CoastersRZ

The reason KI has so many haunts is that they need them for capacity. Crowds on Saturday nights can be pretty busy with long lines. Also, they have tend to use permanent buildings for several reasons. One, it saves on labor, as they do not have to tear down all the props every season, and setup the tent and take it down. Remember, they used to do CarnEvil (back when it was Circus of Horrors 3D) in the Festhaus before it mades its now permanent move to the old Enchanted Theater location.

But it does allow them to change pricing easier if they decide to raise food prices midway through the season. It also allows them to better promote options such as the season long dining plan, etc. with video verses just a static image.

In a way they already have adopted that policy for the last several years. Halloween Haunt admission is cheaper on Friday nights, which are typically less crowded, and Saturday admission is more expensive when Haunt is far more crowded. I believe that they could start doing this with their food items, as a lot of food locations now have TV menu boards... It makes sense from a business standpoint in terms of supply and demand.

Which if I had to guess, is the pump/filter building for the new water slides.

I would venture to say that they haven`t updated the operating calendar. They have been working hard to get this nighttime show going at Animal Kingdom, and together with the nighttime safaris, are trying to turn this park into more of an all day park. Yes, there may have been some budget cuts, but as far as I know, those were mostly related to entertainment (meet and greets), and not a reduction in hours. (Granted, I do believe that the second nightly Fantasmic show is one of the cuts.) Still seems odd that they would cut budgets at the domestic parks to compensate for cost over runs at an abroad park. Especially given how the domestic parks continue to be successful.

Hopefully it will be ready to roll. I believe I heard somewhere that Dollywood has not been late opening a new ride. But that just means there is always time for a first... My wife and I will be there on opening day, and will be in attendance at the event.

Which was remedied this past year, when they installed a public elevator that services the International Restaurant (it is located in the stair well right next to the Spot Light Souvenir shop.

Building codes can and do change. What was once up to code in the 70s may not be code anymore. And the building likely was not configured to meet the amount of people that occupy the queue area. Multiple means of egress, and even the construction type of the building could have necessitated additional modifications, such as a sprinkler system to allow the assembly use group. The likely easiest way to enclose that queue would have been to tear down the building anyway and build a new building. Which likely was not in the budget.

Raven is good, but I would much prefer The Beast over Voyage. Voyage is just so intense and not very re-rideable in my opinion.

But, you must be able to pay your debts when they come due. If you have a big debt payment that is coming due soon, you need to save up to ensure that you are able to cover that debt amount when it is due. Otherwise, you will be faced with unfavorable options such as selling assets to cover the obligation or bankruptcy. On the flip side, if you do have extra money, and you put it towards your debt, you can reduce your interest payments significantly. (An extra $100 a month on a 30 year mortgage could save $20,000 and result in the mortgage being paid off five or so years sooner! Hopefully, when Cedar Fair`s debt mature, they can either pay them off, or refinance them. Some amount of debt is good. I am a little surprised at the rate at which they have increased their cash distributions and haven`t put any towards pushing down their debt levels.

Also, if you are trying to link your season pass to the Kings Island app, they now have a shorter number code that the app accepts. It will not accept the longer numeric code, which is what I have on my pass. I was hoping to try out the new scan your pass from your phone feature this season, but cannot link the app to my phone, because I have the same plastic pass for my pass since at least 2011.

Wild West World didn`t even last its entire first season. Cincinnati`s Coney Island received the swinging ship from Wild West World.

In that video that was posted, the engineer that was interviewed is Lew Brown, who one of the two engines is named after.

Seems like they are having similar difficulties to what Coco Key in Cincinnati is/was having. It was shut down for fire code violations a while back.

I haven`t heard anything about it yet. Last year, it was Friday night, the day before the park opened (April 17th). I didn`t make it that day as I was attending my wedding rehearsal then.

I am sure they will be able to turn it around. For a while, the SEAS parks were hurt by not enough investment in new rides and attractions. It seems like that tide is starting to turn.

I am sure it will bring in new visitors. The problem is the Orlando market has so many competitors for them to deal with. Disney and Universal get the lions share of attention in the Orlando area. But I am sure that the new coaster will entice some tourists to visit.

Interesting. Looks like Sea World has a lot of work to try and right the ship. Best of luck to them. I thoroughly enjoyed my visits to both Busch Gardens and to Sea World Orlando.

By comparison, there are certain Cedar Fair parks that have not seen new additions in several years, no matter how small.

Cedar Fair had their quarterly conference call yesterday. They stated that they plan to roll out Winterfest events at other parks in 2017. They wouldn`t name which parks they were thinking about, but did mention looking at them geographically and what makes sense from a weather stand point. They also mentioned taking what works at Great America, and applying it to the other parks. They also mentioned that it may take a couple of seasons for this event to get a following and really start maximizing revenues. I would have to think that Worlds of Fun, Carowinds, Kings Dominion and Kings Island geographically would make sense. Dorney, Michigan`s Adventure, Cedar Point, ValleyFair, and Canada`s Wonderland are farther north and could pose more issue with winter weather. I would love for Kings Island to bring back Winterfest. The original incarnation of Winterfest seemed to make money and be successful. Granted there are more options for winter entertainment now in the Cincinnati area. Additionally, back then, the park didn`t have a Halloween event, so the season ended earlier allowing them more time to prepare for the event. I made several visits to Winterfest 2005. It was a very fun event. It would have been nice had they opened a ride like the Scrambler or the adult bumper cars. The train ride was a fun ride, and had lots of entertainment (it reminded me of some of the entertainment quality seen at Dollywood). Only time will tell what happens and what parks they expand it to.

Even Holiday World tackled that subject with its "Turkey Callers". I would not be surprised to see something from TrioTech wind up at KI. From what I have heard, the rides at Canada`s Wonderland and Knott`s have been a big success.

The big difference between this event and the reincarnation of the event that KI had back in 2005, is that this even is FREE for Gold and Platinum pass holders. Back in 2005, KI pass holders had to pay around $20 a person to enter, and by the way, they also had to pay for parking. Which is partly why the KI event (and the Carowinds version), was more like an empty wonderland. This was mentioned on one of the last conference calls Cedar Fair had as a way to extend the season and generate additional revenue outside the typical park operating season. Hopefully this "test" goes well, and we see this rolled out to other parks in the chain. Obviously, some parks, KI included, would struggle with weather issues once you get into October. Personally, I would love to see KI`s Winterfest return for a third version. I have my fingers crossed, but it may never happen again. Only time will tell.

Except Drop Tower and WindSeeker are singular towers. A coaster that is 300 feet tall has a bigger dominance on the skyline. Yes, there is a former GCI ride down in Tampa. However, it didn`t exactly have the best reputation or upkeep, in my opinion.

For Sea World, it helps that their new CEO, Joel Manby, is the former CEO of Herschend. I am sure he had some contact with B&M when they installed Wild Eagle at their joint venture property with Dolly Parton. I have yet to ride Fury 325, but Leviathon was a fun ride. And a vastly different ride experience than Behemoth. I would enjoy the ride at KI if they went with a B&M that was 300+ feet high. However, that would rival the height of the park`s Eiffel Tower. I don`t know how I feel about that.

I would not look for a new roller coaster for 2017. Why? Diamondback was installed in 2009. Banshee was installed in 2014. If that trend continues, I would look for 2019 to be the year of the next major coaster install (with only minimal improvements in 2018 as they prepare for 2019). But that is just a trend, and history doesn`t always repeat.