Archive: August, 2007

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

• New park in Ontario, locals hope replacement of some lost jobs.
• Washington Post does a piece on the guys who do the daily maintenance on wood coasters. Jeff would be too lazy, Pat would be scared of the heights, Mike would love it.
• Stupid alleged criminal of the week: Woman steals $75,000 from Kings Island. Hello, did she not think of the auditing?
• Hong Kong Disneyland not hitting numbers, offering discounted student passes. Why do people criticize Disney for slow starts at new parks?
• Kennywood closes their dark ride, and we look forward to seeing what they do with that space going forward.
• Six Flags gets into the kids publishing business. Expanding the media empire or just creative marketing?
• Developer who wants to build a new park in Michigan outed as a bit of a failure by local paper. Because the location wasn't a dumb choice to begin with!
• It has been really wet all across the Midwest.
• The flyer is up for the CoasterBuzz Club Fall Affair. Download it now!

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

• Mike better be here next week even if he's having a baby.
• Wild West World is the result of a lack of business common sense. Who can really buy it though?
• Jeff talks about the CCI bankruptcy documents he's been getting over the years, and talks about some of the people and companies that made claims against the bankruptcy.
• Kids use K'Nex to build a 30' high toy coaster in Toledo. The cast admits they were "that kid."
• The cast also talks about playing with Hot Wheels tracks back in the day.
• Several die in a Korean Ferris wheel accident.
• Is attendance an obsolete metric when measuring the health of an amusement park operator? Gonch has been making the case that lower attendance with higher per cap is OK too. Where is the sweet spot though, and at what point are they going too far with in-park prices? Mike says there's no one way of balancing these factors for all parks.
• The boys entertain various forum topics from the week.
• The flyer is up for the CoasterBuzz Club Fall Affair. Download it now!

Jeff and Pat (and sometimes Greg, almost Mike and Richard too) review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• What's the right answer for Coney Island? Greg was just there.
• To what extent do ride manufacturers and operators have to protect you from yourself?
• Goofy guy rides coasters over and over. Experts say there is a physical consequence for this.
• Setpoint's founders want to focus on the ride business. Swing Thing is a good idea, but leaves a lot to be desired in terms of capacity.
• Disney Hollywood Studios in Florida. Be sure you're going to the right state to visit the park.
• Gonch thinks the really exclusive Six Flags park treatment is fun at $300. Jeff is skeptical.
• The trimming of Voyage... ride it first! No trims at the Fall Affair. Still, is this an engineering issue or a limitation of wooden coasters?
• The flyer is up for the CoasterBuzz Club Fall Affair. Download it now!

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

• Kennywood storm death lawsuit reaches settlement amount first, liability to be determined.
• Cedar Fair announced 2Q earnings, and while the per cap keeps going up, the attendance continues to slip. Is this good or bad? The per cap and value perception issues revisited (again).
• Six Flags is up and up, though taking a hit for marketing expenses. The stock is taking a serious beating, and it has us scratching our heads.
• The Park at MOA is now Nickelodeon Universe, and they're spending $30 million there.
• Florida attributes accident at Dania Beach Boomers to rider behavior. Should safety measures account for "worse case scenario?"
• Wild West World creditors come a knockin'.
• Great Wolf is coming to MOA. Jeff mentioned that the average local bed and breakfast is a better value.
• O Canada film at Epcot is mostly a joke up north. The Nemo ride at Epcot is the Disaster Transport of Disney, by the way.
• International seasonal workers do their thing at Cedar Point. Off-shoring is largely a mythic beast in the states.
• The Cedar Fair and private equity drama is fun to watch, but seriously, who would really put up the cash for the company? And who is dumb enough to talk about a deal before it's real?
• Conservation rocks at the Busch parks. Do you feel the same way about animals at Six Flags parks?
• Disney single-day ticket all the way up to $71 now. They get what they want though, people do the multi-day arrangement.
• The flyer is up for the CoasterBuzz Club Fall Affair. Download it now!