All You Fear Is Here: Cedar Fair Kicks Off 'Haunting Season' Across The Nation

SANDUSKY, Ohio, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cedar Fair Entertainment

Company (NYSE: FUN), a publicly traded leader in regional amusement parks,

water parks and active entertainment, is waking more than 4,000 corpses and

gathering the ghosts as it prepares to open the most intense amusement park

Halloween events across the country.

Cedar Fair's Halloween season is recognized as the best in the industry with

something for everyone in the family. Bone-chilling haunted houses, live (and

dead) shows and terrifying scare zones will leave teens and adults begging for

more. But it's not all about the blood-curdling screams - special activities

for children, kid's costume contests and a family-friendly parade round out

the fun at the Company's parks.

Each fall, 10 Cedar Fair parks are transformed into Halloween havens,

featuring seasonal decorations, friendly (and not-so-friendly) monsters and

mesmerizing music. In total, the parks showcase 74 haunted houses, 38 outdoor

scare zones, 42 live shows, over 4,200 roaming monsters, 40,250 pumpkins,

24,225 bales of hay, 1,775 skeletons and 185,800 cornstalks around every

corner.

The sensory mix of scary and not-so-scary events can be enjoyed from coast to

coast. Knott's Berry Farm, Carowinds, California's Great America, Kings

Dominion, Valleyfair, Kings Island, Canada's Wonderland, Worlds of Fun and

Dorney Park are all "business as usual" during the day - guests can challenge

the world's greatest collection of rides and roller coasters. Plus, families

can enjoy the special activities just for them. But then at night, guests will

cautiously traverse the midways as things turn a bit evil.

"Simply put, we have the best Halloween events in North America," said Jack

Falfas, chief operating officer for Cedar Fair. "We know our guests'

expectations are high for scares, thrills and family fun, and we deliver -

hands (and skulls) down."

The nation's first and longest-running amusement park Halloween event, The

Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, will celebrate 37

terrifying years in 2009, introducing four new haunted houses - bringing the

total number to an unlucky 13. The Haunt also boasts three outdoor scare

zones, six live shows, including the ever-popular "The Hanging," and over

1,000 ghastly characters roaming the midways.

The season for scaring reaches a new level at the Company's flagship park,

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Two all-new haunted houses will debut at its

HalloWeekends event. Happy Jack's Toy Factory takes guests into the fun, yet

twisted world of toy manufacturing where good toys go "bad." The park's

founder, George A. Boeckling, is forever remembered in the new G. A.

Boeckling's Eerie Estate. Guests will walk through the hallowed halls of this

old mansion, encountering maniacal maids, brash butlers and sinister spirits

that continue to haunt the mansion.

Even though Cedar Point has upped the ante in scares, HalloWeekends is still

the premier family-friendly Halloween park event. Kids can participate in a

costume contest, watch fun shows where they can be a part of the action, enjoy

the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration parade or try their skills at the Hay

Bale Maze and the Magical House on Boo Hill.

Halloween has become its own popular season for Cedar Fair, entertaining more

than 2,000,000 guests each fall. It begins with Cedar Point's HalloWeekends on

September 18th with most park events continuing through Sunday, November 1.

For complete details on each park's Halloween events, please visit

cedarfair.com.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN) is a publicly traded partnership

headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio. The Partnership, which owns and operates

eleven amusement parks, six outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and

five hotels, is one of the largest regional amusement park operators in the

world. Its parks are located in Ohio, California, North Carolina / South

Carolina, Virginia / District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri,

Michigan, and Toronto, Ontario. Cedar Fair also operates the Gilroy Gardens

Family Theme Park in Gilroy, California under a management contract.

Cedar Fair's flagship park, Cedar Point, has been voted the "Best Amusement

Park in the World" for twelve consecutive years in a prestigious annual poll

conducted by Amusement Today newspaper.

This press release and prior press releases are available online at

www.cedarfair.com....

SOURCE Cedar Fair Entertainment Company

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressReleas...009+PRN20090918