CoastersRZ

The Double Ride thing was just on certain days, if I remember correctly. Double Ride Tuesday, perhaps? They also had Walk on Weekends, where you could get essentially a front of the line pass to some attractions by visiting a booth in the park. I still have one for Drop Tower somewhere around the house.

It is really hard to see those photos with those rides completely gone. I spent many year and many hours of my life down there running those rides and being a manager in the rides department. I will be returning next year, working over at Sunlite Water Adventure. I hope that Coney can be successful without the rides. But my personal opinion is that they will struggle. The rides filled a perfect niche, and my son loved all the kiddy rides and the Scream Machine. I was hoping to take my daughter there eventually to ride the rides too.

Funny you mention that, but I seem to recall seeing/hearing something similar back then as well.

I`m kind of surprised that they lasted as long as they did. The place hasn`t seen any major investments in the last several years. Hard to compete with Kings Island right next door. I remember going to their "HolidayFest" event and riding the pedal boats in the lazy river.

Sounds like a sure fire hit. Now if only we could get some TLC to Boo Blasters. I still miss the old Phantom Theater.

Where did the coaches from Kings Dominion end up?

I believe that all dining/drink plans will not be valid until the start of the 2019 season. That time you reference is still part of the 2019 season.

Ffej, The original Winterfest did not fail, as you state. In fact it was a very popular event. The reason it was canceled after the 1992 incarnation, was Paramount had just bought the park, Back then they had several rides open (Dodgems, Antique Cars, Carousel, the train, etc). and they wanted to focus on extending the post season longer into October. Back then, the park would only be open the first weekend or two of October, then close. It would be until the year 2000 that the park officially introduced FearFest. When Winterfest was brought back in 2005, there were very few rides and experiences. The only open rides were the Carousel, the train (which was far superior in 2005 than the current incarnation), Great Pumpkin Coaster, Character Carousel and Scooby Doo. There was no cookie decorating like there is now. Coney Mall was not open for Winterfest then. Winterfest 2005 also had a parade. I wish the current incarnation of Winterfest had a parade similar to the parade for Grand Carnivale (Carowinds is adding a parade to their Winterfest this year). Having visited all three incarnations of Winterfest, the current set up is by far the best. There are so many activities and shows going on. Yes, it would be nice if there was another coaster open, but the amounted of activities is amazing. (The sledding hill in Action Zone is a nice touch as well). Here is a map to Winterfest in 1987 from CP Food Blog: http://cpfoodblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/1987-Kings-Island-Winterfest-Map.jpg Here is the map to Winterfest in 2005 from Theme Park Brochures: https://www.themeparkbrochures.net/maps/paramounts-kings-island-winterfest/

And to that point, there are plenty of rides actually open. Be glad that they even have Mystic Timbers open. They have a lot more rides open for Winterfest now, then they did in its original incarnation in the 80`s.

Besides the marketing troubles, it would have been odd to have a second water park in the same market as one of their parks (which already has a water park).

But that renovation cost several million to complete. Not saying Vortex isn`t work that, but I am sure the cost of doing something like that verse the return on attracting visitors simply didn`t make it viable. I would say that Cedar Fair cares about preservation. After all, they are renovating the engine on the Worlds of Fun Railroad (and even purchased one of the former Kings Dominion engines) so that the railroad can get up and running again.

Any idea if this is anywhere near the Sea World San Diego property? Sesame Place is part of the Sea World Entertainment portfolio.

For a while, they had a Footlong Skyline express area in Rivertown, if I am recalling correctly. It later became the Funnel Cake building, which was torn down to make way for the queue of Mystic Timbers.

I don`t know if this has been discussed yet, but Winterfest is debuting this year on Friday, November 22nd, which is the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is late this year, since the 1st of November falls on a Friday. Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/explore/calendar-and-hours

That is one Six Flags park that I am hoping to get to soon. I have been to SFMM, SFoG, Six Flags St. Louis, and Six Flags Great Adventure. I would say enjoy the park. Six Flags parks are definitely different than Cedar Fair parks. This park has a great collection of rides. I am sure there is someone on here that has been to the park and can offer some better insights. You will have to let us know what you think of the park once you make it there!

I too have heard that the resort needed some upgrades. Hopefully, the upgrades are done well and drive occupancy. The renovations that they did to Breakers on property are amazing!

Sorry for no response. I have topics for future ones. Hopefully we will have another one recorded soon. Things got busy, as I work full time at an architectural firm and was working close to 60 hours a week over the summer while also working the final season of rides at Coney. What things would you like to hear in future podcasts?

Fantastic photo! I never knew that about The Bat.

What few realize, is that the smaller Cedar Fair parks offer the company some geographic diversity. If Ohio has a crummy wet summer, but Kansas City has record a record year, that will help to balance out the soft summer season at the Ohio parks. That was one of the pitches of the Schlitterbahn acquisition, was that they were further diversifying their geographic reach, so a bad summer in one market won`t negatively impact the finances of the company. If they sold off some of these smaller parks, they loose that advantage. Hopefully, this turns out to be nothing but a nasty rumor. I too would fear what would happen to events like Grand Carnivale and the Royal Finale.

I am sure that the board is doing their due diligence on the proposal. Yes, back in the day, not long after Cedar Fair had purchased the parks, the unit price was really low, and they struck a deal with Apollo to take the company private, paying something ridiculous like $11.50 a unit for them. Read more on that here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cedarfair/apollos-deal-for-cedar-fair-collapses-idUSTRE6353ZU20100406

Agreed. If this was Cedar Fair purchasing Six Flags, I would be more for it, but would still be weary of the debt that is being incurred. Since this is just speculation right now, I wonder if and when we get confirmation that this deal is a go or no go.

I wonder, if true, what the actual offer price is for Cedar Fair. If it were the other way around (Cedar Fair purchasing Six Flags), I would be all for it. As others have expressed, Six Flags, while there are some good parks, do not seem to keep their parks as well maintained as Cedar Fair does. I believe it was The Interpreter that long said the two chains would eventually unite.

I can`t imagine that the park will let this area sit vacant for too long. However, it will be difficult to put much in there other than a coaster, as that area has a lot of topography changes. While Cedar Point still has their Corkscrew, Six Flags has removed many of their large Arrow multi-looper coasters. Six Flags Great America and Great Adventure immediately come to mind. Can`t say that I am too surprised Vortex is leaving. I just hope that they can re-utilize its station (which used to be The Bat`s station.

As far as I know, there was never any ride in storage at Coney. The only ride that was in storage this year (in the boneyard) was the Round Up, which was removed because it needed a new part that cost more than the ride was worth.

Do not waste people`s time with trivial calls like this. Calling Clermont Steel won`t get you an answer anyway. The large crane will show up when the contractor that is assembling the ride needs it. Clermont Steel is not the one actually erecting the ride. They are simply the fabricator.