Adding A Dark Ride Would Benefit Cedar Point
A lot of parks benefit from a good dark ride. Cedar Point would greatly enhance the park’s appeal with a new indoor attraction. There’s a lot of potential for CP to build a state-of-the-art attraction that’s not a thrill ride.
With Forbidden Frontier opening in 2019, Cedar Point is ready for 2020. It’ll be the parks 150th Anniversary. Why not celebrate with a fantastic new dark ride. It’s the one attraction the park is missing. Ever since the closure of Disaster Transport, guests have clamored for something to this effect.
Disaster Transport wasn’t a true dark ride, though. It was an indoor roller coaster. There’s a big difference between the two. A true dark ride has animatronics, a tracked (or untracked) ride vehicle, a storyline, and in some cases, an interactive element.
Cedar Point has a lot of content to base a dark ride around. Using Charlie Brown and Peanuts in a new dark ride would be unique to Cedar Point. There are a few themes you could base this ride around.
The most obvious theme is Snoopy and The Red Baron. This would make for more of an interactive dark ride aspect. You’d fly with Snoopy on his quest to defeat the Red Baron. If you want to incorporate more of a traditional dark ride, theme it to the classic Peanuts Holiday episodes. It’s also conceivable for Cedar Point to create a new story in the Peanuts world.
It doesn’t need to just be Peanuts as a dark ride. Cedar Point has created an entirely new world with the Frontier Town Universe. Here is the parks chance to hammer that home. The park has created original characters, locations, and storylines. Why not bring this world to life?
One thing Cedar Point can’t do (and wouldn’t) create a cookie cutter dark ride. The example I’ll use, Boo Blasters. Almost all of the Cedar Fair parks bought by Paramount have one of these. While nobody expects CP to copy and paste anything, it’s a real no-no if they do.
Speaking of Boo Blasters, the ride, while themed, isn’t well designed. The targets look like cardboard, the design looks cheap, and there’s not a lot of quality audio. The park needs to address all of these. Use detailed animatronics, well-constructed sets, and the best audio possible. The final product will be a lot more entertaining with just a bit more attention and money.
A lot of guests have wanted a true dark ride for years. Cedar Point will always be a coaster park. They’ve got a lot of attractions for the whole family. A dark ride can appeal to many age groups. It’s very surprising Cedar Point hasn’t had more urgency to create one. With attendance growing every year, the park needs to push the envelope.
Image Source: Cedar Point
Daniel is a guru of baseball and basketball prospects. He’s a very experienced Amusement Park traveler as well. Follow him and his hot takes on Insta @dgentleman9288
