CoastersRZ

Well, at least they are getting a new flat ride along with the additions to Sidewinder. I wish more parks would install more flat rides. And the flat ride has a name: Mix`d Flavored by Jolly Rancher. https://www.hersheypark.com/explore-the-park/rides/mixd-flavored-by-jolly-rancher Not a fan of that name. I get they are trying to tie into a bran, but seems like a mouthful.

Well, part of the reason the "covered bridge" was placed where it was was to camoflauge the site screen fence that is on the left side as you are driving through it. This fence is present both before and after the "covered bridge." Yes, the area that KMAA is in could have been bigger. I am just glad that they brought the ride back into the park, and fixed up an area of Coney Mall that had needed some sprucing up for years. Really since the mid-90s after Flight Commander left.

Yes. However, I think Cedar Fair has been investing in the infrastructure because it can lead to increased guest spending. Not to mention making sure rides and buildings are painted helps protect them from the weather and can prevent costly maintenance items due to water and corrosion. Cedar Fair has always kept up with the maintenance and kept a park that looks nice at KI and at CP.

$60 a share isn`t much of a premium over where Cedar Fair has been trading. Geographically it makes sense. But everything I have seen, SEAS has had a revolving door of leadership driven by a particular board member. I think it will end up being like the reported deal with Six Flags from a few years ago.

I believe that they have removed all of the arcade games that used to reside in Festhause. They were dimming the lights for Tinker`s Toy Factory this past Winterfest. Hopefully, we see the return of a live show in the Festhaus during the summer months this season. Same goes for International Showplace.

Very nice podcast! Very informative. Sorry I couldn`t be on this episode, as I was having a conference call with a client at work at the time this was recorded.

I wouldn`t say a foundation design error is to blame. More likely, the fill that was brought in has settled some, and maybe the foundation has settled more than originally designed for. When designing foundations, you typically cannot build on fill dirt without doing lots of special things. Most times, the foundations will go through the fill dirt down to undisturbed soils. I agree that there is a strong vibration in that area. I wish it could be easily remedied. The fact that it hasn`t been corrected, suggests that it is not a simple/cheap fix.

As far as I know, I think it was just the KI 5 band. Not quite the same thing. The energy that having a roving band brings in the summer season is wonderful. That is one of the things that I love about Winterfest, is the amount of roving live entertainment. It creates memories worth repeating. Wait, that is the motto from a different chain. ;).

Can we finally get the Clown Band back? Kings Dominion has had their clown band back for years now.

Of course, Avalanche at Kings Dominion is being renamed for this season. The ride is now known as Reptilian. https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2022/1.24reptilian_updates

I don`t think we will ever see another Huss Top Spin in the Cedar Fair chain. From my understanding, even the smaller ones were maintenance intensive. It would be cool to have a wild mouse in the big show building, and utilizing the queue line and preshow. As it is, that building is vastly under utilized. I hope one day they add some kind of flat ride there. Whether it is in the existing building or not.

Well I stand corrected. The way the article was written, from a brief reading of it made it sound like it was not directly affiliated with Kalahari. Could be Kalahari`s way of trying to distance themselves from this incident.

It should be noted that the property where this incident took place is not the actual Kalahari in Sandusky, but is an Extended Stay, where some of the employees that work at Kalahari live.. Tragic news. Thoughts are with the victim`s family.

Yep, I remember the temporary set up for that Haunt. They need to do something in that area to liven it up a bit. It would be nice to see a small flat ride there. And put a solid roof on the International Showplace. I cam fine with keeping the open sides, but a solid roof over it would allow them to utilize it for a Winterfest show.

I have loved the Screamin Swings that I have been on (Skyhwak and Barnstormer). They are fun rides, One put on the former Salt Water Circus site would be a nice added addition on a midway that has seemed under utilized for far too long.

I think that the lights may have been removed when the ride was refurbished in the year 2000, when the ride was standing but not operating for that season. When it reopened in 2001, I believe that those lights were gone. Not positive on that, but I know they have been gone for a while.

My wife has consistently stated that she wished the dining plan had a snack option, for things like an Auntie Ann`s Pretzel, or when she just wants fries from Rivertown Potato Works but doesn`t want a whole mean. Weren`t they testing that at one of the other Cedar Fair parks back in 2019?

I agree, that they should reconfigure the queue so that is utilizes the full queue instead of just half. They didn`t really modify the queue after they added Fast Lane to it, which is when they stopped using the right side. I still miss the shaded structure that extended from the main queue to the ramp. It was nice on sunny days to provide some shade in that area.

Cedar Point has several large metro areas to pull from. And keep in mind at Cedar Point, there is more to do than just the amusement park. There is the water park, the beach, they have a large marina, Castaway Bay, the Sports Force Park for tournaments, the Saw Mill Creek resort, the beauty of Lake Erie. One could easily spend an entire day at Cedar Point/surrounding hotels, without even setting foot in the amusement park. It is more of a destination park compared to KI, in part because it has the hotel infrastructure (owned by Cedar Fair) to support that kind of activity. KI has surrounding hotels, and can be a multi-day park for non-Cincinnatians. However the surrounding hotels are not owned by Cedar Fair, so it does not generate additional revenue by guests staying in the hotels, like it does at Cedar Point, Knott`s, and the Carowinds hotel.

And keep in mind that Banshee is the longest inverted coaster in the world. It beats out Raptor at Cedar Point. I would hardly say that it is scaled down. I will admit that Cedar Point`s water park is better than KI`s. Part of that is because Cedar Point has all the hotel rooms to fill, and they are more of a vacation destination, when compared to KI.

Except, Firehawk was a low capacity ride which required lots of operators to run. Vortex from what I had heard was going to need some major money to keep it running. If you read Evan`s KI history book, we should be fortunate that KI got Orion, since it was originally slated for another park. On your subject of Knott`s, yes they are landlocked. But look at the market that they are operating in. Disneyland and Universal are not far, so competition is more prominent there. Also, look at what Knott`s has added since 2010 in terms of coasters. Coast Rider in 2013 (Mack wild mouse) and Hang Time in 2018 (Gerstlauer Infinity coaster). Kings Island in that same span has added Banshee (2014), Mystic Timbers (2017) and Orion (2020). Clearly Cedar Fair is investing money in KI. Also, Knott`s is open year round, so if they get a major new coaster, it can draw crowds over more days compared to KI. Knott`s is a terrific park. Is it sad that KI lost Vortex? Yes. I think that the park needs to add something in that spot soon, as it makes the back end of Coney Mall seem very barren. I still don`t like that you can see The Beast`s station from the three point challenge.

I kind of suspected this might be happening when the front of the organ was missing when I rode the Carouse at Winterfest earlier this year. Hopefully the restoration will allow it to play continuously. It adds a certain nostalgic fee to the carousel. Thanks KI for taking the time and money to restore this historical item!

I wonder how much of the parking lot they are actually going to repave. It has needed some work lately, as the pot holes were quite treacherous and sometimes difficult to avoid.

They may not actually be repaving the lot right now, just preparing to repave. Most asphalt plants shut down in the area for the winter and reopen in early spring.

Or we may not find out anything until the park opens for the 2022 season...