Archive: January, 2007

Jeff, Richard, Greg and Pat review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• X-Flight pieces start arriving at PKI. Not a lot of love out there for flying coasters.
• Cyclone and Flashback are going away from Six Flags Magic Mountain, not that anyone is going to miss them. At least we can stop talking about the coaster count stat. Can Magic Mountain execute any better without?
• Nintendo and Six Flags in bed, but it sure is a lopsided marketing agreement. As an aside, Greg says the PS3 is not that cool.
• New Coney Island information isn't very detailed. Richard wonders what the developers are hiding.
• Euro Disney profit is up, but what has been the problem all of this time? Richard has the European flavor, including a strange focus on the Orlando parks.
• Cinderella's Castle has its first overnight guests at Magic Kingdom. So what do you do when the park closes?
• Legoland California is building the Vegas strip. Will it include little Elvis guys?
• Kennywood installing a Zamperla Disk-O. While the Magic Carpet is going away, we still give the park credit for holding on to rides as long as they can.

Jeff, Mike, Greg and Pat review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• Bell's is still the story that defies logic.
• Cedar Fair attendance is down ever so slightly, but we think it's a non-event.
• Pat is the Wiggles master, and says the cult-ish characters are a win for Six Flags.
• Six Flags Marine World becomes Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Not a great name. Did they learn anything from their experience in Ohio?
• Regarding the lawsuit by accused (and cleared) guy, where do you draw the line between public safety, reason and protecting your own interests?
• Ralph Stricker built his own coasters.
• Myrtle Beach Pavilion a pile of dust, and we thank the local paper for the play-by-play.
• How valuable is the Toy Story brand? Hopefully it's strong given the rumors of a new attraction for Disney-MGM.
• The guys have plenty to say about the potential for no-re-entry policy at Six Flags, but Jeff thinks it's just a stupid rumor.

Jeff, Mike and Pat review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• The trouble with costumed Tiggers. The video "evidence" is sketchy at best.
• Near sexual assault in queue is scary time for Universal Orlando guest.
• Kansas City columnist fears a lack of regulation, but the truth is that hurting people is still bad for business and ride operators know this.
• Old Euclid Beach entrance damaged by moron driver.
• Six Flags unloads seven properties for $312 million. The math sounds good for now.
• Six Flags Magic Mountain: Amusement park still the best use of the property?
• Get this, we still think that there's nothing to say about Six Flags and whether or not they'll actually execute.
• Brief update on the forum development.

Jeff, Mike, Greg and Pat review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• Checking ID's at Pleasure Island, and showing we have no idea what goes on there.
• Disney promises a new Web site, and frankly the panel thinks they need it.
• Wild West World is ahead of schedule. How cool is it that someone is actually building something new, and insists it will be profitable right away?
• Valleyfair is ahead of schedule too.
• Ohio legislature tries to back in a provision to exempt amusement park workers from minimum wage increase. We think the increase is silly in the first place.
• Alton Towers named nasty in the food outlets.
• Steel Pier gets another year of life, thanks to the Donald.
• What motivates preservation? Are defunct coasters like paintings after the artist dies?

Jeff, Richard and Pat review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• We finally welcome Richard Bannister to the show from Dublin.
• Richard shows us how it's done squeezing in a park visit on a layover.
• Dick Kinzel is staying on as CEO of Cedar Fair. Is it a good, bad or neutral thing for the company.
• Universal offers healthier food, following Disney's lead, but Jeff thinks they already had a lot of better choices. Richard says American portions are comparatively large.
• Cedar Fair lays out capital expenditures for the year, and appears to be leaving the Paramount Parks as is.
• The group discusses the ups and down of Mitch Hawker's poll.
• Report card for the Six Flags new regime in their first year: Still too early to call.
• Is the Six Flags New Orleans abandonment immoral or just the right business decision?
• The CoasterBuzz Podcast is now listed on Digg. Digg and listen here!
• CoasterBuzz makeover is forthcoming, and an early version of the new forum will be available for testing soon.
• Lots of CoasterBuzz Club events are coming in 2007, including the Fall Affair at Holiday World, Saturday, September 29.