Browntggrr

Whoa! Slow down Cheetah! There is no reason to get personal. This is meant to be a family-type environment. How are personal attacks helping the conversation?

Busch Gardens Europe has some high food prices, but the quality of the food is the best of any park I have been to with the excecption of Epcot (comparing Disney to another park is unfair). Nice trip report. I have also complained numerous times about the lack of a true sit-down restaurant at PKI. That will probably change in the next couple years.

I would not take the "neglect" issue personally. From a maintenance standpoint, it was probably difficult, if not impossible to detect this problem with the wood. The suits being filed are going to cover all the possible reasons for the failure, and using the words "neglect" and "lack of maintenance" are commonly used. If the maintenance department has nothing to hide, and they probably don't, I would not worry about it. Now the suit that PKI filed about substandard wood that was used will most certainly come up. If a decision was made to continue running with this bad wood, and the accident happened; that is most certainly neglect. All of these issues will come out in the wash if these cases actually make it to court.

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/9696783/detail.html

His parents were and probably are still destroyed. Imagine how the person would feel that makes the decision to open SoB to the public and there is another accident.

It is amazing that some of the fanboys just cannot seem to understand that there were 27 people that sought medical attention. A frivolous lawsuit would be one person that slipped on a wet surface on the midway and wants to sue because they can't walk without tripping over their own feet, not 27 people that were in a accident they could not control. And this accident actually resulted in overnight stays in the hospital for 2 people. Hospitals don't admit people just for the thrill of it. Now the lawsuit that was filed when the person was hit by lightning in the parking lot, that can be considered frivolous, but not those who were injured on SoB. KI has considered themselves a family park for a few years now, and that is their reasoning for not adding large scream machines with large price tags; and many that are regulars on this site here have defended that. Now when there is an unfortunate accident to someone that needs to provide for their families and can't, because of what happened, what kind of message is that sending to everyone that enters the park, including yourselves? It is laughable & disgusting at the same time to hear someone say that they would not file a lawsuit given the same set of circumstances. How can you sit there and even imagine what these people have gone through? And how can you imagine what their families have gone through? Unless you have actually been injured, or had a family member injured, you cannot say that you would not file a lawsuit. You have nothing to compare their situation to. And if you have so much money that you can actually say you would not file a lawsuit against the park, why don't you start a fund at a local bank to help out the family in need so they don't have to sue the park. *stepping off soapbox*

And those quotes came from PKI officials. Did you expect them to say "Well we new about it, and didn't care"? PKI will settle out of court for these injuries- No matter what is said on the back of the ticket.

Planning a coaster takes about three years. Paramount put the parks up for sale last year. And you are going to complain because CF is going ahead with their plan? I guess I don't understand what the complaint is really about.

I have heard the same thing, but have questioned the truth of it. When Six Flags bought Geauga Lake, they had Batman installed which is a B & M. I just never understood why PKI could not build a B & M, but SF could especially since GL is closer to CP. Now if it is because Batman is a floorless and nothing at CP is close to that, it would make sense, but there is no reason that PKI could not have put one in then. Not to mention, the last B & M installed at CP was Mantis back in '94. I would imagine that if there was a non-complete clause between CP & B&M it would only last a certain amount of years.

None of us have any idea what is in store for KI for 2007 let alone 2008. As much as I would love to have any type of B & M at the park, with the sale just completed a month and a half ago nobody can predict/ guess/ know what CF has planned, or if anything IS even planned as of right now. And those who say they know, are just trolling. Those darn lemon chill guys are at it again!

CF has always had a no reride policy, that is not something new. As to why they have this policy, I can only guess. Now the camera in line rule does not make sense at all.

I find it hard to believe that CF could have ordered the seats, the manufacturor make the seats, have them delivered & installed in 5 weeks since the sale. Not that it could not happen, but the chances are slim.

The issues at Disney were not because the ride malfunctioned, but because of pre-existing health problems with each person. The poblems with SoB and the issues at Disney are completely different.

So are you actually saying that this is a fluke accident and it should be ignored?

If you can remember just one specific day that it actually had a line, does that not tell you something? And you also have to remember that SoB was only open for just over two weeks (it opened 5/20/06) and after the extended downtime to make the modifications everyone was excited to see if the changes worked.

Being a die hard fan of a particular ride will not save it. Even though CF now owns the park, once a decision is made, they will stick to that decision. Paramount recieved the same kind of complaints for KC and the Eagles, and nothing changed. If CF wants to spend the money to fix it, then they will. Or they can see the history of the ride and what has already been done to improve it and decide that it is better to throw in the towel and use the land for something else. We all have to understand, sometimes the decisions about a particular ride are already made, and not by a person or group of people- but by the ride itself (referring to rides like The Bat and Drachen Fire). It is quite possible that there is nothing that can be done to fix SoB's issues. We can speculate that new trains will do it, or more retracking, different wheels etc. But what happens if these things don't work? It is just more time and money spent on a useless task.

Ever been by a farm and seen a old rusted out tractor?

Well it is not a cheap time by any means. There are more hotels for guests to stay on the island and most of the newer rooms are about $200/ night. But it is Put-in-Bay and if you bring friends then splitting the room is cheap. I am the best man in a wedding next year & I have reserved a room that sleeps 8 people and the cost per person is about $120 for the weekend. The island is much more commercialized now, so from one point of view it is better, the downside being much more people. It's the cost of *spirits* where they really get you.

If Winterfest was a big hit last year, then there would be no doubt that CF would still have it. Unfortunately, it was not well planned and many were disappointed with the price vs. value factor. CF has already accomplished more than we thought could have happened so far. Taking on a project like Winterfest with the added goal of changing the general public's attitude on it so that it will be well attended would be difficult. It could be for just this year and that gives CF over a year to plan for it in '07. But is it really cancelled? An announcment like this is not made over the telephone. Even though this park representative made the statement, I question what they actually know.

There is a reason that the last stand-up coaster was built back in '99. It is a gimmick coaster, just like suspended coasters. I would be shocked if a new stand-up is even built in the next 5 years.

Even though TOGO is still around in some type of capacity, KC was an older ride and through engineering advancements, the rides are significantly different today. Even though it was difficult to get parts, it is not impossible. But the question KI must of asked themselves was that: is it worth the trouble/ cost of maintaining the ride? ... obviously not.

The season pass processing the first week of the season opening just plain stinks. The only nice thing is that the process stand will open one or two weeks before opening day, but, unless you live in the metropolis the is the greater Sandusky area, there is a drive involved. Many have complained that the process center is just way too small, but CP has not done anything about this. And the real kicker is, even if you buy a voucher prior to the season, it still saves no time in getting processed. Or, go the day before opening day, check into your hotel, go to the season pass center, get processed, and then take a trip on the Jet Express from Catawba Island, and spend the rest of your night at Put-in-Bay. ... not that I have ever done this.

I was not sure about this article, or the name of the paper for that matter, if it is reputable or not; but after reading that Dave Althoff Jr. is quoted in it, I put much more faith in it.

http://www.theotherpaper.com/substory2.html SoB had a price tag of $21 million? Wow, did Paramount get taken to the cleaners on that decision.

Well, would rather go to Disney than CP only because I have more opportunities to go to CP. I hope that your aunt is doing well.