Archive: November, 2008

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

• Cypress Gardens reduced to water park with ski show and gardens. Were plans in the Kent years too ambitious?
• Six Flags has solid results, but says there's some big announcement coming regarding its debt load. The only choices we're aware of is either bankruptcy or additional stock.
• Geauga Lake partial land sale could minimize the damage of the park's failure. Gonch finds it mind boggling that so much retail can be built.
• Disneyland and Verizon are doing location-based information with phones. Jeff thinks that iPhones and Blackberries offer a more generic and universal way to pass along the information to users. Mike makes the point that for this to be useful it has to work on many phones.
• Rye Playland goes POP.
• Hard Rock Park going to auction. Minimum bid is $35 million, assets are nearly $300 million. Ouch.
• The Gravity Group announces that they're developing trains. It will be exciting to see who deploys these trains first.
• NYC wants to buy Coney Island property, Thor will likely not get its way for its mega-resort project.
• Six Flags and Intamin both settle with the Lassiters for the 2007 accident at Kentucky Kingdom that took Kaitlyn's feet.
• Jeff and Diana spent a week at Disney World on the dining plan. Thought it was a fabulous deal.
• Spaceship Earth became a favorite for the goofy animated heads video on the touch screen. We found at least two "hidden Mickeys."
• The Segway tour around Epcot was sweet. Jeff wants one. Or two.
• Toy Story Midway Mania is a total home run. Jeff thought it would be another stupid shooter dark ride, but it's much better.
• Soarin' was much better than expected too. Not another dumb simulator at all.
• IAAPA was not that exciting, but the Moser Rides "Top Spin for two" is a great idea.
• We appreciate your support of CoasterBuzz by joining the club. It's still just $20 per year.

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

• Sexual attack at Valleyfair surrounded by questions and few answers. Why is it that someone who knows the victim in various crime and accidents end up on our forum?
• Alton Towers finds all kinds of crap under their Corkscrew, which is coming down. Did they not do track walks in decades? How do you not notice someone loses a prosthetic leg?
• Strange case against the city for Coney Island Cyclone after man dies several days after claiming injury. Suit suggests engineering neglect.
• Expoland declares bankruptcy, and we're fascinated by the cultural differences in Japan that keep parks closed for months after accidents.
• Universal's Dubai park will be mostly air conditioned. Sounds like the grand excess of Las Vegas. Jeff goes off on a tangent about oil, autos and bailouts for GM.
• The boys contemplate the significance of Diamondback at Kings Island. Haters annoy Jeff.
• Dollywood retains marketing partnership experts, and Gonch finds it hilarious that this is a precedent started by Six Flags.
• Sidebar: Video game nonsense, including killing Jar Jar.
• Hall of Presidents going to be closed for upgrades and an Obamatronic.
• Hard Rock Park won't open without a new buyer. We had the same discussion in the forum again about why it failed.
• Dollywood putting off their attraction on concerns of wild material costs.
• Cedar Fair results, per cap is still down. Told ya so! Five dollar fries suck.
• Interesting piece in CIO magazine about the many metrics and IT endeavors at Universal Orlando.
• Busch Entertainment likely for sale in InBev deal to reduce overall cost of Anheuser-Busch.
• Disney seems to be proactive for forthcoming decline in room booking in Orlando, and the discounts are pretty serious.
• IAAPA is next week, and Jeff has three badges for some reason. They lo-jack you coming in and out of the floor.