Originally Posted By wahooskipper News out of Sandusky, Ohio is that Matt Ouimet has been named the new President of Cedar Fair and will assume the CEO responsibilities upon the end of current CEO Dick Kinzel's employment contract in early January, 2012.
Originally Posted By dshyates Cool, Cedar Fair could use a bit of Disney panache. Here is the press release: <a href="http://www.cedarfair.com/ir/press_releases/index.cfm" target="_blank">http://www.cedarfair.com/ir/pr...ndex.cfm</a>
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I have never thought the comparisons between Disney and the regional parks (Six Flags/Cedar Fair) were warranted and I still think it is an apples to brocolli comparison.... That said, those comparisons will really grow now. Cedar Fair parks aren't meant to be Disney parks...and Ouimet's hiring hopefully will just bring some Disney-type philosophy more than anything else.
Originally Posted By Bob Paris 1 Wait.......I am confused. Do we love or hate Matt Ouimet? Is this good news or bad?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo This is quite shocking. I hate Cedar Fair with a passion, but adore Ouimet. Let's hope he cleans it up, starting with restoring the lost magic of Knott's!
Originally Posted By dshyates Bob, I can't speak for everyone, but I think Matt is a strong leader with good taste. So there is little doubt that this is a good thing for Cedar Fair. Especially coming on the heels of Dick Kinzel. Who, rumor has it, is a nice guy and a passion for Cedar Point, and total tone deafness on all their other parks. And Dave, while I understand your disdain for Cedar Fair after what they did to Knott's. But I have to say that I still really love Cedar Point. It is amazing to me how differently the 2 parks were developed during the late '90s and all through the '00s.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper Whoa...not sure I want to open Pandora's box Dave but...as a former Cedar Fair employee...what gives? It ain't Disney, of course, but why the strong feelings?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I think Dave hit the nail on the head. TO me, they raped, pillaged and plundered Knott's Berry Farm, the 2nd best park in California (or it used to be). I am not compelled to travel just for steel rides, not for at least the last 15 years. So Cedar Point to me seemed to never factor very high on my bucket list at all despite having world class coasters.
Originally Posted By DlandDug I am very happy to see Matt Ouimet in this position. He was a fine executive at Disney-- one of the very few who was able to balance management ability with that elusive "Disney magic thing." Fans of the Disneyland Resort will never forget that Ouimet was something of a white knight for the 50th birthday celebration. As for Cedar Fair, it's really nothing more or less than a great regional theme park group with an emphasis on roller coasters. Their handling of Knotts Berry Farm hasn't been pleasing for the true believers who wish it could still exist in the vision of Walter Knott and family. But Cedar Fair did what they know, and to many amusement park fans the massive steel coasters are the best thing they could have done. (It should be noted that the Knotts built steel coasters themselves, so it's not as if their presence was unprecedented.) Ouimet should bring the same skill set he used on the Cruise Line and at Disneyland to Knotts and all the Cedar Fair parks. Hopefully, he will be able to balance the intangible appeal of the old Knotts with the reality of what they must do in order to remain competitive.
Originally Posted By dshyates See Dave, I think I have found the problem with your perception of Cedar Point. It is not a Six Flags style iron park. It is an old traditional amusement park that happens to excel at world class coasters. They have done a great job of keeping that traditional amusement park feel in the older areas of the park and an OK job on the themed frontier expansion added in the '70s. I really enjoy staying at The Breakers (an on property turn of the century beachside resort in the style of the Hotel Del) and just taking in the atmosphere. The hotel is in dire need of an upgrade, but you can still feel what it must have been like hanging there in the '20s. I am hoping this is one area that Matt can really help the place. As to Knott's, I am hoping that Matt tries to restore some of what was lost during the "improvements".
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo True, KBF did have some steel, just not to the detriment of Ghost Town, it's sould.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo sounds a bit more appealing, marginally. then again we are going up to Blackpool in September, but that is only a few hours in the car. If I lived in the Mid West, I would probably have a higher opinion of CP too. I have heard great things, but the experience at Knott's, that place was a shadow of it's former self last time. even the Chicken Dinner was terrible. I was heart broken.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo But Matt has done a great job in all the posts he has had from the Cruise line onwards, so I am very hopeful.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper There is no comparisons between Breakers and the Hotel Del. Don't get your hopes up. The accommodations folks have wanted to put in upgrades of the caliber that is needed but have been hamstrung. I'm hopeful that Ouimet will be able to address that relatively quickly. It would be curious to know how Knott's would be doing today if still under family control. I think Disney, Universal and even Magic Mountain have raised the stakes and I'm not sure how they would have sustained without really redefining what they did. I was at Knott's in it's original heyday and I understand the appeal. I'm just not sure they would have remained viable.
Originally Posted By dshyates I stand by my assessment the The Breakers is in the style of beachside resorts like the Hotel Del. And I would imagine that in 1919 the comparison would be more accurate. I also acknowledge that it is in dire need of upgrading. Dire as in some would consider the place a dump. This is what I am hoping Matt will be addressing along with restoring Knott's to it's former glory. The Breakers still has wonderful atmosphere and could easily be restored into a true classic resort. All it takes is the willingness to invest. And I believe Matt gets what needs to be done. One walk through is all it would take to see the potential.
Originally Posted By DlandDug But is the investment justified for the Breakers? Would a luxury hotel make sense in that location? I really don't know, as I have never had the pleasure of visiting Cedar Point.
Originally Posted By DlandDug >>I have heard great things, but the experience at Knott's, that place was a shadow of it's former self last time. even the Chicken Dinner was terrible.<< Knotts has definitely changed, and not all for the better. But the Chicken Dinner has stayed exactly the same for as long as I can recall. It's really just a good, homestyle meal in a fairly ordinary dining room. What makes it special is the rich tradition associated with it. And I was pleased to see this was one thing that has been left alone.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Funny, last time we went the potatoes were watery and the cabbage frozen a little in the middle. The chicken and the to die for boysenberry pie were fab, but the rest not. It was a real shame.
Originally Posted By dshyates "But is the investment justified for the Breakers? Would a luxury hotel make sense in that location? I really don't know, as I have never had the pleasure of visiting Cedar Point." See that really is the question. I don't eve know if they keep the place open in the off season. But even then, I believe the biggest problem is that Cedar Fair is just a crappy hotelier. If Matt can't fix the problem internally, maybe they should consider a third party manager like Universal has done with Loews.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Great news for Cedar Fair. I hope his influence will trickle down to Magic Mountain here in California. I agree the Knott's has fallen in quality and charm over the last decade or two, but it has nothing on the descent of Magic Mountain. I'm not sure there are many who remember it, but MM used to be quite charming and family friendly. It always had more thrills than Disney, but until Revolution went in in '76 they weren't significantly more important than the other aspects of the park. I wish my sister and I could have taken our kids to the park of our youth, but instead we took the to what I want to call a Gulag of amusement parks. The only area that retained any theming was the Gotham area, themed to Urban Decay. My teenager even joked he didn't know if the graffiti and garbage were theme or bad maintenance. And there is no re-entry, so you are stuck eating the over-priced, uninspired food. There was a time you could get a decent meal there, now it's all Johnny Rockets, Panda Express and Papa Johns at two or three times the price. I could go on, I just hope it gets some of Matt's love, along w/ KBF and CP.
