disco2000

If you get pictures, please remember to do so legally and do not trespass...and this goes to anyone trying to get a scoop lol...

Oh I know why you haven't said a name lol, I am just pointing out the inconsistency on the forum that we have active threads right now where people are asking for the name/source and nobody is questioning you lol. But it has been days since you first posted it was your friend and nobody has said that is against TOS lol

How is nobody not questioning fyecoasters for a name of his source regarding said wood at Banshee? If a big coaster is the next KI coaster it is because it was already planned prior to recent data. I do agree with CoastersRZ about coasters in the near future... Issues with Steel Vengeance aside for a moment, but that coaster did not move the needle like CF had hoped. Reading between the lines in CF statements and conference calls, Mystic Timbers moved the attendance needle more than the record breaking Steel Vengeance did...that will have an impact on future improvements not already on the books...

I believe jtro223 is referring to the extreme brightness of the LED - it is obvious the police lights are there to signify to be cautious and to SLOW DOWN...but to many people the LED lights are piercing to the eyes and causes temporary "blindness" or spots limiting vision at what should be a situation where full eyesight and concentration is needed. Here is one of many articles discussing such phenomena: http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20131231/News/312310319 Many think you are overreacting, but to each their own...If you truly believe it is an issue, take it up with the officials in that jurisdiction...and you will learn more about right of ways and traffic laws and billboards and such as you progress through your degree, especially if you take the transportation route of civil engineering...you may end up answering your own question!

The search feature is your friend...basically the same fate as at Wonderland...between Riverbend at Coney and other nearby city venues, Timberwolf has seen better days...

Yeah I can come up with an acronym why matching those letters... And maintenance is currently on the lift hill...

Well the signs above you when you enter the park said The Beast is closed as of 7:42pm...

For those into running, there is an app called Zombies Run and you are virtual runner number 5 and that phrase is used quite a bit in it... other CF parks have an attraction with zombies in its name....

Keep in mind that Muirfield has two golf courses - Muirfield Village Golf Club where the Memorial Tournament is played and the Country Club at Muirfield Village where the "above average joe's" belong LOL. I suspect that upon closer examination that the charity events are held at the Country Club at Muirfield Village. Muirfield Village Golf Club does not host many events, but if you can find a charity event that you can play it for $150, that is an incredible deal for that course. I can tell you that it costs a lot more than that for a member to bring a guest to play...and the course frowns upon golf carts (the only time I ever saw a foursome with a golf cart, they also had caddies and the carts were not allowed off the cart path), so then you have to throw the caddie fee in which is minimum $100 per bag depending on who you get for a caddie. The Golf Center started out with the course being done right from a building standpoint with the right soil and seed (Nicklaus is known for that), so the City of Mason had a great course to start with when they took it over and it is encouraging to see them maintain it and it does usually look nice. They got some heat for taking it over as it was losing money, but they did it as an investment in the city. But that land is certainly worth more than a golf course at this point and could be sold for development rights. That par 3 over water is a great hole and at a distance that begins to become a challenge to most golfers. My favorite is the 9th hole (or 18th depending on the way you play the course LOL). I love the par 5 with the potential for the Tin Cup moment!

^The golf complex was incredible at it's peak. Most being honest would say at it's prime that it rivaled or beat many of the established country clubs in the area in terms of condition. Was certainly better than any public/muni course at the time. Plus it was Jack's course and he brought a PGA tour event here. It was unlike anything we had at the time here with a resort-type feel, but it would never have competed with a Belterra-type resort of today, but a lot has changed since then too. But yeah, Muirfield is Jack's baby and the lengths/expense he goes through every year to modify the course is incredible. I play it near the end of every golf season and get to see what changes the pro's will be seeing in the Memorial the next year - sometimes drastic, but a lot of times cosmetic. The course is just phenomenal and it's tee boxes are so well groomed they are better than a lot of other course's greens. You could literally practice putting on them LOL. And the greens...just wow!

The Dublin/Columbus area has some very exclusive courses at a much higher initiation fee than courses in Greater Cincinnati, and with much more expensive homes around them. Some of these courses in Dublin/Columbus area have an initiation fee of $100,000+ in addition to annual dues, food minimums, assessments, etc. Some of those courses you don't inquire about joining, if you are someone important with money they invite you to join. Their exclusive courses weather economic turns better than the courses here. Some of our courses that had initiation fees of $25,000+ have dropped to a fraction of that, if they even have one now. Kenwood, Coldstream, and Carmargo have held their own, but they are the exception. No initiation fee at Four Bridges around the corner from KI. Several courses around KI no longer exist. The golf industry is struggling, except for the high end ones with members with lots of disposable income. You really cannot compare the Mason course to Muirfield - one was built as a public course and another as an exclusive membership country club. There was a rumor floating around the golfing community that Nicklaus paid to have his name removed from the name of the Golf Complex because the course wasn't up to the challenge of his later courses and he didn't want people thinking his courses were easy. Having played many Nicklaus courses, I can see why the rumor was either started or true. I'm not in anyway diminishing the course maintenance or upkeep or appearance, but the layout is easy for better golfers - relatively flat and open and the nuance undulations seen in other Nicklaus courses are not there. The course was too easy for the pro's and is why it could never keep a pro tour there. The PGA, LPGA, and Senior tour all had a little run there and was probably one of the easiest layouts on their tour...

They already did...

Because it is the only time they can actually control and enforce park policies and why would you want ads with people doing things that are opposite of what signage on ride says ... and it makes for a cleaner picture...

The actual stock price numbers were not the emphasis of my post. The emphasis was on the third paragraph was which was why on a day that the SIX report came out reporting record revenue and attendance did they have a decline in their stock price, yet FUN was showing an increase in response to the SIX report despite FUN having a down report in response to the same quarter... As you pointed out, debt and a million other relevant factors are also considered when investors make purchases. Emotion is a big one that can result in temporary spikes both low and high as a result of something that makes the news. As it turns out, the gain for FUN was short lived and both FUN and SIX stocks have been on a decline, albeit a small one, since the reports came out. Year to date not much better as they are both on the decline, although FUN has a bigger percentage drop since January 1 than SIX does. And this is despite most analysts predicting in the first quarter 2018 that both chains were setting up for a monster year...so far SIX is trending that way attendance and revenue wise, yet it is not reflected in their stock price - why? The debt and other relevant factors influencing those purchasing said stock...

For your reading pleasure, see also these threads... There are probably others you can find with the search thread, but these have over 100 replies you can read through to get a sense of what you are looking for...

^If Cedar Fair wants to truly do something about this, then report these videos to YouTube as being illegal videos so that they are removed. Next ban Wesley Redding for his POV on Steel Vengeance and Millennium Force. Revoke season pass if he has one and whoever else was with him. Ban him from the park. Run a promo video that says this is what happens if you do this. Next ban Mike Boilard for his POV of his little princess on Iron Dragon and Pipe Scream. Revoke the whole family's season passes. Ban them from park and ...(see above).. Next do a simple search of YouTube and find these other videos and do the same as above... Until the park does something to get these removed from social media, they will continue to be posted. It really isn't that hard to figure out who most of the people are that post this stuff and then cross-reference the season pass holder names to find said person... Until they set an example like Kentucky Kingdom of what will happen if you have a cell phone out on the ride, it will continue to happen. Make some of these people poster boys for breaking the law and a lot of people will stop (there will always be some that still do) but let's get real with enforcement!!! With an injury from a flying cell phone, the lawyer will have a field day finding these videos and using as evidence that CF doesn't care...

Appears to have been better than average attendance this week. Lots of daily admission today it seems and lots of spending in park. Food lines most places have been out the door most of today. Weather certainly a factor. More cash purchases than I have seen in awhile...

And yet at 9:30am this morning SIX stock was valued at $71.05 and is currently trading at $67.47... Meanwhile at 9:30am this morning FUN stock was valued at $57.90 and is currently trading at $58.54... Why is SIX down despite this record first half report and why is FUN up despite its quarterly report...perhaps people recognize why SIX went up (bought revenue and attendance with new parks) and recognize FUN has room to improve with their current offerings... Just go have FUN...

I am certainly in the same mindset of "I see much more potential and want the park to be the best"... Regarding mascots/theming/experience in the park, I think that part of the problem is that KI is seen as a season pass park when compared to other parks it competes against and as such I think a lot of the atmosphere is not noticeably appreciated by the guests that attend, yet at the same time it not being there subconsciously negatively impacts guests opinion of the park. I think back to the early Paramount days and the Star Trek and other characters walking around and you wouldn't see them get the same attention as characters at other parks. Not many guests would stop or even form a line to get their picture with them. Did that influence management decision at the time to scale back the amount of characters roaming Kings Island? Take a look at the current Lunch with the Peanuts Gang at KI versus Carowinds - at the end they do like 3 songs for a meet and greet with the characters and at Carowinds the line is long and sometimes not everyone gets their picture because the three songs are over, yet at KI the characters are for the most part ignored and just stand there most of the time (sometimes they get a crowd for meet and greet but not as consistent as other parks). Or the relative lack of lines within the park when the characters are out. We also all recognize the difference in intellectual property rights that dictates what characters are at what parks...but that is a whole different discussion. Other than enthusiasts, most of the folks I talk to see Back Lot, Drop Tower, Invertigo, Bat, etc. as basically the same ride as when Paramount had the park, it is just a new name (can you believe that!). In other words, the theming was lost/not appreciated by them. Does that mentality drive decisions at KI? I loved the whole Top Gun experience and felt a let down when it became Flight Deck and wonder what they would do to the theming of that ride with a planned sequel for next year if it were still Top Gun...(and I realize the IP costs associated with keeping it the Top Gun name and why it was changed) Think about the Banshee gift shop being eliminated - the merchandise offerings helped with the overall atmosphere of the park even if it didn't make any money. Now a first time guests walks through and is like what is this... So one has to wonder does the fact that KI being a season pass park impact what attention they put into the little things? Are they suffering from the "we are Cedar Fair and people will attend regardless" mentality? Even if exit surveys say people don't care about theming, etc., the lack of it does leave an impression as well whether the guest realizes it or not...

Sounds like people are tired of FUN and went to SIX It appears that it can be attributed to new parks added to their portfolio and year round operations of a park and a much better job of upselling daily entries into season passes as well as some additional membership tiers and licensing agreements... What changes will CF make now...

It is also interesting that of the CF parks having Winterfest that Great America and KI are the only ones not slated to open New Year's Eve...

And since my post about Kings Dominion Winterfest 14 hours ago lol, today they added their Winterfest schedule to their website. They show a December 31st opening as Carowinds did before they removed their calendar...

Now that is a valid argument to my old person's post and I certainly agree with everything you said! Sorry, I was having a grumpy old person moment when I posted mine because I heard a commotion outside and see that half the neighborhood and cars were being TP'd and egged by the neighborhood punks lol. Certainly in retrospect there were a lot less rules in years past...and the reason for every new rule/law/regulation is the direct result of stupidity of someone that necessitated the rule to be developed in the first place. If we didn't constantly have people doing stupid things, these additional rules wouldn't need to be created... I still believe though that overall our society respect towards each other and rules/policies/etc. have declined from yesteryear.

Is that a job the ride op really wants to be doing? What happened to guest that had cell phone out in line - were they removed from line? What happened if the guest ignored the ride-op?

And I suspect that the ride-ops don't like the new policy and don't want to be enforcers. Let's look at it from a different perspective - these teenage kids have their heart set to apply for rides and operate their favorite ride, not be a policy enforcer (other than like seat belts must be fastened but you get the idea). Unfortunately our society has changed and park operations have not adapted. Look at historic photos of amusement parks and people are showing up in suits and dresses and compare that to what we see today (I am making a point to that in a minute lol). Society of old generally respected rules and procedures and chain of command, etc. (always exceptions I know because we still had police and jails then too). Current society is me-centered and all about themselves and they are entitled to their opinion AND their opinion is always right, even if it isn't. We must have a selfie while driving and FaceTime our roller coaster ride and try to get a POV to go viral on YouTube. We are turning into a disrespectful society - look no further than all the negativity on social media. What ever happened to if you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all and be respectful of those enforcing rules, laws, polices, etc. Look at the disrespectfulness parents have towards ride-ops doing their job and enforcing the height requirements. The people smoking in the queue and when asked to put it out by a ride op they are ignored... I would suspect if you ask anyone that has worked for a long time in customer service (or being a ride op) and they can probably confirm that their dealings with the public have become disrespectful and negative as time goes on. I think amusement parks need to consider ways to combat this other than more of the same. Adding more signs with no enforcement isn't going to cut it. One suggestion would be to increase security staff and have someone in a security outfit be the one doing the height measurements and enforcing the policies at the rides and not ride-ops. Most teenage kids that wanted to work rides does not want to be an enforcer, so decrease the ride staff and replace it with the policy enforcer security staff. That doesn't mean that some of the public will still not be disrespectful when their child doesn't meet the height requirement or security takes someone's phone, but it would probably have more teeth than a teenage ride-op that doesn't want the confrontation to begin with and is counting the minutes until they can get back into the ride station! Make the penalty severe too - kick them out of the park, take their phone away for the day and they can retrieve when they leave, revoke season pass, etc. But simply adding a sign and not enforcing it will just result in more knee-jerk responses and ruin it for those that know how to properly secure their items... For the ride-ops on this forum - if you are comfortable saying so, would you agree that you would rather not be the enforcer of these policies and let someone in security handle these? And get off my lawn