CoastersRZ

And for a point of reference, the turnaround of the Shooting Star in that image above, is approximately where the western half of Riverbend Music Center sits today.

Thanks for sharing those photos! I always love seeing historical pictures of Coney. Especially since this year marks their 125th anniversary!

Both articles do not mention much about Ferrari World, other than it is being sold. Have we heard how well this park is doing attendance wise? It is a relatively niche theme segment, so I was wondering if it was attracting the numbers that they had predicted when they were planning this thing.

Wow. Three hours is a long time to be stuck on a ski lift. Fortunately, no one suffered from hypothermia. I wonder how old the ski lift was that malfunctioned. And another slightly related question, do ski lifts in the state of Ohio have to be inspected by the Department of Agriculture`s Rides Safety Division`s Ride Inspectors? Or are they exempt from that since they aren`t technically an amusement park device? If they are exempt, are they inspected or regulated by any state agency?

UPDATE: Pinnacle gets OK to buy River Downs The all cash transaction is expected to close later this month.

Will Kinzel still be the chairman by the time of this conference call? That is a very good q.

Well, I can guarantee you that installing all those pacers in Ciney Mall is not a cheap endeavor either. And a little bit more concrete in the grand scheme of things does not add that much to the total cost. Yes, there are different strength concrete mixes. They are measured in psi (pounds per square inch). The higher the number, the stronger the mix. The strength of concrete is usually specified by the structural engineer based on the loads and the soil conditions.

I agree. I thought that the distribution proposal would be defeated. And personally, I think the board would be wise to not raise the distribution, in order to better position the company for its long term future. It will certainly be an interesting ride in the coming days, weeks and months.

Hmm. How long before we hear a response to this from Cedar Fair. Where Else?

Which is contrary to the decrease in in park spending at the Cedar Fair parks. Too bad Cedar Fair doesn`t break out the attendance figures by park like they used to. It would give a very telling story of what parks are doing good and which ones are struggling. But those days are over. That information has become proprietary.

Wow. They have been spending a LOT of money on lodging. Especially in this down economy. Here is another example of a family run amusement park business that seems to be doing alright. On a slightly different subject, when was the last time that Cedar Fair added additional guest rooms to their portfolio? I know they have mentioned potentially adding lodging facilities to some of the former Paramount Parks. Wouldn`t this be a way for them to develop additional out of park revenue (particularly if they developed an indoor water park property like Castaway Bay at some of their other properties). Yes, upfront capital costs can be more, but it seems to me like it would make sense to own hotels near the parks. I realize that CF had the chance to buy a steak in the GWL at KI, but opted not to, in part because they compete with them up in Sandusky. Recently, Cedar Fair has been preoccupied with a proposed sale, and a unit holder vote proposed by Q, and not focused (at least to my knowledge) on developing their lodging business. Just some things to ponder.

Well, they can add admixtures to the concrete to allow pouring in cold conditions. And because of the soil conditions, you can guarantee that the foundation design is different than that of Kings Island`s foundation. Soil conditions is a big determining factor in designing foundations for rides, and structural engineers rely on soil cores to determine the soil bearing capacity to adequately size the foundation to support the proposed structures. And the soil conditions on a given site can change quite dramatically. One project that I`ve worked on in the office recently had such poor soil conditions, that they were having to do 42" concrete piers and a grade beam because the soil couldn`t support conventional construction.

Yeah, when I rode Gwazi back in December, I wasn`t entirely impressed with the ride. Nothing made it stand out as being unique. It was a fun ride, but nothing that made it a must ride or a signature attraction by any stretch of the imagination.

Is it a brochure or park map? There is a difference between the two. Typically park maps are given out only at the park, whereas the rack brochures are distributed to local hotels and restaurants.

Trust me, I know that exact situation. The Ferris Wheel at Coney used to not have a minimum height requirement the first year I operated it. Then in 2004, they installed new signs, and along with it came a new 36" minimum height requirement. We had to deal with several situations about which you mentioned above. It often got ugly rather quickly. And of course, Coney has another situation that parks like Kings Island do not have to worry about. If a kid is 40" and needs to ride with a chaperon, the chaperon needs to have a rides wristband as well. Believe it or not, that is a very hard concept for most guests to understand (and I was even called a rather descriminatory name this year at Wheel, for not letting the parents (who had no rides wristbands) chaperon their kids (who were 40" tall) on the Ferris Wheel.

Well, I do not have any records as to when exactly the name was changed. I do know that in 1998, the ride was referred to as Xtreme Skyflyer on the park map. I only have park maps dating back to 1998. As an aside, the height requirements for The Racer and Adventure Express that year were six inches lower than they are today. Yep, you could ride either ride if you were 42" tall. And, there was only one ride in the park with a minimum height requirement of 54" (Flight of Fear, which is listed simply as Outer Limits). My how times have changed now. There are now five rides with a minimum height requirement of 54" (Diamondback, Flight of Fear, The Crypt, Firehawk, and Invertigo), and one with a height requirement of 52" (Delirium, which originally had a 54" height requirement).

And to clarify for those who may be unaware, Xtreme Skyflyer was originally named Drop Zone when it was installed in 1995. The current Drop Tower ride did not debut until May of 1999.

Yeah. I`d imagine that the board will state that they appreciate the vote from the unit holders with regards to the cash distributions, but will continue with their already announced plans, as the best way to strengthen the company moving forward. I would be shocked if the vote actually passed for an increased distribution, and the board acted on it. The next question is, how quickly will a new chairman be named? And since Kinzel is definitely on his way out, will the next CEO of Cedar Fair be from within the company or outside of the company?

I can actually see this ride being considered a roller coaster. I mean, in concept it is no different than a ride like a Schwarzkopf shuttle coaster, just with a different conveyance system to power the train. Granted, if the first generation Intamin free fall rides were not considered roller coasters, why then should this be dubbed a roller coaster? Of course, there are all the Intamin shuttle coasters like Wicked Twister that do essentially the same thing as Superman: Escape from Krypton, and are considered roller coasters. So why shouldn`t this ride be considered a coaster? I wonder if the new OTSR restraints will be like those found on Maverick, or the more vest like restraints found on Intimidator 305 at Kings Dominion.

To echo the Interpreter`s comments, creating a separate account to post inside information will at the very least result in your accounts being banned. We have many tools to identify people that have multiple accounts. Also, as Interpreter mentioned, losing your job over posting such information could very well be the least of your worries, depending on what information you leaked. The park employs spokespersons for a reason, and that is they are the ones who talk with the media to issue the park`s position on items. You, as a low level front of the line employee do not have all the information or the rite to disclose information which is not public knowledge. In summation, be very careful with what you post here on KIC and on other websites. Information posted to the internet can be traced back to you. And there can and will be ramifications if you post something that you aren`t comfortable having published in a newspaper. Bottom line, the posting of inside information will NOT be tolerated here on KIC, and creating anonymous accounts to do so will also not be tolerated. And you could get in far worse trouble then just getting kicked off of KIC.

From the last article that The Interpreter quoted: Wouldn`t that prevent Kinzel from remaining on as Chairman of the board?

If the cash distribution measure passed by that large of a margin, then why is Cedar Fair saying that it was too close to call? Are they trying to concoct what their next plan of attack is (and to secure necessary measures to pay out an increased distribution?) I think current managements lack of transparency with the removal of Falfas (and the error in the recently announced attendance figures of an increase in park spending has made many unit holders skeptical of current management). Not to mention, Cedar Fair seems to think that the majority of shareholders are short term investors, often quoting how the units have risen over the last year (while they are still down by a significant amount from their 2007 and 2008 totals.

And it looks like Kinzel had reason to be concerned about today: http://www.cleveland...t_structur.html More information here: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/news/2011/jan/11/cedar-fair-opts-new-ceo

Cedar Fair shareholders vote to change management structure The vote is too close to call on the cash distribution issue. So I wonder how Kinzel feels now? And, this is a non-binding vote. Will Cedar Fair go along with the recommendations of the vote?

Actually, in the past, CoasterMania has been included, free of charge (surprising, I know), to Cedar Point and Cedar Fair Platinum Pass Holders.