Why's there no dark rides yet?

I've been thinking about this for a while now.

Does anyone have an idea as to why? It seems like there a hit when they come out, I've been expecting CP to build one for the last few years now. What they have added is great and all, but not very family friendly.

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

I don't think too many people would find dark rides to be family friendly. Most children are afraid of the dark. (and some of us adults, too).

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Challenge Racing '02

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Not a dark ride really, I just watched a video for Disney about the new toy story shoot em' up ride. Something along those lines...

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

I dunno campfreak - kids seem to love Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan's Flight, IASW and many others at Disney. Heck, even the interactive ones like Space Ranger Spin are starting to catch on at other parks.

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Goodbye MrScott

John

Goodbye George. You will be missed.

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Not family friendly? Tell that to Holiday World and the droves of families lining up for Gobbler Getaway. Hershey added one too (which has a dumb theme, but people dig it). Kennywood is replacing an old one with a new one. Or for that matter, every other ride at Magic Kingdom is a dark ride. CP let go of Pirate Ride and Earthquake years ago.

I think Cedar Point decided at some point that if it wasn't a big expensive ride, there was no ROI potential. Sure, Halloweekends and the ice show may be exceptions, but every ride addition is massive. That sucks, because the park's overall ride capacity has increased well beyond what I think is adequate. Only the biggest half-dozen rides have a consistently long wait, so why not fill in the gaps with other rides that have lower capacity and similarly lower draw?

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Jeff - Advocate of Great Great Tunnels™ - Co-Webmaster - PointBuzz - My Blog

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

I guess I just misunderstood the post. I thought JTaylor meant pitch black.

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Challenge Racing '02

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

King's Island has a Scooby Doo interactive ride, my whole family enjoyed it. Something similar would fit in well.

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Well, obviously they have disaster transport and I guess they are happy with that being the only "dark ride" for now. I agree that there are definitely some opportunities for more rides like that in the future. I always liked pirate ride and I wish they had never taken that out.

Last edited by cprules00, March 14, 2008, 10:54P

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Pirate Ride had some safety issues....like it was very easy to exit the ride carriage mid-ride.

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Goodbye MrScott

John

Goodbye George. You will be missed.

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

No one seems to remember that CP can't theme rides and keep them up with the theming. Just like DT. If CP wanted to make a dark fun house ride, they can go right ahead. But the theme will probably only last a month or 2 and deteriorate in some time. It can be themed to snoopy, nick toons, but no matter what they choose and how much kids and families like it, it probably won't last long..

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

cprules00 said:
Well, obviously they have disaster transport and I guess they are happy with that being the only "dark ride" for now.

You're not understanding the terminology. DT is not a dark ride, it's a coaster, that happens to be in the dark. Dark rides are indoor transport rides that usually tell a story, or at the very least, take you on some kind of fantasy trip. Most of those that have opened in recent years include some kind of targeting game that is scored.

The suggestion that CP can't keep up a theme is nonsense. Half the park is an old-West theme. If they budget for the upkeep of a ride, then it'll stay up.

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Jeff - Advocate of Great Great Tunnels™ - Co-Webmaster - PointBuzz - My Blog

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Making a big investment in a high-quality dark ride along the lines of Pirates of the Caribbean would be incredible for Cedar Point. You're not only in having it on your wish list JTaylor.

Sadly, though, I don't see this anywhere in Cedar Point's near future.

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"Laughter is the closest distance between two people"

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

You don't need to build an animatronic classic. How much did HW spend on Gobbler Getaway? A few million? Certainly not $21 million, like Maverick.

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Jeff - Advocate of Great Great Tunnels™ - Co-Webmaster - PointBuzz - My Blog

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

^And Gobbler Getaway is a fun ride. One that I re-rode 5 or 6 times while I was there.

Last edited by 99er, March 15, 2008, 1:59P

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Say something nice on the internet?

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

The decision was made back during the Munger era that

traditional dark rides were too much trouble for the ROI

and the RPH. Instead of looking for solutions to the 

problems they jsut got rid of them.

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Here's a link to "gobbler Getaway" ride. http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=15923755

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Frito Joe

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

You don't shoot turkeys, you call them. Duh.

Who cares what they thought decades ago? It's not the same park.

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Jeff - Advocate of Great Great Tunnels™ - Co-Webmaster - PointBuzz - My Blog

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Well it isn't the Munger era but the leadership style is at least a couple of decades old.

Building an indoor dark ride would take, well, imagination.

It isn't like they don't have opportunities. At the very least they could go kid-friendly and do something with the Peanuts. Those stories are perfect for dark rides. A Red Baron flying dark ride ala Peter Pan (perhaps one of the greatest examples of a complete dark ride in existence), a halloween, Great Pumpkin dark ride, etc. In fact, wasn't there a Peanuts special where all the kids were on a raft ride? Also potential there for a water dark ride.

And, I'm not saying you have to go with an established character. I think that would drive initial attendance/interest but, if a good dark ride were built then I think people would ride.

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"You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world...but it requires people to make the dreams a reality."

-Walt Disney

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

What about a ride through "History of Cedar Point" attraction kinda like that Chocolate World ride through at Hershey, which tells the story of Hershey. Heck, they could even get rid of the Town Hall Museum if they built a ride through version. Just think of what they could do with their "Ghost Horse" carousel story as one of the scenes.

Re: Why's there no dark rides yet?

Part of the reason I've heard that the Old Dark Rides at CP are gone like Earthquake the Pirate Ride, and I don't know if it was dark inside but the Funhouse. Were teens being a problem doing Chinese fire drills etc getting out of the cars and getting into other ones and also hiding behind doors trying to scare people. This comes from a trusted source who worked there for many many years. I'm not sure if that would be a problem these days or not if they installed a dark ride with video cameras e and modern restraints. Come to think of it I wonder if anyone ever tried to jump out into the water on Pirates of the Caribbean. But the overall vibe and atmosphere is different at Disney, Hershey and Holiday World than CP so dark rides might make more sense there. But I don't run an amusement park so I don't know. Just a thought.

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Could the sun be anymore orange – Comic Book Guy