Outdoor Man

(speaks under his breath)... so are many aspects of SEAS. There are a number of Christian organizations that serve beer. There's no spiritual/Christian taboo against drinking (drunkeness... something completely different). I don't personally; the last time I had an alcoholic beverage was at a wedding reception in 1996. Its just not a drink I like. I save money at Reds games that way too; much rather have a $5 Coke than a $10 Bud. Another- financially they cannot let the Busch Gardens parks go- they are the only "bright" spots in the portfolio... there's no way that stockholders would approve that sale. SEAS without the Busch brand is a penny-stock. The SeaWorld brand needs repaired; that's the easy part. The hard part is redeveloping the visiting habits

I've got some swamp land in Florida I'd like to sell...

It'll never happen, but Busch Gardens would be best spun off into its own entity. I don't know if BG would be a good fit in the FUN or SIX portfolio. I think those parks have way too much attention to detail than those suitors. The last I was at BG, Williamsburg- the attention to landscaping was off the chart. CF has done much better with environment/experience at the parks than the Paramount predecessor, but lets face it- those details aren't one of their strong suits.

one of my favorite Royal Fountain Images:

that's sort of what I was thinking. If I were guessing, they'll look like the new apartments off 741 west of I-71. I can't help but wonder though what is gong to be the bigger complaint: noise from I-71 to the west or the noise 6 months out of the year across the street, not to mention traffic issues are various points of the year. KI Inn's time has well passed- but I'm not real certain that there'll be a waiting list to get into housing at this "prime" location.

Among many, Idora. Or, as driving past LeSourdesville Lake today on the way to a family Christmas (not Thanksgiving) family gathering, my 9-year old daughter said that when she gets older she wants to reopen it. Maybe she meant in "Sandbox" mode on RTC.

His video at the pearly gates of Americana/LeSourdesville Lake bordered an awkward comedy with his run in with, who I assume was, Jerry Couch. I own a vacant commercial building I'll let him explore- then as stipulation for his "trespassing" transfer ownership to him so he can tend to it.

I could envision Blackstone reorganizing the division to separate the sheep from the goats. They never completely merged the organizations together anyway; BG still has most of their executive structure in place, as does SW.

Maybe someone answered it before, but I have watched a few of adamthewoo's videos... kind of a fan. How does he do those with sometimes video proof of trespassing and not get fined back to the stone age?

I could envision a classic equity fund slice and dice sale.

ah, back in the days when they knew how to do the complicated things like.... change burnt out light bulbs. Such a lost art.

as a side note as mentioned above; by and large the weather near the end of the operating season this year was nothing short of putrid.

Winterfest had all of the things you mentioned, plus excellent shows- and the occasional frostbite... I would call it a debate loosely. Imagine the "debate" happening over beer and wings- its a debate I could lose interest in quickly. I have opinions, but not ones I'd be willing to dig my heels into. Terp probably feels the same; he's had a pulse on much of this longer than I, so the truth of events past might lean to his end. I disagree; but just because I disagree doesn't make it any less true or false. From where I sit, I think KI has an opportunity to "increase"- do I think it will happen?; likely not.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one- that's OK though, I enjoy a good debate. I can't speak to the Carowinds event, but as an attender of the 2005 KI event, it didn't seem hastily put together. It actually, I thought, was done well; shows were good, light show(s) done well... it only seemed pricing was off. I know that they had planned to do the event well early in 2005- I participated in the former Paramount Volunteer program, which was one of the best deals going. We received tickets in January (2005) from a day we worked in October 2004; in the fine print on the back it said that the ticket was not valid on park sell-out days, corporate rental dates, or Winterfest. This was January 2005, seven months before it was announced. In Summer 2004 they tested power outlets in Nick U for electrical loads the summer before which almost caused a tree to burn down (a relative was working there the night it happened). I could be wrong, but I don't buy that they were soley marketing the parks with Winterfest. You want to sell me your $1.2 Billion park chain?, show me Cash Flow / P&L statements with a lot of black ink on them. Don't pepper it with a red-ink experiment; and if it bombs- for the love of all things holy, don't do it in again 2006. I don't know Jeff Siebert at all- I met him a few times for the programs our group was involved with but never had a meaningful conversation with him. My guess is that he left because Schlitterbahn was offering him a corporate marketing Director position; and now he resides at Six Flags Corp in Texas. If you read writing on the wall you don't plot an exit 5 states away; I've noticed working a bit in this industry- these professionals/executives do that. Jeff's boss at Six Flags Corp. started at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, took a promotion to BG in Tampa, bounced back up to Sesame Place- went on to work as the SVP Marketing for Paramount Parks until they closed, then vaulted out to CA to work with Palace Entertainment, then down to TX to work as an SVP, Marketing at Six Flags. Its a common tale of most park chain executives working their way up a ladder. Jeff was at KI for 6 years... that's a pretty long time. (edited a few words for better clarity of thought)

Wasn't that price for the whole Magic Bands and My Magic+ thing? Wifi surely wasn't a billion on its own, right? I just came across this and not sure if I already answered. The $1.1B project wasn't for one bullet point, but a whole project. Wifi wasn't installed purely for Guest Experience alone- it was installed so that their Park/Resort MyMagic App could interface in real-time anywhere on property for WDW and Guest (experience). So, the project was all-inclusive of a stack of items under the umbrella of one heck of a project. Wifi and/or MyMagic wasn't the "wheel"- but several spokes of the wheel. Sorry if redundant.

Maintained is the key word. Though, under CF ownership- maybe more specifically Greg's leadership of the park, attention to detail is far better than it was under Paramount. That said, after year 1, the Starlight Spectacular tended to show signs of neglect. I like the LED light idea of DegenRider though. A number of comments ago it was mentioned that the turn-around time between Haunt and a potential Winterfest would make it prohibitive because the lag-time is much shorter than in 1992 and before. I've thought about that and want to dig that back up. This isn't to say that KI/CF even wants to tip-toe back into it. However, much of a Winterfest setup would take place on International Street- a location that is part of Haunt, but not as much as the other parts of the park- and baseline preparation could take place there concurrently. On a weekend that the park may be open after Haunt they could use the extra employees to tear down and begin set up. Three weeks isn't a lot of time between events, BUT- its done all the time. - Columbus Zoo has a Halloween attraction and goes all out for Christmas. They don't close and have to dodge guests for setup. - same with Cincinnati Zoo and a host of other parks. A setup would not be park-wide; mostly I-Street and parts of other sections, not the entirety. And while I'm shelling out opinions, I may be way off but I'm not sure I agree that the only reason Paramount brought Winterfest back up was to showcase the parks for sale. I could be wrong, but discussions for a 2005 event had to have started sometime in 2004, which was well before March 2005 when Viacom announced splitting into two corporations. Winterfest 2005 was already in the books when CBS Corp announced their intent to divest the Park division. So, my thoughts (and my opinion) are that bringing Winterfest back as a test had little to do with selling the parks. It may have played into it eventually, but not as a lead up. Also, in my humble (but opinionated) opinion, Winterfest lost in 2005 because it was not priced right at all. in the 90's it lost money largely due to the fact that it was priced at some ridiculous low price- a family member worked for Great American Insurance back in the late 80's and 90's and I recall a rumor that Lindner considered Winterfest to be largely a gift to the community. Take that with a grain of salt. Also in the 90's Winterfest grew with the park and expansion year over year was acquired over time. In 2005 the whole attraction, plus expansion came back in one year. All that overhead came in one year, and the event was way overpriced at $29.99. I think the price KI had announced for the 2006 version before it got axed was priced right, $14.99. Again, if CF determines that they can be profitable operating 6 weeks during the Christmas season, they'll try it- though I don't feel that KI has autonomy to try things as the "flagship" park it once was. KI used to be the Golden child... I think it's probably 4th or 5th now. may the nay sayers and disagreeing opinions pounce.

My wife and I drove past after seeing the sign for years. I think we took one look at the building (house) and drove on. Fast forward to a year or two ago, my mother and sisters went... They said it was actually very nice and quaint on the inside; I've still never been.

Local companies/attractions did a rather admirable job of giving value to the "lost" Beach pass holders; and Adventure Landing upped the ante by honoring the last year's pass holders. Unfortunately the weather stunk most of the summer.

Never been- wish I had. I don't think there is anything to it to regret. Go for it!

Sigh.

If you are talking about Snoopy's Splash Dance, given the method of removal, its construction, materials and age, I'd be shocked if it was destined anywhere other than materials recycling and/or a landfill. haven't paid much attention to the webcam; but makes sense. I would have loved to have gone through it- but never wanted to get "that" wet while on the dry side.

Any word if it is being relocated just south or being scrapped?

its a no-win situation.

You can 'just show up'. On site registration is pricey...

yea, not sure who voted to install that ride... The music in the video was almost creepy. As for 2015, someone may have mentioned this before, so sorry if it is a 2nd motion. I have a feeling the International Street is going to look significantly different come April. Was thinking about it and came up with, "why re-theme a large building in the entryway and place it as an odd-ball amongst the others?" Look around what CF has been doing with the entrance to other parks: - Gate Keeper at CP - the new entry plaza for Carowinds (almost "Universal'ish")- - and memory may fail me here, but weren't there improvements at Canada's Wonderland? I have a feeling that the Starbucks building may only be what they are stating publicly (in addition to the Yogurt shop). Perhaps International Street (or whatever it will come to be known as) will be more than just a place to get food or drinks on your way in/out of park. This will be interesting. But, yea- seriously, Space Buggies.... don't.... looks like a bad carnival ride.