BoddaH1994 Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 11 minutes ago, Outdoor Man said: Fluctuating attendance is an ebb/flow. A robust economy means the local population is more mobile. I know of a of families who traveled extensively over the summer and didn't get KI Passes for the first time in years because of it. I know of seven families representing 31 people in just my tiny sphere that this referred to. If they averaged 15 visits over the summer (likely more) that's 465 times the gate didn't click. If the average spend/person was $7/visit (i don't know if that's high or low), that is close to $6,000 (including season pass $$) that didn't go to KI. If 100 people share a similar story- then you have over 45,000 people missing from the park that would have been there and about $600,000 missing from the coffers. Simple math, I know, but it illustrates a story. True, however one could argue that a robust economy that would filter out some of the more wealthy patrons, who would choose to travel, would also at least partially offset the decline with people from the lower middle class who now have the resources to attend. I do not have imperial data to back this up, but the logic is sound. The breakdown is this: the most robust economy we’ve had in decades coupled with increases in attendance at SIX, SEAS, and DIS clearly shows that Cedar Fair stands alone in this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JubJester Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 20 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said: We will never know the full truth. Exactly. That can be said about a lot of discussions on this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrfyter Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 The breakdown is this: the most robust economy we’ve had in decades coupled with increases in attendance at SIX, SEAS, and DIS clearly shows that Cedar Fair stands alone in this. I would find this to be a fair assessment, however, how much attendance decline is because people opted to go elsewhere? When the economy dumps again are all those people going to come flocking back?There’s something to be said about riding the level line through good and bad times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibul Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 As someone who doesn't necessarily always follow the day-to-day goings-on of the park... ...why is there not speculation that The Bat is gone? It seems to be, by far, the least popular of any coaster of all in the park. Seems like it'd be the natural choice, but no speculation seems to be centering toward it at all. Just curious? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 12 minutes ago, chibul said: As someone who doesn't necessarily always follow the day-to-day goings-on of the park... ...why is there not speculation that The Bat is gone? It seems to be, by far, the least popular of any coaster of all in the park. Seems like it'd be the natural choice, but no speculation seems to be centering toward it at all. Just curious? At least as of 2014, The Bat is one of the top 10 most ridden attractions in the entire park, pulling over 3/4 of a million riders annually. Plus, it sits on very undesirable terrain and it more or less follows the outermost edge of the property line , so it's not really sitting on particularly useful land. As long as it remains reliable, there would be little incentive to remove it. Backlot, Invertigo, Firehawk, Flight of Fear, and the three Planet Snoopy coasters all pull fewer riders. Honestly, I'd imagine Flight of Fear would be pretty high on the chopping block. I think the only reason it's not being discussed is that the park has confirmed it will operate during Winterfest this year. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibul Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 1 minute ago, homestar92 said: At least as of 2014, The Bat is one of the top 10 most ridden attractions in the entire park, pulling over 3/4 of a million riders annually. Plus, it sits on very undesirable terrain and it more or less follows the outermost edge of the property line , so it's not really sitting on particularly useful land. As long as it remains reliable, there would be little incentive to remove it. In fairness, Vortex is above The Bat on that list. But point taken. That's really surprising, because it always seems like nobody is riding that ride. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 ^Consistently sending half-full trains every 90 seconds still equals more riders than sending full trains half as often on a ride that spends 25% of its life broken down, which is pretty much the case with Firehawk. The only reason people think Vortex might be removed is because they don't like it and they think that means that everyone doesn't like it. I'd imagine Vortex's numbers have gone down a bit since those figures were recorded, but it's still likely pulling nearly a million a year and is still one of the most ridden rides. People also forget that Vortex is very popular among younger kids, as it's one of the very few "extreme" rides with a 48 inch height requirement. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JubJester Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Don't forget about the walk. That acts as a wait time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 With all the arguments made against Firehawk, I think I'm leaning towards Firehawk being the more likely ride to leave. Along with the downtime issues and cost of maintenance, I feel the GP just flat out like Vortex more than Firehawk. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Firehawk is the only KI coaster that I can immediately think if when I hear the word "downtime." I can only imagine how much time, money, and resources are spent on keeping Firehawk up and running. Recently, Invertigo gets just about the same amount of riders Firehawk gets which says a lot considering its a shuttle coaster. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrofan1980 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 On 9/21/2018 at 7:09 PM, gforce1994 said: #RestInPiecesKI #ItsBigItsGone #RIP2018KI It sounds like Kings Island Is going to rest in peace maybe their saying its a coaster to throw us off tract just saying but who knows anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrfyter Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 It sounds like Kings Island Is going to rest in peace maybe their saying its a coaster to throw us off tract just saying but who knows anymore. They told local media this morning it was in fact a coaster. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kissfan4 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 News outlets are reporting it is a coaster. I am going with Vortex leaving. With the "ItsBigItsGone" hashtag, Vortex is both, a physically large coaster, and the definition of the word Vortex is: "a mass of whirling fluid or air, especially a whirlpool or whirlwind. "we were caught in a Vortex of water" synonyms: whirlwind, cyclone, whirlpool, gyre, maelstrom, eddy, swirl, spiral; black hole "a whirling Vortex of smoke" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 @kissfan4 while some of that may suggest Vortex, look at the bigger picture and think what makes more sense. Vortex is more reliable than Firehawk, has better capacity, and can accommodate shorter riders. The park doesn't really benefit from removing Vortex as it would with Firehawk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsUp Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 I'd hope it's Firehawk since I never ride it, but Vortex would be much more of a blockbuster removal. Lots of memories going way back, but it's honestly better to look at these days than it is to ride. My feelings would be mixed. I think The Bat stays-Just rode it a few weeks ago after along hiatus. Still solid and classic-Plus they're going to eventually put something awesome between it and Banshee 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatchesC Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 As rough as Vortex is on me, I think I'd cry a bit to see it close, it's the first looping coaster I ever rode and now my 10 years olds first. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryoj Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/1044267799324098566 You'd think there'd be a simple way to embed those... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 36 minutes ago, fyrfyter said: They told local media this morning it was in fact a coaster. 24 minutes ago, kissfan4 said: News outlets are reporting it is a coaster. I am going with Vortex leaving. With the "ItsBigItsGone" hashtag, Vortex is both, a physically large coaster, and the definition of the word Vortex is: "a mass of whirling fluid or air, especially a whirlpool or whirlwind. "we were caught in a Vortex of water" synonyms: whirlwind, cyclone, whirlpool, gyre, maelstrom, eddy, swirl, spiral; black hole "a whirling Vortex of smoke" Guys: we get the same exact news reports from the park as all news outlets . I had the thread created within 10 minutes of receiving the notice from the park. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Given the location of the gravesite. I could see backlot being removed, being such an eyesore and majority of the themeing has been neglected. On the other hand, Vortex is old, and depending on height of the rider can cause headaches. Headaches can ruin the whole trip. I nessesarly wouldn’t want Vortex removed but not opposed to it. I could picture a B&M floorless in its location. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 They always put those tombstones around BLSC every haunt season because of the abundance of space so I'm 100% sure its placement has nothing to do with BLSC. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoolCrzy Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Any chance BLSC is leaving, and the Antique cars are returning to the original spot. The Coney Mall work is a decoy and actually beginnings of #KI20xxGIGA ... I doubt it. Just a thought. I still think it's Firehawk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 49 minutes ago, HandsUp said: I'd hope it's Firehawk since I never ride it, but Vortex would be much more of a blockbuster removal. Lots of memories going way back, but it's honestly better to look at these days than it is to ride. My feelings would be mixed. I think The Bat stays-Just rode it a few weeks ago after along hiatus. Still solid and classic-Plus they're going to eventually put something awesome between it and Banshee I hate to see any attraction leave - maybe you never ride it, but 500,000-600,000 ride it and will now take up capacity on the rides you ride... Anytime an attraction leaves, it is one less attraction to spread the attendance around...especially if said demise is a knee-jerk reaction to a bad couple of quarters... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibul Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 1 minute ago, disco2000 said: I hate to see any attraction leave - maybe you never ride it, but 500,000-600,000 ride it and will now take up capacity on the rides you ride... Or maybe those people decide to do something else that day and don't show up at the park at all...thus hurting the bottom line for CF. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrofan1980 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 im betting its either The Beast or Flight of Fear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoolCrzy Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 1 minute ago, retrofan1980 said: im betting its either The Beast or Flight of Fear Seriously? The Beast? No chance of that happening. They would announce that a year, or two, in advance and laugh all the way to the bank. The revenue from people wanting 'one last ride' would be through the roof. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenban Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 3 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said: The removal of this ride comes swiftly after the CEO’s comments about removing less popular and problematic rides to save money. I guarantee you that the park will claim that this was the plan all along, but they are trying to save face. We will never know the full truth. I have zero doubts the decision was made for maintenance, operating costs, and declining popularity. But at the same time I think the location of the next coaster will tell a lot about when the decision was made. Coasters take time to design and Cedar Fair cannot just move the ride or change the design, once the contracts are signed without paying penalties and possibly effecting the opening date. The design for the ride would have been finished long before the declaration the chain was going to look at closing rides. If the ride is basically in the same location as Firehawk it probably was the plan from the beginning. On the other hand, if the rides would not have interfered with each other then it likely was a more recent decision. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warriordog10 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 i really hope it aint Vortex 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniellep82 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 (edited) I'm gonna say its Adventure Express..sadly it was alot of peoples first coaster...but...rules of buisness...bigger and better...and the coney island part of park is shrinking making way for " newer ride" I read antique cars are coming back ? My second chose would be stunt coaster.its always broke down....I mean always.i love the ride...similar to maverick in my eyes..but a ride is no good if it's not running Edited September 24, 2018 by Daniellep82 Spell error 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniellep82 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 On 9/21/2018 at 8:02 PM, gforce1994 said: Couldn’t help but predict the future tombstone: That's horrible that sounds like The Beast... The Beast will always live !...Son of Beast did nor survive... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoolCrzy Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 3 minutes ago, Daniellep82 said: That's horrible that sounds like The Beast... The Beast will always live !...Son of Beast did nor survive... It's also horrible grammar. It should be "Bore a child", not "Bored a Child". The exception would be if we were talking about a coaster that caused a child's boredom. Great pumpkin Coaster is leaving! Confirmed! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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