garyman6 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Is there going to be a roof over the slide landing area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariznglori Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 CGA got Gold Striker in 2013. Valleyfair's last major coaster addition was Renegade in 2007. If CGA did get another major coaster before Valleyfair, it would spell out how much major investment Valleyfair would get afterward. Gold Striker was supposed to be open in 2009, but construction got delayed by years for a myriad of reasons, including the new stadium and the threat of the park being sold at the time. I doubt that the investment they're supposed to get has been touched yet. But...what this also says to me is that I am worried over nothing. Valleyfair "should" get its share before CGA, since we got our GCI in 2007 and Gold Striker was supposed to be CGA's GCI two years later. The coasters were probably all planned/designed around the same time to get Cedar Fair a good deal. Of course now I'm not sure what we can expect from the investment given Cedar Fair now wants to tailor its parks to individual markets which may result in the parks being more diverse. About the only consistent thing is a big coaster/entrance combination upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariznglori Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Is there going to be a roof over the slide landing area? The artwork showed blue roofs on the tops of the slides. Wow on the progress! Can someone upload a screenshot of the webcam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lareson Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 By the way, did Ouimet or Cedar Fair ever say how much would be invested in Valleyfair in the near future? We already know the amount for Carowinds is $50 million, and if we knew VF's amount, that could tell us what coaster options are most realistic. There was never a specific number given for Valleyfair, although I think why Carowinds announced that was in part that the city of Charlotte invested a bit into the park. I can imagine the number would be around $20-30mil if a new coaster is included with that. I can see a lot of infrastructure improvements coming with that, like replacing the remaining blacktop with pavers or concrete and also taking down the old amphitheater and replacing it with a new ride. Can also see a new entrance area being built as well. Taking out the ticket booths, installing open turnstiles, and widening the entrance area by taking out the two merchandise buildings on both sides. It's already one of the more nicer entrance areas in the chain, but from what I can tell, it looks like it's a bit of a choke point on busy days. Is there going to be a roof over the slide landing area? I think that's just a temporary cover while they work on the landings. The sides of it remind me of temporary scaffolding so I'm pretty sure that's all it is. Should be gone when the concrete work is done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 ^ Yes, that cover is probably temporary because there is no cover in the concept art. Maybe it's there to protect the concrete they just poured from the weather, but that's just a guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mdcastle Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 Possibly they plan to heat the whole enclosure enough for the concrete to set properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyman6 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Yea im sure you are all right! But it seems like a large temporary enclosure for just a slab of concrete. Just think, before this year is up we will know for sure whether or not 2016 will be our year for a new coaster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariznglori Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 There's still plenty of site activity going on even in the extreme temperatures. I wasn't expecting to see that. A nice surprise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danderson83 Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Yea im sure you are all right! But it seems like a large temporary enclosure for just a slab of concrete.Just think, before this year is up we will know for sure whether or not 2016 will be our year for a new coaster! I would think in about 8 months or so, we should have a good idea if not an announcement, if a new coaster is in our 2016 future!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCjunkie Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 VF posted this on their Facebook account. It is an article about how the Tilt-A-Whirl was invented by a guy here in Minnesota 88 years ago today. I never knew this so thought I would share in case others didn't know either. Good thing VF they just refurbished theirs last year. http://www.startribune.com/local/285725681.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnknown Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 VF posted this on their Facebook account. It is an article about how the Tilt-A-Whirl was invented by a guy here in Minnesota 88 years ago today. I never knew this so thought I would share in case others didn't know either. Good thing VF they just refurbished theirs last year. http://www.startribune.com/local/285725681.html The ride premiered at the State Fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCjunkie Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 VF posted this on their Facebook account. It is an article about how the Tilt-A-Whirl was invented by a guy here in Minnesota 88 years ago today. I never knew this so thought I would share in case others didn't know either. Good thing VF they just refurbished theirs last year. http://www.startribune.com/local/285725681.html The ride premiered at the State Fair. Yes it did and VF opened in 1976. Just saying that is was good that VF refurbished theirs last year since it was 38 years old and looking ugly. Since it was invented in this state it was just nice that the park now has a very good looking one to represent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyman6 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 The new LED lighting package looks great too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning9SX Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 If you ever pass through downtown Faribault you may see this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Never knew that the Tilt-a-Whirl was a Minnesota invention. If I'm ever in Faribault I'll have to drive downtown and see that. The construction work is moving along despite the cold and snowy conditions. I hope we'll see vertical construction within the next few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnknown Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 What will happen first: Vertical construction here, or BGW officially announcing that Premier launcher? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCjunkie Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 ^ Too close to call. You will have to get Vegas involved to set a line on that bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 What's going on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariznglori Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I want to say the tarp thing is for the slides because it's very similar in dimensions to the covered area, but I have no idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Sorry if it sounds like a weird idea, but do you think that the park might remove just Thunder Canyon for expansion in the near future? I just don't think it's that great of a ride anymore because when I last rode it (in 2013) I didn't get very wet at all, and that basically defeats the purpose of a water ride. Even though it is slightly more popular than its next-door neighbor Excalibur, GM Frazier did say he doesn't want to lose any coasters right now. Plus, if you remove Thunder Canyon, that creates a plot of land that could certainly fit in a decent sized B&M Invert or Floorless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariznglori Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I don't want to see Thunder Canyon go. I love river rapids rides and would love to see it brought up to its original quality-aren't there a few waterfalls that have been turned off? The dry park needs to hold onto its water rides as they help make up for the waterpark's current lack of attractions. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it was removed and a coaster built in its spot as it seems easier than moving buildings to build a new coaster. But even that feels like a bad move because when the park does flood, your guests lose access to 3 coasters, two of which would be (hopefully) the best in the park: Renegade, Excalibur, and "awesome new invert". If the new coaster is a great ride, that closure would feel more significant and have a more negative impact. At least that's what I see happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dippindotsguy8 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I would hate to lose TC. It's basically the last ride that's got a lot of nature around it, and is an amusement park staple as far as I'm concerned. Plus, we have an unused amphitheater covering plenty of space to be used for a new coaster, and plenty of vacant areas for new flat rides. I hope they quit removing functioning rides and fill those other spaces in first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF15 Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I don't want to see Thunder Canyon go. I love river rapids rides and would love to see it brought up to its original quality-aren't there a few waterfalls that have been turned off? The dry park needs to hold onto its water rides as they help make up for the waterpark's current lack of attractions. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it was removed and a coaster built in its spot as it seems easier than moving buildings to build a new coaster. But even that feels like a bad move because when the park does flood, your guests lose access to 3 coasters, two of which would be (hopefully) the best in the park: Renegade, Excalibur, and "awesome new invert". If the new coaster is a great ride, that closure would feel more significant and have a more negative impact. At least that's what I see happening. I'm sure the park doesn't have a problem with building rides in the flood zone because they did, they wouldn't have built Thunder Canyon, Excalibur, and Renegade back there. Plus, if they did build a new coaster there, I hope they could build the coaster, station, and queue line high enough off the ground so that it could stay open during flooding. That actually might be an interesting idea, riding a roller coaster over a flooded pain. I also found this map that shows the flood zone boundaries (the blue/white striped line), and unless they use the amphitheater space or relocate some of the buildings between High Roller and Renegade, they're basically stuck with expanding into the flood zone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightning9SX Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Of course it can be done, you can only try and predict mother nature. I remember in an interview on a different site when Renegade was announced, the GCI guys said flood levels were taken into account when designing Renegade. Face it, last year's flooding was above what is to be expected, it also came later in the year than normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariznglori Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 The flooding will have years when it is late. Last year won't be the last time it happens. It did put enough of a dent in attendance numbers to warrant discussion by Cedar Fair executives. What confuses me is why the path to the back of the park goes through a tunnel and isn't raised up above flood levels. It seems to me that there is a way to make back-of-the-park expansion work without removing Thunder Canyon and having important rides shut down. It would be cool to have a coaster back there that was accessible and could be ridden during flooding, just have it designed so the lowest parts of the ride are above the high flood levels (may need special supports or something, I dunno). It would be a completely different riding experience on flood years that would be a unique draw for Valleyfair. It's not like there aren't coasters that have the majority of their track above water. Sounds like something out of RCT but I like the idea of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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