Cedar Fair Wins Top Honors at Amusement Industry's Golden Ticket Awards

SANDUSKY, Ohio, Sept. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), a leader in regional amusement parks, water parks and active entertainment, has won three top honors in Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards (GTA). The coveted Best New Ride award went to Mason Ohio's Kings Island for its new Mystic Timbers roller coaster; also at Kings Island, its PEANUTS™ themed children's area won Best Kid's Area for an impressive 17^th consecutive year. Charlotte, N.C.-area park Carowinds' hyper-coaster, Fury 325, won Best Steel Coaster for the second year in a row. In all, 20 rides throughout Cedar Fair parks were recognized as GTA winners.

Matt Ouimet, Cedar Fair's chief executive officer, said, "These awards illustrate how our innovative planning and design team, led by our senior vice president Rob Decker, strive to provide an unmatched guest experience for people of all ages. I thank our employees at every park who work hard each day, and congratulate all winners in our industry as we create memorable experiences for families everywhere."

Mystic Timbers, themed after an abandoned logging company with a mysterious shed housing a dynamic creature show, was also recognized as one of the top wood roller coasters overall. Other honors for best wood coaster went to Cedar Fair's The Beast, also at Kings Island; Gold Striker at California's Great America in Santa Clara; Ghost Rider at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif.; and Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon.

Kings Island has won the top "Best Kids' Area" GTA more than any other park in history. Its Planet Snoopy boasts an elaborate collection of PEANUTS-themed rides and attractions, including more kids' roller coasters than any other amusement park in the world.

Fury 325 has won top honors for best new ride and steel coaster since its debut in 2015. Other Cedar Fair steel coaster GTA winners were Cedar Point, the Sandusky, Ohio flagship park, for its Millennium Force, Maverick, Top Thrill Dragster, and Magnum XL-200 coasters; Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughn, Ont.; Diamondback and Banshee at Kings Island; Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va.; and Intimidator, also at Carowinds.

Several Cedar Fair parks earned a range of spots in other categories - Cedar Point in the Best Park and Best New Ride-Water Park categories, Knott's Berry Farm in the Best Halloween Event category, and Gilroy Gardens in Gilroy, Calif. in the Best Children's Park category.

The prestigious Golden Ticket Awards are presented annually to recognize excellence in the amusement park industry. The awards are calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, an Arlington, Texas-based publication that covers amusement and water park news and trends.

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio, and one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world. The Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, two outdoor water parks, one indoor water park and five hotels. It also operates an additional theme park under a management contract. Its parks are located in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and Toronto, Ontario. For more information, see www.cedarfair.com.

This news release and prior releases are available online at www.cedarfair.com. 

Contacts:    Laurie Tardif    (419) 357-9559

SOURCE Cedar Fair

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