No Coaster Con Notes

Wow, I thought that new coaster set would be cool , but those pics you have of it are AMAZING. Four inversions, and that many turns. Way cool.

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Oh, and all that other stuff is good too.

Did SFGAm show a sketch of what the new area would look like?

Sparky, I think IB said it was near their kiddie area, but I am not 100% sure...

Bob, they said the details weren't nailed down yet but that they anticipated keeping the park open 2 or 3? hours (someone help me here...) after park closes. I just checked those dates...they are all Wednesdays....well, that stinks. I appreciate the gesture, but you think that they'd make at least one of them on a Friday or Saturday... :( They did not mention any details other than the date for the ACE event. but note...it's the same day as Joyfest (Christian music festival) so it'll be really crowded

tpdom, they could even have more elements...that thing was still _flying_ as it hit the lift... *** Edited 1/18/2004 9:53:16 PM UTC by redman822***

I think we'll see some of the refurbishments for Coney starting this season with Scrambler, Monster, and Zephyr being repainted. The did some updates and changes on some of the signs last year and that was probably one of the first steps. I definitely see a new major ride(s) coming to the area in 2005 since that always comes with their "fix-ups" (TRTR to Rivertown, RRR to Nick Central, Scooby Doo to HBL, new slides & other areas to Boomerang Bay). I also like the Nickelodeon Parade idea... Anyone else getting a sense Paramount is trying to be the next Disney/Universal?

I agree with Chitown about SFGAm being "complete" after this expansion. They really have a little bit of everything and I imagine if they can go forward with the waterpark next, they will, like Tim Black said.

-Danny

I think it's about time that Paramount started to be like the other movie studio parks, and I am excited to see what else is in store for Paramount Parks in the future. *** Edited 1/18/2004 10:11:11 PM UTC by ghettocoaster***

Rollocoast - I'm aware of that, and (I know I'm opening a can of worms here) - how much of that attendance was "pay the full gate price" customers? I know they had lots of coupons and I'm pretty sure that they get a lot of runoff from Cedar Point (one of those "well it's here and it won't cost me anything to go there with my SF** pass -- I know that was the case with Missy and me).

-Dho

Thnaks again for the info, bad planning for the Ace event.

I don't really know how to reply to that Swoosh... (I know you didn't set yourself up for my reply, so this is my rambling and not a direct response to your statements ;)) If you have a SF pass from somewhere and you're going into the park for any amount of time, you're probably going to do some in-park spending that they're always happy to see. Paying less (or nothing) at the gate usually means buying more inside. Some of our best day for pictures at PKI is when there are buyouts and all of the employees and families were in for free. In the past couple of years, I would rather go to SFWOA than CP and if we were spending the weekend up there, CP would be the other park we would do since we were already up there. Same with IOA and BGT to Disney.

A lot of parks have offered a lot of coupons and "free days" in the past and have been very successful with them like Wild Adventures. Sometimes it works well and sometimes it doesn't so much. SFWOA being down a certain percentage surely has to reflect some poor customer service to guests but also no major rides since X-Flight and nearly every park in the entire chain was "down" in attendance. I don't think it was as isolated as so many people are claiming it to be. Dorney was down 10% and SDC was down several percentage points. Is there really something wrong with them?

Not that any of them are even close to bad parks, but Disney and SFWOA are the main courses and CP, IOA, and BGT are the sides. Some people feel differently and would pass up SFWOA and Disney both on those trips. They would go to SFA over BGW just because it had a couple more coasters. Or they would do the other way around because of atmosphere. There's nothing set in "this is how something is". Not everyone hates Six Flags and I completely exaggerated how much IOA, BGT, and CP were of lesser worth to me than the other parks. But it looks like they're trying some things at SFGAm and SFWOA this year and we'll have to wait it at and see. It sounds like SFWOA is really responding to some of their problems.

Btw, what does "shaddy" mean anyways? ;)

-Danny, pretending like he has something important to say in circles and diamonds

Too bad the Lincoln Park Comet won't open until at least 2008, but at least it's in the works. From what I read in an old ACE News, suppose to be a great airtime machine with one of the best first drops, even though it's only 65ft high:

http://www.geocities.com/www_woodencoaster_com/comet/

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Koaster King said:
Anyone else getting a sense Paramount is trying to be the next Disney/Universal?

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Oh, very much so. I've been getting that idea for about two years now- PKI especially. PKI has at least one ex-imagineer on staff and that's a start. I get the impression, though, that they're leaning more towards the Universal atmosphere than the Disney atmosphere.

Danny said:
"Disney and SFWOA are the main courses and CP, IOA, and BGT are the sides."

Are you nuts?! There is no way in hell that SFWoA is a "main course" park. Maybe it is to you, but for the majority of Ohio and surrounding areas, PKI and Cedar Point are. WoA could be, but it definitely isn't right now.

Swoosh - Yeah, you did open a can of worms... Bastard ;)
With coupons, Danny is right on. If you spend less to get into a park, you've got more to spend inside the park. Work with me here as this isn't a very good example...

Most families have a budget set when they go to a park. Say it's $200 for a day for a family of four. Without coupons, that $200 would cover only the tickets. There wouldn't be any money for anything else, so the family decides to wait another year until they can afford it. Now if they have a buy one get one free coupon, they spend $100 on admission and have $100 for food, games, and other crap. They can afford to go to the park and have fun! SF makes money.

SP holders are in a similar situation. They spend nothing to get into the park, but they spend money on food and other crap. It's not costing WoA anything to let them in, and they're still making money off everything the passholder purchases.

I hope that doesn't confuse you too much!
*** Edited 1/19/2004 1:26:38 PM UTC by rOLLocOASt***

Corey, to respond to your first question, even some of my friends would say, "maybe!" since I enjoy a good ride on SOB and Viper at Gret Adventure? You'll see later down in my post where I said I was exaggerating about how CP, BGT, and IOA were not worth as much as SFWOA and Diseny. That's was just my way to spill the worms on the floor at the beginning. ;)

SFWOA is *still* an excellent park though if you take into account the wild rides, wildlife, and waterpark. In almost any other state, it would stand out much more than being compared to CP and PKI (my favorite park in Ohio and second favorite seasonal after BGW). Of course, it probably wouldn't have ended up the same way anyways. If they really improve their operations and guest service like their investments seem to show for 2004, I think they could look a lot better. Afterall, with the "three parks in one", I think they at least look like one of the most appealing SF parks (or parks in general) I've been to for families looking for a little of everything.

-Danny *** Edited 1/19/2004 2:54:04 PM UTC by Koaster King***

Koaster King-
Just to answer some of your points. SDC was down because of CC, it canibalized from the 'city - mainly because it's new. Cedar Point is a destination park and SFWOA will never be one. I've yet to hear anyone say "let drive several days to go to SFWoA". Oh and the "shaddy thing" - CPlaya coined me with that, just like I coined him with Captain Obvious. :)

Any other questions? Private message me.

No reports on the PKI party yet? Where was it at?

The Pki pary was at the same place as No Coaster Con and was a blast. For me, I got to visit some friends, and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Beast. They showed videos of the Partridge family and the Brady Bunch at Pki. They also showed a 25th anniversary ACE exclusive video. There were tons of gifts on every table. Doubt anyone who wanted something walked away without a gift. There were also a few door prizes given away. There were tons of hors d'oeuvres. And plenty of drinks were to be had if you had the money. There were tickets for 2 complimentary drinks for everyone but they were taking tickets even for soda pop. All in all it was a fun event. *** Edited 1/19/2004 7:12:37 PM UTC by beast7369***

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redman822 said:

- beastbuzz june 26
-free pass to any paramount park to all in attendance

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Every BeastBuzz attendee will get a pass to any Paramount Park? Or was the second line in reference to something else?

No Neuski, everyone at No Coaster Con got the free pass to any Paramount Park (as well as a voucher for a towel, and an invite to media day). There was no mention to anyone that indicated that there would be a free pass given to attendees of BeastBuzz. However I can not and will not say that there wont be but I would not count on getting one if you go to Beastbuzz.

To those who missed the event, mark your calenders for next years event! Especially with what PKI is 'hinting' at for 2005. No Coaster Con is truly one of the best ACE events around. *** Edited 1/19/2004 8:31:49 PM UTC by beast7369***

Neuski, that was meant to say that everyone that attended NCC got one free pass that is good at any Paramount park.

EDIT: Yeah....what beast said... *** Edited 1/19/2004 8:46:39 PM UTC by redman822***

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Koaster King said:

SFWOA is *still* an excellent park though if you take into account the wild rides, wildlife, and waterpark. In almost any other state, it would stand out much more than being compared to CP and PKI If they really improve their operations and guest service like their investments seem to show for 2004, I think they could look a lot better.

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Danny makes a great point here. While everyone knows that SFWoA has struggled some with customer service, it has more than enough to be a great park. But even if they get their "service" act together, it will always be tough for them to compete with the other big guys in Ohio. Cedar Point is a destination park for more than just their rides and service. It was built to be a destination park. CP is about location (the lake) and tradition...lots of families take their kids there because they went when they were young. PKI is a destination park partly because of tradition, but increasingly for quality service, great kids stuff, and theming.

SFWoA doesn't need to be a destination park to be "successful", and that's not what they should strive for IMO. WoA is all about variety and value if you ask me, and to the degree that they improve service, spruce up the wildlife, and market the "total package" they could really sharpen their image.

Edit: on the topic...the PKI party which was (in the words of the judybats) pure delight. :) PKI was incredibly generous with the goodies and put together a beautiful tribute to The Beast and that BORG thingy was pretty cool. :) *** Edited 1/19/2004 9:12:23 PM UTC by dawnmarie313***

I figured that I couldn't be that lucky, but I thought I would check. Thank you for the information.