Cedar Point is one of the premiere destinations in the world if you are a roller coaster junkie with 17 currently operating coasters. The park typically gets a new roller coaster every few years, with Steel Vengeance being the most recent in 2018 as a ground-up renovation of the old and busted Mean Streak. With 2020 celebrating the 150th anniversary of the park, no announcements have been made regarding their next roller coaster so I am going to speculate as to why there wasn't a coaster for 2020, when the next coaster will arrive, where it will go, and what type of ride it will be.
Leading up to 2019 and 2020, many enthusiasts believed that 2020 would be a big year for Cedar Point to celebrate its 150th anniversary, but as time went on many resigned themselves to the possibility that the park would only be adding minor upgrades, possibly a flat ride, and offering the low-priced (and park-filling) Gold Pass. Typically plans for roller coasters leak about a year in advance and construction begins after the park has closed for the season.
So why isn't Cedar Point receiving a 2020 coaster? The answer is pretty simple, a hefty giga-coaster (300+ ft tall) called Orion is going in just down the road to King's Island, a park also in the Cedar Fair chain.
So why isn't Cedar Point receiving a 2020 coaster? The answer is pretty simple, a hefty giga-coaster (300+ ft tall) called Orion is going in just down the road to King's Island, a park also in the Cedar Fair chain.
This ride is a significant investment for Cedar Fair, a chain that typically only builds one or two new roller coasters in the entire chain per year. Other B&M Giga-Coasters have been between $28-30 million, so this year it looks like Orion is the only addition. So 2021 is the year, right? Maybe, maybe not. King's Dominion, a park that is in Richmond, Va, just demolished one of the most popular rides in the park, with another large coaster probably right behind it (Anaconda). With that park trying desperately to compete with Busch Gardens Williamsburg just down the road, I'd expect the next big coaster to go there.
So now we finally get to the time frame. I'd expect Cedar Point's next coaster to arrive in 2022. That gives them two years to milk the nostalgia tour of the 150th anniversary, with some small quality of life upgrades to the park. Maybe we'll see some new shows, some shading, maybe even some theming of some sort. I wouldn't be shocked by an addition of a flat ride of some sort, perhaps a Zamperla Air Race model in 2021 to try to tide people over.
So now we finally get to the time frame. I'd expect Cedar Point's next coaster to arrive in 2022. That gives them two years to milk the nostalgia tour of the 150th anniversary, with some small quality of life upgrades to the park. Maybe we'll see some new shows, some shading, maybe even some theming of some sort. I wouldn't be shocked by an addition of a flat ride of some sort, perhaps a Zamperla Air Race model in 2021 to try to tide people over.
So we have our when, the next tricky question is the where. Cedar Point is almost completely developed and fitting another large scale coaster would almost certainly require the removal of a coaster or a massive reconfiguring of the parking situation. I'd hazard a guess that the answer is going to be unpopular, but Cedar Fair has had no hesitation about removing old, expensive-to-maintain roller coasters despite outcry even without an immediate replacement.
Below is a map of Cedar Point and it's pretty jam-packed. If I had to guess, I'd say the top candidates for removal are Gemini (Yellow), Iron Dragon (Blue), and Wicked Twister (Red). Some other possibilities are Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Corkscrew.
Below is a map of Cedar Point and it's pretty jam-packed. If I had to guess, I'd say the top candidates for removal are Gemini (Yellow), Iron Dragon (Blue), and Wicked Twister (Red). Some other possibilities are Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Corkscrew.
While these roller coasters are beloved by many, Gemini will be 42 years old and Iron Dragon will be 33. In addition, the company that made both of those rides is no longer in business and parts can be difficult to come by, especially for Iron Dragon which is a rare coaster type with only 5 still operating in the world (and 2 in Ohio). While Wicked Twister is much newer, it's probably the park's least popular ride with a relatively low capacity. The wait time for this one is usually pretty low compared to the big hitters in the park, the only reason this one might survive is that it doesn't open up a very large plot of land, although that whole area next to Gatekeeper could be reworked. So as a final prediction, I will say Cedar Point hangs on to Iron Dragon for a little while and gets rid of Gemini, although I don't think it stays safe for long.
Alright, we finally get to the good stuff. So we're guessing Cedar Point gets a ride in 2022 in the plot of land occupied by Gemini, what's it going to be? I think Cedar Point would want to honor Gemini's memory with some sort of dueling coaster. Without a standout wooden coaster in the park (Steel Vengeance doesn't count and Blue Streak is a bit...dated), I think Cedar Point goes with a dueling Great Coasters International (GCI) coaster. GCI makes some fantastic roller coasters like Mystic Timbers at King's Island and have done dueling coasters in the past with Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa and Lightning Racer at Hershey Park.
But this is Cedar Point, they don't just redo old stuff and they want to come in with a bang; they want record breaking coasters that people haven't seen before. So I think they go with this GCI concept coaster; with all the airtime and "wooden coaster feel" mixed with some of the thrills and inversions like those on Steel Vengeance.
Alright, we finally get to the good stuff. So we're guessing Cedar Point gets a ride in 2022 in the plot of land occupied by Gemini, what's it going to be? I think Cedar Point would want to honor Gemini's memory with some sort of dueling coaster. Without a standout wooden coaster in the park (Steel Vengeance doesn't count and Blue Streak is a bit...dated), I think Cedar Point goes with a dueling Great Coasters International (GCI) coaster. GCI makes some fantastic roller coasters like Mystic Timbers at King's Island and have done dueling coasters in the past with Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa and Lightning Racer at Hershey Park.
But this is Cedar Point, they don't just redo old stuff and they want to come in with a bang; they want record breaking coasters that people haven't seen before. So I think they go with this GCI concept coaster; with all the airtime and "wooden coaster feel" mixed with some of the thrills and inversions like those on Steel Vengeance.
I really think this is a best-case scenario for the park. Getting rid of an older ride for one that both honors Gemini and reinvigorates that area of the park with something fresh just makes all the sense in the world. That being said, I could see a few alternative ideas. Cedar Fair has a working relationship with Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), the masterminds behind Steel Vengeance. A high capacity version of their Raptor model, similar to the Jersey Devil Coaster coming to Six Flags Great Adventure this year, might be an interesting choice.
Cedar Point could also be the first park to invest in RMC's T-Rex model, which is similar to the above coaster but features a thicker single rail and can seat two across instead of one, but with comparable layouts.
If Cedar Point is looking to make a slightly smaller addition, probably in the Iron Dragon plot, a single GCI wooden coaster makes sense. Another alternative is a Mack Rides custom coaster, either a multi-launch coaster like the recent Copperhead Strike at Carowinds, or something a little more unique like a record-breaking, extreme-spinning coaster similar to Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City. 90-degree drops, inversions, launches, these coasters have some really fantastic and different elements and do them all while spinning.
If Cedar Point is looking to make a slightly smaller addition, probably in the Iron Dragon plot, a single GCI wooden coaster makes sense. Another alternative is a Mack Rides custom coaster, either a multi-launch coaster like the recent Copperhead Strike at Carowinds, or something a little more unique like a record-breaking, extreme-spinning coaster similar to Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City. 90-degree drops, inversions, launches, these coasters have some really fantastic and different elements and do them all while spinning.
So there we have it, a lot of reckless speculation on what Cedar Point could be getting in the future. There are always rumors that Cedar Point could be looking to break the height record again, but I honestly think they're going to stick to something a little more realistic. To summarize my best guess: Gemini will close in 2021 and be replaced by a GCI dueling wooden coaster for 2022. Thanks for reading!