super7

I hope as much work as was done cleaning up the park this year, they don’t allow the garbage dump on The Beast to return.

How do they even determine wait times other than guessing? Disney wait times were accurate because they would hand someone in line a scannable card and they would scan it at entry and on the ride platform to update the time.

This day is advertised as a passholder “benefit” but there is nothing exclusive about it because most of their customers are passholders these days. I wouldn’t go near the park on that day. Opening day is actually lighter because if it. Do people go on this day because they just can’t wait it they think it is “exclusive?” I have never seen a report where it wasn’t miserably crowded and without long waits.

Are they planning on fully painting it, or leaving the turn arounds unpainted because they are not highly visible from midways?

More exciting than the repaint, Racer is actually racing again! Both trains are leaving the top of the lift hill together. I have seen both sides win.

They also got rid of the fake stump electric outlet mess. There are lots of new little evergreens on the train route. If those aren’t decked out with lights for Winterfest I’m going to be highly disappointed.

Did they finally get rid of that hideaous chain link surrounded gravel clearing on the train ride?!!!!!!! It was absolutely the biggest eyesore on the ride.

I didn’t say it wasn’t profitable. I just don’t think it rakes in the profits that correspond ti the attendance. Season pass holders, which seem to be the target market for Cedar Fair, aren’t spending much at this event No admission, no food or drink if on meal plan etc. I know personally I don’t spend anything at that event. there is no reason to. If you are on the meal plan you eat your meal and then you don’t even want one of their special food offerings because you are not hungry. $15,000 in ice skating only makes up for appx 300 free admissions and parking. So it’s not much. This is the other reason that Cedar Fair LOVES to close parks early or entirely due to weather related low attendance. They already have the season pass holders money, and if there are only season pass holders on these low attendance days they aren’t too worried about making them mad. They are still going to buy the cheap season passes. I know personally I have been at Cedar Fair parks at least five times when they closed early or entirely due to low attendance. It definitely wasn’t because of the weather. The weather was not favorable but they could’ve operated. KI doesn’t do it a lot, It actually happened at Winterfest on my last trip there last year. It rained early, they announced the park would close early and then it didn’t rain the rest of the night. This whole season pass business model has led to less than stellar operations. It used to be that amusement parks stayed open their entire advertise schedule. No matter what the weather was unless it was something super threatening like a tornado. you did not have to look at the weather forecast when planning on going to amusement park because you knew they would operate. Now they close early because they already have everyone’s money. It amounts to false advertising IMO. There’s only two reasons to defend is practice. One if a person is local and hasn’t traveled very far. Two if people love their cheap season passes and don’t travel very far. This is the route they have chosen in their business model so it’s hard to back track. Low priced seating passes and over crowded parks with people that don’t spend a lot on each visit. Six Flags is trying to reverse that this year. We’ll see how that works. I would gladly pay more for a season pass if it meant parks would operate as they used to. One wasted trip Is $50 in fuel these days.

Cedar Fairs logos are as uncreative and bland as their theming used to be pre-Mystic Timbers. I hope someone didn’t actually get paid to dot the I”s with a flag and call it a logo lol.

Nobody that wanted water park admission would blink an eye at an extra $25 upcharge on an annual season pass for that benefit IMO if it was a separate gate Especially when the otger option was The Beach and whatever the annual price was there. That would have been a ton of extra revenue over the years. But once something is given away for nothing! It’s hard to start charging for it….. The Winterfest upcharge attractions are low capacity. They are extra revenue but not huge. People on season dining plans don’t even spend money on food at Winterfest.

This is a great point that i forgot about. And it also makes me question just how profitable Winterfest actually is despite the great attendance. If it is just regurgitating the same non-paying season passholders, then it isn't making what it would seem. With the short 5 hour nights, there isn't really enough time to encourage in-park sales (hunger, thirst etc) IMO Cedar Fair should have made Winterfest a $25 add on to the season pass. Nobody would have blinked. But I also think KECO was idiotic including the water park in one gate....... Maybe they are headed that direction with the $99 Cedar Point pass that doesn't include Haunt.

IMO the previous failure of Winterfest was because of the lack of any rides and only having a small part of the park open. The most recent version of Winterfest basically follows Busch Gardens formula that worked and grew over a decade. Limited rides including some coasters, live entertainment (although Cedar Fair went with quantity over quality in this dept) and lights all over the park. IMO Mystic Timbers was designed with Winterfest in mind. Low to the ground with less chance to valley in cold temps.

I remember this playing back in the Taft days. Some of this style music should return This was at the sane time of the Coney Island disco by Zodiac https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=chuck+mangione+give+it+all+you+got&docid=608050099612508507&mid=960AB90145EDDB3EB432960AB90145EDDB3EB432&view=detail&FORM=VRAASM&PC=APPL

If the park had quality food, they wouldn’t have the franchises in there. IMO. But then there is LaRosas and Skyline, which is some of the worst food on the planet. Which contradicts that theory! Honestly if it wasn’t for the cheap season meal plan and the recently added vegan options, I would never eat at the park. The food is that bad and way overpriced. And easy cheaper options outside the gate on Kings Mills Rd

I agree back to Rivertown. I never liked the cartoony overlay on the rustic building.

It has been pretty obvious that thst cookies, brownies etc were shipped in because they were always in the stale side. The park has been missing revenue in this shop for years by selling baked goods that were big, but of the lowest quality. A real bakery is a great revenue source (see Herschend)

it’s more than the music that’s out of place. It’s great to have better theming than Paramount that is somewhat coherent with Rivertown (lumber company) and having themed trains. However 60s truck does not belong in the steam train era! They should have went for model T era truck and train theme. Also how much effort would it take tj change that music for Winterfest and even Haunt? Small touches matter.

I would think that is the plan but they give away drinks all year long for $30

The area around to tower and behind it is absolutely barren. Like much of the park. One capital investment they refuse to do is adding trees for shade. CF seems to like keeping their customers miserable in the heat. They don’t even fully shade their line queues.

Eye appeal is everything. Peeling faded paint gives the image of an attraction not being well maintained, even if it is. I’m happy they are painting this coaster and not giving it the Paramount Thunder Road treatment. TR looked horrible without paint.

Herschend is able to operate almost daily from April until New Years by attracting that demographic Perhaps Cedar Fair is finally realizing theat they have more operating days by marketing to a different demographic Cedar Point kept the haunt portion to the Frontier section They seem to be trying to attract people that aren’t interest in gore or scares by keeping the majority of the park free of scares Winterfest is gorgeous A pumpkin and friendly monster version in orange green and purple lights would be equally gorgeous

Maybe I missed it on the list Sky Ride station in Hanna Barbera Land is the toy store

Dollywoods Luminights are packed. It seems like the better route for the future. Kings Islands Haunt crowd is questionable enough that they don’t allow re entry. If Haunt is attracting the sane unsupervised crowd as last spring, that’s a consideration. The scare mazes and dark foggy pathways are a liability. They have cut down on the fog recently. Ultimately they will chose the demographic that spends the most at the park. On a side note I would let be one bit sad if those hideous metal side Haunt buildings disappeared from the parks.

Remember last year they cut hours off the original schedule in June and closed at 8 instead of 10. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again. The park is best at night.