jsus Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 So, this happened. This year, however, Cedar Point unveiled Rougarou, a complete reimagining of its aging Mantis rollercoaster. Mantis was billed as the tallest standup rollercoaster in the world when it opened in 1996, but in recent years its ridership had waned and it had earned a reputation as being one of the more uncomfortable coasters in the park. The move, which appears to have been embraced by most coaster fanatics, transformed the stand-up coaster into a more conventional, floorless sit-down coaster. The park's general manager, Jason McClure, described the transformation as like “trading in a box truck for a Corvette.” He added, “You're still on the turnpike, but it's a completely different experience,” McClure said. [brian] Witherow [Cedar Fair's executive vice president and chief financial officer] said Cedar Fair plans to do the same with other aging coasters in its portfolio, including one next year at its park near San Francisco. Matt Ouimet has previously been quoted as saying the Rougarou transformation could start a trend throughout the company. If successful, it would seem that California's Great America will see the next ride transformation in a Cedar Fair park. Vortex at CGA is another B&M stand-up coaster. Source: Surging Cedar Fair isn't just enjoying the ride Note: You may have to Google the article title to get past the paywall. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethancoaster Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Notice that it says 'coasters', so Carowinds' Vortex will probably follow. I hope CF goes beyond transforming their beemers and adds vekoma boomerang trains to their old arrow loopers. I haven't ridden Vortex at KI before, but it looks like it could be awesome with different restraints. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Vortex(*) is plenty awesome with the restraints it currently has. * of the Kings Island variety 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyano Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 This doesn't make any sense with Medusa down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 If you call 70 miles, up to three hours in traffic, and a near completely different market demographic up the road. Those parks don't compete with each other much at all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkrider68 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Gold Striker, Flight Deck, and this will make a nice 1-2-3 punch for the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhyano Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Carowinds needs this also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsus Posted June 15, 2015 Author Share Posted June 15, 2015 Gold Striker, Flight Deck, and this will make a nice 1-2-3 punch for the park. (No pun intended with Flight Deck) Too soon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkrider68 Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Gold Striker, Flight Deck, and this will make a nice 1-2-3 punch for the park. Too soon! You are right. Fixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Carowinds General Manager Mike Fenhel says Vortex will not be converted. The coaster still to popular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethancoaster Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 ^ He also said Thunder Road was staying....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGalati Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Vortex(*) is plenty awesome with the restraints it currently has. * of the Kings Island variety After getting off of the Carolina Cobra boomerang at Carowinds, I immediately thought that these trains would make Vortex at KI a fun ride again. I guess enough people still ride Vortex that if it ain't broke don't fix it yet mentality still applies. I do admit that riding 7-1 on Vortex was a decent experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 ^ He also said Thunder Road was staying.......Very true,makes me wonder if he even knows what Cedar Fair is going to or if would rather maintain the status quo while his hands are making decisions contary to what he tells enthusiasts. Not one of my favorite park GMs, not commenting at all is better than outright telling people what they want to hear. I dare believe he is just responsible for park operations and has little to nothing to do with capital improvement decisions other than marketing and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 That isn't the way it works at SIX. Then again, FUN ain't SIX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerNut Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 I was told by a former Carowinds PR rep(worked over Paramount and Cedar Fair) that the parks have no choice of new attractions, Cedar Fair Corporate chooses who gets what. He also told me that Paramount would lay out options for the whole chain based on budgets and the parks made the ultimate decision based on the up to five options given. Paramount was also open to input from the parks themselves. Example: Carowinds had at least two options for 2006. Boomerang Bay Expansion or Italian Job Stunt Coaster. For 2007, Carowinds had chosen Flight of Fear from Kings Dominion to replace the Carolina Cyclone. Cedar Fair over ruled the park and Flight of Fear stayed at KD, Cyclone still operates today and in 2007 we got a ride reinstalled from the Carowinds Boneyard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethancoaster Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Can anyone tell if the the new grey paint on Vortex is legitimate paint? Or is it just primer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindingSon Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 That isn't the way it works at SIX. Then again, FUN ain't SIX. But is SIX FUN? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Well...you know what THEY say: More Flags! More FUN! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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