Question about coaster announcements

When a park is going to announce a new attraction/ride do they announce ahead of time when the announcemnet is going to be?  Will we know before CP announces their new ride when it will be officially announced or do they just do it with no warning.  Don't they usually/sometimes invite the press to things like this so wouldn't we have some warning?  And isn't it kind of strange that they haven't announced anything yet?

It depends.  If it is a newsworthy event, then yes they will announce.  However in years with smaller new products, a park may downplay their announces.

Typically a park will promote a large coaster heavily.  Parks such as CP and PKI milk large projects for all the press they can get. 

To give you an example, PKI did not do a formal press announce by way of inviting media to the park to announce the future installation of Nick Central.  Rather they softly announced it as part of a gradual marketing campaign throughout the winter.  Smaller projects typically do not have as much planning time invested from the get-go.  So they announce softly in order to buy time and iron out details.

In the case of large projects such as Tomb Raider or MForce, parks use large media blitz campaigns to focus on the changes that no one can ignore.  Typically those projects have been under development for years, and the marketing plans are well prepared and thought out.  They have all the I's dotted and T's crossed.

I would say that CP will probably announce soon, but don't expect a large media blitz announce for this new product.  I would suspect some news releases and then more formal info at no coaster events throughout the off season.  I doubt CP is considering this a "major" project for them compared to, say MForce.

None of this discusses actual media previews once the new products are completed and the season is beginning.  That is when the real focus on product advertisements begins.

Shaggy

Keep in mind that it is VERY early for any announcement regarding NEXT season. The season just ended. SFMM annouced X and DejaVu in December with a projected SPRING opening. Parks who arent open until May will want to schedule their press closer to the upcoming season, so it is fresh in people's minds. Also, the speculation of the new rides before the announcement often gathers more interest than the ride itself, and marketing directors know that.
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My other car is a Giovanola!

Then why (besides the track) was Millennium Force announced in July, and Mantis and Power Tower on (or near) Labor Day?
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Paul

Their construction made a vast changed to parts of the park. MF started construction in September (some changes happened before the season started...I/E the train tracks were moved).

I don't know about Mantis, but I thought CP started vertical construction on Power Tower even before they announced what it was...

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Mayday - Memorial Day Weekend - Nonpoint, Nickelback, Oleander, Staind
Ozzfest - June 8 - Drowning Pool, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Black Sabbath
Awake Tour- June 15 - Darwin's Waiting Room, Puddle of Mudd, Deftones, Godsmack

I think construction on Power Tower started after the announcment. I remember that like one whole tower was done before the season ended.

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2000 Force Laps: 117
2001 Force Laps: 307
VertiGo Shots: 32

I called CP. They said that their new project will be on their website and in the news so at least the nice phone lady thinks it's newsworthy.
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G.Bush:We will find those who did it, smoke them out of their holes, get them running, and bring them to justice.
I pray that I will never see a Six Flags Conneaut Lake