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I realize that not everyone is head over heels with a possible new wing rider coaster coming in 2013. But, keep in mind that most major attractions planned for all Cedar Fair parks, including Cedar Point, for the 2013 season (and maybe for the 2014 season as well), are a legacy of Kinzel and his minions. These "marquee" attractions of 15+ million dollars were not planned yesterday. I do believe it has been stated before that major attractions of this size and cost are usually 2-3 years in the making. Ouimet certainly did not have much say in this 2013 attraction. He has been with CF for about a year now and been in charge for only about 6 months. This attraction was probably thought up by the park (late 2010 - early 2011 | I would assume this would include selecting a site and evaluating existing attractions as far as their potential for relocation or demolition); a manufacturer selected, design(s) created, and one chosen by CP (by late 2011 - early 2012); I would assume ride fabrication has already started; and it appears that site prep will start in August with the closing of Disaster Transport and the observation tower for dismantling. The most influence I see Ouimet having is with the station design and landscaping around the new ride. I will be interesting to see Ouimet's influence on major attractions at Cedar Point and the rest of the Cedar Fair Parks. But, I don't see that until 2014 at the earliest.

Drachen Fire? I stand corrected. That one has come and gone in my head as it did in the park! I still think the top 2 wishes for new attractions at BGW was 1) a new major coaster situated somewhere between Ireland and England and the parking lots; 2) A new country (I would think that this would be done over at least a 2 year period). It appears that all existing areas of the park have gotten a refreshing over the last 10-12 years when the new attraction(s) in that particular area were added. (Apollo's Chariot for Italy; Ireland makeover for the old Hastings area; Griffon for France/New France, Sesame Street Kids area and Clydesdale barn makeover for England/Scotland and Finally, the 2 year makeover for Octoberfest with Mach Tower and Verbolten. Maybe in the next 3-5 years we might see one of the above come to fruition.

I think what you meant was another 3-4 years to wait before you will see another major coaster at BGW. Griffon opened in 2007 and this new addition comes in 2012. Most major coasters added over the last 20 years at this park have been 4-5 years apart. Unless things drastically change in their long term capital improvement plans, I don't think you will see another major coaster until 2016 at the earliest. Especially, with the money BGW dropped on this coaster. Like its the most expensive attraction added in the park's history to date? I do agree that the Ireland section is ripe for a coaster. Course, that has been a hope of many folks for the last say 25-30 years now. As far as the next coaster being a B&M, it will be interesting to see if BGW goes back to B&M for their nest coaster project. This new coaster is the first major non-B&M coaster since, well ironically, The Big Bad Wolf. With an Intamin added in Tampa and this being a coaster from Zierer, who knows who the next coaster manufacturer will be.

There is a article in the local Richmond, VA newspaper today about Wind Seeker and the Dinosaurs Alive attraction for 2012. There are 2 videos included to show off the attractions. One is an abbreviated POV on Wind Seeker and the other video is a rather extensive look at the Dinosaurs Alive attraction. After watching the DA video, I was rather impressed with what KD did to that area that contains Dinosaurs Alive attraction. While watching the video, I kept saying to myself is this KD? The DA attraction area does not appear to be "Dinosaurs on concrete with wide asphalt paths" *. link: __http://www2.timesdispatch.com/entertainment/flair/2012/apr/05/new-kings-dominion-attractions-soar-and-roar-ar-1819474/ * Used with permission of Chuck - all rights reserved - by Chuck.

Seems like the rocking/swaying of the seat pods start as the ride decelerates and starts to lower. Maybe they need to do some adjusting on the motor controls for the carriage rotation to let it slow down more gradually. It looks like someone stepped on the "brake pedal" a little too quickly. Now an for an abrupt 180 degree turn, does anyone know if the show content for the live entertainment is changing for this year? (I know they are keeping the same show names from 2011, just wondering if they are exactly the same music numbers/sets or have things been switched/changed up for 2012?).

netdvn, My point was addressing those who fear that KD, or any Cedar Fair park for that matter, becoming a over-sized kiddy park. I get the feeling that they think in another 3-4 years, when you walk in the front gate of a Cedar Fair park, your head will start rocking back and forth; you will start holding the hands of the people around you and break out into the song "It's a Small World After All" !! (Ain't gonna happen). I am all for the charm and atmosphere coming back into the former Taft/KECO/Paramount parks and coming to the CF legacy parks as well.

This is what worries me as well & I've said it before because the disney parks never really focused on big thrill rides of the type you see in a typical SF/CF park & while families are an important target demographic they mut not forget that there's also a target demographic that perfers thrill rides & coasters as well. Sadly the taft/keco parks will never be ablt to recapture the majesty & charm of their early years as things have just changed at these parks far too much in the 30 plus years since they originally changed hands but in many respects I have to agree that paramount tried,and failed to make the parks into their version of the big resort parks such as disney & USF.USH. Why do you feel that CF is going to do a 180 concerning thrill rides? There will still be new coasters in the future. I would not expect a 600 foot tall aqua-trax with teens running around bragging they rode 100 times in a day and had blood coming out of their ears. Secondly, Paramount took over the park chain late in the season of 1992. They had control of the parks for only 13-14 seasons until Cedar Fair bought the park chain in the middle of the 2006 season. The 2012 season will make it the 7th year for them. So it has only been 21 years since the KECO ownership changed hands. Why not bring back the majesty and charm of those years back to the parks? True, time marches on, but that should not stop CF from trying to take the old and make it new again. Balancing out the thrill with more entertainment/family attractions is needed to hopefully bring in more people and keep those who come to the park longer. Which, in turn, could increase in-park spending (course CF needs to work on their food offerings and service; but, that is a totally different topic). More money in CF's bank account allows them to pay down the debt faster and increase their capital spending for all their parks. As I stated in my original post above, the mini movie park concept did not work for Paramount. What makes you think, just because Mr. Quimet has taken over the helm of Cedar Fair, that he wants to make all CF properties mini Disneys? I think I will give him the benefit of doubt on that endevor until he proves it otherwise.

Part of that interview with Mr. Quimet stated he wanted increase the length of time that patrons spend at the parks; for them to stay at least 2 days. I don't see that happening unless the corporate management makes some major changes in Cedar Fair's operating philosophy. Looking back at the Taft/KECO legacy parks, Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, and CA Great America, before the Paramount days, the corporate management back then had a winning formula in keeping patrons in the parks for more than one day. The bottom line for that formula was investing almost as much in park entertainment/shows as they did in rides and attractions. I am really speaking for Kings Dominion since that is my home park that I have visited at least twice a season from the time the whole park opened in 1975 though the end of the 2011 season. Back in the day, KD produced on average 10-13 shows during the prime summer season. There was no way to see all the shows in just one day and that did not take in consideration the rides and attractions!! KD received a reputation throughout most of the east coast for their quality and variety of the park's entertainment/shows as well as having a good, well rounded selection of rides and attractions that focused on the whole family participating in, as well as thrill rides. Keep in mind that they only had the "Dry" side of the park to work with. There was no water park back then! Take a look at the youtube videos about KD provided by the user "KDfanPre91" and see what the park looked and felt like back in the day of the Taft/KECO years. pay attention to the video about the entertainment available back then (part 3a). In that video, there is a still photo of the old show time signs that used to be scattered around the park. Count how many show productions that were available that season. KD, back then, is like a Dollywood or Busch park today. The Paramount purchase of the Taft/KECO park chain was the beginning of the end for the entertainment division as well as many family attractions. They eliminated the steam train, sky ride, and monorail safari by the 2nd full season of ownership. They pretty much eliminated the entertainment division of the old park chain. They eliminated 3 entertainment venues at KD during their ownership as well. I am sure Paramount initially had good intentions for the park chain, but they realized, after a few seasons, that they really could not make these seasonal parks into mini Universal Studio's or Disney Studio parks. They just could not get an ROI for the amount of money needed to build major movie related attractions. Then, after 3-4 seasons, the park chain became the "ugly corporate step-child" that no one wanted and was passed from one corporate entity to another under the corporate umbrella that owned the Paramount studios. And the neglect was evident in the parks especially in the last couple years under CBS before Cedar Fair took over. Now that Cedar Fair has taken over the old Taft/KECO/Paramount park chain in 2006, they have really worked hard to turn the parks around and it shows. But, KD is still a shadow of what it was in the Taft/KECO years. Cedar Fair is known for their rides, especially thrill rides. But, they are not too good in the entertainment area. That always appears to take a back seat in their capital investments. It is a shame that Cedar Fair was not able to buy the parks directly from KECO (Kings Entertainment Company). They would have gotten a park chain in its prime and inherited a superb entertainment division that could have dramatically improved the entertainment offerings in the legacy Cedar Fair parks. .

I wonder if installing larger diameter wheels and/or vented wheels on the trains would limit or eliminate the rapid wheel deterioration that I305 is experiencing now? Larger diameter wheels would have fewer rotations and there would be less heat generated. Vented wheels could possibly dissipate the heat faster keeping the wheel rim material from melting or breaking up. Maybe a combination of the two? Course, there might be a limit on how much bigger the wheels can be based on the existing train design (train shell and undercarriage). If Intamin/KD took this route, it might mean the ride would have to be shut down for a week to make the switch and test. Or go to a one train operation during the week days so the other train could be refurbished and tested.