A Talk With Cedar Fair's Matt Ouimet + Knott's Dark Ride News

The Huffington Post recently ran a great interview with Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet, just before he was going to head out on a two week 'work' trip that would take him to every one of the companies properties.

That's a road trip I wouldn't mind!

The article focuses quite a bit on Knott's Berry Farm, going over the improvements and additions that have been made since Mr. Ouimet took over.  This includes the renovation of two historic rides, along with Camp Snoopy and Ghost Town.  The hope is that in a very crowded Southern California market Knott's can become the park that in visitors eyes is "uncomplicated, affordable, familiar but still has a few surprises."

The interview also touches on the exciting (and large) expansion that is headed toward Carowinds, as well as Mr. Ouimet's views on keeping the parks individual and his leadership style.

One other thing that Mr. Ouimet is candid about is their desire to find a worthy attraction to go into the former Kingdom of the Dinosaurs building at Knott's, seen above.  He makes mention that depending on how Wonder Mountain's Guardian "works out" at Canada's Wonderland there could be "lessons that we learned" that could be applied to Knott's.  While a dark ride has been rumored to go into the building for years now, this is the first time we've seen such a strong confirmation.

Knott's Network has been publishing photos of work already underway in the building, giving more credit to the theory that the new dark ride might open next year.  Can't wait to get confirmation from the park!