malem

Or expensive park assets. Some companies choose to sell assets that can fetch top dollar immediately, focusing resources on turning their riskier investments around.

The forum is going especially slow for me, at 5:04am on Sunday, November 16. I just had it double-post for the first time ever. Also, random: could the PM inbox quota be increased so that I don't have to keep deleting conversations?

Of course, rider count figures should be taken with a grain of salt. This year's rider count may have been up at some point due to the "extra" 3-day Opening Weekend (thanks to Banshee and Easter) and especially well-attended early season (thanks to Banshee). According to visitkingsisland.com, Diamondback gave a total of 9,039,993 rides at the end of its record-breaking 2013 season. It gave its ten-millionth ride on Monday, July 21, 2014. That's almost a million riders, just over halfway into the season - comparing well with 2013's record ridership.

^ They also sell pricey videos, which seem to be popular. Subtracted from revenue, of course, are personnel costs (~1500 hours * $7.95/hour * 5 people stationed there = ~$60,000 in just salaries), licence costs due to Skycoaster Inc, maintenance costs, etc. Although it's an upcharge, the ability to purchase a ticket is one of the benefits of general admission. Even for non-riders, Xtreme Skyflyer is a visual attraction from the midway. I remember watching it as a kid in the 1990s, wondering how anyone could be crazy enough to actually ride the thing.

^ Banshee was extremely popular in its debut season, and it delivered great capacity. The number of rides each guest will take per day is finite, so a slight downtick elsewhere in the park isn't necessarily unexpected. Note that The Bat and Delirium were up in ridership. Also notice that the figures from year-to-year are very comparable. Ridership is usually limited by capacity, which is about the same each season. As for Diamondback, delays from guests and operators becoming familiar with the seat belts are presumably one factor in its drop. Another factor to consider is that many of the most experienced ride operators were stationed at Banshee. Kings Island announced that it had "record" profitability this year. Attendance figures for individual Cedar Fair parks are not disclosed.

Kings Island has updated their ride records page to reflect ride tallies through the end of the 2014 season. Firehawk had a record year with 624,016 riders, and Banshee thrilled an astounding 2,000,305. Though it didn't break a record, Xtreme Skyflyer had its most flyers since 1999. 2014 was also a great year for ride milestones. The Beast gave its 50 millionth ride in its 35th anniversary season, Diamondback gave its 10 millionth ride, and The Racer gave its 100 millionth ride. Milestones that are likely for next season include Xtreme Skyflyer's 1 millionth flyer and Invertigo's 10 millionth ride. With a bit of arithmetic and the help of the Internet Archive, you can determine the rider counts recorded from year to year. To save everyone the effort, I wrote a quick Python script and formatted the output. Note that some rides don't have figures available, as data from 2013 is limited. This is just for fun of course; rider counts may be subject to error that affects season-to-season comparisons. (Missed tally counts, empty seat button errors, etc.)

You'd think that a newspaper could spell the name of the local amusement park.

According to the LA Times article linked in the other thread (http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-knotts-berry-farm-voyage-iron-reef-20141113-story.html?nrfd#page=1), this ride will involve "three-dimensional themed sets" between the video screens - unlike Canada's Wonderland's version.

^^ Market capitalization needs to be considered along with the amount of debt held. Blackstone, predictably, left SEAS with a lot of it.

Perhaps simply a lack of challenge by states' attorneys. Many games are much older than legislation that expanded the definition of "gambling". They have been operating in the open for many years.

Set payout rates... A device matching that description would seem to be a slot machine.

I played one of these exactly one time as a kid, winning a stuffed animal for my sister with her quarter(s). I quit while I was ahead. I doubt that any of them are rigged to only pay out part of the time; that might constitute an unlawful game of chance in many states. Rather, I would expect that the difficulty setting is increased when the prize values are higher.

Be aware that some landlords in Ohio use mandatory third party billing "services" for utilities. Such companies bill more than the utility rate, then split the difference with the landlord. In essence increasing your rent in a roundabout (and very inefficient) way. Make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

It's fatty, excessively salty, loaded with nitrates, and cooked at very high temperatures. (For what it's worth, the only processed meat I tolerate is ham. On major holidays only.)

Open fires throughout an amusement park? Please, no.

^^ Unconverting and reconverting that building each year would be a lot of work. My guess is that it stays a show building. With the Troika returning nearby with a new lighting package, it will be interesting to see if the area around it gets spruced up for the summer. ^ Assuming that you are not a junior, you won't be riding Snoopy's Space Buggies at all (unless adult companions are accommodated and you are with a child of the appropriate height).

The request for a link, in addition to crediting the source, was specifically for embedded pictures. That link should go to the original park source of the picture - the blog post, Twitter tweet, Instagram post, etc. A link is a very good idea when quoting anything else, but (to my knowledge) it's not specifically required as long as appropriate credit is given.

Bump: This offer ends tonight at 11:59pm, after which prices will go up.

Would I attend? Of course. The KI/KIC "Winter Blues" events were apparently a lot of fun several years back, and it would be great to do something similar. Don has often said that the off-season exists only for guests. I know that the park has been willing to work with KIC on such tours/events more recently, but winter is a busy season for the KI team. Hopefully it will work out again! Aside from that, some of us are planning an "unofficial" event at Great Wolf Lodge (see here), and there has been interest in getting a group rate together for KIC at The Beach Waterpark's "The Beach Mountain".

Kings Island draws much of its workforce locally. Lots of "Cincinnati" nametags wouldn't be very interesting, and - in the case of minors - such information shouldn't be shared at all. I believe that Cedar Point includes universities/cities on nametags. Its seasonal employees are largely from outside the Sandusky area, and the vast majority are over 18.

^ I just assumed it stayed on 24/7, as print servers often do. By requiring some physical effort to print, you're probably doing the environment a favor.

I haven't used Internet Explorer (except for testing or on locked-down devices) since 2002. I have a Windows installation on a VM image that's over a decade old. It was originally installed on hardware, becoming a VM when that computer was retired. It would probably work if I booted it now for some reason. Does that count? That (likely Pentium 4) desktop from a decade ago is probably consuming about $80/year in electricity. Retiring it as a print server would likely pay for its replacement (and more). If the USB printer attached to it is still functional and economical, even a consumer router could act as its print server. Most printers worth buying today have Ethernet and/or Wi-Fi built in.

Not to mention dining plan prices, which are likely to increase as well.

^ It's a nice way to give procrastinators who wait until the end of the season or Memorial Day, respectively, a few more days to purchase. This offer was extended online only; the ability to purchase/renew at the park ended for the year yesterday.

After the return of the band organ (which has been in on-and-off operation this season), I'd love to see more restorative work on the Grand Carousel. Cosmetically, it has looked a lot better than it does today.