Posted
(Originally posted 2/12/03 9:11:28 AM) A Minnesota insurance company is refusing to pay Cedar Fair LP nearly $7.2 million in property damage claims for two torn-down VertiGo slingshot rides at Cedar Point and Knott's Berry Farm. The company says that because the rides could be repaired, following the collapse of one at Cedar Point, they were ineligible for compensation.
UPDATE: Brian Witherow, Director of Investor Relations for Cedar Fair, told CoasterBuzz this morning that, "We believe this court filing was made in error and will be withdrawn. We are currently in settlement discussions, which are proceeding in a satisfactory manner, and we expect this matter to be resolved shortly."
Read more from The Toledo Blade.
The park could have done all of those things if 1) They felt they could quickly recover the cost (return on investment) and 2) They didn't already have said elements in other coasters. It's the same reason that MF isn't a series of bunny hills like Magnum.
You made the most fundamentally ridiculous statement about business I've ever read (the part about them being "greedy") and we called you on it. As a unit holder, I trust that the company does what's right to make money, not piss it away. Those millions of dollars they want to recover are a part of the cash flow that eventually has an impact on my distribution, and they'd be doing their unitholders a disservice to not go after it.
And get over the "love Cedar Point" crap. The park's biggest fans are easily their biggest critics, so don't bother even going there. Don't further cloud the issue with nonsense about them "killing a lot of riders by mistake." Not only is it ridiculous to say you can predict what people would say, it didn't happen in the first place.
Stick to facts young man.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM
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RCT2 recreation of SFNE coming this spring!
*** This post was edited by XFan 2/13/2003 1:31:05 PM ***
You're totally missing the point. Nobody feels bad in the first place. You aren't going to manipulate anyone into feeling bad for you. If you have an opinion, stick by it, enforce it with logic or at least strong convictions and go with it. That's what happens when you put yourself out there. Learn to deal with it.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM
"It's the same reason that MF isn't a series of bunny hills like Magnum."
Tell me another one! Ever heard of Gemini? If your point was true, they shouldn't have built Magnum with bunny hills. Or they shouldn't have built Gemini with bunny hills because of Blue Streak. Or they shouldn't have built Raptor with a loop and corkscrews (or flat spins) since Corkscrew already had them. You make absolutely no sense.
"The park's biggest fans are easily their biggest critics, so don't bother even going there."
Is this a fact? Can I see some figures or a press release?
XFan, if it is indeed just an opinion (for example, you think CP is the best park in the world), you can't be wrong. If you think CP is greedy, I don't understand how you're wrong either. I didn't see an official press release where they gave everyone there a lie detector test to see if they were or not and results that they weren't. Maybe they are greedy and they still know how to run a good business.
-Danny
You DO realize that at the speed the train will be going, said "airtime hill" would need to either be very tall, or very long, either way adding a LOT of expense to the ride for "a simple hill". If instead there were a trim before said hill to bleed off speed and make it safe, then Cedar Point would be panned for the trim. Either way, it's a can't-win situation for the park to try to extend the ride.
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--Greg, aka Oat Boy
My page
"Friendship -- more lasting than love, more legal than stalking."
They operate Perilous Plunge because the error was one of operation, not a failure of the ride. The woman never should've been allowed to ride. You'll never hear that as the official line for the sake of satisfying CalOSHA, but you know it's true.
Regarding why MF was built as it was, don't take my word for it. I make that statement only repeating what Dick Kinzel said. I agree with him 100%, and furthermore after being in the business this long and having the only thing on the NYSE, or in my portfolio, that isn't sucking wind right now in this ugly economy, I tend to value his opinion.
Blah blah blah bias crybaby. Nothing irritates me more than people who can't make an argument and instead resort to accusations of bias and other such nonsense. What's next, your mamma jokes?
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM*** This post was edited by Jeff 2/13/2003 2:22:08 PM ***
No "your mamma" jokes from me. I'm not like that. Since you're accusing me of "whining" though, I'd like to know where. I've gone too far if that sounds like a whine.
Thanks for addressing two of my many questions anyways.
One more though: If people heard that it was the fault of a KBF employee leading to someone's death, do you think that would be just as bad as a ride breaking?
-Danny*** This post was edited by Koaster King 2/13/2003 2:48:38 PM ***
Gregleg: you are right about TTD, I never thought about that.
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RCT2 recreation of SFNE coming this spring!
-Danny
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RCT2 recreation of SFNE coming this spring!
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Race for the Sky
Top Thrill Dragster
Cedar Point 2003
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RCT2 recreation of SFNE coming this summer!
On topic: I hope S&S and Cedar Fair can stay in business with each other. I know S&S is going to make some crazy rides in the future and I'd love to see them at some Cedar Fair parks. A Screaming Squirrel, S&S wood, or Sky Swatter would be a great addition to any park, and CF would be missing out if they did anything bad with S&S. As the statement above says, "we expect this matter to be resolved shortly." We can only hope for the best.
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I was asked to describe X in one word. The word? -- OhmygoshwhathaveIgottenmyselfintothisisthescariest
thingintheworldhelpmeIamgoingtodieAHHHH!!!
...but what's important is that it's HIGHLY marketable, and adds to the VARIETY of thrills available at CP. Is it *perfect*? What IS? The point is, from the viewpoint of the park and esp. the investors...."How long is it gonna take for me to get back my $25M"...(borrowed without permission, LOL)...
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Never go unarmed into a battle of wits...
I don't want to get back into the details of what originally happened to make VertiGo break to begin with, but is there anything special about the supports that haven't been used with countless skyscrapers, skyflyers, parachute drops, etc.? Could it be CP's fault? I apologize for not knowing everything about the original incident, but this all sounds really strange to me.
-Danny, who forgot which site he was on when he mentioned something remotely negative about Cedar Fair
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"Thank you for not shooting me" -Bowling for Columbine
Does anybody take debate or speech or anything of that nature in school anymore?
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM
I had some serious questions up there and you still blew them off and did the runaround. It's ok though. I'm sure I'll find the answers somewhere else.
I guess with most of the arguement stuff, you weren't talking to me, because everything I said were questions. I wasn't trying to make a point or anything. I really wanted to know.
What weakens your arguement is using things like: "What planet are you from?" "Blah blah blah bias crybaby." "Cry me a river.", etc. Please don't do that, because you generally do have great arguements behind that. Yeah, I'm still not too "hard" to give someone a compliment.
-Danny
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM
2) Or Montezooma? And why didn't (or did they?) they sue TOGO and have them redesign Windjammer so it could operate correctly?
3) If people heard that it was the fault of a KBF employee leading to someone's death, do you think that would be just as bad as a ride breaking?
4) *not incredibly relevant, but I was wondering* Why is your point any more valid than mine here?: Tell me another one! Ever heard of Gemini? If your point was true, they shouldn't have built Magnum with bunny hills. Or they shouldn't have built Gemini with bunny hills because of Blue Streak. Or they shouldn't have built Raptor with a loop and corkscrews (or flat spins) since Corkscrew already had them.
5) Can CF/CP be greedy and still know how to run a good business?
6) I don't want to get back into the details of what originally happened to make VertiGo break to begin with, but is there anything special about the supports that haven't been used with countless skyscrapers, skyflyers, parachute drops, etc.? Could it be CP's fault? I apologize for not knowing everything about the original incident, but this all sounds really strange to me.
If you can help me answer these questions, you'll be on top of my list for a St. Olaf fun pack! :)
-Danny*** This post was edited by Koaster King 2/14/2003 11:35:18 AM ***
2) What happened to Monte? I mean, aside from the aneurism? They did sue TOGO. Search the news.
3) What does this have to do with VertiGo?
4) The difference in magnitude between Magnum and Gemini is significant. Mix in the fact the difference in technologies over the last 30 years and it makes the point perfect valid. Furthermore, there is an obvious and significant issue with cost and design. Dragster already cost $25 million, and as GregLeg pointed out, the construction of even a single extra hill would be huge because it would need to be large enough to accomodate the speed.
5) That's a fundamentally invalid question. The purpose of any business is to make money. You don't go into business to make just a little money or "enough" money, you go into business to make as much as you can. If you equate making money with greed, then, sure whatever you want to think.
6) Skyscapers, coasters, etc., aren't free-standing 260-foot poles. See RideMan's statements about vortex shedding that led to the eventual failure of the column. The reason it didn't previously fail is because of the cable attached to the ride vehicle, which stabilized the column in wind. When the cable was removed for the winter, apparently as part of S&S's suggested winterization, it was able to oscillate in a manner that caused the failure of the column. I hardly see how the park, who didn't engineer the ride, could forsee that.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"The world rotates to The Ultra-Heavy Beat!" - KMFDM
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