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This is the first of hopefully many Weekly Topic discussions where we will look at different topics around the amusement industry. Many sites will be participating in the Weekly Topic including our friends at Coasterdom and News Plus Notes. The first topic was posted by Coasterdom, “Cedar Fair, the New Company to Hate. ”  Cedar Fair is indeed the new theme park chain to hate. No longer is Six Flags the punch line of all amusement park related cheap shots. Cedar Fair is now regarded as the bottom of the line when it comes to theme parks. Why? Two words: Geauga Lake. Sure Cedar Fair wasn’t all that popular before they announced they’d be closing down the amusement park side of the historic Ohio amusement park. When you destroy 100 years of amusement history, the fans and enthusiasts will retaliate. It doesn’t take a patch wearing Acer to appreciate the history of an old park. While people love thrills and new technology, everyone likes a bit of nostalgia. Bulldoze 100 years of history, you get negativity. Why else? Two words: Public Relations. Has anyone heard of the improvements at Six Flags Magic Mountain? Chances are, you probably have seen one of the countless photo trip reports or read an article on the LA Times’ Funland Blog. Six Flags has been receiving massive amounts of press when it comes to chain wide improvements. CEO of Six Flags, Mark Shapiro, has made it known that he is here to improve Six Flags. He’s appeared in interviews and has a positive outlook on where the company is headed. Cedar Fair? Haven’t heard too much about improvements. Now I’m not saying that they are not making improvements. California’s Great America, for example, is a adding a new themed flat ride for 2008, a new ice skating show, a new wooden coaster in ’09, a new Halloween event, extended hours, and even the staff has improved over the past year. Yet the Cedar Fair bashing is still going around. (Did I mention they’ve added plenty of new trash cans!) Good luck Cedar Fair PR teams, you’ve got some work ahead of you! Responses from other blogs: A Walk in the Park Podcast News Plus Notes Discuss the Topic
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