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Cedar Point (CP) Discussion Thread

p. 2030 - Top Thrill 2 announced!

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I'm looking forward to this ride, but I'm definitely not looking forward to the self-tightening, lung-constricting, shoulder-crushing OTSRs.

I had bruises after just a couple of rides on Wild Eagle

It's a good thing I'm thin

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I'm looking forward to this ride, but I'm definitely not looking forward to the self-tightening, lung-constricting, shoulder-crushing OTSRs.

I had bruises after just a couple of rides on Wild Eagle

It's a good thing I'm thin

 

So am I. I'm as skinny as a rail, and it still practically suffocated me, lol.

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I'm looking forward to this ride, but I'm definitely not looking forward to the self-tightening, lung-constricting, shoulder-crushing OTSRs.

I had bruises after just a couple of rides on Wild Eagle

It's a good thing I'm thin

 

So am I. I'm as skinny as a rail, and it still practically suffocated me, lol.

 

I'll just have to see this summer. When I rode Skyrocket @ Kennywood, many were complaining about the restraints being too tight/small. I pushed those things down as far as they would go, and I still felt like I was going to fall out during those corkscrews. As long as the rides good, restraints don't really bother me. Allot of people have issues with OTSR and headbanging. It's happened to me aplenty on Mantis, it's not THAT bad, annoying---yes, but not unbearable. At-least we get a comfy B&M train

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This issue isn't headbanging. It's the vest-like thing the Wingrider's restraints have. It tightens during the ride and is extremely uncomfortable! Wild Eagle was a fun ride, but the restraints definitely made me not think so highly of the ride, especially compared to where it could be. It's basically a seat belt inside of the vest and it keeps tightening and tightening throughout the whole ride. It's not like a OTSR clicking down a notch or so during the ride. It hurts and distracts from the ride!

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I've been looking at the comments on the CP Facebook page, and it seems like the GP are really excited for this ride! It's nice to hear people just being excited about the ride instead of picking it apart and saying things like, "ZOMGG!1!!!1 Dis s like totallyyyy dumbb yo like the six flags magc moun2ain haz rides dat do soo many morr loop de loopps than dis rideee LOLol1 Cedr Point uu faillll MAGIC MOUNTAIN is soo much betterrr and epicc!1"

 

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^It depends on the person I suppose.

 

Although it didn't stop me from really enjoying Wild Eagle, I definitely know what people are talking about. After the loop/zero g my restraint definitely was in a much tighter position and by the brake run it was so tight it was rubbing my collar bones in a pretty unpleasant way. The restraints would be great if they stayed in the position they were in when they locked in the station. It's the unfortunate tightening over the course of the ride that makes them less than comfortable. Hopefully over time this issue will be resolved with newer wing riders as it would be unfortunate for these gorgeous, creative layouts to be made less than awesome by restraints becoming less and less comfortable over the course of the ride.

 

As for Gatekeeper, I'm really liking the colors as they fit into the skyline of Cedar Point. They look fantastic. i can't wait to see this ride operating with the new entrance. Seeing the hideous box of Disaster Transport being replaced by something like this is something I think most of us were hoping for.

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Cedar Point has sent us a great batch of photos from the completion of the lift hill, marked on November 30th, 2012!

 

Workers topped off an exciting week of construction on GateKeeper by placing the crest of the lift hill just after 3 p.m. today. At 170 feet, it will be the wing coaster’s tallest point.

 

Construction will continue through the winter months, and GateKeeper is scheduled to open in May 2013.

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http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2012/12/02/Firm-to-invest-60M-to-restore-old-hotels-and-beach-properties.html

 

A century ago, Cedar Point in Sandusky was the place to vacation in Ohio.

 

With its sprawling Breakers Hotel, pristine nationally-known beach, Atlantic City-style boardwalk “roller chairs,” and shoreline rides like the Water Toboggan, the Cedar Point peninsula was crowded every summer with visitors anxious to spend lots of days and nights at the Erie County resort.

 

Matt Ouimet thinks Cedar Point can be that way again.

 

The Cedar Fair LP president and chief executive officer recently green-lighted a $60 million three-year reinvestment of hotel properties at the Sandusky-based amusement park chain’s flagship Cedar Point property. If successful, the move could convince more visitors to plan multi-day stays at Cedar Point rather than one-day visits.

 

The trio of company-owned hotels — the historic Breakers Hotel, upscale Sandcastle Suites, and 12-year-old Breakers Express hotel — at Cedar Point must become “more than a room for the night,” Mr. Ouimet said.

 

The former Walt Disney Co. executive said the importance of Cedar Point to its parent company is obvious.

 

“It’s more a destination resort or super regional park than any of the other parks we have. Its resorts play a much bigger role here than we would see at any of our other parks,” Mr. Ouimet said.

 

“I was talking to some of our guests earlier about what they would like to see. They said they would like to see the resorts more refreshed and the beach enhanced,” he said.

 

After 18 months at Cedar Fair’s headquarters, which is nestled between Cedar Point’s nostalgic buildings and beach and is but a short walk from the park’s midway, Mr. Ouimet agrees with those customers who want a restoration of the park’s hotel and beach properties.

 

“I’ve become enamored with this place,” he said of the 106-year-old park. “This is a very important asset not only to our company, but to the state of Ohio.”

 

Mr. Ouimet envisions hotels with greater ambience — an aspect he may have learned from running Disney’s Cruise Ship lines — and a beach where families can play, stroll, and bathe in the Lake Erie waters during breaks from the amusement park or nearby Soak City water park.

 

To make that vision reality, two weeks ago Cedar Fair announced it would sell its Knott’s Soak City water park in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. Cedar Fair will use the sale’s proceeds to help fund makeovers at its Cedar Point hotels.

 

The water park’s sale price wasn’t disclosed, but Cedar Fair paid $11.6 million for it in 1999. Mr. Ouimet said the park’s value has increased since then.

 

SeaWorld approached Cedar Fair about buying the water park, Mr. Ouimet said. But the CEO acknowledged he immediately saw the deal as a good way to pay for hotel upgrades — which are slated to start in late 2013 and cost $15-$20 million annually through 2015 — without disrupting Cedar Fair’s annual capital expenditures budget that funds new rides and attractions at the company’s 11 amusement parks, three remaining outdoor water parks, and one indoor water park.

 

“We see it as supplemental cap-ex budget for the $15 to $20 million a year. It’s supplemental to the rides and attraction budget, as we didn’t want to steal from that,” Mr. Ouimet said.

 

Rick Munarriz, an analyst for the Motley Fool online investor Web site, said a reinvestment in the hotels is probably a good move because staying in them at times feels like “the resorts that time forgot.”

 

The historic Breakers, he said, is very conveniently located next Cedar Point, “But for the most part, it’s as much a throwback hotel as when they had Abbot and Costello stay there and all the other old celebrities who used to come there,” Mr. Munarriz said.

 

“It can be kind of freaky in halls with no elevators and the old A/C units on the windows. … It makes you think that it is a regional operator and not a Disney World type of park,” he said.

 

Mr. Munarriz said spending up to $60 million to improve the hotels isn’t likely to pay off right away for Cedar Fair. “But it’s something that needs to get done even though it won’t be major driver of their income,” he said.

 

“It’s a smart move in theory and one what will pay off in time, I believe,” he said.

 

Details of the makeovers are only now being discussed internally but general plans call for a refreshment in some areas of the hotels, and a repositioning and refurbishment in others. Consumers will be solicited for ideas, and some of the changes could be dramatic, Mr. Ouimet said.

 

Overall, the goal is to create a pricing tier of good-better-best so that there will be nice accommodations for every visitor’s budget, from high-end spenders to budget-conscious families.

 

“I probably learned that originally at Disney but the hotel industry is also segmented that way. It’s a good-better-best philosophy,” Mr. Ouimet said.

 

“I think we have a real opportunity to create a room inventory like that. And like a cruise ship, no matter what level of room you choose, everyone can enjoy all the amenities in the same way. You can enjoy Cedar Point the same way or you can enjoy Soak City the same way no matter what level of hotel you choose,” he added.

 

Customers could even find good-better-best room pricing levels all at one hotel, the CEO said.

 

Once the hotel properties are upgraded, Mr. Ouimet said, Cedar Point will be in position to do two things: offer customers new vacation packages that include lodging and park admissions, and create more nighttime entertainment, such as the Luminosity light and dance show that debuted this past season.

 

Amusement industry consultant Dennis Speigel, head of International Theme Park Services Inc., in Cincinnati, said Cedar Point’s hotels are probably an area where Cedar Fair does need to spend more money.

 

“We’re seeing in Orlando that when you adopt a higher quality room standard, people will spend. It will increase the length of stay,” Mr. Speigel said.

 

Cedar Point already faces strong competition for overnight stays in Sandusky from the Kalahari Resort and the Great Wolf Lodge, the consultant said. Giving customers better reasons to stay at Cedar Point is a good investment, he added.

 

“Sandusky is already a destination. If you’re going to Sandusky, you’re not going anywhere else. So the more people you can put on [your property] the more you can draw them back into the park,” Mr. Speigel said.

 

Cedar Point has done an adequate job with its hotel properties, but, “I’d say the hotel aspect has been under-managed over last 10 to 15 years,” he said.

 

Mr. Ouimet said that in his estimation, the hotels at Cedar Point, which includes its Castaway Bay resort with an indoor water park, have performed “very well” financially, making it hard to change things too much.

 

“But it’s the right long-term investment for our combined assets,” he said.

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The trio of company-owned hotels — the historic Breakers Hotel, upscale Sandcastle Suites, and 12-year-old Breakers Express hotel — at Cedar Point must become “more than a room for the night,” Mr. Ouimet said.

 

This is great news! Those resorts were stuck in 70's. I think this will really do a lot for them.

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Revamping the hotels will be great! I almost always stay at the Breakers Express since that's the only Cedar Point property in my budget, and I've always found the place to be a little stale. I'm looking forward to seeing what Mr. Ouimet will do!

 

Oh yeah, and GateKeeper is looking awesome!!

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This is great news! Those resorts were stuck in 70's.

 

That's because Kinzel's mentality of running the company was stuck in the 70's.

 

This is great news though I have never stayed at any of the resorts but I've heard stories about them. I'm really loving what Mr. Ouimet is doing with the company and the parks. CP was actually a bit more enjoyable this past summer than it was the last few years under Kinzel's watch though there is still a bit of work to do to make it the great park it used to be.

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