coasterfanatic wrote:Rapids isn’t going anywhere. They can’t sell the Rapids. It’s built into the ground. And Roaring Rapids is a generic name so there’s no name or IP to sell. It’s not open this year because they are waiting a part
Given that Aquaman was just repainted and themed to DC, I doubt that goes anywhere either. Water rides may not be as popular in other parks but they are immensely popular at ours and it would be a mistake to take them out.
Every park is also treated differently.
Also CF is NOT in control. Their CEO might be the new CEO but Salim is still chairman of the board and the board will be evenly split with SF and CF members. So Salim and the board would have to approve anything Zimmerman does.
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I get that CF is not in control, but Salim is off seeing the Quddiya park, so he will be temporarily absent from the board. Even when Salim is back on the board, Salim and the people from Six Flags will probably upvote almost everything CF does since they have seen the public reception to CF vs. SF.
On the topic of Roaring Rapids, I don’t think that it will be that popular upon reopening due to Over Texas’s recent fiasco with their version of the ride.
While I agree that roaring rapids and the flumes are classics. Corporate could care less. Cedar Fairs big advantage over Six Flags was their ability to produce organic growth and have substantially higher per caps. How did they achieve this? Quality attractions and clean and well-kept parks. There's a 99.9% chance Great America will be near the top of the list for major investments seeing as how well it already preforms even under the current Six Flags management. If it came down to a giga coaster which could attract hundreds of thousands of new guests or the rapids? My bet would be on the giga coaster.
JackGlass wrote:While I agree that roaring rapids and the flumes are classics. Corporate could care less. Cedar Fairs big advantage over Six Flags was their ability to produce organic growth and have substantially higher per caps. How did they achieve this? Quality attractions and clean and well-kept parks. There's a 99.9% chance Great America will be near the top of the list for major investments seeing as how well it already preforms even under the current Six Flags management. If it came down to a giga coaster which could attract hundreds of thousands of new guests or the rapids? My bet would be on the giga coaster.
Great America only attracts locals, might as well bring back the theming just to make the park feel like it has some quality again
Old Great America was better, however I hope just a bit of that charm comes back
JackGlass wrote:While I agree that roaring rapids and the flumes are classics. Corporate could care less. Cedar Fairs big advantage over Six Flags was their ability to produce organic growth and have substantially higher per caps. How did they achieve this? Quality attractions and clean and well-kept parks. There's a 99.9% chance Great America will be near the top of the list for major investments seeing as how well it already preforms even under the current Six Flags management. If it came down to a giga coaster which could attract hundreds of thousands of new guests or the rapids? My bet would be on the giga coaster.
Great America only attracts locals, might as well bring back the theming just to make the park feel like it has some quality again
Completely agree with bringing back the theming. Getting rid of the themed music for each territory was one of the dumbest things they ever did.
coasterfanatic wrote:Rapids isn’t going anywhere. They can’t sell the Rapids. It’s built into the ground. And Roaring Rapids is a generic name so there’s no name or IP to sell. It’s not open this year because they are waiting a part
Given that Aquaman was just repainted and themed to DC, I doubt that goes anywhere either. Water rides may not be as popular in other parks but they are immensely popular at ours and it would be a mistake to take them out.
Every park is also treated differently.
Also CF is NOT in control. Their CEO might be the new CEO but Salim is still chairman of the board and the board will be evenly split with SF and CF members. So Salim and the board would have to approve anything Zimmerman does.
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I get that CF is not in control, but Salim is off seeing the Quddiya park, so he will be temporarily absent from the board. Even when Salim is back on the board, Salim and the people from Six Flags will probably upvote almost everything CF does since they have seen the public reception to CF vs. SF.
On the topic of Roaring Rapids, I don’t think that it will be that popular upon reopening due to Over Texas’s recent fiasco with their version of the ride.
That is wildly inaccurate. Just because he won’t be around doesn’t me he doesn’t have a say. They have video calling for a reason
There will be budgets and other things. The board isn’t just going to approve anything. That’s not how it works.
That would be like Congress just approving anything the President wants. It doesn’t work like that.
Only time will tell but I don’t think the flumes or rapids are going anywhere.
JackGlass wrote:While I agree that roaring rapids and the flumes are classics. Corporate could care less. Cedar Fairs big advantage over Six Flags was their ability to produce organic growth and have substantially higher per caps. How did they achieve this? Quality attractions and clean and well-kept parks. There's a 99.9% chance Great America will be near the top of the list for major investments seeing as how well it already preforms even under the current Six Flags management. If it came down to a giga coaster which could attract hundreds of thousands of new guests or the rapids? My bet would be on the giga coaster.
Great America only attracts locals, might as well bring back the theming just to make the park feel like it has some quality again
I disagree with Great America only attracting locals. I've met plenty of people that are here visiting from out of town.
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
JackGlass wrote:While I agree that roaring rapids and the flumes are classics. Corporate could care less. Cedar Fairs big advantage over Six Flags was their ability to produce organic growth and have substantially higher per caps. How did they achieve this? Quality attractions and clean and well-kept parks. There's a 99.9% chance Great America will be near the top of the list for major investments seeing as how well it already preforms even under the current Six Flags management. If it came down to a giga coaster which could attract hundreds of thousands of new guests or the rapids? My bet would be on the giga coaster.
Great America only attracts locals, might as well bring back the theming just to make the park feel like it has some quality again
I disagree with Great America only attracting locals. I've met plenty of people that are here visiting from out of town.
Oh ok you got me there, i still think the theming could be way better than it is now and that's what i think Great America should focus on
Old Great America was better, however I hope just a bit of that charm comes back
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I disagree with Great America only attracting locals. I've met plenty of people that are here visiting from out of town.
Oh ok you got me there, i still think the theming could be way better than it is now and that's what i think Great America should focus on
I agree. If Cedar Fair wanted to start small, they could retheme DC coasters outside of DC Universe to fit in. How about “Crawfish Chaos” and “Jumbalaya Jumbler” for Superman and Dark Knight, respectively.
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I disagree with Great America only attracting locals. I've met plenty of people that are here visiting from out of town.
Oh ok you got me there, i still think the theming could be way better than it is now and that's what i think Great America should focus on
I agree. If Cedar Fair wanted to start small, they could retheme DC coasters outside of DC Universe to fit in. How about “Crawfish Chaos” and “Jumbalaya Jumbler” for Superman and Dark Knight, respectively.
How coild those 2 fit in Orleans Place in the best way possible?
Old Great America was better, however I hope just a bit of that charm comes back
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I disagree with Great America only attracting locals. I've met plenty of people that are here visiting from out of town.
Oh ok you got me there, i still think the theming could be way better than it is now and that's what i think Great America should focus on
I agree. If Cedar Fair wanted to start small, they could retheme DC coasters outside of DC Universe to fit in. How about “Crawfish Chaos” and “Jumbalaya Jumbler” for Superman and Dark Knight, respectively.
How about Zydeco Zinger for Superman
For Dark Knight: Toxic Tunnel of Terror Magical House on Boo Hill Pharaoh's Secret Lair of the Vampire Skull Manor Midnight Mansion Blood Bayou Voodoo Curse
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I'm actually surprised they didn't retain the Cedar Fair name since the analysts (and some people on here) like Cedar Fair more than Six Flags!
It honestly doesn’t matter. Six Flags has the name recognition, plus they’d have to remove the Six Flags names from all the parks if they went the other route.
Nearly all of the new Six Flags executive team is Cedar Fair execs. It will all be fine and hopefully we see nicer parks, good IP crossover (like Snoopy kids areas) and better investment into capital expenditures
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I'm actually surprised they didn't retain the Cedar Fair name since the analysts (and some people on here) like Cedar Fair more than Six Flags!
It honestly doesn’t matter. Six Flags has the name recognition, plus they’d have to remove the Six Flags names from all the parks if they went the other route.
Nearly all of the new Six Flags executive team is Cedar Fair execs. It will all be fine and hopefully we see nicer parks, good IP crossover (like Snoopy kids areas) and better investment into capital expenditures
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I believe we're all hoping that Cedar Fair lifts Six Flags up and Six Flags doesn't rub off on Cedar Fair negatively
Single Day Ride Count Record
50 rides 8/17/2018 (Without Flash Pass - Coasters After Dark)
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I'm actually surprised they didn't retain the Cedar Fair name since the analysts (and some people on here) like Cedar Fair more than Six Flags!
It honestly doesn’t matter. Six Flags has the name recognition, plus they’d have to remove the Six Flags names from all the parks if they went the other route.
Nearly all of the new Six Flags executive team is Cedar Fair execs. It will all be fine and hopefully we see nicer parks, good IP crossover (like Snoopy kids areas) and better investment into capital expenditures
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I believe we're all hoping that Cedar Fair lifts Six Flags up and Six Flags doesn't rub off on Cedar Fair negatively
Exactly. Over time, I think there will be a lot of integration and crossover as well as simplification.
Will the keep both Fast Pass and Flash Pass? Will they keep the names Fright Fest and Halloweekends? Etc etc.
My guess is over time, it will be just be one name used across all the properties. But that’s only a guess and only time will tell. Just remember that at the beginning of a merger, they always say “everything was stay as is” but that’s always just for now.
I absolutely expect DC themed rides in legacy Cedar Fair parks and Snoopy stuff in legacy Six Flags parks. (They aren’t necessarily going into CF parks and just changing the name to a DC name, but when they add something new…). IP crossover was a big reason for the merger.
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I'm actually surprised they didn't retain the Cedar Fair name since the analysts (and some people on here) like Cedar Fair more than Six Flags!
It honestly doesn’t matter. Six Flags has the name recognition, plus they’d have to remove the Six Flags names from all the parks if they went the other route.
Nearly all of the new Six Flags executive team is Cedar Fair execs. It will all be fine and hopefully we see nicer parks, good IP crossover (like Snoopy kids areas) and better investment into capital expenditures
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Nah, no Peanuts in my Great America, this is strictly looney tunes
Old Great America was better, however I hope just a bit of that charm comes back
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I'm actually surprised they didn't retain the Cedar Fair name since the analysts (and some people on here) like Cedar Fair more than Six Flags!
It honestly doesn’t matter. Six Flags has the name recognition, plus they’d have to remove the Six Flags names from all the parks if they went the other route.
Nearly all of the new Six Flags executive team is Cedar Fair execs. It will all be fine and hopefully we see nicer parks, good IP crossover (like Snoopy kids areas) and better investment into capital expenditures
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Nah, no Peanuts in my Great America, this is strictly looney tunes
Considering our kids areas suck and we don’t use the Looney Tunes for any themed areas, a Camp Snoopy would be perfect for Kidzopolis or Camp Cartoon
If they demolished Wilderness theater and some of the picnic grove, they could turn camp cartoon into an amazing camp Snoopy area. It's almost certain that the Peanuts will be coming to Great America
If we're going to have two kids areas instead of one large one, one needs to be looney tunes. They're just as recognizable as a brand like the Peanuts.
I don't hate the idea of peanuts coming to SFGAm, but Kidz needs to be the sacrifical lamb to make it happen. My idea for Kidz hasn't changed, get rid of the unused buildings and stage near the back and open it up. Eagle would probably need more queue modifications but there's a pretty sizable grass area back there they could use.
"I've been told that some part of every wish will be heard but lately I lost sight of the truth in those words."
If Knott's stays peanuts, then Great America stays Looney Tunes to keep it fair, especially since they've been there since opening. They should find a way to make a good Looney Tunes area, and i think the go kart space is good for that, but using Camp Cartoon could be a good idea too
Old Great America was better, however I hope just a bit of that charm comes back
CoasterRiderSC wrote:I'm actually surprised they didn't retain the Cedar Fair name since the analysts (and some people on here) like Cedar Fair more than Six Flags!
It honestly doesn’t matter. Six Flags has the name recognition, plus they’d have to remove the Six Flags names from all the parks if they went the other route.
Nearly all of the new Six Flags executive team is Cedar Fair execs. It will all be fine and hopefully we see nicer parks, good IP crossover (like Snoopy kids areas) and better investment into capital expenditures
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Six Flags has more name recognition, good or bad views, than Cedar Fair. CF never named their parks Cedar Fair "XYZ", so many people had no idea what parks they owned. They let parks retain their regional identity and names when they acquired them.
People need to realize that while they call it a merger of equals, it's not! Cedar Fair have 51% stake, but have 10 of the 11 Executive Team. CEDAR FAIR IS ESSENTIALLY COMPLETELY RUNNING THE SHOW! The only position of SF is Chief Integration Officer, which is a made up position during the merger that will go away within a few years, as the "integration" of the 2 companies will be completed in all aspects.
The CEO and the executive team run the parks, which are all CF. This is a complete management takeover by Cedar Fair people, while the Six Flags name is being retained for corporate. Hence, since it's all Cedar Execs retaining their roles CEO, CFO, COO, down to Head of Procurement . HR, etc,,, things at legacy Cedar Fair parks aren't going to change. They are going to keep doing what has made them successful. The changes will come ideally at SF legacy parks. The fact that the Exec team is 10 of 11 Cedar Fair people means Selim Bassoul nor his Board thought much of his Execs and wanted the Cedar Fair management team to do a massive takeover and/or this was a demand by Cedar Fair. You don't see a merger executive team this lopsided in "merger of equals", this is the level of lopsidedness of an acquisition of a company in financial/managerial trouble where the acquiring company is wiped out. SF executive management was sent a bunch of pink slips. Selim despite in utter incompetence saved his own bacon and gets a non daily operational role as Chairman. CF management will surely ignore Selim, as he has proven he hasn't any idea about the industry. He did manage to get him self a nice pay day while driving SF so far down(regress to 2016/17 levels financially while Cedar Fair and SEAS were producing records in 2022/23), that they were ripe to be taken over at the management level and in reality they were essentially acquired. The Board and investors were ecstatic at the merger opportunity from day one.
GreatAmericanfox wrote:If Knott's stays peanuts, then Great America stays Looney Tunes to keep it fair, especially since they've been there since opening. They should find a way to make a good Looney Tunes area, and i think the go kart space is good for that, but using Camp Cartoon could be a good idea too
Knotts and Cedar Fair legacy parks are keeping Peanuts. The contract they signed in 2017 was thru 2025, and has a 5 yr option thru 2030. If they had any notion of cutting it off they wouldn't have themed 2 coasters this year to Peanuts, as well as doing a big Knotts Camp Snoopy revamp this year. SF IP with WB(Looney Tunes/DC) is thru 2053. I have a feeling while the chains merged they are going to stay separate in many ways while under the CF Management team. The CF management cultural will be attempted to be implemented at SF legacy parks. CF legacy parks will keep doing what has brought them success the Seasons of Fun Model(which is essentially bringing what Knotts has done for decades in different forms to all their parks...improved theming, food quality, aesthetics, cleanliness, mix of thrill rides with family stuff, special events all season, etc...)
