Retheming nickelodeon areas at Cedar Fair parks

LostKause said:
(begin sarcasm) But wouldn't a snoopy themed shooter/darkride be AMAZING!!??

No joke, many WOF fans (myself included) have expressed desire for a shooter themed to a search for The Great Pumpkin.

DaveStroem said:
I know that when they started selling all the Nick stuff at 50%-75% is when the fury of Nick getting replaced started. We were at Dorney yesterday and all Peanuts stuff was 75% off. Take this for what ever it is worth.

WOF is doing the same thing. The reason: the Lead Free Toys Act. Starting next season all toy merchants will be required to have safety certifications for toys they sell. Many of these Nick and Peanuts items are so old that they have no certificates. So the parks are trying to sell as much as they can before they have to throw the rest away at the end of the year.

On another note, has anyone ever considered that Planet Snoopy was a test concept for what a retheme could look like at the Paramount Parks?

Oh, that's right, I had forgotten about that.

The worst thing about it (and it isn't just lead...most toys have been lead-free for decades now...) is that most of the product they have is probably OK, but has not been *certified* as such.

It's actually about as bad as the RoHS regulations in Europe, which have been a real problem for electronics manufacturers...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^^Oh, absolutely. I've thought for a while now that it's only a matter of time before we see Peanuts/Camp/Planet Snoopy areas at every park.

While Schultz himself may be dead and there will never, ever be anything new under the sun from him, I believe that Peanuts as a brand endures. At parks where they are present I see kids excited about Snoopy, and they sure love a chance to meet him. While Doras and i-whoevers may come and go, I can't imagine a time when a parent will say to a kid "Look, there's Snoopy!" and have no one know who they're talking about.

I mentioned before that I would hate to see a change in some of the cute themeing that Nick provides, but I'm afraid it may come to pass.

Side note: One of my favorite Onion articles ever-

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31031

GreatBearHP said:
Very funny, I meant the mascots are costumes that represent the parks many products. Kids love them and they don't have to pay to use the name.

Hershey Entertainment is not the same company as the one that makes chocolate.

RCMAC said:
.

While Schultz himself may be dead and there will never, ever be anything new under the sun from him, I believe that Peanuts as a brand endures.

I was working at a radio station in Maryland the day it was announced that Charles Schulz had died. I still remember the bulletin from CBS News announcing his passing. But I also remember a week or two later another CBS News report we had received about Schulz and the future of Peanuts. As I can recall among the plans the newspaper comic strips would be phased out by 2003 at that point the only way to read Peanuts will in books.

No new specials will be aired on ABC or elsewhere and the classic Peanuts specials will only be available on DVD and that the Peanuts brand will be retired from all theme parks by 2004 at the latest..all by request of Schulz himself made prior ( of course ) before his death. In other words accorrding to CBS at the time ( 2000 ) ..Peanuts will be dead like Schulz by 2005.

Wonder what happened since of course none of those "plans" ever became reality? My guess is that the Schulz estate pulled a "Lucie Arnaz" In her case when her mother Lucille Ball died in 1989, her plans was to buy up all the rights to anything connected to Lucy and pretty much put an end to everything other than allowing "I Love Lucy" to hit home video. Like Peanuts..there is no shortage of Lucy fans and as a result Lucie Arnaz saw money..lots of it so she went on to form Desliu TOO and now there is a ton of stuff available of Lucy related things ( somewhat surprised Lucie Arnaz hasn't made some deal with some park about doing a Lucy theme ride or whatever ).

Maybe the Schulz family saw that Peanuts was making way way too much money to bury Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and the others so they went against the wishes of Charles Schulz. Well as they say..money talks.

Chriscub said:
( somewhat surprised Lucie Arnaz hasn't made some deal with some park about doing a Lucy theme ride or whatever ).

Lucy? Really? Beyond USF's Lucy tribute (a walk-through exhibit right in front of T2 that always seems pretty empty) I can't see where a park would take that.

And. No. A chocolate bonbon ride where you ride down a conveyor belt wouldn't work.

Family estates can do strange things after the bread winner dies (add The Muppets to the list).

All I know is that Schultz's kid opened Planet Snoopy at "Cedar Park" a few years ago, and it has been a running joke ever since. If someone flies you out to do an endorsement, at least get the name of the place right!

Or, in other venues, get the name of your new basketball coach right... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVPlwz_jCoQ

Paris said:

Chriscub said:
( somewhat surprised Lucie Arnaz hasn't made some deal with some park about doing a Lucy theme ride or whatever ).

Lucy? Really? Beyond USF's Lucy tribute (a walk-through exhibit right in front of T2 that always seems pretty empty) I can't see where a park would take that.

And. No. A chocolate bonbon ride where you ride down a conveyor belt wouldn't work.

Family estates can do strange things after the bread winner dies (add The Muppets to the list).

Twice a year the entire town of Jamestown, New York ( southwest of Buffalo ) goes totally Lucy. Well it is Lucy's hometown anyway. One weekend is called "Lucy & Desi Days " and that alone attracts thousands. Actually its one of those things that has to be seen to believe. I went back in 2000 and Buffalo's WKBW-TV aired some of the events LIVE on local Buffalo TV..one of highlights was some man from Michigan who had his entire back tattooed with a photo of Vivian "Ethel" Vance. Jamestown also has a Lucy & Desi museum as well as a complete Lucy Department Store selling everything from furniture to books to DVDs to toys to even..ah hmmm..BRAS with pics of Lucy on one side and Ethel on the other. Between all of that and with people dressed up walking around town as Lucy, Ricky, Fred, Ethel..even Mr. Mooney..it can be a bit much. BUT the event did have a rather large carnival and the one time I was they they actually had a Wild Mouse though for the event it was called "Wild Lucy"..but it was the SCRAMBLER that got me. That thing was called "Dizzy Ricky"..and while the ride was in motion they cranked out the music in full blast...rock? Ah no..they played Desi Arnaz ( ok Ricky Ricardo ) doing "Babalu".

And to think there was a time way back when when both Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr slammed Lisa Marie Presley for making money off of Elvis..and today they are doing the very same thing.

Yeah you are so right...family estates can do strange things after the breadwinner dies.

...Although I wonder how much control the Schulz estate has over the Peanuts. Wherever the Snoopy logos appear at Cedar Point, the copyright holder is identified as UFS, presumably United Features Syndicate.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:
...Although I wonder how much control the Schulz estate has over the Peanuts. Wherever the Snoopy logos appear at Cedar Point, the copyright holder is identified as UFS, presumably United Features Syndicate.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

UFS I believe also owns the copyrights to Garfield and The Famiy Circus as well but still despite that it still wouldn't surprise me if Jim Davis ( Garfield ) and Jeff & Bil Keane ( The Family Circus ) doesn't have at least some say if not the final say in regards to the characters they had created.

Please trim your quotes. -J

I read Charles Schulz's Autobiography back in the 1980s or early 1990's. I distinctly recall that in it, he stated that he wanted no one take on the characters and continue the strip. He stipulated this in his will.

I believe Schulz said he had no concerns with licensing the characters since their popularity in his own words "Would outlive him." So as long as no one takes control of the characters and begins creating new daily comic strips, then it does not compromise his wishes.

Shaggy

Has CF announced officially that they are converting all Nick areas to Peanuts? I got an email today from CW about season passes and one of the things they are touting is that Peanuts will be taking over the Nickelodeon and Hanna-Barbera areas. Here is the link:

http://www.canadaswonderland.com/events/event_detail.cfm?event_id=642&ec_id=12

Well with that I guess Sponge Bob is now all wet & Dora can go exploring somewhere else.

Looks like we're moving from rumor to fact. Which park will be the next to post the announcement?

I'd be up for an iCarly attraction, as long as it included slapping the snot out of that obnxious blonde brat. I'd even pay an upcharge.

As far as Lucy goes, how about a ride called "Grapestomper?" A live interactive show called "Can I Be In the Show?" and they can do a brisk business selling Vitameatavegamin. Nah, Cedar Fair would charge too much for it.

If I recall correctly, Canada's Wonderland had a separate licensing deal going back to the Paramount Days. Maybe that's why they're going first?

LOL, Bear. And here I thought I was the only one who despised that brat.

The whole Lucy discussion makes me want to start a new thread: 'Most Improbable Amusement Park Theme'....

But I won't. ;)

RCMAC said:
While Doras and i-whoevers may come and go, I can't imagine a time when a parent will say to a kid "Look, there's Snoopy!" and have no one know who they're talking about.

Agreed. But knowing about and caring about are two entirely different things. :)