CoastersRZ

River Downs was quite busy last Saturday for the Kentucky Derby. I know because I was down at Coney for training, and had to deal with the traffic when leaving Coney. For right now anyways, River Downs is still open and operating. Back in its early days, it was known as the Coney Island Race Track.

And to throw in a bit of Coney trivia, Coney had a Skydiver ride at one point too. I believe it may have still been at the park its final season in 1971. The ride was NOT relocated to Kings Island though. Sad to see a classic flat ride be removed, although I`ve never ridden a Skydiver ride. How does it compare to a Rock O Plane ride?

I wouldn`t even care if it was a dress shirt. Just a nice collar shirt with the KI logo would be nice. It can`t be that much more expensive than a typical t-shirt that they sell. If they did mark it up to $85, it unsuredly would not sell many items. It all goes back to economics 101 and supply and demand. Price something at the right price point, and there will be demand for a product that is mutually beneficial for both parties involved. The seller would generate maximum profit, and the right number of customers would be willing to buy said product at that price.

And if capital expenditures drive the future of the company, they better get smart with how they use those funds. Especially considering that they are spending LESS than what Paramount and Cedar Fair were spending combined, pre-Paramount buyout. I still think that adding some family rides and attractions to the park, particularly Kings Island, would be a big hit. Bring back the Eagles from Carowinds (and give Carowinds a new set), and add in some other flat rides of that nature, and it would really pull in some people, in my opinion. Not to mention flat rides, while they can be expensive, are no where near the large dollar amount as rides such as the Intimidator coasters or Diamondback. Cedar Fair needs to invest in capital projects that have the most return on investment. While Kings Island desperately needed Diamondback, the days of continually adding large coasters of that size to parks and see the typical incremental bounce in attendance are unfortunately likely behind us. What remains clear, is that there are certainly interesting times ahead. With lots of questions that will not be answered for quite some time. Will Cedar Fair be able to refinance their debt? What will Q`s interest in the company be moving forward, and will the two new board members have any direct impact on the company? And more importantly, how long will the head brass remain in control of the company?

Like I said in my earlier post, they will be adding pavers on the right side, up to the column just to the left of the lockers, and extending down to the Keyhole Photo Building.

First of all, I think you are reading way too much into this. I highly doubt it means that they are decreasing KI`s advertising reach. Rather, because CP has a new multi-million attraction this year, they may be marketing it more in new markets to try and drive business. And remember, that Cedar Point is only one source of revenue up in Sandusky. They have hotels up there that also account for additional revenue, beyond just the park.

I too would consider buying a polo Kings Island shirt if one was available. And those ride rating numbers are not, I believe, based on manufacturer recommendation. In fact, up until about five years ago, Kings Island didn`t even have ride ranking numbers for the intensity of the rides. And once Cedar Fair purchased the park from Paramount, several rides, including Adventure Express, saw their ride intensity number INCREASE. As stated, the numbers are based on the g-forces, and the amount of rapid directional changes. Adventure Express has a lot more transitions with lateral gs than does Drop Tower. The intensity numbers are there to give guests an idea of how intense the ride is, so that they can better decide if they are physically able to ride.

Right now, only the side of International Street by the restrooms has had the new pavers installed. (In the pictures that Shaggy posted, it is the patch of asphalt on the left side by the front gate). However, they will be doing essentially the same thing on the right side. They will be removing all the asphalt up to the stroller rental and keyhole photo building and replacing it with pavers. How do I know? Well, if one looks closely at the asphalt in that area this weekend, you will see that there is a saw mark in the asphalt. This is so that when they remove the asphalt for the new pavers, they have a nice clean edge to line up the edge of the pavers. I too hope that more pavers are installed in the future at the park. Especially in Coney Mall, which used to have more pavers than what it currently has. But remember as was stated earlier, pavers are a lot more labor intensive to install that typical asphalt or concrete. So don`t look for this to happen in a year or two. Slowly but surely, the park may transition completely away from asphalt and to only concrete or pavers.

I believe that ACE members can participate in the Gold Pass Holder early ride time on Beast and Diamondback now, if they are not already a gold or platinum pass holder. DOn`t quote me on that, as I too ahve not been an ACE member for several, several years now.

But judging how busy the park is absed on the Diamondback line from the webcam can be misleading. Because it doesn`t show what the lines are like in other areas of the park. And there are unforeseen things that can result in a temporary influx of people into Diamondbacks line. Case in point. If Firehawk closes due to a mechanical issue, Flight of Fear will see a huge influx into its line from people leaving Firehawks line. And the park wants people to visit regardless of the size of the crowd. The more people that are in the park, the better chance the park has of making more money. Why would they want to show something that would deter people from visiting on a particular day?

I remember those "Sit on it" signs that used to be at The Racer and Beast. I wonder if they did keep them. I know the sign shop has a LOT of old signs in there. Too bad they can`t utilize some of the old signs and artifacts they keep. I still think that turning Tower Gardens into a sort of museum perse would serve to liven up an otherwise dead area of the park. Just as long as they worked with the existing infrastructure there and don`t rip out all the trees and scenery back there for an ugly building.

http://cedarfair.com/ir/press_releases/index.cfm?current_root=15&mode=story&story_id=237

Well, its still more than a year out. At any rate, I suspect they will open the time capsule that sits in front of Moonlite Gardens. That time capsule was placed there in 1986, when Coney turned 100 years old, and it states that it is to be opened on June 20th, 2011.

But, when The Beast had its incident in 2001, it was prior to the installation of the magnetic brakes. And the magnetic brakes work the same regardless of the temperature or moisture content. Nothing physically touches the train to slow them down. If Diamondback can have two trains run in rain mode, than The Beast which also has magnetic brakes and TWO lift hills should be able to run two trains fine in the rain.

I get the first part of your post. But you expect a surprise disclosure at some point from Q? Yes, I asked a question about Q. I wonder if Q is really interested in taking over control of Cedar Fair, and getting its hands on Six Flags. Tomorrow should be an interesting conference call. Its the first one in a while, since they didn`t have one last time, as they were occupied trying to hash through the deal that they were championing as "a good value for unit holders."

I agree! I am sad that I never got to experience Coney in its heyday. Coney is celebrating its 124th birthday this year. June 20th of next year will be the official 125th birthday. Adam, I`d love to see those images of the Shooting Star some time.

Back when Carowinds still had a boat, it too ran on concrete tracks in the bottom of the lakebed. The boat was removed to make way for, at the time, Borg Assimilator. The ride is now known as Nighthawk.

http://www.cedarfair.com/ir/press_releases/index.cfm?current_root=15&mode=story&story_id=238 An interesting quote in the press release by Kinzel. Again, referencing the "pursuit for long-term unitholder value creation." Essentially, the way I understand this release, the Cedar Fair board will increase to 9 for this year, and then two spots will be left vacant next year, returning the board to seven members.

Reminds me of the time that both The Beast and Son of Beast were mentioned on CSI many years back.

But Mr. Raynor has been very secretive thus far about what his intents are for his interest in Cedar Fair. Short of the issued statement and filing with the SEC about wanting new board members for Cedar Fair.

I find it interesting that all these reports keep mentioning that Six Flags Entertainment may be interested in acquiring Cedar Fair. Wouldn`t that pose the same issues that the former Six Flags, and the current Cedar Fair are battling? A large debt load. It will be interesting to see what the Cedar Fair conference call yields on Thursday. Especially if Cedar Fair responds to Q`s request for two new board members. To my knowledge, Cedar Fair has yet to formally respond to the Q filing with the SEC.

There used to be many Hardee`s around the Cincinnati area. All have since closed up shop. And like the Interpreter said, I don`t believe that Q is set on merging with Six Flags. They are being very quiet, which leaves the corporate brass at Cedar Fair guessing at what their move is. Of course, it will be interesting to see if Q comments on the conference call Cedar Fair has scheduled for this week.

Well, during the offeseason, a lot of stuff over at the pool is placed on trailers. The trailers are kept in the parking lot until the river waters start to threaten the park. On a good note, the updated forecast for the Ohio River now puts the crest at 48.4 feet, as opposed to 51.1 feet. Which is good news for Coney, considering things are in full swing to get ready for the official opening on Memorial day weekend, and for the Appalachian Festival this weekend (the rides open this weekend). And yes, I am still working at Coney this year, although on weekends only.

Yes, both paths behind the Eiffel Tower were closed this past weekend to allow for construction of Snoopy`s Starlight Spectacular. Look for both paths to be open again by Memorial Day weekend, when the Starlight Spectacular debuts.

Speaking of flooding and Coney, all eyes at Coney are on the Ohio River at the moment. It is currently expected to crest around 2pm on Wednesday at 51.1 feet. That is high enough to cause some minor flooding in areas in and around Coney (particularly the filter room, and the east parking lot. Flood stage is 52 feet. I know that some things that had already been prepared for the season at Sunlite Pool have been undone in preparation for minor flooding. Additionally, depending how high the water gets, it may postpone the annual painting of Sunlite Pool. Fortunately, the actual measurements of the river stage are trending below the forecasted levels. Which is good, especially since Coney is hosting the Appalachian Festival this weekend (its also the first weekend that Coney`s rides are slated to be open).