garyman6

I visited the park this morning and found out a few interesting tidbits that I'd like to share. -Cedar Fair will conduct it's brand study of Valleyfair in July. This is the same study that preceded expansions at Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, Knott's and Cedar Point. I understand Cedar Point is always in a state of expansion but the other three not so much. They may be asking park enthusiasts to participate in this study but the detail is not yet known. -It was confirmed to me that we will not see a new coaster in 2017. That does not mean that new coaster work won't start in 2017 for a 2018 opening. -The permit submitted to the Army Corp of Engineers and the city of Shakopee to extend the berm has not been approved yet but is still in the discussion phase. I did also learn that the park has been working for 4 years on this project already. Comments? Questions? Ask and I will answer if I can. That's all for now but I do have more. I don't want to dump too much at one time. P.S. The park is looking great but there is a TON of activity all over the park. The Wave was being filled and Thunder Canyon was being cleaned for opening. Riptide was down for repairs but other than that all rides are ready to go.

I thought that the post you referenced was clear enough. One could also argue that without Detonator, Power Tower would not exist. Also mentioned in the thread several times is how you VF fanboys keep pointing at the "growth park" comment as the "source" for the foaming. The fact is, VF has received the same or lower in terms of capital expenditures when compared to other parks in the chain since the comment was first made. One would think if the company was serious about it you would have seen a significant increase in CES but that's not been the case. Really hard to market infrastructure improvements Do You really think that Cedar Fair has the Capital expenditure funds to do all three parks at once? or even 2 parks at once? Like I said, CF has been building the infrastructure at VF for at least 5 to 7 years now. When they decide to follow through on their comments VF will be ready for the increased attendance. Remember, a few years ago they built a completely new catering facility in Picnic Point that seats thousands and can produce 3000 meals an hour. So far, I've never seen it come close to full. So why build it? Next, VF has a pending permit to have the Army Corp of Engineers extend the berm around the park to the west that would effectively add at least 30% more buildable space. VF has the land to expand, its just going to cost more because of the improvements needed to develop the land. Mr. Ouimet doesn't just utter meaningless words. Everything he says publicly is carefully orchestrated due to the fact that CF is a publicly traded corp. One may ask why VF did not get any of the used flats they gathered in Europe and WOF gets two and Carowinds get the rest. Is it maybe because VF already has a superior line up of flats to either park? Naw, couldn't be that! Well maybe it could. I've been to Carowinds not to long ago and while its a great park it did really lack a good flat ride line up. And if you want to call me a VF fanboy, I'll gladly accept that compliment thank you very much!

Wow! vicious aren't we? I just have to point out one thing. Phantom poster mentioned that Valleyfair has never had a prestigious title bestowed upon it. I'm not sure what qualified as prestigious but without the success of Wild Thing, Mamba may never have been built. Wild Thing was the first Morgan hyper and it was the 5th tallest coaster in the world when it opened. It also currently holds the record for the longest low gravity section of any coaster. After the first drop that second hill is amazing. I also get a kick out of the fact that an airport height restriction kept Power Tower from being even taller. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this season and upcoming seasons because Cedar Fair has mention several times now that Valleyfair has been earmarked as a growth park. The past few years have been laying the ground work for this. Cedar Fair has pumped in more than 30 million in the past 7 or so years, so to say they have done nothing is just plain wrong!

Actually the area outlined in blue is being looked at as an expansion area. The northern games area does not see a lot of traffic. Mr. Frazier is the source of this information. He told me this during one of our walks through the park. Ya never know!

This may be a bit off topic but not really. The Twin Cities just topped 3 million residents for the first time ever. They are ranked 2nd in growth in the Midwest region. Columbus was first at 6%, Twin Cities 5%. The population is expected to grow by 750,000 by 2040. Why am I mentioning this? Simple, Cedar Fair has, multiple times, mentioned Valleyfair as one of three parks slated for significant growth. Carowinds and California's Great America are the other two. We have seen, with envious eyes, what Cedar Fair is doing to Carowinds. I don't expect that level of growth at Valleyfair but I do see growth beyond anything we have seen before. The Charlotte metro area, according to Wikipedia, has a population of about 2.5 million. The Twin Cities metro area already exceeds that. This area is ripe for entertainment venues that local residents want. In addition to Valleyfair we have a very popular Nick U. and Sony corp. is going to build another indoor theme park just north of the cities. Cedar Fair sees the potential and that is why big things are coming to Valleyfair. The Twin Cities is already a major tourist destination. Cedar Fair sees a potential to grab a bigger piece of the tourism pie. We need to keep supporting our home park and buy season passes. See you at the park that keeps getting better and better, Vallyfair!! P.S. No, I was not paid to say that, I'm just a passionate fan of our home park!

Any idea what this means? I don't see them removing the theater as its too new and a nice place. My guess is that they are still working on an act for their 40th season. Maybe they will surprise us with some major act of some sort. I've never been in there when it was full. I'd be nice to see maybe a series of major performers coming through out the season. What are your thoughts on this?

Wow, This thread has really dried up lately. Anyway I watched coaster studios 5 year prediction and I'm not sure he is too far off with one exception. I believe 2017 will be our next coaster but will be the highlight of a completely redone back of the park. Dino's is a great spot for a new "Gatekeeper" type of coaster but I don't see that for a few years down the road yet. The back of the park right now has got to be the priority for improvement. Moving the service road alone will be a huge improvement. Assuming they get the permits to expand the berm, there will be a ton of new space in the back of the park and I don't think they will spend the money to do that just to let it sit there for several years before they do anything with it.

Did anyone read Screamscape today? They are reporting another rumor about a new coaster in 2017. Anybody have any more information about this?

Newsplusnotes.com is now reporting what Mr. Ouimet stated during the 3rd Quarter statement. They mentioned Valleyfair as contributing significantly in the attendance growth for 2015 and they mentioned Valleyfair and CGA as the two focus parks for large growth! These are not my words but words coming from the top executive at Cedar Fair. Looks like the waterpark addition last year really bumped up the attendance for Valleyfair, possibly more than they expected. All good news for our home park. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Valleyfair!

Im not talking general improvements, That 20 million has been spent on attractions! Valleyfair was credited with helping improve attendance and again was mentioned as a growth park by Mr. Ouimet. What they will do exactly remains a secret but its obvious that cedar fair has big plans for Valleyfair!

Did you read the 3rd quarter statement? Those are the words of Mr. Ouimet not me. He followed it up with that he didn't know if it would be to the same scale but he reiterated once again Valleyfair as being a growth park. Everyone wants to look at the current 2016 lack of investment and go crying about little Valleyfair! Everyone seems to forget that Cedar Fair has already spent WELL over 20 million in the last few years already bringing the park up to date . Make sure you keep that in mind.

I was referring to making changes similar to Carowinds not CGA!

Cedar Fair's (FUN) CEO Matt Ouimet on Q3 2015 Results - Earnings Call Transcript $FUN http://www.seekingalpha.com/article/3655906 We just need to be patient! Cedar Fair has been doing a lot with Valleyfair. Stating that 2016 is to be a lean year for investment may be premature. Mr. Ouimet didn't even rule out a similar scale of investment but rather said it makes them "beyond curious for what might happen at Valleyfair and Great America." I say bring it on Mr. Ouimet! We are ready for the ride!

So 2015 has come and gone, 2016 is flyers and BMX show at "new" outdoor theater, I'll start off the rumor talk for 2017. I believe that Valleyfair will get approval to basically extend the park west, adding about a 1/4 to 1/3 more land and we will see footers going in for a 2018 new coaster. That's my prediction, so what's yours? Happy Off Season!

I saw that today and asked about it. I happened to ask the Nick U. maintenance supervisor. Shell Shock is down because of a pretty major mechanical failure. As they were replacing a very large gear the main bearing was damaged during some welding. Needless to say the supervisor told me they do not normally do this kind of maintenance. If fact they had a mechanic from Gerstlauser on site heading up the repairs. Management wants it back up by Friday afternoon or Saturday at the very latest. It's a pretty major undertaking and work was going on during operating hours which is very unusual.

Very true but is that all? Plus, when its done look at all the possibilities! I still think its fishy that there was a delay for the 2016 expansion. I mean really they had to take extra time to consider that? They must have been waiting on something! I dont think it had anything to do with the permit either. Thats public knowledge and someone would have discovered something. Maybe they were debating on adding something else but decided to wait for some reason. Thats just me purely speculating for anyone who was wondering.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the amphitheater. It didn't take them long to tear it down. Guess remodeling is out and that goes with what I was told. The stunt bike show won't be affected by the MCBR on Wild Thing. I don't see any musical acts coming to use it. I just need to say something about 2016. This just keeps going through my brain. The 2016 capital improvement will be one of the lowest expenditures in the last 8 or 9 years. I would even say that some of our "general improvement" years saw more money being put into the park. Let's dwell on that for a bit. I don't say that to depress anyone more than they already are but think for a minute. Valleyfair in the last 4 or 5 years has sunk $20 million or more into the park and then all of the sudden, on our 40th anniversary, BAM. A flyer can't cost more than $400,000 (probably high), and changes to the amphitheater and show are maybe 1.2 to 1.6 million. So we are looking at less than $2,000,000 for 2016. The average for the last 5 years has been somewhere around $6,000,000/yr. 2016 goes against the trend of the last 5 years. What am I saying? Isn't it possible that Cedar Fair is positioning Valleyfair for bigger things to come? It is not uncommon for any park to greatly scale back improvements for one or two year to focus on a very large expansion on year two or three. Mr. Frazier told me that the park has done extremely well this year. The weather was good and people responded to the Soak City addition. The last thing we need right now is stop going cause we didn't get a coaster. Lets not treat our home park like a thin skinned Vikings Fan!

I still believe Valleyfair is one of their growth parks but Cedar Fair can only do so much. Carowinds is nearly doubling the size of their waterpark to make it the largest in the southeast plus they still have another announcement the fall for a possible dark ride. Once they are done with Carowinds then maybe it will be our turn. CGA hasn't even gotten as many improvements as we have and they are a growth park too! 2017 is a real possibility! If we see construction and footers before labor day then of course its a go. Coasters cant be built up here in just the off season.

Would you rather me say "some random dude at Valleyfair " told me this or that? Ive been friends with Dave for over two years after he called me and invited me to come and take a private tour with him. That was after i sent an email to Cedar Fair giving them some suggestions for the park. I call him Mr. Frazier on this forumn out of respect. Im being accused of lying and now stalking? All for speculating and having some fun on TPR? Ive been wondering for awhile why you always want to pour cold water on everyone's post. Maybe that's your "thing" but maybe you should try to be more positive! It will be interesting to see what the new entertainment venue will look like. Also im looking forward to seeing the show! Ive seen this act on America's Got Talent and they were pretty impressive! Would you prefer me to call it "severe name dropping to attempt to elevate status on TPR"? I mean I'm friends with local park GMs too but I don't feel like I constantly have remind people of this fact in every post. I mean it's cool that you've befriended Dave but your posts always come across as you thinking that your privileged because you "know" him. As far as being positive in this particular forum - why? VF continues to prove my pessimistic viewpoint of the park to be correct year after year. Every year posters in this forum are convinced that THIS is the year they are going to get a new coaster. I say "nope" - they pout - they call me names - they start foaming again. If you've studied this park even for a small sampling of seasons, it's not hard to figure out how they do things. Jun When i get information that comes directly from Mr.Frazier or any other name i think people appreciate the source. It brings credibility. Otherwise its just me. I speculate enough already. Im not on here to impress anyone, i just enjoy the discussion. As far as being positive, there is a lot to be positive about. Just because we haven't got a new coaster yet doesn't mean that Cedar Fair is not setting up Valleyfair for success. Lets look at numbers. Last year was about a $7 million upgrade. The year before that with the route 76 addition, $3+ million. Planet snoopy bèfore that, $8 million! With other upgrades including a new permanent haunt structure, Cedar Fair has invested at least $20 million into the park. Our haunt event im sure is in the top 4 in the chain. We have catering facilities that can produce 3000/hr and seat thousands. A permit has been submitted that would add 25% more usable land to Valleyfair and that's not all the land they have available. Need i go on? So this year we"only" get a flyers, which I've heard is very fun, and a new stunt show and everyone is on a warpath. Yes its a small investment this year but maybe they are saving for 2017 or 2018.

Would you rather me say "some random dude at Valleyfair " told me this or that? Ive been friends with Dave for over two years after he called me and invited me to come and take a private tour with him. That was after i sent an email to Cedar Fair giving them some suggestions for the park. I call him Mr. Frazier on this forumn out of respect. Im being accused of lying and now stalking? All for speculating and having some fun on TPR? Ive been wondering for awhile why you always want to pour cold water on everyone's post. Maybe that's your "thing" but maybe you should try to be more positive! It will be interesting to see what the new entertainment venue will look like. Also im looking forward to seeing the show! Ive seen this act on America's Got Talent and they were pretty impressive!

Previous post contained a picture of the permit which said remodel/alteration. These were the posts that soon followed Here is my personal favorite that I have seen in this thread Finally I must give props to Valleyfairfanatic who actually hit the announcement right on the head with his post on 9/2 Now my insider sources say that for 2017 Dinos will be on their way out and replaced by a B&M invert, along with the removal of Excalibur, new parking lot in back, and 4 new slide towers in the waterpark. Sadly though the Valleyfair thread on TPR will still claim that Valleyfair is the redheaded stepchild of CF because the invert turns out to be a clone of Patriot Disclaimer[*] I did not mean to offend anyone with this post, I just find it funny how crazy people are in this thread with their prediction and "insider knowledge" it Just so everyone knows, I've got thick skin and can take the criticism. But when you accuse me of lying im gonna call you on it. At no time nor any post have i ever lied. The announcement date didn't come out til i asked Mr. Frazier about it. He thought it had been posted already. I posted that info less than 15 min after i found out. I ask Mr.Frazier today why there was a delay with this announcement. He said he wasnt sure but it was a corporate thing. Again, there is nothing wrong with having fun speculating. When the 2015 announcement was made we were on page 239. Now look, well past 600! Valleyfair has a lot of passionate followers. Way to go speculators!

Yeah but seriously... Last year you were giving out themes of the "coaster" and telling people that you knew what was coming. You were Giving out hints as if you actually knew what was going to be announced. That was more than you just speculating, you were full on feeding people BS. You got people's hopes up for the 2016 season. You're not an optimist, you just like when people listen to you. Im sorry but that is not correct. I never hinted at specifics like theme and exact type of coaster/ride or when. I was always just speculating. Also, i never lied on anything that i was posting. I am friends with Mr. Frazier and lying on my posts would put him in an awkward place. Ill be clear here. Mr. Frazier does not tell me anything that he cant disclose. Believe me I've tried. Im not going to ruin a relationship over this so there is no reason for me to lie. I did post some word scramble riddles but i clarified that they were based on rumor. They are a strong rumor and still valid but still a rumor. Oh, and by the way, one requirement for posting is to have a sense of humor. Lighten up! Im disappointed too. I expected more this year, but the last post has a good point. A light year is usually followed by a major addition year.

O.K. Lets be fair here. I did believe we would get a coaster in 2016 but that was before the season opened. My tune changed on that once it became obvious that there were no footers going in. I really didn't know what was in store for 2016 due to lack of anything going on. One thing does not make sense, why the delay? What they announced does not warrent a delay unless the delay was weather or not the BMX show was coming but I dought it. Those kinds of shows are booked months in advance. This announcement also says nothing about the back of the park. It also is quite a small addition even for Valleyfair standards. I'm dissapointed in the announcement but I'm not sure that they are finished. Or, maybe they are saving up for something much bigger for 2017. (Thats me turning my back at all the daggers that will be thrown from that last statement. I can't help it, I'm an optimist to the end!

The amphitheater has been out of code for several years. That is why it has not been used for anything but storage. Also, Wild Things MCBR is very noisy and performers did not want to perform there because of that. Mr. Frazier told me a couple weeks ago that he has wanted that theater down since he started cause it was a waste of space. It is coming down! If you look at the valuation of the permit, $15,000, that would not be much to renovate but would cover tearing it down.

RCJunkie found a permit today that gave permission to demolish the amphitheater. It was several pages back.