What do you think were Cedar Point/Cedar Fair's worst investments?

I'm going with Geauga Lake and Windseeker. I say Geauga Lake because the park was already damaged beyond repair by Six Flags when they bought, but it was good to see they at least attempted to revive it. I also say Windseeker because of the mechanical issues with them at several of their parks. 10 years ago I would've said TTD, but that's rarely down anymore. I think their investment paid off on that.

worst in my opinion would have to be Shoot the rapids. since that ride opened its had more down time that actual time its been open.
Opened late in 2010
Had a fire in the electrical room in 2011 closed the rest of the season.
2012 not so many issue's.
2013 well i think we all know what happened.
Best Gatekeeper!!

Dinosaurs, who wants to pay for something that already exists at the Cleve Metroparks zoo. I don't agree with having to pay for an attraction once you are in the park either.

Oh yeah, I forgot Dinosaurs Alive.

Worst by far is Shoot the Rapids. It's a tame, unthrilling, poorly themed, downtime filled, accident prone, slow attempt of a "log flume" in a concrete forest.

I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with an outcome of a new ride or attraction. Plus it's not even a true family ride with its height requirement.

Shoot the Rapids... I really like the ride, but too many issues so far in its short life.

Dinosaurs Alive was not a bad investment... It makes them money and is great for the kids and stuff. It is not like they force anybody to pay to go see it.

They have to charge for that attraction. They lease the dinosaurs from the company for free basically, from what I understand just like the Cleveland Zoo... They just get paid royalties per sale. So both Cedar Fair and the company take a cut of each $5 sale.

Dinosaurs Alive for sure. It is a bad excuse for almost all the Cedar Fair parks to remove at least one ride just for a stupid charge you extra for something you can see for free at a zoo attraction

Unless its changed with the current rendition of dinosaurs at the Cleveland Zoo, you have to pay extra to see them.

Justin Delbert said:
....just for a stupid charge you extra for something you can see for free at a zoo....

It's not stupid. It's a profitable attraction, which makes it a perfectly rational addition to a for-profit business.

Shoot the Rapids. I'd say TTD is the best investment. A while back, it wasn't considered to be, but it REALLY put CP on the map. Yes, with Millennium Force and Magnum it was still a world destination, but it really just ties the whole park together.

Everytime i ride millennium force i never see anyone in the dino park. The only reason i went through DA was to get some good shots of Millennium Force. I would definitely say Dinos Alive is among the worst.

I think enclosing Avalanche Run was one of the worst investments.

Either Windseeker, or honestly the multitude of Arrow antique car rides...I'm sure we could donate one to KI and be ok

One word. Vertigo!

Worst: Enclosing Avalanche Run

Best: Magnum XL-200

THE_DUDE_ABIDES! said:
worst in my opinion would have to be Shoot the rapids.
Had a fire in the electrical room in 2011 closed the rest of the season.

Really.. where did you hear that?

I guess I'm the only one on here that likes Shoot the Rapids. Oh well, I'm fine with that. I forgot to throw in that the best Investment for me is Millennium Force.

I actually didn't mind Shoot the Rapids either. You had a little fun you got wet - goal accomplished. BUT I should confess: My experience in log flumes is VERY limited so I have nothing to compare it to. I don't want to hijack this thread with STR; but I haven't really seen anyone compare it to a ride they would have liked instead. Before the incident, I would see people in line when it was hot - so it always seemed popular.

You could argue Skyhawk is a bad investment with all of the problems it is facing (which has been down more than STR or Windseeker I believe.) But I wonder if people wouldn't consider it because it is actually a ride they like?

As far as Dinos Alive: Is it something that they have a deal/contract with? Are they making money off the up-charge or are they loosing money? I don't think any of us have figures on this so it is hard to say. I guess we will see in a year or two depending on the contract?

I would have to go with Geauga Lake being a bad investment. They purchased it for $145 million only to gut it a few years later. The rides they moved were around $40 million right? How much did they make on ticket sales and other sales after 2004 and 2007?

It is sad to see part of it being a ghost town; as well as (possible) writing on the wall that it may not last another year or two. It's a real-shame for me because my office is about 10-minutes away up Aurora Rd in Solon. I sometimes wonder if I could have taken an hour lunch to flash my platinum pass and ride a coaster or two and go back to work. I would have looked silly in my business casual cloths - but pffttt who cares when I get to go back to work happy?

NiMon said:
It is sad to see part of it being a ghost town; as well as (possible) writing on the wall that it may not last another year or two. It's a real-shame for me because my office is about 10-minutes away up Aurora Rd in Solon. I sometimes wonder if I could have taken an hour lunch to flash my platinum pass and ride a coaster or two and go back to work. I would have looked silly in my business casual cloths - but pffttt who cares when I get to go back to work happy?

Yeah that's why I haven't gone to Wildwater Kingdom. I have wrote Cedar Fair an e-mail or two asking them to at least level the land around Big Dipper so it doesn't look so bad. I don't think they cared because they didn't respond to it.

So instead of this being a discussion about poor investments, this thread is really "rides I don't like".