CoasterBuzz Podcast #162 posted
Posted
Jeff, Mike, Pat and Carrie review this week's news in the amusement industry.
- Blackstone guy says roller coasters are super awesome for the future of business. Mike makes the point that it's not like they're going anywhere.
- Kiddieland rides will be auctioned, not relocated as a unit. Some guy e-mailed Jeff asking if he could bid on one of the rides.
- Freestyle scores some investors, and gets sued some more. Gonch can't believe how bad they're screwing it up, especially in this case where the new owners got it cheap.
- Spielberg will keep getting his Universal money, so now they can continue to refinance their debt without fear of a big payout to the director.
- Mike shares some thoughts about doing Disneyland, particularly with really young kids.
- Kings Island lawsuit settled. The park will not be monetarily punished.
- Family booted from Busch Gardens Tampa for wearing costumes, and we can't figure out why this is a hot topic. Then we discuss it ourselves for a long time. Bottom line, there was attention whoring at play, and rules were broken. Why do we have to blame someone?
- Universal Singapore attraction lineup announced. Dueling coasters, one inverted, one not, part of the package. Inverted needs more front seats.
- Jeff and Mike reminisce about the CoasterBuzz Con at Great America way back in 2003 or something. We had stacks of line cutting passes and free drink coupons.
- Demon Drop moving to Knott's, and no one understands why. PointBuzz has a nice collection of photos from the 80's and now.
- Cedar Fair maintains distribution, but they can't be having a good year. Gonch talks about his indifference toward Kings Island.
- Alcohol in parks: Not good for every situation, but a nice feature in certain parks. Guest composition has a lot of impact on whether or not it's a good idea.
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Link: CoasterBuzz Podcast
I've seen hooligans at Disney parks. More specifically, Brazilian tour groups. While many are ok, several ruin it for everyone, including a group that decided flashing the whole Test Track queue was a good idea. Disney also thought it'd be a good idea to kick them out and ban them from the parts.
^Flashing not in the hot girl way??
Btw, will anything ever change Gonch's indifference toward KI? I have this funny sense that if KI had a more exotic location, like Cedar Point with the water or like BGE or HP where things are more nestled away it would give KI more character and appeal to him more.
Most of the BTGs I've run into have been harmless, if a bit exuberant. The really drunk guy in Epcot sitting next to me in the Mexican CS location was a lot less pleasant.
However, the karma wheel came around the next day, when he surely felt the nasty sunburn he was cooking on top of what must have been a vicious (and expensive) hangover. Huzzah!
tigellinus said:
Btw, will anything ever change Gonch's indifference toward KI?
I still haven't ridden all of the coasters there.
On the topic of the costumes at BGT...I kinda thought it was weird, in that I don't recall any parks being OK with guests wearing costumes before...
Then we were down at Disney Sunday, as they were prepping for "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween" party/event. More than half the guests were in costume. So, what's OK in one park isn't OK in another. Should guests check websites and call the park if they have questions? Sure. Is it likely that SOME guests will assume "if it's OK at Park X, then it's gotta be OK at Park Y"? Sure is...
You still have Zoidberg.... You ALL have Zoidberg! (V) (;,,;) (V)
Just listened to the podcast, and wanted to comment on Jeff's observation about the type of people who were at CP last Saturday.
I'm not convinced the discounts are to blame for the rowdy crowd, at least not entirely. Every year for the at least the last 4 or 5 years, there is one Halloweekends Saturday where dozens of buses come down from Detroit (I'm not commenting on people who live in Detroit, simply pointing out where they come from) and the type of behavior you witnessed is usually the result of that. This past Saturday was that particular day. Not sure who organizes these buses, possibly a radio station or something, but you can always bet that crowds will be rough on the day they come to the park.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
You're not the only person who made a Detroit connection, so you may be right.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
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