Dave, didn't Ocean Motion open in 1981? I thought it opened after Oceana (1980)... but could be wrong.

ray p. (loyal Schwabinchen fan)

Well let's hope they don't get too carried away. After all, Cedar Point's land mass IS shaped like a large phallic symbol ;-)

Shaggy

Leave it to YOU Shaggy-dear to POINT this out *wink*

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Men are like parking spaces... the good ones are all taken and the rest are handicapped or too far away.
www.TiggerMan.com

For the love of God! Bring back the Pirate and Earthquake! I love dark rides and I want more in Ohio with a passion! The Pirate ride was by far my all-time favorite CP ride. Hands down! Unequivocally!

Sorry, about the mack out of businees statement, its just that we havent seen anything new from them here in the states, lately. Rideman, good work, your knowlege about the dodgems is stunning. But I believe Ocean Motion was installed in 1981. And the comment about decoration is spot on, the only CP ride left with a decent amount is White Water, and unfortuantely they took down the back tunnel with the water fall last year, but the station still rocks. I wish they would put all the trimmings(the covers over the seats, the rest of the backdrop, and the rest of the lights for the poles) back on Calypso because CP doent get rid of anything. Also Disater relly gets me mad, I rember back in 91 when it rocked, right around 96 the themeing fell apart, no more robot, then the videos went, and this year they threw on some glow in the dark paint that just ruined the origanl idea. Whats the point of saying welcome to Alaska when the reason why they say that is gone?? *** This post was edited by Sharpel007 on 10/23/2002. ***

I agree with what Jeff said. In fact, I'd be willing to bet money that with Wicked Twister drawing a few more people in that direction this year, the ridership numbers for Schwabinchen were probably up!

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-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

Well, if Cedar Point doesn't want it, then maybe Six Flags could use it, especially for Oktoberfest. If I had made way, I would have one of
the following four pick up this ride for 2003:

1. German Central Farm in Parma, Ohio. The ride is German themed so it would definitely fit at that place. Plus, I leave a minute away, so
woo hoo!!
2. Chippewa Lake Park. If it doesn't reopen, the German in me proposes a German themed area called Alpine Adventures anyways, so it
would go well with my other plans.
3. Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. See above.
4. Paramount's Kings Island. They have a German themed area called Oktoberfest, but not too many rides there, and this would almost
assuredly augment the Bavarian feel of that area.

Let's go to work and make it happen!

'81 for Ocean Motion? That DOES make sense, now, doesn't it...besides, the Wildcat was new for '79...now I'm starting to wonder if the Wave Swinger was also new in '81 'cause I thought the Wave Swinger and Ocean Motion both opened the same year. Oh, Walt... :)

As for the Calypso, there are a couple of points about that one...

I understand why the scenery panels were removed from that one when the ride was moved. Scenery panels are to block unsightly views of the midway back-lot, but in its present location the Calypso scenery panel would have served to block a fairly attractive view of the Marina and Sandusky Bay...the panel would have been more of an eye-sore than the current view, leaving it off. So I can understand that decision, even though it left yet another ride almost devoid of flash. The other thing about Calypso...I wonder if there was some kind of an incident on it or on a ride like it where one of the "palm trees" came apart or a car top came off or some such nonsense. Someone pointed out that Schwabinchen used to have car tops (I don't remember that!) but that, like the Calypso car tops, they were removed years ago. If you look at photos of the Calypso (pity, there are none on Mack's web site...) with the factory flash in place you can see that where Cedar Point's ride has light bars bent inward, the design is for a "palm tree" design with light bars bent outward, over the cars. I wonder if someone at Cedar Point was uncomfortable with the "over the cars" bit and had it changed.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The 1979 Park Guide mentions the Wave Swinger as a new ride and the 1981 Park Guide makes note of Ocean Motion being new.

Ride openings from 1978-1982:

1978: Gemini

1979: Jr. Gemini, Wave Swinger, (WildCat - new model and relocation)

1981: Ocean Motion

1982: White Water Landing

Also, check out this timeline. It's fairly comprehensive, but always a work in progress.

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Virtual Midway
http://www.virtualmidway.com
*** This post was edited by Gemini on 10/23/2002. ***

It's kind of funny, how some of you are like saying, "No it can't go!" Well, there is no other choice. The ride was never popular and for those of you who are going to miss it? It's kind of funny when something is being taken out, how you are sad to see it go, when in fact you didn't care much about it when it was there. Shame!

The ride was never popular? Excuse me? When were you born?

I remember the ride being a can't miss back in the Magnum days, and really up until the dolphin show and aquarium went away. If that ride became less popular, it's because so few people every walked past it.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure

Sigh....Never again will I get to scream, "Stop looking at me! STOP LOOKING AT ME!" at the barmaid 'till passerby laugh.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

If the ride was popular back in the day, then people would have continued to ride it, despite its poor location.However, its location is but a catalyst. It doesn't negate the fact that people could still make their way over there.

Dude... normal people don't get a park map and say, "Ooooh! Schwabinchen! We must make our way over to that part of the park where there's nothing else and ride it!" Most people wouldn't even know what Schwabinchen is unless they saw it.

Location is EVERYTHING. If that wasn't the case, Mean Streak would still be busy after 8pm (because, remember the general public doesn't know it sucks).

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure

I protest this. A classic never dies. And the schwabinchen is a classic.

Even though I'm a major coaster fan, the schwabinchen always put spirit into the park. Especially those big breasts. If you remove her, please send her to Waldameer park in erie, Pa.