RCjunkie

And the Texas State Fair does it over 24 days vs. the 11 days for the Minnesota State Fair. The market is here, VF just needs to give the locals a reason to come out to the park. After adding Camp Snoopy and Route 76 in the last 3 years crowds have definitely increased (when the park is not flooded. ) . Imagine what an up to date water park or new signature coaster could do.

And this is why your not the CEO of Cedar Fair. This market/park is under served. VF did not pass a million visitors until AFTER adding Wild Thing (that happened the year it was added to the park). If the park had more quality rides like King's Island or King's Dominion who knows how high attendance could go. If you don't build it they will not come. CF has treated the park like a red headed step child in terms of investment so how do you expect to grow attendance? You have to spend money to make money and now they are going to try that and see if it comes to fruition. CEO Quimet sees that VF (along with CGA and Carowinds) were a little neglected during the Kinzel era when he would use the revenue from the smaller parks to feed and grow the 'big dogs' of the chain like KI, CP and CW. My best guess is it will pay off for all the 3 parks CF has designated as 'growth parks which will be rewarded with greater attendance and revenue'. We shall see over the next few years, only time will tell.

My three times this year and the one time last year on WT all were just mechanical issues. But it sure is getting annoying over the last 2 years though, more people think it's OK to take a picture or POV on a coaster in amusement parks. This year I told a mother in the row right in front of me if she didn't put the phone back in her pocket on WT's lift hill I was going to knock it out of her hand because it was a safety issue concerning me. She gave me a dirty look and did it but there is no way I am going to let some idiot handle their phone on a coaster while I am riding it if I can help it. Don't need it flying out of their hand and hitting me. If parks don't start doing as you say and enforcing this safety rule it's just a matter of time unfortunately before someone gets hurt and costing the park some serious $$$. This year I have seen people on WT do just that but a few cars ahead of me so I did not notice it until the turn around and your too far away to do anything at that point except keep a close eye on those fools in case they do let go which of course affects my ride. Thanks! . Even last year year I was stopped on the lift hill for High Roller, some kid taking out a phone to take a picture/POV on the lift hill. Seriously?! I like High Roller a lot but it is not worth taking a picture or POV on the lift hill. On a funny note it is a good thing they sent a ride op up when we were stuck at the top of WT's lift hill a couple weeks ago because the ride op had to convince someone in the first car to put down their phone because they were actually in the process of dialing 911 and it had only been 5 minutes at that point. That would have been some unneeded drama.

Testify! Hallelujah! Truth! Speak the gospel.

What did Valleyfair ever do to you? Why are you so evil? The park already has plenty of mediocre coasters.

Nothing wrong with Ben and Jerry's but a little more local would not hurt either. A Red Savoy, Cossetta's or Pizza Luce for local Zaa would be sweet though. Tobies Bakery on the other hand would be epic! I would be there right at opening all the time on weekends for breakfast if they had a Tobies. Their cinnamon rolls crush Cinnabon's. I just wish they had a Tobies some where in the Twin Cities let alone VF but I like the way you think.

The picture below is form Tony Clark's twitter feed for CP. Just like every other park there is a lot of speculation this time of year. I thought his list pretty much covered every CP rumor out there this year. Kind of like all the ones in this forum.

Went to VF today and got a little stuck in Wild Thing again. It was running two cars and the first car was stuck just outside the loading station when it stopped our train short of the turn and just behind the station. It was only a 3-5 minute delay but that is the third time in the last four rides that the ride has had some sort of problem when I ride it. First time About 5 weeks ago it did not get out of the station and they asked us to get off after being seated. Second visit the ride worked fine. The third visit was when I got stuck on the top of the lift hill and now today. Anyone else having these types of mechanical issues when riding WT this year or am I just having a bad run? Hopefully it gets some love in the off season on that motor. The good news was that Renegade rode like a well oiled machine and delivered two fantastic rides. Better than normal. On another note, Cedar Point is going to announce their 2015 attraction tomorrow. Hopefully VF will make an announcement later this week with what most believe will be a water park expansion. I would be surprised if it wasn't and I am just looking to see how big of an expansion it will be now.

I have read the same but don't know how true it is. It wouldn't surprise me though, until they officially announce an attraction they can always change their mind at the last minute and put it somewhere else.

It has nothing to do with age, it's just a painful coaster to ride. Once is enough for that coaster.

Projected opening Date of Spring 2015 + Six Flags = Real opening date of July 20th, 2015. It does look fun though, hoping there is a 2015 West Coast Bash because this makes me actually want to go back to SFMM.

Cedar Fair CEO Matt Quimet and Chief Operating Officer Richard Zimmerman do the ALS Ice bucket Challenge and then dry off on the new Cedar Point Slingshot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK7EJYGAMgY&feature=youtu.be

I just checked the website and now it has a picture of a kid eating BBQ instead of Excalibur so that must have been a webmaster mistake. Or maybe they did It intentionally just to mess with us coaster geeks.

So GM Dave said no ride removals for 2015 and 2016? That means the Looping Starship stays then, hopefully they move it at least because that takes space away from the water park expansion and leaves less 'new water slide hotness' space then. And if they are not removing any coasters (CS or Excalibur) then they need to create a new space if the park is to get a new coaster which kind of supports what valleyfairfantic said of employees talking about a new entrance and we have seen what CF has done with Gatekeeper for CP and now Fury 325 for Carowinds. Maybe VF could be next, let's hope so. We need to see how big this water park expansion is before we dream that big. Come 2016 it will have been 9 years since the last coaster addition and CF has never waited this long to add one to VF so the park is due. Next time someone talks with GM Dave ask him if the carousal maybe gets restored this year like he hinted at or if he can say anything about the new sign permit they applied for back in July with the city. A new sign would be needed for a new entrance.

We'll, it is pretty easy to forget after you ride other hypers. Seriously though, like you said, the park will not be getting another hyper. Agreed. The park desperately needs a new coaster with multiple inversions so bad it almost a hurts. 34 years since Corkscrew arrived and no new inversions have been added to the park since. It would be nice for the park to get a new steel coaster with inversions and bring it into the 21st century.

^ That is very interesting, thanks for sharing. If you move the entrance you create all kinds of possibilities. CF has incorporated new coasters at CP and now Carowinds with new park entrances. Maybe VF will move the entrance next year and add a coaster to interact with it the following year. We can only hope. Below is a picture of the land they own and also the link directly to the source if you want to check it out. Just scroll to the bottom of linked page to see the map. Time to speculate. http://agenda.shakopeemn.gov/docs/2013/BOAA/20131205_137/814%5F13%2D048%20Valleyfair%20%2D%20site%20plans%2Epdf

^ Everything he said. This happens with Excalibur every year because it is not a good coaster and also why it is the only coaster in the park not in the Fast Lane program. Hopefully next year GM Frazier can make a similar tweet like he made this year with some more information like, "Demolition begins in September....come get your last rides on Excalibur!" Dare to dream.

I am still excited for the November dates. I have never been on a coaster in November in Minnesota. Now that it is possible I want to get that 'credit'. Unfortunately it could be 52 degrees, 3 inches of snow or rain, it's Minnesota in November. If it's open, I'll be there! I rode last year during a Friday Haunt when it was 44 degrees with jeans, long sleeve shirt and a hoodie on. It was chilly but not too cold to ride any of the rides. The exception to that was Wild Thing, the first drop in that cold of weather made your eyes water pretty good so I did not re-ride it like Renegade and SV.

Same here. Ditto.

The free Fast Lane for renewing your Gold Pass does last all day. When you click on BUY to renew your pass it reads this: "RENEWALS: Enjoy one day of FAST LANE during the 2014 season, when you renew your 2014 Season Pass. Single Day Fast Lane ticket must be used by November 2nd, 2014 and can be redeemed by presenting your season pass at any Fast Lane selling location." Only 36 days left (probably less due to October and November weather).

I agree with you on the Winged coaster, not may enthusiasts would rate Winged coaster over a Giga but we shall see. Personally I am curious/excited about Thunderbird not because it is a launch but that it only has 5 cars vs. 8 like there other Winged coasters. I am hoping shorter trains allow them to create faster transitions and sharper turns for more force which the Winged coasters seem to lack.

Any guesses on whether the team will be the first riders during media day? Never, unless it is coaches and/or support staff. Most NBA players are taller than 6' 6''.

Hopefully, but if you only sell (or give out) so many a day and you have to use it in 2014 (only 36 days left including Haunt) can the park really do this if EVERY current gold pass renews and takes advantage of this? The Fast Lane queue may be longer than the regular queue then during the 2nd and 3rd weekends in September. If it is a full day pass then I will surely break my personal record of 16 laps in 5 hours on Renegade. Never had a Fast Lane at VF so that could be interesting. I am sure I would ride Power Tower and the Xtreme Swings more than once a visit like I usually do.

Is that Fast Lane for just one ride or for the whole day like a Flash Pass? In the email I got from VF it calls it "One Free Fast Lane" and does not say pass so I assume it is for one ride. If it is for the whole day and it has to be used in 2014 and they only sell so many a day I doubt they could make this work so that must be one ride. Anyone know for sure? Either way I will be taking advantage of it.

It shouldn't be, I will take a Raptor sized invert for sure. Need to see this water park announcement to see if we can dream that big for VF.