KIfan1980

Terp - I think you are incorrect on this one. She is reaching up for the OTSR, but it is clearly in the down position - you can see the silver metal piece on the outboard side (her right) angled down.

Dave - thanks for posting here with the pictures, it always adds to the story being told. I'll have to add a personal day onto my next business trip to SoCal.

1. Maverick - Cedar Point (beastfan26) 2. Millennium Force - CP (coasterguy15) 3. Diamondback - KI (Indyguy4KI) 4. The Beast- KI (McSalsa) 5. Prowler - WoF (thekidd33) 6. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point (Centurey) 7. WindSeeker - Kings Island (jcgoble3) 8. Intimidator - Carowinds (Coney Islander) 9. Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point (LordSkippy) 10. Dominator-KD (TylerRider) 11. Silver Bullet - KBF (KIfan1980)

And yet in so many ways Disney is a shining example of selling "experience" - unfortunately, they are missing the boat on this one.

From the article: “The board has agreed to review the distribution strategy during the 2011 first quarter in combination with our 2010 full-year results,” Kinzel said. “As part of that process, we will consider all options available under our current capital structure with respect to the payment of future distributions.” As Chairman of the Board, shouldn't Mr. Harvie be making this statement? It will be interesting to see how the communication from Sandusky changes (or doesn't) with the changes in positions and titles - this will give a real indication to me of whether there is any real change or not.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I think Q's motivation is pretty obvious - they are an INVESTMENT group. They have a responsibility to those that invested money with them (that they now have used to buy units of FUN) to try and make a good return on that investment. So far it is working ok - FUN is up quite a bit from the average price that they paid. What they are doing now is what THEY think is best to continue to grow the value of Cedar Fair. What is unknown (and is being argued) is whether they are looking for a short term bump or a long term gain. In addition, what they think is directly at odds with many (all?) of the Cedar Fair board. The reality, in my opinion, is that they hold so many units that they have to be at least somewhat interested in the long term - if they tried to exit their full position in FUN I believe the price would crash (remember how much it climbed as they accumulated shares despite the potential sale/merger at $11.50). In addition, they don't want to be owners of worthless units if Cedar Fair ends up in bankruptcy.

In addition to the silence from Sandusky, there has also been silence from Q lately. My guess - the two parties are busy negotiating.

And then again, I really miss King Cobra - boy did I love that ride

I'm confused as to why you think this? I can't see that many people commuting that far to work. There are also many hotels in Kentucky much closer.

CMH - you might want to check pick #6

Finding that picture almost cost you, but I decided to wait for you - being the nice guy that I am. That and I decided to go for a ride that I could enjoy with both my kids! DRAFT THUS FAR (Please copy & paste this for future people draftin'...) #1- Magnum XL-200 (McSalsa) #2 - Super Himalaya (KIfan1980)

For those that were wondering why the capital expenditure was going to be higher at CP (can't find data, but remember the conversation), the foundation data helps answer that question. - Kings Island: 45' across, 6' deep - Cedar Point: 60' across, 6' deep That's almost 80% more concrete and therefore likely rebar also at Cedar Point. That much concrete isn't cheap!

Just wanted to note that I much prefer the simple line maps that the park used to have, like that shown in the original post - you know, the ones that actually showed where rides were and what the layout looked like. Thanks for sharing, I love seeing this kind of stuff.

Maybe it's just me being skeptical, but what is to stop Cedar Fair from separating the roles by naming Kinzel Chairman and him hand picking a replacement CEO? Could this also mean he stays around beyond his current contract date - since he would have left the CEO role.

Sparky - you do make a valid point. I personally believe that businesses should be looking to make a fair profit - I think much of the disagreement people have is on what is fair and I'll admit there is a fine line between fair and unfair. To me, I think that fair is when both parties are happy with the deal and are therefore likely to deal again in the future. This is why my gas purchases go to the stations that are consistently cheaper and the first to drop prices, not those that are the first to raise prices and last to drop prices. This is also partly why I try to minimize my in park spending at CF parks - because I believe Kinzel's statement that Terpy paraphrased shows an intent to fleece the guest versus just making a fair profit. I'd also note that my biggest complaint about prices at CF is that I think they are a poor business decision - I believe there is better profitability and unit holder return to be had with lower prices and higher consumption.

I do not intend to fan a flame here, but feel that I have to point out that the purpose and goal of most companies (including the oil companies) is to continually record growing and improving (record) quarterly profits. If the leaders of companies do not try to do this, they will be failing to uphold their fiduciary responsibility to their stockholders. Price fluctuation, when dealing with a commodity like oil, whose price is primarily governed by traders, and whose product is consistently required by customers, is hard to avoid. That said, I also believe there are some stations, companies, etc that take advantage of that to fleece the consumer - I skip these stations no matter what the price.

Looks like you had beautiful weather for your day in the city. I have taken that cruise many times and it is truly great (if you can get past the boat colors and names). I can never see enough photo's of the SF skyline, Alcatraz, and especially The Golden Gate Bridge - I have so many that my wife has actually stopped me from printing, mounting, and hanging more of them around the house, and I also have it as the background of both my home and office computers. There is just something awe inspiring about it to me.

Can I just say that I think the new Pavers look awesome! I'm also impressed with the magnitude of that foundation - can you imagine the effort it would take if they ever had to remove that pile cap. 45' wide, 6' thick, and significant amounts of rebar. If my math is correct, I think that would be enough concrete to build a sidewalk almost two miles long.

See the wink Terpy.

Wow - pkiboy should complain, this guy used his lines for Magic Mountain and Mexico verbatim without giving credit.

From what I understand, there is science behind some natural events that do increase in likelihood over time - earthquakes as one example. After a major release of energy, and when earthquake insurance rates rise (ironically) it is actually less likely for a location to have another major earthquake.

Terpy - perusing the old thread you bumped I found the above post fairly interesting and looking more and more likely.

While in Cleveland to spend Christmas with my in-laws, I stumbled upon a piece of amusement park history. Please be patient as I tell the story of how. It began with a Boxing Day trip to find some fun for my boys (had to get the 4 and 7 year old kids out of the house). We started with a trip to the toboggan run in the Cleveland Metroparks. For those that would like the feel of a good hill during the off season, this is a fun family activity (42" min height, up to 4 riders). See pics and video at the following link - http://www.clemetpar...on/tobogganing/ Following this we went to visit a train display that is put up in the Puritas Nursery as the boys and I all enjoy trains as well. Display has a Lionel section and an HO section - with the HO section having 8 different tracks with amazing landscaping (it is at a nursery after all). In the landscaping I came across the following: Not surprised to see an amusement park in the train display - but was surprised to see the mulch somewhat covering up the roller coaster with name "Cyclone". Upon asking about it and then searching the web for more info since, I learned the following: The coaster and park are included in the display every year as a tribute to the old Puritas Springs Amusement Park that was just down the road from the Nursery Park operated from about 1900 until the late 50's when it was mostly destroyed by fire Cyclone was the big coaster at the park, a John Miller design that was a terrain coaster to some degree, leveraging the parks location on the edge of the Rocky River Valley According to one website, "Many of those who were brave enough to climb aboard and hang on still consider the Cyclone at Puritas Springs Park the meanest, roughest roller coaster they ever rode" The carousel they had there was acquired from Cleveland Luna Park when it closed and was relocated to Six Flags Over Mid America (St. Louis) in 1970 There is apparently still small remnants of the coaster on the Metroparks hillside (see rcdb for pics of this) There are also a couple of YouTube video's of the park that leave me with a feeling that I stumbled onto the history of a wonderful little park from a bygone era. I enjoyed the chance to learn about this old park a little - wanted to share that opportunity with y'all. Hope you enjoyed.

If a greater percentage of the crowd is at Universal when my trip to Disney arrives this spring, I won't be too upset I'm actually wondering though if the Potter effect impacts any of the Tour Guide Mike reco's for Disney visit days. I'm using TGM for planning help this year (based upon positive reviews from other members) and am hopeful that the history used in developing TGM advice isn't changing too drastically.

While I think the Governor made a big political mistake with his role in announcing this park, I am left with a few questions: - Are the people who oppose the tax incentives against them for any investment in Kentucky or just this investment? - If this park didn't have a religious theme and was being developed by someone other than the Creation Museum folks, would people be more likely to support road improvements, etc? I guess, while I disagree with the Answers in Genesis viewpoint personally, I see freedom of religion as something that gives them the right to believe and act upon their beliefs in this country in a fashion equal to anyone else (including obtaining tax breaks for providing investment like any other enterprise would). This paragraph reminds me of protests last winter when Mason discussed adding an admissions tax to help pay for freeway interchange upgrades and other services. At the time, the argument was that Kings Island had spurred much development in Mason because of it being here and was a net benefit to the community even without the admissions tax. I'm also willing to bet (I don't know) that someone other than Kings Island paid for Interstate 71 interchange upgrades in rural Warren County when the park was first built. Is it possible that the Ark Park could do this for Grant County in the future? If it does become successful, the hotels, restaurants, and service stations will come - and likely from private investment as well.