The Mysterious, possible footers

The Dodgems by Magnum are gone, we all know that. In their place is a brownish wall surrounded by some landscaping that's done well enough to look like it's saying "I'll be here a while." The question of the day today was "what's back there?"

Well, nobody seems to know for sure yet, but some (possible?) insight was given if you rode Gemini or MF today and looked in that direction. If you did you saw 3 square, concrete slabs (we'll call them "footers" for now, just for discussion) arranged in a triangular pattern, rising out of the ground possibly 2 or 3 feet with 3 or 4 metal rods (possibly bolts?) sticking out of them. I beleive it's now obvious that this is not a basement, as the area is flat and has 3 concrete footers in it.

The rest of the area is flat and does not seem to have any markings for construction. The footers are too close together to be for light fixtures, and the other lighting fixtures' footers in the area are round, so I believe that we can rule that out. Also, they're too close together for VertiGo to be coming back, as was very briefly a suggestion by Coasterbuzz's "robodud."

So, I leave it to you folks to decide for yourself what to think about these structures.

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- The Darling one

RIP White Water Landing cave
*** This post was edited by Michael Darling 5/5/2002 10:06:42 PM ***

Hmmmm they're bringing in some hot and heavy grills for that restaraunt...

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~Sworm member of the 311 mafia ~

Force312 - Michigan Trash Specialist

I don't know... it's a very large area, a lot bigger than I thought. Also, there are some mysterious huge piles of sand on Millennium Island, just across from the "footer area".

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Break the scream barrier in 2002!
Wicked twists: 3
VertiGo: (2001-2002) R.I.P.

I'd have to disagree with the folks (I'm sorry Jeff...) who say this is a eating establishment. Whatever's going on back there will probably take a while given that landscaping around it. Other than that, I'm not speculating much more, but I do have hopes... Sure it's a pipe dream, but I can always hope!
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- The Darling one
"Danger: Hgih Voltage" -The DT Queue
"Those weren't trims, that was a buzzcut" - A Mean Streak rider

Well, it doesn't look like an eating joint to me either, but who knows.

Personally? I'm guessing up-charge slingshot.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Personally? I'm guessing up-charge slingshot.

But they would put that in challenge park. And of all places where VertiGO was.

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Rider
RIDE IT OUT!

Most likely what ever the plans are for this space, it is going to be a Camp Snoopy addition if you ask me...

I don't think so. Although I COULD see it maybe edging into Camp Snoopy. The question is whether whatever this thing is will be just in the former Dodgems area or if it will expand a little (hence the work on the island). Can you believe it, Opening Day and there's already good reason for speculation.

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Break the scream barrier NOW!
Wicked twists: 3
Danger: Hgih Voltage!

Well, we can all speculate about what's going on. Here are some of my speculations:

1) Not a restaurant, not even close.

2) I agree that some type of footer was built.

3) I don't think it's for a flat ride. Flat rides are installed quickly, and the wall and landscaping look like they were made to stay in place all summer. I suppose it could be one of the Huss Giant Rides though.

4) I don't think it's an upcharge ride. I agree that it would be installed in Challenge Park. Why reduce its audience by limiting it only to park guests?

5) Going by how the footers look, it's for something large and heavy. I think it could be for something very large, or why would construction start now?

This is my guess: A very large scale version of Knott's Xcelerator that will head over to the island.

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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.

It could be one of those rotating tower restaurants ;).

I doubt anything is going in the old Vertigo spot for awhile, it looks to have been redone a bit. Though it consists of tables etc that could be moved easily and I think the concrete is what Vertigo sat on. You can see the 3 squares where the towers were.
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Steve Sergent
MF count: 164
WT count: 14

Pete, lol I had the exact same theory. Except I didn't know about any work over on "The Island". I thought maybe it could've been an Intamin/Xcelerator type coaster going down that midway, but maybe we'll see more box track over the water?

Speculation! woo!

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Tommy Penner - Variable X
"My mom said that there would be days like this, she just never said that there would be so many of them, or that they would all come in a row."

I'd rather see a B&M looper then a Xcel ride. Cedar Point needs more loops.

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Rider
RIDE IT OUT!

I didn't see the third footer that formed the triangle, just two: one near the ATM and another near Paddlewheel. Here's something interesting (aka Geometry 101): imagine a line between those two footers, run a perpendicular line towards the front of the park. That new line is right in line with Chaos and Troika. We all know the rumor about those two rides being moved around. Something else I noticed. The pattern of the rebar/bolts in the footer were round. There was also a spacer template holding these bolts in place, very similar to the ones used in WT construction back in October. I'm with Pete. I see an Xcelerator type ride.

Here's something else. The Fence (tm) didn't appear to have any gates or doors in it, meaning that nobody's going to be going in there any time soon unless they're Airborne.

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Scott W. Short, Rail Junkie
mailto:scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

Guess we will have to wait untill about 2003.

Wicked Twists:1 (so far)

"WHAT?"

The park is closed this week though so maybe they'll just remove a piece of the "fence" and then come up with a more permanent solution for next weekend.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew

There is nothing in The Fence™ that looks like a gate, but on the lagoon side there is one panel that is inset a bit; my guess is that section serves the function of a gate through easy removal. Thing is, the ground between that panel and the path next to the lagoon is freshly covered with grass seed, which suggests they don't plan to move heavy equipment through there anytime soon.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I think that those of you expecting something huge and cool will be disappointed. I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time, but there isn't a single logical reason to pour a footer and enclose it in an ugly wall for six months.

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Jeff
Webmaster/GTTP, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Is it possible that they may be working on installing the old Sky Ride that has been spotted sitting in the boneyard? I think I remember people saying that it was originally intended for use in Camp Snoopy. The "Mysterious, possible footers" are in that general vicinity.

There is one logical reason, and that's to hide something. Why poor a footer now? The only reason I can think of is to get some work done in advance to help meet a construction schedule for a very large project. If something small was going in, why go to the trouble of building a wall? Just plant grass and some bushes and wait 'till the park is closed for the season. Remember people reporting that a small basement was being built? That was no basement, but it was the foundation for a footer meant to support something very heavy. Who knows what they are doing, but I think this is a bigger clue than then moving the train tracks, "to get a better view of the lake", when MF was built. And, they won't put a sign up until whatever is being built is offically announced. Remember when Power Tower was built? The towers were being put together without any type of explanation until the official announcement was out.

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It's very hard to drink all day...
Unless you start first thing in the morning.