Archive: July, 2010

CoasterBuzz Podcast #185 - July 19, 2010

Download... | Length: 59:20 | Size: 27MB | Downloads: 5003

posted by Jeff | Sunday, July 18, 2010, 11:28 PM | comments: 0

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

  • Help us raise money for Give Kids The World, Coasting For Kids! Join us at any of the 11 Cedar Fair parks on July 29, 2010, and ride for a good cause.
  • Starliner is not going to be a part of Legoland Florida.
  • Several deadly accidents this week leave two people dead, and another event hurts ten people.
  • Joyland's owner dies. What makes the family owned parks so interesting? Mike says it's history.
  • Disneyland hotel workers are still protesting for a contract with benefits. Jeff doesn't understand how the market would call for part-time work that includes benefits.
  • Great Wolf is opening one of its spas at Mall of America. Interesting area to expand the business in.
  • An environmental themed park in Houston? Scope creep aside for this project, it is strange that such a large metro has no amusement park.
  • Yet another attack on a costumed character, this time at Six Flags Great America. Mike asks what your motivation is for this, and Jeff explains beating up his old giant plush Noid.
  • Cedar Fair does some refinancing. We don't know what it really means.
  • Busch Gardens Tampa introduces baby giraffes. They're not nearly as cute as other baby animals.
  • No Segways in the San Antonio parks. No, it's not about screwing vets, it's about the safety issues.
  • Water parks are doing well with boosts in attendance, presumably because they're cheaper than regular amusement parks.
  • Granny power rides Diamondback at Kings Island.
  • Hersheypark is "StormReady." If only Storm Runner was ready when Jeff visited!
  • Carrie notes that the Obama girls were in Hershey's water park. Jeff is not inspired by the Secret Service's inability to find ride exits.
  • I learned it by watching you, alright!
  • Check out the event list on the CoasterBuzz Club page. Got a ticket for Holiday World? Come to the Fall Affair for a couple of bucks extra!
  • 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.

CoasterBuzz Podcast #184 - July 12, 2010

Download... | Length: 57:55 | Size: 26MB | Downloads: 4980

posted by Jeff | Sunday, July 11, 2010, 11:48 PM | comments: 0

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

  • Carrie gets first hand exposure to the train wreck that is Conneaut Lake Park. She found a real mess, and almost no visitors. She isn't convinced that there's any vision or plan for the long term. Jeff agrees and believes this is why throwing money at it is not a good plan. See Carrie's pictures from 1974 and 1980, as well as today here and here.
  • Local historical society in Cleveland has plans to resurrect the Euclid Beach carousel, and the plan includes an endowment to keep it running indefinitely. This is preservation done right.
  • Gonch does the sweet behind-the-scenes tour at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and thinks it's worth every penny. He'd even pay more. See his photos here.
  • The top 100 roller coasters are ranked in the CoasterBuzz 100. Jeff talks about how the list is generated.
  • Six people die in an amusement park simulator accident in China, and we know practically nothing about it. A bizarre animation appears from a Chinese news source.
  • Captain Eo comes back to Epcot. Meh.
  • Freestyle Music Park is so poor they can't afford to show up to court.
  • Power outage at Kings Island on July 4 was apparently handled poorly in terms of compensating guests. The culture of non-empowerment comes up again.
  • Jeff kind of disses L.A., but mostly because he's uncertain about infant travel. He'll miss the SoCal parks.
  • Off-topic: Wanting to create scandal in Las Vegas.
  • Yet another ticket scam in Orlando, but this one had an inside job element to it.
  • Orlando theme park discounts: When will it stop, and is it an indication of better economic times?
  • Help us raise money for Give Kids The World, Coasting For Kids! Join us at any of the 11 Cedar Fair parks on July 29, 2010, and ride for a good cause.
  • Check out the event list on the CoasterBuzz Club page. Got a ticket for Holiday World? Come to the Fall Affair for a couple of bucks extra!
  • 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.