CoasterBuzz Podcast #170 - February 15, 2010

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

• Olympic fever... catch it!
• Etheredge convicted in fraud case for Wild West World. Unless there's something we're missing, it sounds like he was busted for being a crappy business man. Doesn't someone typically end up with money in a fraud case? No one did in this one.
• Freestyle Music Park closes up its offices, still waiting for financing. Gonch and his family shed a tear for the good time they had at Hard Rock Park. The Web site is dark (just like Jeff stuck it to CCI back in the day).
• Cedar Fair big investors keep entering the fray, and saying they're voting against the Apollo deal.
• Board nominations were also due recently. Will these big investors try to get some influence?
• CoasterBuzz Club is $25 per year. You can join or renew today. Enjoy CoasterBuzz with no ads.
• Wizarding World of Harry Potter gets a Super Bowl ad. Universal seems to do a pretty poor job of marketing itself, creating advertising by committee and worse, considering comparisons to Disney.
• Great story on how Cypress Gardens was acquired by Merlin to be the new Legoland Florida. Local journalism isn't dead.
• Dirty hotels and your trademark.
• Kings Island mounts successful opposition to new admissions tax from Mason. Meanwhile, folks in Sandusky would like to see a boost in theirs for Cedar Point.
• Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom is closed for good. Optimistic buffoons insist they'll open the park with someone else by summer. Oh, and the fair board thinks they own the rides.
• Disney is having a pretty good year despite flat theme park sales.
• Cedar Fair paints a pretty ugly picture of its yearly results, in stark contrast to the puppies and rainbows releases of years past.
• Waldameer goes cashless with scan cards. Why is it that little parks can pull this off but big parks can't?
• Stalking people you "know" online is weird. Don't do it.