Cedar Point & Other Parks News/Discussion Thread

[Dead2009]

http://screamscape.com/html/cedar_point.htmhttp://screamscape.com/html/carowinds.htmhttp://screamscape.com/html/kings_dominion.htmhttp://screamscape.com/html/kings_island.htmhttp://screamscape.com/html/canada-s_wonderland.htm
Some stuff for everyone to enjoy. It wont be updated every day, just when i can be asked to look stuff up lol

Cedar Point

(11/6/21) For those still hoping that Wicked Twister at Cedar Point might reappear at another park elsewhere in the chain, or world, this will not be happening. An official statement from Cedar Point’s Tony Clark confirms that full demolition on Wicked Twister will begin in the next week or two and that the coaster is “being disposed of”.

“For clarity, Wicked Twister is not being reincarnated as a new ride at any of our sister parks; it’s not coming back to life as a climbing structure (although, wouldn’t that be amazing to climb the spike like we used to do as kids when playgrounds had big climbing structures??); it’s not being inserted into Maverick’s layout to bring back the heartline roll.

It’s being disposed of. Not coming back, anywhere.”

 

[Dead2009]

Kings Dominion

https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2021/12.7

 

[RedAngie]

Kings Dominion

https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2021/12.7

DH and I bought 2022 season passes for Kings Dominion (cheap!!, including standard parking) in mid October. We’re not THAT far away, about 3.5 hours.

We already went twice, in late October for their Halloween event and then again two weekends ago for their Winterfest. Both special events were very nicely done.

I hadn’t been to KD in about 10 years, and now I have a new favorite coaster, Twisted Timbers, which appears to be on the old Hurler (Wayne’s World) site. Looks like this new ride mentioned above will be where Volcano once stood. (That “mountain” had many different things in/ around it over the decades.)

We plan to go at least twice in Summer 2022, both to the theme and water parks. Those two visits, combined with the two we already made, will make the season pass an absolute bargain.

So much of a bargain that we’ll probably spring for the premium extra cost Fast Lane, just like we did in October. It wasn’t necessary for Winterfest.

 

[Babs Johnson]

I enjoy both Cedar Point and Kings Dominion and need to return to both soon. It’s been about 6 years for CP and 3 for KD.

My “home park” is Six Flags America outside of Washington DC, but it’s not a very good place. My wife and I used to have season passes there, but usually only went once per summer. We’d use them mostly at other Six Flags properties: Chicago, Dallas, LA, New Jersey, etc. Unfortunately my wife can no longer tolerate roller coasters, even mild ones, so we gave up buying season passes.

 

[luv2sewtjr]

My son works at cedar point so we make an annual trip there. This year we are hoping to make it to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg to check out their new coaster.

We still haven’t made it Holiday World yet…

 

[luv2cheer92]

I get a Cedar Fair platinum pass every year, love all their parks! I mostly go to CP/KD/KI, and occasionally Carowinds. None of them are too far from me. KD being the closest at about 1.5 hours away. I also go to BGW and HP several times a year, also fairly close by!

 

[Dead2009]

Source: Screamscape

Cedar Point is finding itself the target of an interesting new lawsuit from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to the story posted by Fox8, the lawsuit claims Cedar Fair is violating the “Age Discrimination in Employment Act” because they do not allow seasonal workers age 40 and older to stay in employee housing.

Now when you think about “employee housing” offered by select theme parks, you think of it as as something that was traditionally run more as a program to bring in College students and those from other countries on work visas to work at the park for the busy summer season. As Cedar Point is located in Sandusky, Ohio it isn’t like they have a huge local population base to hire from, and with the price of gas being what it is these days, it’s not like many would offer to drive in daily from Cleveland. So for decades, Cedar Fair has offered low-priced housing in dorm style buildings for their seasonal workers.

According to the story, in 2021 Cedar Fair changed their company policy regarding employee housing that now prevents most employees, age 30 and up, from staying in employee housing. According to the lawsuit, many older out-of-town workers were unable to resume their seasonal jobs at Cedar Point because of this. According to the US Department of Labor, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act “protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment.”

https://screamscape.com/html/cedar_point.htm

 

[Babs Johnson]

I don’t know why anyone over 30 would WANT to live in Cedar Point housing.

 

[cabanafrau]

You would think they would embrace the idea of welcoming back workers they know are reliable and already have a certain amount of company specific training year after year -- especially in a challenging labor market.

On another note, I don't ever remember seeing Cedar Point commercials advertising season passes in one calendar year for the next calendar year's season. I've seen it run a couple times already during our local news. I'm not sure the offer even mentioned it being a discounted rate.

 

[soccerdad72]

I don’t know why anyone over 30 would WANT to live in Cedar Point housing.

Unless there's been some serious upgrades to their "dorms" since my college days, I didn't know of many under 30 who wanted to live there.

 

[Babs Johnson]

Unless there's been some serious upgrades to their "dorms" since my college days, I didn't know of many under 30 who wanted to live there.

Did you work at Cedar Point and stay in their dorms? My first trip there was in 1985 before most of the awesome coasters were built. I think the biggest baddest one was Gemini.

 

[soccerdad72]

Did you work at Cedar Point and stay in their dorms? My first trip there was in 1985 before most of the awesome coasters were built. I think the biggest baddest one was Gemini.

No, I didn't. A number of my friends in college did, however. The only redeeming quality of the dorms, from what I understand, is that they could party all they wanted without having to worry about any damage, since nobody would notice any difference.

 

[Dead2009]

(10/25/2023) Cedar Fair has changed their mind about offering year-round operations at three of their parks after just switching over to weekend operations during the colder months just last year. This list would include Carowinds, California’s Great America and Kings Dominion.

The official word would seem to be that all three parks failed to attract enough attendance on those new dates, which are mostly weekends in January, February and some of March. However, based on guest reactions from those who did attend on those dates, guests frequently reported encountering those parks with what appeared to be a limited staff, a good number of rides unable to operate (due to a mix of limited staffing or maintenance closures) and a couple of days where the weather was just too iffy and the parks opted to close early for the day.

Of course, all of these reasons were also anticipated to happen when Cedar Fair first announced that these parks would be switching to year-round operations, so I’m not entirely surprised by this move. After all, even in Los Angeles where competitor Six Flags operates Magic Mountain year-round, but only on weekends in the colder months of the year, that park also suffers from many of these same issues, but in an environment that typically offers better weather.

Now if any Cedar Fair park was going to have a good go at it, I’d give the nod to California’s Great America, but the park’s attendance numbers have always been a little limited, and some potential guests may be less likely to visit with a pending permanent closure looming by 2033, limiting the number of new attractions we might see added there. Carowinds stood a chance as well of making it happen, but as I live in the region, the off-season weather can be a little fickle… sunny and warm one day and freezing cold, feeling like snow is about to fall the next. So the success of off-season weekends at Carowinds would definitely be something that varied from year to year. Kings Dominion in Virginia is a bit further North and East from Carowinds, so I’d expect even colder weather with a greater possibility of snow.

So according to the park schedules posted for the months after WinterFest, look for Carowinds to open for the 2024 season on March 9 where it will begin Fri/Sat/Sunday operations, and California’s Great America and Kings Dominion will begin weekend operations two weeks later on March 23rd.

Source: Screamscape

 

[HokieRaven5]

Cedar Fair and Six Flags are merging. Official filing from Six Flags to the SEC

https://otp.tools.investis.com/clie...gId=17024270&Cik=0000701374&Type=PDF&hasPdf=1

https://otp.tools.investis.com/clie...gId=17024470&Cik=0000701374&Type=PDF&hasPdf=1

 

[Babs Johnson]

I can’t imagine this merger working well for some of the lesser parks in each chain. I expect some to be sold or even closed.

I bought an all Cedar Fair parks pass for 2024, I wonder if it will be good for Six Flags too.

Edit: I’ve been reading the FB pages from both 6F and CF. Many fanboys are going ballistic, especially Cedar Point thoosies.

Apparently the combined company will keep the Six Flags name, eliminating Cedar Fair, although CF will maintain a slim majority of the stock.

Aww, I was looking forward to Six Fairs or Cedar Flags.

 

[_19disnA]

Part of the problem for amusement parks in the Northern part of the country is the shorter season where they can be open. Cedar Point has always been basically Memorial Day to Labor Day. That isn't necessarily a bad thing since most of the college students they employ are not in school during that same timeframe. No one is interested in any outdoor amusement park when it is cold or snowing! Texas or Florida has good weather the entire year meaning they generate revenue all year long.

These smaller parks also tend to be more local attractions. I seriously doubt many people travel from the West coast to go to Cedar Point. Mergers are always announced as something wonderful that will benefit all parties with glowing projections of how they will reduce costs and become more profitable. Whether that actually pans out is anyone's guess.

 

[Dead2009]

I can’t imagine this merger working well for some of the lesser parks in each chain. I expect some to be sold or even closed.

I bought an all Cedar Fair parks pass for 2024, I wonder if it will be good for Six Flags too.

Edit: I’ve been reading the FB pages from both 6F and CF. Many fanboys are going ballistic, especially Cedar Point thoosies.

Apparently the combined company will keep the Six Flags name, eliminating Cedar Fair, although CF will maintain a slim majority of the stock.

Aww, I was looking forward to Six Fairs or Cedar Flags.

Cedar Six
Flags Fair

On a side note I cant wait to go to Six Flags' Kings Dominion.

 

[Dead2009]

https://www.cedarpoint.com/rides-experiences/top-thrill-2

Cedar Point has released a new set of restrictions on guests in order to ride the new Top Thrill 2 coaster this summer. For starters, if the line is long, be prepared to talk to your neighbors in the line, because no loose objects will be permitted into the queue. This includes cell phones as well as any and all other objects, even those in zippered pockets. All guests wanting to ride will have to pass through a metal detection scan before being allowed into the queue, and all loose objects must be stored in lockers or left with a non-rider.

This includes “any type of prosthesis” unless you can ensure it is properly secured and will remain in place during the ride experience. Other objects not allowed include glasses (unless secured with an athletic strap), as well as “loose fitting shoes without a strap or back”... so no flip flops or slides kids.

Source: Screamscape

 

[Dead2009]

https://screamscape.com/html/kings_dominion.htm#2025

2025 - Jungle X-Pedition Phase 2 / New Large Roller Coaster - (6/13/2024) The teaser walls have now gone up at Kings Dominion for 2025’s new launched B&M Wing Coaster. While the coaster has yet to be announced by the park, green track has already begun arriving at the park in storage lots, marked with the “WI” Wing Coaster design designation on the ends.

 

[Babs Johnson]

Still no update on Top Thrill 2?