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Cedar Point removing WildCat


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I'm disappointed to see it go. While it wasn't my favorite ride, it was one of the few coasters my Mom will ride. It was fun riding it with her and I am sad to see a ride our whole family could do together be scraped. I told her a while ago and she was pretty mad. I wonder what could have caused this sudden change of course.

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I'm in the group that says "good". Of CP's 13 steel coasters (not counting the kiddie rides), I rode them all last June. Wildcat ranked 12th of the 13 on my list, below DT. I found it to be jerky and occasionally mildly painful, and I hated the abrupt stops in the station. I certainly won't miss it.

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For anyone who's keeping score: Cedar Point, according to RCDB, now has 16 roller coasters.

Six Flags Magic Mountain has 17, and is rumored to get another one next year. To even match them now, CP must add 2 roller coasters next year!

Granted, Cedar Point no longer seems interested in the "most roller coasters" title. If it were, we would have seen more of them post-Maverick....and we have not.

Fact: This is the first coaster Cedar Point has removed since 1978, when both the Wildcat #1 and Jumbo Jet were removed. For comparison, Kings Island has removed Bavarian Beetle (1979), The Bat (closed 1982 or '83, removed 1984), Screamin' Demon (1987), King Cobra (2001), Scooby's Ghoster Coaster (2005), and closed down (and may remove) Son of Beast (SBNO since mid-2009) in the same amount of time! :blink:

Note: Added final seasons for KI roller coaster removals so those who don't know KI very well will know when they last operated.

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I really hate this. I rode it for the first time in the same year that Dragster opened and I really liked it. At first, I always walked right past it getting to another coaster and my best friend talked me into riding it. Wound up being just as good as surprise as TTD.

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^

Oh, good point...Son of Beast was closed, but not removed, during the said 1979-2011 "Cedar Point doesn't remove any roller coasters" gap...so that makes the score...

Kings Island: 5 coasters removed from '79 to '11

Cedar Point: 0 coasters removed from '79 to '11, streak broken in '12 by Wildcat #2 (no wonder they were able to take the title of "most roller coasters"- they just kept adding new ones without removing any! Granted, KI did have sound reasons for most of the ones they did take out...)

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Guest rcfreak339

I don't see how some think the timing is suspicious...Yes, taking down a roller coaster a few weeks before the park opens is strange but also have to remember that this is The Wildcat we're talking about. It can be taken down within 2 or 3 days, that is if they move slow. Perhaps it was something Cedar Point held off for a while thinking not many would care.

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We'll Wildcat, I've known you for a while and this is going to be a sad and sudden goodbye. I think, if Kinzel were still here you would have had 1 more good year left in you (2012 Season) but thats beside the point. I guess this is Goodbye and a farewell, I guess, now you are going to a place where many Coasters and rides have visited and never came back, That place is called the scrapyard. There you will find freinds such as King Cobra, Jumbo Jet, Screamin Demon, and most importantly, you will find a good freind in the Deep, Dark, Evil, Demented, Former Loop of Son of Beast.

Goodbye Wildcat,We've had a good ride, but don't worry Disaster Transport will be there to visit soon!

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Racing roller coasters only count as one in terms of how many coasters a park has. Cedar Point has done a great job in keeping up with coasters.

How many parks can say they've gone 34 years without removing a roller coaster? Not many.

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I think, if Kinzel were still here you would have had 1 more good year left in you (2012 Season) but thats beside the point.

As was mentioned, the ride was confirmed by the park as testing as recently as days ago. It was placed on the map and (apparently) a ride operation crew had already been assigned to it. These actions seem to indicate that the plan was to open the ride for the 2012 season, but that something happened that changed their minds. If it was something severe (a third dangerous malfunction in just a few years) then you can bet even Mr. Kinzel wouldn't have let it operate, much less the state of Ohio. Would it have been SBNO to be a "placeholder" in the record books? Maybe. But if it's unsafe or unenjoyable to operate, then it's closed no matter who's at the helm. We at Kings Island should know that better than any other park...

How many parks can say they've gone 34 years without removing a roller coaster? Not many.

Maybe... But how many parks would judge their own worth on not having removed a roller coaster for X number of years? Not many.

A lot of parks are willing to change and expand in order to cater to a greater demographic. Cedar Point may be becoming one of those parks...

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Conspiracy theories are running amok, but I'm still not seeing any reason to think anything other than something terrible during testing. Terrible meaning a grossly failed inspection, or another "unplanned rollback" during a test run.

Some people may be overlooking is that, as much as you may love the ride, it is now a liability.

Does another park want to purchase a 40 year old ride with a recent history of accidents (one of which I would call particularly severe) due to mechanical failure?Does Cedar Point want to invest in moving/rehabbing a ride that I am quite sure raised some type of insurance cost for them?

I completely understand the emotional attachment to a ride that leaves, but between this and Disaster Transport, they are both eyesores that I would pluck from the park. I think I can state with 100% confidence that this is the absolute last way John H. would want or plan a ride like Wildcat to leave the park. Add the liability factor to Wildcat, and you have what you have here.

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But for the park to need space for the celebration plaza probably not totally correct either.

Yes the liability for sure no doubt there.

That sounds better than: "Wildcat suffered another accident during the pre-season test cycle and it was determined to be dismantled as opposed to being a safety issue."

Granted- that may be a bit dramatic, but I believe the deciding factor was somewhere along those lines.

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