CoasterBuzz Podcast #168 - January 18, 2010

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

• Dick K. says he looks forward to running parks again, which in his mind doesn't apparently have anything to do with finance.
• Units trade up over Apollo offer, lawsuits in play, execs will get buy-in to new company, unit holders are annoyed.
• Will the company get the two-thirds vote necessary to approve the sale?
• Around 4 million people signed up for free Disney World tickets on their birthday, and about one-third used them. Great promotion in terms of the cost versus benefit for the company.
• Freestyle gets sued in deal we don't understand with the former owners. Add them to the list of people not getting paid while waiting for "new investors." Meanwhile BMW is suing them for using the Mini trademark, ironically while closed for the season.
• By the way, Mini is a pretty cool brand with more personality than most auto brands.
• Six Flags may emerge from bankruptcy in March.
• Orlando hoping for ripple effect around the new Harry Potter stuff at Islands of Adventure. Folks who have seen the construction are pretty excited about it.
• Great Wolf ready to growl into the Pittsburgh market. All things considered, it's funny that they've been as slow to expand as they have.
• Merlin buys Cypress Gardens, and speculation begins over whether or not it will be a Legoland property. Jeff thinks that'd be a bad idea to go that far with it.
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