Paddlewheel Excursions at Cedar Point
Paddlewheel Excursions, one of Cedar Point’s most classic attractions, is involved in the latest slew of rumors about a new attraction at the park. Unfortunately for this historic attraction 2011 could mean the end of one of the last true family rides at the park.
Originally opened in 1964 as the Western Cruise, it is one of the oldest attractions with deep roots in the parks history. Utilizing the peninsulas unique lagoons, which were dugout in the late 1800s as a means to drain the land and in later years provide transportation throughout the resort. In 1986 Western Cruise was renamed Paddlewheel Excursions, the dock was moved, and became similar to what we know it as today. Please take a moment to enjoy the attraction as it was back in 1964 as the Western Cruise.
The rumors for 2012 will bring Paddlewheel Excursion to an end after 47 years. Currently the ride faces many difficulties in succeeding. Paddlewheel has been plagued by low ridership for years, mainly due to a poor entrance location and lack of signage attracting guests to the ride. However, the boats require fuel to operate which comes ever increasingly more expensive. This means it is in the parks best interest to keep ridership low to keep the operating cost of the ride down. However, if ridership is low, then the ride does not garner as much attention from management for ongoing maintenance and support. This creates a scenario in which a ride receives low ridership, but is continually more expensive to operate. Paddlewheel Excursions has become known as the last ride to open every year and the first one to close.
Many readers have complained this year of the lack of maintenance the attraction has seen this year, as animatronics are not being repaired in any timely manner. Delbert Fienstien, the resident pilot of the island, constantly attempts to fly over the boat but never quite makes it. More recently Delbert seems to be “going out the night before”, preventing him to make this attempts, according to one creative skipper on the ride.
For those who enjoy the peaceful boat ride and reminisce of slower days, Cedar Point already has put in place an alternative to Paddlewheel Excursions, which is called “Paddlewheel Boat Excursions”. Guests can now take a 40 minute boat ride on an original Western Cruise paddleboat for $10 operating out of the Cedar Point Marina. Cedar Point’s own Rebecca Baker compares the experience to Paddlewheel Excursions on a recent PointCast video. Why would anyone pay $10 to ride a paddleboat when they can currently do so for free inside the park?
The reasoning why Paddlewheel could close would be to build a new walk-through exhibit on the island, which requires a bridge. This would be the same, or similar, bridge that many guests are already familiar with during HalloWeekends that goes right through the dock of Paddlewheel. This new walkthrough attraction most likely would be Dinosaurs Alive, which is currently operating at Cedar Point’s sister park King’s Island, just a few hours south. There is one catch, just like the “Paddlewheel Boat Excursions”, Dinosaurs Alive is an up-charge experience, costing an additional $5 for park guests. This experience is incredibly similar to Prehistoric Forest, a nearby local attraction that recently closed due to lack of business.
Is Cedar Point about to close one of its most beloved and historic rides with two up-charge attractions? One, an almost identical experience that is no longer included in park admission and two, a walk-through attraction of dinosaur figurines (that do not move) that costs an additional fee? Does Cedar Point have to say anything about the closure of Paddlewheel? We asked Cedar Point’s Director of Public Relations for any information regarding the rumors that Paddlewheel may close at the end of the year. His response was only that the park will make a formal announcement about their plans for next year at a later date.
Will Paddlewheel Excursions close for good? We still do not know for sure. However, if Paddlewheel Excursions does indeed close, we ask the park announce its intentions before the ride closes for good.
Have an opinion? Join the discussion on CPForums.com
*Update 8/3/11 – Many thanks to Screamscape for the link. Many of our readers have continued to provide updates on Paddlewheel at CPForums.com.