Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet talks about the future of roller coasters in the company's parks

So, which is it? A forgotten park, or a park that Cedar Fair has invested money in, leaving it cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than it ever has been, with good employees and good food?

Or this a retread of Timber-Rider, where anything a Cedar Fair park has added to it that's not a roller coaster somehow doesn't count?

Yeah that's actually a really good point... it has forgotten only about adding rides, but definitely invested financially in cleanliness and hiring. Unfortunately the park is never highly advertised or talked about due to sparse rides being added. I remember in my teenage years (I believe when Paramount had it) it went through a period of having lots of gang problems, and really the majority of attendees were just locals who had nothing better to do than loiter at the park, trash things, and not spend money (season passes were always cheap). I don't see that as much anymore. Not sure if it's due to better security, or higher prices, etc.

And now with the new 9ers stadium, which is AWESOME, the park is closed on every home game day, which can't help their revenue. I hope its making good money for them to eventually slap a banger ride in there.

--Josh--

I wanted to know what the Timber-Rider thing you were talking about was... I searched google to find out it was a user, and found all the original threads. Yikes ahaha. My favorite response was someone saying this:

"You are both addicted and brainwashed to your childhood - grow up and realize not everything is fair, logical, or wraps up in a happy ending!"

BAAAHAAHHAHAHA Ok that's really true. I'd like to digress... thank you CF for cleaning up the craphole that once was PGA!! I'm going to go enjoy Gold Striker next weekend, then plan a trip to get the hell out of town and go on some epic coasters

--Josh--

GooDFeLLoW said:

And now with the new 9ers stadium, which is AWESOME, the park is closed on every home game day, which can't help their revenue.

Doesn't the city require Great America to be closed on game days?

I would go to Chipotle more often if they would just offer a smaller burrito. Their food is fine, it is their supersized products the irk me. They could certainly offer a smaller burrito that comes in at around 400-500 calories that would be a much better choice than their present products.

I did CGA in March in about 2 hours and I felt like I was mostly done with the park. 2 laps on Gold Striker which was good but not great (assigned seating made me not want to try again), a trip on Flight Deck, the flyers, and a couple rides for the kids. I probably would have gotten a ride on Vortex, but other than that, I feel like I got everything I really wanted to.

slithernoggin said:

Doesn't the city require Great America to be closed on game days?

Yeah, it was part of the original agreement when the city was bartering to green-light the stadium. Parking would not be possible if they are both open. But I wonder of Cedar Fair got any type of $$$$ compensation out of the deal?

One cool thing is that on some home games, you can tail-gate in the parking lot, and Great America opens a back entrance where you can go in and ride flight deck with a 49ers ticket.

--Josh--

Pete said:

They [Chipotle] could certainly offer a smaller burrito that comes in at around 400-500 calories that would be a much better choice than their present products.

You can order soft tacos individually or 3 at a time. I think a single taco is like $2.50 (as opposed to buying 3, or a full burrito, for $7)

Typically, I order a Burrito Bowl and save half of it for the following day.

I knew they offered soft tacos but did not know you could buy them one at a time.... thank you for the heads up, CP Maverick. Might have a bit of Chipotle for lunch tomorrow.

I envy you all for your self control. Years of "eat everything on your plate because there are starving children in Africa"* lectures from my mother leave me prone to eating everything on my plate.

*My suggestions to send the asparagus and brussel sprouts to the children in Africa so that they could eat fell on deaf ears.

Ever since I started that low-carb life, I found a perfect meal at Chipotle, and you can shove the whole damn thing in your face non-stop and it feels like a lot of food. Get the salad... no rice no beans, add extra vegetables, any type of meat (double meat), sour cream, a crap-load of any hot sauce, only use less than half of the vinaigrette dressing, and you good to go. For me I don't feel satisfied unless I eat a lot, and I found subbing vegetables for all the carby stuff gives you that massive burrito satisfaction without the burrito.

Taking this into theme parks... at Six Flags and Cedar Fair theme parks where they have those epic Panda Expresses (which are actually really good quality)... get the Panda Bowl, mixed veggies instead of rice/noodles, add Kung Pao Chicken for the meat (or Orange Chicken if you must, but it's very sugary). Shove it in your mouth. Say goodbye to back fat.

--Josh--

GooDFeLLoW said:

slithernoggin said:

Doesn't the city require Great America to be closed on game days?

Yeah, it was part of the original agreement when the city was bartering to green-light the stadium. Parking would not be possible if they are both open. But I wonder of Cedar Fair got any type of $$$$ compensation out of the deal?

Yes, the 49ers paid the park $12.5 million as part of the deal.

However, the agreement to close only applies to 49ers games and not every stadium event. I was at the stadium during opening weekend for the park this year and both were open and the stadium was filled.

That's got to be weird during playoffs. Not knowing until about a week ahead of time whether the park is going to be open or closed.

Is CGA even open in January?

The 2015 calendar shows it closed after Nov. 1st. I think opening is in March sometime, so no.