ajfelice

Referring back to the original post, I had a great "in the back" comment from a guest. Loading Comet at Waldameer, a woman says, "I love this in the back!" as she sits in the back row. Her husband or significant other then turns to me and says, "That's not the only thing she likes in the rear." I lost it from that point as I could not hold back laughter if my life depended on it.

The cost to repair it would easily exceed the ride's worth, and besides, who in the right mind would want to spend a ridiculously high amount of money to restore a crappy ride that the manufacturer doesn't even support anymore? As for a need for spare parts, I wouldn't feel ethical using parts from this ride on any currently operating Toboggan. It has sat idle with next to zero upkeep since the 2006 season. There is only one ride that I believe can be reasonably salvaged at CLP, and that is their Carousel. Despite the years of wear and tear, it is still in good condition due to being protected inside a building.

Concern of negative environmental impact. Concern of excessive noise from the attraction. Concern of traffic problems. Smells similar to a Ravine Flyer II legal battle. Hopefully, this one doesn't take almost ten years to resolve.

One of my favorite economic quotes/theories is, "there is no such thing as a free lunch." Whenever someone purchases or acquires a form of a fast pass and they receive the advantage of riding more than someone who did not have a fast pass, so they are in fact diminishing the experience of the person who did not purchase the fast pass. It doesn't matter how you distribute fast passes, because in the end the people taking advantage of them are doing so at the disadvantage of the people who did not elect to use them. For most major parks, the issue of whether or not fast passes are ethically right seems to have been answered by almost every major park or chain offering a form of fast passes. The new hotly debated subject nowadays seems to be the question, "By how much should those who did not purchase a fast pass be put at a disadvantage?" The answer to this depends on who you ask, and for me I just can't be thankful enough that my park of choice for my career is way too small to even fathom a form of fast passes.

It was kinda hilarious watching the "CP foamers" sit down into that train. I enjoyed the up close look, but I didn't feel inclined to pose as the "first sitter" because I was kind of worried my butt would be wet if I sat down .

My Opening Day 2014 wait for Banshee was 40min......without Fast Lane Plus. All in the timing. Didn't need a repulsive T-Shirt that I would never wear again in my life either.

So how many days in 2013 and 2014 did you steak out and monitor GateKeeper's queue? I can tell you from working on that ride and speaking with others who worked that ride way more times than me that GateKeeper still posts a decent wait. The days you find it walk-on are likely days where there are a lot of walk-ons where I would question the need for a Fast Lane for any attraction. Cedar Point isn't oblivious to the demand for their attractions, and the fact of the matter is that people are still willing to pay the higher fees for FL and FL+.

Great Photos! I was really impressed with the event overall. The best part was really the park staff who volunteered their time to make everything possible. The snow piled up faster that the forecasts called for, but it never seemed like any one of them were bothered to be out in the cold, or bothered to be "at work" when travel conditions (especially in the morning) were questionable at best. My group's tour guide, Matt, was very welcoming to all kinds of questions, and he never at any point let the weather cut any corners of the tour. You wouldn't know he was guiding people through a snowstorm throughout the day. The content presented at the event was informative, but nothing earth-shattering. However, the important part was the opportunity to get out of town for a couple days to escape the winter cabin fever while supporting a good cause.

The Kool Aid tastes very good when you drink it from the perspective CP is serving it to enthusiasts and guests. These highly-anticipated changes are definitely going to significantly help these areas of the park. However, the motive behind these changes comes down to enhancing the guest experience in order to drive revenues by increasing guest spending and pass purchases. So these changes are "right" but they are meant for Cedar Point to make more $$$ in the long run.

I love all these comments about paint preparation and the process in general. The people in charge of these parks aren't as stupid as many enthusiasts like to think. Yes, Six Flags typically doesn't paint their attractions as frequently as other parks, but that doesn't mean they don't understand the process of painting. Also, it is very likely that Scream is being repainted by an outside contractor due to the size and nature of the project. Don't point fingers are until you know the facts. I'm just glad to see the investment into infrastructure besides new attractions.

^My education in finance paints a more complicated picture than just a few pieces of metal rotting in a field. The coaster in storage is considered company property. It has a value. Believe it or not. It could continue to depreciate which can be used as a tax write-off. Once the coaster is finally depreciated to zero, then they can collect the scrap metal salvage value. Why incur a huge expense of removal when CNL or whoever owns the property can write off depreciation for a few more years? In simpler terms, why incur the high expenses of removal when there is no immediate need for the land those track pieces sit on? I'd be more critical of the management of the operating amusement park and resort before the beyond inoperable coaster sitting in a field that another company brought in. If Darien Lake was sitting on gold, the coaster in storage would have been long gone or actually operating.

Of course the park is planned to be open later this Spring if the bankruptcy is still ongoing as a Chapter 11, as a business can continue day-to-day operations under Chapter 11. Roughly 10-15% of Chapter 11 Bankruptcies result in successful re-organization, so if this Bankruptcy were to evolve into Chapter 7, operations would likely cease or be cancelled. A lot of information is being passed around, and the numbers are shockingly scary. The park is grossed less $300,000 in 2014, and hasn't paid a dime on existing outstanding property tax debt or a whole slew of other debts amounting over $3 million dollars. Even worse, the gross income for Conneaut Lake Park has declined for the last several years. A refurbished Blue Streak and a Travel Channel "makeover" haven't stopped or slowed the bleeding. So there is a chance we might get some rides on Blue Streak and the handful of other rare rides at the park in 2015, but I wouldn't say Conneaut Lake Park is about to turn around or become a viable business. Enjoy every ride there as if it were your last, as the sad truth is the park has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.

After considering the amount of money required to travel, park, general admission, and meals the family trip to a major park is fairly expensive. It is a choice to add on the amount of money required for fast passes. If that extra cost is setting someone back majorly in terms of personal finance, I question why they are already investing so much into the trip at all. It comes down to how much someone values their visit in terms of how much they want to experience in a given time. If I go to a sporting event and choose not to sit front and center, it shows more about how much I value my experience than how much money I have. If the extra money to move up front puts me in financial turmoil, I should not go the game period.

The Beast used to be what I thought one of the most intense roller coasters out there until I broadened my horizons. Nowadays, it simply just feels like a buzzkill when you look down that first drop only to be trimmed, and only to be sent into another set of trims a few seconds later after the first tunnel. The mid-course yet again shaves off what could be a very intense second tunnel. Fortunately, the drop into the helix feels the least trimmed and it is fairly intense, but there is simply other stuff out there that is better. Unfortunately, minor re-profiling and new trains that could eliminate the need for most trims while retaining the original concept/layout would simply not have a high enough ROI to justify the cost, as the typical guest is virtually blind to the concept of trims and how trims affect a coaster. As much as I try not to let it get in the way, my coaster nerd knowledge and experience simply prevents me from holding The Beast to such a high standard because I feel like something is being held back from the ride experience. I'm glad The Beast is still considered by most to be a Kings Island legend, but for me it is simply not "The Beast" of a coaster as it could be. Still a great coaster to see in pictures and in video due to its stellar location, but unfortunately the ride experience leaves an enthusiast wanting a little more.

The first thing 99.99% of Darien Lake's guests will think of when they see the name is not the former wooden coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure. Overall, this a very solid duo of attractions. They nicely narrow the gap of thrilling non-coaster attractions. I'm especially jealous of that slide complex, Brain Drain. Effectively using a compact space, this marquee water attraction will dramatically make Splashtown more attractive to teens and other thrill-seeking guests. The suggestion box at another park nearby has already been filled as they look into replacing some aging speed slides that occupy a tight, narrow spot.

Do you think that Ocean Kingdom and Cedar Point are actually competing with each other? It's not worth the time or effort for either side to legally fight over a marketing claim that has no formal standard of measurement, especially when the parks aren't even remotely in competition with each other. How dare I forget to mention the always on the ball operations on Iron Dragon.

I wouldn't say GateKeeper's control panel changed significantly, but it looks like some cosmetic adjustments were made to categorize functions. Only two buttons look swapped in terms of location which is a very simple mechanical adjustment. Simply put, buttons or switches in the green area are for basic operating functions under normal conditions, and buttons in the red area are capable of stopping certain functions or stopping the entire ride in the event of an emergency. The better a control panel is labeled, the quicker an operator can react when a different situation arises. Not that the original appearance was bad (in fact it is my favorite ride control panel that I have ever operated), but the new appearance perfects it.

The amount of concrete does not surprise or bother me one bit. There are a lot on footers concentrated into one area. It's fairly common to see sizable concrete pads underneath compact coasters such as this one. Once the colorful supports and track are all twisting around the area, it will look fine. Knoebels is the king of simplicity, and their simplicity and quirkiness is what makes us come back for more.

Iron Dragon was a two-train coaster throughout 2014. The third train was not even in storage underneath the station. Even without the third train, Iron Dragon is still an exceptionally good coaster for capacity. Simple restraints with no seat belts + all loose articles must ride in the train = fast dispatches.

God have mercy on Cedar Point's soul for shamelessly ripping out a family ride to only turn its station into a queue area. My home park mercilessly ripped out their first major coaster and now uses it's station as a picnic shelter. I scoff at that shelter each day I have to look at it. The horror. It is incredible how Six Flags is bashed for things that most parks have been doing for years. Amusement parks are not museums, they are businesses. They rely on new attractions to continue to draw in crowds so they can make money. In many cases, these new attractions come at the expense of older ones. Yes, the people who own these companies and run these parks are in this to make money, lots of it. This is not unique to Six Flags.

If I had a nickel for each time a park took down a ride sign for winterizing or periodic refurbishment, I'd be a millionaire. Parks will also take advantage of large covered areas for storage or work space for additional off-season maintenance areas. In addition, nearby sheltered places make great temporary work areas for construction crews (perhaps the company removing the old theater?). Before jumping to any conclusions, I'll make an educated guess that these are the most likely reasons for that amount of activity at Dodgem. But really, I wouldn't read too much into a Dodgem removal just yet. Unless there is another "Wildcat Scenario" I highly doubt the ride would be removed without replacement for 2015. Perhaps it could fall onto the chopping block as Cedar Point moves forward with that area of the park, but I do not see that happening this soon if it were to happen.

Besides the usual conversations with friends, I have a great amount of fun simply people watching. Personally, I enjoy listening the uninformed coaster and amusement park banter by the general public. Also, witnessing some obnoxious behavior, clumsy moves, or listening to some pure ignorant conversations are also things I find amusing. It is amazing some of the strange and funny things I notice when I simply just scan the area. Society is full of some interesting creatures. Sounds kinda evil, but I keep my comments to myself. Unless of course I put a person on "Your Team."

Building a coaster over a highway takes some negotiation with government, making enemies with neighbors, and a decade's worth of patience. Believe me, I know. As for touching a very protected body of water, good freaking luck. Cedar Point is a mature park which isn't necessarily a bad thing. With attendance being virtually at a plateau since the late 1990s, the park isn't necessarily reaching into new markets and growing their pool to pull people in from. However, through careful expansions that have replaced aging, unpopular, or functionally obsolete attractions, Cedar Point has successfully been humming along maintaining their relatively stagnant attendance for almost two decades. By offering something new each year to make the guest experience better, Cedar Point keeps a very loyal regional draw annually. An aggressive "growth" strategy would likely not yield a long-term attendance spike to really justify something drastic like relocating the main parking lot or even attempting to expand into the lake. I currently like the path Cedar Fair is taking with Cedar Point. They are improving the guest experience through improving the areas of the park and the surrounding resort that already exist.

^^^I stopped reading that article when it named a "Cedar Point Expert." Of course the park doesn't have a dark ride and it can be argued that they would benefit from one. But the same argument can be made that a dive coaster is the next piece Cedar Point is missing from their coaster puzzle. Journalism at its finest that article is. I learned back in high school to use credible sources.

As much as I support continuous expansion or upgrades for any park, I still question the long-term outlook for Kentucky Kingdom. No doubt the park has come back in a roaring fashion, and I applaud their efforts. However, a park that size in that market is likely unable to continue to expand at their current rate. Of course the first few years will be front-loaded as old rides come back to life and new rides are added in, but I then wonder what Kentucky Kingdom's core competency will be a few years down the road in a market sandwiched by the epitome of guest service, Holiday World, and arguably one of the very best regional parks, Kings Island. It just seems like a slippery slope to be always obligated to invest at least $1 million dollars in "upgrades" annually. That number might not sound like a lot when you compare it to other parks, but the size and scope of Kentucky Kingdom makes me worry about such an obligation. Two rainy or cool summers in a row, and that extra "upgrade" money will become very hard to come up with. I hope my questioning is wrong, but a leasing agreement with a State Fair Board just discourages me.