Kinzel Interview: Don't know if Jeff covered this?

http://www.pointbuzz.com/news.htm?id=779

I wont give it away all the way but, i know he has stated things in this interview that he has said, but he talks about moms, and also Dragster, being like his new Disaster Transport.

Haha. TTD the worst business decision he's ever made. I'd say. That $25 million dollar beeyotch was built for the glory of claiming the height and speed record and that was lost within two years - something I'm quite Cedar Fair was not expecting. And in addition, it's a mechanical nightmare and has given more than its fair share of problems to the park since its opening. They paid $25 million for a ride that no longer wears the Gold Medal and also really doesn't offer much in mechanical reliability and in the category of a complete and simply "fun" experience.

I'd put that the second worse coaster decision in recent years. The only thing that would be worse was looking at a horrible to operate, breaking down monster and saying "Let's build one too!!" And we all know that one worked out SO much better ;)

Props to Kinsel on being honest!!!! At least he didn't blame iton the weather or terrorism ;)

Well, the first thing I said after I got off TTD was I thought it was an incredible rush but a terrible rollercoaster.

I don't think expectations were met with that $25 million dollar investment and I'm not sure even if it was working perfectly it would be much different.

This NPR interview was mentioned in the "Cedar Point Dropping Admission Prices" thread on page two...easy to have been overlooked.

I really wouldn't call TTD one of the "worst business decision he's ever made." Sure, it hasn't lived up to it's potential, but look at all the hype it brought the park last year. Look at all the people it brought to the park, may of which stay on-site. He mentioned in the CosterBuzz podcast that they don't look at the $25 million as a coaster only expense; rather they tie it over to things like how many hotels will it fill and things like that.

Also, wasn't TTD running pretty well this year when Kingda Ka was down?

When the CEO volunteers what he thinks is his biggest mistake, in the context of being asked about the *best* decision he's ever made, you can bet that he feels strongly about it.

The most telling part was the bit about being able to laugh about Disaster Transport, because the numbers were great that year anyway. This implies that the numbers (both in park and out of park) have *not* recaptured TTD's investment at nearly the rate they'd hoped.

If there is anyone on the planet that understands the financial impact of adding TTD, it'd be Kinzel. If he says it was a bad business decision, I'm inclined to believe him.

Not to mention it hasn't done much for customer loyalty, which also equates to a bad business decision. If you haven't delt frist hand with a guest who is furious that they "came just for TTD" and it's not working, you probably can't imagine how many of these people are actually out there.

With more reliable uptime, it would be a phenomonal ride. But as it is now, it seems TTD has attracted much more negative attention from the media and the public than the positive buzz it originally generated.

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onceler said:
I really wouldn't call TTD one of the "worst business decision he's ever made."

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onceler says he wouldn't call TTD one of the worst business decisions Dick Kinzel has ever made. The aged and an experienced hands-on industry man and CEO of Cedar Fair, L.P. Dick Kinzel says in the interview that it is one of the worst business decisions he's ever made. Who am I going to believe?

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Also, wasn't TTD running pretty well this year when Kingda Ka was down?

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Haha. Not really. One would like to think that wouldn't they? But no, it did not. It did better in comparison to last season, but that really is not saying much for Dragster.

So Mike isn't entitled to his own opinion? What you believe isn't relevant.

Dragster ran pretty well most of the season. It was up every time I was there. It wasn't until the catastrophic gear failure toward the end.

Let the pissing matches begin. Honestly, who cares? It's like trying to compare which Deja Vu was up the most. The ever so subtle *SFvCF* stuff is slowly leaking back into almost every thread, and it's not fooling anyone lol.

What's done is done, obviously no one got it the first time around when S:TE didn't open till a year late.

/\ Ugh! That reminds me! Doesn't anybody else remember that string of seasons '96-'98 where a whole bunch of Intamin and Premier coasters were delayed MONTHS to even a year from originally anticipated openings? I can count up to six fingers the amount of coasters that had unusually long delayed openings between that time period which now just strikes me funny. GOTTA LOVE that technology. :)

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kRaXLeRidAh said:
I can count up to six...

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That's one more than I'd have given you. ;)

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onceler said:
I really wouldn't call TTD one of the "worst business decision he's ever made." ?

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Ok I'll bite what would you call his worst business decision. My money is on that pay per ride thing that fell down.

The lack of reliabilty of Dragster was a major factor in my not getting excited about Kingda Ka. Usually I would travel for a record setter but wht travel for a ride that's either not going to be open or have a 4 hour wait. Not worth it.

"Kingda KaKa" and "Top This Dragster" are the biggest jokes I have ever seen, and not just because of the downtime. They are the complete opposite of what made Magnum and MF such great decisions. Like S:TE, they offer almost nothing in the way of a complete ride experience. At least with Superman, you had the novelty factor. With these rides, the novetly ended after the first ride.

Cedar Point rolled the dice, and this time came up short. SFGadv doesn't even have an excuse for their bonehead move, and they seem to know it was a risk as they're already backing it up with something more solid.

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Lord Gonchar said:

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kRaXLeRidAh said:
I can count up to six...

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That's one more than I'd have given you. ;)

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I think kRaX was using BOTH hands, Gonch... ;~P

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Lord Gonchar said:

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kRaXLeRidAh said:
I can count up to six...

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That's one more than I'd have given you.

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Oh Gonch....silly billy.

I find it kind of funny/ironic now how everyone seems to be pissing & moaning about Dragster being a not-so-great coaster, and basically a disaster in their own minds now that the owner of Cedar Point says so...

...many even moaned when it went up that all it was, was a launch-tophat-breaks deal.

...yet when it opened to the public, and those who got to ride it says it was the greatest thing since sliced pickles. They loved the rush, loved the height, the sense of speed, and thought it was the perfect length, that any longer would just be too boring if it had an overbanked turn or two (a la Xcelerator).

Either the supporters aren't speaking up, or because Dick Kinzel says it's bad, you all gotta agree with it.

I don't... I still think it's a great coaster altogether. I like the Republica song chosen for the opening, like the pre-launch spiel, and the ride altogether rocks. The only thing I don't like about the ride is the possible inconsistancy of it breaking down.

Yeah there's been some downtime issues, but I have to jump up here as one of the supporters. 120 MPH in only a few seconds....420 feet up...an absolutely amazing view of the park...the spin while dropping...no painful restraints. Who cares if something like it was built a good 8 hours away? For CP it is a unique experience! If you think its too short, ride it again :).

So Mr. Kinzel believes it was a mistake. If you have a lot of problems and hear a lot of complaints, sure. It could also be he is playing to the crowd. Tell people what they want to hear. Guests have been upset that there have been so much downtime. So let them think you are on their side and agree it was a big mistake. Maybe he truly does think that or maybe he doesn't.

Either way, just because he might think that, it doesn't affect my opinion one bit. I absolutely love Dragster and I'm thrilled they put it in. I think it is an absolutely unique experience and I believe it fits the park extremely well. If I'm not somewhere for work see ya at Dragster opening day!

Okay, now there's a difference between an individual personally liking a coaster, and the coaster itself being a poor decision from a business stand point. A lot of you are not getting that.