hammerstark

Honestly, I'd rather have an RMC'd Timberwolf than a launched coaster.

Some reports are saying they've fired the Director of Maintenance. Speculation is that the poor state of rides and operations is owed to that. Counter arguments seem to be that Cedar Fair's contribution to the park are minimal because they "don't care about it." So the budgets the park has to work with are severely restrictive and have led to the multiple issues with Rides Operations and ride dependability - i.e. Mamba's issues, Prowler's tracking problems, and Boomerang's near constant state of break down, along with the lack of progress on Timberwolf's retracking.

Interesting. It seems like it could go one of two ways. Either it will be a very big change that will push the park into more diverse territory with a bigger emphasis on competing with Silver Dollar City and SFSTL or it will be more of the same - incremental updates. So it will stay the same or change. That's a bold prediction Captain Obvious. What I meant was, we will either start to see significant investment in the park to make it more competitive, as it does sit in a major metro which has rebounded from the recession. (Especially given the prospect of the 10,000+ jobs Cerner's expansion is expected to bring to the KC area.) The initial explanation (at least speculated explanation, I suppose) was that Carowinds was seeing significant investment because the Charlotte metro was growing more rapidly and had a broader market reach than WoF does. But with the prospect of significant employment growth and with it, population growth; changes to management may see a change in direction where WoF is more heavily invested in to take advantage of the expanded customer base that may be within its grasp as well as more direct competition with SFSTL and SDC. Or CedarFair believed that Wilburn wasn't managing the park properly and brought someone new in to try to put it on the right track, and we will only see incremental improvements over the next few years with focus on customer experiences, ride management, etc. Or something completely different happened and the King's Island guy is just the person that happened to be willing to take the job, and we will continue to see the same thing out of WoF, small updates and maintenance of existing infrastructure and investment in "small rides."

Interesting. It seems like it could go one of two ways. Either it will be a very big change that will push the park into more diverse territory with a bigger emphasis on competing with Silver Dollar City and SFSTL or it will be more of the same - incremental updates.

Yeah, it's pretty awful. I went to Cedar Point for the first time, ever, last year and was thoroughly impressed with their gate setup, with the plaza in front. (Of course Gatekeeper made it just that more awesome.)

17:38 Don't be petty Fetty. Just remember, No matter how small or big this announcement is........ 'Don't sweat the petty stuff, Pet the sweaty stuff '. I'm optimistic that it's "something", because why would there be such a delay and no hints. Not only that, but if it was something as small as in-park wifi or funpix, which the investor information states ONLY the five largest CF parks are getting, why wouldn't they have announced that at the main press release, that isn't something that would require it's own separate event... I'm trying not to get TOO optimistic, but come on, in park wifi and funpix isn't something that would warrant its own, separate press release.

Orient Express! (One can dream...)

I think it's a good move. In comparison to a massive investment in a coaster, it provides a stream of ROI for the future. That combined with the fact that a large investment hasn't been made since Prowler, in 2009. Surely that means they have a significant amount of money saved up for something big in the future...possibly...maybe...right?? Also they may be putting something big off until 2018...45 years and all that.

Seems like they're saving Worlds of Fun and Cedar Point for last in the Cedar Fair announcement chain...surely that means something good for us...right??? *crosses fingers*

Its frustrating that Cedar Fair doesn't publicly release attendance numbers. According to sources, SDC has an average of 2 million visitors per year, which if you take into account the information that following Cedar Fair's acquisition of Worlds of Fun, the early 2000s brought about the first years with attendance below a million a year. If SDC is bringing more than twice what WoF is, Cedar Fair should realize that something went wrong... I whole heartedly agree. I think with the removal of Zinger and OE they really shot themselves in the foot. Granted patriot is great. But I feel like if they kept a few of these, and just added to their arsenal, things would be better. I know these rides have had their issues, mainly OE. But still, theres more than one way to skin a cat. I in know way know what goes on behind the scenes over there and I'm sure they had a reason to fully remove them, but for the sake of the public and for the people paying regularly, I feel like they really lost a lot of a rounded coaster line up. I also think its ironic that they have shirts that say "I LOVE ORIENT EXPRESS" and the like with ZZ in the clothing shops by boomerang. I am a proud owner of an ironic Orient Express shirt. haha. I have futile hope that one day they will do an "imitation" Orient Express....haha But on the honest side, I agree, I think Cedar Fair came in guns blazing tearing old stuff out with a grand plan and it fell through. Not only because the economy crashed, but because people felt betrayed, they came in like a big corporation and took out so many of the things that people loved rather than putting forth effort to improve what was here and adding to it.

Its frustrating that Cedar Fair doesn't publicly release attendance numbers. According to sources, SDC has an average of 2 million visitors per year, which if you take into account the information that following Cedar Fair's acquisition of Worlds of Fun, the early 2000s brought about the first years with attendance below a million a year. If SDC is bringing more than twice what WoF is, Cedar Fair should realize that something went wrong...

A small part of me is really hoping for a coaster, but I know its futile. I really wish we could get our hands on a wing-coaster. I may be on one of the few on here that really loved Gatekeeper at CP. Then you'll love 2017 at SDC. If that's true, that really bothers me. SDC is making great investments recently. Giving people a reason to go to Branson rather than WoF. That's why it bothers me that, in my eyes, Cedar Fair and WoF management haven't been positioning WoF to win this region... With that being said, I've never been to SDC, so I'm going to probably be making that trek soon.

A small part of me is really hoping for a coaster, but I know its futile. I really wish we could get our hands on a wing-coaster. I may be on one of the few on here that really loved Gatekeeper at CP.

Speaking of the Orient section, I've heard varying stories as to why there was never a coaster implemented as a "true" replacement to the Orient Express. You would think with the amount of money they spent on Patriot, they could have had a phenomenal traditional looping coaster or similar. I've heard that there was a ground cave-in and the ground was no longer stable, which is why nothing is where it was, but they did move the Festhaus further back onto ground the Orient Express once occupied, or very near it at least. Also constructing Spinning Dragons where they did blocked off access to that area. Just curious if anyone has more concrete information or ideas with why they basically blocked that area off?

Or Australia/Oceana. If they did, maybe they could move Boomerang there (because it really is more of an australian-themed ride, just look at the sign) and have room for something nice where boomerang was. Adding another "World" wouldn't be good for the park and especially for the people who care about the history. Yes and No, There was a mid-east leg in the Around the World in 80 days adventure, so they could go with that, though I don't see that flying. I think they really need to figure out a good way to expand Orient. It's such a small area. Americana and Africa is huge in comparison.

Compare the markets and you'll see why CF is investing in Carowinds. The Charlotte area has a greater population and one of the fastest growth rate for cities in the US. Not to mention, the Raleigh-Durham area is only a couple of hours away and also has one of the fastest rates as well. Outside of KC, where is WoF going to draw its visitors? Worlds of Fun pulls visitors from Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Northern Oklahoma, and in some cases, Colorado. You'd be surprised at all of the tags you can see in the parking lot at Worlds of Fun. As I said, it has the potential to draw from St. Louis as well, Six Flags St. louis exists, but if WoF can give people a reason to come there, then that pays off in the end. Yep. I live in Omaha and I visit WOF at least once a year, usually twice, this year 3x. (Well, 2 so far, hoping to visit haunt) Awesome, I live in Wichita, and have been twice this year. Normally, I make it a once a year deal.

A bigger Orient area would be nice, or a legit Australia section. What would they do with a South Americana..? There's possibilities, I suppose.

Compare the markets and you'll see why CF is investing in Carowinds. The Charlotte area has a greater population and one of the fastest growth rate for cities in the US. Not to mention, the Raleigh-Durham area is only a couple of hours away and also has one of the fastest rates as well. Outside of KC, where is WoF going to draw its visitors? Worlds of Fun pulls visitors from Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Northern Oklahoma, and in some cases, Colorado. You'd be surprised at all of the tags you can see in the parking lot at Worlds of Fun. As I said, it has the potential to draw from St. Louis as well, Six Flags St. louis exists, but if WoF can give people a reason to come there, then that pays off in the end.

Yes, Cedar Point will continue to get new rides because it makes a ton of money. Yeah, real neglectful of Cedar Fair to keep investing into the park. The issue is that with Worlds of Fun, after Cedar Fair took over, (If i'm not mistaken) Worlds of Fun suffered several years of attendance decline. The first time the park had a year under 1 million visitors was after Cedar Fair bought the park, since taking over the park, they've removed all of the coasters that existed prior to their buyout, except Timberwolf. A lot of people were upset about that and to this day do not forgive them for it. So you may see it as "bad business" but a lot of loyal WoF visitors aren't forgiving the loss of Orient Express, Zambezi Zinger, closing the original main gate...just to name just a few things. In the end, business is important, but when Worlds of Fun is bringing in nearly as much as Carowinds, according to the pie chart, and Carowinds received a giga coaster, it should be understandable that some of us are a bit upset that we haven't seen big investments since 2009.

I'll just leave this here... It's interesting the Worlds of Fun brings in slightly less than Carowinds, but Cedar Fair is investing so much into Carowinds. Someone another time said something about how Carowinds has a larger potential market and WoF has to compete with Six Flags St. Louis and Silver Dollar City. I personally think, that as Cedar Fair's only park between Ohio and California, Cedar Fair would invest more into Worlds of Fun to differentiate it from its regional competitors.

Relocate Shockwave from KD and Skyrider from CW and install Olympic Race themed stand-up dueling coasters! Shockwave is up for sale if you trust the source. Having Dorney as my home park, and riding shockwave this year for the first time, all I can say is "Thank god we aren't getting that piece of scrap" I've heard rumors of Dorney getting a GCI where Dinosaurs Alive is (after the 2016 season, as that's the last year for Dinosaurs Alive IIRC) and a premier rides launched. But other than that I have no idea. I will say I don't think we'll get a GCI in that area, there's Cedarbrook nursing home not very far from the back of the park, and I don't think they'd tolerate a loud woodie in that section. i wish, but they'll probably add another cheap flat or haunt or something. I feel as if after Cedair Fair purchased the Paramount Parks Dorney became an afterthought. I think it depends. The Paramount deal was in 2006. Worlds of Fun received Patriot in 07 and Prowler in 09. But nothing since then. I wonder if they just operate in phases by focusing on one park for a few years at a time?

I agree, launch coaster. I know CF will never give us a Giga, but why did they give us a hyper? Being from Nebraska I want to go on a giga someday but there's nowhere close except for WOF. What I mostly want is for CF to stop neglecting it's smaller parks. I am not asking for 250+ ride, I just want something nice more often than every 7 years. NOTHING new since 2009 at WOF except for a lousy broken hand-me-down windseeker. The GM for the park stated in their meeting they had earlier this week (possibly just a QandA thing) that he would like to see a launched coaster, so that is in the realm of possibilities for the future, will that happen now, doubtful. I could see them putting a giga in at WoF at some point in the future. It needs something to differentiate itself from the other parks in the region, and it is also Cedar Fairs only park in the immediate region as well. Do I see it happening...I'm iffy on that, on the one hand, I can see them doing some big things to the park to try and drive attendance and to differentiate it from its regional competitors, at the same time, it may not have the level of attendance they want for something like that.

If you look at the investor slideshow, Worlds of Fun brings in almost as much revenue as Carowinds...I wonder what is holding WoF back in terms of a big coaster expansion like Carowinds did..?

I just looked through all of them on Cedar Fair's site, not a single one has a green coaster like that in the background...so I don't think you're statement is accurate.

RMC RMC RMC!... yeah, I know, it's been said a squillion times before. But seriously. There are several Cedar Fair wooden coasters that could go for an RMC conversion... I was at Cedar Point for the first time ever a month ago, and Mean Streak is definitely one of them. It was fun, but it hurt. For me, I live in Kansas, so I frequent Worlds of Fun up in Kansas City, MO. Timber Wolf is one that is also due for an RMC makeover, but for some reason Cedar Fair doesn't seem to want anything to do with them. Its quite frustrating, because New Texas Giant is downright awesome.