A couple weeks have gone by since my last column , so it is time for another speculation column for 2006.

 

To my knowledge, not a whole lot has changed back by the Mine Ride.  However, the speculation has greatly increased.  Right now, it looks like the new attraction for next year will either be a new water ride or a S&S Screamin' Swing.  There also now is a rumor that Cedar Point will be selling one of their coasters, but we will get to that towards the end.

 

If a water ride would be built, it would go back in Frontier Town with the rest of the water rides.  An ideal water ride for this area would be a Mack Water Coaster.  A great theme would be 'river rapids', such as going down the Grand Canyon. 

 

The Screamin' Swing would most likely go in Challenge Park as a new up charge attraction.  This would be a great addition to Challenge Park, as RipCord is still an incredibly popular attraction with many of the Resort Guests and people looking for that extra thrill.  A Screamin' Swing would be extremely unique to the area.

 

One thing I am 90% sure of though is the renovation of the Magnum XL-200 station.  The station is poorly designed (along with the location of the FreeWay entrance) and causes confusion to many when it is full.  So this means that for all of you who love to cut everyone by going to seat 1-3, you many actually have to start to wait for it next year.  New lapbars could also be on the way to the Magnum trains, but I am uncertain on that.

 

Now, on to that coaster for sale. According to the El Paso Times, city officials from El Paso were at Cedar Point last week to look at a roller coaster there that is for sale. I personally believe that no coasters are for sale at Cedar Point.  Jason got it right in his post on CPForums.com, as the person that came to look at the coasters at Cedar Point was most likely looking at them in action and buying a similar style of one.

 

I have to ask myself the question, why would city officials from El Paso want to purchase a roller coaster Cedar Point, even if one is for sale. In order to put in a roller coaster, the city needs a place to put that coaster.  They have Western Playland, but the park has no room to expand.  So where would a roller coaster go?  It is now believed that the city officials meet with Cedar Fair Executives on opening a new amusement park in the city.  The nearest Six Flags is on the other side of the state, so a major amusement park in El Paso could do extremely well, since it would have a large base in the surrounding cities.

 

The Member Cid at CPForums.com believes the next coaster at Cedar Point will be dueling flyers and could be as soon as next year.  I however do not believe it will occur next year, as numbers at both Cedar Point and Geauga Lake are way down. So what is Cedar Fair doing wrong when Six Flags for once is actually doing something right? Cedar Fair blamed the economy, but it could have to do with families not wanting to pay the high gas prices and high admission prices for a short vacation.

 

That is why I believe next year prices may be lowered a little bit.  If they are lowered enough, equilibrium could occur and revenue would rise, as in park spending would offset the loses in admission prices.

 

Who knows what will happen though, remember, this is Cedar Point.