Cedar Fair's Biggest Mistakes

Cedar Fair is a model of stability in the industry, but they aren't without their faults. These are their biggest mistakes, plus some of the things I think they've done well.
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[@jzckvsn]

Best decision Cedar Fair made: Making steel vengeance. That’s an elite decision right there

[@73gr]

@idkwhattoputhere Facts

[@changedthenamefinally4715]

@idkwhattoputhere You call steel vengeance a nightmare when dragster is like 10 minutes away

[@darreny2443]

@@changedthenamefinally4715teVe is a train wreck next to a wildfire. Both were terrible decisions practically

[@Cje_-yj8ov]

@@changedthenamefinally4715 yeah but no one argued dragster is the best decision cedar fair made lol

[@samplautz5586]

Well, it was an amazing decision, but the way they handled it was not great, and now they will never build another RMC because they were arrogant and pushed RMC too much, and now they don’t like RMC

[@Hoppaman23]

Taking a chance with GCI and giving Kings Island Mystic Timbers was a big win for Cedar Fair in my opinion. KI already had The Beast and Racer but had a horrible experience with Son of Beast. Once people found out that they were building another wooden coaster and that it wasn't a "record breaker" people got worried or just didn't seem to care. They marketed the "What's in the shed" thing, which was a bit of a let down, but what they got in return is one of the best and smoothest wooden coasters out there. Good move on their part. 🙂

[@ryanstrong1167]

Your opinion is wrong

[@michaelbaxter6146]

​@@ryanstrong1167 that's just their opinion stop being rude

[@thefuturek1ng230]

@Ryan Strong you can't call someone else's opinion wrong. You can only do that for a person stating an opinion As a fact, and they're not doing that here. Would you like me to do the same thing to you?

[@timvinte3801]

Smooth? 🤧🤕😵‍💫🥴

[@Nxkamxbxms]

@@timvinte3801mystic timber is gloss smooth

[@605coasters]

I completely agree that I305 was a mistake, but it's the best mistake ever made. There's a reason it's my #1, and I'm glad someone ended up making a coaster that insane. I don't think we'll ever see a coaster that intense ever again, for obvious reasons. But I'm glad at least one exists like it.

[@Penguinocalypse]

Came here to say the same cuz ooof it’s the best damn giga I’ve ever ridden

[@colindavidch]

As a coaster enthusiast sometimes I wish b&m made more out of control thrilling coasters but I totally understand why cedar fair keeps going to them for there major coaster additions. They are very reliable, have an amazing track record in terms of safety, have great capacity and the general public loves there coasters

[@gregwasielewski298]

B&M coasters are usually boring. Nearly every coaster I love isn’t B&M. Even the B&M coaster’s I like have boring sections to them.

[@SentaiAce]

Geauga Lake was my home park. The fact that they thought it was a threat was ludicrous. It was inexpensive and was a great alternative for families. Still angry to this day.

[@zacharyyamashita8554]

Well you’re not alone, Cedar Fair is closing my nearest home park of California’s Great America 😢.

[@kandikidzora]

Big same

[@Yeomen1986]

I used to feel that way (GL was my home park too back in the day) until I moved to VA and seen things like Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens. I can honestly say GL was never going to survive with how Six Flags over expanded it. There was absolutly no infrastructure to support the park attendance numbers that would have been needed. Most big ticket parks have direct highway access. Busch Gardens literally has a dedicated offramp from the highway just for it. Kings dominion has a highway exit with 2 lanes dedicated just to the park. There is no way Geaua Lake could have ever had that. The reality is CF did the best they could trying to pair it down but no one wanted to go back to the little park from what they had. This isn't the consumers fault that standard were unrealistically raised either. But as a result CF had to cut their losses. I can tell you Dominator (Batman) is doing GREAT at KD and still runs great. A little rougher then I remember but she's old now. She's orange but her big loop is yellow in Honor of Geauga Lake. They also have the Farris Wheel and it looks just the same.

[@Jawon789]

Geauga lake was supposed to be my home park, I could bike to it right now if I wanted to. But I never got to visit thanks to them shutting it down when I was wayyyy to young to ride coasters. Only thing I got to experience from Geauga Lake was Wildwater Kingdom in 2016 and we all know what happened at the end of that season.

[@nixon2tube]

This really wasn't CFs fault. I used to go there often back in the day, and loved it as Geauga. And then 6 Flags bought it and proceeded to ruin it. By the time I got there with it as Worlds of Adventure, they had skimped hard on the maintenance, the park was nasty, and I didn't trust the rides to not break on me. We all said we'd never go back... and we never did.

[@TetraTime]

As a KC native and former employee, it's hard to love CF. What they have done (or more correctly, havent done) for Worlds of Fun is tragic. They have seemed to change their focus for the 50th, but getting 0 attention since '09 doesn't feel good.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I've been there a few times and even though the park looks nice and well-kept it just always seems to leave kind of an empty feeling

[@michaeltaylor1603]

As "they" say. You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs. Another mistake they learned from was that Knott's was thier ONLY year round park. It's a different "animal" that also co-exists with Disneyland, Universal, Magic Mountain.

[@natethenomad9010]

Honestly, Geauga Lake has been a fascination for me. I was only a kid when it closed back in 2007 and I remember being heartbroken by this news. Just by living in this part of Ohio I know a lot of people feel the same way and a lot of people still miss this park. Cleveland in particular was where this park really struck a chord with people, even as recently as last summer 98.5 WNCX still made jabs about how Cleveland has no amusement park anymore with both Euclid Beach and Geauga Lake gone. I remember going even after the amusement park closed to wildwater kingdom once like every other summer and in 2016 when they announced that the waterpark was going to close, there was a big draw as everyone wanted to say goodbye. God I wish I had sources for what I am about to say but i remember hearing this somewhere a few years ago. Basically the local rumors that I've heard over the reason why Cedar Fair left Geauga lake was over a transformer or some major piece of electric equipment that was not capable of handling the load that geauga lake was using. This could explain why they tried to downsize some of the attractions in 2006 to see if they could appease the city of Auora but them adding wildwater kingdom around the same time probably did not help this problem. Eventually Cedar Fair and the city of Auora pretty much had a falling out as the city was getting frustrated with Cedar Fair on the issue and wanted cedar fair to pay for upgrading the electrical equipment which was apparently super pricey. The city pretty much called Cedar fair's bluff over the issue which is why I feel like this is what led them to shutting down the park and only keeping the waterpark open. Again this is hearsay as I don't have an actual source for this but living in the region it makes a lot of sense. Like Cedar fair had a monopoly over 3 parks in Ohio, all a different cup of tea from one another. Kings Island is similar to cedar point yet it still stands and has been huge for cedar fair. I legitimately feel like Cedar Fair might of had the intent to downsize geauga lake into a smaller park more geared for families over enthusiasts while removing Sea World and replacing it with assets that they are more familiar with for the future. I truly feel that the city of Auora was why they ultimately left as Cedar Fair had themselves in prime position with all 3 parks under their ownership. TLDR: The park grew so fast in the early 2000s from Six Flags that the infrastructure probably couldn't support it and by the time that Cedar Fair bought the park, these problems came to a head resulting in the park closing. Honestly if anyone has any real merit to this either proving this right or wrong I would love to hear it as this legitimately makes the most sense to what happened with Geauga Lake as this is still to this day very mysterious.

[@christinabishop7352]

Michigan Adventure in Muskegon is my home park and what they need is an RMC of Wolverine Wildcat, a dive coaster themed to Copper Mines, and a Raptor themed to Lake Michigan's stormy weather and shipwrecks. Also, give the park more diverse waterslides and it will be better than new water fountains and bathrooms...

[@jandrew1994]

RMC wolverine wildcat, some Intamin hyper/giga on the same level as i-305 at KD, and a time traveler quality Mack... Michigan Adventure is 2-3 coasters away, not just one.

[@MagnumXL420]

Good luck, GCI just installed titan track on Wolverine Wildcats first drop last year. Don't see a massive overhaul / conversion coming any time soon unfortunately.

[@ScottyMania313]

Great vid as usual. The Cedar Point dorm situation is something not addressed much and I applaud you for acknowledging that horrible issue. Its good to end the vid on a positive note as you did, with that being said, I have a positively great idea. What if for March Madness, there was a tournament where you make a bracket of the best 16 in each region duking it out. Like the West would have X2 and Rattler, The Midwest would have Vengeance and Voyage in their Top 16, and the South's bracket would be insane - Whose #1 - Velocicoaster, Gwazi, Fury 325? Making the brackets would be just as fun as the actual video itself! Just a cool idea

[@AirtimeThrills]

Thats an interesting idea, ill see if it works

[@AFCompany]

I will never understand the neglect of Dorney Park. It is in a huge market area and just a couple hours from Hershey and Great Adventure. I honestly think they had big plans for Dorney until they acquired the Paramount parks. Apparently the dive coaster Dorney is getting next year is just the start of a rebranding/investment that Cedar Fair wants to do to Dorney. Hopefully they plan to build it up. I get it’s tough though as there are so many restrictions on the park.

[@katherinezimmerman6997]

I-305, my number two coaster, a mistake? You wound me, sir! In all seriousness, I see your point about the initial design flaws. That said, it’s a mistake I’m glad they made since it ended up giving my home park something awesome.

[@cre8tive320]

Surprised no one said it but.. Ending Winterfest at kings island was a huge mistake but man did they knock it out the park when they enhanced it and brought it back for multiple parks

[@AirtimeThrills]

Yeah, at least they recognized that one and fixed it

[@joshstorms3953]

I'm surprised the accident at Valleyfair was not mentioned. Back in 2006 one of the trains on Wild Thing de-railed and 17 people were injured..

[@AirtimeThrills]

I actually hadnt heard about that one

[@tad80659]

I305 one of the best roller coasters I have ever ridden. I absolutely love the speed and intensity that it brings and I wish there were more rides like it. I am happy that Cedar Fair made that mistake 😁

[@jandrew1994]

If Cedar Fair truly wants to keep neglecting Kings Dominion then they should send I305 to CP in exchange for one of CP's worst coasters like say Rougarou that does well with the GP because of B&M capacity.

[@lastone032085]

​@@jandrew1994what a disgusting thought

[@magnolias__]

​@@jandrew1994 that would literally never happen given that KD has Dominator which is a closely related model to Rougarou lmao,

[@AirtimeProductions]

I agree on the positives, Ghostrider’s refurbishment has to be one of Cedar Fair’s biggest W’s!!

[@TheJordan08]

I think that the removal of some rides are mistakes like vortex or volcano, I understand they are problematic or too old but still they were the best

[@WCfanboy]

They might be to you but economically they weren’t mistakes

[@rezandaigotsu4250]

Cedar Fair made a big mistake by starting to convert Knott's into a more standard amusement park, but lately they have made a great move by walking some of that back. Updating the raft ride, Ghost Town Alive, and the incredible run of merch for the past couple of years show that they realized they need to let Knott's stand alone as a unique place in the chain.

[@Lloyd00]

How exactly were they converting to a standard amusement park?

[@michaeltaylor1603]

Yep! Also realizing it's their ONLY year round par with STIFF competition.

[@ec1628]

@@Lloyd00 Taking away the history of the park and the old west themes. Coasters were just being shoved into any space ruining the feel of the park. Recently special events and refreshments has brought back what made Knott’s special.

[@rezandaigotsu4250]

@@Lloyd00 The first big sign was installing Silver Bullet, especially with some of its supports going in over parts of the Ghost Town Graveyard. they also tended to treat the marketing, food, and merchandise the same way they did for all their amusement parks.

[@Yoshimitsu4prez]

I like that people from all over the place consider Leviathan at Wonderland a world-class coaster. It’s a somewhat basic but excellent B&M giga, I’m glad it’s nearby

[@phoenix042x7]

Paramount was killing Kings Island. Having worked there under both companies, I can tell you that while not perfect, Cedar Fair was a huge improvement and honestly probably saved the park from a slow death like that of a lot of other places.

[@73gr]

Also, for Cedar Point, I would say Top Thrill Dragster or Mean Streak or Steel Vengeance as all three are horrible decisions (maybe except for Steve) as they caused a massive headache. I say Steve because this coaster was a headache on opening year, as the structural issues and the idiots throwing hot sauce on the ride caused TSA, and the bumping of the trains did not help. I still say its my #1 tho.

[@JCBro-yg8vd]

Mean Streak was at least popular and enjoyable when it opened, and CP did try to tame it with trim brakes. Steel Vengeance's problem was that CP insisted on making it a record breaker, and RMC had never built anything that big before, so of course there would be problems. Dragster's definitely an honorable mention, though it looks like CP may have found a way to make it more reliable.

[@73gr]

@@JCBro-yg8vd Fair point, but I still would say it has mechanical errors, so I consider it an honorable mention.

[@AirtimeThrills]

We will see how the structure holds up. Apparently it wasnt in great shape even at the time in 2016

[@73gr]

@@AirtimeThrills Yeah that's what I hope to see

[@brianfoss571]

The Worlds of Adventure acquisition makes some sense when you consider Cedar Point's competition with (then-Paramount's) Kings Island in 2003. Nickelodeon Universe was sweeping the Golden Ticket award for best kids' area, and Son of Beast was still extremely popular, with less downtime than Dragster. Of course, CP didn't have a themed launched coaster with inversions, either. They knew that Kings Island was getting the bulk of investment from Paramount Parks and expected this to continue. Cedar Fair definitely wasn't anticipating buying Kings Island and the other Paramount Parks just 2 years after Geauga Lake. They might have initially planned to send Dominator to Worlds of Fun and X-Flight / Firehawk to Valleyfair! Even the park's Zierer Tivoli could have been crammed into Knott's if they wanted to replace Jaguar! Also, given the massive debt Six Flags was in, they knew that buying Worlds of Adventure wouldn't result in 3 new coasters at Darien Lake. Adding Geauga Lake mainly looks like a terrible decision in hindsight with the Paramount Parks sale and 2008 recession. But if anyone wants to factor that decision into CGA's closure, can't say I blame them.

[@shanedenmark5536]

100% agreed about Dorney Park. Knoebel’s, Hersheypark, and SFGrAdv are all within a couple hours drive from Allentown, and they are all thriving. There is clearly an appetite for amusement parks in this area. Why wouldn’t CF want a bigger piece of that pie?

[@Coyotek4]

See, I'm of the opposite opinion; there are just so many other options for people in the area (you didn't even mention Kennywood, any Jersey Shore locale, or the American Dreams mall) that CP probably figures it's not worth fighting for.

[@shanedenmark5536]

@@Coyotek4 I didn’t bring Kennywood or Waldameer into the mix as they are a good 4+ hours away.

[@me-myself-i787]

There's no way they can bring Dorney Park up to the level of Hersheypark or Six Flags Great Adventure.

[@TheBolligerMabillardLover]

​@@me-myself-i787They should add more rides like Steel Force Talon and Hydra. The water park is already bigger and better than the other 2 and unlike great adventure it's included with the park. It is only 1 hour or less from most of the New Jersey suburbs of New York City, and it's 1-1.5 hours from most parts of New York City and Long Island. The chief competition is great adventure and the New York City metro area is the most populous in the country with over 20 million people. I think that is more than enough to split between Dorney, great adventure and the other parks u mentioned. Dorney is a far better deal, with cheaper parking and one price admission for the amusement park and water park. Great adventure is way more expensive with parking up to I believe $40 now, and separate gate admission prices for the amusement park and water park. I love great adventure, but Dorney Park just needs to add a few more roller coasters like the top few they have now, and keep the water park top notch like it is presently, and it can compete with great adventure and Hershey and the others in the area. The water park has always been crowded when I've been there on warm days, and it has 20 some slides. They just need to expand the amusement park and I believe they can increase attendance by 500,000-1,000,000 a year. But first they need to invest heavily on the amusement park side by adding a few more major rides to go along with the solid coasters they have and 3 water rides and the very popular large and always crowded water park.

[@AFCompany]

@@me-myself-i787it honestly wouldn’t be that hard. Dorney already has a better water park than both Hershey and Great Adventure and is also much cleaner and nicer than Great Adventure. Dorney is already getting a B&M dive coaster next year. If they removed Steel Force for a B&M giga and then also found space for a new B&M surf coaster they would pull in huge numbers as those are all unique experiences to that entire area. It’s just on if Cedar Fair wants to make investments like that.

[@tinaedmondson]

I seen wind seeker in the thumbnail that's a great ride

[@lpn8585]

I wish the Geauga lake purchase never happened. I live in Pittsburgh and it was great having that park along with cedar point to the west. Kennywood locally and Hershey park and knoebels to the east. There definitely was competition between the two in Ohio. Shame it’s nothing now.

[@colindavidch]

I don't blame cedar fair as much as I blame six flags for that one. They thought it was a good idea to build up a park in the middle of nowhere so fast with so much investment and not surprisingly it failed and they found themselves up to their neck in debt. I believe cedar fair bought the park just to destroy it and relocate the coasters to there other parks but they wouldn't have had the opportunity to do so if six flags didn't make foolish decisions before hand.

[@nowthenfella4680]

I’m in the UK so will probably never ride it but I’m so pleased something like intimidator 305 exists. It’s quite unique compared to other coasters it’s size.

[@kingdelbert]

One you forgot to mention: Dinosaurs Alive. Nearly every park installed it, it was an upcharge for what....a walkthrough of animated dinosaurs that you may do only once? Worse yet they closed some classic rides in some including Cedar Point's Paddlewheel Excersion. The attraction in these parks did not last long and thankfully they corrected their mistake with some parks getting better replacements and the return of the riverboat ride at Cedar Point. Summer Spectacular could also be argued as a mistake since the big screen blocked the sights of the train station, but the shows were enjoyable during its lifetime.

[@AirtimeThrills]

Dinosaurs alive probably wasnt meant to be a permanent fixture anyway, i wonder how it actually performed

[@Internet-Police]

That cedar point incident happened just one week after I rode the ride. I was 14 back then... good old memories

[@JewishSingers]

if you watched the county approval process for dorney's new coaster you'd understand why they don't invest in the park. If the county would allow them to add major additions I think CF would treat dorney a bit better than Kings dominion

[@giancarlofelicianocastaned9316]

Dorney is in a perfect location.

[@grobble8954]

@@giancarlofelicianocastaned9316 Allentown is pretty dumpy, the clientele of the park are more low end, like SF unlike other Cedar Fair parks

[@giancarlofelicianocastaned9316]

@@grobble8954 Cincinnati is dumpy but they have Kings Island. SFGA is near Chicago which is a very dangerous city. Dallas and San Antonio have Six Flags Parks.

[@grobble8954]

@GianCarlo Feliciano Castaneda Chicago is not close to one of the most dangerous cities. FYI, SFgam is 45 miles from the city. Dorney is in Allentown which is a dumpy city in decline for 40 years. Been to every SF park and Cedar Fair park, the core clientele of SF chain is a lower tier, there is a reason they revolted on price increases and expect $60 passes that get you into every park. In comparison in 2022 CF raised prices and set a record for pass sales. Cedar Fair runs circles around SF. SF seeks the Dollar Store clientele as their core, CF seeks a Target level, the exception of lower end clientele is Dorney. The things I have seen clientele do at Dorney is the stuff I see at SF parks, not at the other CF parks.

[@giancarlofelicianocastaned9316]

@@grobble8954 Chicago has a horrifically high crime rate though....

[@salesrpg]

Cedar fair was planning for geauga lake to have the market of hosting a lot of company group sales. They built a pavilion area. The raging wolf bobs accident was a contributing factor to closings the park.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I dont think the RWB accident was all that serious and at that point i gotta think they knew the fate of the park

[@kaylawhipple7570]

Enjoyed that little foreshadowing with Intamin at the beginning there. Genius.

[@Randomstuff77]

Great video!!!

[@Paolo8772]

Loved this video about my favourite amusement park chain. I wouldn't say "Son of Beast" is "ahead of its time"; in fact I'd argue that the layout was boring and regressive. I would agree that it was too tall and fast for its time for a wooden coaster and time will tell if a wooden coaster will ever beat a 214' drop and over 7'000' of track with only one lift hill.

[@oblivieon1567]

Biggest Cedar Fair mistake is not asking the Director of Food and Beverage at Knott's for HELP with their other parks. Newsflash Cedar Fair, you have a park that started as a Restaurant in your system!

[@donjernigan3435]

KD has Dennis who is a really good executive chef and they opened Outpost Cafe and Grain and Grill, which are both good. KD has corned beef coming for St Patrick Day this year. They smoked their own BBQ which is why it is so good and they make their sausage with their sausage machine. Dorney really needs help. Their food sucks, except Chickie and Petes.

[@BigDCoasterFam]

Chain wide Fast Lane Plus. It’s a little pricey but convenient if you go to different parks

[@TylerCoolGuy88]

I think King Island's biggest mistake (NOT Cedar Fair mistake) was going with RCCA and then firing them when building Son of Beast. They should have gotten someone else like GCI (which was corrected in Mystic Timbers), or CCI. But I only imaging what could it be like if Son of Beast was still around that it could have been a fun RMC (and even redoing the vertical to add something unique).

[@73gr]

GCI was approached but they didn't have resources and it would've been something like roar. Same with CCI. RCCA's structure for son of beast is god awful, so RMC could not redo the coaster, but they were approached in 2012 (if you read the book)

[@koasterlover1045]

Hey daddy thrills!! Thanks for the video

[@bigc1280]

Another Regret for Knott's Perilous Plunge. That Intamin water Ride had a ton of problems with it and killed a person too. That is another reason why they do not work with Intamin anymore. Also, if you notice, Cedar Fair has been removing a lot of its water Rides ever since that closed and Shoot the Rapids as well. However, I think it is a mistake to remove all these water rides without any replacements, as many park guests are looking for ways to cool off during those hot summer days and it might start affecting the bottom line if people start complaining about the heat. I expect they might start working with Mack to get more of their water coasters in their parks as Mack seems to be more reliable. They might also throw some work to Hopkins as their water rides seem to be pretty reliable as well.

[@me-myself-i787]

I have ridden Poseidon at Europa-Park, and I don't like water coasters. They're basically a rollercoaster with a splashdown, except rough and janky. A much better idea would be to add splashdowns to their existing rollercoasters, similar to the one on Shambhala.

[@kevinthompson6986]

WTH was intamin even doing making flumes call in HOPKINS

[@AirtimeThrills]

At least PP operated for a decade

[@ghxsted6038]

Hey love the content and are you planning on doing by the numbers for Canadas wonderland in the near future

[@AirtimeThrills]

Yeah i will but i also plan on revisiting the park this year and would like to get some footage

[@thefrenchcommander5770]

I hate it when people say that the gp doesn’t like intimidator here. It is basically the one ride that everyone rides atleast once because it is like a local legend.

[@jameslitwin1726]

its just cause it never has a line and a lot of other rides there do

[@garminkid]

Whenever I’ve ridden i305, I always listen to what other people think. The consensus is that the ride is amazing, but people don’t do rerides because it’s so intense. After 3 rides in a row I needed a break. That thing is wild!

[@73gr]

true but sometimes coasters can be too intense

[@CC-sv9fs]

I got to experience Shoot the Rapids while it was still around. I thought it was okay it wasn’t bad by no means but it definitely had its issues. I think Cedar point should definitely get another log flume in the future the park sure can get hot in the summer.

[@kevinthompson6986]

Yep if only cedar fair would work With Hopkins they specialize in them always thought they were stupid NOT TO

[@danstaifer2028]

Cedar Point's biggest mistake... getting rid of the pirate ride!

[@sandraweilbrenner67]

In October at Knott's there were a lot of rides shut down and something strange was happening with the drop tower , it would go part way up then drop them go all the way and drop and they had a line backed up but it seemed not to be working right at all. And xcelerator was down and it took 10 minutes to launch hang time and montazoomas revenge was down also. Ghost rider was brilliant of course.

[@DJDigitalDave]

Not saying they should regret the move to B&M and I know they’re more reliable. But I miss Intamin’s smaller cars and track that can make sharper turns and IMO make you feel like your going faster, similar to the fact that 80 mph feels faster on motorcycle than on a car. I know that Intamin is less reliable but I by far prefer them over B&M.

[@MyLifeAsBrandon]

One thing I want to see Cedar Fair do is invest in something other than B&M for a big destination coaster. This would be another great addition to their brand outside of B&M. Mack is starting to really change the game and I think if Cedar Fair we’re to invest in a record breaking Extreme Spinner, that would be something that would bring people in. Cedar Point or Kings Island could use that! *OR* A Mack hyper! 👀

[@AirtimeThrills]

I can definitely see them branching out to other manufacturers now that their big parks have gotten their B&Ms. We saw this with carowinds which is encouraging

[@timjacoboski751]

Awesome video! But confused why Canada’s Wonderland wasn’t included since it is a larger park in the chain.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I dont think CF has made any notable mistakes with CW. They've done nothing but add great additions since taking over

[@73gr]

Chris, all because of you, I have the courage to make my own content. Even tho I am way younger, and I'm 14, I really want to thank you for starting my own content. Also do you have any tips for my BGW trip in late March and what my 150th credit should be? I can't do Kings Dominion as I can do one park, and I wonder if I made the right decision.

[@masontheis4489]

I went to BGW for the first time in 2022. 150 has got to be Pantheon. It’s an elite ride in my opinion.

[@73gr]

@@masontheis4489 Thanks!

[@itsrobloxhere]

yes, you made a good decision

[@AirtimeThrills]

Busch Gardens is the better park IMO and I would make it Pantheon. That's definitely their elite coaster. I would also hit Verbolten early, that thing gets a nasty line

[@73gr]

@@AirtimeThrills Thank you

[@coasterblocks3420]

Well it’s before Cedar Fair, but I like to think they lament that Paramount Parks didn’t take up their option to buy out the other partners in Australia’s Wonderland in Sydney.

[@forgotmyun]

I honestly didn’t even realize Dorsey is a Cedar park. But I suppose it kinda makes sense. It’s right in between Hershey Park and Six Flags Great Adventure, two parks that get plenty of investments.

[@Lloyd00]

Soapbox racers was my jam as a kid

[@Hunting380]

3:32 I am always so curious about this situation. Although im sure it was a huge pain in the ass, the recognition and clout Cedar Point got from building it is worth any price I believe . People from all over the world were once more reminded that the park is the GOAT.

[@jasongunther1929]

I would have to say a big mistake was voyage to the iron reef. The idea sounded good on paper but wasn’t executed right. Perhaps they should of put more story elements into the queue instead of “ here you go now just shoot some sea creatures” I have yet to try out the new Beary tales ride which I heard is definitely an improvement!

[@TJ85234]

Just picked up our platinum passes for this year Wahoo!!

[@EA_Ninja]

Cedar Fair's biggest mistake that nobody knows: They have a Fair amount of Biggest Mistakes.

[@RoachOverlord]

Like with with Windjammer at Knott's and SOB at KI, Hypersonic got the axe almost immediately after Cedar Fair bought KD. They didn't want to deal with that maintenance headache.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I can just see them coming in and looking at it like...."the hell is this?"

[@73gr]

@@AirtimeThrills i could see when CF bought Kings Island, they said "i hate paramount" because they have to deal with son of beast 😂

[@micoasters]

I like cedar fair, so time to grab the Pepsi and m&ms and watch this

[@micoasters]

@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate didn’t know

[@sandraweilbrenner67]

El Toro Ryan used to stay in the Cedar Point dorms and said they are slummy.

[@ToaOfFusion]

Another Cedar-Fair-more-Paramount mistake I can think of is buying the Thrust Air prototype for Hypersonic XLC. The same year that prototype got installed at the park, Dododonpa was under construction in Japan and it's clear which coaster lasted longer.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I wonder what was different between the 2 given they were built so close together. Like did S&S make significant improvements from the prototype to Dodonpa

[@ToaOfFusion]

@@AirtimeThrills They did. Ever since Kings Dominion bought the prototype from the Utah testing facility, which wasn't that long, they fixed out some of the design kinks that would later plague Hypersonic such as the weak I-beams and the trains.

[@bbolin5626]

@@AirtimeThrills Then why was Ring Racer a huge disaster considering it opened 4 years after it initially was to open?

[@chezko4900]

Great Video! What coaster could SFMM use the most right now?

[@73gr]

That would be a B&M hyper/giga, as the park DOES not have ONE, but its expensive and six flags is cheap

[@IntaminFanGRLPowerCoasters]

An Intamin

[@HeatherLandon227]

I rode Disaster Transport back in 2007/8. Didn't realize I'd be riding a soon to be defunct ride. At the time I found it pretty cool.

[@Cyber_Chriis]

That subtle hint at 0:46 😂

[@nobodybelievesunderscores4122]

I was waiting for this video for about 4627474929392 years

[@steve1w33x]

Hope everyone reading this is have a fantastic day! 😀

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

I agree with you about the decision to not RMC Ghostrider, tho I do feel like there are a few places in the retrack that aren't as good as they used to be..

[@grobble8954]

Issues can get fixed eventually with the new Gravity Group prefab re-track product that they have used on several coasters the last 2 years with great results at other Cedar Fair parks

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

@@grobble8954 Why am I receiving an advertisement..

[@grobble8954]

@@TS_Mind_Swept WTF are you talking about

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

@@grobble8954 Joe

[@grobble8954]

@@TS_Mind_Swept Troll get a life.

[@redwolfcorprevamped8266]

(Haven't watched the video yet.) Stinger better be on here. There's a reason why Cedar Fair hasn't relocated another coaster to another park since. That thing was a disaster.

[@justinmaybach6388]

Don’t see it.

[@quentenmajoor5861]

One big mistake cedar fair made was making a deal with B&M to not build any invert coasters within a 200 mile radius of the park. Canada’s Wonderland would end up with an SLC instead of a B&M invert for that reason. Imagine what Canada’s Wonderland would be like today with that coaster in the lineup along with Yukon striker, leviathan, and behemoth.

[@AirtimeThrills]

How long was that deal for

[@quentenmajoor5861]

@@AirtimeThrills I’m not sure how long it lasted. I know the deal started in 1994 shortly after raptor at cedar point opened. Canada’s Wonderland (owned by paramount back then and not cedar fair) was also planning to build a B&M invert at the time however that project got cancelled after it was revealed the park was located 198 miles from cedar point and as a result the park had to build an SLC as an alternative.

[@xmisumi]

i hate that these kind of parks lack so much theming. sure the coasters are great but to me even a "lackluster" ride can be so much fun if the theming is pretty, the music is epic, etc. is it wrong of me to think that? im european tho, so maybe my expectations are too high. my favorite parks are Toverland and Phantasialand because they have a lot of everything, not just good rides.

[@wolfdaddy5215]

I wonder if cp regrets not working with vekoma newer models. it be good way bring them small tier parks up. Plus vekoma launched flying coaster to replace volcano.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I wonder if Sansei wasnt selling major Vekoma products to the non-disney chains and only offering S&S products. Not entirely sure, but that may be changing now.

[@TheExvangelicalCat]

Honestly, I really don't think Geauga Lake was Cedar Fair's fault. It wasn't in a good area to attract tourists and had been a small park that catered mostly to local families before six flags came along and overbuilt it.I think the park would still be around if it had just been allowed to stay a small family park.

[@jackfeldman3916]

Top thrill dragster: *among the best and most accelerating coasters ever built* AHHH see what you did there

[@thewystermyster3466]

hey airtime thrills if diamond back at frontier city is not stand out then why is it a real standout

[@sc4158]

2:49 Woahhhh $10.5 billion??? That ride brought down the entire park and chain! (pretty sure you said million, but I heard billion lol)

[@justinmaybach6388]

Yeah he said they invested over 10 million at first and mistakenly used the word “billion” the second time. What if the removal of that attraction actually required 10 billion dollars?

[@AirtimeThrills]

Did i say billion? Woops

[@floridamaddogg]

I agree with your assessment of B&M. They are my favorite manufacturer overall, but I'm being unbiased in saying that what you said is correct about bringing quality, great, reliable, capacity monster, crowd pleaser rides to their parks. The number of general public that like B&M coasters is pretty astonishing. I love me some intamins and RMC, but I always find myself going back to the B&Ms and wanting to ride them over and over again.

[@kevinthompson6986]

I think all B&M’s are cookie cutters myself except for maybe the inverts & wing coasters

[@floridamaddogg]

@@kevinthompson6986 I don't think so. I agree that alot of there coasters contain similar elements, but they make the best inverts in the world and so many other great models. There hyper and giga models are some of the best out there.

[@elitelord5350]

Complete the trio with a vid on Herschend and Sea World Entertainment

[@CarlileCoasters]

I’m not too mad they stopped working with intamin. Intamin left cedar fair with a bang, I mean seriously, snaps so violent it creates airtime? Not that’s one hell of a way to go out.

[@donjernigan3435]

Volcano at KD should probably be on the list. I don't think Cedar Fair likes to go head to head competing with other parks. They bought Geauga Lake to get rid of competition. They don't invest too heavily in KD since BGW has stepped up their game. Also they don't invest in Dorney because they have SFGAdv to the east and Hersheypark to the west. I guess Knotts could be on the list, but its a year round park and I think the other parks around attract guests to it, so its not really competition and they aren't fighting for marketshare.

[@AirtimeThrills]

Its hard to say volcano was a mistake. It sucked for sure but hard to know what their options really were

[@donjernigan3435]

@@AirtimeThrills The pro is that everyone loved Volcano for sure. I still have pictures on it. But the cons and the mistakes: 1. They shouldn't have bought the first and only model. That's why they had the parts problem. 2. They shouldn't have built it in the Volcano. That's why it was a maintenance nightmare. 3. It was a financial disaster from the standpoint that it only lasted 10 years and they paid $20M. Alpengeist opened a year earlier at BGW which also cost $20M but that's still running today and #7 on your top B&M Invert list. KD can't open another B&M invert after BGW, but they could have done it in 1996. Hopefully KD will get the B&M Wing or a B&M Flyer before BGW snatches those up too. Also love the channel! All your comments are spot on.

[@jacobthomas2437]

Do this with some independent parks

[@clairefunnell8481]

I'm glad Cedar Fair gave Canada's Wonderland the B&Ms, they are great rides.

[@williamjones9707]

Dragster was touch becuase it got its records broken in 2 years after all of that effort. By 2004 there was already rumblings about Kingda Ka

[@MrDisneyguy]

Cedar fair seems to be trying to make up for the de theming of worlds of fun with this season for the 50th anniversary, from what I hear

[@Trainmaster909]

9:40 when you are in the direct firing range of HersheyPark it’s not easy to compete.

[@LilThoosie]

Surprised you didn’t mention hyper sonic xlc

[@grobble8954]

Wasn't Cedar Fair that purchased that, Paramount did.

[@LilThoosie]

@@grobble8954 They removed it thats what i mean

[@t-hankplays7073]

Video idea: The coasters of Canadas Wonderland (past and present) by the numbers

[@openRCT2tutorials]

Removing Volcano

[@73gr]

False, they did the right thing because it was a nightmare. I want a good replacement tho as its a crowd pleaser.

[@bl0ckk1ngT0gEtH3r]

Mr. Airtime was this my idea from the six flags video?

[@AirtimeThrills]

Perhaps, but by the time the Six Flags video came out, this one was already uploaded

[@bl0ckk1ngT0gEtH3r]

Ok don't forget the independent parks!

[@Galactis1]

The purchase of SFWOA was only to get it to a point to sell and eliminate competition that's it. Also, there is no market in that area, there were no support for the size of that park.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I wonder how salvagable it was after six flags supersized it. It was around as a local park for 100 years

[@ScrewWatermarks]

@@AirtimeThrills No matter how poor Six Flags might have handled the park, I'm afraid GL would've been doomed either way under Cedar Fair. Having your flagship park be just an hour away brings about a major conflict of interest. Investing majorly into GL would only detract from the revenue of "The Point", and cutting back on investment means limited returns on Cedar Fair's purchase. Six Flags really should've sold to someone else IMO.

[@CoasterCrest]

In terms of mistakes before Cedar Fair bought them, I feel like for Kings Island, it was a mistake to build tomb raider the ride in the first place, and a mistake to build Italian Job where they did, removing both Antique Cars rides for it. Also, I wouldnt really call it the *park's* mistake, but leaning so hard into theming areas and rides to Paramount and Nickelodeon, only to have to quickly get rid of it all because of the sale to Cedar Fair, is what I would call the worst thing to ever happen to the park. Kings Island was set back YEARS by all the rebranding, cleaning up, and creating a new image and reputation for themselves after ditching essentially all of their IP. The Paramount bubble was very fragile indeed.

[@CoasterCrest]

@Maddox2021 - Comedy and More Alternate Nickelodeon was definitely the second best kids-orientied IP in an amusement park at the time, after Disney's stuff, and Kings Island had just put a lot of work into making their awesome kids area all Nickelodeon in 2006, just to remove it all 4 years later. Not only is Peanuts sort of irrelevant these days, but it's just such a small universe. There's only like 10 characters total. In fairness, I'm biased, because I absolutely grew up watching SpongeBob, Fairly Odd Parents, Avatar, and so on.

[@NurgamingYT]

Bro, i named a wooden coaster with your channel name, so now there's 2 airtime Thrills, you and a coaster

[@AirtimeThrills]

Sweet

[@NurgamingYT]

@@AirtimeThrills wait... You are not angry at me? I thought that you will be angry, but it's good that you are not angry

[@73gr]

Airtime thrills for a wooden coaster, hmm that's not a bad name, I always thought a channel better fits the name but nope it fits a coaster good

[@NurgamingYT]

@@73gr well, i made a layout that actually fits for that name, it has 2 airtimes and many thrills

[@HugeRMCFanBoY-bx3od]

Imagine The Company Being Called Cedarfairparkdorneyadventureswindsdominionislandgreatamericaberryfarmwonderlandoffun

[@VelocicoasterFanboy]

Very Cool😎

[@kevindlabayjr9334]

I think a mistake is not making Orion bigger and better than Fury 325

[@Eliharbert1]

Hi airtime thrills

[@Averyspeight]

buy or sell thefirst trex will go to six flag's and that's the only giga model they'll use for a while

[@MrChuckGrape]

There biggest mistake was removing Bounce-roos from WOF. They made an enemy of Chuck Grape on that day.

[@cornholio47]

I305 was business mistake but oh man was it a great one

[@IntaminFanGRLPowerCoasters]

As an Intamin fangirl, this video will hurt to watch.

[@kevinthompson6986]

I know if they could have just stook to making cookie cutter MF clones they would be like B&M now

[@vortexluigirosalina5557]

I'm glad Cedar Fair learned their mistakes

[@masterwatermelonthemeparks]

video idea: rank every Paramount coaster or top 10

[@AirtimeThrills]

I made this video last year

[@user-hi7fm7fe6d]

I love the raptor

[@kenny-fair]

Oh hola Chris