Also posted in the FUN continues thread.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQqAIoADAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.com%2Fbusiness%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F02%2Fcedar_fair_entertainment_cos_new_chief_executive_officer_matt_ouimet_believes_inspiring_guests_and_employees_is_good_for_the_bottom_line.html&ei=kgMqUZC0D-fg0gG9lYCYBQ&usg=AFQjCNGvzbZVDDXwP7SMuJquIa-TIrojQw

Excellent interview with Matt Ouimet. At least a couple of minor errors (last year Luminousity was Powered by Pepsi, for example).

Don't miss the comments.

Here we go with the "Let's blame Cedar Fair for closing Geauga Lake" comments again. I'm getting pretty annoyed reading that every time the media interviews Mr. Ouimet. He had nothing to do with the park's closure, that was under Kinzel's watch to begin with.

I am surprised Wildwater Kingdom hasn't followed suit or expanded.

Nice article. I hope to meet Mr. Q. someday.

It's refreshing that some commenters acknowledge Q's role in bringing aboard new, innovative management and stopping the Apollo buyout.

My wife's boss watched him give a speech. Made the comment about how companies can be like hippos. Big and powerful but with tiny ears. Meaning that you are not listneing to your employees or customers. He said the goal is that you need to listen to your employees and customers.

Great article. You can tell that Ouimet is a great fit for this job.

The comments are great as well. My favorite is the rambling "I'll never go back to Cedar Point again" complaint from someone who found out exactly what happens when you try to enter the park with another person's season pass.

Great article. You can tell that Ouimet is a great fit for this job.

The comments are great as well. My favorite is the rambling "I'll never go back to Cedar Point again" complaint from someone who found out exactly what happens when you try to enter the park with another person's season pass.

Really? Why do people think they take the pictures? For fun?

To the future success of Cedar Fair under Quimet, and to all their parks:

Great article. You can tell that Ouimet is a great fit for this job.

The comments are great as well. My favorite is the rambling "I'll never go back to Cedar Point again" complaint from someone who found out exactly what happens when you try to enter the park with another person's season pass.

I, too, enjoyed that. Of course they should have just rolled out the red carpet for her. I hope her credit card never gets stolen, she'd have to learn the other side of identity theft.

It looks like the comments have all been removed.

Great article. You can tell that Ouimet is a great fit for this job.

The comments are great as well. My favorite is the rambling "I'll never go back to Cedar Point again" complaint from someone who found out exactly what happens when you try to enter the park with another pw

erson's season pass.

Really? Why do people think they take the pictures? For fun?

I think Matt is great for the job!

EDIT: ignore this post.

Matt really is a good guy, and good for Cedar Fair.

Last summer, at Cedar Point, I was walking down the midway with a couple friends. One of my friends spotted a guy eating fries at a nearby stand and made a joke saying he looked like Matt Ouimet. Jokingly, I yelled his names a couple times and noticed that every time I did he looked up, then I realized that was actually Matt Ouimet. It was cool to talk with him, and he was kind enough to grab a group photo. It really is refreshing seeing a CEO of such a large company walking the park by himself (he honestly looked like an average guest), and checking out the park as it actually is.

Cedar Fair's days are bright!

It looks like the comments have all been removed.

They're still there. Scroll down to the bottom of the page below the "Related Stories" section.

Great article. You can tell that Ouimet is a great fit for this job.

The comments are great as well. My favorite is the rambling "I'll never go back to Cedar Point again" complaint from someone who found out exactly what happens when you try to enter the park with another person's season pass.

I, too, enjoyed that. Of course they should have just rolled out the red carpet for her. I hope her credit card never gets stolen, she'd have to learn the other side of identity theft.

I loved that comment too, especially after having worked Admissions at KI for 10 years. I cannot tell you how many times I had to call Security for people using someone else's pass. The pictures are taken for a reason!

She gave me her husband's pass, thinking that, since we are both adults, that we could substitute.

It looks like the comments have all been removed.

They're still there. Scroll down to the bottom of the page below the "Related Stories" section.

Humm, Sorry about the misinformation, my internet filter was blocking it from being seen!

Are the people writing the comments brain-dead?

They need to stop turning Cedar Point into what will soon be a park with 20 rides which means very long lines. It used to be a great park because you could ride a bunch of rides in a day. Not the case anymore. Small, short line rides are quickly being removed and instead you get to stand in line for 2 hours for a 10 second ride like the dragster ride. Really now...

I think Cedar Point has a few more rides than 20.

Nor everyone can afford for their family to go to Cedar Point, but going to Geauga Lake was fun AND affordable.

Geauga Lake was affordable for everyone...but not Cedar Fair.

A reply to the comment above:

The only reason GL wasn't "profitable" was that Cedar Fair didn't want it to be. They bought it to close it. Period. They were scared to death that Six Flags would've become more of a destination park than their precious Cedar Point.

Maybe this was true in Kings Island's case, but there was zero competition between Cedar Point and Geauga Lake.

Great article. You can tell that Ouimet is a great fit for this job.

The comments are great as well. My favorite is the rambling "I'll never go back to Cedar Point again" complaint from someone who found out exactly what happens when you try to enter the park with another person's season pass.

I, too, enjoyed that. Of course they should have just rolled out the red carpet for her. I hope her credit card never gets stolen, she'd have to learn the other side of identity theft.

I loved that comment too, especially after having worked Admissions at KI for 10 years. I cannot tell you how many times I had to call Security for people using someone else's pass. The pictures are taken for a reason!

>She gave me her husband's pass, thinking that, since we are both adults, that we could substitute.

In case they had any doubt, it even says it on the back of the pass, in two different ways! Some people...

Also posted in the FUN continues thread.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQqAIoADAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.com%2Fbusiness%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F02%2Fcedar_fair_entertainment_cos_new_chief_executive_officer_matt_ouimet_believes_inspiring_guests_and_employees_is_good_for_the_bottom_line.html&ei=kgMqUZC0D-fg0gG9lYCYBQ&usg=AFQjCNGvzbZVDDXwP7SMuJquIa-TIrojQw

Excellent interview with Matt Ouimet. At least a couple of minor errors (last year Luminousity was Powered by Pepsi, for example).

Don't miss the comments.

I now know how to pronounce Ouimet.

I like that he strolls through the park and noshes fries. At least this helps explain the seemingly small things that are improving. Seeing the park at guest eye level helps.

Also posted in the FUN continues thread.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQqAIoADAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.com%2Fbusiness%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F02%2Fcedar_fair_entertainment_cos_new_chief_executive_officer_matt_ouimet_believes_inspiring_guests_and_employees_is_good_for_the_bottom_line.html&ei=kgMqUZC0D-fg0gG9lYCYBQ&usg=AFQjCNGvzbZVDDXwP7SMuJquIa-TIrojQw

Excellent interview with Matt Ouimet. At least a couple of minor errors (last year Luminousity was Powered by Pepsi, for example).

Don't miss the comments.

I now know how to pronounce Ouimet.

Yes, very helpful. As much as I would love to speak to him at the park, I was nervous due to not prorperly knowing how to say his last name.

http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2013/03/extra_privileges_for_the_rich.html

A letter to the editor in response to the interview, with more interesting comments below.

Disclaimer: The letter and comments are not those of phantomtheater and do not necessarily reflect his opinions.

Someone needs to remind that person that airlines have been doing "get preferential treatment by paying more" things for decades. It's not as common in the amusement industry, but it's still not all that new of a concept.

^Cruise ships do the same thing. Norwegian typically lets you board a half hour earlier and you get better amenities...if you buy a suite. The other people who choose to go for a smaller room will not get as much amenities as the larger room folks because they did not pay for those services.

Don't forget about first class seats on a flight.

Or even business class vs. coach.

Love this comment on the story:

it's like the new juke boxes that allow someone to pay an extra $1 to hear their song ahead of everyone else that put money in.

I went to school. I have a degree. I've worked all of my life. I can't afford to fly, or take vacations, or go to amusement parks all summer long. Now, explain to me where I should get the money to make me (let alone my kids) happy at Cedar Point for a day. Or King's Island. Or Disney. Or Universal. Or even the aforementioned Kennywood.

Now I may push a few buttons here Hank, and i do not mean to at all.

But I cant afford to do it either. So I will make plans to pick a day I hope will not be too busy. I will make plans to attend all day and if I dont get on everything, I dont get on em. My wife and I had a similar situation when we went to universal. We had made plans to hit certain rides first to make sure we rode em. After that, if we didnt get to ride it, we lost out. We ended up getting 2 free fast passes from the hotel and we ended up going on 2 very dead days (one for each park).

Growing up we didnt have fast passes. We were happy.