BoddaH1994

Kennywood's Great! Phantom's Revenge is my favorite steel and Noah's Ark is my favorite dark ride!

If you really need footage, we have it. Just PM me and we'll talk about it. Of course, this can only be for personal use and I don't have the authority to let you put it up on the net.

Yesterday was a particularly busy day for HW since we had Holiwood Nights going on. I'd say that wait time was up to an hour or so. They ran two trains for most of the trip and it was still a people eater. I recommend riding it once during the day so you can see the whole ride and doing a night ride... just trust me... it's worth it.

I am sitting in a hotel in Bowling Green, KY with SOB_Tom, ZosoBeast, Delirium Dreamer, Dane and TRTR Guy. Thus far we have been to Holiday World for several ERTs on their coaster and quickly stopped by Beech Bend for a taste of what's to come at Rumblefest tonight. Tomorrow we're hitting SFKK. I won't have time to write a full trip report until I get back, but this has been rather interesting. We have: Ridden Voyage in TOTAL darkness. At certain points, all that you can see is the stars in the sky! Help evacuate a ride that went down at Beech Bend. Ridden Rumbler. Made several friends from all accross the nation at Holiwood Nights. ...oh yeah, and a monkey kissed me. There will be quite a trip report after this but for now, we're arguing over who can use the shower first since we've been camping for the past two days and this is the first shower we've had access to. Have a great day every everyone, I'll be back Monday night! Regards, Ryan, Tom, Bill, Dane, Ariel, and Bobby.

Expert my a--. Neither park is competes with Kings Island. Never before have I read that SFKK was a "fierce" competitor of KI. They are 3 hours apart and draw different crowds. Don't get me wrong. I like SFKK - but it is not a major competitor of Kings Island. They serve different geographic markets. Have a great day! Italian Chef I disagree. If PKI draws mostly from the south, I'm sure they'd love to have a better grasp on the Louisville market.

Anyone going?

That was me and you're welcome.... ?

Heh... I've got a ton of camping stuff sitting right next to me which I borrowed for Holiwood Nights. If you see us there, make sure you say hi. Ryan

As stated before, the only good thing that could come of this is Mountain Dew finding its way into the park!

CBS will still own the share in the GWL. I encourage you to read my notes from the conference call before making any more predictions. Grated, we don't know a lot, but I wouldn't jump to conclusions on stuff that we do know for certain.

I'm sure you remember from the conference call that they would have their hands full with this for the next 3 or 4 years. I wouldn't be shocked to hear him stick around for that.

That's a very good question. PKIC days have been VERY popular in the past. They're always a lot of fun and you get to meet a lot of interesting people. I'd pencil in a PKIC meeting day sometime in June, but that's something that would be up for discussion. I want the out-of-towners to be able to join in this time too.

If anything, this will hurt the Beach. Simply put: if someone wants to go to a waterpark, they can either go to the Beach for a lower cost and just do a waterpark, or go to PKI and pay for both parks and just do the water park. In this instance, they can pay a smaller admission and just do Boomerang Bay which will be more attractive since it's "newer".

Wow... sounds like an AWESOME trip! I hope you guys have a good time, and be safe!

I wouldn't speak so confidently about that. On the conference call, they weren't sure if PKI was going to see Snoopy.

I'm shocked that no one has made this poll yet.

Please do not double posts topics. I deleted the first one for a reason. The deal wasn't reached until Sunday night, per the conference call. CBS voted on it Monday morning. In fact, CF didn't even know they were awarded the deal until Sunday. So whoever you or your "inside source" is, just happend to make a lucky guess. I'd hit the casino now while you're still hot. Closing...

From a PKI official mailer: Sorry for the Inconvenience! Over the weekend our web site experienced intermittent outages that may have prevented you from ordering your 2006 Gold Passes before today's deadline. We apologize for the inconvenience and we want you to know that all of these issues have been resolved and that you can still place your order at the discounted price until the end of the day on Wednesday, May 24. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAY 24 is now your LAST CHANCE to Get a Free Upgrade to GOLD When You Buy Your 2006 Kings Island Season Pass Order ONLINE TODAY before the price Goes Up on May 24 Wednesday, May 24 is now your last chance to receive a free upgrade to GOLD premium status when you order your 2006 season pass! It is also your last chance to pay only $79.99 per pass when you buy four or more. Kings Island Season Pass holders receives the following benefits: Unlimited visits all spring, summer and fall Unlimited visits to Boomerang Bay Waterpark all summer Valuable perks and discounts Exclusive events Free admission to all of the other Paramount parks including Canada's Wonderland in Toronto and Kings Dominion in Virginia Order by May 24 and you'll also receive these GOLD pass benefits: Special days you can bring a friend for free Exclusive entrance to Boomerang Bay Exclusive reserved parking area Early waterpark access (before the best seats are taken!) Discounts on park food Early ride times on selected days Double ride Tuesdays Gold Pass Speed Lane Priority Concert Seating Free FearFest admission Discounts on WinterFest tickets Special version of the Kings Island online newsletter There is absolutely no better way to experience Kings Island than as a 2006 GOLD Season Pass holder! LEARN MORE AT THE Kings Island WEB SITE Season pass benefits are subject to change; check the park web site for full list of 2006 benefits, operating calendar, list of upcoming special events, and other relevant information about the park! SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: This message was sent to boddah1994@aol.com as a result of a your membership on our park newsletter mailing list which you signed up for on December 02, 2003 on at our park web site.. Visit the Paramount Parks Mail Preference Center to change which park lists your are signed up for, change your e-mail address, as well as anything else about your account. Or you may also UNSUBSCRIBE from some or all Paramount Parks mailing lists. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION: The Park Newsletter is published by Paramount Parks, located at 8720 Red Oak Blvd, Suite 315, Charlotte, NC 28217. PRIVACY POLICY: The Park newsletter is subject to the Paramount Parks online privacy policy. Subscriber personal information is never sold, rented, or shared with third parties for any reason. Send us a note or UNSUBSCRIBE in one quick friendly step or report as spam if you think you never signed up for this.

The announcement seemed kind of rushed, so we'll have to see how things unfold. They didn't really have too many answers today.

Here are some notes from the 1:00 conference call: Cedar Fair will own 12 properties after this deal. The total will be 25million guests for the chain. The cost of the parks was 1.24 billion dollars. Will the arms race continue between CP and PKI? -They are marketed seperately, so they don't see the "high thrills" vs. "family fun" being a problem. The license for Nickelodeon will last for another 4 years. The Paramount themes are licensed up to 10 years, but they're not sure if they're going to use them after this year. Cross-marketing is possible, but Kinzel had to remind peopel (repeatedly) that the parks are 5 hours apparrt. There will be no changes at all in the operating schedules for the Paramount Parks for this year. CF intends to "cross-incorperate" great ideas that were successful for both parks. CF intends to keep PP up to the same quality that they've had in past years. 2007 Capital and additions are already in place and CF will honor PP's commitements, although we know there will be no major attractions added over $20 million. The concept of Winterfest will be "Looked at" and determined whether it'll be back. Cedar Fair LLC, will likely not expand into other parks outside of this deal for 3 or 4 for years. This deal was awarded to CF late last night and voted on by CBS this morning. Wonderland will be CF's first investment outside of the USA. Job cuts will be "looked at" after the deal closing. This deal will have no immediate effect on Geauga Lake. CBS will retain its stock in the Great Wolf Lodge. CF now owns 4 parks that gross more than 3 million: PKI PCW CP KBF CF plans to keep up Paramount's safety record. CP's marketing range is mainly Detriot, Cleveland, Toledo while PKI's is mainly to the south. Sorry if not all makes sense, I'm trying to do this quickly!

From Yahoo News: Press Release Source: Cedar Fair, L.P. Cedar Fair, L.P. to Acquire Paramount Parks Monday May 22, 8:58 am ET - One of the largest regional amusement park operators in the world - Combined annual revenues to approach $1 billion - Combined annual park attendance to approach 25 million visitors SANDUSKY, Ohio, May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cedar Fair, L.P . (NYSE: FUN - News), a publicly traded partnership which owns and operates seven amusement parks and five water parks, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of the Paramount Parks. Cedar Fair, L.P. will acquire the stock of Paramount Parks, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS - News; NYSE: CBSA - News) for a cash purchase price of $1.24 billion. The five Paramount Parks consist of Canada's Wonderland near Toronto, Canada; King's Island near Cincinnati, Ohio; King's Dominion near Richmond, Virginia; Carowinds near Charlotte, North Carolina; and Great America located in Santa Clara, California. "This transaction offers a unique opportunity for us to acquire a world- class asset portfolio," said Dick Kinzel, Cedar Fair's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "It is not every day that we have the chance to purchase five great family-oriented parks that fit extremely well with our existing parks. This acquisition will provide exciting new growth opportunities and the potential for meaningful incremental free cash flow as we realize $20-$30 million in annual cash flow synergies over the next 3-5 years. It will also add significant geographic diversity to our portfolio of parks and improve our position as one of the largest regional amusement park operators in the world." In 2005, the Paramount Parks generated revenues of approximately $423 million while entertaining 12.2 million guests. Cedar Fair reported $569 million in revenues and 12.7 million guest visits. On a combined basis, the two companies generated almost $1 billion in revenues and entertained approximately 25 million guests in 2005. The transaction is subject to conditions, including regulatory approval and other terms and conditions customary for transactions of this type, and is expected to close during the third quarter. Further details were not disclosed. Cedar Fair was advised by Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and Rothschild, Inc., and Bear Stearns is providing $2.0 billion in committed financing in support of the transaction. Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP provided legal counsel to Cedar Fair. Cedar Fair's seven amusement parks are Cedar Point, located on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo; Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles in Buena Park, California; Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom near Allentown, Pennsylvania; Valleyfair near Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Worlds of Fun, located in Kansas City, Missouri; Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom near Cleveland, Ohio; and Michigan's Adventure near Muskegon, Michigan. The Partnership's water parks are located near San Diego and in Palm Springs, California, and adjacent to Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm and Worlds of Fun. Cedar Fair also owns and operates the Castaway Bay Indoor Waterpark Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. Cedar Fair's flagship park, Cedar Point, has been voted the "Best Amusement Park in the World" for eight consecutive years in a prestigious annual poll conducted by Amusement Today newspaper. Mr. Kinzel will host two conference calls and webcasts to discuss the acquisition. The first call will be to answer investor and analyst questions and is to be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, May 22, 2006. The second call to answer questions from the media as well as follow up on any additional questions from the investment community will be held at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. These calls can be accessed at 1-800-231-5571. The live conference call and presentation slides may be accessed in "listen only" mode via the Cedar Fair web site (http://www.cedarfair.com). Both conference calls will be made available for replay starting at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET, Monday, May 22, 2006, until 11:59 p.m. ET, Monday, June 5, 2006. In order to access the replay of the conference call, please dial 1-877-519-4471 followed by the access code 7426624 for the investor call and access code 7426623 for the media call. Editors: B-roll of Cedar Fair's flagship amusement park, Cedar Point, is available for download via satellite: Date: May 22, 2006. Time: 10:00 to 10:15 EDT. Satellite: AMC 2. Transponder: 1. Audio: 6.2 MHz. 6.8 MHz. Down Link: 11720 Vertical Down. Trouble #: (440) 838-5377 Ext 254. Technical Contact: Jerry Patton, Classic Worldwide Productions, 5001 East Royalton Road, Cleveland, OH 44147. Phone: (440) 838-5377. Fax: (440) 838-1240. Some of the statements contained in this news release constitute forward- looking statements. These statements may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such statements. Although the Partnership believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Important factors, including general economic conditions, competition for consumer leisure time and spending, adverse weather conditions, unanticipated construction delays and other factors could affect attendance at our parks and cause actual results to differ materially from the Partnership's expectations. In addition, risks and uncertainties concerning the acquisition include, but are not limited to, regulatory approval, the timely receipt of financing and the fulfillment of other specified closing conditions. PARK FACTS Cedar Fair, L.P. Paramount Parks Cedar Point & Soak City Kings Island - Sandusky, Ohio - Cincinnati, Ohio - Founded 1870 - Founded 1972 - 3.5 million visitors - 3.1 million visitors (includes water park) - more than 55 rides and - more than 65 rides and attractions attractions - 453 acres - 365 acres Knott's Berry Farm Canada's Wonderland - Buena Park, California - Toronto, Ontario - Founded 1920, Acquired 1997 - Founded 1981 - 3.6 million visitors - 3.3 million visitors - 755,000 visitors at three - more than 70 rides and California Soak City water parks attractions - more than 40 rides and attractions - 295 acres - 160 acres Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Kings Dominion - Allentown, Pennsylvania - Richmond, Virginia - Founded 1884, Acquired 1992 - Founded 1975 - 1.5 million visitors - 2.1 million visitors - more than 75 rides and - more than 55 rides and attractions attractions - 200 acres - 264 acres Valleyfair Carowinds - Shakopee, Minnesota - Charlotte, North Carolina - Founded 1976, Acquired 1978 - Founded 1973 - 986,000 visitors - 1.9 million visitors - more than 40 rides and attractions - 45 rides and attractions - 160 acres - 246 acres Worlds of Fun & Oceans of Fun Great America - Kansas City, Missouri - Santa Clara, California - Founded 1973, Acquired 1995 - Founded 1976 - 1.1 million visitors - 1.8 million visitors - more than 40 rides and - more than 50 rides and attractions attractions - 350 acres - 180 acres (leased) Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom - Cleveland, Ohio - Founded 1888, Acquired 2004 - 700,000 visitors - more than 50 rides and attractions - 670 acres Michigan's Adventure - Muskegon, Michigan - Founded 1988, Acquired 2001 - 550,000 visitors - more than 50 rides and attractions - 235 acres This press release and prior press releases are available online at http://www.cedarfair.com. ----------------------------------- Source: Cedar Fair, L.P. Regards, Ryan PKICentral.com - You know that last comment about not giving a darn about how they do it on America's Roller Coast? I was just kidding Mr. Kinzel.

I understand your train of thought, but I don't think the concept is unfeasable. Why not own your competition? That's kind of a win-win situation really. In response to those of you who are saying that they'll drop the Paramount name, I wouldn't count on that. I'm not saying that they'll probably remain PKI, I'm just saying that we simply don't know. If PP were to be bought out by an investment group, I wouldn't be shocked at all to still see the paramount name on the parks.

I know this is a bit late, but here it goes... I got to the park bright and early around 5:30am-ish to find that there weren't too many people there yet. Fortunately the crowds filtered in right on time so we weren't really short anyone. Around 5:45, Nathan (DirtySteve) showed up and not long after my good friends the Simon family showed up (their dad is my boss' boss' boss' boss' boss' at Best Buy, if that isn't awkward enough). Nonetheless, I had surrounded myself by some good people. Of course, to perfect the circle, Coaster N Sich and the one and only Karen showed up as well. We met up with Jennifer from marketing who asked me to lead a portion of the group to Reptar while the others went to Planton's Plunge. I must admit that it was nice being able to hand-pick my entire train. lol Long story short - we got in about 30 rides on Reptar, plus countless rides on Plunge and of course Avatar. I got to meet lot of nice and interesting people from different news agencies around the midwest, which is always thrilling. Around 9:00 we got a "break" (can't really call it a break when we're just riding rides, now can I?) and we took the opportunity to roam the park. Seeing the park in its dead and shut down phase is something that I have become accustomed to as I am up there often with my work on this site, but I must admit that I'll never entirely be used to it. Anyway, as we made our way back to NU still thinking that we had another hour or so to kill, we were asked to ride Avatar. (Darn... more work??) So we did. After a while, the rain started to come down so riding was over. SOB_Tom (oh yeah, forgot to mention that I gave him a ride up there), DirtySteve and I killed some time by tossing around a baseball under the old Nick Ampetheatre. Eventually we were given the all clear to leave. As we were walking out during a break in the storm, a guy came up to me and complemented the site. Of course, I graciously thanked him and made some small talk as we walked out of the park. Then he mentioned that he used to work for the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and then it donned on me that this was Don Helbig that I was talking to. I know a lot of you know him, but I hadn't yet and found it to be quite an honor. We got along great considering the whole PKI thing and the fact that I was a Ducks season ticket holder for years. I thought that was cool. So then I went to Chipolte, and finally made it home. Long day, but quite a blast!

Seriously, hold your celebration to the end. You're not right quite yet. This was simply a small blurb as part of a big article. Also, weren't the parks on sale as one unit? Wouldn't CBS be more interested in dumping them all at once? This simply doesn't stack up. I think Kinzel was playiing the numbers game.

It's really hard to say. It all comes down to the demographic. People go to CP because they know it's a big thrill park while PKI seems to bank on the notion that they have a lot of season passholders and their organic growth would stem from keeping them in the park longer. It's really two totally different worlds.