[FamousAmos]

How many times do I have to say this. Carowinds has no intentions of converting Vortex at all. Mike, John, Steve, Laresa, and even Matt told me this. I'm very happy that they will leave Vortex alone. except for maybe a new way of loading riders, new trains, and new paint.

[fishels]

Interesting comments here that kinda dovetail into our discussion on what makes a great amusement park...
(from the Sept.2014 Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Cedar Point dethroned as world's best amusement park in Amusement Today survey.

SANDUSKY, Ohio – Cedar Point is no longer the world's best amusement park, at least not according to voters in an annual Amusement Today survey.

The Sandusky park – which won the title for 16 straight years – was deemed second best this year, behind Europa-Park in Germany.

World's top 10 amusement parks

Park name is followed by the percentage of votes they received in the annual Amusement Today survey:

1. Europa-Park, Rust, Germany, 25 percent
2. Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, 16 percent
3. Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, 9 percent
4. Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pennsylvania, 8 percent
5. Disneyland, Anaheim, California, 8 percent
6. Universal's Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Florida, 5 percent
7. Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Florida, 4 percent
8. Tokyo DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan, 4 percent
9. Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia, 3.5 percent
10. Holiday World, Santa Claus, Indiana, 3 percent

Reaction to the news on social media this morning was mixed.

"A park is more than just about the coasters. It's quality rides, food, employees, cleanliness, capacity, theming, landscaping, shows and etc.," wrote one fan from Lakewood on Facebook. "I do love CP but I have a bunch of parks I like better."

"Sixteen years in a row as the best and they lost it because they haven't done anything surprising like they did with Millennium and Top Thrill Dragster," wrote another, referring to two record-breaking coasters that were new at the park in 2000 and 2003. "They don't need a coaster but they need to do something to differentiate themselves from other parks! Take a risk other than moving rides or painting them different colors, renaming them, or removing them all together."

The writer was referring to the announcement last week that Cedar Point would shut down Mantis, a stand-up coaster. The park hasn't revealed whether the ride will be removed or revamped into another kind of roller coaster.

other comments...

I'm an avid Cedar Point fan and go almost every year. You can say what you want about service, food quality and price, etc..... but the bottom line is that CP has been rated the world's #1 park for so many years because they brought out a new, exciting coaster every 3 or 4 years between the late 1990s and mid-2000s and were balls out the best megga coaster park in the world. Millennium Force was worth the price of admission alone for years. Same for Top Thrill Dragster.

But MF is now 14 years old (I can't believe it), and TTD is now 11 years old. Since those coasters opened, CP hasn't built anything that blows people away. GateKeeper is a great ride, but it's kinda short and not very tall or fast. It's not much different from Raptor. Which is now 20 years old! Jeeze, that was built my junior year of high school!!!

I travelled nearly two thousand miles to take my son to CP in 2012. My first ride on Top Thrill Dragster and a reunion with Millennium Force justified the trip and price of admission. Raptor is also always a good time. But Magnum has not aged well; Gemini was broken down; Corkscrew, Iron Dragon, and Mantis should have been replaced ages ago; and Mean Streak needs to be demolished before someone suffers permanent traumatic spinal injury. Food prices were outrageous for the low quality, and I agree with the commenter who noted Fast Lane as a means to separate the haves from the have-nots (Disney provides this perk to all guests with admission).

As I have aged, I have come to appreciate more than just the big thrills. Atmosphere is a major consideration. I was pleased to see that Frontier Town was still partly there, but many of my favorite spots (quiet, "hidden," shaded) have been paved over to make room for more skill games, food kiosks, and retail spaces. As a kid, I liked the boat ride and Jungle Larry's (both long gone) just a little; as an adult, I finally understand that such places are much more valuable than yet another funnel cake booth.

The atmosphere of Geauga Lake (pre-Six Flags) was miles ahead of what CP has become today. (Don't get me started on what CF did to that park to eliminate the competition.) These days, Six Flags St. Louis is probably my favorite midwestern amusement park, with the perfect combination of rides and atmosphere. CP could find ways to get back to that, if they wanted to.

My family went to CP at least once a year when we were kids, in the 70's & 80's. I am SO glad I have those memories - of a park that had beautiful plantings and landscaping, a good variety of rides, not like now where it seems like it is either "ultimate" thrill rides or kiddie rides, with very little in between.

On my last visit I noticed much of the landscaping and plantings were removed, leaving large patches of concrete to walk across (good landscaping design helps move foot traffic so you do not feel like you are walking as far as you are), encourages people to explore the whole park and on hot days providing shaded areas to pause at or walk under. I am guessing that having a staff to maintain landscaping on that level is more expensive than CP wants to pay.

Overall, I left CP thinking it was a stripped down version of what I remembered.

No offense but that's sooo lame. Sounds like these people need to leave us thrill people alone. If you want secenry go to Dollywood. I like parks with amazing state of the art thrill rides, I don't care if it's "ugly". There are plenty of parks these people could go to that would cater to them. Stop pushing baby rides on me please.(not you poster but the people who wrote the reviews). Rant over lol. Good find and very interesting post

[Axel]

^Sounds like you want to keep Timmy, Fury & Afterburn and tear down the rest of the park.

There would be plenty of room for thrill rides then! Too bad they'd close the park because it wouldn't make any money.

[solarplexus]

^Sounds like you want to keep Timmy, Fury & Afterburn and tear down the rest of the park.

There would be plenty of room for thrill rides then! Too bad they'd close the park because it wouldn't make any money.

I was thinking the same thing.

[coasterbruh]

^Sounds like you want to keep Timmy, Fury & Afterburn and tear down the rest of the park.

There would be plenty of room for thrill rides then! Too bad they'd close the park because it wouldn't make any money.

I think he feels timmy and afterburn can go to hell as well...the park needs more height and speed and those two aren't cutting it! lol

[fishels]

^Sounds like you want to keep Timmy, Fury & Afterburn and tear down the rest of the park.

There would be plenty of room for thrill rides then! Too bad they'd close the park because it wouldn't make any money.

I think he feels timmy and afterburn can go to hell as well...the park needs more height and speed and those two aren't cutting it! lol

No man I know good and well a park like that won't work. That's just the fanboy in me talking and being in a fantasy, let me have that lol. Anyway man I liked that fury hair you had going on!

[RollerBee]

At one point Carowinds had the most inversions of any North American park(if not world) except SFMM, how about taking it back down the road.

[Axel]

this poster is for the new "Junker" coaster that will open this summer at Finland's PowerPark... but since that coaster will only go 62mph vs. Fury's 95mph, I thought Carowinds should adopt her

junker.jpg (212.04 KiB) Viewed 5150 times

[redrunner97]

lmao. While we are at it let's take their Ferris Wheel too!

[Ty-Rant_13]

this poster is for the new "Junker" coaster that will open this summer at Finland's PowerPark... but since that coaster will only go 62mph vs. Fury's 95mph, I thought Carowinds should adopt her

junker.jpg

More likely to get a version of Leviathan's commercial (unless you already have it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0lfLaTb4ck&index=14&list=UUmIgKn7CF8frAV5wdFs2AwQ

I'm also curious as to what they consider a roller coaster mecca, and how long they think it'll take to get to that point for Carowinds... Is Wonderland considered a mecca? We have a lot of coasters, but only about half are REALLY good... The rest are just painful, pathetic, or painfully pathetic clones, and it seems to be about the same ratio for Carowinds (though I can't say for sure since I haven't been there).

[brandon.JaMo.02.]

I, honestly, agree with part of the earlier comment about "atmosphere." In The the latest Rougarou Files that Cedar Point released today, president and general manager of cedar point, Jason McClure, (slightly) touch on this subject when commenting on what to expect from their "new" attraction: "were going to have thematic elements that may be a little different for Cedar Point, something people dont always expect from us..." Now, I am a huge thrill seeker but I also believe that a thrilling experience can be enhanced incredibly by an immersive atmosphere.

I disagree respectfully. We need more height and speed

And to this comment, even thought speed and hight are exciting and attention grabbers, i believe that "new" "unique" thrills are what carowinds needs. Enthusiasts and GP both want something fresh. Looking towards Maverick(typically the longest line at cedar point), and even the new Batman 4d coaster we see unique designs, if not fresh fresh ideas. These attract (i dont know how many posts I've seen on my fb from friends and family about that Batman ride).

My opinion is that we need to have a combination. Maverick feels incredibly fast even though is quite small, its atmosphere is immersive, and its layout is fresh. Intense and unique thrills that have an immersive atmosphere will stand out.

Anyways, those are my thoughts.

[arby]

Cedar Point used to have some thematic elements. For example, according to my brother, when they opened Disaster Transport is was actually quite good. They had it themed so it appeared that you were flying through space and you flew around planets, etc. Then they never kept up with it and year after year less of it worked until they just removed the theming and it became completely dark which is what I experienced (and was relatively lame IMO). I wish I had experienced that ride when it had a decent theme to it.

[uscbandfan]

Cedar Point used to have some thematic elements. For example, according to my brother, when they opened Disaster Transport is was actually quite good. They had it themed so it appeared that you were flying through space and you flew around planets, etc. Then they never kept up with it and year after year less of it worked until they just removed the theming and it became completely dark which is what I experienced (and was relatively lame IMO). I wish I had experienced that ride when it had a decent theme to it.

This is what I hate about most themed stuff. They don't keep up with it and it gets to where you almost wish it wasn't there. Surely, it doesn't take an accounting major to figure out that when you add certain things, you need to budget the upkeep of it. I'm all for bringing themes back though but lets budget for the upkeep.

[RollerBee]

^Welcome to the world of amusement parks! Where things are built as cheap as possible and not built to last.

^When do most people have their house reroofed?
A) Before the shingles are advertised to last(10,20,25,30 years)
B) After the damn thing starts leaking

[tarheel1231]

I'd like to see a Mack spinner like the one at Knott's. I see the next coaster coming in the next 4 years. Do you think Carowinds would invest in one if these as a new family addition or do you think the park will continue to invest heavily in expansion?