jzarley
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Posts posted by jzarley
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This thread is kind of like a car accident...I just can't stop myself from looking (or posting). A few points then I'm finished...
1) What was the jump in logic that went from a license plate on a car in the parking lot (to which someone reported seeing before) to "that's D. Kinzel plotting the takeover of PKI"? That's quite a leap...
2) Why would anyone know Kinzel on sight (through an office window, no less)? He's not exactly a celebrity... I doubt if I could pick him out of a crowd, and I've seen his picture in the annual report more times than I can count.
3) When acquiring a company, the CEO of the purchasing company does not go (alone) to personally do due dilligence.
4) Everyone (Chef, et. al.) who posted that Craig Ross would have virtually no say in such a deal is exactly right...not only would those decisions/negotiations not be made in Cincinnati, it's unlikely they'd even be made in Charlotte. It would be more like Viacom corporate in NYC.
5) If Viacom wanted out of the park business, they'd get OUT of the park business. (Which, wouldn't surprise me at some point in the future...) They wouldn't sell one park (especially the top attendance/flagship), they'd sell them all.
6) Re: #4...it's unlikely that any corporation owning parks would elect to sell them right now. The market is currently too soft, and they couldn't recognize a good ROI. (That's exactly why NBC/Universal is still holding onto their parks for the time being.) You'd need to be pretty desperate to dump parks in the current market (read Six Flags).
7) Kinzel was looking for a job at PKI? Why would you go from CEO of one of the most successful park chains to "some job" at PKI? (Plus, he announced last year that he's retiring in 2007.)
I honestly don't mean to flame the original poster...he made an observation and wanted to share what he considered a thoughtful conclusion. Unfortunately, from there it blossomed into one of the most inane threads I've ever seen posted on one of these sites.
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You know, of all the wild unsubstantiated things I've seen fly on these boards, this one really takes the cake. What amazes me more is how everyone has seemed to take it as gospel because someone said he saw a car in the parking lot. Yet, there was a substantial change announced in the senior management of Paramount Parks a few days ago and no one has even mentioned that.
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I'm pretty impressed that you'd recognize **** Kinzel on sight... Of course, I'm also impressed that his car didn't move overnight (I wonder where he slept...)
Well...I guess I need to say "Richard" Kinzel
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I'm pretty impressed that you'd recognize **** Kinzel on sight... Of course, I'm also impressed that his car didn't move overnight (I wonder where he slept...)
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Yeah, I thought $36M seemed a little low for all the buildings as well. What I don't know is if county auditors calculate value based on replacement cost or orginal cost minus depreciation.
I also wonder what defines a "building" and how (if at all) rides are calculated into it. Some rides, like the Flyers, are more portable (as we've all recently learned first hand
) so wouldn't be considered a "permanent" improvement to the land. But what about something like SOB?Joel
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The other topic was closed (with good reason I see).
However, a quick check of Warren County's web site shows that 702.7726 acres are owned by the "Kings Island Company" in four separate parcels. From the site diagrams, all four parcels appear to be contiguous.
Here's the link if anyone is interested...
http://www.co.warren.oh.us/Auditor/propert...BY+Owner%5FName
Joel
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I wounder if Disney would help out at all. The people at Coney Island helped Walt out when he was making Disneyland. I guess if Paramount Parks payed the money they would come help out theme a restaurant little better.
Unfortunately, Coney Island's "help" (as well as other major parks at the time) was to tell Disney that he was crazy, and that DL could never work as envisioned. (There's a great book by Buzz Price called "Walt's Revolution" that covers the whole evolution of the modern theme park industry that talks about this in detail.)
Paramount Parks hired someone from Disney Imagineering a few years back to head up the park's design & entertainment division. I can't recall his name, or know if he is still there. At any rate, there are a bunch of talented theme park design professionals available (Universal termed a whole bunch a few months back), and I'm sure Paramount Parks already has quite a bit of talent in their employ.
Creativity and vision isn't Paramount Park's problem...budgets are.
Joel
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Unfortunately, a winterfest this year couldn't feature the Eagles, but I think that would be cool. Since last time I was at one I was i think 3, what rides are usually open?
Here's a link to the brochure for the 1991 (the last one?) Winterfest...
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I've said it once and I'll say it as many times as it takes to get it into the skulls of Paramount executives. Each of their parks need at least one nicely themed sit down restaurant. At least it seems like they're starting to listen.
Amen!!
I think that the closing of the International Restaurant was a real loss. To be honest, I can't even remember what the food was like anymore (although I think I recall a pretty good "French Dip"
) It was so nice to sit down and have a good meal and enjoy the views of International Street.A variety of sit-down restaurants is certainly something the Florida parks do well. BGT has one of my favorite theme park restaurants, the "Crown Colony." Not that the food is so spectacular (although it's pretty good), but it has a huge wrap around terrace that overlooks the Serengeti Plain.
I really hope that PKI adds a cool sit-down restaurant. Personally, I don't really even care what theme they choose. (Although, I'd always vote for a Star Trek themed restaurant like at ST:TE in Vegas
)Joel
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I really enjoyed these...I'll probably never make it to these parks in Japan, so the "tour" was pretty cool.
Very few things I read online make me LOL, but the comment "turns out one of the chicks chucked a wheel earlier" in the Nagashima Spaland did it!
Joel
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When making the petition. Make sure you spell everything right and use correct grammar. If you do what you did in that post they'll laugh at you and throw it out.
Thanks, Tanner--always a good suggestion, and one that is frequently missed.
My personal grammar pet peeve is the whole there/their/they're thing, as in:
"The Flyers are over there, but they're moving them to Carowinds. After all, it's their ride to move as they see fit."
Joel
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I don't think PKI will spend the money on a Back to the Future type of ride, but I could be wrong.
Actually, Paramount Parks has already done a simulator that (IMHO) is better than BTTF-- "Klingon Encounter" at ST:TE in Vegas. (Granted, we still haven't seen anything of this caliber go into one of the actual theme parks...)
Joel
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Thanks for posting the story, Chef.
With a closing date of 10/31 it looks as though the campground will last through the current season. So, people who consider the campground as a factor in their decision to buy a season pass will be well aware of its status going into 2005.
There was one line from the story I found interesting:
"The two parties are discussing building a new campground to replace the current one."
I wonder if Great Lakes will have some hand in the development of a new campground? Sort of an extension of the "national park" lodge theme? From what I've seen, Great Lakes produces a quality product...if they would team up with Paramount Park's design group on a lodge/campground project the result could be incredible.
I was talking to someone over the weekend that's planning a conference at the Great Wolf in Sandusky this November. She was unaware of the plans at PKI, and was really excited about the prospect for planning future meetings.
I really do believe that this project shows real promise...
Joel
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Re: stalking...
My roommate in college was from Cincy and he had several friends who worked summers at PKI, including in entertainment. One of the guys told him that the whole stalker thing wasn't uncommon at all for people in the cast. (This would have been in the late 80s) One girl was at EVERY show and was absolutely obsessed with one guy in the cast. To the point that she had t-shirts made with his name on them and would wear them to the shows. She'd follow him around the park, and even found out where he lived and would send him cards. What was funny is that she never actually even talked to him...she'd just stalk him and tell people he was her boyfriend. The other funny part is that the guy was gay and very out about it...she either didn't comprehend that, or just didn't care. He finally ended up filing some sort of complaint (I don't know with whom) because the whole thing was freaking him out. It turns out the girl was only fifteen. Hopefully her parents arranged for some counseling...
The only show I've seen this year is Magic of the Movies. To be honest, it reminded me a lot of "Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies" at USF, just not as well done. Maybe I've just seen way too many of these "how movies are made" things... (At this point, I think I know enough about "Foley Pits" to get my union card! <G>)
Joel
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I still say that the park will do what makes the most financial sense...if the camp ground generates more revenue for Viacom than leasing the land for Great Wolf does, then I have no doubt that the (or a) campground will stay in the picture.
Obviously, there's a market for both campgrounds and hotels...otherwise so many destination resorts wouldn't include both in their accomodation mix. Personally, I never have any desire to camp anywhere...I'm a hotel/resort guy all the way. (The last time I went camping was my freshman year of college...and that was more about drinking beer around a camp fire than it was about the love of camping.) However, some people are "campers" and that's an important part of their vacation experiences. To each his own... And, luckily, the mixture of personal preferences is what creates the opportunities for places like PKI to capture a variety of revenue sources.
Big picture, I think Great Wolf is a good idea. The conference facility will drive traffic to the local area year-round, as will the indoor waterpark. This gives off-season events (like Winterfest) a greater chance of success. Not to mention how great it would be to drive down from Columbus some January weekend to spend riding water slides!
I think the comments made about how "no one" will stay there because it's too expensive are somewhat short sighted. Obviously, there's a market for the expensive hotel/waterpark facility. (There's two open in Sandusky, with another under construction, and a fourth in the planning stages.) Cincinnati is a much bigger market, and with its draw from surrounding metro areas that have no similar product (Dayton, Columbus, Indy, Louisville), I think the Lodge should do well.
I worked in the hotel industry for over ten years...the company I worked for owned over 1,200 hotels ranging from a full-service brand that averaged $200 a night, to a budget brand that cost $40 (or less) a night. The whole portfolio held its own in occupancy & generated revenue. Granted, the various hotel brands attracted very different guests for very different reasons, but that's what makes capitalism great :-)
Keep in mind, I'm NOT advocating dumping the campground...but, I think the merits of Great Wolf should not be overlooked as well. (Hopefully, there's some middle ground solution that will allow both to exist...)
BTW...does anyone know if PKD or PC suffered any dramatic drops in revenue, attendance, or season pass sales after getting rid of their campgrounds?
Joel
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I have a feeling that Viacom will probably reap as much (if not more) of a profit by leasing the land to the Great Lakes Company as they would operating the campground themeselves. It also wouldn't surprise me that if as the "landlord" they were getting a percentage of revenue. (Plus, they can save the headaches of having to manage the actual operations...) It really comes down to the best value return for the land.
There's one thing that confuses me, though...if PKI is planning on building a new improved campground, why not just build the Great Wolf Lodge on the land where the new campground would go, and improve the existing camp ground? It seems like it would be much more efficient to dramatically improve the existing infrastructure, then it would be to start from a clean slate (similar to the whole Water Works to CDBB scenario...)
Joel
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Since Paramount Park's real management (Al Weber, et. al.) remain the same, I doubt if there will be much change to the daily running of the parks. This seems to be more of a corporate realignment issue than anything else.
But, if you're looking at any change in terms of negatives or positives, I'd say this one is a positive. From everything I've read, MTV Networks (of which Nick is a part) is a well managed, creative, and PROFITABLE business unit.
Joel
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Viacom announced their financial results for Q2 yesterday, in a nutshell...
--They earned $1.4 billon in income (up 10% over Q2 2003) on revenues of $6.8 billon (up 7%).
--The entertainment unit (which includes the parks, studios, etc.) did $951 million in revenue, up 3% from 2003.
--Paramount Parks reported a 16% increase in park attendance over the same quarter last year, however that was offset by a 4% decrease in per capita guest spending.
--As usual, the bulk (70%) of Viacom's revenue is made up from television and cable channels.
For financial reporting they don't break out the parks individually, but I'm guessing that PKI, PGA (due to the new waterparks), PC (due to "Borg"), and ST:TE (due to "Borg 4D") probably all contributed. I'm sure the better weather (in OH, anyway) and discounting also helped.
On the other hand, the ticket discounting probably also contributed to the lower guest spending. (I only paid $25.99 for a ticket this year, which is about $5 cheaper than what I've paid the last several years...)
Here's the link to the whole press release if anyone wants to see it--
http://www.viacom.com/pdf/qr2q04.pdf
Joel
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Are Top Spins just prone to mechanical problems? Of the four or five times I've been to Geauga Lake, the Texas Tornado has only been operating once.
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Personally, I think a reality series about the inner workings of a theme park is a good idea. I'd watch it... (Of course, I watch every TV show I come across that has anything remotely to do with theme parks anyway <g>.) But, come on, if they can make a show about the opening of a hair salon I'd think that a theme park would hold at least as much interest.
Regarding the show "Airline"...I was coming back from Chicago at the end of May and they were filming it at our gate in the Southwest terminal at Midway. A lot of the flights were delayed due to weather, and there was this guy there who was throwing a major fit about the delays and acting like a real jerk. Of course, the cameras were right there filming it. A little while later a man who was obviously very drunk (or at least pretending to be) was stumbling through the gate area with cameras following him the whole time.
Call me a cynic but I find the whole situation rather odd. I've flown a LOT in my life, and never once saw people acting like this (although, I have to admit I've seen some other weird stuff). I've never seen someone cause such a vocal scene with a gate agent, and it just seems odd that the first time I do see it a camera crew just "happens" to be there as well. Also of note, I was siting at that gate for over four hours that day...I had not seen the "disgruntled man" before, and did not see him again after his "scene."
Joel
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I remember being disappointed in '93 when other Paramount Parks got the simulator (DOT) and PKI did not. Being a big fan of BTTF @ Universal, and considering that this was Paramount's initial push into theme parks, I expected an attraction of similar scope. So, on a business trip to Charlotte I made a special trip to Carowinds just to ride DOT. Boy was I glad that PKI got Top Gun!
I was really disappointed in DOT. It *could have* been a really cool attraction. I think what really hurt it was all the recycled footage from the film, which completely caused the rider to lose the "first person" perspective. That completely defeats the intent of an immersive simulator. You'd be driving along and have a reasonable facsimile of movement, then all of a sudden the camera would pan to the outside of the car (or even worse, shots of the crowds in the grandstand watching your car). Keep in mind...this was a car you were supposed to feel like you were riding in. I believe I rode it once the following year when PKI installed it, hoping that the attraction had been improved upon. (But, it was the same thing I had ridden at Carowinds the year before...)
Spongebob is ok...at least the film stays in the first person perspective, and is somewhat immersive. My only problem with Spongebob is that I've ridden it twice (last year and this year), and both times the 3-D seemed somewhat out of sync causing the film to be blurry in some parts.
"Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast" @ USF is also a Nick-themed simulator. It's a better "ride", but isn't in 3-D. I also heard that some of the Six Flags parks that had installed Spongebob this year added accompanying theater effects (in effect creating a "4D" attraction). Some other parks have done some cool things with Viacom's characters...
Joel
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In all honesty, I doubt if Freston will spend a lot of time at all thinking about the parks. Redstone has made it known that he'd like to see a lot more hits coming out of Paramount Studios, and since that's one of the new areas reporting to him, I imagine that will be the chief focus.
Also, all current management which run the Paramount Parks division stay in place. So, everyone's daily life will probably change very little.
Mel Karmazin is known for his focus on cutting costs (no judgements...a strict adherence to the bottom line has been a huge part of his success). So, maybe (just maybe) budgets for new park attractions might be a little more liberal. (The "finishing touches" on TR:TR's theming come to mind...)
Joel
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As a brief follow-up to this topic... It looks like Tom Freston (President of MTV Networks) will be responsible for Paramount Parks as part of his expanded role of co-President & COO of Viacom. From everything I've read about him, this should be a good thing. He's said to be very creative and an "outside the box" thinker when it comes to doing new and innovative things. (He's also rumored to be the top candidate to replace Sumner Redstone when he retires in a few years...)
Here's a link to the memo...
http://www.internalmemos.com/memos/memodet...hp?memo_id=2288
Joel
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Remember, all servers, pool-side, cabanas, and bar except tips. If you like the service, be kind enough to leave a dollar or two.
Definitely!! I would certainly hope that someone wouldn't rent a cabana then stiff the server. (But, I work in the hospitality business...of course people do stuff like that.)
As far as service goes...is it one of those deals where you leave a credit card, then just sign for things as you order them? That would seem the most convenient (for the guest and the park). Although, those situations can be dangerous <g>. More than once at a Disney hotel my incidentals charged to the room have far exceeded the actual cost of lodging <G>.
I assume there's information on pki.com about how to reserve a cabana? I'm finally getting some time off to hit the park for the first time this season, and I plan on enjoying the "resort" to its fullest! :-)
Joel
Worlds first tower coaster
in KI Polls
Posted
Am I the only one that thinks the theoretical capacity seems a little high? I bet this is a painfully slow loader, and they won't come close to 960 r/h.
Is this the "screaming squirrel" I've heard so much about, or is that another design?
Joel