DirkFunk

What cost savings? Does CA force them to pay for health insurance on those 6 week positions or something?

Super pumped to have a new TGG family coaster open within weekend trip distance from me. Still can't believe people were dumb enough to think they were getting Firehawk. I assume all of those people had A) never seen Firehawk and B) never been to KK to judge where it would go. It would take up half the water park.

The B&M versions load faster, have more forces, don't put people through the elements on their back's for 2/3s of the ride, and don't shake like a Mexican Space Shuttle. I last rode Firehawk in 2009 and I've been to KI like 5-6 times since. I honestly forget the park even has it because it is so out of my consciousness. Being a stan for the Flying Dutchmen is a form of mental illness IMO. The only downside to me is that the 500 or so people who sat in line for that hunk of crap for two hours will need to go somewhere else and occupy other space.

Get rid of the stuff that isn't making you money but costs it to raise cash. Keep the stuff that isn't terrible. Go pay-per-attraction instead of POP. Add FEC stuff like bumper boats, mini golf, new go-karts, and batting cages. Makes sense to me rather than try to do the same thing as Delgrossos.

I only care that the coasters reopen. Literally nothing else. So great if that's the case and you can expect me back next year in the front seat of Skyliner (getting all that delicious airtime on the first turnaround).

Continental US? Maybe. Overall? BEHOLD:

Oh man, I was there too! Here's my pictures from the fair: Here I am at home getting ready to leave. So amped! Wade shows really brought some crazy rides. Just look at this sweet a$$ ride. Parking lot was a bit of a mess though Karl Marx showed up, so you know there was a party happening The free concert was amazing. Love these guys! My girlfriend and I had a great time,

Uhhh, have you considered the MCW forums? You know, the ones for people into carnivals?

It's worth noting that attendance is still down this year even with a strong July/August (something Cedar Fair reported on publicly, which they basically never do otherwise). It's easy to say that we're the only people complaining, but apparently something has trained the guests to stop coming until mid-summer.

AoA booked in a lot of stuff and I'm sure so will Talley. My hope is that I get enough new to me stuff to justify going for the first time in 4-5 years.

It's been going on for an eternity. It used to be that there was like *a* ride open back in the early 2000s. They've expanded as others have entered that market to compete.

Semi-unrelated: Had a chat with a friend last week, and we were talking about the differences of "Disney fans" and "Coaster fans". He made the observation that Disney fans, while total freaks also, are at least freaks with a bankroll. Like if you don't live in Orlando, you go 3-4 times a year from somewhere far away, which probably means you're blowing 10-12K a year in pure Disney trips at minimum even if DVC. If you moved to Orlando, either you're in a mountain of credit card debt or have a real job and then immediately head to Disney to escape reality almost every day. Coaster fans though are like constantly broke - trying to stuff their pockets with the Super 8 breakfast buffet, complaining if the "official hotel" is anything more expensive than a Motel 6 or a 2 circle Tripadvisor pit, screeching about the quality of the buffet at the event, complaining about buying QBots or Fast Lane even if they to a park on July 4th Saturday, copping an attitude about having clothing other than cargo shorts and a ridiculous "Fear the *insert Number Here*" park shirt for the also dumb as hell ACE Gala during the Con, and then like actions far past that. Like there was this one couple who had matching homemade "ACE" tanktops and mullets and I was told they've been wearing them since the mid 90s because ACE wouldn't let them sell the shirts but would let them wear the shirts themselves? It was way, way up there in the insane index.

I wonder how much working for Amusement Today pays? You know, like maybe they have a side gig or even a real day job that isn't listed on someone's LinkedIn because it would raise lots of ethics problems. Hmmm..... The closest I'll give to ACE for defense: I heard that after one of their European trips in the last few years, they sent a bunch of cash back as a refund because they over estimated costs. That also means the people doing the planning were off by a couple hundred dollars in expenses when charging people for a tour, which, like, how does that happen precisely? Also the buses are because they booked too goddamned big of a group. Globus primarily uses buses there too. Also means they can hold onto people's bags more easily when doing 2-a-days with parks. Not at all the trip I'd want to do but whatever, they have their audience of primarily lower middle class freaks who will undoubtedly complain about literally everything. TBH I think that as the years have gone on, others have struggled more and more (I like the ECC, but do the people scheduling the trip even know what they're doing with their tour in Turkey next month? They had a day booked at a park that has never opened, for example). TPR seems to be head and shoulders above everyone.

"Yo...uhhh...you want to do something later? Like as long as you're old enough to drink, I have to have some limits."

I'll level with you: Disney Springs is nice. It is a good commercial development with some of the best restaurants in Central Florida. They are also pricey restaurants. It has, at present, nothing to really do other than go to movies or Cirque, which is also comparatively pricey. I-Drive has lots of tourist traps, but also those traps are exceedingly expensive for what they are (think $12-15 for rides on Starflyers or 1st gen S&S towers). TBH, I think it's a waste of your time to do it when you could be going to Busch Gardens instead. Busch, SeaWorld, Fun Spot, and Aquatica is a helluva trip. Tons of fun, great rides, great parks.

What, precisely, are you intending to do at I-Drive?

Uhh, Disneyland Paris. That was easy.

Oh, sweet, one of those new Stan Checketts towers like at Bigfoot Fun Park in Branson. And of course, CREDITZ!

Any news about Bob? The coaster, not anyone by that name

As I recall, Dick Kinzel made the decision to built Magnum after seeing pictures of Bandit at Yomiuriland. So Bandit, while not a 200ft coaster, is kinda like the first hyper coaster at least in concept and the beginning of that entire genre.

Or writing stuff down as part of the tasks. Knott's stuff is literally "run around with a stick horse", playing bingo, doing scavenger hunts, and spending a lot of time interacting with people in character. If that's the future of theme parks, much as I felt after doing the video game rides at HubZero in Dubai, I am extremely not interested.

Yeah, maybe they had no idea what they were building so they just made a vague announcement and then they're going to look through the social media speculation for ideas... Building what? You're talking about this like they're building a roller coaster and there's a bunch of steel that's gonna show up. II'll bet they wind up reusing a bunch of props that are already sitting on the island. You know, from the existing haunt that they never 100% dismantle. That and some other basically temporary structures.

Yeah, sure, it really is too bad they were vague. Especially since they said they were going to be vague in the original post to Twitter. Here's a wild idea: it isn't even fully designed yet. Or maybe only conceptualized, nothing beyond that.

I hope. Like any actual investment would make me sad when that's a big chunk of land you could use for literally anything else. They struggle to sell me food before Mid-June. How would they staff this? LARP means "live action role playing". Basically picture a game that you play as a character surrounded by people acting in character and you get, uhhh, something as a result. Knotts has been experimenting with this as has Disneyland. Some people get way into it, personally it has no attraction or interest to me. The park has lots of needs - indoor rides of any kind, signature family attractions, a log flume that doesn't sink or flip over, things like that - and this doesn't fit any of those categories.

Oh boy. It's a....uh...giant LARP adventure. https://www.cedarpoint.com/explore/forbidden-frontier-on-adventure-island