DILinator

Sometimes I wonder if these Screamscape "rumors", are just them repeating things they read us talking about here in the forums!

Sheesh! I've been fairly critical of Cedar Fair in recent years, but from all of your posts so far, your axe to grind with them makes mine look diminutive! For the record, I don't think a Dive Machine is in the top three of what would have been a smart next coaster addition to The Point, but it's FAR from a "terrible" decision, and will be another massive hit with GP and enthusiasts alike! I know I'm certainly looking forward to it, even though I would be anticipating an RMC (either ground-up it Mean Steak makeover), Intamin woodie, or B&M Flying Coaster even more! BTW, are you not familiar with how Cedar Point operates? Aside from a lengthy stretch when they were busy acquiring the Paramount parks and weathering a recession, they have always made regular, somewhat frequent coaster additions. Getting another coaster so soon is "business as usual" for them!

I've always felt like maXair provided a ride experience similar to a roller coaster, and is more fun than over half of the coasters at Cedar Point! I'd definitely put this in the category of addition by subtraction (and a different addition!)

Interestingly enough, this is pretty much true! Aside from finding Mantis better than "Iron Apocalypse", I do think Riddler's Revenge and Green Lantern Chang are better than Mantis and certainly Carowinds' Vortex (the worst B&M Stand up I have ridden, easily!). I haven't ridden Georgia Scorcher or CGA Vortex personally, but everything I've heard about GS is that it is one of the best Stand-Ups out there. I makes me wonder why it is that SF had such better success with their models...?

My suggestion? Buy it now and get it processed this year. Either buy from Michigan's Adventure or Cedar Point and that way you don't really have much risk involved. Buying now also gets you one visit this year, so you could buy it and already start making your money back by a visit to CP or MiA. That and its already processed so you don't have to stress about being screwed or not. Thats the one big risk - you have to process at the park you purchase the pass from, so if you buy CGA and don't go go CGA, you cant use the pass anywhere else..so definitely purchase at your home park and process there, then even if you dont make it to CGA it's not a total waste. Thanks for your added input! I realized that I would be going too early in the year for RMC Roar (and maybe Floorless Vortex) to be open yet, so I think I'm going to go in the Fall instead. My brother lives in LA with his family, so I want to go visit him, and treat him to a coaster trip to SFMM, SFDK, and CGA! Now, I suspect my first CF park next year will actually be Kings Island during my family vacation in late April. So, assuming the details for all that work out, I'll probably get the KI Platinum Pass. The only downside is, if KI, Dollywood, and KK don't set their 2016 schedules before Nov. 1, I won't get the discounted price... Hopefully, whatever it jumps to after that won't be TOO much more!

I have to respectfully disagree that MiA will ever be anything other than Cedar Fair's red-headed step-child, but I certainly hope I am wrong about that, and you are right!

I'm about at the point where I'm willing to make a sig bet with anybody who actually thinks Valravn is going to get "re-branded"! Seriously, people! Raptor, Rougarou, even that GateKeeper creature looks a little evil! Delaying the announcement, especially given the theme? Understandable. Changing the name and re-branding everything? Not. Going. To. Happen.

lol awe poor Michigans Adventure, don't worry Time Warp will be your coaster soon, love from Canada's Wonderland a) Don't bring your big park, CW loving self into our poor little park's thread here just to razz us over our misfortune and b) That's actually not a half bad idea! I know I am probably in the minority on this, but I actually prefer Time Warp at CW over Thunderhawk at MiA or Shockwave at KD. Given the choice of either Shockwave, Time Warp, or Knott's Screamin' Swing, I'd take Time Warp! The Screamin' Swing would be fine with me still, but I actually think families at MiA would eat Time Warp up if they were to put it in there.

What about this place? I knew this post was coming! I guess when a park in the same chain is a far better candidate, I don't worry about parks out of the country! I think I'm continually surprised by this general feeling that KD has been slighted, when I see a park with some absolutely amazing coasters, including one of the best in the world! KD is going to get another coaster - and probably before MiA does! I would love to have KD be 2 hours away from me instead of MiA...

^That was actually a pretty humorous read! Frankly, even though maXair is one of my favorite rides, I can't disagree with part about the OTS spike, and being blinded by the sun! As for world record breaking coaster drought, MiA says hi...

Funny you mention that, as CP actually does close at 8:00 tonight, and the rest of this week and next, M-Th!

My suggestion? Buy it now and get it processed this year. Either buy from Michigan's Adventure or Cedar Point and that way you don't really have much risk involved. Buying now also gets you one visit this year, so you could buy it and already start making your money back by a visit to CP or MiA. That and its already processed so you don't have to stress about being screwed or not. I think you're right about that being the best option. After looking at things a little more, I've decided I probably won't be heading out to Cali so early in the year anyway, so CGA won't be my first CF park. Thanks for the reply!

Six Flags aims for Memorial Day weekend for all their new ride openings, barring any delays. It's been this way for several years now, so unfortunately there is no chance of a late winter opening. After looking around a little, I came to this same conclusion as well... Thanks for the response, and confirmation, however!

I know this is probably a bit presumptive, given that we haven't had any official announcement yet, but assuming that Roar is indeed getting RMC'd, does anybody have any educated guess as to when it might open next season? I am hopefully going to be making my first trip out to the park early next year, either in late February, or March sometime. Any chance it's up and running by then? I'm not familiar with how long these RMC conversions typically take...

There is a decent chance that CGA will be the first CF park I visit in 2016... From my brief checking around, it would appear that all the CF Platinum Passes, regardless of park of origin, are the same price - currently $189.00. Is that correct? Also, will the price go up after November 1, and does it matter which park I buy it from and get the voucher? (ie: if I order it from CGA before Nov. 1, but don't end up making it out there after all, am I screwed?) Thanks in advance for all the assistance! It has been many moons since I've purchased a CF season pass, and they are different now.

That's interesting... The last time I was at Canada's Wonderland, it actually got to be a joke among the group of us that went how rampant the line jumping was! It was almost as if it WAS a sporting event there! I had to keep checking to make sure I wasn't at SFMM or SFGAdv... Maybe it's just the French Canadians who are better behaved!

Isn't that what people are thinking that Fiesta Texas will be getting? I know I had read that at some point at least... I'm not sure this will ever happen, but I would love a 400 foot SkyScreamer on top of Samurai Summit! Imagine the insane views, and how freaky that would be! I know they already have the Sky Tower, but this would obviously be a completely different, and more thrilling experience!

Shame? Oh dear! Definitely don't feel that way! Heck, back in my early enthusiast years, I felt a little shame riding the kiddie coasters, not the other way around! There's certainly no shame in skipping them as an adult! I definitely don't ride them any more, unless I'm riding them with my kids. So no, please don't feel bad about passing them up. I went to Carowinds earlier this year for the first time, and passed up a few "new credit" coasters that were essentially the same kind of coaster that I had already ridden before. Carowinds has 13 coasters... I rode 7 of them (and 3 of those I wish I hadn't bothered with.) What did I do with that extra time? Got a few more rides in on Fury, my new #1 coaster! I definitely don't regret that decision, even though I didn't pad my "count"!

And a crying shame that is, too! Personally, I have definitive opinions about what constitutes a coaster or not, and also less particular ways I assign single or dual credits to rides. I also do keep track of my count multiple places. But I think what Robb said is really true as well... If people are getting so obsessed about counts, and credits, and what is and isn't a coaster, they're missing the point of what riding these lovely creations is really all about. And that's to have fun! I don't really worry too much about milestone coasters either, personally, because there were so many random coasters I rode when I was a kid, that I don't even recall or remember, that whatever my count is, is probably inaccurate really anyway. And at the end of the day, nobody really cares but me! I will say that non-enthusiasts are always impressed when I say how many parks I've been to, and how many coasters I've ridden, and my count is significantly less than many of you! (It's in the 220's) They also come to me for any coaster or park related information, and I developed a reputation among my social circle of being the "Cedar Point Guy" that was cool to go do the park with since I knew it backwards and forwards. So people don't always think us enthusiasts are "dumb". However, there is a limit, and I always tried not to be too enthusiast-y around them, because there's a fine line between being informative, and annoying! To directly answer the OP's question, personally, I wouldn't dream of counting those fair rides SF put in a coaster, nor do I count rides like Pipe Scream. I also consider racing coasters to be one coaster, even though there are two sides. And while a relocated coaster like Dominator or Thunderhawk is NOT a new credit, a ride with a completely new ride experience like Rougarou IS! But those are just personal opinions. Arguments can be made to the contrary for all of them, some more effectively than others.

^I don't know how it started, but I for one, believe CW will be getting a new large coaster in 2017, and I also agree that it will be a Wing Coaster, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's even launched. But multiple launches? I rather doubt it, personally... As for all of this grateful/ungrateful talk... Look... I grew up through the years of Cedar Fair regularly building a new coaster (or another major investment) every other year at Cedar Point. I also remember my Canadian friends back in the 90's raving about CW, and us getting into debates about which park was better. When I finally went to CW in the 2000's, I saw what the hype was about. It was a large, very nice park! It IS comparable to CP in many ways, though I still don't think it's better than CP. But it's definitely the second best seasonal park in the chain from a monetary/attendance/investment standpoint. It's the banner park of an entire country - I don't know if CP can even claim that - and it gets treated as such. Now, I'm not a CW fanboy or anything, but to me, as an observer of CF, CW, and how they operate, I think it's pretty clear that they are going to get larger cap-ex investments, more frequently, compared to the middle and lower tier CF parks. I don't think the expectation of that every few years constitutes "ungratefulness" on the part of CW fans. Rather, it's it's a result of looking at past practice, and the particulars of the market and situation CW resides in. I was the same way with Cedar Point growing up. Every couple years, we had a new coaster. Looking forward to that didn't make me ungrateful for what CP already had. It was simply a result of knowing that's simply what they did, based on past practice.

This is what I've been thinking about the park. $25 mil is a huge investment, and as a mid-tier CF park, they weren't going to get huge cap-ex for years after I305. Also, as I mentioned in my post a few pages back (that I'm not sure anybody even noticed because nobody commented on it), I haven't been to KD since before Dominator and I305, and I still think it's a better overall park than Carowinds, in spite of my new favorite coaster being there. KD has a great collection of coasters, and rides, and Delirium is a fantastic addition for next season! That being said, it is my official opinion (at this time) 2017 will bring another major coaster investment, along with Canada's Wonderland. However, I could be wrong, as they really aren't doing badly right now, it appears. (Another idea: 2017 could bring an RMC of Hurler? That would be a cheaper expenditure, that would still be a nice improvement!)

Did you even read my first post? It was clear that I was commending CF in many ways, while acknowledging the fact that fans of the smaller parks (who were CF before the Paramount parks were) are feeling left out regarding major coaster investments. It's a natural response, and I don't blame anybody for feeling that way. It would appear from some of your other posts that CW is your home park, so you would have no idea what it would even feel like to be a long time attendee of a park like MiA. FWIW, I consider my "home park" to actually be CP, so I'm not just some whining MiA fanboy. However, I do believe CF has given them the shaft, and I'm not alone in this feeling. Even GP I talk to are annoyed. Just because you seem to believe CF or Ouimet to be infallible (news flash: they're not), doesn't invalidate the feelings and perspective of others who wish their favorite park received even a fraction of the attention a CP or CW gets. What I was saying in my first post, was that I understood those people, and perspective, and agree, to an extent. But I was also saying I understood what CF was doing, and that we shouldn't lose sight of the smaller improvements CF has made in the smaller parks. My post was a very measured, and reasonable perspective on both SF and CF, and some of the strengths and weaknesses of their contrasting business models.

This, has to be one of the most infantile posts I've ever seen here on TPR! I mean, not only are you making ridiculous assertions (going to a SF park will kill you - "I prefer to live"), and speak of things you admit you don't know (you've never been to a park, but you're going to say what they look like inside?), you also completely misrepresent my post (ignoring all the good things I mentioned CF has done for their parks), and you insult me personally, as if you know anything about me, my intelligence, or my business acumen (which is actually quite stellar!) On top of that, your rant (which is all it is - a CF fanboy rant) is written poorly, and is about as nuanced as having a tank fall on one's head. Lastly, while by one definition I may be an "enthusiast" (anybody posting on TPR or any other fansite has to be to an extent), I have actually been out of the enthusiast loop for almost ten years, raising a family, and interacting with mostly non enthusiasts. I actually have a perspective on the industry that is very heavily steeped in GP and non-enthusiast outlook, and understanding. So again, please don't make assertions about me that are baseless, and that you'd have no possibility of actually knowing!

^Man! I hope you at least get a ride on Goliath before you have to leave!