The Ouimet years: some early thoughts

Cadillac Cars said:
Purely idiotic to put this man in charge. He is already on pace to turn this into Disney North. I freaking hate it. What a bunch of garbage. I give 3-5 years before he trys to say Magnum and Raptor need removed. He sucks send him back to Disney.

Im trying to figure out if this sarcasm.

...or just totally clueless.

Cadillac Cars said:
Purely idiotic to put this man in charge. He is already on pace to turn this into Disney North. I freaking hate it. What a bunch of garbage. I give 3-5 years before he trys to say Magnum and Raptor need removed. He sucks send him back to Disney.

So what you are saying is that you hate that things are finally getting fixed around the park and that a new nighttime show is being created? I have a feeling you might be trying to get a flame war going here though, so can you please site examples to justify your statements.

Cadillac Cars said:
Purely idiotic to put this man in charge. He is already on pace to turn this into Disney North. I freaking hate it. What a bunch of garbage. I give 3-5 years before he trys to say Magnum and Raptor need removed. He sucks send him back to Disney.

You know, every time you visit this forum, you always seem to be complaining about something. If you dislike the park that much, why are you here?

Cadillac Cars said:
Purely idiotic to put this man in charge. He is already on pace to turn this into Disney North. I freaking hate it. What a bunch of garbage. I give 3-5 years before he trys to say Magnum and Raptor need removed. He sucks send him back to Disney.

Lights are getting replaced on 3 attractions that have needed fixed or replaced for a few years now, the new lighting is going to LED which uses far less energy than everything it is replacing.

The eyesore of the giant screen is now gone. The night time park is going to be more upbeat and bright and a new night time show to keep people in the park longer has been added.

How awful! The last I checked, Disney is a pretty successful company. They are not in debit and not trying to get the ship above water again. At this time his changes are improving the park. Not hurting it.

Cadillac Cars said:
He is already on pace to turn this into Disney North..

Funny, turning Cedar Point into a Disneyland North is actually the vision the owers had for the park back in the 1960's. Without that vision, we wouldn't have Frontier Trail, Frontier Town, CP& LE railroad, Paddlewheel Excursions...wait...scratch that, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Sky Ride, Space Spiral, Cadillac Cars, Antique Cars, etc. and even Blue Streak! (Yes, they still put in a good roller coaster)

Well, you can't always please everyone. Or maybe he just likes to here himself complain. Oh well one less patron to visit.

When I read the improvements and what is coming as in enhancing the nighttime experience, taking down the hideous screen which I dis-liked from day one, new lighting package on Giant Wheel, and fixing the lights on Power Tower and Millie. WOW, Our CP simple dream list was just given to us.

Makes me think if some of this has been fast-tracked due to Quimet possibly walking around the park and seeing the extreme lack of upkeep on some of the stuff. Also interested to see exactly how the lockers will work and the look of the remodeled BR's

^I'm sure you are in an extreme minority there. Stock rices are at a five or ten year high and nearly everyone (including me) is looking forward to a better park experience that is felt at Disney. Ouimet has said that part of Cedar Point is a major coaster every few years.

I, too, am afraid of it becoming too Disneyish. But, he is doing things that have needed done for years. Hopefully, the restrooms get done like planned. Especially the ones by Magnum.

I wonder if Ouimet is aware of the seatbelt issues and what he thinks of the situation. After seeing what they did with Magnum's belts last year, I fear it being worse this year and more people not being able to ride. For all these years, Magnum was a rare coaster that NOBODY got turned away for being too large. On a recent trip to Florida, we rode Kumba, Montu, SheiKra, Kraken, Hulk, and Dragons, and no matter where we sat, the belt lenghts were consistant. We need to see that consistency at CP.

Hoping his changes will help bring CP back to the park we loved to brag about being the best (which they clearly have not been in recent years).

Let's all quote the same post over and over! </sarcasm>

I say bring on the mouse ears. Put in a Tower of Terror and Pirates and the Hall of Presidents. Clearly those are all things that suck and no one likes those attractions.

I'd add to that list a Space Mountain, but we already have a poor man's version. ;)

They already took out the Pirate Ride. Did you know that The Pirate Ride was NOT a cheap knockoff of Disney's Pirates of the Carribbean? In fact, Disney's ride came later, and was therefore an expensive knockoff of the Pirate Ride!

(PotC opened 1967. Pirate Ride opened at Cedar Point in 1966, but had operated Previously as the Buccaneer at Freedomland U.S.A. That said, aside from both being pirate themed dark rides with transportation systems built by Arrow Development, the two rides really have little in common.)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Great thread, Mike; I couldn't agree more.

Through my teens, the only thing I cared about was the next roller coaster at Cedar Point. All the off years were sighs, but fortunately, Kinzel delivered frequent roller coaster presents that firmly kept CP my favorite place.

A decade later, my mentality has changed. In my recent years, the CP environment has begun to feel a bit cheap, dated, and stale. The thought of slamming another new roller coaster into this same neglected environment has lost much of its appeal with me.

I'm caring about the details more now. I'm wanting to walk around in a more pleasant, upscale environment. I want to see the decay fixed and updated. Ouimet seems to be addressing all this, and it's far more exciting than just a new roller coaster.

I can't wait to see the new breath of life put into CP this coming season. While the thought of Disaster Transport getting updated or Maverick's tunnel lights getting fixed were just dreams under Kinzel, I feel like they're going to be reality under Ouimet.

While all these changes might not be marketable beyond enthusiasts, the general public will take notice with time. I can see more families and older guests becoming interested in CP as well as higher class customers with more disposable income.

Yeah I forgot about the lights in Maverick tunnel.

Here is a few other comes to mind the just rekindled in my mind.
* The mist in the Tunnel at Soak City/Magnum entrance.
* Bringing the lighting strength of TTD or redesign it. As I remember how easy it was to spot that beast on RT 2 leaving CP.
* Work on the effects of Boneville on the Train. (IMO, they just to need to rehab the structures and possible and in the what was left of Paddlewheel props.
* Magnum fog in the tunnels.
* Update the info-recording and AC for Space Spiral.

* How about a power-wash clean of Raptor. They did something similar to The Hulk down in Universal Florida and it looks so much better.

And my most important hope is but it is a pipe dream maybe.
* A nice dark-ride. We still have Pirate Ride building, yes I know it has been turned into storage and for Boo-Hilll, but they can easily relocate them. (You always have soak city to add to Halloweekends.

It's definitely going to be recognized by the general public, not just us enthusiasts. The little things are what people notice right away. I'm looking forward to it. The way I remember CP as a child is probably a little romanticized but I feel like it'll be the CP I remember...just in time for me to take my children. I'm very excited Mr. Hildebrandt and his people can finally execute their vision. I'm ready for the season to start tomorrow. See you all there, I'm sure.

Hopefully the following year Magnum's lift will receive a new lighting package. I'm sure an LED package is capable of recreating that cool chasing light effect from 1989 and the early 90s.

Unfortunately it is just as capable of being fried by a lightning strike, as happened more than once to the original lighting system, resulting in the present, more conventional chase pattern.

I would like to see Cedar Point install a set of chase lights on a lift hill just once and not get one section near the top working backwards, though... :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Cadillac Cars said:
He is already on pace to turn this into Disney North.

I think there's a big misconception here. Bringing ideas from Disney to Cedar Fair isn't about characters and attractions. When people assume that roller coasters are going to be replaced with pixie dust-filled carousels, they're taking a very simplistic view.

In reality, the ideas being brought in are the things that sets Disney apart from everyone else. Disney's secret to success is not Mickey Mouse. It's the attention to detail, quality of service, exceeding guest expectations, and creative leadership. If that's what coming to Cedar Fair, it's nothing but good news.

And curved midways. Have to be curved midways to deem Ouimet a success:)

Other than that I think you did a fantastic job explaining why a little bit of Disney dust will do the place some good.

Why are you so focused on curved midways? Is that some sort of phobia? :)