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Valleyfair (VF) Discussion Thread


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So Adventureland looks to be getting another new coaster in 2021! Their 3rd in 5 years. Iowa is also getting another brand new theme park in Waterloo, "Lost Island" opening in 2022, what does that mean for Valleyfair or even WOF? It's an interesting prospect to think that the Midwest may have a coaster war beginning! I really can't see Cedar Fair just doing nothing when all the competition around them are going full steam. Both Lost Island and now Adventureland are looking like they aren't satisfied with just attracting the local market. What do you all think?

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It will be interesting to see how CF responds to the increased competition. The strategy of paying off debt from the 2008 Paramount acquisition by focusing on the 'BIG' Cedar Fair parks and adding more attractions at those parks to pay that off debt may need to change and force CF to pay attention to VF when considering the following:

 

-You have a new $250 million water park coming to the MOA parking lot in 2022.

-Adventureland looks to be adding a new coaster now, maybe as soon as 2021. (Good for them, this park is on the upswing over the last 5 years).

-A new theme park called Lost Island coming to life in 2022 in Waterlooo Iowa.

-And Wild Water West Waterpark in Souix Falls, SD to possibly get a new RMC Raptor coaster.

 

Adventureland already has a better all around steel coaster than any coaster at VF with Monster and now they may be adding another coaster? VF hasn't added in new one in 13 years, 40 years for an inverted looping steel coaster.

 

I want a new coaster as bad as the next coaster geek but understand the bigger bang for the buck and need for the park is probably adding on to VF's water park to attract more family visits. They have been sitting on an approved plan to make this happen but 4 years later have yet to take any action. Now they also have a prime plot of land up at the front of the park with the Dino's thankfully gone now. They know their business better than anyone. I for sure will be curious to see how/if they respond to the increased competition or just keep it 'Business as usual.'

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Not sure if I see CF going "all-in" with adding new coasters/thrill rides in order to keep up with the other parks in the Midwest. I don't see WoF in competition with SDC or SFStL, so I wouldn't think that they would be too concerned if Adventureland gets a new coaster, or if a new park opens in Waterloo.

 

WoF and Valleyfair seem more like regional parks to their city rather than a destination park. They draw mostly from their local market and keep things fairly simple.

 

With that said, I would love it if WoF got a shiny, new coaster...but I am not going to hold my breath for anything crazy.

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So the summer is basically cancelled now with the State Fair being cancelled. Although with the state now switching more towards a "risk reduction with contact tracing" as opposed to "near complete risk avoidance", I've been thinking about how Valleyfair might reopen if it's clear we're over the curve.

 

Based on what we know about coronavirus, it's extremely dangerous to be in prolonged contact with people indoors. That means indoor dining is out of the question. Haunt is out of the question, even without indoor mazes the environment is too uncontrolled. Despite all we've heard about the 6 foot rule on jogging pahts, passing someone outside seems to be low risk (although it's multiplied by thousands of times at the State Fair or Valleyfair). Despite the paranoia about touching doorknobs and gas pump handles doesn't seem to be especially risky so they wouldn't necessarily have to santize a ride vehicle after every guest, maybe just once or twice an hour.

 

You'd see temperature checks and masks for employees for sure, and probably for guests. Capacity would be limited with assigned ride times and admission would require an ID or season pass. That way if someone tests positive that rode Northstar at 3:15 on Sunday they could notify anyone that was on the ride at the time and suggest they quarantine.

 

Despite incidental outside contact being relatively safe, we know coughing, sneezing, talking, or yes, screaming can eject enormous amounts of virus and infect anyone around. Mad Mouse is probably OK but I don't see how it's a solvable problem with the roller coasters unless you limit each train to one or two families or social groups.

 

The wave pool would be out of the question with screaming and no feasible way to prevent close contact, combined with the impracticality of masks. They could possibly run the rest of the water rides, possibly with the changing rooms not being available, you'd have to come in wearing your swimming suit underneath your street clothes.

 

Even if they're allowed to, Cedar Fair will have to make a decision whether it makes sense to open with conditions like this, with the possibility of being shut down immediately if there's an outbreak traced to the park or the general curve starts going up again or if it makes sense to just mothball the park for the season.

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Your need to remember that chlorine kills viruses and bacteria so I don't see the wave pool or water park from being an issue. Other water parks are beginning to open with no face mask requirement. Here is the bottom line. If someone is afraid to get sick then stay home! They could hold haunt but require face masks. Since haunt is the busiest time of the year for most Cedar Fair Parks it would think they will do everything they possibly can to make it happen.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wonder if Cedar Fair filing a suit or taking action against MN similar to what they did in OH would be reasonable at all. The reason I think this is a possibility is that the state has said places such as MOA can open that typically on an average day have about 110,000 guests in an indoor environment, but a place such as VF on average has far fewer guests while also being outdoors. I think though even if it is a reasonable claim, CF does not care enough about VF to do this, but maybe they would.

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^A lawsuit would not be reasonable at all. The mall was all set to (partially) re-open on June 1. And then some rather justified civil unrest happened. If the park opens at all, I wonder how many changes there will be--especially when it comes to park security.

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It will be interesting to see how CF responds to the increased competition. The strategy of paying off debt from the 2008 Paramount acquisition by focusing on the 'BIG' Cedar Fair parks and adding more attractions at those parks to pay that off debt may need to change and force CF to pay attention to VF when considering the following:

 

-You have a new $250 million water park coming to the MOA parking lot in 2022.

-Adventureland looks to be adding a new coaster now, maybe as soon as 2021. (Good for them, this park is on the upswing over the last 5 years).

-A new theme park called Lost Island coming to life in 2022 in Waterlooo Iowa.

-And Wild Water West Waterpark in Souix Falls, SD to possibly get a new RMC Raptor coaster.

 

Adventureland already has a better all around steel coaster than any coaster at VF with Monster and now they may be adding another coaster? VF hasn't added in new one in 13 years, 40 years for an inverted looping steel coaster.

 

I want a new coaster as bad as the next coaster geek but understand the bigger bang for the buck and need for the park is probably adding on to VF's water park to attract more family visits. They have been sitting on an approved plan to make this happen but 4 years later have yet to take any action. Now they also have a prime plot of land up at the front of the park with the Dino's thankfully gone now. They know their business better than anyone. I for sure will be curious to see how/if they respond to the increased competition or just keep it 'Business as usual.'

 

I wouldn’t be surprised if Adventure Land saw an opportunity with Valleyfair being so stale the last ten years or so and no sign of major improvements in sight. I don’t see Valleyfair engaging them though aside from finally completing the next phase of the water park expansion. They are going to have continued pressure from competition and I don’t think they are too keen on trying to keep up with the competition. When they surveyed guests a few years back the overwhelming demand was for a new big coaster but management didn’t know what to do with that, they just don’t get it, they are all about “immersive” experiences which are fine in addition to adding major infrastructure but not instead of. Unfortunately the park has been lost in the shuffle as the company has acquired more and bigger parks and I don’t see it changing any time soon. I could see cedarfair trying to unload it again if the economy improves, I think under different ownership it would be a more profitable park.

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I could see cedarfair trying to unload it again if the economy improves, I think under different ownership it would be a more profitable park.

 

I would welcome that with open arms. Would like to see Herschend Family Entertainment buy it if possible. Even if all the park got was their cinnamon bread it would be worth it.

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As for opening the wave pool, the problem isn't coronavirus getting into the water. It's that people bunch up together (bad) and scream (very bad).

 

I was in a Cedar Fair focus group a while ago. They kept asking questions like "what food and beverage options would encourage you to visit the park more? What family friendly entertainment options? What new games and experiences?" All the responses were "Coaster! Coaster! Coaster!"

 

The Iridium Satellite phone disaster (where Motorola lost $2 Billion) is a prime example of what happens when you try to use market research to support your preconceived notions rather than as actual market research.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Starting to look like 2020 will just be a throw away year for the park.. If they didn't have the go ahead to move towards opening yet, no way our mighty state leader will allow it with rising cases..

 

I doubt any new rides are on the table, as following through with Grand Carnivale and other 2020 plans will probably just be moved to 2021..

 

RMC Raptor in Sioux Falls next year is a nice consolation prize though..

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Grand Carnivale was definitely already scrapped for 2020. They (Cedar Fair) canceled all those events at all parks right when the shut downs first started.

 

As I recall, I thought something was said that if seasonal parks can't open by July 15, they will not open in 2020, as they needed a certain amount of operating days to be worth their while.

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Starting to look like 2020 will just be a throw away year for the park.. If they didn't have the go ahead to move towards opening yet, no way our mighty state leader will allow it with rising cases..

 

I doubt any new rides are on the table, as following through with Grand Carnival and other 2020 plans will probably just be moved to 2021..

 

RMC Raptor in Sioux Falls next year is a nice consolation prize though..

 

With cases rising you want the governor to allow the park to open? It does the park no good to spend resources and prepare to open like Disney did and then delay the opening like they had to in Florida due to rising cases.

 

For 2021 everything that was planned for 2020 will return EXCEPT the Monster Trucks that was planned for this year in the Dino's old area. And we can only hope that RMC Raptor shows up in South Dakota. After this year though, who knows if or when it will arrive.

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Starting to look like 2020 will just be a throw away year for the park.. If they didn't have the go ahead to move towards opening yet, no way our mighty state leader will allow it with rising cases..

 

I doubt any new rides are on the table, as following through with Grand Carnival and other 2020 plans will probably just be moved to 2021..

 

RMC Raptor in Sioux Falls next year is a nice consolation prize though..

 

With cases rising you want the governor to allow the park to open? It does the park no good to spend resources and prepare to open like Disney did and then delay the opening like they had to in Florida due to rising cases.

 

For 2021 everything that was planned for 2020 will return EXCEPT the Monster Trucks that was planned for this year in the Dino's old area. And we can only hope that RMC Raptor shows up in South Dakota. After this year though, who knows if or when it will arrive.

 

I somehow got on a list that Valleyfair sends to me asking if I know of someone who would make a good fit for "insert position". If they still had no plans to open then why am I still getting these? They are all seasonal positions. I just got one yesterday! I'm still holding out hope that they will reopen and maybe try to have an extended season, weather permitting. Haunt is probably going to be scrapped but Cedar Fair hasn't made any announcements about scrapping Haunt this year so who knows.

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With cases rising you want the governor to allow the park to open?

 

Yes, with masks, social distancing, and other common sense measures that I applaud Cedar Fair for requiring..

 

 

Not going to go any further than my comment above, as people stick to their agenda no matter what the actual data suggests anyway..

 

As a Cedar Fair investor, happy to see what they did issuing a billion dollars in notes due 2025 to essentially not fall behind on current debt and give them some cushion the next few years. While coaster enthusiasts complain about the lack of time in between major thrill rides, Cedar Fair management really is top notch.. Hoping that capital investment plans are not too negatively affected in the next couple years..

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  • 1 month later...

LOL. At least they've got a sense of humor.

 

And you never know, it could be a secondhand SLC from somewhere and technically be true...

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I found some recent satellite images of Valleyfair and figured I would share some of the additions and changes I noticed:

New corn cart building

image.png.93559d6ad531b7345b7ebe1e01a6fc29.png

New drink stand in the front of the park

image.png.888707d61a9b64b274da0a9124607d92.png

The dinosaurs and pathing has been removed from the former location of Dinosaurs Alive

image.png.c3feacc649b126a42bb3641479d34478.png

(part of) Looping starship has been moved in front of Berserkers

image.png.48d7b6638b1e4ee1d5e30778836c1b11.png

The former location of Looping Starship

image.png.c1fcf1317b3e7871d8823c55ab645e43.png

Some trees have been removed from behind bumper cars. I doubt this means anything, but figured I might as well include it

image.png.53feb72dd2802c2b7dd99d011903abe5.png

A small new building was added to the backstage area of the park

image.png.fa4be8498482ce09f6bb4081c1ac5c6c.png

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