CoastersRZ

Heck, nearly 50 miles per hour is fast compared to some rides that only go a couple miles an hour! Of course this is NOT a new ride. The ride opened as Serial Thriller at Six Flags Astroworld. Upon the closure of that park, the ride was moved to the Great Escape where it resided in storage from 2005-2009. And then it was moved to La Ronde for this season.

Well, its been that way for years. Actually, there was a study a few years back by the Ohio Department of Transportation that was studying the interchange with 71 there (and considering making it a full interchange). One of the things the schemes looked at (I seem to recall seeing four schemes) is how to alleviate congestion caused by those two intersections being so close together. One of the schemes actually combined the too intersections into one major intersection. I`m not sure if any time table was actually put on when funding for that project would be in place or when they would select the scheme that would actually be built. I do know that they were also studying schemes for the Field Ertel Mason Montgomery Road exit that is just south of Kings Island, as that often gets grid locked. Especially near rush hour. Again, I don`t know a time table for that project. Needless to say, I think that the resurfacing project on Kings Island drive may cause some minor inconveniences. But I don`t anticipate it being anything major. Now when and if the 71 exits at Kings Island are under construction (as well as the exit south of KI as mentioned above), it will likely cause some delays and access issues as it would be more than simply repaving a road, which is a relatively simple task in terms of road construction. And according to ODOT`s website, the Kings Island Drive repaving should be completed in May. A bigger problem for those arriving at KI from the north is that ODOT plans to replace the Jermiah Morrow Bridge on I-71. That bridge spans the Little Miami River north of Kings Island. That nearly $100 million project is expected to begin in June of this year, and not end until June in 2014!!

Still, I would think that the transportation costs in relocating the rides are relatively minor when compared to the cost of the labor for dismantling the rides, and re-assembling them. Not to mention that with a relocated ride, you still have to hire the structural engineers to design the new foundations for the ride in the new location, design a new or altered station (which requires the use of an architect, I speak from experience ), pull the necessary permits, all the labor for reassembly and painting of the rides. While there may be some cost savings involved in not having to buy new from the manufacturer, I don`t think it is quite 50 cents on the dollar savings.

So is that a change from the past? Could institutional investors ask questions previously? I wonder if a representative from Q will be asking any questions during the conference call.

Right. But most public companies will disclose their financial materials in some manner or another. Via a press release or conference call. The SEC is the one that regulated most of the information disclosure, which is why so many things companies release about their financial activity are filed with the SEC.

So what is the difference between the two sites to listening to the conference call? Other than one being for the individual investor and one being password protected for the institutional investor. Is this a result of the poison pill program they initiated and the fact that Q has acquired so many units?

Yes. Because then Cedar Fair would no longer be a public entity. Publicly traded entities are required to have conference calls, whereas private companies and firms are not required to disclose any such information, because they do not have outstanding shareholders that have a share in the company. (Many private companies in fact do have shares, except they are closely held by a select group of individuals and not traded on the public markets. Coney Island used to be this way until Taft Broadcasting purchased the park. And another prime example are the Cincinnati Reds. The majority owner is Bob Castellini, but there are other minority shareholders who also own a minor portion of the Reds.)

Hopefully the analysts on the call will ask some tough questions. Particularly with regards to the ability of Cedar Fair to refinance its debt. Obviously, they will be tight lipped about some things, as things are likely under negotiations, and therefore not able to be disclosed or discussed in a public manner. It will also be interesting to see if any of the analysts bring up questions about why they thought the merger was a good deal at the time and why the price of units has sky rocketed since the merger agreement was dissolved.

Kind of ironic that I was just questioning when the next conference call would be, just yesterday, and then today, here is the confirmation of when it will be!

Agreed. I`ve been to Dollywood a couple of times. It still amazes me that on one of my visits I didn`t even ride a ride until around two in the afternoon (having been in the park all morning as well) because we were watching shows! You don`t find that at many parks. And look what the major new attraction at Dollywood was last year. A new show, Sha-kon-o-hey. You don`t see most seasonal parks (there are some out there that do, and Interpreter noted some of them) featuring a new live show as their new addition. Live shows have a different target audience compared to thrill rides. Together, they complement each other and help provide a form of valuable entertainment to those who are not into all the big, tall shiny rides.

Well for me, a twenty something with no kids, the only thing that really has my interest in and around the Planet Snoopy is Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. And I`m not that big of an ice cream eater, so blue ice cream simply doesn`t do it for me.

And to be fair, that $1 million that was spent on the "Magic of the Movies" show (if you could even call it that), is somewhat misleading. That was the year that the Paramount Theater/Kings Island Theater received a major interior upgrade. They removed the old pew seating arrangement and replaced it with new auditorium style seating. I believe that they also upgraded the sound and lighting control systems at that time. So the actual budget spent on that show was not $1 million as most of the money was diverted to the above listed improvements. That game show they had in the Feshaus was called "Game On." While the quality of Kings Island`s shows have improved greatly since Cedar Fair took over, they are nothing where they were under KECO. And in comparison to parks like Dollywood, Kings Island`s shows are still mediocre at best. If you have seen Coney`s live shows (many people ask me if it is karaoke) in comparison to Kings Island`s shows, then use the same analagy when comparing Kings Island`s shows to Dollywood`s shows. Hands down, Dollywood has some great live entertainment. Can`t complain with multiple theaters that offer forty five minute shows!

The Carowinds and Kings Dominion versions may be slightly smaller but it is really hard to tell. One thing is for certain though, and that is that Kings Island`s ride gets better capacity. That is because the Kings Dominion and Carowinds versions utilize individual cars that seat four people. As such, the cars are stationary when guests board and unload, and navigate the ride much like a roller coaster with only one ride vehicle per block section. By comparison, Kings Island offers a continuous flow of cars that never come to a complete stop, even during loading and unloading (during normal operating conditions). While the increased capacity is nice, the Carowinds version with individual cars provides some nice effects. Primarily when the cars "crash through" doors into the next scene. Additionally, the Carowinds ride feels more exciting in a way because you seldom see another car, which is not the case on Kings Island`s ride. The difference in ride vehicle between Kings Dominion and Carowinds vehicles and Kings Island`s ride vehicles is a result of the original transformation from Phantom Theater. When the ride was transformed from Phantom Theater, Sally simply utilized the existing people mover system that Morgan Manufacturing had installed for that ride. They retrofitted the cars with the ghost blasters and every other car was removed to allow more space between cars.

Very true. Shouldn`t they be having a conference call within the next month or so, assuming the resume such things in May?

Well, both could make the units tick upward. I still have to wonder what Q is up to. They have been really quite after denouncing that the Six Flags rumor was premature. Could they be in talks to purchase Cedar Fair, especially since the poison pill was instituted by Cedar Fair? Only time will tell. If they were able to re-finance their loans, it also means that Kinzel and Co. will likely stay with the company, which in my opinion may not be the best thing for the long run of the company. Especially seeing how they were the ones that tried to pitch the $11.50 price to unit holders as a great deal.

I am shocked that Cedar Fair has been moving upwards this much. Especially after they dissolved the proposed deal with Apollo. I wonder what is fueling this upcharge in the unit price of late. I mean, it has gained nearly $2 since last Thursday, which is significant when the units are trading for only around $15!

Wow. I understand that the traditional newspaper is having to adapt to a changing media after subscriptions are down and more people rely on their websites for news information. But there have been tons of errors in these articles. Almost like they are hiring students in high school or college with no journalism experience (or spell or grammar checker installed on their computers) to write these articles.

I`ll bring this up again. When I went down to Disney World in the fall of 2008, I was expecting to pay high prices (at least as high as KI) for food and drinks. To my surprise, 20 ounce soft drinks were only $2.50. And overall the food was reasonably priced and the quality was decent. I didn`t think twice about paying slightly elevated food prices because I was getting a decent product in return. And on the subject of soft drinks, I didn`t think twice about dropping down the $2.50 because it was still nearly $1.25 cheaper than the exact same thing at Kings Island. I would be more inclined to buy soft drinks in the park if they were more reasonably priced, and the quality of the food was better. Simple economics dictates what the profit maximization level is. Have a high unit price, it causes demand to decrease, but the profit per unit to increase. However, there is a point where high unit price will result in such decreased demand, that the profit actually falls. In other words, the price needs to be set so that supply equals the demand, thus providing for profit maximization. In other words, there would be less profit margin on each 20 ounce soft drink sold (because of a lower price), but the park would more than make up for that decreased margin in the number of units they would sell. To put this another way, imagine if you sold 10 soft drinks at 4. That equates to $40, and after a hypothetical cost of $1 a unit, you net a $30 profit. Now, say you sell 20 soft drinks at $3. That bring in revenue of $60 with a cost of $20, which results in $40 profit. Not to mention the cheaper price leaves more money in the guests pocket, so they would be more inclined to buy a second $3 soft drink, than simply getting by with one $4 soft drink (or forgoing the $4 soft drink altogether).

Excellent post! Made me laugh. And yes, I read that article earlier today, and it made me shudder. They clearly did not spend a lot of time writing it. I still miss the nice write ups that the late Jim Knippenberg would do on Kings Island for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Interesting. Hopefully they can work out the bugs before the peak summer season starts. I hope to make a trek out to Kings Dominion at some point this year, but time is in short supply already, and its not even through the end of April yet!

Yep. It happened to me on the second day that Carowinds was open. My pass worked fine opening day, but not so much on the second day. I spent ten minutes at the admissions building before they finally handed me a receipt to use for entry. One would think that they would have this resolved by now. Hopefully this isn`t a sign of difficulties to come with the season pass system this summer. Has anyone heard if these issues at Carowinds and Kings Dominion have happened to other Platinum Pass holders from other parks? Ie, have say Cedar Point Platinum Pass holders had trouble with their passes at Kings Dominion and Carowinds, or has it been relegated to simply Kings Island Platinum Passes? Carowinds is a fun park. I went there two times in the Paramount days (2001 and 2003) and have been three times in the past two years (Sunday of opening weekend last year and both days of opening weekend this year). Afterburn is hands down one of my favorite inverted coasters. I just love the pacing and intensity of the ride. It is a thrill from the start to the very end.

First of all, the neighborhood of California, the neighborhood to the west of Coney, is located in the city limits of Cincinnati. Like its neighbor, the East End, California is a rather poor area. I wouldn`t say it was a bad area. I have done volunteer work in the east end and have witnessed some of the poor conditions. On the east side of Coney, lies Anderson Township. Besides Riverdowns, there are a lot of boat storage areas and industrial areas. There aren`t many residences located off of Kellogg, but instead they are located off of roads like Sutton, Four Mile, and Five Mile. I don`t believe that there were daily dances everyday of the week at Moonlite Gardens. Weekly yes. Moonlite Gardens used to be completely enclosed. As it is now, it is partially enclosed with a dance floor area that is open to the elements or stars, depending on the time of day. There are frequent wedding receptions held at Moonlite Gardens throughout the season. As I mentioned before in another thread, there are still dances held at Coney. They are dubbed Moonlite Garden Parties and occur on several nights throughout the summer. Here is a listing of all the danced held at Coney in 2010: http://coneyislandpark.com/dances.php

I would definitely say that the comments are interesting. They definitely don`t seem to be in favor of Dick Kinzel, to say the least.

Shark6495, you can certainly use that image for your avatar.

To quote a sign that hangs on the filter room at Sunlite Pool at Coney Island "You don`t stop playing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop playing."