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What`s next for Son of Beast?


fighting31irish

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Cedar Fair should be out to please their customers above all else. This is why the this country (if not the world) is in such trouble, corporate greed has become the preferred method of operation. Let's please the investors above all else. Pish Posh! If the company pleases the customers, the investors will be taken care of, not the other way around. Without your customers, you have nothing. A sentiment that seems to be long forgotten.

While snippets of your post are true and pleasing a customer is always a good option for creating return business everyone here needs a reality check...

Enthusiasts are not the average parkgoer who spends money. Hence why you don't see a 200ft B&M installed every year that they can ride all day.

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Another reality check, and something Mr.Kinzel & Co. were NOT good at in their last years. Highly successful companies and organizations satisfy and delight three groups, not just two. Investors and customers have been mentioned. Those two groups were also emphasized by Cedar Fair in recent years.

If as an entity you also delight, motivate, treat, value and compensate your employees well, it becomes far easier to take care of your customers. This is especially so in high people contact businesses, like the park business.

In recent years, Cedar Fair has made many decisions to cut labor costs, especially at the lower pay levels...this while compensation levels for those named or akin to Kinzel hit record levels and the CEO even demanded, and got, a laundry allowance.

If Mr. Ouimet's priorities run more toward overall guest satisfaction, investors and employee development, morale/compensation, then you may well see fewer big, expensive flashy coaster installations in the future. Significantly, there is only one such installation slated for 2012, and even that is not in the USA.

Watch what they do, not what they say.

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I think that would have to be money well spent... Moons ago, when I still thought of parks as wonderful places to work, I decided after my tenure at pki to mosey up to the land of Sandusky... I was shocked to see how different things were... And with regards to housing, I stayed two nights there and that's all. The only reason it was that long was because it took that long to find my own apartment in downtown Sandusky.

On a side note, if you ever get a chance, you should spend a few hours walking through downtown Sandusky, it really is quite beautiful. It's like stepping back in time, back when things were simpler. Also of note, the library is possibly one of the most beautiful ive been in.

Anyway... Housing at Cedar Point leaves a lot to be desired. University housing would have been preferable over CP. Old hotel furniture populates the dorms, with bunk beds stacked in the bedrooms. I'm not naive enough to think its not supposed to be a hotel, and considering how cp works their employees likes indentured servants, you're barely in the dorm, however, dilapidation would be the best term to associate with housing at cp. I guess you could make the same argument many guests make with regards to ki's parking lot... If you are paying all this money for parking, you expect a decent lot in which to park your car, the same for housing, you pay all this money for housing, you expect something relatively habitable. (habitable: see also - antithesis of cedars dormitories)

Don't forget that old expression... Happy wife happy life...

The same could be used for employees anywhere... And when your rely on thousands upon thousands of employees to ensure guests have a safe, fun experience, you want those employees to be happy ones...

(I shudder to think of how may times I'm going to hear, welcome back riders... In an infinite disingenuous loop all summer... :-/ )

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Is Kings Island/Cedar Fair maintaining the SOB as it is ? Not being used and or maintained is not good.

Sob is a great ride, the loop was so unique, some time soon they have to make a final decision?

Time will tell

Kings Island could possibly be maintinaing Son of Beast but they might not be too.

If they are we wouldn't have seen them during the season because they would have done it when we couldn't see it.

And now we wouldn't know because the season is over. My only hope is that they are maintaining SOB but if not,

they will probably end up remodeling it for the 2013 season.

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I am not hinting at anything in this post, but I'd feel very remiss if I did not point out three things:

1. Many restaurants close, often putting out a sign that says: CLOSED FOR REMODELING.

After a time, some re-open after remodeling; some re-open with very few, if any changes; some sit idle for many years while the owner decides what to do; some sit idle while the owner tries to find the money to tear down the

structure for some other use; some sit empty while the owner tries to sell or rent the structure; and some even get condemned as unsafe by local or state governments and end up being razed. In each case, only absolutely required maintenance is usually done in the interim. Anything that can be deferred in the interim usually is, and sometimes even critical maintenance is deferred. Why fix something if you are not sure you are going to use it?

2. All along, Kings Island's spokespeople have said no decision has been made about Son of Beast. There are certainly more options possible than one or even two.

3. Kings Island has obviously not had a plan that from the beginning decided the ride would be re-opened. This is a very complex decision, involving factors from safety to costs to land use planning to marketing to legal considerations. Depending on what final decision is made, one or two factors could trump, or may have already trumped, all others. If Kings Island, or more properly, Cedar Fair, knew what the decision was to be when the ride closed, they would not have done the things they have done over time.

Bonus thought: Even if a decision was made/has been made, it is quite possible that an announcement, or even a disclosure thereof to KI's management, has been delayed in order to give new management the opportunity to revisit it. If the same decision is again made, then new management can proceed, or go a different route, as it sees fit

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Should old SoB be forgotten,

And never brought to mind?

Should old SoB be forgotten,

And days of long ago !

We two have run about the helices

And pulled the loop out,

But we have wandered many a weary foot

For old long ago.

We two have rolled (crashed) into the station

From April until Fall time,

But enthusiasts among us have roared

Since old long ago.

And there is a hand, a neck, a broken sternum my trusty friend,

And give us no support,

And we will take a goodwill Aleve (for pain)

For old long ago!

And surely you will pay for that pain,

And surely I will smile as you come down!

And we will take the vision of a great coaster yet

For old long ago!

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I am not hinting at anything in this post, but I'd feel very remiss if I did not point out three things:

1. Many restaurants close, often putting out a sign that says: CLOSED FOR REMODELING.

After a time, some re-open after remodeling; some re-open with very few, if any changes; some sit idle for many years while the owner decides what to do; some sit idle while the owner tries to find the money to tear down the

structure for some other use; some sit empty while the owner tries to sell or rent the structure; and some even get condemned as unsafe by local or state governments and end up being razed. In each case, only absolutely required maintenance is usually done in the interim. Anything that can be deferred in the interim usually is, and sometimes even critical maintenance is deferred. Why fix something if you are not sure you are going to use it?

2. All along, Kings Island's spokespeople have said no decision has been made about Son of Beast. There are certainly more options possible than one or even two.

3. Kings Island has obviously not had a plan that from the beginning decided the ride would be re-opened. This is a very complex decision, involving factors from safety to costs to land use planning to marketing to legal considerations. Depending on what final decision is made, one or two factors could trump, or may have already trumped, all others. If Kings Island, or more properly, Cedar Fair, knew what the decision was to be when the ride closed, they would not have done the things they have done over time.

Bonus thought: Even if a decision was made/has been made, it is quite possible that an announcement, or even a disclosure thereof to KI's management, has been delayed in order to give new management the opportunity to revisit it. If the same decision is again made, then new management can proceed, or go a different route, as it sees fit

I was not saying that I know what is going to happen to SOB. That is what I wish or hope will happen although

from my given point of view I think I will just have to sit back and see what happens now because if they announce

anything at all which they haven't the past couple of years. Me questioning it's fate is not deciding anything so

for now I will just sit back and wait until they decide.

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Kings Island and Cedar Fair in general have a lot of other things to worry about besides Son of Beast. Notice that in the period Son of Beast has been closed, Kings Island alone has gotten an overhaul of the childrens area, an overhaul of Coney Mall, a 300 foot tower ride, a walkthrough attraction and now an overhaul of the waterpark. It's rather clear that the fate of Son of Beast is not as urgent a priority as other things.

I believe that when the time comes that a lack of action begins to hurt finances or guest and employee morale more than they can afford, it will become a higher priority than new additions. Someone along the way must have figured that the new additions can better serve those three groups than action on Son of Beast would, hense why we have seen no activity there for two and a half years.

The question remains is that when does inactivity become harmful? I can't pretend to know any type of information like that, but I would like to think that management either in Mason or Sandusky has at least a general idea.

Maybe a decision has been made and they are waiting to act. Maybe no decision has been made since it's not a high enough priority yet. Time will tell. In the mean time, I look forward to seeing all else that Kings Island and our new CEO has to offer. And it will be interesting to look back and see how, if at all, new management has affected this multi-million dollar decision.

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Kings Island and Cedar Fair in general have a lot of other things to worry about besides Son of Beast. Notice that in the period Son of Beast has been closed, Kings Island alone has gotten an overhaul of the childrens area, an overhaul of Coney Mall, a 300 foot tower ride, a walkthrough attraction and now an overhaul of the waterpark. It's rather clear that the fate of Son of Beast is not as urgent a priority as other things.

While I agree that SoB is not a high priority, the examples you gave were planned many years ago, while SoB being closed down was not in the plans.

Capital for an SoB project (re-do or taer down) will be significant and needs to be planned for at least two years.

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I would hope that KI is putting back the operating cost from the past 2 years (maintenance, staffing, etc) in the bank to contribute to the decision for SOB once it is made. I would think at this point that would have a down payment saved up. Although, I could be totally wrong in this thinking!

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Now that is some funny stuff!

And very good analagy, Interpreter with the closed restaurant reference.

I think its safe to say that your bonus thought maybe true. With the changing of the guard that officially occurs tomorrow, the direction that Cedar Fair has taken in the past maynot continue to be the direction they take moving forward.

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Okay, I'll go ahead and say it, I'm stupid or out of the loop with these things, BUT what direction was CF taking? Was that with focus on BIG attractions that are loads of FUN?

Oh, no! Not more about "the loop"!!!!!

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Hey all, I was on the Facebook page for Kings Island and watched a video called Kings Island 2012. And as if we needed any other reason to talk about SOB, there it was on the 1:06 mark SOB with the LOOP. Now either we have a very energetic person putting together the film trying to start rumors or someone needs to change the SOB image. Take a look for yourself.

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They used SOB in another comercial just a bit of it but it was still there. It's stock footage, "use it since we already have it". Kinda of like how the Kings Island, The Fun and Olny commercials use rides from other parks during the promo.

Another good example of that is on the "Ride Warriors" website there is a video of the RW coaster checklist that

features SOB.

Although I don't think we'll be putting that on our checklist in 2012 :D

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Ultimate Ride Warrior 2012 Checklist

1. Take a ride on Son of Beast

2. Get arrested for trespassing

I REALLY like Son of Beast but

I really DON'T like it enough to tresspass

and get arrested for riding it but thanks for pointing out that option :D

(I don't think anyone wants to ride it that bad)

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