TheGreatOne

Hooray "Sarcaism"! I honestly can't believe people stop here. I guess I'd have to stop too, just to experience the immersive themeing and fantastic customer service myself.

Cedar Point announced they were looking into cutting back prices back in September of 2005. (Source: http://www.thrillnetwork.com/stories_view.php/1219/cedar_point_lowering_ticket_prices.html) This was well in advance of Cedar Fair purchasing Paramount Parks. The price drops at Cedar Point were directly attributed to declining attendance (3.2 mil in 2004, down 3%. 3.1 mil in 2005, down 3%) by Dick Kinzel. He was even quoted in saying they had outpriced their market. It wasn't a big middle finger, it was necessary because their numbers and revenue were declining. Disney, on the other hand, has obviously not outpriced their market. Magic Kingdom attendance: 2003: 14 million 2004: 15.2 million (up 8%) 2005: 16.2 million (up 6.5%) EPCOT attendance: 2003: 8.6 million (up 4%) 2004: 9.4 million (up 9%) 2005: 9.9 million (up 5.5%) Disney-MGM Studios 2003: 7.8 million 2004: 8.3 million (up 5%) 2005: 8.6 million (up 6%) Animal Kingdom: 2003: 7.3 million 2004: 7.8 million (up 7%) 2005: 8.2 million (up 5%) Disney has raised admission prices $15 since 2003 and has continually posted some of the theme parks industry's biggest attendance gains. They have not outpriced their market. They are a global vacation destination. Not one Cedar Fair park is that. Cedar Point may be the most visible/recognizable regional theme park resort in the world, but it does not have the global staying power of Disney. For those who save money by spending vacations other places besides Disney, good for you (seriously). But remember, you are in the very, very small minority. Just because you have friends/family that do the same thing does not make it the majority. They are increasing their marketing, trying to entice people to try something new. Look at Cedar Point compared to Disney, though. Cedar Point has three (I believe) hotels, a campground, one amusement park and one waterpark. That's all there is to do there. Walt Disney World has over a dozen hotels, four theme parks, three water parks, golf course, Downtown Disney, etc. For most people, Disney World is a complete vacation destination. You could spend a week there easy and never do the same thing twice. You can't do that at Cedar Point in three days. -Bryan "the numbers simply don't lie" Wood

I don't completely agree with this statement. I'll give you one prime example. Let's use the busiest operating day at the Magic Kingdom for argument's sake. Tell me how that particular park has changed so dramatically over the last 20 years to justify a price hike? I get basically the same entertainment I do today as I did in 1986. Sure, there's been changes, but have they really added to the park? It's more of addition by subtraction. Take out Mission To Mars, and add Alien Encounter, which in turn becomes a watered down Stitch attraction. Take out Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and add some Winnie the Pooh dark ride. Take out the Penny Arcade, and add a retail shop. Take out the skybuckets, and add, er....nothing. Take out 20,000 Leagues, and add, er.....nothing. See where I'm going? Splash Mountain is the only E-ticket attraction that particular park has added in ages. I think you're stretching here. For 99% of guests returning to Magic Kingdom, this isn't an issue. For the GP, Magic Kingdom is the Holy Grail of theme park experiences (attendance numbers don't lie...Magic Kingdom drew 16.5 million in 2005, EPCOT 9.9 mil, and the other two at 8.5 mil). They'll come back just to ride their favorites (Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, Splash and Space Mountains) just because they love them that much. You also neglected to mention Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which was added in the late 90's. It's a people-eater and quickly established itself as one of the most popular rides in the whole complex. WDW has worked hard to add more E-ticket attractions to their other parks, which IMHO, are not nearly as complete as Magic Kingdom is (although EPCOT is great). They're trying to balance out their resort by adding all the big attractions at the parks where they can stand to boost attendance. That's just smart business. The more you add to other parks, the more likely people are going to stay around and visit each one. Why spend money on a park that draws 16.5 million when it hasn't, as you said, added an E-ticket attraction in decades? If a park can draw on those merits alone, you should spend money elsewhere to make the entire resort more complete and give people reasons to stay and spend more money. -Bryan "you can't justify Disney's prices on personal preference for a park or four, it is a business" Wood

Exactly. Disney is not a Six Flags/Cedar Fair park. It is an experience that takes days to truly appreciate and I'd imagine 85% (possibly more) of WDW's attendance comes from vacationers that will spend 3-4 days at the resort. Elissa is right in saying the price structure is smart, because keeping people in a park for an extra days or two could add extra in-park spending that they otherwise wouldn't get from people. Yes, it's expensive and it's not for everyone. In the long run, this is a business and they need to make money. They need to add really expensive blockbuster rides because they are facing increasingly stiff competition and the fact that some people aren't traveling as much on the road because of gas prices. Give them a HUGE reason to come and they'll spend the money you charge to get in. -Bryan "yes, it sucks, but I have no problem with their prices" Wood

Honestly, I don't feel like posting the amount I donate because I'm not a boastful giver. I think donating then saying "look what I did" is just vain. I like to be humble, do what I can, and let my actions speak for themselves without calling attention to myself. -Bryan

Exactly. Any kind of major transition in forces (vertical, negative, turns, inversions) would hammer your head. Seriously...it would make airtime not fun. -Bryan "forwards and backwards for me, please" Wood

My only visit was in January. The one thing that killed me the most is that I could see how the park could be soo much better. Both Robb and Joey covered how I feel about the park in general. The park has a soul-less feel to it (outside of the Ghost Town area), Ghostrider was just awful (which disappointed me really bad). They have some good rides, but the last time I checked, it takes more than just rides to make a great park (Sea World is a great example of this). -Bryan "I got served my dinner at Mrs. Knott's kitchen faster than I got dispatched on Silver Bullet" Wood

How were the ride side lines (specifically Big Dipper, Dominator, Villain and X-Flight)? Good to see Geauga Lake is doing well. I still miss the pre-SF days and my rides on the Tilt-A-Whirl, Sky Ride, Rocket Ships, Big Dipper and Corkscrew. -Bryan "remembers when Double Loop seemed HUGE" Wood

Seeing as Cedar Fair now owns the park and will start their own plans, this may be the most pointless thread resurrection ever.

Exactly. Christopher Nolan is a really good director. I trust his judgement. Insomnia and Memento were fantastic movies. He cast Robin Williams as a villain in Insomnia and it was a fantastic choice. I'm not worried about Ledge as Joker. -Bryan "Nolan's new movie 'Prestige' intrigues me" Wood

Just a note: Cedar Fair taking over your park does not constitute a hyper coaster being built. See: Knott's (Xcelerator isn't a hpyer in the traditional sense), Michigan's Adventure and Geauga Lake.

Steve Minard confirmed that there will be a launch coaster built at Wild Escape Source: http://wowktv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=12800 Could this possibly be a Booster Bike-style ride (Vekoma or the Zamperla MotoCoaster)?

One word: Maintenance.

Wow...it seems like he's stoned in this video. Best line: "This dude loves his coasters, man" -Bryan "He sounds like Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High" Wood

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-07-31-vanderkam-edit_x.htm I'll quote an excerpt from the article...I'm not sure if I should copy the whole thing or not... You're almost 7x more likely to die from igniting or melting nightwear. You really do learn something new every day. -Bryan "too bad there's no pie charts" Wood

Since that article didn't go into detail about the road relocation... Lake Compounce will likely relocate the road beginning in Spring at the cost of $3 million. It will open 8 usable acres of land which Jerry said they would like to expand their waterpark with. The expansions would happen in steps and not all at once.

The ride will go from 0-83.9 in 3.5 seconds...and from operating to down for two weeks in 2.4 days. -Bryan "sounds like fun" Wood

Ever stay in the area the area that time of year. Not too expensive at all. The same hotel I stayed at earlier this year for $39.99 is $59.99 that night. Might not seem like a big deal, but I'll just be recovering from shelling out money for books and tuition. I'm not bashing the event, I too, was hoping it would be a little cheaper. I was hoping to attend because I heard good things. I was just hoping I could go, I wasn't trying to cheapen the value of the event. $65+$50-60 for hotel plus gas just isn't going to work for me. -Bryan "guess I'll have to wait until April" Wood

While I appreciate people putting on these events, being a college student, I can't justify paying $65 when I could pay $40 (with discount) and get ERT in the middle and ends of a regular operating day on Thunderhead anyways. It also hurts that hotels in that area are really expensive. -Bryan "marathoned Thunderhead during 'peak season' and loved it "Wood

Glad to see they are keeping as many trees as possible ::stares at Cedar Fair:: ...looks like a sweet ride! -Bryan "who also needs to get to Lagoon ASAP" Wood

Finally got the DVD for V for Vendetta. It is released this Tuesday. The movie is really good. It kept me wondering what happens next and the ways V gets away with what he does was my favorite part of the movie. 9/10 for the movie, 4/10 for the DVD. Only one "making of" featurette. For a movie with so much potential for DVD extras, there just aren't any. I hope they release a 2-disc set sometime soon. EDIT: They will be releasing a 2-disc set, I just got an advanced copy of the single disc.

Here are mine: 1. Acrophobia 2. Drop Zone at PKD (so much better than PKI's) 3. Tower of Terror-FL 4. Pitt Fall 5. Oh-Zone at Lake Winnie (or any of the A.R.M./Larson Drop Towers) I really like the ARM/Larson Towers because of the instantaneous drop and very, very short braking stop. It's very creepy. S&S regular towers are my least favorite.

You're right in the fact that there probably isn'y that many more deaths this year than any other. However, I don't think they're being sensationalized (at least in this case). It's the media's job to report on accident-deaths. Heck, you can't go a day without hearing about a death on a highway somewhere. The fact is that not too many people die on/because of/issue aggrivated by roller coasters. Therefore, when it happens, it makes news because of the rarity of it happening. If anything, the enthusiasts are sensationalizing them. Weird? Perhaps. But everyone on message boards everywhere are talking about how afwul a year it is for deaths. Yes, any time someone dies on/because of a ride is awful. However, 2006 is just about on the norm. The reason we have seen so many accidents lately is because we have all amusement parks open. Therefore, with the odds of injury on a ride (I believe I read 7 in 1 million on a paper), you're bound to have some happen in this close time period as more gates are open than October-April. -Bryan

According to WIS-TV: He was in cardiac arrest on the scene. They simply pronounced him dead later. http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5210427

I'm definitely showing my tool-ish side here, but SFM's boomerang didn't open until 1987. Bellewaerde Park and Morey's Piers both opened their boomerangs in 1984. -Bryan "I'm as old as the pain itself" Wood