johnjniehaus

Hey thanks to @AlexCutlerDDN for starting this forum to get the opinions of the fans. First of all, Vortex was a very special coaster with historical significance to the park. To this day I'll never understand why they demolished that beautiful station house that was used for both the original Bat and Vortex. (Meanwhile they leave the action theater, tomb raider, and Son of Beast station house sitting around looking terrible) So back on topic, I have some ideas for The Vortex plot and on new attractions in general. I feel that there has been a strong family focus on the park since the addition of Banshee in 2014. Mystic Timbers was a good family coaster (48" height requirement) addition, the antique autos was a great family ride, they revamped Octoberfest into adventure port with some new flats, and we had two planet/camp Snoopy additions in 2016 and 2024 respectively. Orion has been the only real big bad thrill ride addition and I'd like to see something a bit more on the thrill level replace Vortex. Just about anything by Mack rides would be fantastic, I'd go for an Intamin launch coaster like pantheon, or I'd love to see a new gen Vekoma (especially a flying coaster that could use that terrain and pay homage to Firehawk as well as Vortex). As for other additions, boo Blaster needs to go sooner rather than later and I am 100% behind a phantom theater revival. However, one could make the case to build a ground up phantom theater elsewhere in the park and that would be great as well as long as it stays true to the original attraction and does use practical effects and animatronics. I would like to see an indoor coaster or dark ride return to the tomb raider building. @Cedar Fair Fanboy has a great idea of a vekoma madhouse in that space and I think it's a really solid idea. We all know that Action Zone needs a refresh/retheme however, I would much prefer to see The Vortex plot addressed, phantom theater return, and a new attraction inside the tomb raider building before removing or retheming rides in Action Zone. I think the Action Zone refresh can wait until around 2030 and let the other projects take priority. I guess that is my opinion for what it's worth and the only other thing I should mention is they should do whatever refurbishment/maintenance necessary to keep the Monster and The Bat operating for many more years to come. Keeping both of those classics is more important to me personally than getting a new ride of any kind.

Does anyone have information concerning Six Flags Over Texas potentially removing rides? I'd say la vibora is probably toast but I'd like to travel down there to ride shockwave if anyone can find substantial information that it is going to be removed as well

They need a new big coaster that's for sure but rumors are la vibora is closing (RCDB already has it listed as defunct). They could do something in that front section if they moved some of the flats and/or got rid of the Larson Loop. Shockwave should never have to make way for something else when there are much worse coasters in the park. I of course am sad to see la vibora get removed if that is what is happening but it was an ok ride as compared to shockwave which is easily in my top 25 out of 300 something credits. That ride has such solid positive Gs in the first half and crazy negatives (airtime) in the second. Also it's a beautiful coaster from the interstate. Come on six flags just keep it around but if you are going to close it please tell us so I make plans to go get my final rides...

The one I'm going to be angry about is if they take down shockwave at SFOT. That ride is still one of the best in that park and they've done refurbishments to mindbender and revolution so Texas better get things in gear and save shockwave

I'm interested in what others are hearing. I have been getting all sorts of rumors from fellow ACE members about multiple unannounced coaster removals in the works across the chain. According to the rumors I've heard, Six Flags Great Adventure is removing green lantern and Kingda Ka will not reopen in its current form. Rumor has it that six flags over texas is removing La Vibora (already listed as defunct on RCDB) and Shockwave. Then I hear that Carolina Cyclone and Hurler are getting the axe over at Carowinds... My question is, have any of you heard or can confirm these rumors and if the rumors are true, why would the chain hold off till the off season to make announcements of massive ride removals or will the announcement it at all? I understand people are going to be furious about certain removals but I don't understand the strategy of "then we just won't tell them". I'd prefer to be told in a timely fashion and have a chance for last rides rather than have multiple coasters removed over the off season with no official announcement from the park.

https://sanduskyregister.com/news/549800/cedar-point-begins-removal-of-ride/ Apparently the sky coaster is being removed along with snake river falls .... that was kind of predictable if you ask me

Adventure Express and Backlot would be the only other coasters because they are more family type attractions. In terms of flats, Viking Fury would be fun and I would also like to see the Monster open but that might not be possible considering how many parts there are to take apart and put together during the off season for that ride. Something in Action Zone would be a welcome addition to the ride lineup but all of those rides would be so COLD!!! That's the only other concern is that some rides are just too cold in the winter to interest the average guest.

Well everyone knows that looney tunes has an "interesting" history to say the least. In a world that we can't have br'er rabbit, br'er fox, br'er bear and zipidy do da day I'm shocked that we can have kids areas themed to Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, and Bugs Bunny. I know the newer looney tunes are a lot more politically correct in terms of their style of humor but I'd be curious if the chain is looking to retire the looney tunes IP...???

The Racer being open during the event because I personally like it better than Mystic Timbers. Love love love tinker's toy factory Thought I might try the buffet this year as I've never been in the International Street restaurant I also have the meal plan this time around so I am looking forward to getting food and hopefully some of the holiday offerings will be included on the meal plan

Yeah I can see that gift card increasing the show budget quite a bit...and I did feel like the show was less attended last year. Will say that $10 gift card was a nice perk to a participating audience member. My dad got to play Scrooge once and he was doing really well until he had to dance a jig. (My dad doesn't dance and whatever he did looked like a peanuts costume character dance that was kinda ridiculous) Overall great show and it'll be missed.

Sad to see What the Dickens got budget cut because that was one of my favorite shows however it was poorly attended both nights I saw it last year. I'll consider The Racer and Snoopys Soap Box Racers a worthy replacement for losing my second favorite Winterfest show. I'd like to see them bring back a Dickens Christmas Carol show at some point but perhaps do a bit bigger production with less comedy and make it a good Shakespeare style show. Different direction.

Maybe we can just replace The Bat with a B&M family invert named The Bat: The Bat's Revenge... For real though, I think The Bat has some time considering Invertigo is probably also on its way out. I don't think The Bat is going to last forever and I do not see the park making any big investments in it like BGW did with Loch Ness but, I don't think it's being removed anytime soon. Hopefully KI doesn't prove me wrong on that...

Interesting take! I can agree it's a two trick pony but man does it do those two things 10x better than any other coaster! Same here. I'm trying to not spark a bunch of controversy with anyone who thinks we all need to get on the pumpkin wagon and call it by the new name but man it's going to be so hard to quit calling it I-305. Even when I say Top Thrill 2 I still say it in a very sarcastic tone of voice and if I'm being serious about the ride it's still "the Dragster"

Sell - they are never going to do something that large scale especially when it comes to altering one of the most iconic rides in the park to that extreme. I'm not sure who thinks it's a good idea to make the world's longest wooden coaster even longer (and accept risks involved of potentially ruining the ride in some way) rather than just build a new ride which does carry some risk of maintenance issues but at least you aren't losing an existing ride if it doesn't work out. Buy or Sell - Dollywood will retire Blazing Fury and replace it with a new RMC version of the ride by 2030 much like SDC did with Fire in the Hole.

I personally do think the final helix and airtime hills on fury 325 are weak compared to the injector and the really forceful helix near the end of Orion. However, all things considered, Fury is the superior ride. Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland while still run is clearly the worst of the B&M trio of gigas. Having said that, I personally will take an Intamin giga over a B&M giga any day. Millennium Force and I-305 (now pantherian) are both in their own league. The sense of speed and the low to the ground elements are unmatched and the speed is really showcased. You could argue that Fury has the best collection of elements on a giga coaster and also has the highest top speed but the intensity of I-305 blows Fury away for me. Even millennium Force still has a crazy amount of straightaways and turns that highlight the pure speed of the coaster. You do have to treasure milli for not having a single trim the entire ride

It would be nice to see the Coney Island model purchased by Kings Island and displayed inside the festhaus or perhaps the Kings Island theater but I know that'll never happen

One of my friends suggested Ignition 305 which I personally would have totally been behind. Keep the race car theme and the abbreviation of I-305. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of the new name as it's much too close to Pantheon as has been already pointed out. I understand they want to incorporate the ride into jungle expedition but gosh some of these new names for rollercoasters man I'm telling you. It's like comic book writers and preschool kids are naming the rollercoasters these days Whatever happened to good coaster names like The Beast and Millennium Force?

Buy - I think that while currently we haven't seen much investment in Kentucky Kingdom, the fact they are running holiday events, is a really good sign and a step in the right direction. I'm hoping to see a really solid coaster addition to replace T3...heck maybe they can convince six flags great adventure to give greenlanter/chang back seeing as there's rumors floating around concerning the possible removal of Green lantern. I think Kentucky Kingdom is a solid local park but I would like to see it become a park that people know they must visit when they come to the tristate area to visit Kings Island or Holiday World. Herschlend can most definitely run and manage a park very well but I just don't know what they long term goal is with Kentucky Kingdom. I'm buying that they will figure it out and make it successful. Buy or Sell: Top Thrill 2 will be open for the Cedar Point opening weekend 2025

I agree that is ridiculous and I can answer the question for you right now on why does the park invest in bars and not invest in hot chocolate while saying they want to be more family friendly - Answer: alcohol can be marked up a ridiculous amount at theme parks and sports stadiums for the sake of just making more money. As for the hot chocolate, why would they care about that because they already have your money. Same issue as them never having ice in the drink machines. Why have ice and invest in a good product when you already have everyone's money? With alcohol, they have to make a good product because they have to actually sell it and make the money that day and people aren't going to pay a ridiculous upcharge on alcohol if the product sucks. As for being family friendly, what is more family friendly than Mom and Dad having a few drinks while their hooligans are off unsupervised line jumping and fighting with other teens? I personally don't drink alcohol, I have nothing against anyone who does and I have some good friends who usually go buy an alcoholic beverage at Kings Island when they visit however I agree that it's hypocritical to say we want to be more family friendly but then have a garbage product on things like hot chocolate and soft drinks that families want during their visit. If not every location is going to honor a season pass hot chocolate drink plan, you shouldn't have to go to guest services to figure it out. There should be a sign outside the dining location advertising the hot chocolate drink plan or at the very least put out a sign that says it can't be used at that location.

This is a question for someone who was at Coney Island pre 1972 or for someone who really knows the history and layout of the park. I have been trying to look at some old footage and photographs of Coney and I cannot figure out where the scrambler and the monster were located in the park. If any of you remember, where were they located in relation to everything else? Obviously I see many pictures of the main midway with the shooting star, skyride, the log flume, lost River, tumble bug, Ferris wheel, and the flying scooter (some older photos obviously have the spook and the wild mouse along the Midway as well) So I know where all those rides were located but I haven't been able to find good photos or footage of the scrambler or the monster to establish where they were in the park. Actually now that I'm thinking about it, I believe Bavarian Beetle was moved to KI from Coney and I'm not sure I've ever seen photos or footage of that ride being at there either. Does anyone know where in the park it was located or what it's name was when it operated at Coney (and please correct me if I'm wrong about thinking that it came from Coney).

It is true that while it's annoying when parks drop their standards, people will still go and the park has no incentive to be better. At least for me, I don't see myself visiting on a Friday in October again in the future. I still think it's a great park but today was very disappointing and now I know firsthand why Cedar Point is starting to get a bad rap for some of this stuff. Maybe for the locals it's annoying but not as big of a deal. If Kings Island closed Adventure Express, The Bat, and Invertigo for Friday haunts due to short staffing, I would be annoyed but as a KI local I'd know to go on Saturday or Sunday to ride those rides. With that issue of having multiple scheduled closures, who it really hurts is the out of town guest. That's why any planned closure such as Iron Dragon will not operate on Fridays in October should be public knowledge on the park website. Of course I think the park should have the rides open but I'm not even asking for that, I'm asking for transparency to the customer who not only potentially bought a ticket but also paid for all the travel expenses to go up to a little, out of the way, dumpy Ohio town called Sandusky to visit one the best parks in the country.

I'm still trying to figure out/hold out to go to epic 2 days during my trip which is planned for early Nov 2025...

Hey I was up at Cedar Point today and the Maverick track slices are officially SOLD OUT just in case anyone was wondering

So I drove up to Detroit to catch Cyndi Lauper's farewell tour and decided to swing by Cedar Point for about 3 hours on the way home. I personally have never been disappointed in Cedar Point and have always considered it the best park in the chain all things considered. I have always valued Kings Island for having the best ride ops in the chain but Cedar Point cannot be beaten for the quality and quantity of different coasters and flat rides. I also love the location right out on lake Erie. Best park in the chain - until today So when I arrived at park opening (11am) it seemed like a lot of rides were not open when the park was scheduled to open - the only coasters I saw running were GateKeeper, Valravn, Magnum and the wild mouse. I decided to start the day with Magnum and as I was walking back there I saw corkscrew and the Himalaya were going to be closed for the day. However they were testing rougarou around 11:30 which gave me some hope the day wasn't going to be full of closures. I got two great rides on Magnum (one of which was in the magic seat). After that the day went south... I decided to ride the monster and whenever they spun it around to load the other arms, it made a squealing type sound and broke down. So I was stuck in the top of the monster for about 20 minutes before they brought it down and got us off. The ride then closed down. No option to even wait for them to fix it so not sure what was wrong but it was definitely down. At this point it was noon and I saw the first train run on Millennium Force. I walked past Gemini and it was closed for the day as well. They were also testing the cedar Creek mine ride at this point. The lines in frontier town were very long so I continued towards Millennium Force which had about a 45 minute wait at this point. I knew if I rode it, it would be the last ride of the day so I kept walking (that was a mistake). Upon reaching Iron Dragon it also had a sign at the entrance that it was closed for the day. Coming back around the front of the park it was noticeable that the skyride was still not open and that raptor has never opened either (it's about 12:30 now). I ate lunch at the grand pavilion which was good. After lunch I checked the Wild Mouse line but it was broken down. Then I decided to ride Cedar Downs Racing Derby which is always one of my must rides in the park. That's when I saw the first train run on raptor (about 1:00pm now). I checked its line which was probably about 40min and I knew I'd be cutting it close on time... So I ran back to Blue streak and every que was full of people. I've never had more than a station wait for blue streak so that was crazy but seeing as so many rides were closed for the day or just broken down, I understand why. So regardless I decided instead of hitting one or two more flats that possibly didn't have an extraordinary line, I would lodge a complaint with guest services which they were very cool about it and of course said they are short staffed on Fridays in October. I told them that I understand but that if the ride availability is going to be greatly reduced, a destination park such as Cedar Point should have that information on their website so that people do not spend lot of money traveling there believing they are going to get to ride everything and then are treated to multiple all day coaster and ride closures. Kings Dominion and Carowinds had a posted ride schedule this past year for the non peak season of what was available. Kings Island updates the website on what is available during winterfest and I believe also states that Planet Snoopy closes early during haunt. I think at a minimum Cedar Point should be transparent about the fact Fridays feature a reduced ride lineup. To top the day off, one of my friends asked me to pick up a maverick track slice for him and they are officially sold out so even that venture was a bust!

I totally missed that when I walked through the building earlier this year. Super cool!