New coaster at Canada's wonderland. Why?

But, I think that's just it. In the past, there were fewer coaster options, as they didn't have the complex modeling software and technology that we have today. So, it was not uncommon to see parks littered with similar woodens, Arrows, etc.

Now we're in a generation that I think expects much more for thrills. While it's hard for me to understand, some kids/adults are just getting lazier, and they'd prefer to fill their leisure time with video games or Facebook. To pull them away from their computers, it seems like something like a 4D roller coaster would make more of a catch rather than adding more of the same known breed to a park.

But as has been said, maybe Cedar Fair did extensive polling and analyzed customer input to conclude that customers actually preferred 2 new B&M hyper roller coasters.

Jeph said:

Now we're in a generation that I think expects much more for thrills. While it's hard for me to understand, some kids/adults are just getting lazier, and they'd prefer to fill their leisure time with video games or Facebook. To pull them away from their computers, it seems like something like a 4D roller coaster would make more of a catch rather than adding more of the same known breed to a park.

You also have to consider that a vast majority of the GP doesn't even know what a 4D coaster is....I don't think that will make any difference to 99% of people coming through CW's gates next year.

Jeph you are aware that Leviathan is a Giga coaster and not just a hyper coaster right?

On the subject of variety, CW has a...

B & M Giga / Hyper

Arrow Looper / Suspended

Vekoma Boomerang / Inverted / Kiddie Inverted

Summers Out & Back / Double Out & Back / Kiddie Figure 8 wooden coaster

Togo Stand up

Volare Flyer

A Stunt Coaster

A mine train that runs through a Mountain

Wild Mouse

and a Taxi Jam Kiddie Coaster

not to mention one of the best selection of flats which includes a very rare top scan, and a one of a kind Jump 2. Variety is no issue. Quality coaster choices from 1981 to 2005 is Wonderlands only real issue.

^And a Mondial Splashover, and a Giant Enterprise (both VERY rare if not unique to N. America), a PTC Carousel, and an Arrow suspended. Add in a Swing-Around and UFO from Huss, and the awesome Mack Calypso....the place is absolutely LOADED. I love that park!

Wonderland also has a stand-up version of the enterprise called named Knightmares. Really fun ride.

Thats the ufo gator mentioned...

in related news sledgehammer was up and running tonight. winning!

Great news on Sledgehammer, I've not seen it run all season! In august the top cone piece was still missing, was worried they were removing the whole ride.

I don't think people really understand the numbers that CW gets. In 2010 their attendance is listed at 3.38 million. It's tops on the list for seasonal theme parks in North America. CW attendance is greater than mega parks like BGW, SFGadv, and even SFMM. While the variety is great, the rides are just rammed all summer long. On a Tuesday in August the old Arrow corkscrew looper had over an hour wait time. Behemoth even on the busiest days rarely gets a line over an hour because the capacity is amzing. The new ride is going to be awesome for moving the lines and makes perfect sense for the park.

Behemoth line never gets over an hour because it's 40 minutes to the gate and the line never goes too long out the gate. People assume it would be too long of a wait. I don't mind waiting in a full line because you never stop walking. Most waitable line i've ever been in. Phoenix's line is awesome too.

Sledgehammer seemed different last night Cropsey. Not sure exactly how, but it did seem different. The best part about a Jump 2 is not the ride itself, but who you sit across from. I always lay low and try to sit across from the most rediculas looking people. Their reactions are too funny. I thought a young asian girl was going to puke on me last night. haah.

Leviathan is starting to go arial. I'm guessing the lift will be started this week. The break run is up and it looks really massive. Doesn't seem to line up with what the annimation suggests, but that could just be one of those things.

I have nothing to contribute to the discussion about CW at this point (this is what happens when I take vacation) but I will say that line length is a good measure of ride popularity, to some extent.

Obviously a ride with crappy capacity will have a long line, regardless of how good or not good it is (see Vibora). Also you get edge cases like Raptor early in the day. But for rides with similar capacity (MF and Magnum), guests demonstrate how much they value a ride by how much they're willing to wait for it. If the stories earlier in the thread are true, a guest values a ride on MF at about 30 minutes of waiting and a ride on Magnum at about 5 minutes of waiting. Which tells me that Magnum is not a huge draw in the park's lineup compared to Millennium Force, even if both rides have the exact same number of riders on a given day.

I guess in the vein of all the new fangled baseball statistics, the important metric is value over replacement. How much would the park suffer if MF were replaced by a concrete slab? How much would the park suffer if Magnum were replaced? From what I gather, the asnwer is "A whole lot" and "Not really that much" even though the rides have the same or similar ridership.

I can't help but wonder if Behemoth is headed in that same direction and if it is, then it seems like something could have/should have been done differently.

Cropsey said:

I don't think people really understand the numbers that CW gets. In 2010 their attendance is listed at 3.38 million. It's tops on the list for seasonal theme parks in North America.

Yeah, but that's 3.38 million Canadian. It's the equivalent of only 3.2 million American.

only because Americans are so overweight :)

kpjb said:

Cropsey said:

I don't think people really understand the numbers that CW gets. In 2010 their attendance is listed at 3.38 million. It's tops on the list for seasonal theme parks in North America.

Yeah, but that's 3.38 million Canadian. It's the equivalent of only 3.2 million American.

In that same vein, I used to like trolling american kids when my high school did field trips to Cedar Point; look up in the sky with hand covering eyes "damn that American sun!" "what?! it's different in Canada??"

I don't think Canada's Wonderland's rides suck. They actually have some really cool rides that I wish more parks had, like the sledgehammer ride. I also think they have some pretty decent coasters, which is why I don't see the point of having two hyper coasters, when other parks in the Cedar Fair chain don't have any. But, not going to argue about it.

I love it that my post brought up so many interesting things. Now that I think about it, there are a lot of coasters that in the past that were similar, like the Demon and Shockwave at Six Flags Great America. Obviously they weren't exactly the same, but, that type of coaster sprouted all over the country back then. And, I liked both of them equally, so, maybe I'm wrong.

I think the Shockwave, and coasters like it, actually began the cookie cutter craze. Or, maybe it was the Cyclone clones. Certainly the Batman clones, and all the great variations of it.

Other than MiA, which CF parks lack a hyper?

CP: Magnum & Millenium
Knotts: Xcelerator
CanW: Behemouth
KI: Diamondback
Dorney: Steel Force
KD: Intimidator 305
CarW: Intimidator
VF: Wild Thing
WOF: Mamba

CGA: Soon, no longer a CF Park

I like Xcelerator and all, but IMO it's not really a hyper. Of course, if "the ride" goes through and is built there, then they'll have a hyper.

To answer the question that is the title of this thread, because Cedar Fair wants to and can.

Holiday World is building a new swing ride even though they already have Halloswings. Are we going to give them crap too?

^Not too much. It's hard to bully the underdog :)

70% of footers dug... transfer track complete... lift 1/3 of the way up. Getting excitting around here.

Also Dino's alive is coming to CW next year as well.

The race is heating up.

Dino's Alive : 5

Windseekers : 6

And because I can't resist...

MiA: 0