Cedar Point: General Discussion

[Russ]

It seems that Cedar Point has trademarked the name Valravn, which is Danish for “raven of the slain.”

A little bit of folklore here; According to Danish folklore recorded in the late 1800s, when a king or chieftain was killed in battle and not found and buried, ravens came and ate him. The ravens becamevalravne. The valravne that ate the king's heart gained human knowledge and could perform great malicious acts, could lead people astray, had superhuman powers, and were "terrible animals".

Maybe it could be based on said ravens diving towards the ground for the Kings body?

This could potentially just be nothing but who knows.

 

[Rob]

As Screamscape are reporting, Cedar Point seem to be counting down to the annoucement of their 2016 coaster:

A reader tweeted me an interesting photo from Cedar Point this weekend, showing a series of panels added to a construction wall showing off "A Legacy of World Class Roller Coasters" that so far is followed by panels for Blue Stream, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew and Gemini. The shapes of the panels will allow for more to be added and the list to grow longer as the summer goes on.
I'm told that the sign panels are being mounted to a wall blocking off the old Dodgem attraction site, which is part of the area where where next year's new coaster should go. The other interesting thing is that if the first panel was put up on opening weekend, then there have been four more weekends since then, and four new panels added for the park's four oldest coasters. If they continue to add one each weekend, in order of when the coaster's were opened, we would see Wilderness Run added next weekend, followed by Iron Dragon and Magnum XL-200 and so on. If they kept that schedule, the 16th and final coaster panel would be added on the weekend of August 29-30th, and making perfect timing for Cedar Point to make a big announement for the 2016 coaster the following weekend, which would mark the end of the daily operational schedule on Sept. 5-7 for Labor Day Weekend.
Again, this is just a hunch, but damn if the timing doesn't work out perfectly. Keep and eye out on this sign to grow all summer long.

Certainly makes sense and I like the idea, the end of August would also be good timing for an annoucement.

 

[Rob]

The countdown is progressing faster than expected:

Hopefully this means that either an annoucement or teaser campaign is only just around the corner.

 

[Russ]

Screamscape has reported that some new track most likely dive machine style has been spotted at the B&M in Ohio.

There seems to be a mixture of a faded red or salmon colored track along with some brownish-orange colored track on site. Based on the huge size of the brownish-orange track sections, especially when viewed sitting next to parked parks, I'd say it's a pretty solid bet that is Dive Machine track. To be more specific... this could be for Valravn, the rumored Dive Machine thought to be going to Cedar Point. In addition to some unpainted pieces, there is also an assortment of grey supports on site as well.

 

[Rob]

The sheer size of the track confirms that it is for a Dive Machine, and not one of these puny ones. Certainly looking like it is for Cedar Point!

 

[Rob]

The coaster wall is now complete:

(Source: CP Rundown FB)

Hopefully this means that an accouncement could be just around the corner!

 

[Rob]

Looks like we are getting an announcement on Tuesday August 18th:

 

[AstroDan]

This is gonna get me back to CP, I can feel it.

 

[Nick]

The layout has leaked a week early, and it's (unsurprisingly) a dive machine.

 

[Danny]

Leaked from the official park app by the sounds of it, oops! The salmon coloured track spotted at B&M's Ohio factory is also the track to be used on this coaster.

 

[Rob]

Hmmm, got to admit I'm a tad disappointed! I have no doubts that is will be a very good coaster and a more than solid addition to Cedar Point. I was just hoping for a bit more form the layout. This is opening almost 10 years after Griffon at BGW will have yet there does not seem to have been much progression bar the roll-over before the final turn.

I hate to be slightly negative about it but I think it's just because Cedar Point have a reputation with coasters and I thought because of that they might try something a bit more unique with B&M. I suppose we'll get a better idea of how it will shape up when all the stats are released; no doubt it will end up being the tallest Dive Machine.

Cedar Point are also looking into incorporating virtual reality software/hardware into some of their rides and coasters. Will be interesting to see if this is something that may make use of it.

 

[John]

Looking at the layout, I'm expecting it to operate very much like Griffon with 3x 30 seat trains. I half expected them to go for dual loading and make it the highest capacity B&M ever built, but it doesn't look like there's space for that.

 

[Rob]

Looking at the layout, I'm expecting it to operate very much like Griffon with 3x 30 seat trains. I half expected them to go for dual loading and make it the highest capacity B&M ever built, but it doesn't look like there's space for that.

Now that would have been a good record to go and break!

 

[Martin]

Well that's underwhelming. Would have thought by now with 30 seat trains they'd do a bit more with the layout of the first half than the same inversion and a turn. Nice to see a little variation in the second half though.

 

[Ted]

I think it looks okay. As Blaze mentions, the first half really isn't unique, but the 2nd half seems a bit more interesting. I'm sure it will turn out to be a good ride though.

 

[AstroDan]

Griffon is brilliant so I am reasonably happy with this!

 

[Blizzard]

Quite like the layout, just a shame they couldn't have incorporated a splashdown & tunnel section. (I assume there won't be one as its all above ground) These are some of the main selling points and differentiating factors from other coasters right?

Never the less, if there is good theming, throughput will be a nice addition to the line-up at cedar point. Just a shame its not that pioneering.

 

[Rob]

Quite like the layout, just a shame they couldn't have incorporated a splashdown & tunnel section. (I assume there won't be one as its all above ground) These are some of the main selling points and differentiating factors from other coasters right?

There could still be some sort of tunnel, only the very basic layout has been leaked and I'd imagine the final renderings will be more detailed.

Griffon doesn't have a tunnel though and that is a fantastic coaster. I'm certain this will be fantastic, I had just hoped for a bit more from the layout considering almost the same was done about 10 years ago.

 

[Blizzard]

Having never been on griffon I can't judge but can imagine its a sensational experience! Yeah even just a bridge over the drop like griffon would be great:

Great for spectators and acts as a head-chopper for riders. If it was filled with mist the effect would be even better. Just some kind of themed drop would be great, after all it is what these coasters are about!

 

[Rob]

There are rumours, and they are only rumours, over on TPR that this could have the 8 across Dive Machine trains and may feature B&M's new vest restraints rather than the good old tried and tested restraints we all know. I personally hope neither of these two things are true!

Here is a overlay of the layout on the land where the coaster would be, credit to TPR:

EDIT:

I've been reading an article on Behind the Thrills and what the name Valravn could entail. This is what caught my eye though: "The one bond that links all of the tales is that the Valravn flies by night…never by day."

So if they are going to be true to the coasters name it would only operate at night/in the dark. They speculate that this could mean that much of the layout is enclosed in a massive building. I personally think that there is no chance of this, it would looke a real mess for starters. However Cedar Fair have been talking about trialing virtual reality (VR) software on their rides. So could this be a coaster whereby you wear a VR headset and have a themed environment created for you? This environment could also be set at night.

Just food for thought, I personally hope it is not this!