The Beach waterpark closes, cites competition, economy

No refunds? That's insane. I'm no student of this stuff and don't know a helluva lot about the business end of things. But if you're not delivering the product that was purchased, you've gotta give a refund. Maybe I'm over-simplifying, but that's the only way I can understand ;)

The let's simplify it even more.

Your money doesn't exist anymore. There's nothing to give back.

File a dispute with Visa/Mastercard if that's how you paid. They'll investigate and it'll turn up that the place is closing its doors.

I'm still waiting for my refund from Mark Wyatt for the issues of Inside Track I never received.

Isn't it against the law to sell something to someone and not give it to them?

^^I remember that fiasco, Vader. I'll have to admit, I was pissed, but I've lost much more money in worse ways.

Where's that +1 button for Vater?

--Dave Althoff, Jr, who never subscribed to Inside Track, but always picked up the IAAPA edition when he could...

Wow, you have to remember Usenet to know what Inside Track is.

Another +1 for Jeff.

--Dave Althoff, Jr., who last posted to Usenet *yesterday*

^^I have no clue what Usenet is/was, but I knew Inside Track pretty well :)

I remember Usenet (I assume you're referring to rec.roller-coaster?), but wasn't aware of it at the time I'd heard about Inside Track. A friend gave me the book White Knuckle Ride by Mark Wyatt for my birthday in '97. In the back there was information for how to subscribe to Inside Track. What wasn't in the back of the book was a disclaimer stating that I would receive a grand total of three issues of the supposed monthly periodical at very random intervals, the first arriving eons upon eons after I subscribed.

rec.roller-coaster is a subset of Usenet.

Inside Track actually published on a regular...even monthly...schedule for a very long time until the late 1990s. Right about the time Mark Wyatt decided to make the publication his occupation instead of his hobby, the issues stopped coming. For the last couple of years he managed to get a November issue out, but that was about it. Finally the publication disappeared altogether.

It was after Inside Track vanished that Amusement Today started publishing. Amusement Today was a really nice blend of industry-focused and enthusiast-focused material, and has been so nicely balanced that it was able to pick up where Amusement Business left off after it was unceremoniously killed off.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Trade magazines in print still strike me as completely absurd in the Internet age.

Vater said:
I'd heard about Inside Track {...} in '97.

RideMan said:
Inside Track actually published on a regular...even monthly...schedule for a very long time until the late 1990s.

My timing is impeccable!

^^The pictures in Rollercoaster! magazine are beautiful. Looking at a screen is great (most of the time, in my case) but I wouldn't trade anything for those beautiful Rollercoaster! magazines. They are great for trips, too...

That's not a trade magazine, that's porn for coaster nerds.

^If that's true, First Drop is the hardcore stuff...