HalloWeekends at Cedar Point closes this weekend
0Cedar Point Press Release
SANDUSKY, Ohio, Oct. 24, 2011 — Summertime fun will officially end on Sunday (Oct. 30) when HalloWeekends at Cedar Point will close for the season.
This will be the last weekend to enjoy the park’s roller coasters and the fun and frights of HalloWeekends.
During HalloWeekends, the park combines its vast assortment of rides with dozens of Halloween attractions that range from scary fright zones and haunted houses to live entertainment and children’s attractions that include the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration parade (4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday afternoon), the Magical House on Boo Hill, the Hay Bale Maze and a sleeping ogre.
With two new fright zones, Blood on the Bayou, featuring zombies and a self-taught butcher, and Screamworks that is inhabited by creatures donning gas masks and goggles, HalloWeekends has more haunted attractions than ever before!
Guests interested in frights can find their fill all weekend long. All of the haunted attractions are ready to scare each night. Plus, the park’s rides and roller coasters will be in operation from open to close. (On Friday night, there will be a reduced ride offering.)
There are also several ways to save money on a visit to the park. A four-pack of tickets can be purchased online for only $156, a savings of nearly $11 per ticket. Seecedarpoint.com for all of the details. (Tickets must be purchased in advance online.)
Plus, Sunday (Oct. 30) is also the last day of the park’s Climbing to a Million contest when current and new Facebook fans of Cedar Point will be able to receive a $10 discount on admission to the park ($39.99 per person) by downloading and printing a special voucher from Facebook and redeeming it at Cedar Point.
There is also still time to save money on summer fun for next year. Cedar Point Season Passes and Cedar Fair Platinum Passes for 2012 are now on sale for the lowest rate available through the end of the weekend. See cedarpoint.com for great ways to save!
On Friday, Cedar Point will be open from 6 p.m. to midnight; noon to midnight on Saturday; and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
For more information about HalloWeekends at Cedar Point, please visithalloweekends.com or call the park’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.
Fun for Facebook fans as Cedar Point climbs to a million likes
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Cedar Point Press Release
SANDUSKY, Ohio, Oct. 5, 2011 — If you “like” Cedar Point on Facebook, the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort has some money-saving deals and lots of fun waiting for you on Sundays at the park through the end of October.
Beginning this Sunday, Oct. 9 and all Sundays through Oct. 30, Cedar Point will be hosting the Climbing to a Million contest when current and new Facebook fans of Cedar Point will be able to receive a $10 discount on admission to the park ($39.99 per person) by downloading and printing a special voucher from Facebook and redeeming it at Cedar Point on any Sunday in October.
There is even more fun and prizes to be had for Facebook fans on Sundays at the park.
On all Sundays in October, all Facebook fans at Cedar Point will receive a specially designed Facebook sticker. If a Facebook fan is spotted by an official fan-finder (only on Sundays), those Facebook fans could win valuable prizes such as complimentary merchandise, food or front-of-the-line privileges on a favorite ride.
And when the park reaches one million fans (before or after the season), a special fan will win the Ultimate Opening Day Experience that includes complimentary tickets to the park on Opening Day 2012, the first ride of the season on your favorite ride, plus tours and more. Plus, all Facebook fans will be able to unlock a special prize when the park reaches one million Facebook fans. To enter the Climbing to a Million contest, please visit facebook.com/cedarpoint.
During HalloWeekends, there is fun for guests of all ages that includes more than 70 rides, including 16 roller coasters, and a variety of Halloween attractions.
With 10 haunted attractions, HalloWeekends has more creatures and spooky areas than ever before. This fall, Screamworks on the Frontier Trail and Blood on the Bayou, located in a wooded area along the lagoon, add to the screams.
HalloWeekends also has gypsy fortune-tellers, dancing monsters on the midway, two new shows and the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration parade that features floats, marching bands and dozens of strange-looking creatures.
HalloWeekends at Cedar Point will be held Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 28-30. Cedar Point will be open 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday nights (only a portion of the park is open); noon to midnight on Saturdays; and noon to 9 p.m. Sundays. This Sunday, Oct. 9, the park will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
For more information about the Climbing to a Million contest, please “like” Cedar Point on Facebook.com or follow us on Twitter. For additional information on HalloWeekends at Cedar Point, please visit cedarpoint.com or call the park’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.
Cedar Point named Best Amusement Park in the World
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Cedar Point Press Release
SANDUSKY, Ohio – For the 14th consecutive year, Cedar Point amusement park/resort in Sandusky, Ohio, was named as the “Best Amusement Park in the World” in the prestigious Golden Ticket Awards presented annually by Amusement Today newspaper.
Cedar Point also received another very special award as Dick Kinzel, CEO of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company that owns operates Cedar Point and 10 other amusement parks, was selected to become a member of the Legends Series as the 2011 Publisher’s Pick that recognizes the top examples of dedication, leadership and achievement in the amusement industry.
These announcements were made late Saturday afternoon, Sept. 17, during a special ceremony held at Holiday World amusement park in Santa Claus, Ind.
The Golden Ticket Awards are given to the highest-rated parks in approximately two dozen categories as determined by a panel of experienced amusement park fans from around the world. Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, Amusement Today is an international publication that covers amusement and waterpark news and trends.
“Dick Kinzel has been instrumental in the growth and success of the Cedar Fair family of parks,” said Gary Slade, publisher and editor-in-chief of Amusement Today. “Because of his leadership, Cedar Fair maintained stability during a very tumultuous period for the amusement park industry. He started, he continued and he won the Coaster Wars. His vision for family entertainment has made him a legend in the industry.”
In addition to winning the highly coveted award for the world’s best amusement park, Cedar Point’s Millennium Force roller coaster was also named as the “Best Steel Roller Coaster” for the second consecutive year and the sixth time since its introduction in 2000.
“This is a very special day for us,” said John Hildebrandt, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “Not only is our park and our roller coaster named as the best in the world, but Dick Kinzel, who has been a mentor and trusted friend to many of us in the industry, has been recognized for his many achievements. It is a very proud moment.”
Millennium Force had lots of company in the “Best Steel Roller Coaster” category, with two other Cedar Point coasters rated in the Top Ten and another pair ranked in the Top 25. The Top Thrill Dragster (9th) that stands 42-stories tall and perennial favorite Magnum Xl-200 (10th) were the park’s two other Top Ten finalists while the Raptor inverted roller coaster was ranked 18th and the twisting Maverick captured the 21st spot.
Located on the shores of Lake Erie, Cedar Point is one of the most popular family vacation destinations in the country. With 75 rides, including 17 roller coasters, the park has more rides than any park in the world. Built in 1870, Cedar Point is the second oldest amusement park in North America.
Cedar Point is now open for HalloWeekends 15, a family fall festival of fun and frights, Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 16-18 through Oct. 28-30.
For more information, please visit the park’s website at cedarpoint.com or call Cedar Point’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.
Cedar Fair names former Disney executive Matthew A. Ouimet president of the company
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Matthew A. Ouimet
- Ouimet brings deep amusement park and resort industry experience and a rich understanding of financial, operational and brand management to this leadership role
- Ouimet will succeed CEO Dick Kinzel on January 3, 2012, as part of Company’s CEO succession planning process
SANDUSKY, OHIO, June 20, 2011 – Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN) today announced that Matthew A. Ouimet has been named president of the Company, effective immediately. Ouimet, 53, will succeed Dick Kinzel, 70, as chief executive officer, who will retire upon the expiration of his contract on January 3, 2012. Today’s action is in line with Cedar Fair’s previously announced CEO succession planning process.
Ouimet is a 20 year veteran of the amusement park and hospitality industry, of which 17 years were spent with the Walt Disney Company (“Disney”). During his tenure with the global entertainment conglomerate, he had the opportunity to work in a wide range of business lines with increasing levels of responsibility. Highlights of his tenure at Disney include serving as:
- Senior vice president, finance and business development, and chief financial officer of the Disney Development Company, in which he was responsible for the financial management of Disney’s resort, theme park and corporate real estate projects in California, Florida and France;
- Executive general manager of Disney Vacation Club, where, through expanded marketing and sales initiatives, Disney established itself as a major competitor in the timeshare industry;
- President of Disney Cruise Line, where his team built the most successful family cruise product in the industry;
- President of the Disneyland Resort, where he and his team developed and implemented a comprehensive strategic plan that resulted in significantly improved and sustained performance for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary and beyond.
In 2006, Ouimet was recruited to serve as the President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, overseeing 900 owned, managed and franchised hotel properties in 95 countries. In this capacity, in support of brand-driven pricing premiums, he drove an operational focus on delivering a guest experience consistent with the characteristics of each of Starwood’s hotel brands, including St Regis, Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels and five other brands. In 2008, Ouimet joined Corinthian Colleges, a $2 billion, publicly-held, post-secondary education company which operates in the U.S. and Canada. As President and Chief Operating Officer, Ouimet championed executive talent development and the expansion of management and systems infrastructure to support rapid growth in the student population and expanded regulatory complexity.
“Without question, Matt is the right leader to join Cedar Fair now as it builds momentum on its renewed path of sustained, profitable growth in 2011 and beyond,” said C. Thomas (“Tom”) Harvie, independent chairman. ”Throughout his career, Matt has proven to be a critical thinker and effective business strategist with an enviable track record for identifying growth opportunities within existing businesses in the amusement park and resort industry. His broad and diverse background in resort development, finance, marketing and operations will allow him to integrate quickly into Cedar Fair.
“While our thorough search process with the assistance of the executive search firm Korn/Ferry International enabled us to meet with and consider many extremely qualified candidates, the Board agreed that Matt stood out from the rest due to his strategic business mindset and his natural and engaging leadership style,” said Harvie.
“Matt is an impressive business and operational executive whose character and values will be a great complement to the strong Cedar Fair culture,” said Dick Kinzel, chief executive officer. “I look forward to working with him over the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership transition.”
Ouimet currently serves on the Board of Collective Brands, Inc., a $3.4 billion global enterprise encompassing the internationally recognized footwear brands of Payless, Sperry Top-Sider, Stride Rite and Saucony, where he serves as a financial expert on the audit and finance committee. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in accounting from State University of New York at Binghamton.
“I am thrilled to join this successful Cedar Fair leadership team. I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with Dick Kinzel and to continue to build on his legacy in years to come,” said Matt Ouimet. ”Cedar Fair is a wonderful company – its properties are vibrant and extremely well-run, its reputation is superb, and the record-setting 2010 performance has put us on a path to deliver the positive financial results Cedar Fair has long been known for. I am truly honored to have this opportunity and sincerely thank the Board for entrusting me with this critical leadership role at this pivotal point in Cedar Fair’s evolution.”
“On behalf of the Board, the management team and all of our colleagues past and present, I would like to thank Dick Kinzel for his unparalleled vision, passion and selfless dedication to Cedar Fair over the years,” said Harvie. “Without Dick, Cedar Fair would not have the opportunities or the growth potential it has today. He has been the heart and soul of this organization for many, many years and, while he can be succeeded, he can never be replaced. We wish Dick and his wonderful family all the very best as he moves into his well-deserved retirement at the end of the year.”
Kinzel began his career in the amusement park industry at Cedar Point in 1972. In 1986, he was named president and chief executive officer of Cedar Fair, L.P., the parent company of the parks, which was listed on The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: FUN) in 1987. Kinzel also served as chairman of the Board from 2003 to 2010.
Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island Opens Next Summer
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Cedar Point Press Release
SANDUSKY, Ohio – Cedar Point has some pretty big plans for next summer.
The Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort earlier today announced plans to introduce Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island, a prehistoric themed attraction, for next summer. The new attraction will be located on four acres on the wooded island that is located in the lagoons toward the back of the park.
In addition to Dinosaurs Alive!, Cedar Point will also add a mat-racer slide complex to the Soak City waterpark located adjacent to the park. Dinosaurs Alive! will cost approximately $1 million to build.
The journey into Dinosaurs Alive! will be multi-sensory and interactive. Guests will be able to see approximately 50 life-size animatronic dinosaurs that will roar and move. Each will be handcrafted and covered with skin-like materials that will replicate almost every feature. Four of the dinosaurs will have interactive consoles that will allow guests to guide their movement to create an up-close look at how these dinosaurs moved their arms, tail, eyes and mouth.
“We are extremely excited about introducing Dinosaurs Alive! to our guests next summer,” said John Hildebrandt, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. “Our guests will have the opportunity to visit the Jurassic Age up close and see some of the amazing creatures that called it home. Dinosaurs Alive! will be educational but fun, too.”
Overall, Dinosaurs Alive! will feature approximately three dozen types of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs will range in size and height. The largest will be the Ruyangosaurus that will stand nearly 40 feet tall and 72 feet long. The smallest will be an Angustinaripterus that will only be two feet tall and eight feet long.
Other dinosaurs in Dinosaurs Alive! will include the vicious Tyrannosaurus Rex, Irratator, Baryonyx and Spinosaurus, the largest of all known carnivorous dinosaurs. A plated Stegosaurus and three-horned Triceratops will also inhabit the island. The half-mile-long path will feature more than a dozen themed exhibits and displays and will veer underneath several of the larger dinosaurs providing a very intimate encounter with the prehistoric beasts.
Guests will enter Dinosaurs Alive! by crossing a bridge near Camp Snoopy. In addition to the dinosaurs, explorers will also encounter an excavation site and paleontological dig. There will also be informational signs for each exhibit and guides and fossil displays that will make Dinosaurs Alive! an entertaining three-dimensional educational tool for school groups as the discovery and identification of new species of dinosaurs increases annually. At the conclusion of the journey, there will be a prehistoric-themed gift shop.
Admission to Dinosaurs Alive! will be $5 per person. Special rates for groups and schools will also be available.
With the addition of Dinosaurs Alive!, the Paddlewheel Excursions boat cruise will be retired from the park. The pioneer-themed boat ride will be in daily operation through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5.
Cedar Point’s newest attraction will be created and produced by Dinosaurs Unearthed, an innovative traveling exhibition company that creates dynamic, multi-sensory experiences about the world of dinosaurs. Since 2005, the Richmond, British Columbia, Canada,-based company has provided multi-faceted exhibitions to museums, science centers and zoos throughout the world.
Next to Cedar Point, the Soak City waterpark will also have a new look for 2012. Next summer it will add a new mat-racer complex that will offer racers a speedy ride through a series of dips and plateaus. Additional information will be available later this year.
For more information about Dinosaurs Alive! on Adventure Island and Cedar Point’s plans for 2012, please visit the park’s website at: cedarpoint.com.
Complete and final stop for Cedar Point’s Paddlewheel Excursions
0From the Sandusky Register…
SANDUSKY
A trademark Cedar Point attraction set sail on its final voyage Monday night.
The campy but nostalgic Paddlewheel Excursions is now officially extinct.
Space occupied by the 47-year-old ride will go toward building the park’s newest exhibit, Dinosaurs Alive!, in 2012.
But dedicated park enthusiasts received one last opportunity to ride the family attraction and say goodbye to a Cedar Point staple.
Almost 40 local residents and tourists contributed about $3,400 to be the last riders, said Ron Rude, the local chapter’s executive director.
HalloWeekends 15, PointFest and Boat Show return to Cedar Point
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Cedar Point Press Release
SANDUSKY, Ohio, – Cedar Point will offer a wide array of family entertainment this week when three popular special events return to the Sandusky, Ohio, amusement park/resort.
HalloWeekends
On Friday, HalloWeekends, Cedar Point’s fall festival of fun and frights, will return for its 15th season. For seven weekends, HalloWeekends will provide an unmatched mix of rides and roller coasters, haunted houses and fright zones, live shows and special attractions such as the Monster Midway Invasion Celebration parade that will feature four new floats.
This year HalloWeekends will also add two new fright zones (Screamworks along the Frontier Trail and Blood on the Bayou that will lead guests along the lagoon) and two new shows (The Edge of Madness – Six Feet Under in the Red Slaughter Saloon and Dr. Cleaver in the Clink in The Palace Theatre).
For an additional fee, the new Zombie Tour will provide front-of-the-line privileges at the park’s four haunted houses and the Blood on the Bayou and CornStalkers fright zones. Visit cedarpoint.com for all of the details.
HalloWeekends at Cedar Point will be held Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, Sept. 16 through Oct. 30. Cedar Point will be open 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday nights (only a portion of the park is open); noon to midnight on Saturdays; and noon to 9 p.m. Sundays. (On Sunday, Oct. 9, the park will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.)
For more information, including attractions, entertainment and hours of operation, please visit halloweekends.com or call the park’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.
PointFest
Presenting some of today’s most popular Christian artists, PointFest will return to Cedar Point for its third year on Saturday, Sept. 17. It will feature nearly six hours of music and entertainment.
Headlining this year’s show will be Skillet whose performance will be highlighted by a lively pyrotechnics show and Christian music icon TobyMac, who returns for his second appearance at PointFest. Other entertainers include Manic Drive, Disciple and comedian Bone Hampton.
The concert will begin at approximately 5 p.m. with performances continuing until 11 p.m. The event will be held in the Soak City parking lot. Combo tickets to Cedar Point and the concert are available online and at Cedar Point. Concert-only tickets for season pass-holders and deals for groups of 15 or more are also available. Admission to Cedar Point is required. For more information and a link to purchase tickets, please visit cedarpoint.com.
North American In-Water Boat Show
For the 39th consecutive year, the Cedar Point Marina will host The North American In-Water Boat Show from Wednesday through Sunday, Sept. 14-18.
The largest in-water boat show on the Great Lakes, the Cedar Point Boat Show will feature many of the newest power and sail boats, equipment and accessories. A 69-foot-long Marquis 690, displayed by SkipperBud’s, is this year’s Queen of the Fleet. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the Boats Under $15,000 and Boats $15,000-$25,000 pavilions, the Brokerage Pier and the Demo Dock and Sail Pier.
Regular admission is $9 for adults and $7 for seniors (age 60 and older), while children, age 12 and younger, are free. Hours for the boat show will be noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, Sept. 14-16; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 18. Admission to Cedar Point is not required.
For more information about these events, please log onto to cedarpoint.com or call Cedar Point’s General Information Line at 419.627.2350.
