CoastersRZ

The seasonal staff at Coney that won the award, called the Jim Babb Award was me. I won the award back on December 30th at the seasonal manager and Super Staffer luncheon on December 30th. Here is a little information about the Jim Babb award. The Jim Babb award honors its namesake for his dedication to Coney Island, for always putting forth his best effort in getting the job done. Jim’s pride in his work and his enthusiasm for the park’s success never waned. He was always thrilled to be a part of the Coney team. Jim was 55 years old when he came to us with only a third grade education, but he soon taught all of us what can be accomplished when the will is there. He worked so hard, and so cheerfully, that our patrons went out of their way to commend us on his efforts. We remember this gentle man by naming after him our highest recognition of excellence. Only the seasonal employee who most exemplifies his attitude and effort merits our most coveted honor- The Jim Babb Award. I was only the 25th recipient of this award. I was given an engraved Citizen`s watch for winning the award. Pictures will come later tonight. Additionally, my name will be added to a plaque in the administration building. My picture will also appear by the plaque this season as well.

I know that I am going to make it down to Kentucky Kingdom this year. My only visit to the park was the year that Chang was new.

Many may have missed The Interpreter`s reference in his post about Swoop. The ride he was referring to was Top Gun. The ride was already mostly planned when Paramount purchased the park in July of 1992. They simply changed the name and added the Top Gun theming to the ride.

Contest to name Coney`s new rides: http://coneyislandpark.com/in_the_news.php?nID=54

I registered my Platinum Pass (which I already renewed for a 2015). Worked just fine for me. But I haven`t tried to use the discount anywhere yet...

Good to know. My fiance worked briefly at the Columbus Zoo as a ride op on weekends while she was in law school up there. She only worked the Carousel and train that were in the zoo, and not any of the rides that were out by the water park. I still need to ride the coaster there!

I know this is an old topic bump. Has anyone heard any status update from Charles Jaques? I know in the front flap of the Coney book, he stated that he was working on a book on Kings Island.

Well, the Jellystone campgrounds are actually owned by Leisure Systems. Leisure Systems is owned by Park River Corporation. Park River Corporation is the parent company that owns Coney. Park River is owned by the relatives of the late Ronald Walker, who purchased Coney in 1991. I absolutely love the history of Coney and the early history of Kings Island. One of these days, I should write a book about it all.

Yeah. That is a creative description for kiddy bumper cars. I believe the pendulum that Coney might be getting is a Zamperla Midi Discovery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEW8BMon8do And it looks like Zamperla also makes a mini bumper car ride. http://www.zamperla.com/products/mini-bumper-car/

Check out Coney`s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/coneyislandpark

There may just be something new at Coney in 2015. You will have to wait and see.

It is a rather expensive venue. But it does provide some unique photo ops. I personally have escorted a wedding party around to several rides so that they could take wedding pictures on some of the rides, including the Carousel and Ferris Wheel. Some people only have their reception at Coney, while some people have both the ceremony and the reception at Coney`s Moonlite Gardens. As others have said, Moonlite Gardens is a rather big place. The one drawback is that the dance floor is open air. So if you have rain on your wedding day/night, the dance floor will also get a little wet.

I would like to know if one area geographically is being hit harder with attendance issues over other areas. Like the Cedar Point issue that Ryan mentioned. How much of the attendance can be attributed to weather, etc. Unfortunately, they do not typically break out numbers like that anymore. They used to before the Paramount acquisition. It seemed like they were discounting the gate pretty heavily at times. How much higher can in park spending go? Sure, they can keep raising food prices, etc.

Hey, I have been known to fall for a few. Now if the Ferris Wheel starts going the wrong direction, then there are issues, and you will likely find me out there (if it is a weekend), fixing the ride.

Except for the fact that every other ride cycle, it already runs backwards! It runs one cycle forwards, and the next cycle is backwards. It repeats this same pattern the entire time it is operating.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/education/kearney-ohio-school-year-bill-ohio-senators-proposed-legislation-could-add-38-days-to-school-year What would this mean for seasonal places that rely on high school workers for three months out of the year, and to these same destinations that would see their peak season drastically reduced.

Coney posted this video after July 3rd Balloon glow this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O89Ygno_iBI

This is the third year for Fire Up the Night. The park typically does get busy. The pricing is reasonable. The rides open at 4pm with the park, and the rides will close once the first firework goes off around 8:30. I personally have worked the last two Fire Up the Nights, and I will be down there again this Saturday working. It is definitely a fun event, and worth going to.

Belterra Park, does not generally allow concert goers to use their parking lots to park or tailgate, as they like to keep their spots for their own paying customers. However, sometimes they do allow some concert traffic to use their lots.

Keep in mind that the current arrangement with Riverbend, does provide some money to Coney. After all, most concert goers to Riverbend are parking in Coney`s parking lot Few realize that concert tickets at Riverbend have a "Facility usage fee" which in part includes the parking fee money. They charge on the ticket and not at the lot, to speed cars getting into the parking lots. Additionally, Coney runs the concession stands over at Riverbend.

Wow! Thanks for sharing! An amazing piece of history you have there!

An insurance matter and a safety issue. Coney actually owns the two lots across Kellogg from the park (The lots that straddle Sutton). They do allow people to tail gate for some concerts in these lots. Jimmy Buffett comes to mind immediately, where they start getting the tropical drinks flowing early in the morning on those days.

Not recently. We have seen several skunks recently, or signal 9 as we say it on the radio at Coney.

Coney has been adding new stuff pretty much every year recently. They added Wipeout this season. Last year, we got Como Cruisers, which replaced the Bumper Boats. 2012 there was no major addition, but Coney spent money upgrading the picnic grove, and adding new things like a new rides ticket booth and rides office. 2011 saw the addition of Swing-A-Round. 2010, they didn`t add anything major, but that was because the park added Twister in 2009, which cost close to $2 million. Heck, they even have added a nice new Coney Island sign when entering the park from the picnic grove parking lot this year. They literally jsut added that sign within the last couple of weeks. I have heard several rumors about what Coney could be getting next year. I`m not going to go into details just yet, until I hear something more substantial. Needless to say, it sounds like Coney will be adding something next year. At this point, I don`t know if it will be a wet something or a dry something. Stay tuned. I would love to eventually see a wooden coaster from the Gravity Group at Coney. Maybe one day. Heck, I will probably still be working there then.

Newport Aquarium is owned by Herschend Family Entertainment. That is the same company that is a partner with Dolly Parton in owning Dollywood. That is why you see the discount. They also own the Ride the Ducks that launch from near Newport Aquarium. Other attractions in the Herschend portfolio include Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO, Wild Adventures in Voldosta, GA, Dolly`s Dixie Stampede, the Harlem Globetrotters, and they manage Darien Lake (although they do not own this property). See more here: http://www.hfecorp.com/businesses/