Cedar Point To Shut Down Roller Coaster

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) The roller coaster capital of the world, which draws thousands of metro Detroiters every year, is going to open the season a little shy. One roller coaster shy, to be exact.

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, announced it will remove the WildCat roller coaster, saying it's "coming to the end of its useful life."

The WildCat will make way for an expansion of Celebration Plaza, and its materials sent to a recycling facility. Spokespeople for the park said visitors just didn't ride the old coaster as much as they used to, and it was getting expensive to maintain.

"This expansion is one of several initiatives that will beautify the park midways and enhance guests' experiences," the park said in a press release.  "Additional improvements include state-of-the-art lighting packages on Giant Wheel, Millennium Force and Power Tower, a new sound and lighting system along the park's Main Midway and the re-painting of the Millennium Force and Blue Streak roller coasters."

As local coaster fans know, the Wild Cat was a cross between a real roller coaster and a kiddie ride, with small slopes and colorful cars that jerked and zipped around corners. Made of steel, it opened in 1970 overlooking the waterfront.