Cedar Fair Article

[MantisMan]

Interesting article pertaining to a shifting of focus on future rides......

When you think of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, what immediately comes to mind? Odds are it’s a big, fast, steel roller coaster.

High-thrill machines have been the company’s calling card for decades. Cedar Fair’s coaster roster across its 11 North American amusement parks reads like an industry greatest-hits list—names like “Millennium Force,” “Top Thrill Dragster,” “Intimidator” … and on and on.

Cedar Fair officials agree roller coasters are ingrained in the company’s DNA. But if you look carefully at its installations over the past two years, you’ll notice a subtle but important shift in some of the attractions being built at these parks.

Linky.....http://www.iaapa.org/news/funworld/funworld-magazine/cedar-fair-entertainment-company

[gad198]

Really nice article. There were two lines in the article that pertained to new ride additions I thought were particularly interesting:

It can’t be so aggressive that it’s limiting in its appeal. It’s not just what you can withstand—it has to be enjoyable.

and

When Decker hits the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2013 trade show floor this month in Orlando, he’s searching for manufacturers who are 'innovative and bold, but also responsible.'

Those statements - in my opinion - not only provide insight as to where future additions may fit in but also come off as veiled shots at Intamin. The Interpreter has been saying that we have pay more attention to what's being done (i.e., what's actually being installed) and less about what's being said. We've seen Cedar Fair shift towards rides that are more "fun" versus "intense" and lean towards manufacturers that have reliable track records (B&M, GCI).

Guardian at Canada's Wonderland will certainly be an interesting case study because it strays quite a bit from Cedar Fair's comfort zone. What it also tells me that they're not afraid to spend the cash if they think the return on investment warrants it AND presents the opportunity to do something cool and unique at the same time (think Gatekeeper and Cedar Point's entrance). I really hope it's successful because I'd love to see a unique dark ride like that at KI in the near future.

[thedevariouseffect]

Same here, my only worry and I posted on pointbuzz about it too. Is in the next 10-20 years will we have more installations that are ok and family oriented not intimidating like Gatekeeper...or will we still have the occasional intimidating/intense rides.

I'm all for famlily fun and spending in the park, but I do enjoy being a ride warrior from time to time.

[medford]

Nice article, I took one other thing away from the article...The desire to update the front gate at all of their parks. I've never been to CW, so it was interesting to see how they placement of Leviathan was kind of a tester for their idea and I'll presume what became Gatekeeper which completely interacts with the front gate. At a place like KI, I don't think a gate keeper style ride would work as well with the focal point being the tower behind, but I believe the front gate is long overdue for a major overhaul. When they talked about how all gates were now ADA compliant as well as stroller accessable it set a huge buzzer off in my mind. IIRC, there are only two gates into/out of KI that are ADA/stroller accessable. Generally its not a huge issue for us when we're pushing our stroller into or out of the park, but occasionally it becomes a tangled web when leaving the park while others are still entering. KI's front gate, ticket procurment center could be a lot smoother if they had more automated machines. In today's age, there is often no need for human interaction when purchasing a ticket. Granted, they can't get ride of humans completely, but when I renewed my season passes October, I had to wait in about a 20 minute line so I could pay for my season pass. I could have done that with an automated system which hopefully would have speed things up. Some people may not have waited the 20 mintues and then utimately ended up not renewing their passes for the following season.

[medford]

Same here, my only worry and I posted on pointbuzz about it too. Is in the next 10-20 years will we have more installations that are ok and family oriented not intimidating like Gatekeeper...or will we still have the occasional intimidating/intense rides.

I'm all for famlily fun and spending in the park, but I do enjoy being a ride warrior from time to time.

its a fair question, and plans change, but Rob Decker states in that article that they still want to be a company that challenges highest, fastest, longest, etc...

My guess, is we won't see the days of the coaster wars where Cedar Pointe was adding a major new installation every year or two. Looks like they'll spread major installations of coasters around so that each of their major parks gets 1 every 5-6 seasons, then inbetween they all get a children's area upgrade, or flats, a dark ride, etc.... smaller installations that appeal to the family as a whole and not just the thrill seekers. Seems like a good formula to me, as you said, we'll see how the next 10-20 seasons play. If this is the starting point, that would mean 4-5 new coasters (including Banshee) at KI by 2034. Certainly some will be lost due to age by then; hopefully I won't be too old to "play"

[fryoj]

One of the things I took from reading the article, in regards to the future of Kings Island, is that, at some point, I'd expect the front gate area to be redone. Between what they said about Gatekeeper and Leviathan, and what we are hearing about Carowinds, it seems like they want to make sure their entrances have kinetic energy, yet are still inviting. While I don't know if that means a complete teardown and rebuild, or just an overhaul where all the turnstiles are torn out and they go to the Cedar Point style entrance. I think it definitely means to expect some changes to the entrance within the next 5 years or so. The next question will be if they think Invertigo fits the exciting part of the entrance, or if they will want to up that level some with a flyby from a new coaster.

[Bainard]

This article gives me a good deal of hope for the future of KI and the other CF parks. Plus it was cool to see a picture of my friend Megan looking all official with her division of the park in the article . While I love me some big 'ol coasters I appreciate the "whole package" in a park and am a huge dark ride junkie. To me Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was as much fun as my first ride on Gatekeeper, Intimidator or Maverick this year, just a different kind of fun. I'm hoping that next years install at Canada's Wonderland will start a resurgance of the dark ride chain wide and new flats. Cedar Fair has already proven that coasters will still be on the menu and I doubt that will change. The only thing I wasn't super thrilled with was the statement that they are not a "theming" company. Theming is another thing that makes the park for me.

[westcoaster]

To the great family, dark, and roller coaster rides for Kings Island and Cedar Fair Parks: