Cedar Fair launches FUNTV

topey@sanduskyregister.comLocal amusement park operator Cedar Fair knows how to have fun.Now they have added another layer to the entertainment with the debut of FUNTV in all of its parks.Designed to entertain and enhance the guest experiences with park trivia, news and real-time weather, the in-house programming was recently launched in Cedar Fair's 11 parks to reach more than 23 million guests annually.It is a good way for Cedar Fair and its strategic alliances, such as Coca-Cola, to share its advertising to those in its parks, the company's officials admit."But first and foremost we wanted to make sure it enhanced the guest experience. We did not want to just be a walking billboard," said Stacey Frole, spokeswoman for Cedar Fair.Now while waiting in a long line for GateKeeper at Cedar Point or Banshee at Kings Island, guests can play trivia or use their phone to join an interactive game. They can watch Behind the Scenes snippets of things in the parks.Messages displayed on the televisions will keep guests updated on what special events or shows are occurring that day.It was used last week to alert guests to the 4 p.m. ringing of the bell at the front gates of Cedar Point by Cedar Fair executives to close the New York Stock Exchange.Soon they will watching original programming."Our team in house is putting it together. Our ideas are pretty entertaining," Frole said.Cedar Fair created a new department to produce FUNTV, hiring a few people and investing a little less than $10 million to debut the network.