The Interpreter

And ANY deal can fall through up until the time ownership is actually transferred and the funds change hands. Happens all too often. I can also about assure you that NO ONE other than a handful of people, at MOST, knows who the buyer is. Certainly not someone who reappears on this board and doesn't even know what happened to Jeff Seibert (and asked in another thread)

Dolly does NOT own Dollywood. She is an operating partner with the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation is an operating partner with Dolly in the Dollywood Company, which owns the Dollywood theme park and the Dollywood's Splash Country water park, both in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation owns and operates Celebration City and Silver Dollar City in Missouri, and as a partner with the state of Georgia, operates Stone Mountain.

What would it be like? Based on what I have seen, I believe it would mean: * More and much, much better shows. * Much better food and shopping. * An emphasis on crafts, trades and demonstrations. * A commitment to wildlife and conservation. * A commitment to family principles and to morality, but not in an overly preachy way. * More intricate theming, meticulously maintained. * Higher season pass prices, lower parking prices for daily admissions. * A bit more of a unified, long-term philosophy of what the parks are about and development that is keyed to making that happen. Would the managers of Dollywood/Silver Dollar City/Celebration City be able to muster enough cash to buy Paramount Parks? Probably. Would they be interested? Somehow, I suspect the answer is no...

I actually think the investment group led by former Paramount execs is the most likely possibility...

Yep. And if the buyer is an investment group, chances are the long term view is not what they will be taking. Unless Winter Fest is generating a profit, or can be depended on doing so before the investment group intends to sell, there is no reason to believe they would continue it. Revenue doesn't matter. Profit DOES. Investment groups exist for the purpose of maximizing business enterprise value...they are not in the business because they love it, but only to improve its value to a buyer...

And Dollywood is not just one park. Branson's Silver Dollar City and Celebration City are owned and managed by the same group as is Dollywood...

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am not at all sure Winter Fest will continue under a new ownership.... I'd just about be willing to bet it will be discontinued unless it was wildly successful last year from a financial standpoint, which nothing indicates that it was.

Temple of the Tiger at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and Kotonga at Seaworld in Orlando were the best shows I saw last year in a theme park...by far... And School of Rock and Toy Factory were drastic improvements over the usual Paramount Parks shows, but couldn't hold a candle to Celebration...

No, it was Paramount Parks that started the comparisons with Universal and Disney, particularly through their Kings Island marketing person at the time, who loved saying that TR;TR was the first step in creating THE Disney or Universal type park in the Midwest. I am quite sure he did so, as he did everything he did, with the blessings of senior management and that Paramount Parks DID intend to become just that. But, things have happened since. The parks have been rumored to be for sale, actually put on the market, taken off the market, and now are back on the market again with a sale "expected" in the second half of 2006. There is nothing unfair about judging PKI against the impressions its own marketing people created. And yes, there are two months left. The better question is was the budget slashed, as seems to be usual any more at PKI. This is even a better question still given the pending sale of the parks, including PKI. PKI is not Coney Island of Ohio (sigh, don't get me started). When Kings Island's own people say that their goal is to become a themed entertainment showplace, they shouldn't be surprised if people believe them and expect that.

When TR:TR opened, I would have agreed with you. As it has been maintained by the park and operated in the last couple of seasons, there is NO WAY that ride approaches Disney or Universal quality. The theming has NOT been maintained, the pre-show film is now abysmally poor, the eyes almost never work in the ride itself, much of the ride's operation has been sacrificed to simplify operations. I am not even sure it has maintained a Wild Adventures level of quality (and anyone who has seen the motion theater presentations at Wild Adventures knows exactly whereof I speak).

As they say on the telly... More at 11. But, when is 11? That is the question...

I agree that the quality of the shows has improved drastically in the last couple of seasons. But, there is a LONG way to go before they even approach Disney, Busch, Dollywood or even the best shows at Six Flags (Great Adventure, Six Flags Over Texas). And things, sadly, can always get worse. Much worse. Hopefully, that won't happen. I am keeping an open mind about new ownership. But before I start counting our blessings that CBS may be selling out, I want to see who buys and why they are buying...

With any change of ownership, often many of the top people leave voluntarily or exit for other reasons. Jeff, for instance, is already gone. Hopefully, any buyer will have its own talented group of managers, as some of the current Paramount Parks managers and leaders will not stay...

Oh, they care...and HOW. Stores in malls generate traffic for each other. And a closed food court store is NOT a good thing....

The PKI Chick-Fil-A was NOT open on Sunday. Nor was the one at PKD. Nor was the one at PCWi, which opened the year before the other two already mentioned here. As previously stated by another poster, NO Chick-Fil-A anywhere in the world is open on ANY Sunday. PERIOD. Malls that won't accept this provision in a Chick-Fil-A lease get no tenant called Chick-Fil-A. Same thing for parks. If Six Flags gets Chick-Fil-A (and they are trying to, along with Papa John's and/or Pizza Hut) then Chick-Fil-A at Six Flags will also be closed Sundays. And that's the way it is.

It is my understanding that it was removed in such a fashion that the only real purpose the track could now serve would be as scrap metal....

Yep, you and about three other people a day, max. Thus, why they don't do that!

Snapper, Six Flags uses most of its money to pay off creditors. And they aren't really bringing in enough money to keep the creditors happy...which is one reason you now see Messrs Snyder and Shapiro and not Messrs Story and Burke running Flags.

So much for.... Wait for it.... Six Flags Over Voyage! (Note there are Six Flags over Coney Mall at Paramount's Kings Island!)

Will there be six of them? The Interpreter, running for his room....

Who said they got rid of Mr. Six? Certainly not Messrs Shapiro or Snyder. De-emphasize? Yes. Get rid of? Perhaps. But that decision is NOT yet made, if it ever is....

I wouldn't be counting my theme park blessings yet. We don't even know who the buyer will be, or even if the sale will go through. And things can always get worse, often much worse. I remember many enthusiasts were DELIGHTED when TimeWarner sold out to Tierco, which became Premier Parks. Though many grand coasters were built by Premier/Six Flags, you will find few who think the parks themselves and their service, food and entertainment improved after TimeWarner sold out.

From what I hear Kentucky WILL be raising the parking prices in July. It is almost a yearly thing, though daily parking there is still far less than it is even at, say, Paramount's Kings Island. A well kept secret is the Commonwealth DOES sell parking passes to those lots.

You are certainly right in whether people think it was a success or not doesn't matter. It also doesn't matter what the current owners think it was. The fact it was announced in the paper that Winter Fest did what they expected it to do does NOT necessarily mean that it did. I know the PR business very well. There is NO way they would ever say: ***Well, the event wasn't very successful at all, but we are building for the future, realize we overpriced it, and will charge less and try again next year.*** Besides, what was or was not announced in the paper has no effect whatsoever on the new owners. They can choose to, or not to, have Winter Fest for their own reasons. I am still saying it would not surprise me in the least if the last year Winter Fest will be had for many years to come was 2005. Cutbacks in hours, reduced investments in the parks, less competition as to rides and shows, the general competitive environment for Christmas events in both Cincinnati and Charlotte, the pressures of transitioning to a new ownership and new management, the fact most of the stuff needed for Winter Fest was rented and not purchased...the list goes on and on. Everything leads the logical marketing person to believe there is a more than 50/50 chance that Winter Fest will not continue under a new owner. Much depends on who that new owner is and what their goal is. If it is, as it appears it will be, an investment company, they will have as their paramount goal the increase in revenue and profits and thus the increase in the asset value of the parks. Anything that helps that and can be reasonably done costwise, will be. Anything that doesn't directly lead to an increase in value for the assets (which investment groups WILL sell when they believe the time is right) will be deferred until another day, if ever. As for no one getting fired with a change in ownership, for ride operators and games people and food service workers, that is no doubt true. But so far, Six Flags has already had more than a handful of general managers either be dismissed or suddenly decide better opportunities lie elsewhere. And a whole bunch of marketing people, too. General Managers at Kentucky Kingdom, Great Adventure, Elitch Gardens and other parks, managers who had a job under Burke, are no longer there. I can assure you it will NOT be true that no one will be fired. And the changes in the parks will not be small. They already aren't. Look at the hours, the reduced investments, and wait til opening day. I suspect you will be amazed when you see what the prices will be for various things in the parks. At Six Flags AND Paramount.

Fairly Odd Amusement Park? Modern? The Fairly Odd part, I see. Amusement Park? First of all, the owners will doubtless rather be known as a theme park...to many people amusement park means thrilling rides but also dirty and small and old fashioned...Plus I am quite certain the new owners, not unlike Six Flags, are very apt to continue down the path of family entertainment, not just thrills. I have a theory about that. The Boomer Generation is now getting into their senior years. Look for more shows, benches, rides that granny can ride with her grandkids, and better food in all the parks. The simple fact is that the parks need more business, and appealing only to the thrill seeker has in some ways been excluding some of the older audience, who feels less welcome when the parks are crammed full of teenagers seeking thrills. Teenagers who, by the way, seldom spend much money once in the park, compared to families and older people. This is especially true when said teenagers have season passes and their parents use the parks as a babysitter. I have no idea what the park may be named (my bet is still on either Paramount's Kings Island or Kings Island), but I can about bet what direction the attractions will continue to take in the coming few years. Think of the same types of rides Paramount has put in the last couple of years as opposed to Son of Beast, Hypersonic or Top Gun at Carowinds.