Cedar Point hopes to lure coaster fans with Siren's Curse

This was obviously meant for another park (Energylandia and then Six Flags Mexico) and thrown into CP last minute. The color scheme makes no sense with the surroundings or with the "theme," there was no hype at all for the announcement other than a hastily thrown together promo just a few days before, and the ride looks pretty "bare" for modern CP standards. Its safe to assume this was done because TT2 has been such an unmitigated disaster and no one really knows what its reliability is going to be like over the next few years.

I do think this could be a sleeper hit, however. Its pretty small for Cedar Point standards but it looks like a lot of fun. A fast paced, zippy coaster full of unique forces/airtime/inversions. I just hope the restraints don't choke me (I seem to be the perfect height to have issues with the vest restraints on all the vest coasters I have been on).

Welcome to Six Flags Over Lake Erie, home to the latest "coaster in a parking lot" in the chain. Sure, all the Cedar Point fanboys are giddy over this unexpected announcement, but this is a one-trick pony whose gimmick is already replicated by Valravn right next to where they're putting this.

There are also a couple of issues with this coaster aside from it being an obvious ploy from Six Flags to juice season pass sales, promising a new attraction for 2025 because it's becoming increasingly clear that TT2 may be unsalvageable.

1. The announcement notes the coaster is slated for an "early summer" opening. Given SF's recent issues with delivering new attractions on time, can we really trust that this coaster will open shortly after Memorial Day? Cedar Point has traditionally opened new attraction by opening day, or at least no later than Memorial Day. An "early summer" opening suggests to me an opening in mid-June, and if that schedule slips just 2 weeks, you're looking at a July 4th opening, which is practically halfway through the park's season. SF already has a history of delayed openings of new attractions with numerous coasters planned for 2024 pushed to 2025 when it was clear they wouldn't be ready by mid-July.

2. The POV and other concept images of the coaster indicate a subsurface trench/tunnel. Does SF know what it's going to take to install and maintain a subsurface trench/tunnel mere hundreds of feet from the shores of Lake Erie?

3. The concept images appear to show a single-sided loading platform, meaning guests will enter/exit from the same side of the station. If that is accurate, it will create a very slow load/unload process on a coaster that is already going to have a pretty low capacity by Cedar Point standards (just 2 trains with 24 guests per train).

4. This is the most us-Cedar Point coaster of all time. Cedar Point builds revolutionary, first of their kind/size, world-class coasters. The very first type of this coaster was built back in 2002 (located in Taiwan), and not a single other coaster of this type has been built in the 22 years since. Now, all of a sudden, 3 of these are being built for 2025 openings with 2 of them going to Six Flags-owned parks (the other in Saudi Arabia). The 4th one of these coasters is being built at Cotaland in Austin, TX (Circuit Breaker), which is likely to open BEFORE Cedar Point's, so Six Flags can't even be first to the US market. This is an off-the-shelf coaster that has nothing substantial to distinguish it from the other coasters of this type.

The Six Flags-ification of Cedar Point has begun.

I'm not sure I get the negativity here at all? This is a hell of a make-good for the disaster that is (was...?) Top Thrill 2. The idea that Cedar Point is somehow special and gets "revolutionary, first of their kind, world-class coasters" is extremely antiquated – Steel Vengeance is the only addition that would qualify in the last 16 years. For goodness sakes, this is a park that opened a Zamperla spinning wild mouse last year!

Under Cedar Fair leadership, the park had some of the worst operations in the world and is a capacity nightmare with limited room to expand. Anything that eases lines at CP is an unmitigated good. This also looks like it has a chance to be one of the best coasters in the park. The post-2016 Vekomas are miraculous rides that track as well as any coasters in the world and have wild forces for their relatively small sizes. I don't think it's a one-trick pony at all.

If you still have a problem with the addition, the new Six Flags is run by Cedar Fair's people, so blaming "Six Flags-ification," while tempting, isn't really fair here. I'm no fan of the merger, but I don't think the legacy Cedar Fair parks will suddenly stop opening rides on time. Perhaps I will be proven wrong on that point, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt there.

@evenweston - It was pretty evident that Wild Mouse was installed to establish the relationship with Zamperla in advance to green-lighting TT2. There's no doubt that Siren's Curse is an attempt to make good for the failure that TT2 has become, and the late swerve from Six Flags to shift the park for this coaster is telling about the possible future of TT2.

This coaster won't help the lines a bit. It looks like this coaster will operate more like a flat ride in terms of capacity - perhaps somewhere around 500 people per hour. If you think the operations are bad at Cedar Point, what makes you think they're going to magically improve with another coaster that is not designed to get people on and off quickly or efficiently?

I've ridden a couple of newer Vekomas, but aside from F.L.Y., none have been what I would call thrilling (Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood is the most thrilling of the bunch, but is still billed as a family coaster). Yes, the current generation of coasters from Vekoma track incredibly smooth (thanks to their switch to outside bogies), but I think that's been a trend in all coasters built over the past 10 years or so.

Six Flags does not deserve our trust or patience after what they've pulled over the last year and the complete ineptitude they have displayed since the companies merged. I will be skeptical of them until they prove me wrong. This addition is straight out of the Six Flags playbook, so if you think Cedar Point folks are pulling the strings here, I think you're gravely mistaken. Sure, Cedar Point will be responsible for getting this thing installed and operating, but this was dumped on them by SF brass.

If you honestly think this coaster has the chance to be the best in the park (a park that has Maverick, Steel Vengeance, Millennium Force, and Raptor, and potentially TT2), I've got some oceanfront property to sell you in Kansas.

I normally would agree with you that CP is a unique park and a hastily put together project like this would be disappointing, but I think this ride will be just fine there.

-CP is loaded with unthemed coasters. The "generic coaster with tents over the line" is a pretty archetypal Cedar Fair thing.
-There isn't any theme to that area of the park other than generic amusement park. It's not going to take much effort to make it look presentable.
-They took out Wildcat 14 years ago and never replaced it. Its a small plot of land.
-Not every new coaster has to be the biggest baddest thing on the planet. This ride does look like more fun than Valravn which is bigger.
-The tilt will definitely capture a lot of attention, even at CP.

At the end of the day I think its better to have this there than to not have it there. It will soak up some crowds and attention away from TT2 and will slip nicely into the mid-upper tier of their lineup.

Well Given the delay in with The Flash: Vertical Velocity, I do not blame the skepticism that Siren's Curse (SC) will be ready in time for Summer 2025.
But remember the "new" Six Flags are getting "new" Vekomas that were we supposed to go somewhere else. so what can you realistically expect except delays?

From what I have heard SC was ordered by Energylandia, cancelled picked up by the "old" six flags which intended to send to Six Flags over Mexico but when import permits did not come through, "new' six flags had to decide where to send it next.

TBH, I think they should have sent it to Kings Island and put it where Vortex was. But I suppose the troubles with TTD2 affected the decision making at Six Flags

Wow, a surprising amount of negativity for a first in the US attraction. Here's a few things I suggest everyone keep in mind before being overly critical of this ride...

1. The decision to add this coaster to Cedar Point was made about two weeks before the first teaser dropped. The ride was planned to open at Six Flags Mexico up until mid-August and had the announcement ready to go, but it literally got pulled the day before (SFM had even confirmed an announcement date). Six Flags went through two rounds of project revisions with the local government before determining it wouldn't be feasible to meet their requirements and still open the project at the park in 2025, so they withdrew plans for the ride. This isn't the first time such has happened at that park.

2. This season has been an epic disaster for Cedar Point, both due to the Top Thrill 2 debacle and other factors that have caused significant issues for the park this year. Word is this is the worst year for the park in at least a decade (2020 excluded), and pass sales for next year are currently 30-40% down from typical. Presumably the decision to install the coaster there is an attempt to draw those on the fence into renewing and also a way to hopefully restore some goodwill with locals who are (rightfully) feeling pretty burned at the moment.

3. Unconfirmed, but allegedly according to someone in the know (who has been accurate thus far), Zamperla is unable to commit to a return to service date for Top Thrill 2. The trains are said to be beyond repair and need to be redesigned from scratch, and it is also possible that some track sections may need to be replaced. Nine months is a pretty tight timeframe for that, especially when it took Zamperla two years initially to get the ride "functional."

4. The renderings seen are not at all finalized and were thrown together in a week using a stock model provided by Vekoma. While not likely to be heavily themed, the final product is expected to have some light theming similar to what was seen on Iron Menace this year.

5. The park is planning to break ground on the coaster next month and expects a June opening. Unlike the Six Flags coasters, which were purchased in spring of 2023 and had to travel from Asia to Europe, get thoroughly inspected and touched up, then make the trip to the US, this ride has been sitting in Mexico for months and just needs to be shipped up to Ohio (it was purchased at the same time Six Flags purchased Flash and Rookie Racer).

6. This decision was made by former Cedar Fair management, who control about 80% of the executive level positions within the new Six Flags. They are also the reason Georgia Surfer and Flash both got postponed to 2025 (the rides could have opened this fall), not the management of the old Six Flags.

7. This project has no relation to the closure of Snake River Falls, nor has it changed plans relating to that site's replacement project.

What are legitimate concerns are the capacity of the coaster and whether or not it really is a great choice for the park. While Vekoma says the ride is capable of 1,000 riders per hour, with only two 24 passenger trains my guess is the actual capacity will be half that. As far as fit, I would agree that if it weren't for the tilt section it wouldn't really bring anything worthwhile to the park, but I think that one element will do a ton in terms of piquing the interest of guests. This is also the most unique coaster for the park to install since Maverick, which brings both the benefit of having to visit CP to experience it but also the drawback of potentially being an unreliable attraction that simply doesn't work well.

I suppose I should add my own thoughts as well rather than just analyze things, so here goes: If this rides anything like F.L.Y., I think it will be a top tier coaster. I do not think it will be in the park's top four (Maverick, Millennium Force, Steel Vengeance, and Top Thrill 2), but I think it will be in the mix with GateKeeper and Raptor for those 5-7 spots. Waiting in line for the coaster is going to suck, but I suspect that tilt track is going to feel a lot crazier than it looks and I think the ride overall will be surprisingly intense. I do think there are other parks in the chain at which it would have made more sense to install this and I do think there are other coaster models that would have made more sense at Cedar Point, but I'm not disappointed they're getting this one and it will get me back to the park in the next couple years.

@AJ - But this probably won't even be "first in the US", because Circuit Breaker at Cotaland will probably beat Cedar Point to the punch. That's why Six Flags is billing this as the "largest/fastest in North America", not the "first".

I can see and appreciate your POV with this coaster being a make good to the fans for all the issues with TT2. There's no doubt that the fanbase is pretty frustrated with the park right now because of the TT2 debacle, but also the overall lack of communication from the park along with general park operations and upkeep. However, is a stock coaster, regardless how unique it is, the right way to flip the script and to get people who are on the fence about renewing season passes to come back? I'm sure it will move the needle a little, but will it really make that big of a difference? I think they're just kicking the can down the road, and Siren's Curse is the lollipop given to a child to temporarily easy the pain. It tastes good and sweet in the moment, but quickly dissolves and is gone before you know it meaning you need another one almost immediately to satisfy your sweet tooth.

I think Cedar Point should have come clean and been more transparent about the issues with TT2 (taking some of the blame instead of just shifting it to Zamperla). They still have yet to provide the promised formal update on TT2 and where things stand on the likelihood of the coaster becoming operational at any point in the near future. Heck, they have yet to even state what the specific problem is - sure, most people following the situation know that the issue is due to the train design, but it would be helpful for Cedar Point to come out and say that so guests can have an idea of why it's taking so long and why the coaster can't be opened right now. Something as simple as "The design of the new trains for TT2 are creating unexpected wear on critical parts that are unacceptable, so we are working with Zamperla on a full redesign of the coaster, which unfortunately will take an indefinite amount of time to solve." Has Cedar Point done that? No, they continue to say Zamperla is working on the problems and "hope" to have it corrected for the 2025 season.

Given the uncertainty of TT2 and instead of getting a last-second gimmick coaster,
Cedar Point should have committed to guests significant, targeted improvements in operations, park cleanliness, and rewarding guest loyalty that are specifically detailed in a press release and broadcast on social media and on the park's website when customers are renewing passes. That would have earned the park far more goodwill and trust than this coaster ever will (assuming they can fulfill the promises). Then they could have plussed whatever new attraction is replacing Snake River Falls in 2026 as the true make good for TT2, and started the tease for that attraction now in lieu of Siren's Curse.

Again, this is a classic Six Flags move, and I'm shocked how many Cedar Point guests are letting the wool being pulled over their eyes with this shiny toy. The acceptance and general approval of this coaster by fans is emboldening the new Six Flags to continue to operate like the old Six Flags, which everyone agreed was a poorly run organization. It's funny to me how the Cedar Point fanboys, who feel that their home park is on another level from the legacy Six Flags parks, are being duped by a classic Six Flags switch-a-roo.

I know i've said this before but will say it again since its related to this topic: I don't think CF went with Zamperla on this project to save money, I think they did it because they didn't trust Intamin for very good reasons (WT, TTD, Maverick, and STR all had major flaws that cost millions of dollars...and STR almost killed literally a boatload of people). So I will not hold TT2 against CF in any way (other than the ridiculous locker situation).

I also don't think fans are entitled to a detailed explanation of what's wrong. First off no park will ever do that because telling people the details of what's wrong would generate massive press attention and unnecessarily scare the **** out of people who don't know anything about how these things work. But also just overall if people want to not go, that's fine give them a refund and let them go on their way, and if they want to still visit the park then let them pay for it, CP has more rides than any other park in the world you can still go and enjoy it without TT2.

I'd definitely be interested to hear what AJ is talking about in his #2. I went to CP this year and while it wasn't operated as good as it was in its prime, I found its operations and ride uptime to be far better than it was during my 2018 visit (which was probably the worst display of theme park operations I have seen ever due to massive understaffing). Overall this year I thought the park looked good and pretty much everything was open except TT2. I will admit I didn't go on a whole lot of big coasters because I was there with a toddler but surprisingly all the kids rides were open, the nitpicks I would have are Blue Streak running 1 train in the middle of summer and the park seemed pretty much entirely ran by international employees.

I share the sentiments from a few posters above. Being as though I live in the Mid-Atlantic region, I typically make the jump to CP once or twice a year. That being said, I haven't noticed any hiccups with poor or dissatisfied park operations for a few years now.

The installation of this coaster here doesn't do much to move the needle for me personally. Once I saw the trailer yesterday morning, I had to double check to confirm if this was slated for CP as my initial thought was, this looks like something for 6F's. Sure, the general public masses will be in awe of the transferring drop track, just as much as they will with the wait time considering the capacity. Soon enough, concrete will be poured and supports will soon start to rise so what's done is done. I too wish some of those funds would've addressed some of the internal facilities. The revamping of the restrooms is moving at a plodding pace.

Russell, I'm going to take your comment point by point for convenience.

"But this probably won't even be "first in the US", because Circuit Breaker at Cotaland will probably beat Cedar Point to the punch."

I'm curious when you think the opening timelines are on these projects. Everything I've heard is saying Summer/Fall 2025, while Cedar Point is saying Early Summer on Siren's Curse. While I won't say that it's impossible for Cotaland to get theirs open first, at the moment I'd be betting on Cedar Point being the first to open despite them being further back in construction (there's a lot more needed to complete Cotaland than just ride installation).

"However, is a stock coaster, regardless how unique it is, the right way to flip the script and to get people who are on the fence about renewing season passes to come back?"

Is it even a stock coaster, or is it simply a design that was originally created for another park? Even if it is a stock coaster, why should that matter when it's the only operating version of that model? To 99% of guests, a new coaster is a new coaster, and unless they start dropping in clones of attractions they already have, nobody's going to care whether it was designed from an empty plot of land or is simply a model the manufacturer created with no specific park in mind.

"I'm sure it will move the needle a little, but will it really make that big of a difference?"

It probably won't have as big of impact as a larger coaster, but will probably be pretty impactful given the lower cost of the ride.

"I think Cedar Point should have come clean and been more transparent about the issues with TT2 (taking some of the blame instead of just shifting it to Zamperla). They still have yet to provide the promised formal update on TT2 and where things stand on the likelihood of the coaster becoming operational at any point in the near future."

With legal action likely on the table, they have to be careful about what they say at the moment. Anything that could result in a countersuit or getting a lawsuit tossed would be unwise to say in a public forum.

"Given the uncertainty of TT2 and instead of getting a last-second gimmick coaster, Cedar Point should have committed to guests significant, targeted improvements in operations, park cleanliness, and rewarding guest loyalty that are specifically detailed in a press release and broadcast on social media and on the park's website when customers are renewing passes. That would have earned the park far more goodwill and trust than this coaster ever will (assuming they can fulfill the promises)."

How do we know they aren't also working on that as well? Also, those sorts of improvements are a waste if you don't have something to get guests to show up in the first place.

"Then they could have plussed whatever new attraction is replacing Snake River Falls in 2026 as the true make good for TT2, and started the tease for that attraction now in lieu of Siren's Curse."

The public has a short attention span. Start teasing too early and they'll lose interest by the time the attraction is announced. Or, worse yet, if you're teasing for 2026 before you've got 2025 secured, guests might forgo 2025 in favor of whatever you're teasing unless you've got something else for them. Generally, about three months before the announcement seems to be the ideal teaser window.

"Again, this is a classic Six Flags move, and I'm shocked how many Cedar Point guests are letting the wool being pulled over their eyes with this shiny toy. The acceptance and general approval of this coaster by fans is emboldening the new Six Flags to continue to operate like the old Six Flags, which everyone agreed was a poorly run organization."

I must not be part of that everyone, because for the past several years I've generally been more satisfied with my experience at Six Flags properties than my experience at Cedar Fair properties. Like I said in my post, most of those calling the shots in new Six Flags are former Cedar Fair executives, and before the merger they'd already shifted a lot more toward conservative investments, stock or toolbox models, and picking attractions that were less than ideal fits. Six Flags may be a bit one size fits all, but they've been that way for decades and more often than not are picking something of quality to duplicate rather than just getting the cheapest model.

"It's funny to me how the Cedar Point fanboys, who feel that their home park is on another level from the legacy Six Flags parks, are being duped by a classic Six Flags switch-a-roo."

If my local park announced a new coaster that I hadn't experienced before, I'd be heckin' excited even if it wasn't what I was hoping for or what I thought would be the best choice for the park because it's a brand new experience.

I think a lot of older enthusiasts have become very jaded because they remember the Kinzel era, during which Cedar Fair was always pushing the envelope and coming up with exciting and innovative new attractions that nobody had ever seen before. Since Ouimet took over, that has not been the style of the company, which has made a hard shift toward safe investments rather than experimental ones. This is the first real departure at a legacy Cedar Fair park from that formula, and if it is successful I only see more of it coming in the future. If it backfires, it will probably be back to the B&Ms every three to five years.

The_Man7, same drill for you...

"I know i've said this before but will say it again since its related to this topic: I don't think CF went with Zamperla on this project to save money, I think they did it because they didn't trust Intamin for very good reasons (WT, TTD, Maverick, and STR all had major flaws that cost millions of dollars...and STR almost killed literally a boatload of people). So I will not hold TT2 against CF in any way (other than the ridiculous locker situation)."

I actually got to hear the story from someone directly involved in the project based on their position at Cedar Point, and here's what actually happened...

Cedar Point first went to Intamin and asked them to come up with a revamp of the ride. Intamin pitched a design which was reportedly similar to how Red Force operates, but Cedar Point wanted something they would be able to market as a new ride given how much the refurb would cost. Intamin's second pitch would have required removal of Iron Dragon, which was something the park was reluctant to do, so they solicited bids for alternatives. Zamperla was not the cheapest bid (nor were they the only alternative to Intamin), but they were the one the park felt was strongest from a marketability standpoint.

Because Cedar Point hired someone other than Intamin to work on the project, the coaster has been formally disowned by Intamin. This means they are unwilling to perform any service related to the attraction and won't touch it if (or in this case when) things don't work as expected. For all intents and purposes, there is no Intamin left in the attraction and it is functionally a pure Zamperla at this point.

"I'd definitely be interested to hear what AJ is talking about in his #2. I went to CP this year and while it wasn't operated as good as it was in its prime, I found its operations and ride uptime to be far better than it was during my 2018 visit (which was probably the worst display of theme park operations I have seen ever due to massive understaffing)."

I'll disclaimer that most of my information comes from conversations I had in the first half of July and it is possible the park got their act together if you went after that time, but according to the employees I spoke with at the time the park had a much higher than usual number of delayed openings, unscheduled downtime, and reduced attraction capacity this year. They also were severely understaffed to the point many smaller attractions were either rotated or left closed on off-peak days. I didn't visit the park this year, but I had multiple friend groups visit in June and all felt the park was operating well below par based on previous experiences they'd had, so either there's some outliers at play or the park turned around in July.

if nothing else, it will serve as a nice backup for a straight down drop when valravn is a 2 hour wait. really feel this ride would have been a better fit at a smaller park like WOF, Valleyfair or Six Flags St. Louis

That's the problem mbrussmco. If Valravn has a 2-hour wait, this thing is going to have a 3-hour wait because it will only be able to handle a third of the number of guests that can ride the B&M dive coaster.

I can appreciate everything you've pointed out AJ, but I'll stand by my opinion that this is a concerning development for Cedar Point. The first reason is the one you rightly point out, which is that this announcement very well could indicate a lack of confidence that Zamperla will be able to get TT2 running for 2025. If TT2 is indeed SBNO and there's no feasible fix for its problems, Cedar Point needed SOMETHING to market to its guests, particularly after removing an attraction from the lineup (Snake River Falls). However, the way they've gone about this is haphazard, rushed, and provides no confidence that it will be an appropriate addition to Cedar Point, a de facto "destination park" for coaster fans. Sure, it's a major "pivot" at a time when the park needed to have something positive to report, but I just felt like there are far better ways to go about it than what feels like a desperation move.

I'll also stand by my assessment of this coaster as a 1-trick pony that is replicated by the larger Valravn right next door. The novelty of the tip track will probably be fun, and I will give Six Flags credit for orienting the drop in a way that it will be as entertaining for guests watching as those riding. However, I'm incredibly concerned about the capacity of this coaster and the overall engineering issues associated with its design. I'll note again that there's only one of these coasters in the world, and it opened 20 years ago. No one has bothered buying one of these until now, which makes you wonder why. Sure, Vekoma has certainly upped their game over the past 5-8 years, but have they figured out how to get this 20-year old concept to work reliably and effectively. Also, the station design shown in the visualization videos and concept drawings leads me to believe that they will have difficulty maintaining anywhere close to an acceptable throughput on this coaster - it's going to be worse than Wicked Twister and TTD were in their opening seasons. Then there's the subsurface trench/tunnel, which perhaps is just a remnant of the Mexico installation and won't be included here. But if they are going to create a tunnel/trench, how in the world are they going to keep it from flooding without spending thousands of dollars to constantly pump it out. In 100 years, Cedar Point has never gone below grade with any of their attractions, what make Six Flags so confident that they can do it now?

Don't get me wrong. I hope this works out, and is a great coaster for Cedar Point, and if they can get TT2 working next year, then this will be a massive bonus for a park that's hasn't had much to talk about since Steel Vengeance opened in 2018. Whether it was their own doing or not, Cedar Point hasn't had the greatest run, especially since the Pandemic, so they really need something positive to hang their hat on as they enter the Six Flags era. However, given Six Flags' stumbles over the past 3-4 years, I think I'm justified in my skepticism, and will be the first one to take my lumps if they prove me wrong.