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First was Behemoth, than came Diamondback


DropZone99
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After the maintenance train wreck that was WindSeeker, I think the last thing the park needs is an Intamin. Really, B&M's do wonders for parks. Diamondback was completed on time, drew massive crowds, is rarely down, and has overwhelmingly positive feedback. They and GCI make the best coasters in the industry, I believe.

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When I mentioned before that a B and M giga should come, people thought the same thing that CWer's are. Why have Diamondback then a B and M giga? Get something new! You do have a point, an Intamin would be a matinence nightmare for Kings Island especially since they aren't even used to them. Cedar Point has to deal with 4 of them. While both of them are great companies, a B and M giga would probably do the best,

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I don't think B&M has made a new inverted coaster since 2007 - they've all been relocations. But there's supposed to be one opening in 2012 that sounds like it will be an original, so maybe the era of the inverted coaster is returning.

Still, I think Cedar Fair tends to go on patterns. I mean, almost every park got a Planet Snoopy. Almost every park got a Boo Blasters. Almost every park got a B&M hyper. Almost every park got a WindSeeker. Almost every park got a Dinosaur's Alive. That's not to say things will continue on in that direction, but now would be a pretty odd time to start deciding that each park deserves its own unique identity and its own signature attractions, right?

And say what you want about Ouimet, but the parks he was previous in charge of are hardly renowned for their "original programming." Disney sort of seemed like the first "if it works here, let's put it there" mentality. Disney is the king of ride duplication. Tower of Terror helped out Disney-MGM Studios turnstiles? Put one in every resort... Same of Muppets 3D, It's Tough to be a Bug, Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Star Tours II, dozens of others, and the entirety of Disneyland Park!

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It means it took them five years to get around to another.

What they've been working on and innovating on has been their Mega-coaster design - apparently, to the extent that they've been able to feel comfortable expanding it into a Giga coaster... For B&M that seems to mean that they're very, very assured of their design and that they feel they've mastered that layout / train style / track construction. In my experience, Intamin starts near the top, then offers lower versions. B&M starts at the bottom and works their way to the record-breakers. That, to me, is why they're known for uptime, reliability, and comfort.

It appears that the hey-day of inverted coasters (or at least, the first hey-day) is over, because for years, they were cranking off a few each season. That's when every park got one (except Kings Island and Kings Dominion, but Kings Dominion got that Intamin Accelerator in the lost mountain). Now it seems that they're doing that with their hyper coaster line and their wing rider line (with three of those opening in 2012).

If the interest is there, I'm sure they'd built one. But what they're certainly trying to market to prospective buyers would be the two models they're focusing on at any given time. At least, it seems that way to me.

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i think with the Disney guy coming on- CF's days of taller/giga coasters may be waning. As soon as the current regime's "orders" are flushed through I'm guessing that theming may trump shear size. that's just an opinion though. I think the new guy is going to start down the path of what draws people to the Disney parks time after time.

I don, however, think that the current real estate that SOB is on is awaiting plans for KI's expansion to tie in the northern parts of the park back to the back reaches of Coney Mall. I think the plan is incomplete- which is why it sits.

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I think everyone is putting way to much bushels into the basket of " the new ceo is going to bring theming to the nth power". Just because he came from Disney, which is a highly themed park, does not mean that is what his plans are. For all we know, he may not even like all the theming at Disneyland. He's a financial guy, that's why he was brought on board. Since 2006, he has been working in non amusement park companies. To think he will better Cedar Fair because of his financial and business prowess is a safe bet. To bet on him being a theming genius on the other hand is a little risky.

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Really, I think every Cedar Fair park would nicely welcome a WindSeeker. It is an attraction that should be at every park, but I mean, almost every park as a Scrambler spinning ride, so Windsekeer isn't much different.

Except the $6,000,000 price tag on the WindSeeker, and the "thrill ride" promotion which - whether enthusiasts hyped up or not - they did do. Maybe we egged it on and enflamed it, but they did market it as a thrill ride. And voila, week three, it was a walk-on at Cedar Point when everything else was at least an hour.

I like WindSeeker a lot, personally, and I agree that it's a fun little ride that nicely rounds out the family lineup.

But I think the two issues with it were:

  • 1) The initial claims of "thrill ride" status (see the website even to this day, where it's listed as a thrill ride but the Italian Job is listed solely as a family ride), and
  • 2) That terrible plague that befalls all delayed-opening rides - in order to compensate for the closure, the PR department is forced to put on a spin on it like, "Yeah, it's not open yet but trust me, it'll be so worth it!" After another two weeks, they have to again announce, "It's still not open, but are you ready to fly at a 45 degree angle taller than the Eiffel Tower?!"

Then it does open, and all their much-hyped worth-the-wait-ness ends up flopping hard on the general public who was promised time and time again that it was worth it, with bigger and bigger claims each time its opening was delayed. See also, Shoot the Rapids: a decent (if not a little slow) log flume, but with 3 months of delays, Cedar Point was practically forced to say "it'll be worth the wait." Was it? I can't say. I haven't ridden it... See also, Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios Florida and Mäch Tower at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Perhaps we're seeing another small example of why Cedar Fair let go of its former marketing company. Remember "Bred to Shred?" Neither does anyone else...

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As far as theming goes- Tomb Raider when it came out was heavily themed and well worth the wait in line- as the line itself was part of the experience. I think theming can work in a seasonal park. Busch Gardens does real well at this too- and the Williamsburg park is seasonal.

I only rode WS once. I think it is a nice addition to the coney mall area- though I thought that its location could have been better picked. The thrill factor is being 300 feet with your feet dangling and little holding you in. Other than that- what "thrill" factor were you expecting.

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It is a very thrilling ride.. to someone who is not an enthusiast, who doesn't think going 300 feet in the air while spinning is natural. I went with some people from my small group at church to Cedar Point this last year, and they had no problem riding all of the roller coasters (sans Top Thrill Dragster) but were freaked out from the time they saw, through the time they rode, and from the time they got off of WindSeeker.

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^^ You're right. I think the official website listed the ride time for Tomb Raider at like, 40 minutes, because the line and pre-show were part of the experience. To claim that same statistic of The Crypt would be laughable.

I'm not denying that it's a thrilling ride in its statistics and the experience if you're woozy at the thought of heights. But in those awful "bred to shred" commercials, WindSeeker was shown towering amid Drop Zone, Diamondback, and The Beast as the park's "totally sweet, hip-hop-happenin' thrill rides." It's one thing to say, "WindSeeker is a real doozy for the bravest members of your family!" It's another to market it to a teenage, "thrill-seeking" demographic. As I said, WindSeeker is listed among Kings Island's "thrill rides" while Adventure Express and Backlot Stunt Coaster are called "family rides." Does that sound right to you? It doesn't me... And like Shoot the Rapids or Alton Tower's Thirteen, I think it would've been massively successful if the marketing had presented it for what it was.

I imagine it was the inclusion in media like that which led to the rumor that it "dropped" like Drop Zone after its cycling ended. It's a family ride, with a family height requirement, nice music, beautiful lighting, and a thrilling, fast-paced swing ride. I just can't imagine classifying it as more than a family ride, much less as a thrill matched with Diamondback, The Beast, Drop Zone, etc.

My impression is that Cedar Fair agrees, since all the new WindSeekers are being bundle-marketed alongside Dinosaurs Alive, as if it's one large-investment to increase family attractions at the park rather than one badass thrill ride and one family walk-through. That's the impression I get, at least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZo9djosjbs

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  • 2 weeks later...

It appears that the hey-day of inverted coasters (or at least, the first hey-day) is over, because for years, they were cranking off a few each season. That's when every park got one (except Kings Island and Kings Dominion, but Kings Dominion got that Intamin Accelerator in the lost mountain).

Oh, how easy it is to overlook and forget about Flying Ace Aeriel Chase... and if you're not just counting full circuit inverts, then Invertigo too. ;)

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  • 1 month later...

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