Archive: May, 2009

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

• Freestyle marketing, any marketing is an improvement over no marketing. And why are the locals more upbeat on it this year?
• And then there was the lawsuit trying to prevent the park from opening at all based on IP and trademark issues. The park opened anyway.
• Magnum opened 20 years ago, and we agree that it's an important roller coaster in history due to its height and speed.
• A new Kong ride is headed to Universal Studios Hollywood, with 4-D elements. Jeff is not a fan of projection rides.
• Texas state fair wants to compete with Six Flags.
• New Orleans keeps bugging Six Flags, but for what purpose?
• Ghost Town gets a mystery investor.
• Chicago's Kiddieland will close after 80 years, and it seems like the only reason is that one faction of the family thinks the land is better sold.
• Manta opens at SeaWorld Orlando. What makes a good flying coaster? Up high or down low?
• Terminator opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and the focus has moved mostly to the theme pieces before the ride.
• Epcot Innoventions scores Disney a million for each exhibit.
• Conneaut Lake sort of opens.
• Cheating the height requirements is something only stupid parents do.
• We appreciate your support of CoasterBuzz by joining the club. It's only $20 per year, and your membership helps support this podcast.
• Jeff completes a three-park tour in eastern PA, and finally gets why enthusiasts love Phoenix so much.

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

• Gonch has basement issues, and his basement has a mean echo now. Meanwhile, Jeff bought a new bike.
• Dippin' Dots struggles as the ice cream of the now, with competitors and patent lawsuits. Now they're trying coffee.
• New Orleans goes after Six Flags for not operating the park there, and it strikes us as a waste of time and taxpayer money given the state of Six Flags, and the state of New Orleans.
• Gonch thinks that the changes at Freestyle Music Park are at least a lateral move, at worst a step backward from the Hard Rock Park. Jeff still thinks the brand was solid, and the lack of marketing was tragic.
• Six Flags Great America opens Buccaneer Battle, and we think it's a pretty cool idea. This seems like an example of Six Flags doing more of the right thing.
• Dollywood opens a $1 million show, and it's brilliant that they sell a CD with the music from the show. Why doesn't Disney do this for the [i]Nemo[/i] musical?
• Six Flags Over Georgia pours a lot of money into a classic dark boat ride, and Gonch says it's more of an experience enhancement to bring people back than a marketable attraction.
• Chippewa Lake finally sees new development after being an amusement ghost park for decades.
• Cedar Fair vs. Six Flags CEO optimism. Dick sets expectations low, Mark says he's optimistic. Do Six Flags parks do a lot of company picnic business?
• NYC economic development PR fail.
• Jeff goes to Cedar Point's opening day to ridiculous crowds.
• We appreciate your support of CoasterBuzz by joining the club. It's only $20 per year, and your membership helps support this podcast.

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

• Mike is now Daddy 2.0 with the birth of his second daughter. A long discussion on raising babies ensues.
• Swine Flu mania sweeps the nation, while Six Flags Mexico closes for a few days.
• The draw of Harry Potter and a Chicago museum. Mike says they have cool stuff, including a submarine in a building.
• Wild West World developer goes to jail, but we feel pretty strongly that the "victims" are just as stupid as the accused.
• Pilgrim's Plunge opens to the public, and Santa is all wet. Holiday World posts very cool photos all over the Interwebs.
• Schmeck gets his due love. Mike suggests that measuring the importance of a ride might not be best served by its age. Rather, the ways that it pushed forward the art and science of roller coaster making, that's a better gauge.
• Results week puts everyone down a bit, though with Easter falling in a different quarter, it's hard to make a good comparison to last year. Disney offsets declines with deep discounts that keep up attendance, and may benefit from people being exposed to the parks who might not otherwise go.
• Mike notices the changes around his local Six Flags park after a two year skip, now roaming the midways with his daughter in tow.
• Ride renaming continues at Freestyle Music Park.
• Teens versus grown-ups in a battle for seasonal jobs!
• Terminator trains arrive at Magic Mountain, and we're surprised at how enormous and heavy they look when they're not on the track.
• Alton Towers laying out plans for expansion, while the Adventure Dome in Las Vegas says it will invest in new rides as soon as the economy picks up. Jeff and Mike have still never been there, despite many trips to Vegas.
• We appreciate your support of CoasterBuzz by joining the club. It's only $20 per year, and your membership helps support this podcast.