If you were Cedar Fair, what would you do...

[King Maple The Tree King]

3) Larger budget to Animation and Creative servicesto upkeep theming

You know Cedar Fair usually contracts jobs like those to outside companies, and they actaually get done. No chair races at Cedar Fair parks.

If that's the case, then there's no excuse for why they can't renovate Disaster Transport and repair the theming on it, let alone waste over a billion dollars buying five more parks with half of their attractions themed and themed well....for an amusement park of that caliber, at least.

What theming has suffered on Disaster Transport? I've been there many times this year and while its not that extensive all the theming still works. You see CP kept in focus what they knew they could maintain, its not the most highly themed ride or of the best quality yet it doesnt suffer every year like the rides at Kings Island.

[The Interpreter]

Like they have kept up the theming on their dark ride--The Pirate Ride?

Or how about on their San Francisco Earthquake Ride?

Or the Upside Down Funhouse?

My point? Modern day Cedar Point has taken out rides that had extensive theming, especially if they were in the dark. . .The same has happened at Dorney.

[Browntggrr]

The money that has been spent on DT over the years has been minimal because the popularity has also been minimal.

Why spend all the extra cash on ride that a majority of people did not like even when the themeing was good?

[The Interpreter]

Ha. Some of us liked the ride better when it was outside!

[Gordon Bombay]

Disaster Transport is a fun coaster that I would ride but not if it had a long line,t he theming is pathetic atleast its an attempt though. SOB_TOM and the rest of tech services work hard yet I hardly see any of the theming kept up. I dont understand why our IJ speakers dont work, yet PKD's and PCW's do and why AE looked great in 2004 yet already looks like crap again and why Tomb Raider now has no fake smoke, jsut lights. I'm not saying the animation/tech shop or SOB_TOM are lazy, I know what specifically tom does and I know he does a great job at it, but whoevers responsibility it is to care for the theming has not done a good job of it.

[The Interpreter]

Or, perhaps more correctly, whoever was responsible for determining budget allocations put a very low priority on theming maintenance.

[Browntggrr]

Ha. Some of us liked the ride better when it was outside!

The most impressive thing when it was Avalanche Run was how big the queue was!

[The Interpreter]

Well, that and that wonderful noise that ride made!

It was fun to listen to!

[Scooby_Doo]

Destroy Spongebob and Scooby Doo (but thats just me. Death the the Sponge and the Stoned-Dog!)

You SOB TOM; you just made my daughter cry.

BLASPHEMY!!!!

Avatar he didnt make me cry he me off

DONT MESS WITH THE DOO I'LL GIVE YA A SCOOBY SNACK

Stoned-Dog? what WTF are you smoking he's a cartoon character!!!

[Scooby_Doo]

They will get over it.

To be completely honest, I dont know why parents let their kids watch those two shows. Spongebob is the epipheny of stupidity (Lets take a sponge, make him act like the dumbest Burger King worker out there), and Patrick has the mentality of my 6 month old nephew. As for Scooby, its a nerd, a football jock, a cheerleader, a stoner and his equally stoned dog. To be honest, Im not letting my kids grow up on that garbage. At least the old HB characters had some intelligence (hell even Bugs Bunny knew enough to trick the hunter)

Dude they are cartoon characters...KIDS love cartoons I'm sure you loved watching cartoons? trash is it well some of us like animation I understand your stating you opinion but I'm going to express mine.

According to a research team at the University of Siena, cartoons provide twice as much comfort as mothers, when it comes to easing pain. The study especially regarded discomfort during medical procedures, such as the retrieving of a blood sample. Hypnosis, toys, and even virtual reality glasses were all used during the test. However, animation was found to be the most effective at calming children. More information on this study may be located at The Times.com...Like I said Kids need cartoons so do adults!

I dont understand what you have against Spongebob and Scooby they provide you entertainment just like football or WWE....

And just so you know Hanna-Barbera and Casey Kasem have stated Shaggy isnt a druggy he follows a hippie lifestlye he is a strict veggie lover but doesnt do drugs also daphne was never a cheerleader nor was Fred a football jock before you post your rants about cartoon character make sure you know your stuff.

stoner dog? you out of you mind man....

Scooby has been around since 1969 parents let there kids watch those two shows because kids love em its that simple!!! Bugs Bunny was never a HB character!!

Scooby-Doo is a childs first look into horror ... Scooby shows kids its okay to get scared its apart of life.

Why are you sooo arrogant toward animation?

[King Bowser]

Let's see I would

Keep Nick Universe

Keep Scooby-Doo

Get rid of BFFD

Keep the parking how it is

Make the place a lot cleaner

Bring down the price to 30 bucks to enter

kill the parking prices I'd charge 2 bucks

Get Snoopy and Crew in the park

have cheaper food

keep Coke

Also ^ SOB_TOM I let my kids watch Scooby Doo and Spongebob Squarepants everyday before and after school.

And no ed programing doesnt make your kid smarter..you do as a parent its up to you! I read to my kids..take them to places..cartoons like spongebob and scooby doo are not trash its form of entertainment like scooby_doo said jeez.

[Avatar]

Destroy Spongebob and Scooby Doo (but thats just me. Death the the Sponge and the Stoned-Dog!)

You SOB TOM; you just made my daughter cry.

BLASPHEMY!!!!

Avatar he didnt make me cry he me off

DONT MESS WITH THE DOO I'LL GIVE YA A SCOOBY SNACK

Stoned-Dog? what WTF are you smoking he's a cartoon character!!!

Scooby Doo: Judging from your screen name I can see how you took SOB TOM’s post so hard and personal. I’m sorry that you had to hear it that way, so take 3 deep breaths go to bed and when you wake-up Scooby Doo and SpoongBob will still be there. Kings Island has put extra security around these icons, due to the death threats. They are not going anywhere, its ok.

[King Bowser]

Destroy Spongebob and Scooby Doo (but thats just me. Death the the Sponge and the Stoned-Dog!)

You SOB TOM; you just made my daughter cry.

BLASPHEMY!!!!

Avatar he didnt make me cry he me off

DONT MESS WITH THE DOO I'LL GIVE YA A SCOOBY SNACK

Stoned-Dog? what WTF are you smoking he's a cartoon character!!!

Scooby Doo: Judging from your screen name I can see how you took SOB TOM’s post so hard and personal. I’m sorry that you had to hear it that way, so take 3 deep breaths go to bed and when you wake-up Scooby Doo and SpoongBob will still be there. Kings Island has put extra security around these icons, due to the death threats. They are not going anywhere, its ok.

nice...Yeah I go to college with scooby he is a die-hard fan but however I agree with scooby more than I do with sob tom.

Cartoons are a form of entertainment... my son loves scooby doo does your daughter?

[Avatar]

She likes him as a stuffed doll, but the channels she watches don't show him. So she likes him only as the way he is presented at Kings Island mostly.

[italianchef]

If I were Cedar Fair, I would hire a special marketing communications area manager to assist Maureen and perhaps the marketing departments of some of the other CF parks.

The person I have in mind is an author honored by the Ohioana Libraray Society, Blue Chip award-winning public access TV producer, freelance writer who has contributed to 9 newspapers & 6 magazines, and in my humble opinion......a man who is a wizard of words.

Hence, if I were Cedar Fair, I'd hire Charles Infosino as a marketing communications representative. He would grace Cedar Fair with his talent and passion.

Have a great day!

Italian Chef

[CoastersNSich]

- Re-pave and redesign the parking lot. Do away with preferred and Gold Pass parking. Re-institute trams on busier days.

- If they're going to replace Coke with Pepsi, lower the prices, preferably below $2 for bottles/regular size.

- Son of Beast: Taer it down. I intentionally misspelled it. B&M coaster #1 could go here.

- The dead area between Eiffel Tower, Italian Job (name will be changed, eventually), and along the pathways into Coney Mall and Rivertown could become a Camp Snoopy section.

- Somewhere, build a new antique car ride.

- Renovate Coney Mall, with 60's style lighting and graphics.

- Promote other Cedar Fair parks, in clever ways.

- Replace the trains on The Beast and The Racer. The new trains will not have headrests - see Michigan's Adventure's and Knott's wood coasters. Redesign The Racer's platforms, encourage racing, and have both sides running forward again.

- Action Zone, IMO, makes Dorney Park look like it has award-wiining landscaping. Clean that area up!

[Plutoboy]

I'm kind of curious as to how much land the park still has for expansion?? I know that when I worked for PKI they had all that land that was once occupied by Animal Safari. Would be nice if that could be used someday or if it's been sold off.

[The Interpreter]

Other than where Great Wolf Lodge is, the expansion property in that area is still there.

As for Shivering Timbers and Ghostrider not having headrests, those rides were already purchased before Cedar Fair bought Michigan's Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm. I wouldn't expect Cedar Fair to install a wood coaster without headrests.

For me, the rock hard "padding" in the Ohio wooden coaster trains detracts from the ride experience far more than any other factor. . .Interestingly, the Georgia Cyclone also uses this same high density foam padding. The PKD and PCWi woodies do NOT.

[king_cobra_27]

I would turn the Paramount Story into a garden/museum honoring the parks past.

I would tear down Italian Job, and sell it, or trash it, and throw a piece of it in my new museum

I would remove every single trace of the Paramount logo, except for a plaque which would speak of the previous owner's history in my new museum

I would return WinterFest. I would also make it bigger

I would return the ice shows of the past

I would relinquish my ways, get into terms with the AZA, and bring about a new form of the once Wild Animal Habitat

Upon successful plans for W.A.H., I would give a teaser by introducing live animal shows prior to it's opening, and even more once it was open

I would not only repave the parking lot, but I would get rid of those annoying paramount movie themed parking rows and replace them with SNOOPY ROW 1, WOODSTOCK ROW 45, etc. I would also repave the parks walkways. And in some cases, I would have the paved walkway removed, and replace it with a nice brickwalk, laden with newly planted trees and flowers.

I would repaint my rides, and I would put more money into maintenance

I would make a strict rule that enforces that in order to rent a wheelchair, you must actually need a wheelchair, so that teenagers don't rent them just so that they can move to the front of the lines. This would also make sure that the chairs would be available for those who actually DO NEED THEM.

I would most certainly have a Snoopy on Ice show, and introduce the Peanuts to the park, which would also include the opening of a Peanuts themed store.

Most certainly, some of the new Nick themed rides, ( not all ) would be Re-themed to the Peanuts characters. Along with this would be an honorary plaque devoted to Charles Schultz.

I would wait a couple of years to ( purposely ) make the park lose some attention, and to take the time to physically study my new park, and find out where a new major attraction would best be present. Then I would intentionally build a coaster that is taller than Vortex, and faster than any ride in the park, but I would intentionally hold back, and keep the parks fanbase begging for more. The following year, I would make another ride, which would break records in other parks, but intentionally hold back from some of the characteristics from my 1st major coaster. This way, people can choose which they prefer the most, but both should be incredibly enjoyable. And to complete my "TRILOGY" of expectation, the 3rd coaster that I would build at the park would be something that nobody has ever seen before. It would be a record breaker of sheer magnitude, that would contain some of the benefits of the first two coasters, but have a style of speed, height, and motion all it's own. Then I would hold off for at least a few more years, focusing more on landscaping, and some smaller rides, and shows, before getting back into the ballgame of major roller coasters.

I would build a skylift that runs from the Eiffel Tower to Boomerang Bay, and back again.

[Avatar]

Wow … a very well thought out plan nice job King cobra 27 do you play Coaster Tyco? Because that was very well planed and you justified your thoughts.

If they would take your idea of the Sky Lift, I would be the first to ride it, and then they could use the train as a themed or show attraction again.

[CoastersRZ]

Why is everyone so obsessed with the Peanuts gang? Isn`t Nick more popular with kids today. Sure, the Peanuts Holiday specials still air every year and get a large audience, but with the popularity of Nick, I think that Cedar Fair will want to keep Nick in the parks as long as it possibly can.

[CoastersNSich]

As for Shivering Timbers and Ghostrider not having headrests, those rides were already purchased before Cedar Fair bought Michigan's Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm. I wouldn't expect Cedar Fair to install a wood coaster without headrests.

GhostRider opened in December 1998, over a year after Cedar Fair acquired Knott's Berry Farm.

In addition, even though they've owned Michigan's Adventure for 5 years, Wolverine Wildcat and Shivering Timbers still lack (IMO unncecessary) headrests.

With Geauga Lake, they've even had no problem with the Gerstlauer (Villain and Raging Wolf Bobs) and NAD (Big Dipper) trains, all minus the hearrests

Now, I know that Beast and Racer had the headrests installed in the late 1980s, several years prior to the acquisition by Paramount, so I'm not calling for another crass way to remove traces of Paramount from KI. However, the headrests were originally holed, as the ones at Cedar Point still are, though they were covered and filled-in in 1993.

I'm just saying that Cedar Fair isn't as crass about headrests as you might think. The company has four Arrow/Morgan hypercoasters thatdo fine without them. But it's not necessarily to say that the company will do away with existing ones, either.

[King Bowser]

Why is everyone so obsessed with the Peanuts gang?  Isn`t Nick more popular with kids today.  Sure, the Peanuts Holiday specials still air every year and get a large audience, but with the popularity of Nick, I think that Cedar Fair will want to keep Nick in the parks as long as it possibly can.

Yeah kids know who snoopy is. He is popular with kids just because nick is more ''out there'' ..I know snoopy & the peanuts gang have a toy line,a baby products line,DVD line,clothing line .... just because nick has the kids attention doesnt mean that kids havent a clue who snoopy is.

However Cartoon Network and Disney Channel have been stomping a hole in nicks summer ratings due to the fact that Disney has been showing new movies and new episodes of current tv favs..Cartoon Network has been doing the same thing showing new cartoons like The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy,What's New Scooby-Doo,My Gym Partner is a Monkey, and movies like The Jetsons Movie,Scooby-Doo & The Mummy Too,Land Before Time Movies...while Nick shows the same re-runs of spongebob,fairly oddparents(which recently nick canned),Rugrats.

I rather really would LOVE to see snoopy walking around the park I love that pup.

[CoastersRZ]

Right. I didn`t say Snoopy wasn`t popular. I was just saying that Nick is more popular than Snoopy is, especially since there is branding from more than just one show with Nick as opposed to the one set of characters from the Peanuts gang. I just don`t see the reasoning why people would want the park to remove all the Nick stuff in favor of the Peanuts gang. It just doesn`t make much sense to me, from a market reach standpoint.

[KIBeast]

I agree CoastersRZ, it would not make sense to remove Nick for Peanuts. Nick is by far more popular. I think it would be more likely for Nick to start showing up at other CF parks then for Peanuts to be added to the former Paramount parks.

[Gordon Bombay]

GhostRider opened in December 1998, over a year after Cedar Fair acquired Knott's Berry Farm.

the company will do away with existing ones, either.

However the ride was already contraced, designed, and had construction beginning under the previous owners, Cedar Fair agreed when purchasing that they would honor the planned instilation just as they have done with the paramount parks aquisition.

[Mr.Son of Beast]

Never mind...I'm sorry for these posts.

[King Bowser]

^^^ True. But when I step into Cedar Point I'm always lookin forward to seeing Snoopy thats what they are known for but Kings Island was known for Hanna-Barbera at one time,...I see your point and I understand.

[jzarley]

Keep in mind that Peanuts at Cedar Point is a relatively new thing...the use of Peanuts characters came after CF's acquisition of KBF. (They acquired the park that also included the ability to expand the media license to their other parks if they were willing to pay for it...sound familiar to a similar event this Summer?) That all has occurred within the last ten years. (I believe the acquisition of Knotts occurred in 1997 if I recall correctly...and the Peanuts characters weren't rolled out to CP and the other parks until a few years after that.)

I guess if you're going to talk about CF's "classic" characters you're really talking about the Bearnstein Bears...so where's all the outrage about removing those characters? (If I could remember any of their names, I might start a petition or something... )

[PhantomTheater]

Peanuts came to CP in 99, they have been a staple since.