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Cedar Point's Mean Streak, once the tallest, fastest wooden coaster in the world, will host its last riders on September 16. (Courtesy Cedar Point)

(Courtesy Cedar Point)

SANDUSKY, Ohio - Mean Streak, Cedar Point's massive wooden roller coaster, will close for good in September - but will it be torn down?

Coaster fans don't think so, and they're elated with the news.

The park released a cryptic video, "Goodbye Pard'ner," showing the coaster and a crazed lumberjack attacking the ride's wooden beams with an ax. "Mean Streak gets the axe Sept. 16," said the video.

Cedar Point spokesman Tony Clark declined to say whether the ride - which was the tallest, fastest wooden coaster in the world when it debuted in 1991 - would be torn down.

Nor would he say whether it would be refurbished with a new, steel track, which has become a popular option in the industry, a way to remake older coasters into new and more thrilling rides.

"I can tell you that the future of FrontierTown is very exciting," he said in an email.

Jeff Putz, co-founder of Cedar Point fan site PointBuzz.com, said he thinks Cedar Point has something planned for the ride.

"I can't imagine they'll just tear it out and start over," said Putz. He speculates that Cedar Point will partner with Rocky Mountain Construction, an Idaho company that has become well known in recent years for remaking wooden roller coasters in contemporary thrillers.

This would be the first partnership between the company and Cedar Fair, Cedar Point's parent company. According to Putz, RMC coaster refurbishments generally retain a ride's basic track layout, but can make hills higher, curves more thrilling.

Maintenance costs are also lower on these steel-wood hybrids.

"Mean Streak has, and always will be a significant part of our roller coaster legacy at Cedar Point," said Jason McClure, vice president and general manager for Cedar Point, in a statement. "But we have our sights set on the future of FrontierTown, and unfortunately, that means Mean Streak has to leave our lineup of world-class attractions."

Though well received in 1991, Putz said Mean Streak long ago fell out of favor with Cedar Point visitors.

"It wasn't a particularly inspired layout," he said. "It was just kind of wandering."

Riders also complained that it was rough.

On the plus side: Lines for the ride are generally short.

Expect they'll get longer in the weeks ahead, however, as Cedar Point gets ready to close it.

The last ride will be on Sept. 16, opening night of Cedar Point's 20th HalloWeekends. According to the park, "last rites" will be given to the coaster with one final public riding session from 6-7 p.m. A special memorial ceremony and procession from FrontierTown to the park's "Dead Rides Cemetery" will then take place at 7:30.

This Mean Streak news echoes an announcement in 2014, when the park said it was closing Mantis, a stand-up roller coaster that had fallen out of favor. Two weeks later, the park announced it was converting the ride into a floorless coaster using the same track but new trains. That "new" coaster, Rougarou, debuted in spring 2015.