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Rank Your Visited Cedar Fair Parks

valleyfair!

Hyper Poster
1. Cedar Point
2. Canada's Wonderland
3. Kings Island
4. Carowinds
5. Kings Dominion
6. Worlds of Fun
7. Knott's Berry Farm- Spited out of GhostRider when I went, but I hear that might be a good thing?
8. Valleyfair!
9. Dorney Park
10. California's Great America- Haven't been here since it was still a Paramount park, so I know it's changed a good bit.
11. Michigan's Adventure- Shivering Timbers was a great surprise, but the rest of the bark was bleh.
 

JSM

Mega Poster
1. Cedar Point
2. Canada's Wonderland
3. Kings Island
4. Carowinds
5. Kings Dominion
6. Worlds of Fun
7. Knott's Berry Farm- Spited out of GhostRider when I went, but I hear that might be a good thing?
8. Valleyfair!
9. Dorney Park
10. California's Great America- Haven't been here since it was still a Paramount park, so I know it's changed a good bit.
11. Michigan's Adventure- Shivering Timbers was a great surprise, but the rest of the bark was bleh.
When did you go to Knott's? If you went before 2016 GhostRider was horrible but after its huge retrack I like it more than Gold Striker.
 

Lofty

CF Legend
Having only done four, here's mine:

1) Cedar Point.
2) Canada's Wonderland.
3) Kings Island.











4) Michigan's Adventure.
 

Pear

Strata Poster
1. Kings Dominion
2. Knott's Berry Farm
3. Carowinds
4. Canada's Wonderland

Will be adding Kings Island and Cedar Point in a month and a half!
 

Hutch

Strata Poster
1. Cedar Point - Still my favorite park and has a fantastic coaster lineup. Most of the coasters are worth a reride if you have the time. Clean, great staff, cool setting, and I even think it looks very nice. The colorful coaster skyline and lightning packages look wonderful.

2. Kings Island - Very nice park with a solid lineup. Some areas are kind of disconnected from the rest of the park (Bat is all alone in the corner, and Firehawk/Flight of Fear are just kind of there off to the side), but the rest of the park looks very nice. I got all the creds in one day, but I'd like to get a second and more relaxed visit (especially if Mystic Timbers is supposed to be great). Beast and Diamondback are amazing.

It's possible I'll add Kings Dominion and Dorney Park later this year.
 

hendrixmarshall

Roller Poster
1. CP - not many parks can beat the 1,2,3 punch of SV, Millie, and Maverick
2. KI - I like this place slightly better than KD. The walk to the river rapids ride just amazed me.
3. Knott's - more about memories growing up. My first flume, and 2nd cred with steeplechase.
4. KD - I305 reminded me of Goliath SFMM, which there was a definite grey out factor. Volcano was okay, but not worth a 30 minute or more wait. We spent more time on Dominator laps than all of the other coasters put together.
5. Valleyfair - Renegade is surprisingly good, and not a lot of love.
6. WOF - last time I was there it was Live Aid weekend, and not owned by CF. They tore down their best coaster at the time, so not much else to say about that.

But the good news is I applied for passports for me and the kids today. We're going to Wonderland the Sunday/Monday before Coastermania.
 

Zek_Teh_Kek

Hyper Poster
Since there are changes on the similar Six Flags topic, I'd figure I'd update my list from this year!
1. Cedar Point - My home park since I was born! The great coasters are supported by a good amount of fun flat rides, and the park layout (for me) is very simple and easy to learn for first time visitors! My favorite park overall.
2. Kings Island - A great park with great coasters, and great halloween and winter events as well! My main complaints, however, are the lack of shade and lack of flat rides. That being said, Drop Tower is very fun!
3. Kings Dominion - A very pretty, scenic (at times), and great park! However, outside of the top 3 (Twisted Timbers, Dominator, I305 for me, in that order), there isn't really anything worth riding more than once. The closest thing I'd say is even close to worth re-riding would be Flight of Fear, which is fun, but not really mind blowing. And yes, I said Dominator was better than I305.
4. Carowinds - Kings Dominion and Carowinds are very close in terms of my rankings. The only 2 things that I would consider worse than Kings Dominon are the significantly less shade (park-wide, that is. There are some spots that are more shaded), and even LESS coasters worth reriding. Afterburn and Fury 325 were the only 2 stand-out rides, but there I was also surprised by a few of the rides. PvZ Arena was really fun, even when there weren't many people on the ride, and Hurler and Nighthawk both exceeded my expectations, being much smoother/not as painful as I was expecting. Drop Tower is pretty fun, and was my first Intamin drop tower, and Fury was amazing, but I never got a back row ride on it. I really have to go back to here and KD!
EDIT: Frick I was too focused on finishing this that I forgot a few!
5. Michigan's Adventure - It's a great family park, but that's about it. Mad Mouse and Shivering Timbers are great, the former even making my top 15, but overall, it's just not worth the 4 hour drive north.

I have been to Dorney Park, but it's been too long (around when I was 6 or 7) since I've been back, so I don't think should rate it fairly. I do remember it having a good rapids ride, Apollo was fun, and it was good overall.
 
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Hyde

Matt SR
Staff member
Moderator
Social Media Team
1. Cedar Point - I mean, comeon.
2. Kings Island - Did you know this is the second most visited seasonal U.S. park next to Cedar Point? For good reason - arguably the first modern amusement park, Kings Island has a great ride lineup and further room for growth. Cedar Fair has helped tighten up the ride offerings, with emphasis on quality coasters.
3. Carowinds - Paramount really didn't give much to this park, and Cedar Fair has been building it up more and more. A number of gems, and well worth the visit.
4. Worlds of Fun - Cool concept of a park, yet definitely second fiddle for "big" park offerings vs. other parks.
5. Knott's - I am fortunate to have ridden all the coasters here. Land-locked is a big challenge, though some good rides.
6. Dorney - got 20 minutes to spare?
Added a few more to the list:
1. Cedar Point - I mean, comeon.
2. Kings Dominion - I'm glad Kings had a second go at park design - it is a simply better laid out park, which has also greatly benefited from Cedar Fair ownership on the roller coaster front.
3. Kings Island - Did you know this is the second most visited seasonal U.S. park next to Cedar Point? For good reason - arguably the first modern amusement park, Kings Island has a great ride lineup and further room for growth. Cedar Fair has helped tighten up the ride offerings, with emphasis on quality coasters.
4. Carowinds - Paramount really didn't give much to this park, and Cedar Fair has been building it up more and more. A number of gems, and well worth the visit.
5. Worlds of Fun - Cool concept of a park, yet definitely second fiddle for "big" park offerings vs. other parks.
6. Knott's - I am fortunate to have ridden all the coasters here. Land-locked is a big challenge, though some good rides.
7. Dorney - got 20 minutes to spare?
8. Michigan's Adventure - it's great for what it is, a small seasonal park with a fun water park expansion.
 

Tomatron

Giga Poster
1. Cedar Point- It's a decent, clean park, with a wide selection of flat rides and coasters. It's definite'y missing charm, but there's no denying it's a thrill seeker's paradise.
2. Canada's Wonderland- Wonderland definitely has the best atmosphere out of all the Cedar Fair parks. but besides the two major coasters, it's a cred run full of meh. The flats are great, they just need better coasters to complement the two B&Ms.
3. King's Island- This is where it really starts to get meh. It suffers from the opposite thing as Wonderland, really. It has a lot of decent coasters, but no true, outstanding star attraction. The atmosphere isn't that great but it wasn't as bad as I remembered it being on my preceding visits.
4. Carowinds- Picking from a barrel of crap now. The park has three really great coasters (Fury, Intimidator, Afterburn) but the atmosphere is gross and every time I have gone there it has been hard to enjoy because of the heat.
5. Kings Dominion- At least Carowinds HAS good rides. Kings Dominion has nothing good apart from the sub-standard I305, and the atmosphere it atrocious. I wasn't even sad when a storm closed the park before we could even get in inside back in 2015.
6. Worlds of Fun- A star attraction is definitely needed here. Prowler is fun, Patriot is good, but nothing stands out. I don't remember the atmosphere being too bad though.
7. Dorney- Another park full of meh and I remember it being kind of ugly, too.
8. Knotts Berry Farm- I don't even really know how to rank this because I literally had only two hours in the park and I was rushing around to get creds. It looked like an okay park I guess, but their one train operations didn't really impress me and their staff was just awful (hence why I only got two hours in the park instead of just over three). I'd like to give it another chance though.
9. Michigan's Adventure- Burn the park down, but put a fireproof wall around Shivering Timbers. It has a worse atmosphere than a trashy state fair, hardly any good rides, barely any flats, a small water park that was shut for no reason when we went, concrete that blinds your eyes, etc.

I pretty much agree with all of this. I had a better day at Knotts than you did, but that was 12 years ago on a Tuesday in November and they've added loads since, but it sounds like their operations have got worse.

Also completely forgot that I've visited Valleyfair, which I'd probably put level with Dorney Park because of fab Renegade and fairly fab Wild Thing. But a very forgettable park apart from that.

Will be interesting to see what Kings Dominion is like with 2 good creds when I next year. Still crap, probably.

California's Great America looks like a 5/10. 6 at a push. On paper I'd stick it above Worlds Of Fun with the bonkers new RMC Raptor and old-school B&M Invert but we'll see when I get out there in a year or two.
 

Coaster Cinema

Mega Poster
1. Cedar Point - I love this park to bits, there are just too many great coasters to name here. (Last Visited 2009)
2. Kings Dominion - It's a great park and it's very underrated, go ride Twisted Timbers and Intimidator 305, probably the best 1-2 punch of coasters. (Last Visited 2018)
3. Carowinds - Fury 325 is my all time favorite coaster, Afterburn is awesome, Intimidator is overrated but I may have just gotten it on a sluggish day, They do need a great woodie since Hurler is meh and Woodstock is for kids. (Last Visit 2016)
4. Knott's Berry Farm - Xcelerator and GhostRider, with fried chicken and boysenberry pie. Need I say more? (Last Visited 2015)
5. Kings Island - If I ever revisit this park it'll probably be higher since I hear great things about Banshee and Mystic Timbers (Last Visited 2009)
6. Canada's Wonderland - Leviathan and Behemoth are great rides but it's also home to some of the worst coasters I've been on like Wild Beast, Time Warp, Bat, and Flight Deck. (Last Visited 2012)
7. Dorney Park - It's a nice little park that never gets any lines, throw in Steel Force and you'll have a fun day out (Last Visited 2012)
 

Zek_Teh_Kek

Hyper Poster
After a visit to Canada's Wonderland, I can update my list!


1. Cedar Point - My home park since I was born! The great coasters are supported by a good amount of fun flat rides, and the park layout (for me) is very simple and easy to learn for first time visitors! My favorite park overall.
2. Kings Island - A great park with great coasters, and great halloween and winter events as well! My main complaints, however, are the lack of shade and lack of flat rides. That being said, Drop Tower is very fun!
3. Kings Dominion - A very pretty, scenic (at times), and great park! However, outside of the top 3 (Twisted Timbers, Dominator, I305 for me, in that order), there isn't really anything worth riding more than once. The closest thing I'd say is even close to worth re-riding would be Flight of Fear, which is fun, but not really mind blowing. And yes, I said Dominator was better than I305.
4. Carowinds - Kings Dominion and Carowinds are very close in terms of my rankings. The only 2 things that I would consider worse than Kings Dominon are the significantly less shade (park-wide, that is. There are some spots that are more shaded), and even LESS coasters worth reriding. Afterburn and Fury 325 were the only 2 stand-out rides, but there I was also surprised by a few of the rides. PvZ Arena was really fun, even when there weren't many people on the ride, and Hurler and Nighthawk both exceeded my expectations, being much smoother/not as painful as I was expecting. Drop Tower is pretty fun, and was my first Intamin drop tower, and Fury was amazing, but I never got a back row ride on it. I really have to go back to here and KD!
5. Canada's Wonderland - A great park! I didn't do the family area but I saw it and it looked HUGE! The flats are some of my favorite I have ridden as well. If there was one thing that I think needs to be there, it would be *less* coasters. I felt that there were too many "filler" coasters and not enough true quality rides. But the big 3 are very great and I had a lot of fun overall! It's very pretty in places as well.
6. Michigan's Adventure - It's a great family park, but that's about it. Mad Mouse and Shivering Timbers are great, the former even making my top 15, but overall, it's just not worth the 4 hour drive north.

I have been to Dorney Park, but it's been too long (around when I was 6 or 7) since I've been back, so I don't think should rate it fairly. I do remember it having a good rapids ride, Apollo was fun, and it was good overall. This should be updated by the end of July!
 

ECG

East Coast(er) General
Staff member
Administrator
1. Cedar Point
2. Canada's Wonderland (was #1 until Steel Vengeance)
3. Kings Island
4. Carowinds
5. Kings Dominion
6. California's Great America
7. Knott's Berry Farm
8. Worlds of Fun
9. Valleyfair
10. Dorney Park
11. Michigan's Adventure
12. Gilroy Gardens
 

Antinos

Slut for Spinners
Just like the Six Flags topic...

  1. Cedar Point - Ok fine call me a fanboy if you must. It's my home park and spurred my enthusiasm. I hardly ever have bad experiences when I visit and it has any sort of ride type you could ask for.
  2. Kings Island - With a full time job and my own methods of transportation, I've been able to visit KI much more over the past few years and I still consider it a treat. Cedar Fair does a great job at keeping it and Cedar Point apples and oranges with a differing, but still great ride lineup.
  3. Canada's Wonderland - Well how did this end up so high on the list? *looks at rest of list* Oh...well it has Behemoth and Leviathan...and Vortex. Minebuster isn't awful. The flat ride selection is unmatched.
  4. Kings Dominion - It's almost the same story as above. They have I305, Dominator, and Volcano, but aside from the big three there's a whole lot of meh in an ugly setting.
  5. Knotts Berry Farm - Xcelerator and Silver Bullet are wonderful but wtf did they do between my two visits with building Sierra Sidewinder, Pony Express, and Coast Rider? Developing this park is challenging due to its location in the middle of Anaheim, but they really need an outstanding star attraction.
  6. Worlds of Fun - The Patriot and Prowler show. The rest of the park isn't bad, just a lot of meh.
  7. California's Great America - Sprawling, beautiful park, but goodness gracious their ride lineup is dire.
  8. Michigan's Adventure - I mean...yay Shivering Timbers? Can't expect much from MiA - it's a family focused park serving western and central Michigan. It's not meant to be a mega park and compete with Cedar Point and Six Flags Great America. The water park is pretty nice though.
  9. Dorney Park - I haven't been since '04 and there are a few reasons for that...one of them being that the park hasn't built anything to draw me back.
  10. Carowinds - Afterburn and their flying scooters. Every other attraction was garbage and it was a hot day and there is literally no shade in the park. I'm struggling to have any desire to go back to take a lap on Fury.

Not visited:
Valleyfair!
Well my list certainly changed after attending the CF live back in May! Carowinds jumps from last up to 3rd, no joke!

  1. Cedar Point
  2. Kings Island
  3. Carowinds
  4. Canada's Wonderland
  5. Kings Dominion
  6. Knotts Berry Farm
  7. Worlds of Fun
  8. California's Great America
  9. Michigan's Adventure
  10. Dorney Park
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
1. Cedar Point. Durr.
Head and shoulders above the rest.
Amazing place, amazing rides, amazing atmosphere. Might be my favourite park overall.

2. Canada's Wonderland / Kings Island / Kings Dominion.
I'm not very good at ranking things. :(
Honestly, I liked all 3 of these parks, had a great day at each of them and I really can't decide which one I liked best. They've all got a couple of stand-out coasters, but they've all got lots of filler too and let's face it, they're all fairly similar to each other overall.

5. Worlds of Fun.
I liked it. Very similar recipe to the above parks of course, just a bit smaller and with fewer creds, but yeah, decent enough.

6. Knott's Berry Farm.
Had a bad day here, large crowds and slow ops. Didn't even get all the creds (missed Sierra Sidewinder), hated Ghost Rider and Silver Bullet was meh.
Nah. Sh*te.
 

Aaron Smith

Mega Poster
1) Cedar Point - because duh. Grew up about 3 hours away in MI and would go multiple times a summer as a teen through college. I still go back once a year now that i live in Jersey.
2) Kings Island - Good selection of rides. Can't wait for KIGA!
3) Knott's Berry Farm - Surprisingly good park. It's too bad they are so land locked. Silver Bullet is a fun invert and I absolutely loved Ghostrider (never got on it before the retrack). Xcelerator has spited me twice so I need that cred.
4) Dorney Park - It's fun but such a small selection of coasters. Talon is fun though.

Within the next few years I plan to get to Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland and Michigan's Adventure (I know it's trash but it's only 3 hours from where my parents live).
 

GuyWithAStick

Captain Basic
After the trip...

1) Cedar Point - No contest, really. It's practically an island full of coasters! Frontier Town/Trail are great areas, too. Definitely the park to go to.
2) Carowinds - Had a lot of really cool rides with a fairly simple layout. Fury is fantastic, Copperhead was good fun, and had a real nice supporting lineup.
3) Kings Dominion - I really enjoyed all the shade at this park, especially with how hot it's been. Some of the rides are a bit of a hike to get to, and a decent amount of dead ends make things a tad inconvenient. I still enjoyed my day there, nonetheless.






4) Dorney Park - bleh. How can a park so old have so little character? Aside from Whip and Thunderhawk, you can tell me the park was built in 2005 and I'd believe you.
 
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