NEW FOR 2011

[Beast1979]

I really don't like how they're doing this now. I liked back in 2008, when Kings Island announced an official date to release it, put a flippin countdown on their homepage, and released a steady flow of clues up until the announcement. With this, it seems as though they're either lazy or trying to capitalize off of it. I agree with Go Browns, it's like "We'll release something when we get to it", and I don't like it.

[The Interpreter]

It's Cedar Point.

By definition, to most enthusiasts anything they do is grand. Period.

[IBEW_Sparky]

Agreed, and the precise reason Ive never saddled (or in my mind anchored) myself with that title by any means.

[Pillsberry123]

Sigh...

Mid-August announcement? Well, it's the 15th. Knowing that it's Cedar Point they're going to milk this for all they can. I'd be surprised it gets announced by the end of the month.

[Dbfan]

They need 25 more fans before they will release clues, its looking like more and more a pathetic attempt to gain more facebook attention.

[IBEW_Sparky]

Well, first clue is out, and all it ended up being was a scrambled word that translated to "airtime"... Facebook page officially disliked, wake me when its over and as soon as someone has some genuine info.

[Dbfan]

IEItRmA

This is going to end up something dumb. The tm are not capitalized.

[HTCO]

It spells out airtime.

[BavarianBeatle]

"AIRtImE" to be exact. Perhaps the capitalization is a part of the clue, or perhaps not.

[The Interpreter]

TM in other contexts means trademark...

And some things already here mentioned would have the riders in airtime...the whole time.

Terp, just sayin'

[Guest Millennium]

I think CP wants us to be more excited about this 300 foot swing than we are.

I could be wrong of course.

[bkroz]

Would you have them gauge the public's excitement level, and then aim no higher? So if the public interest was at a 6/10, they should market it as a 6/10-kind-of-ride?

The very purpose of marketing is to drum up publicity, incite interest, and in many cases, to make things appear better than they really are.

I don't know if that's the case here. It might be. But as the article posted above says, roller coasters have self-promotion. People see the huge construction area and want to find out more, so they ask questions, excite their friends, and daydream. When a ride is admittedly smaller (like a star flyer, a top spin, sn S&S swing, etc) and construction doesn't have to begin until well into the offseason, the park needs to do that promotion and stir up that excitement on its own.

Sometimes, they aim too high (Thirteen). Sometimes they could market more than they do (Prowler).

[Guest rcfreak339]

I have been looking at videos online and pictures as well. If it indeed is a 300 or 400 foot start flyer how the heck will you not think it's thrilling? Teens will go crazy over it I think. Free swinging 400 feet in the air is a real thrilling thought, and I will be honestly nervous to ride it.

[Coney Islander]

They need 25 more fans before they will release clues, its looking like more and more a pathetic attempt to gain more facebook attention.

I think CP wants us to be more excited about this 300 foot swing than we are.

I could be wrong of course.

Yet we're still reading and typing about Cedar Point's next upcoming attraction, right now.

Seems this "pathetic attempt" of theirs is working to its full and original purpose.

[bkroz]

I have been looking at videos online and pictures as well. If it indeed is a 300 or 400 foot start flyer how the heck will you not think it's thrilling? Teens will go crazy over it I think. Free swinging 400 feet in the air is a real thrilling thought, and I will be honestly nervous to ride it.

I think that, if it is a 300 foot star flyer, there will be a lot of naysayers and skeptical teens, whose opinion will be changed upon riding it. The doubters here seem to be under the impression that star flyers are nothing more than yo-yo swings revolving way off the ground. It couldn't be further from the truth. And even if it were that simple, how is that not awesome?

Remember Maverick? "It's 100 feet tall, what's the point?!"

You better believe they now see der point.

GYK, who can't weave his jokes in as seamlessly as Terpy.

[Guest rcfreak339]

To be fair here...No matter how bad people may bash the ride it still is Cedar Point, they WILL find a way for it to live up to the hype.

[bkroz]

^

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

Excuse me while I run for the door!

[Guest rcfreak339]

I know I have not ridden Shoot The Rpids yet but besides the late opening (Like what every new ride sometimes has, get over it.) I have heard many great things about. What didn't you like about it?

I really wish I could head up there this year, maybe it's good to wait till next year.

[Coney Islander]

Also keep in mind that Millennium Force is 310 feet tall and Top Thrill Dragster is 420 feet. Any Star Flyer should be at least the third tallest ride in the park. For certain one of the tallest Amusement Park rides, in the world.

For height comparison, consider that Kings Island's Eiffel Tower is 315 feet tall. Now imagine that Kings Island made the decision to reinstall Zephyr, on top.

[bkroz]

And faster, with longer chains holding the chairs, allowing them to dip sideways at high speeds that far off the ground. What a doozy!

And as for Shoot the Rapids, it is a log flume. A typical log flume, no more "eventful" or well-themed than our Wild Thornberry's one (but a lot slower and thus, a lot longer). The POV, however silly it may sound, well depicts the ride experience (at least, the one I had). A lot of people going "Uh, when is something going to happen?" as you drift lazily through long concrete canals. Then you go up a roller coaster hill, and fly into a whole bunch of water hoses aimed at your face. Totally inescapable. If you haven't ridden it, watch the POV I posted. There are so many times when you think to yourself, "This is the much-anticipated new ride?"

I wasn't expecting Splash Mountain, but what of the "tour through the Crystal Rock Bottling Company?" The "feuding hillbillies fighting over the moonshine?" The "animation and storytelling?" The biggest "theme" I saw was an "enjoy your tour" sign above the first tunnel (a 45 second trip through mist) and a "watch for falling rocks" sign halfway through (which, I hoped, meant we were approaching an animatronic falling boulder. No such luck).

It's a log flume. A very minimalistically themed one. And one that gets you just as wet if not wetter than the neighboring splashdown boat and river rapids ride (thus leaving the park with three soak-you-to-the-bone selections and zero rides that allow you to just cool off with a nice spritz).

I think Shoot the Rapid's problem is really no different from Thirteens. It's opening gets delayed more and more and more, sort of forcing the park into this dead end where they have to say "Oh trust me, it's worth it!" The longer it's closed, the more they have to promise that the wait is worth it and this ride will surpass anything and everything you've witnessed before! A month and a half later, you get on and experience a seven minute, rapids-free log flume. And that's a little frustrating. But what else would you expect of the park? To say, "Well guys it's not open yet, but... Don't get your hopes up too high. I mean, it's just a log ride." They can't say that, right? So they have to amp it up. And unfortunately, Shoot the Rapids (in my opinion) didn't have the guts to deliver.

GYK, who is going to abandon his optimistic wait for an Aqua Trax now, but resume his optimistic wait for a ride like DarKastle in the old Pirates building... I'll be waiting for that one for a while, eh?

[Delirium13]

Yes, I know you shouldn't judge from a POV alone but I found myself clicking forward just to get through the long periods of nothing happening. I much prefer flume rides that take you up a hill initially and are pretty fast moving and then lead up to the big drop (or in the case of Race for Your Life Charlie Brown, goes up a hill gradually goes down and then goes up the "finale hill" shortly after).

I'd love for a ride similar to Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal to be put in at Kings Island, just a good fun ride, that didn't bore you to death between the hills...

Edit -- Disclaimer: This post was written late at night after getting only 3 hours of sleep the night before, I apologize if it is a bit tough to follow/make sense of.

[CincyMan98]

I'll be riding Pilgrim's Plunge this weekend, and that's something that looks better than Shoot The Rapids. ^Like you said, I'd rather ride a flume that goes up then goes down.

[Captain Nemo]

I know I have not ridden Shoot The Rpids yet but besides the late opening (Like what every new ride sometimes has, get over it.) I have heard many great things about. What didn't you like about it?

I really wish I could head up there this year, maybe it's good to wait till next year.

It was fun... I guess, but 110% not worth its price tag!

I think their needs to be a price check on the Intamin aisle... price check on the Intamin aisle

[markr]

I thoroughly enjoyed Shoot the Rapids. The only drawback in my opinion is that it really cannot be enjoyed in the cooler weather during the fall and sometimes early May .

And we don't know for sure that the ride is going to be a Starflyer ( or whatever you call it.) It just seemed possible from the clues but you know how they can totally throw you off. ( Remember a ride called Mustang, ie Ride, Sally, Ride?)

[bkroz]

I'm not a flume ride enthusiast my any means, but I can appreciate Race for Your Life Charlie Brown... It feels like the water level's too low sometimes, the way you go flying down the flume and ramming into turns. And then you'll run straight in to a real life "rapid" caused by the angles of the trough and you'll smash through a little wave. It's a little violent, really, and it's fun.

I feel like if Shoot the Rapids had a waterwheel midway through, or something to just speed up the water, it would be better. But as you said, even watching the video, it's seven minutes long and there are portions where you feel like reaching out of the log and pushing yourself along because you're just in a long, flat straightaway with the water barely moving and absolutely nothing going on around you. It doesn't even have the natural, wooded setting of RFYLCB, so the best word for what you're doing is "meandering." It really would be perfect for a "tour of a bottling factory" if there were animatronic scenes happening around you, even if they were no more complex than the scenes happening on the train ride in the skeleton city. But it's literally just nothing.

It's an okay flume ride and it would be a on the "good" end of the spectrum if it was exactly was it is now, but with a faster current. I think they wanted a flume with impressive roller coaster drops. They got the drops, but they forgot the rest of the ride (which is actually sort of what we should've expected).

[Pillsberry123]

And we don't know for sure that the ride is going to be a Starflyer ( or whatever you call it.) It just seemed possible from the clues but you know how they can totally throw you off. ( Remember a ride called Mustang, ie Ride, Sally, Ride?)

I'm with you there. As much as you all think that this is a starflyer, just remember that it's an idea that spread from forum to forum and now it's grown out of proportion. Remember that the only thing that could point this to being a starflyer is the name.

[BavarianBeatle]

Also keep in mind that Millennium Force is 310 feet tall and Top Thrill Dragster is 420 feet. Any Star Flyer should be at least the third tallest ride in the park. For certain one of the tallest Amusement Park rides, in the world.

For height comparison, consider that Kings Island's Eiffel Tower is 315 feet tall. Now imagine that Kings Island made the decision to reinstall Zephyr, on top.

So kinda like a modern version of KI's zodiac? Only without the enclosed cars?

I remember me and my sister shaking the cars of Zodiac and the Sky Ride at KI just to scare our poor mother half to death...

Edit-- Or more like the parachutes at SFGAd that stop and spin at the top?

[bkroz]

And we don't know for sure that the ride is going to be a Starflyer ( or whatever you call it.) It just seemed possible from the clues but you know how they can totally throw you off. ( Remember a ride called Mustang, ie Ride, Sally, Ride?)

I'm with you there. As much as you all think that this is a starflyer, just remember that it's an idea that spread from forum to forum and now it's grown out of proportion. Remember that the only thing that could point this to being a starflyer is the name.

Which, in all fairness, is a pretty good hint. Stratosoar? Granted, Cedar Fair may have registered it for use at another park, or just to be sure than someone else couldn't use it in the years ahead. But whatever ride ends up being named Stratosoar I tend to think will be a star flyer, a slingshot style ride, or a bungee jump. I mean, Stratosoar as the name of a wooden coaster? Or a top spin? I can't see it.

But GoodYellowKorn182 know this much.

What is nothing?

Correct.

Giant Top Spins for $800 please?

[The Interpreter]

Shoot the Rapids would have been a great name for LeSourdsville Lake's fantastic Barr Engineering log flume. Now that was a log flume...that was very near to being a rapids ride. I miss it so.

As for Shoot the Rapids at Cedar Point, sources say it is best experienced in the back row. Too bad that isn't even an option...

[Beast1979]

Hints towards Star Flyer: Cedar Fair registered the name "StratoSoar" (Which applies not only to all 11 Cedar Fair Parks, but parks are known for registering names they never use)

Hints against Star Flyer: GM of the park said it would barely change the skyline, that the word "Star" has nothing to do with it, and AIRtImE.

So the hints point away from Star Flyer...Then again, we all know Cedar Point's tendency to lie when releasing clues...and if this is the case, why are we bothering to speculate on what could be false clues?