Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Catch Up: Cedar Fair New In '07


Now that more and more details are available about the Cedar Fair parks' plans for the upcoming season, I think it makes sense to condense what we've learned thus far into one post. I will break it down by park:


Michigan's Adventure has remained a mystery to a certain degree. They are building a water tower that is part of the larger upgrade of getting the park connected to municipal water supply. I'm not sure, however, if this is an independent project of Cedar Fair or not. As far as the park goes, there have been rumors of some midway rearranging and a new bathroom on sites like Screamscape, but not much else. New reports on a couple forums of recent drive-bys mention no noticable work going on in the park, aside from a pile of dirt by Timbertown Railway.


Carowinds has formally announced their plans so this is mostly a recap. They are adding an ice skating show titled "Endless Summer on Ice" in one of the park's large theaters. The looping ship thrill ride will return near Top Gun and be named Southern Star. It was missing from the park during the '06 season. The Nick parade is also being returned for it's 4th year at the park. Cedar Fair has also lowered admission prices at this park.


WOF has not done any sort of formal announcement yet. They seem to be having a typical year-after-a-big-ride with not large capital additions. Searching through the forums at Around The World, we get some pretty much confirmed changes for this season. First, they are renovating more bathrooms for guest comfort. They are adding a Panda Express food place in the park. It also seems the they are adding two new hants to the parks Halloween event. It was rumored months ago that they would add a new merch. location to push the Nick items. I haven't heard anything further about this as of recently.


Well, first and foremost we have Firehawk, which is X-Flight from Geauga Lake. Son of Beast has had its loop removed, and new trains are being fabricated - by who exactly has not yet been confirmed, but sadly PTC seems to be out of the running. They are also reviewing possbilities for the section of track where the loop was. There are going to be 5 new shows in the park this coming season as well, and it looks like one of them will be an ice skating show like at Carowinds. Lastly, it is worth mentioning that at this former paramount park the Nick parade will not be running this season.


As reported in the post under this one, Geauga Lake is doing some more work toward overall guest comfort and satisfaction. They are doubling the number of cabanas for rent, adding some new food and games, renovating one of the restaurants on the ride side, adding a new magic show, painting two of their thrill rides, adding video cameras on one of the coasters for a unique souvenir, and retheming their movie/simulator.


Knott's Berry Farm has already announced that they are adding the Sierra Sidewinder, a new Mack spinning coaster aimed more at families. It will be located in the Camp Snoopy section of the park. I haven't heard anything about any additions to any of the Knott's Soak City parks in CA, and with the recent (past 2 years) addition of a Tornado slide in each, I wouldn't expect much. I almost feel like there should be some other more cosmetic changes at KBF, I'll have to keep my eyes out for those.


It's been fairly quiet when it comes to Great America. It's pretty well known that they are adding a wave pool for 2007, but the park has said nothing about it other than a few hints. I believe there were some marketing materials for the local tourism lobby that mentioned the pool, and the park did file the permits with Santa Clara for a 21,560 sq. ft. wave pool. Personally, that's about as confirmed as I need it to be.


Well, Valleyfair! is adding Renegade, a GCII wooden coaster that looks like a pretty awesome ride. I think the results of this one is something to watch as there are a few other Cedar Fair parks that would do very well to have a ride like this! Plus, it's already being rumored pretty heavily. I haven't heard about anything else going on at the park as far as smaller additions go.


Cedar Point's 2007 addition, Maverick, has been well covered and there is no need for me to add anything more, mostly since I have nothing. The park is also supposedly adding two new eateries, another 3 Point Challenge basketball game, a new parade (this is odd), and a shooting gallery. They also seem to be changing the entrance times for resort guests who receive a head start on day trippers.


Kings Dominion has done their formal announcement. They are expanding their water park, WaterWorks. New additions include Tidal Wave Bay, a wave pool, Tornado, a Tornado water slide, and Zoom Flume, a family raft slide. The park is also lowering their admission prices for the first time since the park opened. There has been no other news yet about other changes, but the park has said that even though Hypersonic XLC is for sale it will be operating this season.


Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom is adding a new 6 lane Mat Racer water slide. They have announced it though their new for 2007 brochure, but they have not revealed a name for the attraction yet. They park is also rumored to be changing the colors of Laser, as well as performing some other work on the ride. The park is also expected to do some work with their parking situation, including making more formal extra overflow parking.


Uhh I have no idea about this one. Screamscape mentions something about new restaurants, and everyone says the food at Canada's Wonderland is awful, so that could make sense. Other than that I haven't a clue. Anyone know?

That's all I got. We'll see what else pops up as the season draws closer.


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