Why in the world would they announce this ride ahead of their 2017 season if it's not going to be open by then?
It's already well established that Cedar Point will not open a flagship ride halfway through their season. The secrecy behind the existence of this transformation is nothing but marketing. Consider from a non-enthusiast perspective, that some people might hold off on purchasing a 2017 ticket or season pass until this bad ass new ride is open.
Of course the transformation is common knowledge among enthusiasts. But outside of a few local articles, the transformation does not exist in the eyes of the public. There is literally no incentive for them to announce anything, and it makes perfect sense why they are deliberately avoiding mention of the ride both officially and on their affiliate sites. Meanwhile they have been dropping hints to enthusiasts since as long as RMC conversions have been a thing.
The disaster that is this thread is just proof of how effective their marketing is.