SANDUSKY — The good times are gone at Cedar Point. The Good Time Theatre, that is.

But the big question is what exactly will take its place. 

The Sandusky theme park has cleared the area where the theater, created in 1975, stood, and moved the “Dodgem” bumper cars station from next door to elsewhere in the park. As spokesman Tony Clark tweeted early in the demolition process in January, “That's a lotta land down there.”

Speculation on plans for the site puts much focus on a new coaster.

A new “dive coaster,” or ride with a 90-degree vertical drop with riders facing down, was outlined in a memo from Swiss coaster design company Bolliger & Mabillard and obtained in January by the Sandusky Register. A Cedar Fair official at the time called it a proposal. The memo suggested the ride would be the tallest of its kind at 223 feet.

At Cedar Point, the signature park owned by Cedar Fair LP, a wooden fence stretches around the old theater site, with a sign that details the “legacy of roller coasters” at the park. The sign says, in part, “this history, this legacy, will continue at the roller coaster capital of the world.”

Each week since the park’s seasonal opening in May, a new tile has been added to the sign that explains the history behind one of the park’s roller coasters. Beginning with “Blue Streak,” it continues to progress chronologically through the years the park’s roller coasters were added.

That has led fans on websites such as PointBuzz.com and Screamscape.com to suspect an announcement from the company in August. Such timing would be earlier than usual for Cedar Point, which last year announced park updates in mid-September.

Jeff Putz, who operates PointBuzz, said, “I’m sure it’s time for a new large ride in the near future.”

Bryan Edwards, Cedar Point’s spokesman, did not answer questions on Wednesday about the memo or the sign on the fence, except to say the company has not announced its 2016 plans.

In April, Cedar Point filed a trademark for the name “Valravn” to be used on amusement park rides and souvenir merchandise. 

The term comes from Danish folklore, meaning “raven of the slain,” and describes a raven which had eaten from dead bodies on a battlefield. It would be the second mythological name in a row for the park, which named its newest “Rougarou” last year, a term from French folklore for a werewolf.

The somber trademark name, though, could lend itself to another type of ride in which Cedar Fair has expressed interest. 

Last year in the amusement park firm’s Canada’s Wonderland and this year in its Knott’s Berry Farm park, Cedar Fair opened new “Dark Rides,” which immerse riders in an interactive story with 3-D screens and electronic blast guns. 

Wonderland’s ride focuses on mountain monsters and a dragon, while Knott’s focuses on deep sea creatures and the Kraken.

In April, Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet told the Los Angeles Times, “I think ultimately you’ll see them at every Cedar Fair park.”

Both of the new dark rides were built by Triotech. Bolliger & Mabillard does not make that type of attraction. Although a hybrid coaster-dark ride is possible, PointBuzz’s Mr. Putz said, “I don’t expect they would do that.”

Instead, he noted the history of big Bolliger & Mabillard coasters at Cedar Fair parks, including the GateKeeper. “It would make sense for [Cedar Point] to keep working with them,” Mr. Putz said.

Contact Kendrick McDonald at: kmcdonald@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.

First Published June 18, 2015, 4:00 a.m.