Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

[AndrewRnR]

For few years back in the early 2000s I thought (as well as a lot of people) Sandusky was poised to turn into the next Wisconsin Dells or such with a bunch of indoor waterparks. Now Maui Sands is well... limping along, Castaway Bay struggles in the offseason, etc. I wrote a few guidebooks on the area back then and this might sound crazy but I think the city's tourism almost relies too much on Cedar Point. If you visit say Great Wolf in the offseason there is almost literally nothing else to do then that hotel. It is likely a bit of the chicken or egg situation but I felt a good FEC and/or Ripley's facility would've helped the town a lot. I think the sports complex is a great way of getting that longer (and offseason) visitation.

 

Cedar Point is doing a lot to convince guests a trip is more than a one day visit to the park, but I'm not sure the city is doing a good job of convincing visitors more than one day. One of CP's seasoned PR managers switched to working for local visitors bureau a year or two ago so I'm sure he'll help with that.

Edited March 8, 2017 by AndrewRnR

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Sandusky's way better than Florida. Florida doesn't have this guy:

 

[prozach626]

I dont know...I only been there once and I dont remember it really being a rough town...then again I live in Chicago so that probably explains a little why I didnt think it was that bad of an area lol. It wasnt amazing either,no,but still wasnt "ghetto" either.

Not everyone knows what to look for. I notice things most other people don't, because of what I do for a living. Trust me, I would love to have my naive outlook back.

 

Sandusky did not strike Emily or I as a quaint little resort town. It reminded me of the dirty little city I work in, where you're best to stay on the main roads during the evenings.

[DirkFunk]

Prozach is right regarding Sandusky, especially around Cedar Point and the dorms. The train tracks running straight through the middle of it ,tons of brownfield, and run down commercial/industrial is a dead giveaway. I'm not saying that it is super unsafe or a war zone or anything, but it isn't anywhere anyone should aspire to live unless you're in a favela or something. Just look around as you go between the causeway and 250: there's vacants, empty foundations and lots, and a junkyard all within walking distance of the Thirsty Pony. At least the old factory next to Lyman Harbor finally came down, but now there's these monster vacant lots just sitting there with tons of lake frontage. Just when you get a little further from downtown, then, oh yeah, there's a gigantic mining operation about as big as the Cedar Point peninsula blasting away.

 

There's some stuff I like about the park, sure, but I'd like to see them do a better job of crosspromoting with some of the other local things. For that reason, I'm really happy about the boat trips to Put-In-Bay coming back, because that's a whole different universe than most people who travel to the midwest ever get to see. The sports parks should help with that too.

[DirkFunk]

So is the new RipCord going on the former Shoot the Rapids spot?

 

It's already there bruh.

[storms555]

Oh see,yea,I was mostly in the hotels and "tourist-y" areas not so much the residential or industrial areas. Probably because when we went it was only for CP mostly. We took one day off to do other things but that was just going to a park to hang out,to the beach,then to a petting zoo near by. All which if I remember wasnt in bad areas either. But then again i was only there for 4 or 5 days and mostly doing stuff so I didnt notice all that. Also what someone said about Wisconsin Dells...in a way it kind of reminded me a little of Wisconsin Dells too....I guess thats a strange mix...Discount Wisconsin Dells meets Florida Town meets Detroit(the part i didnt see but Ill mention since people mentioned the rough areas empty lots etc). Now thats are weird combo!

[cparkes92]

Also what someone said about Wisconsin Dells...in a way it kind of reminded me a little of Wisconsin Dells too....I guess thats a strange mix...Discount Wisconsin Dells meets Florida Town meets Detroit(the part i didnt see but Ill mention since people mentioned the rough areas empty lots etc). Now thats are weird combo!

You have described the city of Sandusky to a T, especially if you come in via OH 4 and 1st St (there are parts of 1st St that have seen better days). It's not nearly as bad as the worst parts of Detroit, Flint, or Chicago (I don't think violent crime is a major issue in Sandusky)

[DirkFunk]

Oh see,yea,I was mostly in the hotels and "tourist-y" areas not so much the residential or industrial areas. Probably because when we went it was only for CP mostly. We took one day off to do other things but that was just going to a park to hang out,to the beach,then to a petting zoo near by. All which if I remember wasnt in bad areas either. But then again i was only there for 4 or 5 days and mostly doing stuff so I didnt notice all that. Also what someone said about Wisconsin Dells...in a way it kind of reminded me a little of Wisconsin Dells too....I guess thats a strange mix...Discount Wisconsin Dells meets Florida Town meets Detroit(the part i didnt see but Ill mention since people mentioned the rough areas empty lots etc). Now thats are weird combo!

 

Sandusky is a resort town by default because industry left long ago. There's a defunct crayon/pencil factory not far from downtown. The car part plant closed after last year (it wasn't far from the Toft's factory). Big freighters pass right by the park and occasionally offload coal or ore from up north in Michigan/Ontario/Minnesota into rail cars. But most of the stuff from when it wasn't all about cheap tourism is vacant or razed.

[thepoint4life23]

The down town over by the Jet express is nice. Some small little restaurants, and also a brewery is going in.

[ElectricUncleSam]

Also what someone said about Wisconsin Dells...in a way it kind of reminded me a little of Wisconsin Dells too....I guess thats a strange mix...Discount Wisconsin Dells meets Florida Town meets Detroit(the part i didnt see but Ill mention since people mentioned the rough areas empty lots etc). Now thats are weird combo!

You have described the city of Sandusky to a T, especially if you come in via OH 4 and 1st St (there are parts of 1st St that have seen better days). It's not nearly as bad as the worst parts of Detroit, Flint, or Chicago (I don't think violent crime is a major issue in Sandusky)

Because everybody's too damn old to rob anyone there.

[coasterbill]

Since we're on the subject of weird sh*t in the Sandusky area, what's the deal with that Nasa Plum Brook station? I'm sort of confused as to what it is, from what I gather it was the only nuclear power plant ever built by NASA which was decomissioned in the 70's and partially demolished in 2012, but now they use it for full scale testing of upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket engines. That seems like an odd combination / transformation. Apparently it's the world’s largest and most powerful space environment simulation facility. Looking at it on Google Maps is pretty interesting since it seems to feature street after street lined entirely with what appears to be nuclear fallout shelters. It's on the left when you get off the turnpike and it's a huge facility.

Edited March 8, 2017 by coasterbill

[boldikus]

Looking at it on Google Maps is pretty interesting since it seems to feature street after street lined entirely with what appears to be nuclear fallout shelters.

 

Whoa. Creepy.

[DirkFunk]

Since we're on the subject of weird sh*t in the Sandusky area, what's the deal with that Nasa Plum Brook station? I'm sort of confused as to what it is, from what I gather it was the only nuclear power plant ever built by NASA which was decomissioned in the 70's and partially demolished in 2012, but now they use it for full scale testing of upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket engines. That seems like an odd combination / transformation. Apparently it's the world’s largest and most powerful space environment simulation facility. Looking at it on Google Maps is pretty interesting since it seems to feature street after street lined entirely with what appears to be nuclear fallout shelters. It's on the left when you get off the turnpike and it's a huge facility.

 

They usually do public days where you can visit once a year. I only found out about it driving around the area and stumbling across the signs guiding to there randomly. Here's the info about it from last year:

 

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-glenn-s-plum-brook-station-invites-the-public-to-visit

[Ape]

I am not sure if it is in the same place but recently i read about a room they call hell on earth. It's a room they super heat to what they believe is the temps on Venus to see how long various metals and components for robots could last. The most recent thing I had read said the longest test to date was 90 days.

[defrocker]

I am not sure if it is in the same place but recently i read about a room they call hell on earth.

 

Interesting, that's also what my dad calls being married to my step-mom...

[BigDipper 80]

Speaking of other weird Ohio-related NASA stuff that's tangentially related to theme parks, NASA Glenn over in Cleveland has a 510 foot deep hole in the ground that they throw stuff into to study weightlessness. Imagine if they put a seat and a shoulder harness on THAT! It's usually possible for the public to see it and some other parts of the facility once a year.

[prozach626]

Maybe defrocker's Dad can throw his Step-Mother into that hole?

[storms555]

Speaking of other weird Ohio-related NASA stuff that's tangentially related to theme parks, NASA Glenn over in Cleveland has a 510 foot deep hole in the ground that they throw stuff into to study weightlessness. Imagine if they put a seat and a shoulder harness on THAT! It's usually possible for the public to see it and some other parts of the facility once a year.

 

I think a 510 foot coaster or drop tower in general would be awesome! I hope we get a coaster and/or drop towers that tall some time in the future. It may be some what unthinkable to many people now but then again a lot of the mega coasters we have now Im sure were unimaginable at some point. Im sure in lets say the 60s a coaster like Magnum probably was probably not thought to be possible and was only part of a kids imagination or something.

[Steely Dan]

Im sure in lets say the 60s a coaster like Magnum probably was probably not thought to be possible and was only part of a kids imagination or something.

hell, even well into the '80s, any coaster that stood 100' or taller was considered a "really big coaster".

 

it seems a quaint notion today.

 

magnum changed a lot of things.

Edited March 8, 2017 by Steely Dan

[prozach626]

Magnum changed a lot of things, but I also feel it was inevitable around that time frame. If Cedar Point hadn't been smart and pulled the trigger someone else would have. How true it is I am not certain, but from a documentary I watched recently, Arrow was the one who brought up the idea of making Magnum 200 feet tall to Cedar Point.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Hadn't Arrow just done a coaster in Japan that was a lot like Magnum but smaller? I think I remember something about a Japanese coaster being the inspiration.

[Steely Dan]

Magnum changed a lot of things, but I also feel it was inevitable around that time frame. If Cedar Point hadn't been smart and pulled the trigger someone else would have.

Oh, for sure. Over the course of the 80s, Arrow kept pushing higher and higher with each successive big multi-looper.

 

Breaking the 200' barrier was only a matter of time, but what a revelation it was to have the first 200+ footer obliterate the firmly entrenched multi-looper paradigm.

 

Magnum could have happened anywhere, but it actually did happen at CP. Reason #4,568 for why CP is special.

 

 

Hadn't Arrow just done a coaster in Japan that was a lot like Magnum but smaller? I think I remember something about a Japanese coaster being the inspiration.

You're thinking of Togo's Bandit, which allegedly was a big inspiration for magnum.

 

Here's the story, according to wikipedia:

 

"In 1988, Kinzel saw a report on CNN about the opening of a new coaster in Japan called Bandit at Yomiuriland that emphasized height and speed but had no inversions. Kinzel wanted to introduce a similar coaster that emphasized steep drops and negative g-forces over inversions and spins, which were common at the time. It had been 10 years since the last major addition, Gemini, was introduced. Cedar Point asked for proposals from TOGO, Dinn Corporation, Intamin and Arrow Dynamics to build a roller coaster without inversions or over-the-shoulder restraints. They chose Arrow, which proposed a 187 feet (57 m)-tall coaster. That got Cedar Point's management interested in breaking the 200-foot (61 m) barrier, partly because of the publicity to be gained from building the first roller coaster to do so. The name Magnum XL-200 was chosen because Magnum, P.I. was popular at the time and Cedar Point's management wanted to incorporate the height into the name. The original proposal was to cost $7.5 million, but was raised to $8 million after the height was extended to 200 feet (61 m).

Opening."

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_XL-200

 

 

So I guess we can thank CNN for the existence of Magnum? I mean, how would things have turned out if Dick had never seen that CNN segment?

Edited March 8, 2017 by Steely Dan

[cparkes92]

Hadn't Arrow just done a coaster in Japan that was a lot like Magnum but smaller? I think I remember something about a Japanese coaster being the inspiration.

Not sure about Arrow doing a Japanese coaster just prior to Magnum, but Togo did open Bandit (167 feet tall and over 5,000 feet long) in the spring of 1988. However, Bandit and Magnum don't have much in common besides both being tall and long

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Bandit is probably what I'm thinking of then. Leave it to nerds to turn half-remembered trivia into facts!

[ImNotOneOfYou]

Is anyone else curious as to what TOGO or Dinn could have created if they were given the job?