Archive: June, 2008

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

• Building a big wheel on International Drive in Orlando. Can the market make something like that work?
• Jeff really appreciates a well-kept mini-golf course. Some of them really suck. Gonch, on the other hand, sucks at mini-golf.
• Kings Island is all abuzz about the new roller coaster coming out next year. KIExtreme.com just posted some more construction photos. Kings Island really needs this ride, whatever it might be. Italian Job gets no love.
• Morons in the PA legislature change their tone over a ban on amusement park specific taxes, apparently just because Kennywood is Spanish owned.
• Meanwhile, Cedar Fair says if an admissions tax is applied to Kings Island, they'll do their best to "un-annex" out of the city of Mason and back into the township. We speculate that this is the city trying to catch up with their poorly planned growth.
• Anheuser-Busch is under siege by InBev with a hostile takeover on the horizon. Stay tuned.
• Teen killed in low zone of Batman at Six Flags Over Georgia. It's hard to understand how this kind of thing happens. More interesting is the way discussion around these events goes online, and also the connection the media makes to actual mechanical accidents.
• CoasterBuzz Club events coming up this year: The Fall Affair at Holiday World, and BooBuzz at Cedar Point. Visit the CoasterBuzz Club page for more information.

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

• Cedar Fair early season and the rising cost of fuel. Gonch thinks the expense of a driving vacation is relative. The plan for CF was diversity to reduce risk.
• No seriously, Wild West World has been sold for real this time, to a Florida developer. Gaming is on the radar for the site.
• Geauga Lake auction is complete with drama, suspense, an attention whoring auctioneer and the appearance of a leadership failure among coaster enthusiast and preservationist leadership.
• We drop a little nostalgia about the place, and point out that the biggest winners are Schlitterbahn, who bought a bunch of the old slides.
• Long dark water slides are scary. Water and dark is associated with drowning.
• Anheuser-Busch is under siege by a foreign buyer. What might happen to the parks?
• Jeff sings the praises of AirfareWatchdog.com in looking for flights to goofy destinations like Richmond, Virginia.
• Buckeye Lake was a big deal back in the day. Jeff saw the WOMAD festival there.
• Jeff went to Waldameer finally, and Ravine Flyer II is a sweet ride. It has charm. And a lot of bad tattoos.
• Gonch does a whirlwind tour of Eastern Pennsylvania and Jersey. Dorney has grown in and has more charm, he was not that impressed with Fahrenheit at Hersheypark, the Dark Knight at Great Adventure is better than most people are saying, Great Nor'easter is still a crappy SLC, the Jersey piers are a dump.
• Vegas brief: How'd we get on that topic again?
• CoasterBuzz Club events coming up this year: The Fall Affair at Holiday World, and BooBuzz at Cedar Point. Visit the CoasterBuzz Club page for more information.

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

• Jeff is annoyed by Delta for their inability to handle luggage. The CAK airport doesn't get high marks either.
• Hard Rock Park opens, and Maximum RPM is a no-show so far.
• Adrenaline buys Alabama Adventure. Gonch checks the resumes of the execs. Jeff says it's the long-tail approach to amusement parks.
• Kings Island playing the nostalgia card. Gonch says if you're going to do a big motorcycle jump, at least have some danger.
• X2 opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Mike sure would like to get out there.
• SeaWorld Orlando give some details about Manta, and Jeff thinks it's an interesting choice for a ride. Is it a flying coaster with the intense inversions, or more of a meandering ride (and therefore more family friendly)?
• Kentucky issues final report for drop tower accident. Culture of fear and mechanical failure blamed.
• Fire at Universal Hollywood is all over the news.
• Gonch deleted a topic accidentally in the forums, and it was a big scandal. Not really. The interesting story is more about how we have our bias and choose which parks we criticize more freely.
• Jeff saw the survey marks for the new coaster coming to Universal Studios Florida. The Simpsons Ride there is pretty cool. Finally got to see the revamped Disaster ride as well.