Cedar Point's Blog is teasing us!

I don't see why it couldn't.

From my understanding, the problems with Mean Streak lie more in the support structure than in the track itself. The support structure does not adequately distribute the forces, causing it to shimmy, shake and vibrate, which in turn tweaks the track ever so slightly. This tweaking contributes to the decidedly rough ride experience.

Again, this is my understanding, and not necessarily fact.

I just miss the original MS at times. If it were possible, I could only imagine how much it would cost, and I am guessing it wouldn't be cheap.

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enfynet said:
Anyone want to buy a shirt that has a silkscreened image of one of these new footers that says "You know what they say about big feet"... Because that keeps coming back up in this thread. Those aren't big footers.

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If you make a shirt with that on it, Ill buy one!

Sorry, I just love that idea, it really is such a good coaster shirt for all those people who freak out and speculate over this kind of thing. Ill wear it to the next event I go to....

I don't think anyone here could pay me enough money to wear such a type of shirt. I don't think ANYONE I associate with would get it and the only thing more embarassing would be trying to explain it to them. ;)

"sorry."

Well, we'll all find out just how big they are in a few short weeks. (thankfully).

We'll also see if anything is happening outside of the WWL site. And that will be interesting for sure.

And I hope it will be a HUGE Intamin hyperwoodie!! A record breaking wooden twister fully loaded with airtime wood be nice!!

The new blog today has pictures of Skyhawk in motion.

http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/fun/blog/index.cfm *** Edited 4/12/2006 2:41:10 PM UTC by LdScotsman***

The midway webcam is currently showing them testing the Sky Ride. I'm watching cable cars right now. Woohoo!

Ok, so I'm pathetic, but I won't be on a coaster or any other ride probably until the end of May!!!

Nah, you're not that pathetic simply because you REALIZE that watching the webcams is pathetic ;) You'd be surprised how many are willing to brag about that (they're probably the same people that would wear a t-shirt with a picture of a footer on it ... )

You're alright LDScotsman ... for every 25 noobs, there's a gem in there somewhere!

I've pretty much held off from making any sweeping predictions for what's ahead for the former WWL area, but I feel that now is the right time for me to reveal what I see in store for that much speculated about area.

So what do I think about "Project 2007", which is what I understand the official term that has been given to the WWL development by CP management. First off, notice the term "Project" is a part of that. While a project could certainly be only a single coaster, I believe the reason that this is being broadly termed a "Project" rather than "2007 Addition", or something like that, is because it is indeed a large project. This is no simple removal of a ride, and addition of a large roller coaster in it's place. I believe that we will see an entirely different Frontier Town next year than we have had for the past many years, and a much more thrilling and functional one at that.

It's no secret that for years the general attendance and interest in Frontier Town has declined, especially in the early and late months when the water rides are not drawing a crowd back there. It's also no secret that Mean Streak has really fallen out of favor with many people, and while the rough nature of the ride has a lot to do with that, I believe it's poor, out of the way location also has played a big part in that. Let's face it: it's not the easiest coaster to locate for the newcomer, even when they see it looming large right ahead of them. These factors have relegated Frontier Town to almost an afterthought, and a place regular attenders are quite likely to skip alltogether on entire visits to the park (I've seen it happen more than once just in my trips there!). Besides it's back-of-the-park location; it's lack of marquee attractions, and generally been-there-done-that atmosphere has resulted in the largest themed area of Cedar Point going underused, and underappreciated. This fact has not been lost on CP management, and has likely been a source of consternation for them for some time. But what could be done about it? How could they revitalize and make relevant this long-neglected area, without completely starting over? They have already begun the revival with the addition of Skyhawk to Frontier Town, and that will bring many people back there that wouldn't otherwise bother this year. But that is only the beginning. As much as I'm sure it was a hard decision to make to get rid of the fairly popular and family friendly White Water Landing, it clearly had to be removed for the greater good of Frontier Town, and CP as a whole. That has been done, and construction has begun in earnest on it's former site.

So that brings us to the question of the hour: Exactly what is going in back there? While I may not know "exactly" what is going in there, I have formulated a pretty good idea of what I think we will be seeing in 2007, in at least some general fashion. Let me begin by suggesting that I don't think we've seen the last of the changes or removals for "Project 2007". While a lot of people are getting hung up on the early start date, and trying to link that to the supposed height (500 feet [icon_rolleyes.gif] ), it makes much more sense that it is because there is a lot of work to be done on building an entirely new area, with multiple new attractions, as well as the fact that the following offseason will see the removal of another attraction that has been left open for one more swan song this season. Yes, I know some of you won't agree with me on this next point, and that is fine, but I really think we will see the removal of the Antique Cars after this season. We also may see either the removal or at least moving of the Wave Swinger (I'd bet more on it moving than being removed completely, and it may not need to go anywhere). With these offseason changes, the path will be cleared for the entirely new and improved Frontier Town to take shape.

Look for the path that is currently bottled up over near the Wave Swinger and Undertaker U. (which I expect will also be removed) to be expanded past the Frontier Inn, all the way through the old WWL area in a diagonal line, and then connect to the path that is right at the Mean Streak exit and photo booth. This will create an entirely new midway, and that is where at least one of the new coaster stations will be located, as well as some more frontier themed shops, and maybe even a new flat ride or the relocated Wave Swinger. The old path that ran between the Antique Cars and WWL will be removed, making way for a new coaster. Just from a traffic and flow standpoint, this will do wonders for both Frontier Town, and especially Mean Streak. Gone will be the slightly confusing layout that is currently there, and gone will be the dead end that is the Mean Streak area. Now it will be one big loop, that will take people right past MS, boosting it's accessibility, and keep the natural flow moving, instead of getting bottled up at the various dead ends currently in Frontier Town. It makes a tremendous amount of sense, and the added benefit for the currently unpopular MS could be one of the biggest side benefits of all!

"So what about Maverick?", you ask? What about all that room in-between the new loop, and on the Thunder Canyon side of the new midway? What about our new, huge, 500 foot Dive Machine, 4D, coaster??? Sorry, but as cool as any one of those three ideas would be, I don't see any of those fitting into the new Frontier Town's design, or Cedar Point's desire to install crowd pleasing and reliable coasters that will not repeat the debacle of TTD. I see a Floorless coaster named Maverick going into the area, and setting some sort of record for something, probably height for a Flooless coaster, and possibly (though not likely) inversions. It's station will be located on the new midway, and the ride will actually span both sides of the midway. I think it will be located in the northern side of the land inside the new loop, and then all of the area to the west of the new midway. Features on that side will include a helix or inversion area near the old Swan Boats lagoon, and possibly even a crossover out into Lake Erie. I'm not sure how plausible that it, but it certainly seems possible, and would be a great new thrill as it'd be the first ride at CP to do so. I would guess that construction on that coaster has already begun, and the footers we've already seen belong to it.

But that's not all folks! I also see CP adding a record setting Flyer (Quit your groaning Flyer-haters! [icon_wink.gif] ) into that area, which will take up the remainder of that loop area, and likely even interact with Maverick. I could see this Flyer being themed to a Ghost Town possibly (Ghost Flight?), perhaps with some run down buildings added for theming. It is also where I see the old WWL station being used as a fly through, as you can come in one side, curve around, and go back out the other. I think that we will also see some of the water areas from WWL left and utilized for effect on this ride as well. The station for this coaster could either be located on the new midway, or the old area where the Chuck Wagon Inn and various other shops are. There are no other stations on that midway, which would help shift some of the crowd to that area, rather than filling up the new midway with congestion.

So CP jumps back to being the park with the most coasters in the world in a big way, adding two at once, and leapfrogging SFMM. This also makes a lot of sense as to why they would not be concerned with losing that title for this one year, since they can be relatively sure that they will reclaim their crown next year. That would also explain the extent of the shroud of secrecy surrounding the nature of this expansion, as word that two coasters will actually be getting added will not come out until late this year; too late for SFMM to do anything about it for next year. While I know that many claim the "Coaster Wars" do not exist, you know that CP has always prided itself on it's many world records, and that is for sure one they'd like to have back. And they are seriously upgrading a whole section of their park in the process of doing it! Tossing in the added impact of possibly rejuvinating Mean Streak's popularity as well, and "Project 2007" becomes an incredibly brilliant decision for CP on so many levels, as well as their largest expansion ever.

So that's my take on this whole "Project 2007" thing, and you can take it for what it's worth. But analyzing every thing we've seen, and everything we know about CP, as well as looking at it from a fundamentally sound business standpoint, this is what I get. It may not be as flashy as a 500 foot coaster, a 4D, or a Dive Machine, but in the big picture, it makes a whole lot more sense. The one area that seems to have lagged behind the rest of the park suddenly is infused with a ton of new energy and excitement, and the entire park now feels more complete, and balanced. As for that whole "Kinzel going out with a bang" concept, he certainly will, whether he ever actually stated he would or not. He can leave knowing that the one area of Cedar Point that seemed to be left behind, has seen a rebirth, and the park will likely be healthier than ever. Now that's something a CEO would love to have as part of his legacy!

So that's it, now we'll just have to wait for the announcement, and see how far off I was. But I wanted to get that out here in the public sector for consideration, and you all can let me know what you think. It should be an exciting time at CP over the next two years, and regardless of what happens, I'm sure we will all be pleased! [icon_biggrin.gif]

Sounds good to me...and totally plausible.

I like everything you said up until you mentioned the flyer. I think a floorless, removal of WS (It's a very large piece of crap.), and revamp of the area is very likely, but not so sure on the loop you mentioned just because that adds another RR crossing.

*** Edited 4/14/2006 9:55:37 PM UTC by Neuski***

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DILinator said:
I really think we will see the removal of the Antique Cars after this season.

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Thank you! I've been thinking the same thing since the announcement that WWL was being removed. It sure would increase the Project 2007 footprint, now wouldn't it ;)

Then they would have enough for that 500'!

Don't they still have the other cars near blue streak? Or are they just a memory of my childhood?

Yea, there are some cars by Blue Streak.

Yes, Peabody, they do.

There are Antique Cars, Cadillac Cars, and. Turnpike Cars.

For my money, Antique is the best track of the three because of how well it fits in with its surroundings. Turnpike was the tops pre-Raptor, but after it got shortened, it's just a shell of its former glory.

But, this isn't the first time I've heard speculation about Antique going away, and some folks doing the speculating are pretty well plugged in. So, who knows?

DILinator's plan does sound plausible, but I have one concern about it. Most parks seem to be focusing on attractions accessible to a broader base of potential guests (i.e. "family-friendly"). This idea would remove two very accessible attractions (Antique, WWL) and replace them with two that would be among the least accessible in the park---coasters with 54" height limits and inversions.

Granted, CP is a thrill park. And, really, there are tons of things for the short and cautious to do there even without Antique and WWL. FT really is dead early and late in the year, and my youngest has crested 48" in footwear this winter, so I suppose it doesn't really make a difference to me if CP moves away from accessible attractions.

But, adding more fierce, intense coasters at the expense of rides the whole family can experience together seems to be yesterday's idea, not tomorrow's.

I agree with Brian. I can see a floorless in the future. but I'm still betting on something a bit more family friendly, possibly a launch of some sort, maybe a spinning coaster, or a water coaster.