Not Earth-shattering news, but interesting nonetheless:
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/cedar_fair_picks_disney_exec_f.html
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/06/cedar_fair_picks_disney_exec_f.html
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Matthew Ouimet Added as Executive Cedar Fair
- Thread starter Scar
- Start date
lebeau
Well-Known Member
As a season pass holder at Kings Island, I am excited! :sohappy:
Brian Noble
Well-Known Member
Ditto as a passholder at Cedar Point. This is a great thing for Cedar Fair.
Mickey_777
Well-Known Member
So does this mean Cedar Fair parks are going to get "themed up" like never before?
Kamikaze
Well-Known Member
Probably not. Theming costs tons of money, and can't easily be shown to have a return on that investment. CP (and its guests) is more interested in the thrills, and while story and theming may continue to be ramped up on its new attractions, they won't be theming things to the level that Disney does.
Brian Noble
Well-Known Member
I would not think so---for the most part, they are amusement parks, not theme parks. At best, they are blended, though even some of the "pure amusement" parks have been slowly adding little extra thematic touches over time as they install or move attractions.
But, they don't try to be what they are not. Instead, *as amusement parks*, several Cedar Fair parks are among the best in the business, though they are not without their blemishes---many of which were also seen in the Pressler/Harris days at DLR, and subsequently cleaned up by Ouiment. Customer service issues, small maintenance problems, etc. etc.
WDWFigment
Well-Known Member
Great news for Cedar Fair. Good to see Matt back in the theme park business. They can groom Staggs and/or Rasulo for TWDC CEO all they want, I'm holding out hope that Ouimet is a candidate (although isn't he older than Iger?).
They've gone to "outsiders" before, but never someone who has left the company.
They've gone to "outsiders" before, but never someone who has left the company.
a2grafix
Well-Known Member
Nice addition. Wonder what he will implement and plus out the Cedar Fair parks. It will be interesting what he will try to incorporate and expand at Cedar Point and as well as Kings Island.
There is a lot of land for Kings Island. Hope he puts his foot down and reopens Son of Beast.
As for theming, I think in some instances Kings Island has more theming than Cedar Point.
There is a lot of land for Kings Island. Hope he puts his foot down and reopens Son of Beast.
As for theming, I think in some instances Kings Island has more theming than Cedar Point.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
This is fantastic news for Knott's Berry Farm, about 10 minutes up the freeway from Disneyland and the only Cedar Fair park to remain open year round.
Knott's Berry Farm already has the most comprehensive themeing of any Cedar Fair property, and some of the older areas of the park could use a theme refresh and an upgrade. Some parts of Knott's Berry Farm still look and perform well though, like the Ghost Town area.
Knott's Berry Farm - Timber Mountain Log Ride
Matt Ouimet can only be good news for the company. He worked absolute wonders at Disneyland, and it's a shame he wasn't given a larger role within the Disney Parks organization. I wonder if he'll pop over to visit his old team at Disneyland when he visits Knott's Berry Farm as the new CEO?
Great news for Cedar Fair.... but bad news for Disney.
.
Knott's Berry Farm already has the most comprehensive themeing of any Cedar Fair property, and some of the older areas of the park could use a theme refresh and an upgrade. Some parts of Knott's Berry Farm still look and perform well though, like the Ghost Town area.
Knott's Berry Farm - Timber Mountain Log Ride
Matt Ouimet can only be good news for the company. He worked absolute wonders at Disneyland, and it's a shame he wasn't given a larger role within the Disney Parks organization. I wonder if he'll pop over to visit his old team at Disneyland when he visits Knott's Berry Farm as the new CEO?
Great news for Cedar Fair.... but bad news for Disney.
.
Brian Noble
Well-Known Member
Why? That ride---like most "giant wood"---is a disaster. Removing the loop made it slightly less disastrous, but still...I don't think even new trains can save it, though they might help. At the very least, it needs a full working over by The Canadians. A Texas Gianting might work. But, I bet it gets Hercules'd.
Stevek
Well-Known Member
This is fantastic news for Knott's Berry Farm, about 10 minutes up the freeway from Disneyland and the only Cedar Fair park to remain open year round.
Knott's Berry Farm already has the most comprehensive themeing of any Cedar Fair property, and some of the older areas of the park could use a theme refresh and an upgrade. Some parts of Knott's Berry Farm still look and perform well though, like the Ghost Town area.
Knott's Berry Farm - Timber Mountain Log Ride
Matt Ouimet can only be good news for the company. He worked absolute wonders at Disneyland, and it's a shame he wasn't given a larger role within the Disney Parks organization. I wonder if he'll pop over to visit his old team at Disneyland when he visits Knott's Berry Farm as the new CEO?
Great news for Cedar Fair.... but bad news for Disney.
.
Unfortunately, much of the overall theme has been muddied by the increase in steel monsters throughout the park. What was once a very unique park, still has areas with amazing character (ghost town) but has become more Six Flags with each new thrill ride addition.
While Matt won't undo what has already been done, let's hope he steers Knott's back to what is used to be like. Would love to see him add a dark ride where Knott's Berry Tales was and find a way to bring back a new and improved Haunted Shack.
Based solely on what he did for Disneyland during his tenure, this should be a big win for Cedar Fair as Matt gets that the entire guest experience (maintenence, quality cast, family environment) is critical to the success of the park. Lose even one of those things and guests won't come through the turnstiles...one of the reasons we visit Knott's once every 1-2 years...and I grew up going to Knott's more than Disneyland.
voodoo321
Well-Known Member
I can tell you as a long time Cincinnati area resident that King's Island used to be a "theme park". There were very distinct areas of the park with decent theming. Does anybody remember "Enchanted Voyage"? It progressivly lost that over the years and Paramount almost completly wiped it out. They made it an amusement park with movie title names for the rides.
Since Cedar Fair took over the park has improved leaps and bounds. Landscaping is back, atmosphere has improved and most of all customer service, professionalism and ride operations have taken a 180. They are running more trains on the coasters and loading more efficiently. The employees seem to actually care now and have some enthusiam and it feels like a fun place to be again. I even see suits picking up trash as they walk through the park. Diamondback is an excellent coaster and though it doesn't really have much theming, looks nice and is nicely landscaped.
Son of Beast was either poorly designed or poorly built. Rode it once with the loop and gave it a chance after. Both times I had to buy packs of Tylenol at the nearest gift shop after riding. For those who never went there in the early days, believe it or not, they had a well themed african village in that area with water features, bridges and nice looking buildings and Paramount turned it into a concrete parking lot. Where the SoB is, was a monorail safari ride where you could view real african wildlife.
They are on the right track and hopefully he can bump it up a notch or two. I don't know the numbers but I've been twice this year and the place has been completely packed and still the lines are moving smoothly. PR for the park has been progressive and exciting and ticket prices/discounts are very reasonable.
Since Cedar Fair took over the park has improved leaps and bounds. Landscaping is back, atmosphere has improved and most of all customer service, professionalism and ride operations have taken a 180. They are running more trains on the coasters and loading more efficiently. The employees seem to actually care now and have some enthusiam and it feels like a fun place to be again. I even see suits picking up trash as they walk through the park. Diamondback is an excellent coaster and though it doesn't really have much theming, looks nice and is nicely landscaped.
Son of Beast was either poorly designed or poorly built. Rode it once with the loop and gave it a chance after. Both times I had to buy packs of Tylenol at the nearest gift shop after riding. For those who never went there in the early days, believe it or not, they had a well themed african village in that area with water features, bridges and nice looking buildings and Paramount turned it into a concrete parking lot. Where the SoB is, was a monorail safari ride where you could view real african wildlife.
They are on the right track and hopefully he can bump it up a notch or two. I don't know the numbers but I've been twice this year and the place has been completely packed and still the lines are moving smoothly. PR for the park has been progressive and exciting and ticket prices/discounts are very reasonable.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
Do I! I miss it terribly.
Back in the day, KI was like Disneyland on a regional park scale. They even consulted with Roy during the planning stages.
It's still a great park and there are hints of theme here and there. (International Street is still a better intro to the park than most amusement parks have. And Rivertown still has a lot of charm.) I'd love to see some more of that come back.
Brian Noble
Well-Known Member
This gets to what I was talking about before. Cedar Fair doesn't really try to run "theme parks" that are fully-immersive environments that serve as major vacation destinations. They run "amusement parks" that have a mix of rides across a spectrum, plus some modest shows, in hopes of providing a fun day out to folks within easy driving distance.
But, they try to run them well, in terms of operations and guest experience, and for the most part do so.
Uncle Lupe
Well-Known Member
I use to ride that while my older siblings rode the King Cobra, those were the days.
xsupaxmanxsfnex
Well-Known Member
Yay! I work at Kings Island and this sounds exciting!!
TP2000 I just visited Knotts for my very first time and our favorite attraction was Timber Mountain Log Ride. It was a pretty lengthy and themed ride for a Cedar Fair park and we really enjoyed it.
As for Son of Beast, I used to work on that crew when I worked in rides so I have always loved that coaster and wish it would reopen. The Texas Giant remake style would be fine by me too. Even though it would lose its wooden credibility I think it would be an amazing ride and could maybe add the loop back in or something. I just pray that they don't tear that thing down. I have some great memories with that amazing piece of work.
TP2000 I just visited Knotts for my very first time and our favorite attraction was Timber Mountain Log Ride. It was a pretty lengthy and themed ride for a Cedar Fair park and we really enjoyed it.
As for Son of Beast, I used to work on that crew when I worked in rides so I have always loved that coaster and wish it would reopen. The Texas Giant remake style would be fine by me too. Even though it would lose its wooden credibility I think it would be an amazing ride and could maybe add the loop back in or something. I just pray that they don't tear that thing down. I have some great memories with that amazing piece of work.
The more I think about this, the more I like the move. Cedar Point (the park) has been moving away from family rides and adding more thrill rides. While I love a roller coaster as much as the next person, Cedar Point used to have more rides that a family (i.e. Grandma, Dad, children) could do together than they do now.
Maybe with the experience that Ouimet had at WDW will help Cedar Point either add or at least keep the ones they have and not replace them.
Maybe with the experience that Ouimet had at WDW will help Cedar Point either add or at least keep the ones they have and not replace them.
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
What excites me about this is that Cedar Point, especially when I worked there, was so behind the times in usage of technology and in leadership styles. Hopefully Matt can bring some more 21st century tech to the park (from what I understand this will be the first year guests staying at Cedar Point hotels will be able to make charges to their room keys) along with a more employee-friendly approach to leadership.
TP2000
Well-Known Member
It is fun! Knott's really turns on during the six weeks of Halloween, when they decorate the whole park and retheme the big rides like Timber Mountain Log Ride. The loggers are turned into zombies, etc. :lol:
This Ouimet news should have the most implications for Knott's Berry Farm, rather than the seasonal parks out in Ohio. There's a lot more "theme" at Knott's, and Knott's blatantly markets and labels itself as a "Theme Park". And not just a theme park, but "America's First Theme Park", since it began in the 1930's and was a fully fledged park with rides, shows and themed attractions when Disneyland opened up a few miles down Harbor Blvd. in 1955.
Knott's Berry Farm, a self-described "Theme Park"
Versus the Ohio parks, which I understand offer up excellent coasters and a clean, courteous operation, but that clearly don't try to be a "Theme Park" and market and label themselves as an "Amusement Park"
Cedar Point, a self-described "Amusement Park"
In addition to it's decades-long foundation as a theme park, Knott's offers a year-round operation and a close proximity to Disney property (about 12 to 15 minutes drive from the Disneyland Resort area). If Matt wants to make a big splash, he will find it easiest to do at Knott's for many business-minded reasons. I think all of the Cedar Fair parks will benefit from having Ouimet at the helm, but something tells me Ouimet knows that Knott's Berry Farm is the park with the most to gain and the most undeveloped potential for financial and physical growth.
Funny Disney Angle: Walter Knott and his wife Cordelia were invited guests of Walt Disney at Disneyland's grand opening on July 17th, 1955 and were impressed with Walt's park. But they were relieved when they drove back to their own park later that day and saw their own parking lot full of cars and a big crowd still enjoying Knott's Berry Farm. Phew! The two parks grew amicably through the 1950's, 60's and 70's, and the Knott's and Disney's remained friendly neighbors throughout. :wave:
TP2000
Well-Known Member
Matt never worked at WDW. He was the President of the Disney Cruise Line in the late 1990's until 2003. In October, 2003 he was announced as the President of the Disneyland Resort on the very same day that Cynthia Harriss suddenly "resigned" to "spend more time with my family" as an unmarried woman with no children.
Matt Ouimet was President of the Disneyland Resort from '03 until '06, when he left the Disney Company entirely to be the President of Starwood Hotels (Westin, W Hotel, Sheraton, etc.). The closest he ever got to working at WDW was when he was with the Cruise Line out of Port Canaveral, and as I understand it they have their own separate management offices there.