BeeastFarmer

Thank you for documenting this for posterity. I've only been to Coney Island once, and that was a walk through to get to Riverbend, so I don't have the sentiment you do. But , I do hold the property in due respect since it went through labor pains to birth Kings Island.

I think in my own experience...KI was the places of places back in the day. When I was a small child, I have more fond memories of KI than WDW. After college, I moved on. This also happened to be the paramount years, and during that time, it went from being a once or twice a year thing to a three times in 15 years thing because the experience was stripped. When Cedar Fair took over the reigns, I became a passholder for two years simply because the park dropped the "paramount" name, the park was clean again, etc. Then it got degraded again for short term gain/ corporate survival. From 2014-2022 was a great run for the park. Now we are back in cheap mode, and many are noticing. But the problem this time is...those negative words and reviews spread much quicker today vs even 2011 or 2010 because social media is almost omnipresent. The good news is that this industry is cyclical. When the times come again, and they will, they will have more data under the hood

While I hate to loose history, everything comes down to money. As I understand it, Coney got a large portion, if not all of the parking revenue from Riverbend concerts. If memy control that, it makes them more money. 26k people signed a petition. How many people are in the Coney Island MSA? Those are the people that would keep it in business. For simple math, if the MSA is one million, that's like .26 people to keep it afloat. If these 26k people were to somehow convince memy to sell them the twoish acres, how in the world could they float it? The parking rates would not go to Coney Island, they would go to memy. Insurance, payroll, upkeep, utilities, all the COGSS would likely far outweigh any revenue. The 26k are vocal, but a drop in the bucket of the majority.

According to the WSJ, Apollo Global Management is offering to buy Paramount for 11 billion. They were the entity that dick kinzel was trying to sell Cedar Fair to, correct? If the FUN/SIX merger goes through, I wonder if Apollo would come sniffing around? I think both companies are in a vulnerable spot, and the combination will eventually exacerbate this, so future FUN shareholders ( no longer unit holders post merger) may see value in cashing in if an offer is made Or not.

It will probably be like the place in Rivertown that was formerly Tom N Chee and The Snake Pit. I indulged once, and it was pretty satisfying on a hot day sitting on the back porch of BrewHouse.

I'd venture to say that they'd there is more tax revenue potential from memy than a dying pool . What they wouldn't likely say is that they can dole out taxpayer funds to make themselves look good to keep in office, knowing full well funds usually are terribly spent.

The pass CF offers is a tremendous value. And the KI experience is generally second to none in the peer group--rides, associates, atmosphere etc. But the very things that elevate KI are the things that corporate seems to chip away at. Prestige Pass ambiguity which leads to mistrust. Cut staffing in ride operations so that 3 people do the work of 5 (which is noticeable, and the ops were still great, but overworked, eventually their passion will fade). Don't wash the midways daily, so now they look grimy...trash cans can overflow longer, less flowers can be planted...It seems as if they are degrading from Target to Dollar General and bypassing Wal-Mart altogether! The impression I get is that this is not Kings Island's choice, and it was foisted.

Don't give them any ideas! It could get so degraded that they bring in some cheap Phantom Theater cardboard cutouts and theme it to demons, death and destruction. They would probably call it Maestro 's nightmare!

The Eiffel Tower.

Hark! What's that sound I hear? It's the clock of eternal doom striking 13 times!

But Cincinnati is no Charlotte. The soon to be Six Flags is continuing to pour money into Carowinds to try to elevate it to elite status. I don't know that this is possible or probable. Kings Island, on the other hand, would have to sink substantial money into Timberwolf, but they would still not be able to attract "top shelf" entertainment in the market. Timberwolf most likely will continue to perhaps host Spirit Song, cheerleaders, and high school bands...and store Winterfest decorations, until the money spent to demo it can be justified. Maybe I will be proven wrong. But I suspect it's going to remain a relic from days gone by.

If we can only budget for an outside Bubbles show for three weeks, I don't see them budgeting for a reno and free concerts. Especially since they would have to compete with acts with the new thing at the Land Formerly Known As Coney Island.

Worlds of Fun has entered the chat: "Bon après-midi! Je crois que je correspond très bien au thème ! L'événement m'a été volé!" 中國說：“我也是！而且冬季節也被拿走了！”

With the CF budget cuts, it wouldn't surprise me is 20 of the 30 shows are from the local third graders music classes, with the recorders. They'll try to increase hot dog sales by having them play " Hot Cross Buns" repeatedly.

I think KK is more of a local park, but then again, KI has become that with the season pass model. One season in the last ten, I think it was 2016 or 2017, KK pulled in 800k. Doesn't sound impressive. But, with the equivalent acreage model, if they had 300 acres like ki and no height restrictions, that would have equated to 4m guests, which probably would top KI admissions. The park has plenty of untapped potential, and if the fair board is reasonable, and this redesign gets rid of the road and gives the park a new parking lot and entrance...watch out. Or not.

It's interesting to read these comments about KK. Ten years ago, many were saying it would not reopen. It did. Next, people said KI/CF laughs at the thought of KK being a competitor. Then, people started to notice when they opened Storm Chaser and made a splash with calling out the guy who had his cell phone out COVID happened and literally detailed the raptor. Things were bleak. The park was saved again, this time by HFE. People were expecting Dollywood North, quickly. That didn't happen. However, HFE has begun to implement their formula in a calculated way. They seem to have fostered a good relationship with the fair board. They spend while Cedar Fair retreats. Some here now are admitting that they take a dent out of KI. I haven't been this excited about KK since about 2016. It will never be a Kings Island, but it is making an impact. They said they had 500k guests last year, but if you figure land area size, 60 acres=500k; 300acres= 3 million. If KK was 300 acres and had no height restrictions, they could pull in 2.5 million. Not an accurate postulation, but food for thought. And how many of the 500k would have went to KI if KK didn't exist? How many hundreds of thousands of dollars would have gone to Cedar Fair instead?

I think it's going to take a whole lot more than stripes to retheme The Junkyard Coaster!

It will be interesting to hear how SIX shareholders vote today.

I'd like to see the Rain-Bo Bakeri return in a format that is current (is Rain-Bo still around)? I'd also like to see the fruit sippers return. And The Beast fried mushrooms.

But, on a positive note...we got a new FunFact Friday. While the KITeam has much to be desired, this is a great thing they do. I'm assuming this is Elizabeth (?) and deserves kudos for this!

Me too! I had to leave work for a bit for an MD appointment and I come back to @disco2000's post! :). Stress, I reckon! The gentleman I spoke with was very nice. I appreciate his update.

I called ACE. Tickets have not been put on sale. The events page will be updated at some point, but not today. They are not selling tickets today.

Same here.

This is not remotely close. They only have a few markets with overlap, and that is a stretch. But then again, it's a government agency who tend to make no sense.

I mean, phantom Theater is an IP in its own right. If they were forward thinking, they could trial it at ki and roll it out to other parks in the (probably soon to be bigger) chain. No fees to use! Boo Blasters is the same thing, but I think it is owned by Sally because there are one or two Boo Blasters outside of Cedar Fair. But BB is such a downgrade from PT.