SANDUSKY — One of Cedar Point’s oldest rollercoasters is going to that big thrill ride boot hill in the sky.
Park officials announced today that the Wildcat rollercoaster will be dismantled to make way for expansion of the park’s new multi-sensory Celebration Plaza that will feature dancers, singers and musicians performing in costumes and fast-changing scenery.
According to the announcement, the Wildcat “was coming to the end of its useful life.”
The ride was installed in its current spot opposite the Iron Dragon ride in 1979, but that was its third stop within the park, according to Cedar Point public relations spokesman Bryan Edwards.
“As it was getting older, it becomes harder to find replacement parts, and maintenance costs were going up,” Edwards said.
That, coupled with low ridership, sealed the deal for the ride.
“Wildcat did about 400,000 rides last year, compared to some of our major rides that do well over a million,” Edwards said.
“To make an impactful statement, we decided to pull it out,” he added.
The area now occupied by the Wildcat will become part of the new Celebration Plaza, the park’s first outdoor theater in decades, according to Edwards.
“Its going to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before at Cedar Point,” Edwards said.
The plaza will feature a stage eight feet off the ground with tiered scaffolding on which performers will sing and dance.
“At night we’ll also have a DJ come up out of the ground to play music after the show,” Edwards said.
The main stage area will be complemented by a number of mini-remote stages scattered throughout the same area.
Cedar Park will also debut the new live show “Luminosity, Powered by Pepsi” that will transform the park’s main midway into a dance club-style atmosphere with flames, lasers and more than a million lights.
