blakelemay23

I love how it's coming straight from the horse's mouth that enthusiast sites like this and enthusiast idea's, reviews and suggestions are of value and taken into precedence during the creation of a park's major new thrill coaster. Then someone comes along that thinks they know more and says no it's the GP they're concerned with and everything else is an after thought because I said so. Like lol I guess Dick Kinzel, the man responsible for helping to create a World renowned Coaster Superpark doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. I could see if you were saying Parks focused on the needs of the GP far as Food quality and service, Hospitality and cleanliness, Family/kiddy rides and or entertainment, Not saying Enthusiast aren't concerned with those things. Yet to say they are targeting and catering to the needs of the GP over the enthusiast community when building 200 and 300+ foot coasters, with insane speeds, crazy forces neg/or pos and crazy amounts of inversions is absolutely ludicrous. Especially when the majority of the GP you're talking about acts like Space Mountain is as intense as Millennium Force, yet these are the people you claiming they're thinking of or catering to when a park adds a ride like X2 That's like saying Ford announced a newly designed Mustang muscle car, yet instead of getting input, suggestions and idea's from Mustang/Car/and or race enthusiast we're going to cater to Betty Myers Soccer Mom and whatever the diehards think will be an afterthought...Then release a 4 cyl miniwagon with a unicorn emblem wearing the Mustang name claiming this is a muscle miniwagon for the GP:lmao: You are thinking about this way too hard and i guess that is my fault for not elaborating. Read the book yourself and you will see that when he went to the drawing board he looked to enthusiasts.. that has nothing to do with the other operations of the park, I meant the process of bringing an attraction to life and nothing else.

To re assure enthusiasts that Parks read enthusiasts forums, heres this: "Ghost Rider opened on Dec. 8, 1998, and Falfas told the media that it immediately boosted park attendance by double digits. Dick (Kinzel) said he knew he had a winner when coaster --->enthusiasts started chatting about it on the internet<---"

Ok, I am currently reading Dick Kinzel's biography right now so i want to share a couple of things. First off, i would like to talk about the opinion some people have that nerdy enthusiasts opinions don't matter and that parks are more worried about how the general public responds to coasters. Actually, nerdy enthusiasts and clubs alike get most of the consideration over the GP--probably because we know what the hell we are talking about. Parks do read forums like this daily, and they take what we say into consideration greatly and it benefits. Heres a quote by Tim O'Brien about Magnum XL-200 "Coaster fans' love affair with Dick (Kinzel) began with the appearence of Magnum XL-200 in 1989. They loved-him because he listened to him and was able to give them what they wanted. Journalist Paul Ruben, the North American editor of British-based Park World magazine recalls Dick telling him that he credits members of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) with the idea to build Magnum. "He saw video clips of Bandit, a 167 foot tall coaster that had just opened in Japan. An ACE member was interviewed and he raved about the ride. He said it had no corkscrews or helixes in it, and it didn't go upside down. It was just a fast, smooth ride--one of the best coasters he had ever ridden." Dick subsequently asked some North American ACE members if the public would accept a coaster that went high and fast and had a lot of thrills, alot of speed and bumps, alot of camelbacks, but didn't offer any 360 defree loops or other inversions. The ACE members agreed a coaster like that would go over quite well in the U.S. That was all the research Dick needed." I think CP still cherishes this community, and I think that is why we finally saw a floorless conversion of Mantis. I also think fans will het what they want concerning Mean Streak. Second, a funny moment a week before Magnum's opening. "It was a early Saturday morning, April 29, 1989, a week before the Magnum XL-200 was to open and the trains still had not made an entire circuit. Dick walked up to the ride platform just as Toomer was getting ready to release the first train to run a complete out and back. The group watched it run a succesful route and as it came back into the station, Toomer looked at Dick and said, "Okay hop on for the first ride." No sand bags, no second run. It was just Dick and a couple of the maintenance guys with Jack Falfas in the station at the controls. The ride was fast and as the train went into thr last turn before heading into the station the trim breaks did not work. The ride held to the track, giving everyone a safe but scary ride. Dick was exuberant but later admitted that he had never been as scared on a coaster as he was going into that curve. The ride opened as scheduled the following weekend with less than a week's testing. "That would certaintly not be allowed now." Dick notes. Today, it takes weeks of testing and hundreds of circuits completed before anything other than sandbags can ride." He also said he finally talked his co-workers to ride but told the operator to pause the ride at the top of the hill for ten seconds. When the ride paused he turned around and said "It's time to discuss management's bonus program." "I could only see fear in their eyes, and i remember Veit saying, in his British accent 'Kinzel, you bastard' as tbe train went over the top of the hill. No one ever forgot it" I will continue to share things as i go.

Sounds like the trip of a lifetime whether you stick to the plan or make the tweaks these people are suggesting. Either way you are going to be mind blown by this circus we call America! hope you enjoy it.

Crazy to think Valravn is taller than Magnum I wonder if the new pathway will have any decorative string lights or anything like they did with Gemini Midway.

People that take skyline pictures from Battery Park do a great service.

Awesome, thanks!

Does anyone know how tall the drop from the MCBR will be and if it will be 90 degrees also?

Yeah i thought so too. I can't find it right now, but Tony had a periscope where someone asked "Is the track filled with sand?" and he said no. Then someone asked if the supports are filled with sand and he said "I don't know lets see" and he walked over to nearby supports and knocked on them, they were hollow as well.

Tony also stated she will roar, but not as much as Raptor which is a given.

Valravn has no sand in the track or the supports. Not sure if its a weight issue or because they simply wanted a roar. Alot of people complained when they found out Gatekeeper would have sand. However, CP could of just decided they wanted a roar this time.

Tony stated Cedar Point & B&M go back and forth with suggestions with an idea of what Cedar Point wants. I assume the park would choose if they want a roar or not. However, dive coaster track is very heavy already (especially the lifthill pieces). Each piece of track for this coaster averages around eleven tons so I'm sure adding sand would have added a significant amount of weight. I do not know if adding sand would be too much for the crane or not, however.

Can we take a moment for this view?

Looking at that picture reminds me of RCT3.. lets run a train and watch it fly off into Lake Erie

Check out the cam EDIT: Tony was just live on Periscope, he said this is the last piece the giant crane will be used for. I asked him in the chat if this was one of many designs considered in the design process. This is obvious to some but he talked about the back and forth talks with B&M deciding what fit best. One more thing, the last piece on the lift hill is currently being placed and I must say the colors from Tony's view looked fantastic!! Holding brake mid-flight! Screenshot from periscope, those colors look great IMO

Hey guys its 4am and I am very bored and nocturnal! Speculating is fun, lets do it! So, Cedar Point has just about every kind of B&M you can imagine now. So, lets say the next time Cedar Point gets a coaster they cap off a B&M rampage with a flyer? I thought the first B&M flyers were quite boring, but it appears the most recent ones over seas are incredibly fun and more inspirationally designed. The only other B&M I think of the CP does not have is a Hyper/Giga.. But I highly doubt Cedar Point would see this as a good move unless they were to come to the conclussion that it would be a good replacement for Mean Streak (if they were to take that path). I personally think a flyer would like stunning where CCMR currently sits. Another thing that could happen is an RMC ofcourse... Afterall Cedar Point heard the enthusiasts outcry for a floorless conversion of Mantis and it very surprisingly happened. So what if they were to hear it again? Converting Meanstreak, or tearing it to the ground to build a beautiful RMC from scratch possibly gaining back some room Mean Streak colossally covered? If you are Cedar Point and you are pooking at options, what are you thinking? Well, you scan over what you have, and what you have available to make it better. You look around and you can go back to B&M's attractive gimmicks and reliability, you can look at the booming option of an RMC, or you can explore other options. The only other attractive option I can think of is a GCI, which makes sense if the retracking of Ghost Rider goes well, or maybe gravity group. I honestly don't think Ghost Rider's new track will feel too much better, and if it exceeds expectations I have a feeling it wont last long.. But we will see. What other options do you have? Well, who knows.. I think it would be cool if they got rid of sky ride and put fountains down the midway and have a polercoaster in the place of the furthest former entrance. It would give it a Kings Island/Dominion feel which I think would be cool. What options do you think they have that seem plausible?? DISCLAIMER: This is about what Cedar Points remaining options are as far as coasters, im not saying what i think will happen. So if you have a douchey comment keep it to yourself

Goodmorning everybody! Valravn is loooking great

A snooze fest? Im tired of hearing crap like this. I hope you are trolling. There are two freefalls on this coaster, one being the tallest on a dive coaster going into the tallest immelman in the world just to point a Couple of things out.Do you really look at this monster and think "snooze fest"? Fugget-about-it

Gee-ah-guh

The crane is a bit over 300ft tall fully out. Valravn is currently around the 100ft mark. Yeah i think so too, it currently looks about Bluestreak's height.

Somebody should go take pictures of the lifthill from Battery Park soon! I wanna see how massive this crane is too.

Alot of activity this morning on the live cam, lift hill pieces are being loaded off trucks and assembled, and support beams for the immelman are sprawled out. I believe the lifthill will start first, but im not sure because of the position of the crane and the readiness of the immelman supports. I see no large supports for a lifthill anywhere.

The Boss would be a beautiful RMC

I'm pretty sure Tony said "Two season job" but i'm not sure if that meant the operational season, fall-spring , or fall-winter. Im guessing fall-winter since its moving so fast, but fall/spring makes sense too because 420ft in the air during the northern winter has got to be ridiculously cold.

Cedar Point is going to be so beautiful next year with a repainted TTD, Raptor and a shiny new mammoth of a B&M over a brand new Marina Gate and pathway... I can't wait!!! AND WIFI