The Sandusky Fire Department responded to Cedar Point just before 3 p.m. Wednesday to a transformer fire.
Smoke could be seen from the park’s webcam at Top Thrill Dragster. Firefighters had to evacuate 50 people from nearby buildings. No major fire damage occurred, but there was smoke damage.
Monday brought good news for fans of Ocean Motion, Cedar Point’s pirate-themed swinging ship ride. It isn’t going away after all.
After failing to sell the ride, Cedar Point officials decided it shouldn’t go the way of the Demon Drop and other rides that have left the park as new rides come in.
The new location of Ocean Motion will be where the Demon Drop used to be, toward the front of the park, near the midway carousel, a park spokesman said.
Its former location, near the beach, will be home to the new towering WindSeeker thrill ride.
Here are some fast facts about Ocean Motion:
Pirate-themed boat ride that swings back and forth.
Manufactured by HUSS Park Attractions, Bremen, Germany
Debuted in 1981 next to the beach in the northeast part of Cedar Point.
Seated 54 people. More than 19.5 million people enjoyed this ride through the years.
Put up for sale in summer 2010 for $179,000.
Moved in November 2010 to make room for new WindSeeker ride.
Ocean Motion will now be located at the front of the park where the former Demon Drop welcomed visitors.
Cedar Point announced earlier today, through Facebook, that Ocean Motion will be staying at the park next year. Although it will not remain in it’s old location due to the construction of WindSeeker, Ocean Motion will be moving to the old Demon Drop site, which has sat empty this past season.
Fans seem to be very happy about this decision, and so are we!
Cedar Fair says it has launched the hunt for a new CEO to replace Dick Kinzel, 70, who has run the company since 1986.
Tuesday, Kinzel said his employment agreement ends on Jan. 2, 2012, and Cedar Fair’s board is working to find a successor.
“As is the case with any public company, this is a confidential process that is expected to include both internal and external candidates,” Kinzel said. “Out of fairness to all involved, we will have no further comment until we are ready to announce a new CEO.”
Cedar Fair spokeswoman Stacy Frole said she can’t offer a timetable on when a new CEO will be announced.
Also Tuesday, Cedar Fair announced its 2010 third-quarter and nine-month results, with attendance and revenues both up through October. Promotions were also awarded to four company executives.
Net revenues for the first nine months of 2010 are up $37.4 million from the same months in 2009. Last year’s revenue in that period was $810.5 million; this year, it’s $847.9 million.
Through Sept. 25, Cedar Fair’s amusement parks had 19.8 million visitors, up 6 percent — about 1 million people — from the same period last year, Kinzel said.
Results through October appear even better. Based on preliminary results, attendance is up 8 percent — about 1.6 million people — through the first 10 months, with revenues going from $914 million to $974 million.
Cedar Fair officials also said they plan to resume quarterly cash distributions in 2011, beginning with 8 cents per limited partner unit in March 2011. A total of about 35 cents will likely be paid next year, they said.
The company had previously announced it would pay 25 cents per unit in December.
Cedar Fair also announced three new executive vice presidents Tuesday.
Those include Peter Crage, formerly corporate vice president and chief financial officer; H. Philip Bender, formerly regional vice president since June 2006 and, prior to that, vice president and general manager of Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Mo.; and Richard A. Zimmerman, who had been regional vice president since June 2007.
Those employees will handle more of Kinzel’s day-to-day duties, which Kinzel said will provide him more time to focus on growing the business and developing the company’s executives.
David R. Hoffman, formerly vice president of corporate tax, is now vice president of corporate finance and tax.
Cedar Fair’s biggest investor, Dallas area investment banker Geoffrey Raynor, has filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, asking for a special meeting of investors to consider two proposals: Bring in a new chairman of the board and have Kinzel relinquish that post to concentrate on his CEO duties; and, secondly, make an increase in cash distributions a bigger priority than paying off the company’s debt.
Raynor’s company, Q Funding III, is still awaiting SEC approval of a proxy statement that would allow Raynor to begin his campaign for the changes, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Call ’em crazy, but Cedar Point won’t alter or remove any of its attractions, despite a request from mental health advocates to do so.
A Cedar Point spokesman said “changes are not required.”
On Thursday, the National Alliance on Mental Illness asked the amusement park to immediately remove two offerings focusing on fictional mental health patients: Dr. D. Mented’s Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and The Edge of Madness: Still Crazy.
One is a haunted house, the other is a separate show.The attractions promote the false stereotype that the public should fear mental health patients, the alliance said.
But Cedar Point officials feel the attractions do no such thing, park spokesman Robin Innes said.
“The attractions at HalloWeekends are not the real world and our guests know that,” Innes said. “Our attractions are not designed to depict reality.”
The alliance’s Ohio chapter described Cedar Point’s inaction as potentially harmful and called Cedar Point a “callous organization.”
But it will not continue to ask the park to make changes, said Terry Russell, the alliance’s execute director.
“NAMI Ohio is sad that Cedar Point has rejected our plea,” Russell said. “(But) we will not take any further action in regards to Cedar Point. Our energies must be expended in advocating for treatment services that are currently not available.”
One of the alliance’s goals is to improve public awareness and increase education about mental health problems.
Friday marked the end to Mental Health Awareness Week, which prompted the alliance to ask Cedar Point for the change.
In a letter to Cedar Point officials, the alliance said attractions like Cedar Point’s reinforce stigmas about mental health patients.
Like other diseases, however, mental health patients who receive treatment can function with few symptoms, the alliance said.
“Mental illnesses are biological brain disorders, they are diseases,” the letter said. “Would Cedar Point ever even consider developing a display or attraction that used cancer patients as a means of instilling fear in their guests? We think not. And why is this? Because cancer is a serious disease.
“We would never want to paint individuals with this terrible disease in an unfavorable light. Why then do you feel that it is acceptable to paint individuals suffering from biological brain disorders in an unfavorable light?”
Innes said despite their disagreement, Cedar Point appreciates “the valuable services” the alliance provides for local families.
Russell said the alliance doesn’t oppose haunted houses or Halloween festivals, but wished Cedar Point wouldn’t make light of such a serious disease.
