PREMiERdrum

Also of note from the clip, Zoombezi Bay has been contributing around $1 million a year directly to the zoo and their conservation efforts. That's pretty huge. The water park (along with Jungle Jack's Landing) are set up under a separate "for profit" organization, and the profit generated is then donated to the zoo.

Agreed G-Dog. (But then again, Cedar Fair *is* a zoo) I thought it was more of a country club?

You will NOT be disappointed with a trip here. I've posted several PTRs here that I'm sure you could look up, but every aspect of the zoo is world class. Between the Zoo, Zoombezi Bay, and Jungle Jack's Landing (credit!), it's definitely a 2 day affair.

Those of you in the Columbus area may have seen Jack Hanna's Into the Wildlights live on WBNS-10TV Friday night Executive Director Dale Schmidt announced that Zoombezi Bay would be adding a halfpipe slide and a MasterBlaster water coaster for 2011. This comes on the heels of the very successful addition of Polar Frontier for 2010, which saw the return of polar bears to the zoo. The new polar bear habitat, along with a gorgeous new brown bear habitat, are said to be some of the best in the world. The new waterpark expansion should help to ease lines at the very popular destination. This will be the 2nd MasterBlaster in Ohio, as there is one within Cedar Point's Castaway Bay indoor waterpark. No artwork or names have been released yet. Some Zoombezi Bay photos from my trips this year:

So do most of the people on this forum...just not quite as much. There are 2 kinds of deranged... -The funny drunk uncle, who's "with it" enough to remember his pants and wallet, but "off" enough that he hasn't had a healthy relationship in decades and is banned from several eating establishments for making "off color" remarks. -The crazy, reclusive aunt, who stopped showing up to family holidays years ago, and spends more money annually on cat food and kitty litter than she does on things for herself.

Can't the same be said for most of International Drive?

Is that fish doing what I think he's doing???

Sorry for the delay... LOVE IT! First pics I've seen of Jungle Larry's in quite a while. The Oceana pic was great too. Thank you for sharing!

Literally. The station rotated.

So CP execs flew to Orlando to see the StarFlyer "several months" ago? That's odd, considering the park usually says that they're planning new attractions 3 to 4 years out. As far as litigation, since FunTime says they'll be suing Cedar Fair and not Mondial, I would assume that the suit would be filed over contract issues, not patent issues.

I'll take ironic names for $800, Alex.

Not on CP's very own blog, though...

Before you say this is just another case of ITAL using CP's pics to sell a different ride (a la Chaos), this info matches up perfectly with Ocean Motion's upgrades: From: LINK - ITAL Int'l

The investment into Action Zone was meant to be a chest-thump warning shot to SFKK that they planned to keep their domination in the market. The former Six Flags regime had big plans for Kentucky Kingdom, but Paramount wanted to make sure those plans never happened. Keep in mind, too, that the Adventure Village themeing had been left to rot thru the American Financial Corp ownership, and was looked rather haggard by the time the animals moved out in '94. Interestingly enough, not too long after Paramount used significant investment to intimidate Six Flags from major new development at their Kentucky park, Six Flags used the same tactic (and just as poorly executed) to try to challenge Cedar Point with their newly-flagged and over developed park in Aurora. Did AFC have ownership of the entire chain or just KI? IIRC the owners were Taft,KECO,Paramount & now CF. Taft sold the parks to the newly-formed KECO entity in 1984, but KECO sold the parks to AFC in 1987. KECO continued to run the parks thru a management contract with AFC. Unfortunately, budgets were tightened and tightened and things got to be in the shape that they were in right before the Paramount purchase.

Oh, I totally agree! SFWoA was a great concept for the region. If it would've been successful the way they'd hoped, the park could've been a great midwestern alternative to some of the Florida parks. As for CF, I remember them stating that they don't do animals, and it really came across in some articles like they were really proud of it too. Boy, they messed that one up big time! The concept was great... the execution was dreadful. We were Six Flags season pass holders during the time of SFO / SFWoA (the Wyandot Lake Season Passes were only $40 and worked at all 6F parks!) so I visited each year the park was there. Had the growth been allowed to happen more organically, and had it been done with a little more foresight, the park would have had a chance. Although, if a marine life park in northern Ohio was a profitable venture, don't you think Busch would have kept it?

The investment into Action Zone was meant to be a chest-thump warning shot to SFKK that they planned to keep their domination in the market. The former Six Flags regime had big plans for Kentucky Kingdom, but Paramount wanted to make sure those plans never happened. Keep in mind, too, that the Adventure Village themeing had been left to rot thru the American Financial Corp ownership, and was looked rather haggard by the time the animals moved out in '94. Interestingly enough, not too long after Paramount used significant investment to intimidate Six Flags from major new development at their Kentucky park, Six Flags used the same tactic (and just as poorly executed) to try to challenge Cedar Point with their newly-flagged and over developed park in Aurora.

Interesting... I never knew that they considered Adventure Express part of the Adventure Village / Wild Animal Habitat area. I'd thought it was always part of Oktoberfest! like it is now. (I also wondered why is wasn't part of Adventure Village!)

The #1 rating is obviously up for debate, but it was a big deal locally when Columbus finally overcame San Diego. In my opinion, though, what makes it better? Both zoos have incredible animal collections, but the lengths that Columbus goes to for storytelling and context of the exhibits is what seals it up for me.

Here's the story my station did on the baby from Louisville. Be sure to watch the video in the player to the right of the page: LINK - 10TV.com

You won't regret it! If you're going to come down to Central Ohio for a few days, you should also check out The Wilds. It's a sister-park of the zoo that occupies 10,000 acres (yes, ten-thousand acres) of open range habitat for exotic hoofstock like Camel, Banteng, Bison, Oryx, Goral, Takin, and several species of giraffe, as well as an awesome cheetah program and rhinoceros conservation program. They offer safari tours on their vehicles (you can't drive through) daily through the summer. While in college, I was fortunate enough to send a few days there shooting an episode of our news magazine show. I was field anchoring the show from the park, which entailed my videographer and I driving over the whole of the property in the PR director's Jeep with free reign to get out and shoot where ever we wanted to (save for the Cheetah enclosure). The hoofstock mostly ignored us, but the rhinos were surprisingly friendly and affectionate, believe it or not. Check out their webiste: The Wilds

This my first PTR here, so go easy on me! Edit: No, it isn't my first PTR on here. It's my second. Failing already. Over the weekend, I had the great opportunity to take my family to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium for their “Media Appreciation Days,” a weekend every summer where working members of the media are invited into the park. For those of you who haven’ t made the trip, I cannot tell you how much you are missing. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was recently ranked as the number 1 zoo in the country, after spending years in the #2 spot, behind the San Diego Zoo. As you approach the Zoo from parking lot (on foot or on the free trolley service), you come to a gorgeous new entrance plaza which features food and drink, a gift shop, and guest services all situated around a large globe sculpture and fountain. If you go straight through the plaza, you’ll pass thru the main entrance for the Zoo and Aquarium. If you turn left at the plaza, you’ll find yourself on a wide path that takes you to the Animal Encounters Village, Jungle Jack’s Landing, and at the end of the path you’ll find the main entrance for Zoombezi Bay. The ticket booths are outside the main plaza, and you can choose to buy a Zoo admission ($12 for adults, with discount tickets available at Kroger), or a Zoombezi Bay admission ($30 at the gate, discount tickets available at Kroger). Zoo admission is included with a Zoombezi Bay ticket, and admission to Jungle Jack’s Landing and the Animal Encounters Village is included with Zoo or Zoombezi Bay admission. The rides in Jungle Jack’s Landing work on a ticket/point system, but a very reasonable POP wristband is available. I’ll break the rest of the report down by individual park, with the photos included for the Zoombezi Bay and Columbus Zoo portions. Animal Encounters Village The Zoo’s website describes it as such: The “village” is a collection of buildings in the old Key West style, mixing several different types of architecture with bright, tropical colors. You can see the daily “Walk of the Flamingos”, where the pink birds are walked freely from the exhibit inside the zoo out to their area in the village. Throughout the day, you can meet and touch several of the zoo’s residents, including snakes and alligators, and also see stage demonstrations with cheetahs (as close as a few feet away, on leashes), Lynx cats, and some primates. This is simply a must do if you head to the zoo, and it’s included with admission to either park. The area is the brainchild of longtime Zoo PR member Suzi Rapp, who regularly appears with Jack on Letterman, GMA, and the CBS Early Show. Jungle Jack’s Landing JJL features a decent amount of lightly-themed flat rides, and has always seemed to have a decent crowd. The park is anchored by the classic Sea Dragon junior wooden coaster, the 2nd oldest operating coaster in Ohio. A complete list of rides at JJL from the website: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium The zoo is unique in that their animal collection is arranged into “Biomes,” meaning that they are grouped by climate, not by species, although the regions are named geographically: -North America, featuring the new Polar Frontier -AsiaQuest -The Shores -African Forest -Voyage to the Islands of Southeast Asia, and - Austrailia The Zoo also features a very well done animal show, Animals on Safari, that plays several times daily in an indoor/outdoor theater at the side of the Education Building near the main entrance. The show was produced by the same man who produced the Pets Rule shows for the Bush parks, starring locally rescued dogs, cats, birds, and livestock, performing alongside some of the Zoo’s big cats and other animals. North America The zoo’s North America region, built in the 1980’s, is now the oldest development in the park. It is a very large, heavily wooded area, and it home to several species of wolves, bobcats, bald eagles, otters, bison, pronghorn, prairie dogs, black bears, brown bears, wolverines, moose, and a large aviary of North American bird species. The new for 2010 Polar Frontier region is an off-shoot of the main North American loop. Polar Frontier is simply incredible, and impossible to describe. The area is home to Polar Bears, Kodiak Bears, and Arctic Fox. The Polar Bear enclosure features a 400,000 gallon pool which is stocked with live trout that the bears can catch and eat at their leisure, sand and gravel digging pits, fallen trees to play with, a splash pool, and large grass yards. The bears can be viewed through large glazed glass windows at eye level with the bears, thru glass that forms the edge of their larger pool, or a very unique underwater viewing area where you can watch the bears swim over your head. The Kodiak Bear enclosure features another large pool, large grass yards, and activity pits. The third and final enclosure within Polar Frontier is the Arctic Fox exhibit, which is a nice enclosure themed to an abandoned mine. The Polar Frontier area is very nicely themed to an abandoned Alaskan mining town, and has a large education building at its center. There is a nicely themed train ride that circles thru most of the North American section. The ride costs $1, and is included with the POP wristband. AsiaQuest The AsiaQuest region was completed in 2003 and is home to Sun Bears, markhor, red pandas, langurs, Pallas’ cats, giant fruit bats, colorful pheasants and the endangered, Siberian tiger. The area is highly themed, starting off inside a richly detailed show building replicating a Himalayan village. The area is also home to the largest Pachyderm building in the world, and several large outdoor elephant and rhino yards. The tiger exhibit is consistently ranked alongside Disney Animal Kingdom’s as the best in the world, and it really cannot be missed. AsiaQuest is also home to the largest snake in captivity, Fluffy the reticulated python. The Shores The Shores area is comprised of Discovery Reef (the largest man-made coral reef when it opened in ’94), Manatee Coast, the zoo’s Reptile house, a large Penguin exhibit, and a very unique mixed Flamingo and Alligator exhibit (they share a pool divided by an “invisible” barrier). Manatee Coast is the standout in this region, with a huge pool that holds as many as 6 or 7 Manatees, alongside turtles, rays, and fish. The manatees are brought up from Florida, rehabilitated, and then released into the wild. African Forest This area is home to endangered lowland gorillas, rare bonobos, Jaguars, red river hogs, leopards, okapi, and Colobus monkies. The Zoo’s first claim to fame was the first captive-born Gorilla, Colo, in 1955. Since then, the Zoo has grown to house 3 troupes of Gorillas: 2 family groups and 1 bachelor group used for breeding. The gorillas have a gigantic multi-story outdoor yard and a unique indoor exhibit where guests are “surrounded” by the gorillas with 360-degree viewing (the animal’s areas extend over the doorways allowing them to completely surround you). The zoo has a successful Gorilla surrogacy program, which allows orphaned or injured baby gorillas to come into one of the family troupes, where several males and females have been “trained” to raise the babies as their own. It is the only program of its kind in the world. Besides the Gorillas, you can’t miss the Bonobos within this region. They have a gorgeous, lush outdoor yard, as well as 2 indoor playgrounds that actually feature large playground equipment you’d see at a school or park. The primates can be seen on the jungle gyms, going down the slides, and flying across the monkey bars. No pun intended. Voyage to the Islands of Southeast Asia The islands area is beautifully done, but in my opinion put a little but too much focus on the themeing than the actual presentation of the animals. The area is home to Orangutans, Komodo Dragons, Clouded Leopards, Asian Small Clawed Otters, and a unique indoor-outdoor Lemur habitat themed to an abandoned temple. There is a very nice boat ride that takes you thru all the exhibits for breathtaking views of the animals. The ride costs $1, and is included with the POP wristband. Australia The Australia region is home to the famous Kangaroo Walkabout and Koala outdoor exhibits, along with the unique Roadhouse nocturnal building, which features Tree Kangaroos, Kiwis, Sugar Gliders, and Tiger quolls. The Roadhouse starts inside an authentic Australian roadside diner, and from the diner you begin your “night hike” thru the outback. In the Kangaroo Walkabout, you enter the enclosure and walk around with the animals, without any major barriers between you. The animals don’t often venture onto the path, but the experience is very, very cool. Zoombezi Bay Zoombezi Bay was created when the Zoo bought Six Flag’s Wyandot Lake Amusement Park after the 2006 season. The park was kept closed thru the 2007 season and reopened as Zoombezi Bay for 2008. Wyandot Lake itself was built from the old Zoo Amusements, a small ride park built next to the Zoo in the 1950’s. Wyandot Lake wasn’t a bad park, but it was a very odd mix of old flat rides, a roller coaster, and water slides. By the time the park closed, it hadn’t seen any major expansion since the mid-90’s, meaning that the park was allowed to stagnate for more than a decade. The transformation to Zoombezi Bay required that most of the old water park be razed, only saving the water fortress, the lazy river, and the Sea Dragon roller coaster. The flat rides were taken apart, restored / rethemed, and repositioned to the new Jungle Jack’s Landing area. The zoo then built a new wavepool, new support buildings, a 2nd “action” river, and three new slide towers. From the Zoombezi Bay website: One thing that I really like, is that the Croctail Creek is actually only for people 18 and up, there is a tiki bar built into the middle. The river circles the Sea Dragon rollercoaster, just as it did at Wyandot Lake. The architecture in the park shows quite a bit of variation, with some buildings remaining in the Key West style that were carried over from Wyandot Lake, and the new buildings having a south seas tropical theme. The themeing is very well done. We ate lunch at Zoombezi Bay, and found the quality and value to be much better than any Six Flags or Cedar Fair park, but not quite up to Kennywood or Holiday World standards. And here’s where I think the park is getting thru to people: Profits made at Zoombezi Bay thru gate sales, souveniers, supplies, and foods, go straight to the zoo for their conservation efforts. So long as the zoo keeps communicating this to guests, people will continue to pay. Though the zoo is a non-profit, they set up a separate “for profit” entity to handle funds from Zoombezi Bay, this way money can be used for expansion of that park when needed. Any such move would have to be approved by the Zoo’s Board of Directors. If you’ve never been, it could easily take you 3 days to see all that the Zoo’s different parks have to offer. In the next few years, the zoo will open a large hotel for multi-day guests, including an indoor waterpark, as well as a 70-acre African savannah region and a Madagascar region. A few years further down the road, they expect to complete a South America region, as well as expansions to the Shores and Australia areas. If you haven’t been, you simply need to. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Zoombezi Bay, Jungle Jack’s Landing, and Animal Encounters Village are all world class facilities that we are lucky to have here in the Buckeye state.

It seems like their main attraction is already the waterpark, much like Geauga Lake.

Depends on who you ask... Wildwater Kingdom was announced in November of 2004 as a "Major, Multi Million Dollar" expansion! Yep. KK is about to get Geauga'd.

Funny you should mention it... they had 3 beer selections: Bloodweiser, Blood Light, and GE Bocking's Ail (yes Ail, not Ale), and that was Labatt Blue. The wines were also renamed, but I don't remember what they all were. I can't say enough how much Eerie Estate and Happy Jack's are something you absolutely cannot miss. Keep your eyes peeled in the first character room of Happy Jack's. If you've been going to CP long enough, you'll recognize a certain retiree.

True, but hasn't Knott's Doll Factory been around for a few years? It seems like, at least in Cedar Fair's case, they've been spreading around existing themes for haunts and houses between the parks.