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Cedar Fair Parks Ranked

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I went to CGA last week, and I've officially been to every Cedar Fair park! Now I can give an accurate ranking of the parks. I consider the coasters, the flats and other rides, the crowds, the ops, and ambiance. How do you rank them??

1. Cedar Point - elite coasters, beach, infinite things to do
2. Kings Dominion - walk ons on 2 of my fav coasters
3. Canada's Wonderland - super comfortable ambiance for a paramount park, really awesome top 4
4. Dorney Park - my home park, always chill, not a bad coaster in the park
5. Knott's Berry Farm - love ghost town, love the coasters
6. Kings Island - very solid lineup, but I don't like the ambiance and all of the coasters find a way to leave me dissatisfied
7. California's Great America - incredible top 3, not much else
8. Worlds Of Fun - terrible op experience, really awesome 1-2 punch
9. Carowinds - my favorite coaster in one of the most sterile CF parks
10. Michigan's Adventure - such an awesome weird place w/ one of my fav woodies, wish there was more to do there
11. Valleyfair! - everything is so bland

Some notable rides I've missed also: Xcelerator, TT2, Bat KI
 
Didn't realize I was only missing three parks! I've got eight of them.

1. Cedar Point - What else? Still one of the best coaster lineups in the world, great setting, and fantastic operations. Can be a chore getting on some of the rides sometimes, but there's tons to do.

2. Knott's Berry Farm - It's this high because there's a genuine attempt at theming throughout the park. Coasters are pretty good too... and I'm still missing Xcelerator and the shuttle loop, but they have the best invert in the states.

3. King's Island - Very nice setting and again fantastic operations. Their overall coaster selection isn't the best (lot of crap), but a couple of them are still fantastic.

4. King's Dominion - Same as above, just not quite as nice of a park.

5. Valleyfair! - Very chill park. Has the best GCI and most of the coasters are good at the very least.

6. Carowinds - Top heavy coaster selection surrounded by a bunch of crap (see a pattern for the Paramount Parks?). Not very pleasant and some of the worst park food you can get.

7. Dorney Park - Like Valleyfair: chill and easy to run through, but most of the park is pretty bland/ugly. Coaster selection is decent, but nothing amazing.

8. Michigan's Adventure - It's a little nicer than some of the ones above it, but there's not much to do outside Shivering Timbers and Wolverine Wildcat.
 
Knott's Berry Farm - The best looking and probably most diverse CF park. The park is tiny, but it packs so much into that little plot of land. Ghost Town is incredible and the ride selection is really solid. Ghostrider ops and rides constantly being down are huge issues that need to be addresed.

Kings Dominion - There's a bit of home park bias here but this feels like the most complete CF park. The park atmosphere is great, the park has a stellar top 2 and the supporting ride lineup isn't anything to scoff at. Some parts of the park are pretty dated and need a refresh but hopefully the park can address that with the next expansion.

Canada's Wonderland - I found this park to be the most refined of the original Taft-era parks. That being said, I've mainly visited there at night so I don't have much experience with what the rest of the park looks like, but what I've seen looks great. The coaster selection is a bit lackluster though. They make up for that with having tons of cool flat rides.

Carowinds - In the past, I was kinda disappointed with this place, but last year's visit was an improvement. They could use another world class coaster to round up their lineup and operations could use a lot more work. Just because Fury and Copperhead have amazing ops doesn't mean the rest of the park can slouch. Piss poor operations, really short flat cycles and a fairly lackluster coaster collection outside of Fury, Copperhead and Afterburn really hold this park back. The newer themed areas like the County Fair and Aeronautica Landing look great.

California's Great America - You could really tell every parent company this park had set its sights on the other properties before putting care into this park. You could probably blame the city for that though. It took a threat of closure for the city to have a change of heart. It really shows here. This park has so much potential, but its squandered because the city cares more for the offices surrounding the park than it does the actual park itself. Ride selection is ok. The park's coaster collection is pretty top heavy, but at least there's 4 great coasters vs the 2 great coasters CW and Carowinds have. I love the atmosphere here, but operations and maintenance issues really held this park back. In contrast, Six Flags Great America was lacking in atmosphere, but excels in just about everything else.

Kings Island - Why is Kings Island so low? I wasn't too impressed with the place. Any atmosphere the park could have doesn't really exist. Its all just slabs of concrete and coasters plopped down at the edges of the park. The coaster collection is really solid but there's no standout attraction that's calling me back. I loved how most of the coasters interact with the woods in the back, but there's a strong lack of shade or trees anywhere so if you're going in the dead of summer, you're gonna bake. Its a shame I couldn't get night rides here because the park has plenty of great night ride opportunities from Bat and Mystic to the famous Beast. This park is a perfect example of a generic Cedar Fair park. Slabs of concrete with trash cans everywhere and coasters flying overhead. Some people like that, but I like my theme parks with a bit more atmosphere

Dorney Park - In a lot of ways I love this little park, but the competition surrounding this park is elite, so that leaves Dorney in the dust. The atmosphere here is great. I love how its located along that creek. There's tons of history here. The ride selection could use a bit more beefing up and I'd love to see CF work their magic into creating themed sections calling back to the park's past or tying the park more with the surrounding area. I hope Iron Menace will pave the way towards CF pumping a bit more cash into this park because it clearly needs a bit more love and attention. I don't expect the park to go toe to toe with Knoebels, GAdv and HP, but I'd love to see them start adding more rides, expanding the park calendar, and getting a bit more attention from corporate.
 
  1. Cedar Point - it is America's Roller Coast, and one of the most idyllic spots of roller coasters in the world.
  2. Knott's Berry Farm - what I always describe as the "LA local's" theme park, it's small footprint makes for very quaint and endearing design. Big park thrills with small park vibes.
  3. Kings Dominion - it historically was a Kings Island 2.0 by design, and it shows for having a great park layout, and has been one of the most-blessed Paramount parks since the Cedar Fair takeover.
  4. Kings Island - as easy it is to meme the park, there's no denying the quality of roller coaster lineup, and relatively ease-of-use the park is for having a fun-filled day. Just please put something in the Vortex spot, finally.
  5. Carowinds - Biggest surprise of a Cedar Fair visit in my books, as I've always heard folks dogging on it, but had a lovely time. Many gems in the coaster lineup (Fury, Flight Deck, etc.), and solid amusement park fun.
  6. Valleyfair! - One word: Excalibur.
  7. Michigan's Adventure - Don't sleep on MA! Those that go in expecting a full day of large-theme park thrills will always be disappointed. But those who appreciate MA for what it is; a half-day amusement park experience easy to pop-in-and-out, with a great water park complement to boot; it's a great amusement park experience!
  8. Dorney Park - An amazing array of dense coaster lineup, and a pretty cute, small-park design. But, the park always feels low on energy, often resulting in an attitude of "let's just go slog through all the coasters, and maybe grab a bite to eat on the way out". This park has also faced historic developmental challenges, from being constantly deprioritized on receiving new rides throughout the 90s and 2000s by Cedar Fair to weird height regulations instilled by FAA. I really hope Iron Menace helps keep turning the ship, and let's Dorney ever-more come into it's own.
  9. Worlds of Fun - Look, it's a park, it's got roller coasters, and you can do things in it.
 
I've only been to three - and my take was that I'd like to move KI's coasters to CP. The atmosphere isn't great at King's Island, but you really are spoiled for choice with coasters, whereas Cedar Point's ranged from overrated to forgettable (TT2 was of course, closed). Cedar Point has a fantastic location - other than being a bit out of the way on a multi-park road trip.

It's noteworthy that I did KI with Fastpass, which I didn't use at Cedar Point, so KI's woeful operations weren't as noticeable.

I went to Canada's Wonderland in 2015 (pre Yukon) - nice enough park, but a LOT of filler - only two real star coasters.
 
Cedar Point
Kings Island
Carowinds
Kings Dominion
Geauga Lake
Canada's Wonderland
Valleyfair!
Michigan's Adventure

I get out to Cedar Point and Kings Island most often, and CP edges out KI by a hair for me, because of their superior coaster lineup. Often, I feel like I'd rather spend a day at KI if given the choice. But then Steel Vengeance, and Maverick...
You really can't go wrong with either, but I prefer Carowinds' coaster lineup over Kings Dominion's, although KD has a nicer setting. Carowinds also felt like a more lively park- though a freshly dormant Volcano sitting there during my only visit to KD back in 2018 may have played a part in that perception.
I visited Geauga Lake pre-CF, when it was SFWoA, and remember a lot of decent coasters with nothing standing out (BKF, X-Flight, and Villain being the stars), but an incomplete feeling park. That was 20 or so years ago, though... Similarly, my views Canada's Wonderland are outdated, as I last visited in 2002, before Cedar Fair's takeover. Valleyfair! and Michigan's Adventure are fine for what they are, but it would be great to see an addition to these parks here and there.
 
Huh - today I learned I've been to all the Cedar Fair parks...

{last visit year in brackets for context to ride line-up at the time}

1. Cedar Point {2018} - Duh.
2. Carowinds {2016} - Not the prettiest or most charming by any stretch, but Fury and Afterburn are spectacular. Only need to ask @Snoo & co how good of a day we had there back-to-backing those coasters.
3. Canada's Wonderland {2018} - I had a really good day here, with a decent selection of good coasters.
4. Kings Dominion {2016} - Volcano and Dominator the standout coasters here (i305 is overrated, bite me), and I had a very quiet day at the park so was lots of rerides at an extremely leisurely pace.
5. Kings Island {2010} - Fond memories of this park and the rides there. I remember it being a long but enjoyable day, with the Beast at night probably being the highlight.
6. Knott's Berry Farm {2013} - Xcelerator, Ghostrider and Silver Bullet are a solid line-up.
7. Dorney Park {2010} - It's a shame Taron is the only really good thing there, but it is very good, so... fair enough.
8. California's Great America {2013} - I remember it having a decent set of coasters and being quite a chilled day. Guess that's nothing negative.
9. Worlds Of Fun {2010} - I loved Patriot and Prowler back then, but boy oh boy was that park hot and unrelenting.
10. Valleyfair! {2012} - Nothing hugely outstanding, but simple enough.
11. Michigan's Adventure {2013} - I really didn't like this park, but Shivering Timbers alone saves it from being the worst park out there.

Gets a bit tricky after #4, as they were a long time ago and pretty indistinguishable. Plus a lot of these parks have built some impressive looking coasters since (the RMCs, Yukon Striker, Orion, etc), so a visit today could well rearrange the order. Expect Michigan's Adventure would still be at the bottom though, and nothing's gonna knock Cedar Point off the top.
 
Hixee said:
Huh - today I learned I've been to all the Cedar Fair parks...

{last visit year in brackets for context to ride line-up at the time}

1. Cedar Point {2018} - Duh.
2. Carowinds {2016} - Not the prettiest or most charming by any stretch, but Fury and Afterburn are spectacular. Only need to ask @Snoo & co how good of a day we had there back-to-backing those coasters.
3. Canada's Wonderland {2018} - I had a really good day here, with a decent selection of good coasters.
4. Kings Dominion {2016} - Volcano and Dominator the standout coasters here (i305 is overrated, bite me), and I had a very quiet day at the park so was lots of rerides at an extremely leisurely pace.
5. Kings Island {2010} - Fond memories of this park and the rides there. I remember it being a long but enjoyable day, with the Beast at night probably being the highlight.
6. Knott's Berry Farm {2013} - Xcelerator, Ghostrider and Silver Bullet are a solid line-up.
7. Dorney Park {2010} - It's a shame Taron is the only really good thing there, but it is very good, so... fair enough.
8. California's Great America {2013} - I remember it having a decent set of coasters and being quite a chilled day. Guess that's nothing negative.
9. Worlds Of Fun {2010} - I loved Patriot and Prowler back then, but boy oh boy was that park hot and unrelenting.
10. Valleyfair! {2012} - Nothing hugely outstanding, but simple enough.
11. Michigan's Adventure {2013} - I really didn't like this park, but Shivering Timbers alone saves it from being the worst park out there.

Gets a bit tricky after #4, as they were a long time ago and pretty indistinguishable. Plus a lot of these parks have built some impressive looking coasters since (the RMCs, Yukon Striker, Orion, etc), so a visit today could well rearrange the order. Expect Michigan's Adventure would still be at the bottom though, and nothing's gonna knock Cedar Point off the top.
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Having been to most of these in the last 2-3 years (jesus.. didn't realize that until just now as well.. haha), I have a feeling this list would be wildly different, specifically the bottom half as I've had amazing experiences at DP, WOF, AF, and MiA recently. As we share a lot in common.. and you woulda had a blast with the squad, you may feel the same. :)
 
1. Cedar Point- Love the location, the line up is really good (I'm not a huge B&M fan, so those ones to me are a bit 'take it or leave it', but I still love Top Thrill, Maverick, Steel Vengeance, and Millennium Force, and to have four great coasters in one park is awesome), and I like that it can be more of a vacation destination with the cottages/nearby outdoor and indoor waterparks, and some other local things.

2. Kings Island- It's a good park with a fun lineup. I wasn't a huge fan of Orion, and Banshee makes me feel sick, but coasters like Flight of Fear, Backlot, Diamondback, and beast are all really solid (okay, disagree with FoF if you want, I know it's not really a fan fave). The atmosphere is okay, and I never find it to be crazy busy but maybe that's just luck.

3. Canada's Wonderland- I don't love this park, but it has some pretty areas and some crowd pleasers. I think the thing that stands out to me most about Wonderland and why I rank it so highly is because it's absolutely fantastic for kids. I still think it has one of the best kiddie areas of any park I've been to.

4. Carowinds- Had one bad day here, one good day. The lineup is pretty good, the park is a bit meh. I haven't been since Copperhead Strike, but I'm not sure that one coaster would have changed my opinion much.

5. Knott's- I really wanted to love it, and had everything been open I'd be ranking it higher than Carowinds, and perhaps even Wonderland. I had bad experiences both times I went though, so unless next time it can get its act together, it will just be mid tier. Xcelerator and Ghost Rider were both shut last time I went, and the first time it was also heaving with bad operations.

The rest of the parks, it's been a while since I've been to them, but I'll do my best to rank them.

6. King's Dominion- Never liked this park much. It has a few okay coasters, but last time I went it was about a trillion degrees and then when I tried to go back a few years later, it was closed for storms.

7. Worlds of Fun- For some reason I remember liking this better than Dorney, and I did enjoy a few coasters in their lineup, so yeah. I feel like the atmosphere was better too, but I also haven't been since the early 2010s.

8. Dorney Park - Has Talon. Has a first gen Intamin drop tower.

9. Michigan's Adventure- RIP to my sensitive eyes being blinded by the sun on all the concrete. It's not an awful park, it's fine for what it is, and Shivering Timbers is good. The waterpark seemed to be okay too, but I didn't spend time there so it's hard to say. It's a park I'll probably only go back to for my kid.

10. Valleyfair- I was in a bit of a rush, it was busy, it was hot, the lineup sucked, Renegade was one of the biggest disappointments, Excalibur was disappointing, the layout of the park was weird. I don't even think I have much good things to say about it. Only thing I remember liking was the wooden coaster.
 
Snoo said:
Having been to most of these in the last 2-3 years (jesus.. didn't realize that until just now as well.. haha), I have a feeling this list would be wildly different, specifically the bottom half as I've had amazing experiences at DP, WOF, AF, and MiA recently. As we share a lot in common.. and you woulda had a blast with the squad, you may feel the same. :)
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Yeah, why are you so wrong @Hixee? 😜
 
Hyde said:
Yeah, why are you so wrong @Hixee? 😜
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And I truly believe you're correct. I've had great times at **** parks (heck - most parks) more thanks to the company than the coaster alone. I have no reason to believe I wouldn't enjoy those parks more (or... differently) if I were to visit again and even more so with the right group of people!
 
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