Cedar Fair to acquire Six Flags Worlds of Adventur

[RevengeofTheSmurfs]

Yeah Being a Parent isnt all ways easy... i love coasters, Dont mind being is HBL or Kiddie themed areas but some times you gotta have that ride on your fav coaster its sad that the HB characters i grew up with are almost outta the park THANK GOD Scooby Doo is Popular! i cant wait til the smurfs make there come back!!!!

But i want to say this i agree with you Italian Chef i wont be visiting the new park at all i went there to see the Looney tunes,DC Comics themes i loved the Marine life all i gotta say is they BETTER have some Snoopy themes goin on in my eyes the Themed areas made that park.

As for my Marine Life Fix i will go to The NewPort Aquaurim,Sea World in Orlando or Go to the Finding Nemo Attraction in Walt Disney World

[drewbari]

I do not think C.F. or Paramount will buy Coney Island.

[AllenAmazon]

I'd have to disagree with the Chef on a few things.

Just because the big theming names will no longer be at Geauga Lake does not mean that the quality will diminish from the park. It's great that the park is changing hands. Heck, they've promoted an assistant from CP to be the GM at GL. Not to mention doing a better job at running stuff, too. And better customer service so they can have more of something that PKI and CP rely on: repeat customers.

I also think that some of the coasters at Geauga Lake are better than some of PKI's. The Big Dipper, especially in the front, has much more air than any wood at KI. Also, they have a great floorless, and I consider myself a big B&M fan. The Impulse is also exciting and smooth. Currently KI has no B&M (or Intamin) coasters.

Overall, I think KI's wood is much better, however. Top Gun's a great suspended that does better for me than that hang & bang on the lake. AE's a great family coaster too.

And it's no question why our kids area got the Golden Ticket Award 3 years in a row!

[AZ Kinda Guy]

MommaBeast, you mentioned how PKI needs to step up into the coaster market....We did, and we got our butt kicked. PKI is not about having the worlds tallest "erector set". Instead, it's about the familys. We had a 3% increase in attendance last year so we muist be doing something right. Why mess with proven success? The money lies in the family. Not the punk kids who get 15 dollars to spend in the park from their mommies who've dropped them off.

[BoObKiNoS]

In my humble, humble opinion (and I've thought about this long before the SFWoA acquisition), PKI's got its work cut out.

PKI has to step up to the plate.

They've already carved their niche as a FAMILY park. Golden Tickets year after year pretty much prove this point.

Ok, PKI...(and take this the right way----I love PKI)...you've got to grow up. Be competitive in this fierce coaster market. Let me emphasize that: Be competitive in this fierce COASTER market.

Remember when you used to be cutting-edge, PKI? Cutting edge with COASTERS, not flats nor dark rides. Remember those days? I sure do. Many of us have been screamin' for a big steel coaster for a long, long time now (not a cookie-cutter one, either...that just wouldn't be your style).

Yet instead of the big steelie, you've chosen to indulge your FAMILY market; chosen to carve your niche in that demographic deeper and deeper. Well ya know what? You're gonna carve yourself right out of the competition.

Others may have their own say (they're entitled as I am) and may disagree with me on this but say it I will: COASTERS DRAW THE CROWDS. They always have and they always will. Coasters are also FAMILY rides...at least my family sure loves 'em. How many KIDS have you seen on Millennium Force? Tons and tons. How about Son of Beast? Tons and tons. Beast? "Billions served" to borrow a phrase from Mickey Dee's. Ok, ok...maybe not billions, but you get my drift. And the record-holding Daddy of all BIG coasters, Top Thrill Dragster, also has a tremendous kid-based ridership as well.

My point is this: PKI, We've grown up; your family base has matured and while we enjoy the kiddie rides, it's time to move on. Grow up. Allow your big coaster market to blossom. Most, not all, kids these days go for the big thrills. I marvelled at my own children (ages 7, 10, and 12) tackling the likes of MF and TTD, SoB and Volcano; Hypersonic XLC and Dueling Dragons to name but a few 'adult' coasters. As much as I love coasters, I don't think at age 7 I would've found the courage to get on MF, let alone TTD. But that was THEN. This is NOW. Kids nowadays are different; willing and more apt to take risks... "tougher." Is it my imagination or do they grow up faster, too?

Some may argue that NEW families will always be PKI's bread and butter and to that I cannot argue. PKI can and should keep their wonderful kiddie section; they should strive to win more Golden Tickets for the Best Kiddie Area in the amusement park market. But at the same time, don't forget those of us (and we represent thousands and thousands of paying patrons) who yearn for an innovative, cutting-edge big steel coaster.

We feel silenced by your adamant attention to your 'other' interests: record-holding Giant Husses (FLATS), World-renowned Kiddie Areas, and now a World-Class (and much-needed I will admit) upgraded WaterPark.

But don't forget about us...year after year we anxiously await for THEE announcement we've yearned for:

'COMING IN 2005, PKI PLEDGES TO RECLAIM THE STEEL COASTER MARKET.....' or something along those lines.

*Sigh*

I'm tired of just dreaming of the day. Come on PKI...you'd be doing the right thing by stepping up to the (steel coaster) plate and swinging that bat like you used to.

MommaBeast

OK stop the presses. This forum has turned into the stereotypical Cedar Point vs. pki, more specifically, their style vs. our style. And i would like to point out the ridiculous statements you have made.

First of all, when i hit the 'quote' button to quote you, i planned on selecting one sentence, becuase i had not read the whole thing yet, and that one sentance made me mad enough. Then i read the whole thing, and when i tried to delete some your post so i wouldnt quote the thing in its massive completness i realized that i cannot do so. It is impossible, for the whole thing needs to be addressed and in its entirety it is a mouth load of crap.

First of all im probably not as old as you, but in my memory i cannot thing of a time that pki was 'cutting edge' with coasters. It seems that in my mind we have always been family oriented, with a big thrill or coaster ride every 3-5 years. There isnt a single period in pki's history where they have gone on a coaster binge, except if you count the opening of Action Zone with sob, face off and dropzone. And if thats the only one you need to stop complaining becuase that was only 5 years ago...they're probably still recovering from the money spent for the Action Zone implementation.

Now explain to me how they are going to 'carve themselves out of competition'. Let me remind you that Cedar Point in the past 3 years has opened up Millinium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, and Wicked Twister, three of the most insane rides in the world. What have we done??? We have done an HB expansion, two awesome flat rides, and a water park. And you want to know what?? our attendance has not slipped in comparison to theirs one bit.

I am too lazy to find the link again, but in another one of these cp vs. pki threads i provided you guys with a link to the top 50 parks and their attendance for last year. The first 25 or something like that were all parks opened year round. The first park not open year-round on the list was the ever popular Cedar Point. The second on the list was PKI. And when you compared the figures of attendance between the two parks, they were so close that it doesnt even matter. i dont remember the exact numbers, but it was something like 3.4 million vs. 3.3 million or something. So my point is (and ive said this before) that they build a 27 million dollar erector set that sends people higher and faster than god ever intended, while we spend a much much lesser amount and obtain practically the same amount of people.

"Coasters draw the crowds". That is not the dumbest statement, but the most ignorant. You have got to get out of this site, the acer/coaster freak world, and realize that those people account for like less than 5% of the attendance at the park....why would they appeal to them when the family oriented people make up most of the attendance. Why do i say they make up most of the attandence??? Becuase pki is not stupid, they are a business, they want to make money, and they wouldnt be all family oriented if they were not making money that way. You realize all the marketing surveys, and stats they take in??? You are crazy if you think they sit at a huge table and say "Well we would make tons more money if we built a huge coaster, but instead lets add on to HB". No they dont say that!!!!! They know how to make money, and they are doing fine. Trust me, if they could make more money building huge coasters, they'd be doing it.

On to kids loving coasters. I agree, but do you realize all the kids under 48 inches that cannot get on most of them??? And trust me thats a lot of people. Now speaking from expierence (3 years), i know that you are wrong when you say: "theres tons and tons of kids on beast and Son of Beast". Have you ever walked through HB on a saturday. On most days, scooby doo and beastie have a longer line than Son of Beast. no i'm not joking.

I wont even begin to comment on how you say their family base has matured. What do you think, that all the family kids and stuff they appealed to 10 years ago havent been replaced??? Are you not aware that people are born everyday completing a never ending cycle of new kids for pki to entertain??

As for kids being different now, i want some proof. I think half of it has to do with the fact that when we were kids the biggest coaster was Vortex and beast. and for you mommabeast it was probably racer (which was at one point the tallest fastest and blah blah). So you hafta remember that maybe if those rides were around we might have ridden them. For my parents to say "Wow the biggest ride i rode when i was a kid was The Racer" cannot be used as an example, becuase that was the biggest thing then.

You have to forget that the market for people who want thrill rides isnt as big as you think.

And just for sake of arguement, i agree with you. I pray for that day too when jeff comes up to a microphone and says that they're building a 500 ft coaster. darn i wish for that every freaking day. But i understand why they're not doing it.

[BoObKiNoS]

MommaBeast, you mentioned how PKI needs to step up into the coaster market....We did, and we got our butt kicked. PKI is not about having the worlds tallest "erector set". Instead, it's about the familys. We had a 3% increase in attendance last year so we muist be doing something right. Why mess with proven success? The money lies in the family. Not the punk kids who get 15 dollars to spend in the park from their mommies who've dropped them off.

^ yea what he said. He posted while i was typing mine...and he's darn right.

[derbeast]

And just for sake of arguement, i agree with you. I pray for that day too when jeff comes up to a microphone and says that they're building a 500 ft coaster. darn i wish for that every freaking day. But i understand why they're not doing it.

YES YES

Couldn't have said it better myself

[fryler87]

This is going more off topic, but I think I should say it anyway. If everyone says that the park is a family park, and that's the reason they aren't building more coasters, then something isn't making sense to me. People like us are part of families, too, right? And if the Island wants to serve families, then they're going to have to serve us, too.

What do we want? Coasters; (at least I do). Attendance IS up 3% from the previous year, so YES, the park IS doing something right. And YES; why change that? But kids my age are into coasters (like Millennium Force and The Beast) and large flats (such as Delirium and Tomb Raider). I heard somewhere that a hell of a lot of advertising in today's world is geared toward people between the ages of 15-25 or something like that. Teens are America's money spenders. If the park doesn't also please us, then less and less of us will go.

We'll just see what happens in the near future.

[stephenmayes]

First of all im probably not as old as you, but in my memory i cannot thing of a time that pki was 'cutting edge' with coasters.  It seems that in my mind we have always been family oriented, with a big thrill or coaster ride every 3-5 years.  There isnt a single period in pki's history where they have gone on a coaster binge, except if you count the opening of Action Zone with sob, face off and dropzone.  And if thats the only one you need to stop complaining becuase that was only 5 years ago...they're probably still recovering from the money spent for the Action Zone implementation.

Agreed!

The first park not open year-round on the list was the ever popular Cedar Point.  The second on the list was PKI.  And when you compared the figures of attendance between the two parks, they were so close that it doesnt even matter. i dont remember the exact numbers, but it was something like 3.4 million vs. 3.3 million or something

Drew, I am pretty sure you are right on the nose with those numbers...It was really close!!

Have you ever walked through HB on a saturday.  On most days, scooby doo and beastie have a longer line than Son of Beast.  no i'm not joking.

Sounds crazy, but is a very very true comment!!! He was a ride-op, so drew would know even better than me, but I actually remember the lines from both last summer, b.c my lil' bro likes both...I actually remember the joke we told my mom about how we waited almoast an hour or so for The Beastie (which is kinda crappy when your waiting for a ride and you cant even ride it) and then we pretty much walked on to SOB and The Beast!!

And just for sake of arguement, i agree with you.  I pray for that day too when jeff comes up to a microphone and says that they're building a 500 ft coaster.  darn i wish for that every freaking day.  But i understand why they're not doing it.

I third that statement!

Steve

This is what the boards are all about. An innocent newbie posts there long opinion about something and then a veteran just comes up and smashes it to pieces from behind!! I love this stuff!!

[PKI Homey]

Boobkinos, you couldn't be more wrong with your statements. PKI has been cutting edge with coasters nearly the whole time until recently. First, KI was credited with restarting the coaster age again with The Racers. Then, you have The Beast, which is the longest wooden coaster in the world. Next, you have Vortex, the first steel to do six inversions. The Bat, the first ever suspended coaster. FOF, one of the first LIM launched coasters. Face/Off, the first coaster where guests face each other. SOB, the tallest, fastest, and only looping woodie in the world. If you're going to post, you need to back it up. What is not new is PKI being a family park. Somehow, people think that they only recently started doing this. Let's not forget how long HB Land has been there and the overall variety of rides they have had over the years. I don't recall anyone stating that CP was better than PKI. And, Momma Beast is correct in saying more kids ride these scream machines. I've seen it first hand. I also couldn't disagree more with Geauga Lake will not be any good any more. Lest you forget that anything, ANYTHING, that CF seems to touch turns to gold. Why? Commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. I'm not saying that PKI is not committed to those things, just backing up my statements. And, the market for thrill rides is not as big as we think? I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. If the market is so small for these coasters, then why do parks keep on building them year after year. Why is it that designers are trying to come up with more and more variances on experiences for coasters? Because, the GP is demanding it. If the demand wasn't there, the process of introducing new technologies would be much slower. I like how a newbie posted and was correct from the start, as opposed to those that have been here awhile.

[stephenmayes]

^ I am anxiously awaiting his reply

Steve

[coasterdudeOH]

WOW! I've read almost everyones post since Mama's long post and here's my $.02 worth:

I remember the early days when Mom and Dad took me and my older brother to KI. My youngest brother wasn't born yet. I would only ride Scooby Doo (Beastie now) and Barvarian Beetle. I would not even think about riding The Racer. It scared me.

Finally I did one year and loved it. I was young, before 10, when I rode it. When I was 10, Scremon Demon arrived. That thing scared me too. Not just going upside down, but going Backwards? But I braved it and loved it!!

Then The Beast. Oh my. My mom and I rode front seat and what a ride. I was 12 then. What I am getting at is KI back then did have a "coaster edge". We have always been on that block.

Now to the present day. I read where we got a roller coaster and attendance seemed not to go up. Well heck, that ride had lots of problems if I recall, even when being built. It was a chance that PKI did and yes, I don't think it went over to well. I do like SOB, but I also think the layout is "cheesy" compared to the other coasters built. (My flame guards are on.)

I agree with what PKI has done in the last years by adding flat rides, updating the areas, etc., BUT I also think it is time we get ourselves a nice steel speed coaster. At least over 250' or more. Do I want it to be a record breaker? Of course so, because PKI always tries to break a record somehow or another. But I won't scream if it is not. I would like a steel speed coaster like Goliath at SFMM. That is one sweet ride.

[derbeast]

No PKI Homey you are wrong: Boobkinos was saying that PKI has never gone on a coaster binge where they build many coasters in a short amount of time (like CP). Just look at the Kings Island History on this page. Yes Kings Island has built many state of the art, world class coasters, many that were unprecedented.

First, KI was credited with restarting the coaster age again with The Racers. Then, you have The Beast, which is the longest wooden coaster in the world. Next, you have Vortex, the first steel to do six inversions. The Bat, the first ever suspended coaster. FOF, one of the first LIM launched coasters. Face/Off, the first coaster where guests face each other. SOB, the tallest, fastest, and only looping woodie in the world.

You make it sound like KI built all these coasters one after the other but in fact this happened over the course of 30 years. AND you forgot King Cobra: North America's first stand-up coaster.

Oh and don't argue with employee's, you are so wrong when you say that more kids are riding the bigger rides. We know, we are there upwards of 40 hours a week. Many kids do but we're talking maybe 2 or 3 per train. The majority of people that ride are teenagers and adults. Kings Island will probably continue to do what they've done for the past 30 years, they're going to continue to build world-class thrill rides and not let the kids areas go down the sh*t hole.

[PKI Homey]

It's not arguing, it's disagreeing. I never said that PKI had gone on a coaster binge. CP did not really get into this habit until most recently. Yeah, I did forget KC, a classic indeed. If I'm wrong about the kids, then why did I see so many getting on these rides? I also never said anywhere in my thread that PKI built them back to back. You were just assuming. And you know what happens when you assume. And, CP has been around for many more years than PKI, so naturally they should have as many coasters as they do. I won't disagree with you on CP's kid's area either, even though that is not what I was referring to. KI is tops in kid's area. And, you have really not said anything that refuted what I stated before except maybe about the kids riding the big rides. You make it sound like that CP has been on a coaster binge since the beginning of their existence, which is simply not true.

[JIMMY JAMZ]

Well I read all the posts and here is my 23 cents(inflation) Ive been to SFWOA twice .Both times I was totally turned off to the park.1st Understaffed not enuff workers in the park to opperate rides efficently(x-flight 1 train opperation the first year it was open!) rides closed,when asked why they told me "not enuff employees to operate all the rides" 2nd very un-friendly staff borderline rude.hopefully CF trains their staff to be more customer friendly.I havnt been to CP in quit sometime so im not sure how friendly their staff is.PKI has some of the nicest people working at their park(i'm sure that it has something to do with training employees to deal with the customer something SFWOA obviously wasn't concerend with) 3ed very un-kept garbage cans overflowing the restrooms were downright scary litter strewn all around.overall just messy.4th no idenity I went to geauga lake before when I was younger and It was a very traditional feeling park much like my hometown park Kennywood.Now it seems its stuck between Traditional and Theme park with really no emphasis on either.5th food wow theres a really bad area their cafeteria was the worst food Ive ever tasted.No traditional food stands at all.Comercialized chain restaurants with prices so inflated you need to use a credit card just to eat lunch! Don't even think about asking for a glass of water from one of the food stands they won't give it to you.But they will sell you a bottle of water at an inflated price of course!I live 2 hrs from SFWOA and 6 plus from PKI and I refused to ever go back to SFWOA.But I did purchase a season pass for PKI.Maybe CFs aquisition of the park will make it better,I cant see it getting any worse.Ill wait and see and maybe Ill go back next year.Competion makes things better for us the consumer.

[coasterdime]

First off, guys, I have to defend MommaBeast. Everyone is saying that she is somehow wrong, because great coasters don't really belong with the park's stategy of focusing on the family market. Um...she IS the family market.

She is an adult with children of varying ages. She also lives in an out of state market that is HEAVILY courted by other parks, including CP, at least two SF parks....and even smaller parks like Holiday World. (a park that actually understands that thrilling coasters ARE family rides) Some of you should think about some of her points, instead of just trashing them. I know PKI marketing has been in contact with her, so maybe she is on to something.

Another thing....She is new to THIS site, but not new to others, not new to PKI, and certainly not new to the industry. When she tells you that PKI was once on the cutting edge, you don't have to beieve her, but it doesn't make it a false statement.

PKI and CP had a friendly rivalry all through the 70's and 80's They build corkscrew and Gemini, we get Demon and Beast. The Beast, btw, took the height record in 1979...from Gemini at CP.

When King Cobra was built, it was absolutely state of the art for its time. The ride was even featured in People magazine! I still remember people (of all ages) standing around the ride, just gawking at it. The CP-PKI rivalry fired up again in 1987, and was even discussed on TV's Entertainment Tonight. PKI built Vortex, of course...but CP came back with Iron Dragon. While the ID was mild, CP touted it as the first suspended coaster in the Midwest. A kinda friendly poke at PKI. When Magnum appeared on the scene in 1989, they really were elevated to the top of the industry. I really believe it was then, that PKI started pouring their efforts into different markets and attractions. Believe me, though. PKI was at one time absolute "cutting edge."

All through adulthood, I was a huge fan of both. For me, PKI won my heart simply because I feel it is a better park. A more rounded park. It has just the right mix of everything that makes a park enjoyable. I even moved from Pennsylvania just to live close! I know these past few replies have sent us flying off topic, I just hate to see people trashed on these boards, especially when they happen to know what they are talking about.

[PKI Homey]

Amen, coasterdime.

[BoObKiNoS]

Yea derbeast said everything that needed to be said, along with tiny. I'm done, if i try to explain myself again you'll just read it and misinterpret it as you have just done.