Cedar Point On Saturday July 7, 2001, WOW!!!!

I went to Cedar Point on Saturday, July 7, 2001, and what a day. I got there at 9:00 A.M., went immediately to MF and rode twice before 10:00 A.M. Everyone out there listening on Saturday's MF opens at 9:00 A.M., as soon as the gates open. It is the only ride open at this time and it is only open on Saturdays. Believe you me it is in your best interest to get their at 9:00 A.M., it is pretty much just pure walk up to the coaster. Cedar Point does not advertise this, so you didn't here from me. I hit MF twice, Power Tower twice, Corkscrew once, Mantis once, and Magnum twice all before 11:00 A.M. It is important that you have a plan of attack like this so you don't wait in line all day long. The WOW! part for me wasn't riding any of the rides or how short the lines were but rather I met the CEO of CEDAR POINT Dick Kinzel. That is a WOW! As I exited Magnum heading toward the Mean Streak, I bumped into him in front of the Witches Wheel. I said hey, you are Dick Kinzel, the head man here. He said yes, I said it is a pleasure to meet you, I told him what a wonderful park he had here and talked to him about how he worked is way up through the ranks from working a stand at Cedar Point to ultimately running the whole show. When I ran into him, he had a whole bunch of litter in his hand and he said excuse me a moment while I throw this away. This CEO of a multimillion dollar organization was going through the park, straighting, cleaning, keeping an eye on things. This is what makes Cedar Point so great, is work ethics like this. He wasn't sitting behind a desk waiting for a report so he could yell at someone, he was out there mingling with the crowd, getting first hand knowledge of how his park is really doing. Guess what they are doing an A+ job, and the reason for this is the management at Cedar Point. We talked for a few minutes and I finally asked him what was new for next year, his reply was I can't speculate but Cedar Point has never gone two years without getting something new! I shook his hand and went about my way. Now I could bore you with how many rides I went on and where I ate, I won't. I just wanted to share a moment that I had with Dick Kinzel.

Cool :)

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Rollercoasters are the secret of life!

http://www.woodencoaster.com

Well, techniclly, Cedar Point are getting a FEW new things this year(2001) If you dont know already, It seems works has started on a new attraction in Challenge Park over By The SkyCoaster, It will be the ride similar going in at SFMM(and apparently, it will be open August 1st 2001, it sounds a bit too early to me though, but we will see)
Also, CP are getting a new ride for their Halloween Weekends, Its going near the back of the Park, where The swing Ride and Snake River Falls is, I dont remember the name of it, but it was in One Big Round Building. Sounds OK I guess.

See... management style is a top-down thing. I've seen Dick out there on the midways countless times, and it's not above him to pick-up trash if he sees it. I saw a seasonal leaving the park on my last trip who did the very same thing, grabbing trash on his way out. While there will always be managers people don't like and tough days on the job, the overall work culture at the park is like that, and it starts with the guy running the show. I remember last year seeing him on the exit platform of Millennium Force with a huge grin on his face, just enjoying the reaction to the ride. The year before I saw him do the same in Camp Snoopy.

Again, this is what sets the park apart from others. I have a feeling that the Discovery special next week will show quite a bit on that culture.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"

I've never seen him before. Is there a picture of him somewhere, I wouldn't recognize him if I saw him?

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Kerry - Bright Man of the Elite Eight

Look here in the features section for the IAAPA 2000 coverage, then look for the interview. There's a photo of him there.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"From the global village... in the age of communication!"

I can't wait to visit.

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Yeeee Haaawwww!