Best Decision Kinzel Ever Made

...was 22 years ago greenlighting Magnum. (Story coming in tomorrow's Sandusky Register.) Hmmm...well...that is nice. Can we start a worst decision thread?

I have to agree that Magnum was one of the best. In facr, no other coaster made that big of an impact on the park and the industry like Magnum did. Sure, Millennium Force and TTD are big deal, but Magnum is something really special. What a sight that used to be driving down the causeway to the park with Magnum dominating the skyline! :)

That list would be awful long.

Why beat a dead horse, the guy is really leaving this time. The Kinzel bashing is getting old. Why not have a positive thread about him? The last ten years certainly weren't his best, but he's got a career that spans farther back where he turned the Cedar Point into a great resort in the 1990s and aquiring other parks that experienced significant growth.

I think there already was a Kinzel's worst decision thread. It was started after Kinzel said his worst decision was Top Thrill Dragster. I think Disaster Transport was a close second.

While I know he said Top Thrill Dragster was one of his worst decisions several years ago, it is probably the most exciting ride in the park. People still flock to it and is arguably the most consistently crowded midway with spectators. Certainly it wasn't a financially good decision, as I'm sure they put way more money into than planned, but I think it has paid off nearly a decade later now that it is more consistent in operations. I think today he would probably rethink that statement, but Disaster Transport definitely still wins as the worst (excluding the Dinosaurs).

I have to agree about Magnum though... Many of the bigger coasters we have today can be attributed to its success. Millennium Force has to be a close second best decision just considering the attention it still gets today as a guest favorite.

By far, Magnum is Kinzel's best ride decision. But maybe even more important I feel is the development of the CP Resorts. Before Kinzel, all they had was a semi-rundown Hotel Breakers. Under Kinzel's watch, Hotel Breakers was restored, Breakers East and Breakers Tower were added. Sandcastle Suites was built along with Light House Point. Plus the Marina was rebuilt into the gorgeous marina it is now. Also, Soak City and Challenge Park were added as separate parks mainly for resorts guests.

Kinzel knew the value having guests stay on Point for a few days and did a lot to make that happen. Now, it is Mr. Ouimet's turn the make the resorts the quality they should be plus hopefully add some night time entertainment and fun, and use the beach more effectively.

#1 Magnum XL 200 hands down.

#2 Resort hotels on the Point.

#3 Retirement.

Random question, don't want to start a new thread for it but how do you pronounce Ouimet's name?

We-met

I'll go on record agreeing with Dick. Yes, I think Magnum WAS his best decision and Breakers East was probably his second best. It is just a shame those decisions came about 20 years ago.

Disaster transport + dinos = dumb :)

1. Magnum XL 200 was probably the best decision. It is a very simple design but stood out. (every major park seemed to get the 160 foot 6 looper at the time.) It still the 2nd most popular roller coaster in the park after Gemini.
2. Soak City really emphasizes the resort area of the park. Even though the water park hasn't seen a new a new addition since 2004, it is still one of the most popular water parks in the country (#18 or 19 on the list)
3. The multiple resorts. Sandcastle Suites and the Breakers Towers were great additions. Breakers Express was also great.

The thing is, if he would have stepped down when he initially said he was planning on, he would have missed a lot of bad PR.

There is no question that Cedar Point would not be where it is today without him, nor would Cedar Fair as a whole. I'll give him this; when the chips were down, he was not afraid to take risks that others may have not. For all the "bad" people complain about, I think he leaves a good legacy behind him (nepotism aside). Just a little late on the retirement.

Greenlighting the indoor waterpark for Castaway Bay probably goes pretty high on the list. Letting outsiders like Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge snap up that winter business without even making an effort to put up a fight probably goes high on the "oops" list.

Cedar Point should be #1 in the leisure business in Sandusky all year long...not just May through October.

Castaway Bay is really in a bad corner of land when it comes to making anything more of the place. You can't expand without taking away a lot of what little parking and access the condo/apartment complex has back there...which could wind up with something else that Ouimet would be familiar with...but nah, that probably wouldn't work too well in Sandusky. ;)

Well, I'm not saying they should have made Castaway Bigger. I think it was a right sized project. But...Cedar Fair completely missed the boat on the convention business and what would have prevented them from going a bigger version on a different piece of land?

It was probably much cheaper for Cedar Fair just to buy out the Radisson hotel and then add on to it rather than building a whole new complex.

I agree on the first two points, was just kind of musing about their situation for expansion, because I think it can (and should) be expanded to create more draw for that property. As for the last point, what parcel of land were you thinking of?

There was a zoning/ownership map for Sandusky that was posted here a few years ago that would let you click on individual lots and tell you who owned that lot. Would anyone know where to find it? I'm striking out on Google. I remember the general boundary of lots owned by Cedar Point/Cedar Fair, but can't remember the exact lot edges, specifically in the current run-down residential area surrounding employee housing (they own 90% of the lots on the east side, where the employee parking for housing is).

Retiring......

And magnum:)