CoasterBuzz Podcast #162 - October 26, 2009

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

• Blackstone guy says roller coasters are super awesome for the future of business. Mike makes the point that it's not like they're going anywhere.
• Kiddieland rides will be auctioned, not relocated as a unit. Some guy e-mailed Jeff asking if he could bid on one of the rides.
• Freestyle scores some investors, and gets sued some more. Gonch can't believe how bad they're screwing it up, especially in this case where the new owners got it cheap.
• Spielberg will keep getting his Universal money, so now they can continue to refinance their debt without fear of a big payout to the director.
• Mike shares some thoughts about doing Disneyland, particularly with really young kids.
• Kings Island lawsuit settled. The park will not be monetarily punished.
• Family booted from Busch Gardens Tampa for wearing costumes, and we can't figure out why this is a hot topic. Then we discuss it ourselves for a long time. Bottom line, there was attention whoring at play, and rules were broken. Why do we have to blame someone?
• Universal Singapore attraction lineup announced. Dueling coasters, one inverted, one not, part of the package. Inverted needs more front seats.
• Jeff and Mike reminisce about the CoasterBuzz Con at Great America way back in 2003 or something. We had stacks of line cutting passes and free drink coupons.
• Demon Drop moving to Knott's, and no one understands why. PointBuzz has a nice collection of photos from the 80's and now.
• Cedar Fair maintains distribution, but they can't be having a good year. Gonch talks about his indifference toward Kings Island.
• Alcohol in parks: Not good for every situation, but a nice feature in certain parks. Guest composition has a lot of impact on whether or not it's a good idea.
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