Creed Bratton

Looks like the Dayton location will be getting a coaster soon...I'm guessing a SBF Visa Group compact spinning coaster. https://www.dayton.com/places/scene-adds-new-tower-ride-and-roller-coaster-may-next/thanjEbquld0XnPcyaFAhL/ Looks like they are now projecting the Columbus location to open in the summer.

I think each have had their own little issues...but nothing as major as these two and Lightning Rod at Dollywood.

Steel Vengeance --- didn't operate as designed for most of the season as the accident, which led to one train op for a while, then 2 train and eventually 3 train (toward the end of the season) which led to long waits which also led to folks not going until all 3 trains were on the tracks. I had several folks share with me and publicly that they wouldn't visit until the ride was in full operation. Twisted Timbers --- also plagued by train issues which also led to long lines and not many folks coming until it was a consistent operation....this is also the park that their general area of folks don't show up with a massive new ride anyway.

Awesome report! I would hardly expect more than 1% attendance growth with 2 of the rides plagued with issues, one being at a park where the locals hardly come out for a new ride anyway.

Do you have a picture of the lamp that was attached to the trains? I cannot find anything.

Awesome, thanks @Joshua

Awesome @Joshua! Where did you come across this? Was it on YouTube or somewhere online? If so, can you link it for myself and others to watch?

You literally are insinuating that they are neglecting their parks when that couldn't be further from the truth. You are posting as if you know what they should do vs what they are doing. KD literally got I-305 and folks didn't really show up for it. Not every park is meant to have the same amount of coasters, the same style of coasters, etc. An investment is an investment so you cannot say they are neglecting a park because they aren't adding what you think they should add.

Again, just because one park gets a massive amount of money doesn't mean that other parks don't get money. KD has been invested in, just because they haven't gotten any new major roller coasters doesn't mean that Cedar Fair is investing in it. Same with Dorney....the may not be getting new coasters, but money is being put into the park. I know this may be a surprise but Cedar Fair doesn't have anything out there that says their capital improvement budgets must include coasters because enthusiasts think that they know how to run their business better than they can.

Your best bet would be to follow fan pages.

I remember the KI5...but felt like they were never around.

Just because one park gets a big sum of money for a new ride, doesn't mean other parks don't get money.

Kings Dominion and even Carowinds has a Clown Band...I don't understand why we can't.

I hope Showplace actually has a show this year, not a fan of the dog show. Hopefully Peanuts Showplace has something.

Yet you didn’t answer my question of where they should spend the $ and kept insisting they’d only invest in those parks.

Already being discussed here:

It's funny that people think they deserve updates on progress just because they visit a park. They do not have to communicate with anyone outside of putting information on the website. So, I'm not sure how you think they are lacking in communication. They are constantly updating social media with information on different projects, their big focus on The Beast and of course Antique Autos. Why is it such a bad thing that they aren't releasing photos of the International Street project? Why can't they just let people see for themselves? Why should they cave to entitled enthusiasts who think they deserve whatever they want at the park?

The only thing with the Skyline pavilion is that it's really not good for shows. The Plight Before Christmas suffered from bad sight lines and a lack of seating. I'd love to see a show in Coney as well, but I think they'd be better set with a new venue vs retrofitting one.

I'd love it if they brought back buzz bars and got rid of the seat dividers....okay I know buzz bars won't come back, but can we get rid of those seat dividers? lol

They have not. I assume the park at this point wants it to be a major surprise when folks walk in for the 2019 season.

OMG! This is really exciting IMO! That's sweet!

I'd guess they likely pay a consulting fee, a design fee, construction fee, etc. I'm sure they put a deposit down on a ride...and as work is completed they pay for what's necessary at that point. I can almost bet they allocate $$ toward a project to be paid out. I highly doubt that they'd pay for everything fully upfront as there could be issues with construction, with the design, etc. i.e. Lightning Rod at Dollywood. Can you post a link to where this information is from? Carowinds has publicly been known to be receiving investment, especially when Fury 325 came in. CGA has been public as Cedar Fair has shown the master plan...Cedar Point is kind of obvious, as the flag ship park, but nothing has been specifically said that I can find they are planning on investing a large portion of money into that park. Nor am I seeing any information about Knotts. While they may be investing in those parks....they still invest in other parks. It's not out of the question or realm of possibilities for them to add rides and to invest in other parks than those 4 you specifically mentioned. For example, for 2019 Carowinds is opening Copperhead Strike and retheming an area of the park....at the same time, Canada's Wonderland is adding Yukon Striker (which is likely a $25-30mil investment) and they are investing in Frontier Canada which is also not a cheap investment. I don't believe Cedar Fair would not highly invest in a park that is not listed from what they may have said in a report. Again, if KI is going to get a giga or a new coaster in 2020, it's already in motion....they aren't just going to stop it because the attendance in 2018 dipped a little bit. There is no need to see the likely hood based off of the earning report.

Where would you suggest they spend $30 mil in one year to boost attendance and that would sustain attendance for that year and beyond? I'm sure that if $30 mil was given for a project, the contract has already been signed and the $ has already been allocated....it's not as if they would cancel a project at this time because attendance is dipping. They would be doing everything they could to market the project to ensure folks come out to experience it.

Projection mapping has been something they've recently started/testing. Cedar Point recently used it during Halloweekends. You can see an example of it here at minute mark 3:35.

A way to boost attendance would be to add a $30 mil coaster. Opting to not do anything big wouldn't draw folks in to boost the attendance.