The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
GM: Cedar Point has ‘awesome’ year
Cedar Point amusement park got refreshed for its 145th operating season with new leadership, new rides and a partnership with one of the hottest athletes on the planet.
“It’s been an awesome year,” said Jason McClure, vice president and general manager of Cedar Point. On Oct. 29, he shared his thoughts about the 2014 season with The Morning Journal.
McClure completed his first operating season at the helm of Cedar Point, which also is the flag- ship park and corporate headquarters of Sandusky-based Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. He succeeded John Hildebrandt, a fixture in the Sandusky business community who recently retired after 40 years working at Cedar Point.
“Cedar Point is such a great park and to be able to experience it with our guests, that’s always the best part of my job, to be able to get out in the park, watch the guests enjoy the park, see the fun that they’re having,” McClure said.
“Cedar Point is just a great place for families to come down and have a good time, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
As for 2014, Cedar Fair gener- ally does not release specific attendance results for its parks. Third quarter corporate results for stockholders could come out this week, McClure said, so he declined to discuss how a relatively cool summer affected guest turnout.
Cedar Point opened the season with the new Lake Erie Eagles and Pipe Scream rides were a hit with riders, especially parents riding together with children, McClure said. They also became the centerpieces of a Gemini midway that was redesigned to be more guest-friendly.
“That was really our goal when we went into it, to make it a place that’s comfortable to hang out in,” McClure said. “Before it had that hot asphalt, not a lot of shade, it wasn’t very exciting.”
The lighting package also is “amazing,” making the Gemini midway a cool place to hang out at night, he said.
“That’s what we were looking for,” McClure said. “Plus we had a couple of upgrades in Camp Snoopy, which is always good for families with smaller children. All of that was really well received from our guests.”
Cedar Point also announced Mantis, the park’s stand-up roller coaster, would be reborn as the
Rougarou, named for a werewolf-like creature from French folklore.
The ride will be refreshed with a new color scheme and floorless trains made by Bollinger & Mabillard of Switzerland, the company that built rides including Raptor and GateKeeper.
The trains will arrive over the winter, McClure said. Crews are working on the electrical system, controls and changing the ride station to accommodate floorless trains instead of Mantis’ stand up carriages, he said.
“We’ve made a lot of progress on the paint, something we wanted to get ahead of based on what last winter was like,” McClure added.
Cedar Point made headlines when the park posted a notice on Twitter that the park would rename one of its coasters for LeBron James if the basketball superstar left the Miami Heat and returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was a fun way for the park to get involved in a sports issue that gained national attention, McClure said.
“We were really excited at that time when everybody was wondering where LeBron was coming,” McClure said. “Obviously, we’re happy like the rest of northern Ohio that LeBron came back to Cleveland.”
In meeting with James’ representatives, it turned out James was less interested in lending his name to a thrill ride and more interested in helping kids, McClure said. It was neat to talk with his team and learn how cool they think Cedar Point is and what a visit to the park means for youth in Akron, he said.
“Really, LeBron has had a lot of focus on the community and how his role is with the community,” McClure said. “He felt that a better fit with Cedar Point and LeBron was with the LeBron James Family Foundation.
“They do a lot of great work with the kids in Akron and we’re really happy to play a role in that and to be one of his partners heading into next year.”
McClure added he has not met James yet, but anticipated he will be out at the park in summer 2015.
“Bring home the championship and we’ll take care of you,” McClure added with a laugh.
The fall Halloweekends season was good in 2014, but park officials still are amazed at how the Halloween-themed weekends continue to grow in popularity, McClure said.
Halloweekends added the Hexed witch-themed haunted house, Tombstone Terrortory outdoor ghost town, a live show by Midnight Syndicate and the family-friendly Howl-O-Palooza children’s area.
“Our families have really enjoyed that,” McClure said.
Incidentally, Cedar Point decorated with at least 2,000 bales of straw, 19,000 pounds of pumpkins, 91,200 cornstalks and 1,200 pounds of gourds for the 18th Halloweekends season, according to figures from the park.
Cedar Point won 16 consecutive awards for being Best Amusement Park in the world, from Amusement Today trade magazine. In 2014, that title was nabbed by Europa-Park in Germany.
“There are lots of different awards and things out and Cedar Point definitely gets its share,” McClure said. “Europa-Park is an amazing park, I was able to visit there last year. They are a great amusement park as well, a great park. There are lots of them out there. We’re happy that we’re at the top of the list, a world class, world quality amusement park.
“We can’t control that,” he said about the award. “So we focus on giving our guests a good time, making sure they have their best day of the summer and all those other things will kind of take care of themselves.”
Cedar Point has become an event site for races, up to the Ironman-level distances of the Rev3 Triathlon. The running races will return in 2015, and Cedar Point also will host a March of Dimes Walk in the spring before the park opens.
“It’s a nice way for us to connect with the community and give people to visit the park,” McClure said.
After a summer on the rails, it’s hard to pick a favorite roller coaster, McClure said, citing rides including Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and Cedar Point’s other coasters. But he conceded Maverick remains his first choice for getting in line, and he recommended riding in the front car to get the full effect of its twisty track.
“I like the dynamics of that ride,” McClure said. “I like the quick transitions, I like the speed, I like that you have to actively ride it, the adrenaline of it.
“If I’m pinned down, I don’t want to be that gutless guy who won’t pick,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll pick: Maverick’s my favorite.”