garyman6

Utility marker flags, the background is Looping Starship The brown ground you see used to be heavy vegetation that covered a tunnel over Raging Rapids. All Gone! The Foreground is the yet to be completed sand volleyball courts where IMAX used to be Just got back from my first trip to Valleyfair today. I gotta say that my daughter and I had a great time. The track work on High Roller and Renegade have made great improvements especially on Renegade. It was a much improved ride. I even really enjoyed Excalibur. It seemed more fun than usual. Wild Thing was running awesome and smooth as glass but the winner was Route 76. Valleyfair hit a grand slam with Northern Lights, Antique Auto's, Scrambler and Tilter. Northern Lights is an extremely fun ride. Much more than expected. We rode it 8 times today including the last 4 rides of the day. A trio of 20 something guys sat in front of us and were talkin smack about the ride. I told them that it was a lot more fun than they are expecting. Well after riding it two times in a row they were huge fans. I tried to meet with Mr. Frazier today but he was unable to today. Well, now on to some speculation. Three things stuck out to me like a sore thumb and they all are the Soak City expansion. We have heard rumors about a massive water park makeover not just adding some slides. I saw a few things today that would seem to support that. First, the so-called sand pit for kids to play in. This was literally just scrapping off sod and dumping sand. It was not up to Valleyfair's high standards for appearance. This tells me that this area is an expansion zone. Second, Remember the tunnel that Raging Rapids goes through? Last year, there was heavy vegetation and several trees located on top of that tunnel area. They have completely stripped it of all vegetation and have not planted anything as a replacement. I am predicting that Raging Rapids will be history next year. Lastly, I noticed utility marker flags (excel energy) located all over the area around Looping Starship and the lawn between where IMAX and Looping starship. I posted a few pics for you to see. Another prediction; The current entry to Soak City is going to be relocated. When I looked at all the land that now includes raging rapids, the entry to SS and IMAX site, there is a large area to expand.

Wow! The LED lighting looks awesome! Can't wait till Monday. Gonna be there all day so I'll see the lights.

VF15 beat me to it. He is correct. California's Great America. The old picnic cove buildings that you are talking about are being used as a haunt location for ValleyScare already. Mr. Frazier seems hesitant to remove them right now because ValleyScare is huge now and he doesn't want to loose a haunt location. That could alway's change if a new haunt location is built. The current picnic point will not be leaving for many, many years. They just built two new pavilions this year. They have a seating capacity in the thousands with a brand new kitchen right there that can produce 3000 meals per hour. As for Dino's, that very well may be a temporary attraction and could be used for something in the future. My guess though is that it is here to stay! It could be moved to another area. The reason VF got Dino's is to attract grade school kids. Before Dino's schools could not bring grade school kids to the park because there was no "educational" attraction in which the school would be able to use tax dollars to pay for a field trip. Next is the amphitheater, there are two big issues with this venue. First, its out of code and would be quite expensive to bring it back to code and usable again. Second, performers don't like it cause the braking of Wild Thing causes a lot of noise. I think this location would be perfect for a large flat ride such as a giant Frisbee or sledgehammer. I don't see the track as a problem. It could be used as a coaster support area but even with a flat ride located here I think there would be plenty of room for coaster supports in the area.

I should have made myself more clear. I'm much more excited about the possibility of a new waterslide package than the possibility of Hydroblaster's resurrection. Like valleyfairfanatic said, I'm pretty much indifferent to what happens to Hydroblaster. The waterslide package would be a great addition to the park because... 1) This kind of expansion is exactly what Valleyfair needs. The last time new waterslides were added to Soak City was sometime in the 90s. They did get a wave pool in 2009, but that doesn't really count. 2) If it's supposed to be like what's at DP and WOF, then it looks like a lot of fun. The slides look thrilling, and it would make me want to visit Soak City more often. Well, I'm gonna just come out and say this. I don't know how accurate this is so don't take this rumor as gospel. But I did hear recently that the water park expansion is going to be much bigger than anyone is thinking. I don't have details as to what exactly but the best way I can describe it is like this. If you have seen the show "Extreme Home Makeover" than use your imagination and apply that concept to Soak City! I can't tell you where I heard this from but this person also said themselves that they don't know how accurate this rumor is. But let's look at some of the things we know as facts! IMAX gone!, Hydroblaster gone! Mr. Frazier told me that the old corporate dining deck which is part of the Subway shop is not being used anymore except if someone just wants to eat there. The only thing left there than is the Subway shop which could easily be moved elsewhere. Mr. Frazier also said that "anything's possible" when I asked if Looping Starship is going to be relocated. Also, take into account that the current slide's on the hill are over 20 years old. One last bit of information that I will continue to remind you of; Valleyfair has been slated by Cedar Fair corporate as one of three parks it has marked for significant growth! The next two years of Valleyfair's history will be epic! I'm just sayin!

The large building you see on the left is the maintenance building. The larger building on the right is the administration building. That building is not going anywhere soon. Mr. Frazier took me through it twice and they have been completely remodeling the interior as it had not been upgraded since it was built. The maintenance building however could be moved. As VF grows they really do need a larger building somewhere else on the property. I was not taken through that building. I'm guessing it may hold some information as to what is coming down the pike. With that being said, I think a new coaster could be located in the back of the park. Like Route 76 which has brought the front of the park back to life, think what a new coaster would do to the ridership of Thunder Canyon and Excalibur! If they do reroute the employee access road that divides the areas it would leave plenty of room for a loading station. Or, if they move the maintenance building and some of the other smaller buildings behind Chickie and Petes that would leave a lot of room for expansion including a loading station. Like I said earlier only coaster supports would be allowed to the east of the flood berm on which Excalibur's loading station is built upon. You could have an awesome new coaster that would wrap around parts of Excalibur, Thunder Canyon and Renegade.

I don't think Excalibur is truly rough, it's just bumpy in spots. You're right about it's lack of popularity, and it's because it is the farthest thing from the park entrance, and the GP knows that Renegade, Steel Venom, and Wild Thing are much superior rides. Even though Gemini cost only $400,000 more, when adjusted for inflation, Gemini is worth a lot more than Excalibur. The land Excalibur sits on isn't hilly. It's just plain flat, as is a lot of the rest of the park. Excalibur really could have been a lot more, but it only has a drop, a figure-eight, and then it's over. If only Valleyfair/Cedar Fair had invested a little more money into it... As for expansion in that area, I agree that Excalibur's land plus the land valleyfairfanatic was talking about could provide a good amount of room for a new coaster (hopefully a B&M invert). Some people have said that they should also remove Thunder Canyon to make more room for expansion, but I think it's here to stay for a while, considering that the GP seems to like it, it can get a decent line sometimes (unlike it's next-door neighbor), and it is one of the rides on the Fast Lane pass. Who knows, maybe it could be removed in the near future, but that's just my opinion. There's one big problem with the removal of Excalibur to make room for a new coaster. The strip of land that was mentioned by valleyfairfanatic and RCjunkie cannot be used of a loading station cause it's located in a flood plain. Only supports could be located there. Excalibur's loading station is located on top of the flood berm. I don't see Excalibur being removed for a long time. Mr. Frazier does not want to loose a roller coaster no matter which one. Also, rather than removing Thunder Canyon, why not incorporate a roller coaster around it?

Were those valleyfairzone posts posted on twitter? Can't find them on their website. Also, check out Screamscape! Valleyfair made headlines today! With a little help of course!

Just sent an e-mail to Mr. Frazier to see if he will shed some light on this. I'll let you know his response. You may be right about ValleyScare! ValleyScare is HUGE for Valleyfair. I went there last October for the first time. Never seen so many people at Valleyfair ever! It was crazy! Hopefully we will know something by tonight or tomorrow!

Way for them to really go out on a limb with an anonymous source and then zero details or even a hint of what they consider crazy. O.K. That's bad! At least I'm coming to you with facts! Yes, some of my comments were speculating but I let you know that. But, after getting that off my chest when it comes to Valleyfair, I LOVE RUMORS! That's what gets people talking and corporations noticing! Check out Holiday World. They have teaser rumors going that are going to last a total of 66 days! Don't know why, what or anything else but it's making news! That's what we need! Now, my comments on valleyfairzone's post. Remember, Valleyfair has been slated as one of three Cedar Fair parks marked for significant improvement's. Cedar Fair announced $50 million in improvements and expansions for Carowinds over the next couple of years. Valleyfair spend 3 million this year and you have seen what they did with that. Imagine what we could do with 50 million! I'm an optimist so I am not ruling out anything!

That may not be the case here. Valleyfair spent about 3 million this year and look at what all they were able to do! It's not out of the question that multiple flat rides could be added in a single year. Next year, water park expansion! 2016, B&M invert! 2017 could see more flat rides IMO.

It would be great if you passed my ideas on to Mr. Frazier, I really would like to see a zamperla air race go there! I just sent an e-mail to Mr. Frazier passing on your idea for a Zamperla Air Race. I'll let you know his response! In regards to the food prices, Mr. Frazier said they were keeping 2013 prices and improving quality.

Go to Cedarfair.com and click on contact info. There are a lot of contacts for investors but scroll to the bottom of the page and you will find a phone number to cedar fair. Call them and find out who you can contact to give feedback about Valleyfair. At Valleyfair's web site look up contacts and you will find a page where you can write comments. Mr. Frazier does read these and everything else. I had written a comment at valleyfairzone.com. The last time I visited him he had a printed copy of what I wrote so I know he reads everything! Let me know what kind of response you get. P.S. I was VERY surprised when I received a call from Mr. Frazier after posting a comment at cedarfair.com so don't get discouraged if you don't hear anything but I can assure you Mr. Frazier will read what you post.

I think the empty lot where tilt a whirl was would be a great location for one of those zamperla air races or a giant huss frisbee (not sure if that would even fit in that lot) I also think valleyfair should beef up renegade's theming, I see alot of potential to make this a really good themed roller coaster (Installing swinging saloon doors for the exit, putting up western decor, etc.) They should install a sound system on renegade so when you are going up the lift the speaker will be playing western sounds or music (Gunshots, Horses galloping, etc.) and there is a song called renegade by styx and that would be funny if they played that there occasionally. A sound system on wild thing would be fitting, they could play songs that fit the coaster (Welcome to the jungle, Crazy train, etc.) Well thats my piece, sorry about the length of this post, I have a lot more ideas but for the sake of this post not being to long I'm going to cut my ideas off here. I might just end up contacting valleyfair or cedar fair with my ideas Don't worry being too long. I would encourage you to contact Valleyfair and Cedar Fair about your ideas! An air race ride in the old Tilter location would be cool! I was thinking about a Tango ride from KMG. I don't think there would be enough room for a giant Frisbee in the old Tilter location but I would love to see one in the park. I would also like to see a "Sledgehammer" ride by Huss. Maybe remove the wheel of fortune ride and put it there. I like the idea of addition theming for rides such as Renegade and Wild Thing. I would really like to see thunder canyon elevated to a new level. If a new coaster will be a replacement to Excalibur it would be cool to have it incorporated in and around thunder canyon! Anyway, that's my two cents worth

Glad to hear the improvements to Renegade and High Roller are paying off. Valleyfair is listening to our comments! I wouldn't worry too much about Northern Lights right now. With any new ride your bound to have bugs that need to be worked out. When you walk around the park you'll notice several "holes" Valleyfair is looking for ideas to fill these "holes". What does everyone think. This is a good opportunity to voice an idea. I chat with Mr. Frazier fairly often and I would be happy to pass on your ideas! I have a few of my own but I want to see what you all come up with. I'll be sure to let Mr. Frazier know who's idea it was!

I can assure you, Route 76 looks awesome! I've see it first hand already! Can't wait to try Northern Lights! It will also be fun to drive the new Caddie's around with Wild Thing roaring above my head!

My thoughts exactly. But throw Holiday World, Beech Bend, Indiana Beach, KK into the mix and it might even things out... Sorry, My bad! Just now, I was looking at information located at Cedarfair.com and found that the population market for KI is 15 million and for Valleyfair 9 million. Canada's Wonderland is also 9 million. Valleyfair should have an attraction line up similar to CW. CW has several more roller coasters than Valleyfair. What I'm trying to say is that I see many of you putting limits on what Valleyfair could become. I not gonna go there, I think Valleyfair has huge growth potential. Look, the more input Cedar Fair hears from all of you the more they are gonna say to themselves, we need to do more with Valleyfair.

Because the population within a 2-3 hour drive of KI is far greater than that of Valleyfair. Ohio has 6 million more people than MN. Indy, Columbus, Louisville, Lexington all within a 2 hour drive of KI. Route 76 is looking great. Can't wait to spend an evening out there with all of the new LEDs around the park. On spot. There are people that drive 5-6 hours to visit KI. I doubt they would drive four to visit VF. It isn't worth it. IMO (Unless, you've never been there) Both True but Ohio also has Kings Dominion and of course Cedar Point! So if you spread the population among all three parks then it even's out. Yes, people don't travel far to visit Valleyfair but I think they would if the park were attractive enough. I'm thinking that Cedar Fair knows this already. Otherwise why would they mark Valleyfair as one 3 parks in the chain for significant growth?

This is all great news, I had a couple Ideas for renegade as well that I might submit to Mr. Frazier, By the way, how were you able to tour the park, I'd love to meet mr. frazier? I think the improvements to renegade will be fantastic because it does give me headaches periodically and sometimes I skip riding renegade all together. Is it me, or when I go on renegade the edge of the lap bar sticks into my side when I go over the airtime hills, and it is somewhat painful and I have side pain after the ride, Is that happening to you also? I'm just a little concerned about it. Its a long story about how I met Mr. Frazier but basically I wrote an e-mail to Cedar Fair about ideas that I had for Valleyfair and the historical importance that Valleyfair has to Cedar Fair. They must have liked what they saw and forwarded my e-mail to Mr. Frazier. He contacted me and invited me for a personal walk through the park last October during ValleyScare. This was the second time that we met. It was really interesting to see behind the scenes and to see the preparations for the upcoming season. We talked quite a bit about Soak City. The removal of IMAX is very dramatic! They have a lot of work left there. The idea of opening this area up is two fold. We all know there will be waterpark expansion. Don't know what or when but it will happen. The other goal is to open up more space for people to just move around. There will be new lounging areas as well as new pathway's to get around. The volleyball courts will not cost anything extra! No ball fee either! Just sign out a court for an hour, that's it! Also, the lockers have gone electronic. No longer will you have to pay multiple times per day to use a locker. One price per day! I asked if the "looping Starship" can be relocated to make even more room. Mr. Frazier said that anything is possible! It all comes down to cost and what makes sense. I also asked about Hydroblaster, whether or not it will return as part of the waterpark. He was not at liberty to say yes or no but did say that the operating cost was pretty high compared to the number of riders. So let's just say the jury is still out on whether Hydroblaster will make a return or not. Right now the area is just a grassy field. Mr. Frazier did say he may have plans for this site yet this year but he did not elaborate. A few last bits of info that I can remember. There is a new store called "Sweet" located on your right as you walk through the entrance headed toward the carousel. It has been completely remodeled and looks great. Mr. Frazier has really put an emphasis on looking professional. The area where "Scrambler" was located has a new concrete pad and will be used for performances of all kinds. The backdrop will be awesome. It's actually a pretty nice place located right near the front gate. There will be a new acapella singing group roaming the park grounds. I wish I could remember the name but you will all just have to see them for yourselves. All in all the park looks great! For those of you who think Valleyfair can't grow because they have no more room. Not true! They have developed only about half the land they own. Now they do have restrictions because of flood plains and wet lands but they can expand. The big issue is in order to expand there would be a lot of extra improvements that would have to happen first. They would also like to address the parking lot in a big way but like with everything else it costs money. Feel free to ask questions, I will answer as best as I can. I wish I could tell you all when a new coaster is coming, but that information is confidential until the corp. is ready to release it. Believe me, I do ask!

I did learn some interesting facts. I asked how much Valleyfair spent this year on improvements, Route 76, etc. It was about 3 million which is kinda where I thought it would be. That may sound like a lot but really it isn't when you consider all things. Valleyfair spent about 3 million on Dinosaurs Alive and they spent about 9 million on planet Snoopy. So, in my thinking that bodes well for major expansion in the next couple of years because they have kept capital improvement costs down for the last two years. Second bit of info that was really intriguing. According to Mr. Frazier Kings Island is located in a very similar market to Valleyfair (Cincinnati and Minneapolis/St. Paul). But we all know that Kings Island is a larger park with more attractions and higher attendance. Why? Valleyfair is looking real close at what KI does really well and will try to bring those ideas to VF. Does that mean a 28 million coaster? Maybe not but over the next few years I see some REAL growth for VF. Third bit of info. Mr. Frazier is in agreement with all of you that if we can't have a 28 million coaster at least we should be able to get something unique. He is pushing that idea with corporate. So let's keep our fingers crossed and we will see. Yes, I still have more but that will come later.

The new pavilions are there to handle the expected growth of corporate events. I was told the new kitchen can put out 3000 meals an hour. I did see the new kitchen and it was massive. The head cook was taking pics of a meal for promotions. As for the sound I was only told that the parks sound system had been upgraded but it sounded pretty sweet. There was still quit a bit of work to do before Friday's opening. I wouldn't be surprised to see a few areas of landscaping not complete. They will be fine if the weather holds out so we will see. Some really good news for High Roller and Renegade fans, Maintenance crews spent quite a bit of time and effort doing track work on both coasters plus one of Renegades trains has been outfitted with new cushioned seats as a trial run. Both of these improvements are in response to feedback from all of you that the ride quality has been in decline and needed some improvements. Mr. Frazier asked me to give my feedback after I had a chance to ride Renegade and tell him what my thoughts are. Everyone needs to know that Mr. Frazier reads all comments on fb and twitter and anything else he can find. He is the perfect GM for Valleyfair! I have more news but I want to see what you all think so far.

O.K. So yesterday I was able to have a visit with Dave Frazier, Valleyfair's GM. I was able to tour the park and it looks fantastic! I'm not kidding when I say it almost feels like a new park. There were numerous changes throughout the park! Route 76 will be the place that makes everyone say "Wow". Scrambler and Tilter look like brand new rides. Not only did they get new lights and paint but many mechanical upgrades as well such as new motors. Also, they build two new picnic point pavilions and have beefed up their corporate marking staff to keep this are filled during the summer. The cue line for Steel Venom is much shorter than before. Oh, the new cue line entertainment systems are really cool. They are not planning on using these as advertising but rather on entertainment while you wait. It will also have wait times and weather radar to keep you updated on incoming storms. Valleyfair also upgraded the parks sound system, they had it playing and it sounded awesome. There is much more to report but I don't want this post to be too long.

I was about to agree, then I remembered that I consider the El Loco to pretty much be a Eurofighter equivalent. With the new El Loco in Adventuresome, I say an El Loco would work well with Spongebob and contrast in rides. It seems El Locos like to stay slow and take on wierd elements when Spongebob is more for speed and classic maneuvers. When in doubt, I say they could easily add the first S&S 4D Free Spin. Might have to be small, but it could work. The park does have some room where the old creek used to run through. Also, remove the theater in the corner by the Peep store. I haven't seen that area used for 10 years. That would create quite a bit of space. NU has done a great job of "mixing" rides together. Another coaster suspended above the midway only uses small footprints of support beams like Orange Streak. I could totally see a launched coaster that would span the length of the park!

I would rather have Excalibur stay for a while than have it be replaced by a parking lot because replacing a roller coaster with a parking lot is not a smart move in my opinion. Besides, if Soak City became a separate admission attraction, I'm sure there would be a lot of complaining. Even though I rarely visit Soak City, I wouldn't be happy about a fee to get in there because even if the waterpark expansion ends up being something really awesome, it would still be far from being one of the chain's best waterparks. I don't know who owns the land behind those park offices, but even if VF does own it, I don't think that they would choose to place a coaster there because I think it would probably be hard for them to get a walkway built to get over there. Speaking of walkways, if Valleyfair's next roller coaster ends up in Excalibur's spot, they'd probably need to find another way to get people over there because currently, the only way to get to the Excalibur/Thunder Canyon area is through a very small tunnel, and since a new coaster would mean higher visitor traffic back there, that little tunnel would make getting in and out of that area pretty hectic. Just my thoughts. It would not be possible for VF to remove Excalibur to put a parking lot. The Excalibur station sits on top of the flood berm. The ride is in a flood plain. While they are able to place coaster supports in an area like that they would not be allowed to build a parking lot. If a new coaster did replace Excalibur they could always put in a new much larger tunnel. I believe that some thought has been put into moving the maintenance and office buildings to make room for expansion in that area. Plus, I have been told that the grassy area just north of the current parking lot right next to the river is another area that could have coaster supports but not buildings for parking because it is in a flood plain. With that in mind, another expansion option would be the old picnic area! The station for a coaster could be built there with the coaster supports over the flood plain. It would actually be pretty cool when there was flooding cause the entire ride would be over water! Of course then you have to figure out how to get people over there. One option would be to move Monster and use that area to build a path under High Roller to access the area.

OK. Let's add some new info for Nick U. A few weeks ago I asked a park employee what was going on as I saw some construction going on. He told me a Hard Rock Café was going in where the old food court was. Also, they are adding a zip line from the ghostly gangplank all the way to somewhere by Jimmy Newtrons. The last thing he mentioned was a planetarium going above the arcade area. Lots' of new stuff coming. Wish it were another coaster! How about a coaster that has the station in the park but the coaster leaves the building for it's circuit before returning. The tracks could be enclosed in a tube to keep it running all year long. Just a thought!

Actually, did you know this is wrong? On the topic of Valleyfair, Ive actually always been very interested in this place. I do kinda look at it as one of the chain's flagships because of the name, and yet they really dont have a major headliner or anything worth traveling far for (in my opinion). It looks like a really nice park aesthetically, but as a less hardcore theme park fan, I would want a major attraction to get me to the park, and Im sure most people feel the same way. I think they could definitely use a nice big coaster in the next few years, because as of now the very pleasant space theyve created is wasted on somewhat mediocre attractions IMO Yeah, I hope we'll get more thrilling attractions. Over the past few years, the park has really been made more family friendly. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I feel like they now have more than enough family rides. While Route 76 looks to be a nice addition, it probably won't dramatically increase attendance. If they built a decent sized B&M invert, that would draw in people from all over the Upper Midwest. I think it really is necessary because while Valleyfair does have some fun coasters (particularly Renegade), it's probably not worth coming here if you live more than 3 hours away. That is totally my thoughts as well. Cedar Point most of the time is packed to the point that it becomes not enjoyable any more. If Cedarfair expanded parks such as Valleyfair more it would relieve some of the pressure from Cedar Point. A Lot of people travel to Cedar Point just for the coasters. Right now no one would make a point to travel to Valleyfair just for the park. I think Cedarfair needs to address this issue. I'm thinking they may be getting that point with Valleyfair with how things are beginning to line up nicely for the park!