News: Cedar Fair reveals expansion plan for 2008 season

Posted at 6:21 PM EST (2321 GMT)

Nov. 5th, 2007 -- ~Via Press Release
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, a publicly traded leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, has announced plans for a record high $88 million in exciting new family attractions, roller coasters, thrill rides and general improvements for the 2008 season at its parks across the United States and in Canada.

Dick Kinzel, chairman, president and chief executive officer, reported that the 2008 improvement program will be highlighted by Behemoth, a $21 million record-breaking roller coaster at Canada's Wonderland, Toronto. "Behemoth will smash all Canadian roller coaster records as Canada's tallest, fastest and longest coaster. At 230 feet tall, Behemoth will forever change the skyline at Canada's Wonderland and will become one of the great roller coasters that Cedar Fair is known for."

Riders on Behemoth will board never-before-seen open-air trains that feature unobstructed views of the coaster's 5,300 feet of steel tubular track. Featuring an 85-degree first drop, banked twists, turns and massive hills that will give riders extreme "airtime," Behemoth will be the largest investment in the history of Canada's Wonderland.

In addition to Behemoth, four other exciting roller coasters will make their marks across the United States in 2008 within the Cedar Fair family of parks.

Rising 161 feet above the landscape and commanding the sky at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia will be Dominator, the park's 14th roller coaster. Riders will experience a sense of freedom and excitement as their feet dangle freely below on "floorless" coaster trains that travel just inches above the steel track. At 4,210 feet, Dominator will be the longest floorless roller coaster in the world and will feature five inversions, including the tallest roller coaster vertical loop ever built.

At Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, guests will "be possessed" by VooDoo, an inverted steel scream machine that launches riders both forward and backward underneath a 185-foot-tall, U-shaped steel track. VooDoo riders will twist 360 degrees as they ascend one end of the massive structure while rising at a 90-degree angle in reverse at the opposite end.

"First Class" thrills will truly be delivered to guests at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California with the debut of Pony Express. Riders will saddle up on one of two, 12-passenger trains, riding "horseback" as they are launched forward at the beginning of the ride. Featuring low-to-the-ground maneuvers, hairpin turns and steep banks, Pony Express will be ready to thrill riders in the Ghost Town section of the park.

The Thunderhawk roller coaster will swoop down at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan and will be the largest capital expenditure in the park's history. Riders will be suspended from a steel track as they climb a 105-foot-tall lift hill and drop 86 feet to the ground at a top speed of 50 mph. Thunderhawk's swooping turns, heart-pounding inversions and the nothing-below-your-chair-but-air trains will thrill guests all summer long.

Family attractions and a new thrill ride will debut at three of Cedar Fair's parks.

The Company's flagship park, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, will debut several attractions geared toward family-friendly fun. A brand-new children's area, featuring seven rides and a family lounge with quiet areas for feeding, resting and changing, will replace the former Peanuts Playground.

Also, the Sandcastle Suites hotel, located on the tip of the Cedar Point Peninsula, will undergo a complete interior renovation.

The surf will be up at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina with an expansion of Boomerang Bay, a 20-acre waterpark adjacent to the rides and coasters of Carowinds. The highlight of the addition will be Bondi Beach, a 600,000-gallon wave action pool that simulates fun on the high seas.

Finally, at California's Great America in Santa Clara, California, guests will flip for a new thrill ride that will give a whole new meaning to "head- over-heels." Riders will be seated stadium-style in two rows of 20 riders each on a gondola that rotates 360 degrees. The gondola will lift off the ground as it's flipped, turned and tumbled during its ride cycle.

To complement the new thrill ride, California's Great America will also debut a new ice-skating show, featuring talented skaters, intricate skating maneuvers and music that will have the audience moving.

"We strongly believe that we have an excellent overall entertainment package lined up at all of our parks for the 2008 season," said Kinzel. "We are committed to enhancing the guest experience with new shows, thrill rides and family attractions that everyone can enjoy."

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