Coney Island Cincinnati to remove all rides

[Oldiesmann]

New for 2022: Action Alley. https://coneyislandpark.com/attraction/action-alley/

Inflatable obstacle course, arts and crafts, jump pad, foam party and even inflatable axe throwing (no I'm not joking).

[beastfan11]

That all sounds incredibly stupid. Just gonna say it. 

[IBEW_Sparky]

That ridiculousness sounds like a fun park that would have been in Demolition Man!  The entire audio system would be playing "I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner!"

[IndyGuy4KI]

So we get rid of a great collection of classic rides and throw in some inflatables. I guess throwing a patch on when a hole gets created or replacing a blower is cheaper than maintaining those rides.  What happens when they go floating down the Ohio River?

I almost think they would be better off with Morgan RVs who ran Indiana Beach into the ground.

[IBEW_Sparky]

Actually Brad, you inadvertently hit on exactly what they are doing when you spoke about throwing a patch on a hole..... the phrase "Throwing a Band-Aid on a bullet wound" comes to mind.

 

EDIT:  I started laughing when I thought about them floating down the Ohio River.... Coney Management will charge admission for the World's largest duck pond game.

[Oldiesmann]

Sounds like this is their answer to "people actually want more than just a pool", but it certainly won't appeal to as many people as the classic rides did, and in fact it will mostly appeal to kids. I'm also wondering how well the whole "arts and crafts" thing will work in a pool setting...

[IBEW_Sparky]

On 4/21/2022 at 11:45 PM, Oldiesmann said:

Sounds like this is their answer to "people actually want more than just a pool", but it certainly won't appeal to as many people as the classic rides did, and in fact it will mostly appeal to kids. I'm also wondering how well the whole "arts and crafts" thing will work in a pool setting...

It will do splendidly if people are selling handcrafted beach towels and pool floaties 

[DJSkyFoxx]

This all sounds like a botched attempt and trying to salvage whatever they can to keep the appeal. Even though truly there is no appeal. 

And honestly inflatable obstacle courses are just gross. All I smell are dirty feet when I think about them. 

[beastfan11]

Here are a few shots of the park I was able to get yesterday (from areas available to the general public en route to Riverbend).
 

A couple notes: 

1. The pictures don’t do it justice. The area looks pretty abysmal and any PR stating that they are going to use the space for “water attraction” expansions seems to likely be BS. 
 

2. The Games Building and Moonlite Gardens are starting to look rough. I don’t understand why you let this type of infrastructure rot away. Historical reasons aside, it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. The enthusiast and life long fan of the park also thinks it’s stupid.
 

3. It was a Saturday afternoon in July and the picnic area was an absolute ghost town. So that aspect of their business model seems to doing as well as the lead paint industry. 
 

4. The supposedly open mini golf and paddle boats may have been operating, but they too were  empty. 
 

What’s most shocking to me is the lack of upkeep around this now defunct area of the park. I understand that it’s not an area frequented by park guests as much, but anyone parking in that first lot to either see a show at Riverbend or have an unfortunate picnic outing planned is going to be walking right passed a number of ugly fences and unkempt landscaping. 
 

I would assume you’d want to show some pride in whatever creative and/or business endeavors you’re responsible for, but that’s obviously not the case here. 
 

Shout out to the ownership of the park. Most people who are this bad at their job get fired. A true accomplishment! You should be proud.

 

What was their old slogan? “Turning back the clock on… nothing?” 

[IndyGuy4KI]

Thanks for sharing, that is so disappointing to see.  The owners need fired for sure, and someone who takes pride in the assets they own brought in.

[westcoaster]

So Sad. 

[rhyano]

On 7/24/2022 at 12:54 PM, beastfan11 said:

Here are a few shots of the park I was able to get yesterday (from areas available to the general public en route to Riverbend).
 

A couple notes: 

1. The pictures don’t do it justice. The area looks pretty abysmal and any PR stating that they are going to use the space for “water attraction” expansions seems to likely be BS. 
 

2. The Games Building and Moonlite Gardens are starting to look rough. I don’t understand why you let this type of infrastructure rot away. Historical reasons aside, it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. The enthusiast and life long fan of the park also thinks it’s stupid.
 

3. It was a Saturday afternoon in July and the picnic area was an absolute ghost town. So that aspect of their business model seems to doing as well as the lead paint industry. 
 

4. The supposedly open mini golf and paddle boats may have been operating, but they too were  empty. 
 

What’s most shocking to me is the lack of upkeep around this now defunct area of the park. I understand that it’s not an area frequented by park guests as much, but anyone parking in that first lot to either see a show at Riverbend or have an unfortunate picnic outing planned is going to be walking right passed a number of ugly fences and unkempt landscaping. 
 

I would assume you’d want to show some pride in whatever creative and/or business endeavors you’re responsible for, but that’s obviously not the case here. 
 

Shout out to the ownership of the park. Most people who are this bad at their job get fired. A true accomplishment! You should be proud.

 

What was their old slogan? “Turning back the clock on… nothing?” 

Recently moved out of state, super sad to see, I don't understand the reasoning for removing all the rides still, it really sucks to see the park fall into such disrepair, thank you for the photos.

[beastfan11]

1 hour ago, rhyano said:

Recently moved out of state, super sad to see, I don't understand the reasoning for removing all the rides still, it really sucks to see the park fall into such disrepair, thank you for the photos.

You’re welcome. It’s a sad sight for sure. I don’t think there’s been much of a reason explained thus far. 

[CoastersRZ]

Yes it is sad.  I spent many hours working in rides there.  I worked a few shifts at the paddle boats last year.  Sadly this is the first year since 2001 when I have not worked down there.  They certainly have let the place slide downhill.  And they have essentially added nothing (other than an obstacle course in the deep end of the pool), since the rides were removed.  

I still hold out hope that a new owner will come in, or they will start to add some family/kiddy rides back.  I don`t see anything like that happening with the current ownership however.  

I had some great times working there, and am still friends with many of the coworkers that I worked with over my 20 seasons there.

[beastfan11]

1 hour ago, CoastersRZ said:

I still hold out hope that a new owner will come in, or they will start to add some family/kiddy rides back.  I don`t see anything like that happening with the current ownership however.  

Hey, it’s happened before right? I’m with ya on hoping they could return as well. 

[Diamondsback]

I think that they should put Coney Island out of it's misery by this point.

 

[CoastersRZ]

Well, the main source of revenue, even when the rides were around was Riverbend.  Every concert ticket sold at Riverbend and PNC Pavilion includes a parking fee that goes to Coney.  Riverbend only owns a handful of handicap and VIP parking spots, but relies on Coney for parking, and for the really big concerts neighboring Belterra Park. Coney also staffs all the concession stands at Riverbend and gets a cut of that revenue. 

[BlondyRidesOn]

I'm holding out hope that Gene Staples brings it into the Indiana Beach family. Coney would definitely benefit. What concerns me is the issue it's always had, the one that lead to its initial closing and construction of Kings Island- seasonal flooding. That may be a factor that holds the park back from any potential future as an amusement park again.