pilotank Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Balloon Glow appeared to have a record day. By 8:00 pm, all parking lots were completely filled. The west parking lot, pool lot, Riverbend lot, River Downs and all lots across the street were packed and stacked. Some Coney employees estimated the crowd at over 50,000! I was selling Sweet Maize kettle corn and we ran out. The Rozzi fireworks were spectacular, and the rides stayed open until 11:00. The pool was open until 9:30! The only downfall was after the fireworks. We stayed open until about 11:00, then had to tear down and clean up. We left at midnight, and traffic was still at a standstill. We did not exit the west parking lot until after 12:20. Two hours after the fireworks were over. It makes you wonder if Coney could make a full blown come back as America's Finest Amusement Park! pilotank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Coney can hold 50,000 people?!?!?! Wow, but congrats to Coney on a successful day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 I really wish I could have been there this year, but I ended up picking up a shift at work and didn't realize that it was the same night as balloon glow until after I'd already said I could work. Glad to hear it was a huge success this year, and hopefully I'll make it out there for the event next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 It was a fun time indeed. Several long standing revenue records (both daily and weekly) were actually broken. The grand finale for the fireworks were awesome! It went on for a solid minute to a minute and a half. By the time we got done counting all the money from the ticket tables, shutting down rides, and doing time cards (the 3rd happened to be on a Sunday this year), we didn`t end up leaving the rides office until close to 12:30am. Then several of us rides people made a late night visit to Ihop! One has to wonder, given the size of the crowds, and the popularity of the event, if expanding balloon glow to two days can`t bring in more revenue and alleviate some of the major traffic issues. Certainly worth a thought as the event seems to get bigger and bigger every season. It is Coney`s big day of the season. I got to see it from a different [perspective this year as a rides manager as opposed to a ride operator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilotank Posted August 9, 2011 Author Share Posted August 9, 2011 It was a fun time indeed. Several long standing revenue records (both daily and weekly) were actually broken. The grand finale for the fireworks were awesome! It went on for a solid minute to a minute and a half. By the time we got done counting all the money from the ticket tables, shutting down rides, and doing time cards (the 3rd happened to be on a Sunday this year), we didn`t end up leaving the rides office until close to 12:30am. Then several of us rides people made a late night visit to Ihop! One has to wonder, given the size of the crowds, and the popularity of the event, if expanding balloon glow to two days can`t bring in more revenue and alleviate some of the major traffic issues. Certainly worth a thought as the event seems to get bigger and bigger every season. It is Coney`s big day of the season. I got to see it from a different [perspective this year as a rides manager as opposed to a ride operator. Rob, I almost thought you were about to say "given the size and the popularity," that Coney could return to it's past glory! pilotank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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