Archive: May, 2010

Jeff, Gonch, Carrie and Richard review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• Richard joins us from Orlando, as he begins his conquest to the last two B&M's he has never been on. This is what counting coasters does to you. Oh, and he beat the volcano.
• Coney Island seeks a revival. Lots of new shiny Zamperla rides coming together at the last minute.
• Six Flags propped up in the winter by resort at Great Escape. The indoor water park thing is obviously not just a fashion trend.
• Common carriers: parks are not, as confirmed again by a Florida court. Lawsuits for rides tend to fall into two categories: Something broke and hurt me or I had some condition that I'm going to pin on a non-malfunctioning ride.
• Dick Kinzel talks finances, Jeff looks forward to the torches and pitchforks at the Cedar Fair annual meeting. Carrie believes the company went a long time without accountability because of the lack of bigger investors.
• PointBuzz has some fantastic photos and video from Cedar Point's opening day, including video of Shoot The Rapids operating.
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando is starting to preview to folks, but the Forbidden Journey ride is still largely a mystery. Richard says the maps and park signage deny any of it even exists, in stark contrast to US marketing on TV.
• A group wants a new Whalom Park, because it was a swell thing for the community.
• Kennywood's Sky Rocket is topped off. Carrie is on the fence about a return visit.
• Taking pictures around kids is weird, and Richard says it's even more weird for folks with his church group. Jeff points out the irony that we have more technology than ever to capture photos, and yet it often feels more restrictive than ever.
• Rant: Security theater at US airports. It's even worse when you're coming from overseas.
• Richard says Americans are friendly enough toward foreign tourists, unless it's an American gas, er, petrol pump.
• Jeff talks briefly about the shiny new hardware that CoasterBuzz is running on, thanks in large part to CoasterBuzz Club members.
• Jeff posted some photos of Disney's Pop Century Resort in the Day in Pictures forum.
• Check out the event list on the CoasterBuzz Club page.
• You can get the latest headlines on CoasterBuzz from the Twitter. Follow us @coasterbuzz.
• CoasterBuzz Club is $25 per year. You can join or renew today. Enjoy CoasterBuzz with no ads.

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

• Nashville flooding prompts auctioning of the Holiday World staff. Gonch is counting his pennies to "own" Paula.
• Cedar Fair is offering free admission for military folks, but only on certain days. Feels like a half-assed gesture intended to get more butts in the parks, especially compared to the SeaWorld parks' offer.
• Shoot the Rapids didn't open in time for Cedar Point's opening because the boats don't fit. Another win for Intamin!
• Mark Shapiro is out as CEO of Six Flags. He will be missed for changing the company culture to one of rational capital expenditures and new territory for marketing revenue. The group discusses where in-park marketing starts to cross a line.
• The Walt Disney World Resort will add another 2,000 rooms with the Art of Animation, located on the grounds of what was going to be the other half of Pop Century. Check out the Bing map from bird's eye view of the unfinished buildings. Imagine what this means for off-property hotels, when Disney adds that many.
• Q Investments wants Cedar Fair to pay out .50 a unit per year.
• Sony Pictures wants to do an animated Rollercoaster Tycoon movie, and we're pretty sure it'll suck. Gonch neglected his kids to play that game and won a pinball machine.
• Sea lion moves in at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom after some douchebag shoots him in the face.
• Yet another thread erupts in the forums about virtual queues. Jeff believes the haters either don't understand it or are just unwilling to participate. FastPass rules.
• The short seat belt conspiracy seems to have returned at Cedar Point's Millennium Force.
• If you need your club membership card for coming events, please don't wait until the last minute.
• Check out the event list on the CoasterBuzz Club page.
• You can get the latest headlines on CoasterBuzz from the Twitter. Follow us @coasterbuzz.
• CoasterBuzz Club is $25 per year. You can join or renew today. Enjoy CoasterBuzz with no ads.

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

• Pop, soda, tying one on, cutting the rug and other regional dialects (and how they almost have something to do with amusement parks).
• Dan Snyder won't hang out on Six Flags board. The guy takes heat for the way he runs the Washington Redskins, but really he had nothing to do with the Six Flags bankruptcy. Pro sports are a weird business.
• Is Six Flags too advertisey and restaurant franchisey? Jeff thinks Johnny Rockets sucks.
• A lot goes into keeping Disney parks looking new and shiny every day. What happened to all of the behind-the-scenes shows on cable TV?
• Ghost Town sale is approved, lots to deal with there. Gonch liked their hourly shoot out shows.
• Walt Disney World wins suit from guy how said Tower of Terror caused a stroke. Case was unique because it didn't allege any kind of malfunction with the ride. That, and it actually went to trial.
• Flamingo Land ride gets stuck upside down due to poncho. Yet the sky was blue.
• All kinds of stuff found in the Rivers of America ride at Disneyland. The half-canoe is most intriguing.
• What's up with people who spend all of their time on the phone at a theme park? Mike is one of those people.
• Q will get people on the Cedar Fair board, but not by replacement, but by adding two. That dilutes the new influence and doesn't seem nearly as good. Jeff is decidedly not qualified to be on the board.
• Six Flags gets a "B" rating from Standard & Poor's.
• Kentucky Kingdom has no chance of opening this year. State gives up.
• Mike says that Six Flags way of doing in-park photos doesn't make sense, whereas Disney does it right by not forcing you to buy prints at the park.
• Little Dipper is coming along at Six Flags Great America. Mike posted photos.
• If you need your club membership card for coming events, please don't wait until the last minute.
• Check out the event list on the CoasterBuzz Club page.
• You can get the latest headlines on CoasterBuzz from the Twitter. Follow us @coasterbuzz.
• CoasterBuzz Club is $25 per year. You can join or renew today. Enjoy CoasterBuzz with no ads.

Jeff, Gonch and Carrie review this week's news in the amusement industry.

• The crew spends a bit of time talking about Facebook and its recent changes, "like" buttons everywhere and privacy. Interested to hear what you have to say, and whether there's any value in adding Facebook features to CoasterBuzz.
• Six Flags emerges from bankruptcy, and we're all glad that Shapiro and his crew will get an extended crack at making the company not suck.
• Stratosphere opens a decelerating jump off the tower thing called Skyjump. None of us would do it.
• Coney Island's Luna Park will open with 19 shiny new Zamperla rides. Gonch says they're well-rounded.
• UFS sells the Peanuts to a "brand" company and the Schultz family, and in the news release indicates that they're worth a lot more money that we all thought, especially in Belgium.
• Attendance figures, estimated anyway, say Disney held their own without a single discount ticket. Carrie would like to know what demographics were visiting the parks, especially whether or not they were repeat visitors.
• Busch Gardens Williamsburg is building a big drop tower. Gonch says that's what really makes a big park a big park.
• Attention boaters: If you're smaller, get out of the way! A big "duh" at Walt Disney World with rentals.
• Cops busting ticket resellers again. And why do the finger scanners at Universal Orlando suck so much compared to those at Disney?
• Congress has a hearing about marine life shows. PETA says animals have feelings too.
• Walt Disney World vs. Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter? It's not a contest, and everybody wins! Plus, thoughts of Grinchmas.
• Knott's Xcelerator investigation ends, report issued. Conclusion: California sucks at investigating this sort of thing. Also, inspection time on cables questioned. Jeff just doesn't think the hydraulic launch system is practical.
• Mr. Six has a Little Six, and Gonch is pretty sure he doesn't need to see that.
• Q Funding is trying to score new people on the Cedar Fair board. Jeff thinks the newbies will win.
• If you need your club membership card for coming events, please don't wait until the last minute.
• Check out the growing event list on the CoasterBuzz Club page.
• You can get the latest headlines on CoasterBuzz from the Twitter. Follow us @coasterbuzz.
• CoasterBuzz Club is $25 per year. You can join or renew today. Enjoy CoasterBuzz with no ads.