ragerunner

Sounds like a nice addition. This now means that all the parks in the KI marketing region are getting new rides this year. CP (Planet Snoopy) IB (Steel Hawg) HW (2 new rides) SFKK (water slide) Columbus Zoo (new water park and ride park) Lets hope KI still surprises us? This gives those other KI markets, Indy, Columbus, Lexington, Louisville, etc... the option of going to these other parks in 2008 and having new ride experiences.

I will be shocked if someone doesn't question them on this during the conference call in Feb.

What has amazed me over the years is how Disney continues to repeat this event. I understand their parks cost a butt load of money to build, but they have done this several times. - Disney MGM Studios (when it first opened, wow!) - Animal Kingdom (very few attractions) - Disney's California Adventure (well documented) - Disney Studio Paris - Hong Kong Disneyland Of course Hong Kong Disneyland was partly funded by the government. Maybe they should have thrown more money in to get a more finished product to start with? But in fairness, Disney has a well documented history of this problem.

I would think that KI would be announcing their 2008 plans pretty soon. Even if its just new shows, food options and the Nick Parade? Has anyone heard anything in rumor land?

Actually (tongue not firmly planted in cheek), I am amazed they don't see the value of Nick. Maybe the cost to expanded Nick into the other parks is just not in their financially constrained budget at this time.

I checked the data for attendence for both chains in 2005 (they released the info when they bought the Paramount Parks). 2005: Paramount properties - 12.2 million Cedar Fair properties - 12.7 million TOTAL: 2005 - 24.9 million TOTAL: 2007 - 22.1 million That means there has been a decline in total park attendance for these properties of about 2.8 million. While this may not be a complete apples to apples it does show there has been a significant decline in overall park attendance since the Cedar Fair buyout. On a side note. It just seems to me that Cedar Fair leadership has been making several noticable mistakes over the last few years that are starting to really cost the company. Example: They failed with Geauga Lake, they admitted they underestimated the appeal of the animals at the Geuaga Lake property, they underestimated the value of season pass holders at the Paramount parks, and their indoor water park venture in Sandusky is having noticable problems. Now you have a company with a huge debt, an economy in/going in a recession in 2008 and a declining stock (which has been declining overall since 2005 when it was about 33 dollars to today's 20 dollars). I just have to wonder when or if the board is going to start getting 'concerned' about these 'mistakes' by management.

The devil is in the details. I been doing some math and I would say they saw overall attendance decline if you would take the full year of 2006 and compare it to 2007. It will be interesting to see if anyone questions them on this during their conference call that coming up.

It would be nice to see KI open this early. The weather in St. Louis is really no difference than Cincy.

Right on the money!!!

We thought Krazy City was decent. Prices are a little high. But, its a great place to go for winter amusement park blues. The putt putt was well themed.

Yes, It was Viper at Six Flags Great America. I would not have been as kind to the short Togo machine called Viper that was at SFGAd.

Actually, I think Viper at SFGA is one of the best maintained coasters in the US. I have always been amazed how smooth it runs.

I would say this is not good news for these park chains, since 2008 is already shaping up as a very difficult year for the economy and housing (again). I still think CP is going to unload a few parks, with a very good chance a foreign company will be the buyer since the dollar is so weak. The US is for sale right now.

I think the Nick Parade is coming back to the park for 2008. (All summer) Renaming of Paramount rides Some new food options A new show or two

This is a great point. KI is not Disney or Universal Studios, but its attendance and income is very similar to Dollywood, BGE, Silver Dollar City, Hershey, etc.. and they all seem to keep their theming up very well, year after year. As well as food, retail, shows, landscaping, etc... Many European Parks also manage to do this with the same attendance numbers and admission prices. Maybe the owners (current and past) of KI have been taking more off the top then these other park operators take. Leaving less for the park to function with.

Reports are that they are getting the Beaver Creek Train Coaster from GL.

Its not the people from Cincinnati that I was focusing on. Its the people in Indy, Columbus, Dayton, Fort Wayne, etc... Many of these areas (which are major parts of the KI market area) do have these other opinions which are providing new attractions and/or, in Columbus' case, a new park and water park. KI can't retain attendance levels of 3 million (give or take) without continuing to draw significantly from many of these other markets. I was just trying to point out that the competition is growing in these markets and all these competitors are adding new rides this year. Add in the potential for a general decrease in amusement park attendance (economy issues) from the locals (slow season pass sales) and you have a challenging year ahead.

I guess we will have to wait and see how it goes. It just seems that if people are cutting back on 'entertainment spending' then the parks may have some challenges ahead. Also, if you decide to only go to one park for the year, there is a good chance you may choose a park that has something new for you to experience and almost all of the surrounding parks will have that in 2008.

What makes you think they might not go BK or out of business? People are starting to pull money from the entertainment budget to cover the cost of 'red hot inflation' for energy, food, etc... Both CF and SF have admitted season pass sales are not going well (which might give a hint at how 2008 attendance and income may be headed). If you add in CF debt load, with the potential for lower earning, you get a very interesting year(s) coming up for the company. I am not say CF is going to go BK, but I still believe they are going to have to unload a few parks to get some much need future cash. The housing ATM machine is now gone and it was feeding a lot growth for businesses and industries in the US. The real issue for CF and the rest of theme park industry is going to be, can they capture their share of the shrinking household dollar and how much will that share be? On a little side note: I think KI is going to have a 'difficult year' since it appears they are not getting any major new attraction, while, HW (new rides and water area), Indiana Beach (new coaster), CP (kids area and coaster), Kennywood (new dark ride) are adding new rides/attractions and the Columbus Zoo is opening up a new water park and ride area.

The Crypt is ok. But Backlot Stunt Coaster - that bad.

With the free falling dollar it's becoming cheaper and cheaper for over seas companies to buy up US assets. I would not be shocked to see other park(s) bought if the dollar keeps falling.

quick question and a OT. Does Kennywood sell Season passes to the park? I was not able to find any information on their website.

Its like taking a step back in time to the days of the old boardwalk amusement parks, with some modern rides. Its well worth the visit and make sure you stay until after dark, thats when the park shines the best.

Sounds a lot like the future Columbus Zoo. I really believe they are going to end up being a major force in the region.

I hope they gets this done soon, it really would be fun. I was just by Jungle Jims the other day and it didn't seem like they had done any more work on the monorail since those pics were taken. So, December may be a little early, but hopefully sometime in 2008.