Rivertown Rider

I agree with others that they need a new modern wooden coaster. A GCI twister layout would be my preference.

I totally can believe the SOB station may be getting torn down but I can't see any rides going there right now. I also don't think we would get a coaster anytime soon. Flats would not make sense in that location because of the elevation changes and also because they wouldn't be highly visible back there. If they really are removing part of Columbia Road it makes sense that Timberwolf may finally be going away. (If Cedar Point can do temporary staging / seating for their version of SpiritSong there is no reason that we can't either.) It would be great if they went to Mack and tried to get a deal for two flats (a Teacups style Keggers ride and a Musik Express) and put them in part of the Timberwolf plot. Both are relatively good capacity for flats and that area needs some family rides. As I mentioned in a previous post, opening that area up would also allow you to re-route The Bat entrance and exit.

They probably are in second place in the two worst coasters right besides each other competition. Only Flight Deck and Time Warp at CW probably have them beat.

I could definitely see Cedar Creek Mine Ride going away. It is a slow efficiency ride. The old Arrow mine trains load/unload so slow. If they replaced it with a three train GCI like Mystic they would end up with a more efficient ride. Gemini shouldn't go anywhere. It is a capacity machine. As far as Vortex at Carowinds, I have seen a lot of people suggest that it is too short of a ride to waste the money on conversion. But with its location in the park, I think it would do quite well if it was converted to a floorless.

Really cool article and video. I wonder if their hard hats fell off in the loop?

Apollo from Dorney Park. Just a really fun flat.

Did you take pictures?

So are there any more markers this week?

On Mt. Olympus. It has four woodies, a small kiddie coaster, one flat, a bunch of go kart tracks and a water park. There is really not much infrastructure and there are weird paths everywhere. It is really a go kart/water park with coasters as opposed to a classic amusement park.

^ Mt. Olympus would require a ton of money to bring that park to CF standards. While I think a fuller fleshed park in the Dells would work, I'm not sure it would be worth it to them. Adventureland is definitely one that I would have interest in them buying. It is far enough way from their other parks not to be direct competition but close enough that they could sell more Platinum Passes to the WOF and VF crowd.

St. Louis overall is one their lesser parks. I would compare it to like a Dorney in the Cedar Fair chain (I would argue Dorney is much more well maintained though). When you have Magic Mountain, Great Adventure, and Great America those bigger more popular parks are going to get a lot more love. I have also heard others say they are landlocked. American Thunder and Screamin' Eagle are both great rides though.

Given the fact that SpiritSong is really the only concert series they get every year, it makes sense just to use part of the parking lot and do the temporary stage and seating. That would get rid of the eyesore that is Timberwolf and better use that area.

I would like to see them go the Frontier Canada route and add some flats to flesh out the area and then add the coaster. That area of the park is so busy as it is that I think they will do what makes the most sense as opposed to just rushing to put something in.

Rides Entertainment works with Gerstlauer and Funtime among other companies. They also work with KCL Engineering, which was rumored to do the lighting for Orion although I don't know if that was ever officially confirmed. One interesting one on there is Arenas Americas who does among other things festival seating for concerts. Could that be a hint at Timberwolf going away or could it be something else?

I'm just going to speak to the CF parks other than KI that I've been to. Kings Dominion really needs to put in something great to replace Volcano but they are in a tough spot with BGW right down the road. Carowinds would be really well served to put in a GCI like Mystic. I would say the same thing for CP. Wonderland is tough because they really need something with high capacity. Going the RMC conversion route with Wild Beast would be good. Although there have been varying opinions on whether RMC can even work in Canada. I could also see a Mack. While I would have preferred a GCI at Dorney, the rumored Gravity Group shuttle coaster gives them something unique. Worlds of Fun could do well with one of the smaller Dives or even a Wing.

It was fun to read back on some of the wishlists in this thread. The great news: We got our Giga in X-Base and KI knocked it out of the park with themeing. We got a new food stand and new restrooms (sort of, not the full sized ones that people were probably wishing for). That being said, Action Zone still needs help. Seeing the markers around the Columbia Road area gives me hope that Action Zone sees some love in the next couple years. I do like the Black Forest idea and could easily see Oktoberfest just taking over the whole area of Action Zone. Renaming Invertigo to the Demon, Congo could become Rhine River Falls, and add some family flats like a Tilt a Whirl and Musik Express where Timberwolf is would really re-enliven that area of the park and wouldn't break the bank either.

I generally like tunnels on coasters as I feel that they add a certain character. The Beast wouldn't be nearly as great of a ride if it didn't have the tunnels. Another great example is Adventure Express. Sometimes they are so short, like on Leviathan, that they don't really add much but I would have loved to have seen a tunnel on Orion if it was long enough.

I was surprised last year when I was at Canada's Wonderland in September, they had a limited time Oktoberfest food and drink event. They set up some food and drink vendors and had periodic German music and dancing. Some of the food was even on the dining plan. It is something I could easily see us doing as well.

Here are some things to check out that talk about the current state of the company. The first is their most recent investment presentation from this month: https://s2.q4cdn.com/170666959/files/doc_presentations/2020/08/FUN-Investor-Presentation_2020-08_FINAL_pdf.pdf The second is https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/08/cedar-fair-acknowledges-park-attendance-hasnt-met-expectations-reports-second-quarter-operating-loss.html Interesting in the second one, the CFO mentions that Knott's, Wonderland, CP, and KI make up 80% of annual revenue. Also KI and CP are only reaching 15% of capacity but are still profitable. I would encourage everyone to read both of these documents. There are a couple key takeaways: Cedar Fair has to maintain at least $125 million minimum liquidity level (slide 12 of the presentation). They are expecting cash burn rate to be $30-40 million per month thru the rest of the year. Liquidity position as of June 28, 2020, was $661 million which reflects $360 million in available revolver capacity (net of approximately $15 million letters of credit) and $301 million in cash on hand (slide 14 of the presentation). Long-term they are still looking at something new in every park, every year. They are expanding "cadence of and reduce reliance on large-scale investments to drive growth" (slide 17 of the presentation). "Something for everyone - consumers are seeking entertainment options that can accommodate all types of people, ages and interests" and "Consumers see “local” as more authentic" (slide 18 of the presentation). "Top Reasons to Visit Parks: • Family Rides • Thrill Coasters • Water Rides • Seasonal Events • Anniversary Celebrations" (slide 19 of the presentation).

^ If they add a new path to The Bat, they will probably demolish the current path including the ramp going to the SOB station.

As much as I think nothing major is happening I have been thinking about some possibilities for this area. First the reasons against anything major happening: COVID-19, we just got a brand new coaster, the chain is trying to preserve cash as much as possible. The reasons for something happening: 1. Most of the other parks park in the chain are holding over their 2020 additions into 2021. CGA, Carowinds, Dorney, Worlds of Fun all are holding over their 2020 additions until next year. A lot of this money has already been spent. Wonderland at a minimum probably won't get to open their water park this year with their new addition. The only chain in the park that has seen something show up (not publicly announced but spotted is KD with their rumored Free Fly. It is unknown whether Dorney will get their rumored Wooden Shuttle coaster. Prior to the pandemic Cedar Fair had mentioned that each park in the chain would get something new every year. That has probably gone out the window for now but it is something to think about. There have been markers spotted at CP and KI. With the importance of the two Ohio parks to the chain it is quite possible we get something even if it is not going to break the bank. 2. First of all, I don't think we are getting a coaster. I think most of us would agree that when we get a coaster 3-5 years from now that it will be at least in part of the old Vortex plot. So if we think about a 5 year plan for the park, probably at least one of those years will be a new coaster in The Vortex plot, one of those years will probably be something new in the water park, one of those years I could see a Planet Snoopy revamp to Camp Snoopy. With three out of five years spoken for, I think Action Zone could easily get something. When we look back since Banshee was installed here have been the additions/improvements: 2015: Two new Planet Snoopy attractions 2016: Tropical Plunge and new funnel cake stand in Rivertown along with the new entrance to White Water Canyon 2017: Mystic Timbers and Island Smokehouse 2018: Coney BBQ 2019: Antique Autos, International Street refresh, and the return of the Glockenspiel, and Miami River Brewhouse 2020: Orion, various Area 72 improvements, Scrambler refreshed, Dodgem sign updated, and Viking Fury painted 3. The closest park to us (Kentucky Kingdom) is highly rumored to get their biggest addition to the park since they re-opened (RMC Raptor). 3. Action Zone needs a refresh. Since 2014, Action Zone hasn't really had any noticeable improvements. It is an area of the park that in some respects feels dated. In my opinion Action Zone has always been the area of the park that didn't really feel like it flowed well. Of the dry side areas, all of the other areas for the most part flow well together. Yes there are opportunities some places (as much I love you, looking at you BLSC) but in recent times the park has done a good job adding character when they have made improvements. Action Zone still has the weird Frankenstein feel to it. Originally it was a small Jungle themed area (the Taft/KECO/Linder years) that was a gateway to a Safari ride (Amazon/Congo Falls), a once promising Amphitheater that gets used a handful a times a year (Timberwolf), and the world's first stand up (RIP KC) among other things. Then we go into the early Paramount years with Top Gun (yes I know it was planned before they bought the park), Skyflyer, and the old go-karts. As some point Paramount decided to adopt the old 90's Studios (see at that time Disney/MGM and Universal Studios) theme where anything fits in an area of the park and it doesn't have to have a theme. Action Zone got so many additions during that time: Skyflyer (1995), XS Raceway/Days of Thunder/Thunder Alley (1996), Drop Zone/Drop Tower and Face-Off/Invertigo (1999) and of course Son of Beast in 2000. Delirium was added in 2003 (replacing KC) but other than Banshee replacing SOB and the Raceway in 2014, the area has really only had one year of major additions other than paint jobs since 2003. This Google Earth image is from April 2017 but I think it is easier to see the road than some of the other images I have seen. So what I think might be happening is a couple things: 1. I wouldn't be surprised to be Timberwolf getting torn down. It is only used primarily for SpiritSong and they could easily go the Cedar Point route and put up a temporary stage/seating elsewhere. As massive as KI's parking lot is they have plenty of options for that. I could easily see them doing it down towards the Soak City entrance. 2. With that being said, the portion of Columbia Road that dead ends close to the park entrance along with the road that goes up to Timberwolf would be torn up. This allows them to add additional concrete pathways that go up toward the park entrance. 3. With removing Timberwolf it allows the park to add some additional flats (I could see a family flat along with a thrilling flat being added there). Other than Congo Falls and The Bat there are no truly family rides in that area of the park. 4. If they are really removing the Son of Beast building, I could see them putting more of a straight pathway from the bulldozed Timberwolf/new flats area to The Bat. This would significantly shorten the walk to/from that area and would probably increase its popularity. With that they would close off the old The Bat pathway at the bathrooms/Blackout building. Again this could all be nothing, but speculation is always fun. In the below, the gray would be the new pathways to the entrance, the black would be excavated road, and the orange would be the new pathway to The Bat.

Burying the power lines makes a ton of sense. They had buried the ones back by Orion last year I believe.

The more I look at it, I think at least part of this is a new entry plaza similar to Carowinds and Cedar Point. It makes sense for them to widen that space as on busy days it really backs up.

With Dorney rumored to be removing Possessed, that would certainly fit in that area. I doubt they would move a 20 year old Intamin to KI but it does make you wonder. Personally I'm hoping for some flats in that area.

The interesting part is taking out Timberwolf would actually solve a lot of issues. They could add a few flats and they could also reroute the entrance and exit to The Bat to that area which would probably increase its ridership. Mike Koontz has talked many times about refreshing areas of the park since he became GM. Action Zone and Planet Snoopy are really the only two areas on the dry side of the park that haven't been enhanced in some way during that time.