IBEW_Sparky

One thing that will have to be open for Winterfest, is the Dippin Dots stand. How else are we going to get news on whats new for 2018?

Its plenty tall enough, look at the carpenter on what we will.. for the purposes of this photo/demonstration...call the "2nd level". Those studs are representative of a room that would have a standard 8 to 9 foot ceiling, and the carpenters on the "3rd level" are standing next to studs/columns that are representative of a 12+ foot ceiling. Not to mention, that level is very likely going to be open ceiling like The Beast station, and Im going to venture to say that is going to be loading platform level. The distance, and the man in the reflective coat are throwing the scale off in regards to visual perspective.

Which is pretty much why I said "for decades to come", and NOT "forever"

^Im sorry, but thats akin to watching a Youtube POV of a coaster. Im not even going to approach peoples thoughts on the performing animals, as thats a subject as potentially volatile as religion and politics, but a circus event like RBB&B is an incredible spectacle that I am very happy to say I was able to experience as a child. I can understand the declining ticket sales in todays "instant gratification/no effort/electronic era with this current generation of humans, so I dont blame the owner for making the tough choice to shut down. In regards to performances such as Cirque shutting down/going out of style... the Cirque shows make WAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYY too much money to be in fear of that for decades to come. Las Vegas has 8 shows currently in play, and 6 of them (KA, Mystere, O, The Beatles 'Love', Toruk, and Zumanity) are close to full a good majority of the time throughout the year. At $49 to well over $200 per ticket, their viability and sustainability are pretty set in stone.

I have two. First and most importantly, I deeply regret not making it to Geauga Lake after the 2005 season. I Loved....LOVED...that park, and financial issues kept me from visiting in 06 or 07. I regret not doing a bit of moving and shaking to make a trip happen. I wish I had known about Geugalaketoday.com before the park closed, because if I had those forums to read, Id have made it happen. That park being gone still gets to me. In regards to KI, if Im going to be perfectly honest, I regret going so often in 2009. The opening of Diamondback had me wrapped around the parks finger, and I ended up going soooooooo often that A)I have become so bored with that ride I cant stand it and B)its one of the reasons that I have the park in a "take it or leave it" category. I regret ignoring my "moderation is key" rule to hobbies. There is also a liiiiiiitttlllee tiiiinnnnnyyy part of me that regrets not riding SOB for the short time it was open in 2009, so I could have at least given it one ride.

Simply put... "Dey" wouldnt like a Steelers coaster in their back yard.

Dont worry, CF already built its allotment of non-red coasters for the decade with Fury 325.

Im fully aware of that, I belonged to that club once in 2014, I was pointing out another viable option at a lower price point.

CF obviously thought differently, as the contract for Dinosaurs Alive was renewed last year. As I said when people were going crazy over a little bit of ground being moved behind Banshee last year, its going to take a LOT of work to make the ground in that area feasible for an installation the size and scope of a giga. Remember, its not just dumping the steel structure in there like a game of RCT2, there are underground utilities, outbuildings, the station structure and the large amount of concrete pad and standing/walking area around it, and a path from populated areas... be it Action Zone, X Base, or Coney Mall.... that need to be taken into consideration. It was also made very clear last year by Matt Ouimet that the entrance to KI is in no danger of being reconfigured to accommodate a new ride, so any ideas of a Gatekeeper-esque I-Street flyover can be put to rest.

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ACE does a 6 month $20 trial membership, and in case you were/are thinking about possibly doing Holliwood Nights, that membership does qualify.

The only two that are TBD, are KI and Valleyfair. The others that are listed as TBD are right on the home page of their respective websites, in the blue "Today's hours" tab. KD and Carowinds open March 25th, and Canada's Wonderland opens April 30th.

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Fact is exactly what IndyGuy stated..... there is a reason that KD did a large waterpark expansion a few years back, and that reason is that a large waterpark expansion will bring in a LOT higher per cap increase than any one roller coaster will. Now, for myself personally, Id much, much much rather see a couple of flats and one mid sized coaster than a freakin water park of any sort (or one very large coaster for that matter), but from the standpoint of a Corporation who very honestly couldnt care less WHAT is installed... provided their yearly bonuses keep coming in and the shareholders arent asking for their heads on a platter... if those per caps are the highest with a Planet Snoopy expansion or a large waterpark expansion, thats whats going to be installed. As far as I am concerned, I am quite happy with the current line up at KD, especially once Hurler has been converted/reconfigured. With Dominator, Volcano (when it runs, Intamightwork), Grizzly, a refurbed Hurler, very snappable Flyers, and night rides on I305, Id be happy if that was the park I lived 2.5 hours away from.

He asked a question, I gave an answer that I felt current Management would consider abuse , and what you said would also be considered abuse. And Chris, I gave n example of what I felt/feel would constitute reasonable, using the time it would take to wait in line for, and ride Beast on a busy day. Your example works for you, mine works for me... in both cases. EDIT... edited the first statement to eliminate hair splitting

Abuse, i.e. standing beside the drink shed and spending a few hours doing nothing but people watching and drinking free drinks. The same principle of how a buffet can ask you to leave if you decide to stay there for 6 hours straight. Ive got no problem with them putting a REASONABLE waiting period between refills, and to me, reasonable is defined as no more than 3 hours, preferably 2. The paper cup SP plan, with that waiting period, would convince me to start buying drinks at a park again.

Believe me, Brother, thats the very first group I thought of when thinking about potential buyers who could/would actually properly operate a park of this size in the area its in. As it is now, again agreeing with you, IF Pat and Dan (and ONLY Pat and Dan) expressed interest I would show nothing but total and 100% support towards that move..... IF they also hired Don Hurd as their Director of PR. Other than those two people, I cant think of a person/Corporation/Investment Group Id support with the exception of MAYBE Herschend, but I truthfully dont see them wanting it.

I just cat wait to read all of the whiny posts on their FB page.... or rather hear about them since I dont read KIs FB page..... about "You guys suck, it was supposed to have a drop track" or "What a ripoff, Wiki said there was going to be a corkscrew inversion inside the shed".

Oh.... really? Huh....https://www.worldsoffun.com/things-to-do/special-events Spoiler alert for those who dont wish to click the link: Season passholder exclusive: 2017 Sneak Peek, THURSDAY April 13th, 2017. Anyway, in regards to KI 2017 discussion, I feel that the parks plans in regards to how they are going to play Media Day and/or the early rider charity event will determine whether or not they hold a preview night at this park in 2017. If they do one or both on Friday, I think that could be a factor in only those people ride before official Opening Day, although one or both of those events could be held on Thursday. All of that aside, I am going for a Saturday, April 15th opening as I said two posts ago.

They will very likely correlate it with Worlds of Fun opening day/weekend, as they have for at least the past 5 years. With that being the case, plan for a preview night on Friday, April 14th (which is WoF actual opening day) and an opening day of Saturday, April 15th. I am rather puzzled as to why WoF is opening on a Friday, with preview night on a Thursday, but I digress.

Brad, as a fan of the parkI know you wont want to hear this, but I also know that you understand business logic enough to realize what Im about to say is true. They will have an interim CEO at Indiana Beach for 2017 while maintaining the park just enough to keep it legal, so they can concentrate on promoting an existing Corporate Executive to CFO of Apex, or recruiting and hiring someone from the outside. This will allow them to shop the park while its in operation next year, and since I very honestly dont see any other big player being in a position or having the desire to overtake that park in that location, I am laying odds that 2017 will be it. Now, this is one of the times I actually hope my logic is flawed and I am incorrect, but the parks uphill battle has become more of a mountain climb with nothing but a pair of tennis shoes.

No, just... no! Fix whats screwed up royally at the 11 parks they currently own, and leave the others alone. We,the park going public, already have enough (too many) cookie cutter Corporate parks, leave the smaller parks (Indiana Beach and Adventureland come to mind) for those who cant, or wont, pay $9 for a subpar burger or pay-to-cut upcharges. People seem to forget that competition can be a very good thing. An example of how it can be good AND bad together, is the "my lift hill is bigger than your lift hill" contest that went on between CP and SF:WoA. That created mass expansion on both ends, but also gross financial over-extention on both ends as well. One was in a position to survive, one was not. However, if all of the small parks are overtaken (and in my eyes, slowly destroyed) by the CFs and the SIXs of the US, all that will happen is a rise in price point to that of Disney levels, without the corresponding rise in guest service and experience. The Corporations have to recoup the cost of park acquisitions somehow, and as you pointed out in the case of Dorney, it will be at the expense of those smaller parks... and the guests that visit them.... getting nothing in return.

Something else of interest to me was this...."We want people to come to our parks not to ride rides, but to think of them as the place to be to have fun"... maybe that means we will start seeing more of what Ive been wanting and expecting out of Ouimet since he took over, and thats a park experience more along the lines of Disney, both in atmosphere and employee training/service.

At that point, I go for the rides I enjoy, or walk away entirely and devote more time to racing. Im good with either. Sparky, not a money grab... er I mean upcharge kind of guy.

You know what?? They can build 50 of the VR style rides, maybe that will attract the "cant get their heads out of their phones for 20 seconds" age demographic and will reduce the wait times on real rides for people like me! Im 110% for that.