BeeastFarmer

I opened the link at around 0830, refreshed at 10am sharp. I had no issues buying by refreshing. My friend was not able to get the buy now button, but went incognito and was able to buy.

I don't know if ODA and CF subscribe to the "Swarm" mentality with incidents, but it has taken some industries by storm. Basically, when something serious happens, they seek to gather all information via incident reports, eyewitness reports, physical evidence etc. They seek to gather all this information via "blameless reporting" so as not to intimidate truth telling. They are doing a root cause analysis to determine what happened and why. The goal is to find weak links and prevent the same incident from happening again. I think as time passes, the blame game is diminished. I don't want to think ODA wants to seem tto be over regulating private industry. I did not read 620 pages of the report, but I did see the emails between CP and Sandor at Intamin asking for reduced winter tear down on the Intamin Coasters.

Not the same industry, but a similar situation: Hospital RN makes $26/hr. Travel nurses are brought in to fill the gap and make much, much more. This can cause discontent among the original staff, who become travellers, leave the profession etc. That adds to the viscous cycle and is a small piece of the giant puzzle with our healthcare system. However, with CP, the $20/hr are returners, with experience on their side. New hires and internationals should realize that those with more experience get more money.

Report is finally out: Ohio Department of Agriculture completes investigation into Top Thrill Dragster incident | WSYX (abc6onyourside.com)

I had no issues getting my ticket. A friend had the "no button" issue, but she went incognito mode and it worked for her. Several others have said the "buy now" button but at around 10:10, it would not let them select t-shirt sizes. I don't know if that means they were sold out at 10:10 or if it was a glitch. Congrats to all who got tickets.

Since returning workers will keep last year's rate, it should incentivize many experienced employees to return. Just for sake of numbers: If they need 6500 and get 1000 VISA workers, they need 5500 domestic workers. If 4000 employees return, with their experience, they 5000. Then they only need to hire 1500 at $15/hr.

Or, there is a leveraged buyout and the company splits the company up. A scenario could unfold like Servicemaster went through: Company is bought out by private equity. Private equity sells off smaller pieces that are not profitable or not as profitable (they sold off ARS, Trugreen LandCare etc) Company is lean and mean. One division is doing very well (Terminix) and has great growth. TruGreen Lawncare, for the longest time the biggest unit of the company, faces challlenges and is sold off. Company decides all other units are a distraction and sells them off, leaving only Terminix. Company sheds the Servicemaster name as the spun off divisions are now competition and is now just Terminix.

KI is one, if not the first memory I have. I was four. I remember waiting in line for Kings Mills Log Flume. The line was long. When we got to the queue that was right beside the ride (IIRC, the railings used to extend further down, almost to where Snoopy spits on you today), I got terrified and had a meltdown about riding. One of my mom's co-workers was with us, a grandmotherly type. She took me out of the line and we went to the tunnel. It was cool and shaded and she calmed me down as we looked at the flowers and waited. I am sure there was ice cream or something involved, too. The rest of the day is gone except seeing fireworks for the first time while having a grape sipper.

Maybe Six Flags could be preparing itself for divestment. If it put itself up for sale, FUN and SEAS could pick parks to add (ie FUN gets Fiesta, SEAS gets Georgia,etc). Probably not likely, but the earnings reports will be interesting.

I am not a waterpark person, but I have gone over there for Island BBQ. It seems very dated and forlorn. I hope they updatd and retheme it to something less generic than Soak City. But they also need to renovate Snoopy, have The Vortex void to fill, have a huge aluminum box in Rivertown and the ghosts of Paramount/Viamcom and CBS linger on in Action Zone. They have made great strides in the past 5 years and I know they will continue.

^Well, that didn't age well! But it's important to note that this is a blog, not a news article.

Yikes! That is not visually pleasing (at least to me). Glad some things are in the past.

Two of my favorite POVs of The Beast....they feature the different music that was used.

Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. I think the floodlights do serve to "blind" you to what follows and my imagination has led to Beast eyes staring me down. I think the floods serve the same purpose as the flood in the transfer track shed on Mystic Timbers. The second lift hill still has the music, but it is barely audible. I do disagree with you about the first lift hill--the music added quite a bit and the "growling" at the top was great.

^If you are thinking long term strategy, it would make sense. If a chain is in a vulnerable position (who knows where any of them are right now) and with low interest rates, it would be a great time to buy. When FUN bought the Paramount Parks, the economy would end up going into a terrible shape. But long term, it has been a boom for FUN. I'm not sure how much of the debt they still carry from that, but any debt that FUN has would go to the new company.

Im in the minority, but I get a chuckle at what is tossed aside. I hate litter, I dont know why i think this is cool. But then again, I miss he gum tree in the old The Beast plaza.

Some mergers work out really well (Kroger-Fred Meyer; Trugreen-Chemlawn) and others don't (At&T-Direct TV; Sears-Kmart). I see one of the two merger possibilities as a decent fit, the other, I don't.

^Money talks. If the deal was right and the unitholders could maximize investment, Cedar Fair would sell to the worst enemy.

Maybe they toned down Banshee so that Orion would be the focal point on the north side of the park.

If I remember correctly, it was quick. This article indicates they offered on Wednesday and were rebuffed on Friday: 3 Reasons Cedar Fair Shot Down Six Flags | The Motley Fool

The clock is ticking. Will an acceptance or rejection/counter offer come about on a Friday at the end of the day when little attention will be given? Or, will CF sit on this for a while and keep the unit price riding high going into the earnings release/conference call for investors coming up soon?

SEAS does not have 3.4B laying around to buy another chain. It would be a stock/unit swap and a borrowing of money. If it happens, it would likely follow the same pattern as when CF bought the CBS parks. If the economy is booming, it may turn out better, but if the economy tanks, then it will be a bleak outlook. My beloved KD would get gutted But maybe KI could get another Eiffel Tower for the parking lot, and a skyride could stretch between the two to act as a transport system.

IF it were to happen, as @BoddaH1994 said, parks would be sold. I can see Dorney and KD going. MA and VF would be a good candidate to become a Sesame Place. No reason to sell the Schitterbahns, CGA, WOF unless they wanted to raise capitol. I can't see them selling off any of the SEAS parks and they are mostly in southern markets. And it could end up being a good thing for both companies. The aquirer sometimes maintains the best of the acquired--when Kroger bought Fred Meyer, much of the FM culture came to KR. And the Kroger Marketplace stores are a direct result of what FM did. Same with Trugreen buying Chemlawn. What if they sold off WOF/KD/VF/CGA/San Antonio and San Diego to a group of seasoned management who called themselves CECo? It will be interesting to see what happens. Things will be either be shaken, or the two companies will continue independently--one in a predictable manner and the other in a haphazard manner.

Thread title should be changed to SEAS makes offer to buy Cedar Fair. There is nothing out there to suggest this is a done deal. It's sort of like me telling my neighbor: "Hey, I like your truck! I'll give you 20k for it!" Unless he agrees to sell it to me, it ain't sold.

I don't think a Top Spin will go back in the building. But your other ideas are brilliant. I've never had nightmares about mining elevators, but I often have dreams of building elevator problems--snapping cables, going sideways and diagonal, and getting stuck with creaking noises.