BeeastFarmer

I think it depends on which version of Paramount you are thinking... Paramount, Viacom or CBS. Viacom and CBS recently reunited and I think Paramount is in play. I think if CBS kept the parks, they would have been degraded and sold off either as parks or as real estate assets . Viacom could have been a viable operator. But in any event, I don't think any of these entities would have held out long term .

It wouldn't help the park that a ride operator was interviewed on two local television stations and said that if someone is determined to go into a restricted area, there is nothing the park can do to prevent it. We all know this is true, but attorneys are trained in the art of word manipulation. This young man should have known better.

There are solutions if the park would investigate. There are machines that automatically make ice, thus reducing the need to ice refills. This would also reduce the risk of contamination. Also, the syrup bags are beginning to get phases out, being replaced by concentrated cartridges, from what I remember, they require changing much less often and are less labor intensive. Not being an expert of course, but I'd conjecture the labor savings from not having to man a drink station would be made up quickly. One person could be assigned an area and rove to ensure things are working. Of course, this is theory world, not reality. That's why I think a trial run would benefit to see if it would work in the real world in the CF, perhaps soon to be Six Flags entity. Finally, I realize Holiday World doesn't really offer "free" drinks. That's s why I used the quotation marks around the word free in my original post.

Anecdotally, Ive seen on social media pages from news outlets where I have lived across the country. Tennessee, Arizona and Idaho have all had Facebook news feed stories. I don't know if they have a segment on the local broadcast. The posts I have seen are from parent companies of the local outlets. I do have friends across the country who know I'm into roller coasters and many of them have messaged me to make sure I'm ok.

They should trial this at a second or third tier park. Say Michigan's adventure or Schlitterbahn. Or throw in just about any six flags park if the merger happens.

I think 1) Raise daily and season pass prices. 2) move to a "free" soft drink model like Holiday World.

For a lighter subject during this tragic time for the park, I am going to share my favorite song to hear in The Shed:

I think our mind plays tricks on us. Almost every letter is in the same order as the ride name. And there is a dark blue background. And the house graphic looks like a roller coaster drop ..in the minds of the enthusiast.

If they follow Cedar Point's lead after the Raptor incident, they will change nothing. It was reported that this park publicly stated they were in state compliance and exceeded industry standards. If they make changes expost facto, and they were in compliance, it implies they were negligent and opens the door to a lawsuit...which we know would be frivolous, but judges and juries might think others. https://www.cleveland.com/travel/2016/02/cedar_point_wont_raise_fence_i.html

I feel terrible for the ride crews and security as they have to deal with it. Can you imagine the feelings of the ride ops when they either saw him break the barrier and then heard about it? Folks are also speaking of the responders. I'm less concerned about them as this is a routine issue for them...not a roller coaster, but they see auto collisions, tractor rollovers, motorcycle and ATV accidents, stabbings, gun shots and burns on the regular. I've taken care of trauma patients in the hospital. Once they've been brought in and it's the same way. You do your job and move on. Unfortunately, there are so many. To release the stress, you vent to your coworkers and some drink.

Maybe they will have to send another cease and desist correspondence .

Ploy? Who knows. Calculated risk to add value for unit holders (cf) and shareholders (six)... probably. Cedar Fair units are currently undervalued, so they likely want to get the closer to an average of what the experts are saying premerge, also would be a great time to pick up six shares as the ones who are on record as of June 20th or so will get the merger dividend.

I doubt so, too, but instead of saying " we have met the conditions set forth, which are...." they say "the merger will complete...subject to..."

I'd conjecture they have met, or are well on the way to meeting the regulatory conditions/approvals. They would jeopardize market outlook if they did not, indeed, merge. I wonder if divesture would part of those conditions? I think there are three markets that have any overlap, and CGA is on a limited timeline.

You who hope who recalibrates the nozzles?

I'd love a B&M flyer!

Taken literally, I would not get sort of refund as I am not a resident of Ohio. I don't have a dog in the fight in this situation, other than a slight nostalgic bent because the property was the place that caused Kings Island et al to be.

Or, it could be the elected official listening to the constituents...be it a vocal minority or a non vocal majority. 8 million dollars is not an insignificant amount. If the new riverbend is that important to the organization, they will find a way to get the additional twelve million.

Mike Kootnz has admitted that it was his decision to redo the fountain. I guess it does make sense for WinterFest, but to sacrifice 90 operating days for like 15 half operating days makes little sense to me. I miss the 1972 Royal Fountain iteration. @brenthodgehit the nail on the head. They should have mimicked the pedestals with circular jets like Kings Dominion has. We were told there would be daytime and nighttime shows...I do appreciate the color and height variation to the closing show, but what day show has ever taken place? It's the same pattern, over and over. That being said, it's still enjoyable to sit by the fountain and listen and watch the water.

Check out Snoopy directing the Royal Fountain at Canada's Wonderland on YouTube if you haven't seen it. I think it would be a great thing for KI with a minimal infrastructure investment.

Anyone who thought that coaster of this magnitude would not have challenges in the inaugural season was deluding themselves. Had Intamin, B&M, S&S or RMC done it, there would still be challenges. I hope I'm right, but I don't think this spells the end of TT2 or zamperla by any means. When these issues are resolved it should prove to be much more reliable than dragster ever was. I'm glad zamperla and Cedar Point are taking the hit to do it right. It just sucks that because of the hit that CP may take financially the budget cuts will further be hoisted on Kings Island.

I've never heard of such a thing until now. I guess this means that we are definitely in a post COVID world when some sweaty germ ridden human can be dropped in a pit of crap that other sweaty germ ridden humans have wallowed around in, while people gather to watch. And in this case, the viewing area is already congested unless they open up a plaza behind the claw machine. Without opening up significant space behind this area, this is very, very poor planning.

I doubt it. Maybe they could have a Beagle Scout Acres II over there.

Net profit is up now from 2020 because people are not afraid to go to the grocery stores and therefore traffic has increased. And while the panic buying may have been a good short term boost, the long term disruption from the supply chain certainly had an impact on sales which leads to a lower profit. And the pandemic caused many retailers to rethink the way they do business . Cutting hours, deferring maintenance are all common ways they are increasing their profits. However, I am not sure what Kroger's profit looked like before 2020. You proved my point about a single supplier. In areas where Kroger and Walmart are the only grocery options, a strong Kroger as a whole supports these Kroger stores where it's only them and Walmart. A week Kroger company would mean these Kroger stores would likely close, leaving Walmart as the sole source, to do what they will to the local community. This is a common situation in many rural communities, more urban areas do not have this problem. If my post implied that a single source of goods was a combination of Kroger/Walmart, that was unintentional. If you perceived it as such, it is not possible for two competitors to be a single entity unless they merge. Speaking of merger, Kroger and Albertsons would divest a significant numbers of stores, several banners, many brand names, corporate HQ and manufacturing/distribution plants to the third party. This third party is a wholesaler first and operator second. With 600 additional stores and associated assets, the competition is still there. And they likely will lower prices themselves since they can provide their own wholesale groceries vs Kroger who pays more for their goods from wholesale distributors.

Equating gas prices to the grocery market is laughable. You can do better. Small and large towns alike have the same issue. When I lived in Phoenix, Cirkle K would increase or decrease and the rest would follow. In Scottsdale, prices were higher than Tempe because people had more money there. Where I live, the majority of stations/brands rely on one refinery. This refinery controls the market. The outliers are Sam's and Costco but they don't have the reach into distant towns. The net profit margin for Kroger is 1.44%. Using gross profit can be deceiving. The only way for the company to make those meager margins is via economy of scale. Being bigger drives down redundancies, gives opportunities for suppliers to enter the market and achieve their own economy of scale and gives the union a stronger bargaining position. Other players in the market certainly cause erosion of profit, when you have Walmart as a competitor, and they can sell a bag of oranges for $1 cheaper than Kroger because they are bigger and don't have a union constraint to drive up expenses, Walmart wins. They can inflict the damage on Kroger that they have on many local businesses in our communities. So, a profitable Kroger benefits our communities much more than a weak, impotent Kroger. Many places, those are the only resources for food for miles.