Archive: October, 2008

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

• Gonch could care less about people protesting the Six Flags Over Texas alcohol permit. Jeff finds it funny that a 12-year-old is in any position to protest it.
• Thorpe Park announces a Saw-themed roller coaster. Is this a good idea?
• There's a spider, and it's dramatic.
• Six Flags Magic Mountain announces a wood coaster called Terminator. Theme hilarity ensues.
• Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure is getting a face lift too. These "re-imaginings" for rides that were already good are silly. X2 was a special case because of the poor reputation it had.
• Joyland vandalized and for sale to anyone who will buy it. Video was pretty sad.
• Feature on Universal Orlando's Bloody Mary pretty interesting. Gonch wonders if the detail is lost on most people, but Jeff argues that the aggregate detail leaves an impression.
• Disney's California Adventure is a good example of how the lack of aggregate detail can fail to capture imagination. The new classic theme is intended to up the park's game.
• Nick Universe at Mall of America has a nearly tragic accident as kid climbs fence.
• A woman wants to sue Disney for not allowing her to ride Tower of Terror over and over. Article suggests the woman was being an irate bastard to people.
• Transformers coming to Singapore and Hollywood Universal parks. Gonch was into D&D and pro wrestling, but Jeff's excited about the license.
• Euro Disney flirting with... gasp!... profitability!
• Fair worker killed by an Inverter. Jeff isn't surprised, as he shot this video in 1994.
• Analysts down on Disney. Do you have to be a genius to know that everyone is down for the foreseeable future?
• Cedar Fair maintains its quarterly distribution, which feels good.
• Universal Orlando busting underage drinkers at Halloween Horror Nights. Why would anyone be surprised? They get busted and they can lose their license to sell alcohol..
• Jeff will park in the parking structure for the first time ever at Universal, because for three years his visits have all been on-property.
• Paralympian denied water slide ride. Human factors have to be considered in things like this, and it's hard to balance that with the sensitivity component.
• Celebration City closes. Gonch thought it was a pretty cool park. Why do enthusiasts almost not care at all?

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

• IAAPA's lobbying dollars, not very high.
• Officials worried about Hard Rock Park failure harming Myrtle Beach's reputation. They had one to begin with?
• Bowling for dollars: Reinventing pro bowling, building lanes at Disney World.
• Six Flags New England getting closer to its zoning variance for height.
• Disney analysts say Disney bookings could be down next year. We don't buy it.
• Great Escape just stays closed on bring-a-friend day and doesn't tell anyone.
• Six Flags New Orleans doesn't have a buyer after all. How do you rebuild in a place where the disaster will eventually happen again?
• Lassiter has to endure still more surgery, will likely need it every few years.
• Gonch's kid doesn't care for Arrow loopers, while Alton Towers' Vekoma Corkscrew is retired. We forget how big of a deal these rides used to be.
• Six Flags in danger of getting delisted from NYSE. Shouldn't they get some kind of free pass considering how much the market sucks in general?
• Orlando Sentinel has a nice list of things you may have forgotten about at the theme parks.
• Waldameer is adding a Mega Disk-O. Those are sweet rides. Gonch is sad that the Kennywood installation came at the expense of the Magic Carpet.
• Chance recalls Yo-Yo's. Thank God Dave Althoff is around to explain this stuff to us.
• Cedar Point and Castaway Bay get nailed for huge OSHA fines. They don't sound right, exactly.
• Jeff got out to the Mall of America for Nickelodeon Universe, loves the Intamin half-pipe, but felt luke-warm about SpongeBob. Valleyfair was looking good for the haunt.
• BooBuzz was seriously "E" during the ERT. Most people got around a dozen laps on Maverick on an otherwise busy day.
• Gonch does the hard core kids stuff for Kings Island's Halloween stuff, says the kids dig it.