Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Cedar Point. But the decisions that were made this year are not ones that made me very happy.
Wildcat is gone, and while I completely understand the need to remove a ride that was suffering from an increasing amount of downtime and repair costs, replacing it with a light show/dance party that operates only at the end of the day (when people are most tired), makes almost no sense. The reaction from the public has been mixed at best, and I overheard lots of comments that were less than enthusiastic. On top of that, the other big new attraction this year is Dinosaurs Alive. OK, I knew it was probably coming after seeing it at sister park Kings Island, but its not even as large here, and they removed Paddlewheel Excursions to make room for it. Really? You remove a relaxing water ride (while listening to some bad puns) and replace it with a walking path with some dinosaur models that costs extra? Bad move. The last new coaster here at America's Roller Coast was five years ago! And the title to "park with the most coasters" was lost two years ago to Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Some have commented that there's no room to add anything here unless you expand into the parking lot, but that's not actually true. There is room, but what's needed is a massive facelift. There is room to expand and combine Planet Snoopy and Kiddie Kingdom and add one or two small coasters in that area, especially if they would remove the underutilized sports stadium (that long ago housed the dolphin show). There's room to fit another reasonably large coaster in between Mean Streak and Gemini. Get rid of Luminosity and put in a coaster that is more fitting to the memory of Wildcat.
This year, I decided to stay at Breakers Express and went back to ride a few more coasters before I left late Sunday morning! It's a little more expensive than some of the other housing outside the park, but still offers the early admission, which makes it worth it if you love to ride.
Special recognition this year goes to the ride ops of Raptor and Corkscrew, the latter of which were encouraging people to have a Cedar Fantastic day! Also, kudos to the vocalists from the shows for doing their best to entertain those of us who decide to take a break from walking or standing in line.
Despite being a bit underwhelmed by the new attractions at the park this year, I'll be making my plans to visit my favorite amusement park again next year!
What are you waiting for? Save your money and plan your trip to the best amusement park in the world! (Amusement Today Golden ticket award as best amusement theme park for fourteen years in a row!) How was your ride? You'll never know if you don't go! Cedar Point - it's America's Rockin' Roller Coast - Ride on!