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Industry News:
2008 Park Attendance Report - (4/18/09) For the second year in a row, the Busch parks have a little bone to pick with the new annual attendance report issued by TEA and ERA. They claim that the attendance estimates for the Busch parks are well below what their true numbers are, “wrong across the board” according to Busch spokeperson, Fred Jacobs. He corrects the report saying that the Busch parks combined brought in more than 25.4 million guests in 2008, 10% more than the 23 million reported in the new 2008 attendance report. He even went on record to point out that SeaWorld (Orlando I assume) brought in 6.2 million in 2007, far more than the 5.8 million estimate from last year’s report.
In their defense, ERA did mention that they had come to Busch asking for their help to compile their figures, but Busch, like most other park operations, refuses to give up this sensitive information, so they only have their best estimates to go by.
(4/16/09) The official 2008 Theme Park Attendance Report can be seen (and downloaded) by clicking here. In the meantime you can still download your own copy of the 2007 report.
Coaster Videos - (2/10/10) Theme Park Review is now selling Coaster Expedition Volume 13 which features video shot at all the parks they’ve hit along the Eastern half of the US lately including: SFGAdv, KD, BGW, Lake Compounce, SFNE, Knoebels, Hersheypark, Canada’s Wonderland, Morey’s, Coney Island, Darien Lake and many more.
Coaster Trips - (2/4/10) Theme Park Review is looking to get some feedback on where they should plan group trips to in 2011. I’m told they are looking into the possibility of taking an early 2011 trip to Australia. Other possible locations being looked at include Japan, Spain and Cedar Point. If you are interested in going on a future trip with TPR and want to give your opinion on where you would like to go, take the survey here.
(1/11/10) Negative G is attempting to plan a big coaster riding trip in early August to visit Carowinds, Freestyle Music Park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Kings Dominion and are hoping to gather up a small group of other enthusiasts along the way to join in the fun. If your interested, click here to read all the details.
(11/19/09) The CoasterZombies will be taking a trip to Mexico in 2010, with a tentative schedule of July 7th to 11th. The trip will include stops at 3 parks (Six Flags Mexico, La Feria Chapultepec Magico and Parque Bicentenario), 14 coasters… and 2 pyramids. For all the details on how you can go too click here.
 General News - (3/15/10) One of the more interesting new reality TV shows this year has been Undercover Boss on CBS. The idea of the show is for a big company CEO to go undercover as a new employee in his own company, to get a new perspective on things. Past subjects have included to CEOs of Hooster and 7-Eleven, but who hasn’t watched this show and wondered just when they would get around to showing off a real theme park? Well, your wait is almost over as CBS has announced the subjects of their final shows this season… one of which will be to follow Joel Manby, the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment. Typicaly, the show puts the CEO undercover at more than one company location, so I’m hoping we get to see Joel undercover at both Silver Dollar City and Dollywood when the show airs on Sunday, March 28th. Set you DVR now…
(3/13/10) For those looking to join a new kind of Coaster Club, Theme Park Review has launched their very own club… Club TPR. Special benefits are available to members from 50 parks so far, and the official launch day is March 15th. Check out the official details here.
(2/1/10) The Coaster Fusion crew has sent us an update about their new coaster club. The group is now providing access to 14 different enthusiast events this year including HoliWood Nights (Holiday World), Coaster Mayhem (Worlds of Fun), Coaster Madness (Dorney), Thrills In The Hills (Dollywood) as well as their very own event at Six Flags America. For all the details click here.
(1/31/10) Through polling several of the internet’s top theme park / coaster related webmasters (myself included) the LA Times has posted their own Top 10 best Steel and Wooden coaster lists.
(1/14/10) The results of the 2009 Steel Coaster Poll are now live, with Bizarro at Six Flags New England (formerly: Superman: Ride of Steel) taking the top spot once again, followed by the defunct Eagle’s Fortress in the #2 spot despite not having operated for the entire 2009 season. As has been the trend the last few years, American coasters are mostly being knocked out of the #10 list by international favorites like Nemesis, Piraten, Katun, Kawasemi and more.
Internet Fun - (3/13/10) Sally Corp has posted a couple of new dark ride videos… and this time they are creation that we just don’t see too often. First up is The Great Pistolero Roundup, followed by Zombie Paradise. Check them out below!
(3/1/10) CoasterzUK has send us a link to their YouTube channel which features a ton of POV coaster rides from parks all around the world, including several from South Korea and Japan for those of you looking for something new.
(2/27/10) The March edition of Andy Shine’s Coater Quiz is now live.
(2/26/10) Coaster Force has launched the final voting in the 2010 Airtime Awards which are being handled in a unique voting method this year. Check it out. In other news, Wired Magazine has posted an interesting list showcasing the Best Un-built Thrill Rides which can be found online as well as in the March issue.
(2/24/10) RCPro is launching the all new RCPro Themed Photo Contest where each week they will come up with a new theme for photo submissions. They are hoping to really bring out the creative photographers out there to show off their best shots. This week’s contest has a fun and simple theme called “Drop”. Check it out... I’ve thrown my own submission into the mix this week.
(2/20/10) The Goddard Group has now posted some never before seen concept art created for the Wonderful World of OZ park that was proposed for Kansas in the late ‘90s, but killed off when the locals voted against the project. I remember reporting all about this project and it seems like it could only be a monster hit… and you have only to look at the attractions envisioned for it to see why. Balloon ride simulator, get caught in a house as the twister takes you to OZ, the Flying Monkey inverted coaster, shows, coasters, water rides and the giant magestic Emerald City on the horizon everywhere you look. Such a damn shame that it was never built…
(2/16/10) While browsing through the S&S Power website today I came across a funny video clip they have posted featuring a comedian giving a lengthy and funny description of S&S’ most famous tower ride… The Big Shot in Las Vegas. Check it out!
(2/12/10) For a fun quick read check out On A Rail to read a list of ride companies personified as people you may have met in your life once upon a time. And yes, Togo is definitely the foreign exchange student who never quite figured out how to deal with American culture.
(2/1/10) Thrill Network is trying out an interesting little idea that they’re calling the 2010 Coaster Draft. They describe it as being kind of like the NFL Draft, but with roller coasters as the players. The winner will receive a T-Shirt and a $50 gift certificate for Amazon. See all the details here. Also the February edition of Andy Shine’s Coaster Quiz is now live.
(1/31/10) Remember that incredible commercial last year that was posted online showing off the guy leaving work and riding a huge waterslide the entire way home? Well the Barclaycard people are back with a follow-up ad, this time showing off a guy living the ultimate coaster enthusiast dream. Yes… riding a roller coaster to work in the morning. What a world… if only this was reality. Check it out here.
(1/25/10) Looks like the award for the most Terrible Parent of the Year has been awarded before even the end of January. A strange letter from a parent writes in to their local paper asking about what would be the correct polite way to bribe a roller coaster op to let their daughter ride Incredible Hulk when she is two inches too short to do it. Wow... but they were given the right answer in the end, to just deal with it because those safety limits are there for a reason.
B&M - (1/7/10) Early rumors are starting to drop here and there indicating that B&M is hard at work on some kind of new coaster design. I suppose it’s about time anyway since B&M haven’t really invented a new design since we saw the first Flying coasters open back in 2002. So I guess the real question is… what’s left? We’ve got Standing, Sitting, Flying, Floorless, Inverted and Diving… so perhaps they are ready to full embrace the Launched coaster concept, as Incredible Hulk was a special one-shot only creation.
(12/21/09) One of our readers has posted a few new pictures taken outside the plant that makes all the world’s B&M coaster track. While there wasn’t all that much to see in the snow, there were a couple of pieces of Blue-ish track in the background here, as well as some small support pieces on the ground here.
(11/24/09) If you take a listen to the Season Pass Podcast with John Wardley, he mentions near the end of the interview (aprox 56:40) that he is “working with B&M on their next new product.” Hmmm… let the speculation begin!
(10/20/09) Just an update on all that missing B&M track… one source tells me  that it’s most likely all heading to China at this point as there are still a few new major theme parks set to open in the next couple of years.
(10/19/09) Just to recap what has been seen at the B&M fabrication plant over the past year that was never identified. In Jan 2009 Yellow track was spotted that has yet to be found anywhere. In April 2009 bright red track started to appear which was likely for Intimidator at Carowinds, along with some leftover pieces of that unknown Yellow track. In May 2009 the plant was full of more Red track and a bunch of Yellow track again. By September 2009 all the Yellow track was gone... but we still don’t know what it was for. Previously shipping containers were also seen on site, so it more than likely may have went to an international destination. I don’t think it’s for Universal Studios Dubailand just yet, but we’ve heard rumors about a Mummy parts being shipping already for that project so you never know.
(10/12/09) We’ve got four new pictures from the B&M
fabrication plant in Ohio this week, send in by one of our readers. Items of note include a truckload of grey supports ready to be hauled off, which I’m assuming are heading towards Carowinds. There was also a truckload of Red coaster track again for an unknown project. Plus lots of unpainted track sitting around.
(9/3/09) Our source has sent in three more pictures from the B&M fabrication plant showing off more track and unpainted supports.
(9/2/09) An unknown source sent in a new but very interesting picture today, showing off a couple of new grey or unpainted pieces of track sitting outside the plant in Ohio that makes all the B&M Track. You never can tell just who or what it is for…
Cedar Fair - (3/4/10) Cedar Fair and Rockband have announced a new collaboration that will see something called “Rock Band, Live” brought to various Cedar Fair parks this season. A season-long version of this live interactive show experience will take place at Cedar Point and Canada’s Wonderland while a traveling version of the show will go on tour hitting 9 different parks along the way.
From the sound of things, the ‘preshow’ experience will involve the public playing the Rockband video game, resulting in the top players being invited up onto the stage to rock out with the live band… while you get to play along on your Rock Band plastic instrument. While some have blasted the idea, I think it’s a fun new project myself, and sure as hell to be more enjoyable than yet another American Idol themed show.
The Rock Band, Live tour will begin at Dorney Park over Memorial Day Weekend and slowly work their way Westward. According to the LA Times, the Tour will likely end their run with dates at California’s Great America (July 22 – Aug 1st) and Knott’s Berry Farm (Aug 5 – 15th) according to the LA Times.
(2/15/10) The latest Cedar Fair performance report shows that the company’s revenues were down 8% from the previous year. They also reported an chain wide attendance drop of 1.6 million less turnstile clicks, down 7% from 2009 to only hit 21.1 million guests in 2009. PerCap spending was also down 1%. You can read more here.
(2/12/10) Cedar Fair has set March 16th as the date for a meeting with their unit holders to discuss and vote on the proposed sale/merger with Apollo.
(2/10/10) Yet another big investor, this time a Texas investment banker by the name of Geoffrey Raynor, has gone on record vowing to vote against the sale of Cedar Fair to Apollo with his nearly 9.38 million shares… or roughly 17% of Cedar Fair. This is the biggest amount owned by any single shareholder. Combined with the other big numbers against the deal, it looks like Apollo will either have to put up a better offer or leave the table.
(2/4/10) As I predicted in my last update, investment experts are currently not expecting to see the sale of Cedar Fair to Apollo approved under the current terms. Now a second large investment group (Neuberger Berman Group LLC) has also increased their holding in the company to 9.6% and has also gone on record that they are against the sale’s current terms. This is in addition to Q Fundings 12% holding. Combined the two hold close to 21.6% of the shares, and to kill the deal there only needs to be a “no” vote by 34% of the shareholders. With shares still trading at an average of $12.25 lately, it seems everyone is waiting to see if Apollo will sweeten the deal or let it die.
(1/25/10) Cedar Fair has responded on their official site to the growing number of complaints and lawsuits over the pending sale of the company to Apollo. They report that the $11.50 offer per share is 43% higher than their “weighted average closing price over the 30 days prior to the transaction announcement and a 28% premium over the closing unit price on December 15, 2009.” Currently the 11 cases filed against Cedar Fair have now been consolidated into one case. It has also been pointed out that Cedar Fair’s largest shareholder (Q Funding III, LP) which holds 9.8% of the company’s outstanding units has gone on record that they will vote against the deal. They point out that it makes no sense to sell the company for $11.50 a share when the current closing price of CF stock on January 20th was already $12.21, 6% higher than the current Apollo offer. I’m guessing that Apollo may have to sweeten the deal a little bit before they will get it approved.
(1/15/10) If the Apollo purchase of Cedar Fair goes through, certain top CF executives will be exchanging their stock options in CF for ownership stakes in Apollo. You can read more details here.
(1/7/10) A few new details about the proposed Apollo take-over of Cedar Fair are mentions in this article, including the realization of a provision put into play last year that grants Dick Kinzel a $20 million Golden Parachute payout if he were to lose his job following any kind of sale of Cedar Fair.
(1/4/10) So far there are a total of seven lawsuits against the pending sale of Cedar Fair to Apollo. All of them claiming that the buyout offer is not a fair price. Read more here.
(12/31/09) According to this news report, the Knott’s family is not at all happy about the proposed sale of Cedar Fair to Apollo. Going back to when the Knott’s family sold The Farm to Cedar Fair, they gained 2 million shares in the company as part of the deal, keeping them involved in the decisions involving future developments at the park. Right now, they aren’t sure which way they will vote on the proposed sale as this would essentially involve the Knott’s family cashing out and ending any and all involvement with the theme park that their family created so long ago.
(12/29/09) As we mentioned last week, Cedar Fair does seem to be in a bit of hot water over the proposed sale of the company to Apollo. According to this article, at least five separate lawsuits have been filed across the country in protest to this move and more are expected.
(12/23/09) It seems some Cedar Fair investors are upset about the proposed Apollo buyout deal and have kicked off an investigation of the CF board regarding this “unfair takeover”. They claim that the timing of the deal is designed to be unfair to shareholders, as the $11.50 a share offer is too low. Shares were trading at $12 in August and as high as $14.10 over the past year. Even then the price is devalued because of the downtown in the economy as Cedar Fair shares ranged between $23 and 30 a share in September of the previous two years. In short, it sounds like they held off on making the deal until the shares had hit their lowest point in years, thus giving Apollo a nice price break, but not giving the Shareholder’s their proper worth.
(12/21/09) An interesting read about Apollo’s takeover of Cedar Fair and what it could mean for the company can be found here, and it’s not all good news as Apollo hasn’t always had the best track record it seems. For some background on Apollo, I’ve been told that they are the ones behind: AMC Entertainment, Berry Plastics, Claire's, Countrywide plc, CEVA Logics, Debt investments, Harrah's Entertainment, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Jaccuzi Brands, Linen's and Things, Momentive Performance Materials, Noranda Aluminum, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Sea Cruises, Rexnord, Smart and Final and much more.
(12/17/09) In another shocking bit of news, it seems Cedar Fair may have found that cash rich investment partner they were looking for shortly after swallowing up the Paramount Parks. According to this news article a group called Apollo Global Management has worked a deal to actually purchase Cedar Fair entirely, paying out their stock holders cash for each share, which will then allow the company to go Private… away from the endless and unfriendly waves of the no-longer stable stock market. Cedar Fair’s Board of Directors has already approved of the deal, so it comes down to the shareholders now to give the nod, which they likely will in exchange for the buy-out cash offer. Going private seems to be the new hot thing for theme parks I’m guessing, as we saw this happen earlier this year with Universal Studios Japan, along with the closing of the deal that saw Blackstone take home the former Busch Entertainment parks. Anyone know anything about this Apollo company? They’ve been off my radar, so I know nothing about them yet. I’m guessing this year may end up being very similar to the Blackstone buyout as well, where Apollo will become the owner, but keep all the key Cedar Fair management in place, or at least until Kinzel’s next retirement deadline which I believe is looming ahead at the end of the 2011 season.
Chance Morgan Rides - (2/17/10) Chance Rides has posted a new video on YouTube showing off their new UniCoaster flat ride creation in the factory once again, but this they invited some of the general public in to take a test spin to get their reactions. Check it out.
Disney - (3/11/10) Disney announced their new all-in-one Disney Premium Passport is now available for $700, which gets you unlimited access to both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort parks… with no blackout dates. For those of you big Disney fans out there who travel to both coasts every year, this will certainly save you some money on park admission. Currently the combined price of owning a Premium pass to both resorts right now is $928. Current passholders will be contacted with an offer to upgrade their existing pass if interested.
Disney has also announced a few new D23 exclusive events today. The first is something called Destination D, which will take place on Sept. 24-25, 2010, but the next D23 Expo wont take place until August 19-21st, 2011. You can read all about them here.
(3/10/10) Disney has announced the end to their Give A Day free ticket promotion after the program had reached their goal of 1 million volunteers in just 10 short weeks.
(2/10/10) According to the last Disney earnings report reservations at the Disney resorts so far from January through March 2010 are running 10% lower than last year’s level. The overall picture isn’t so bad however as profits for the last quarter only dropped 2% compared to the same period the year before. There are some interesting numbers as well from California compared to the Florida Resort. When comparing the exact same dates in this quarter from last year to this year Walt Disney World’s theme park attendance dropped 1% while the combined figures from Disneyland and California Adventure rose an amazing 15%.
(2/4/10) According to this article, Disney could end up facing a few Anti-Trust issues brought about by their purchase of Marvel comics, caused by Marvel’s previous relationship deal with Universal Orlando. It gets complicated, so real on here for the details and what-if’s.
(1/21/10) Disney and More has posted an interesting story this week, showing off an honest to goodness REAL Disney parade that took place in Rio de Janerio, Brazil in December. Now how did this Parade come to take place in Rio? According to the article, Disney may be planting the seeds for their next long-term theme park growth spot and has eyeballed Rio as the best place to plant the Disney flag in South America. Of course, don’t look for this to happen anytime soon… if at all, since Disney is now focused on building the new resort in China later this decade. Chances are if we see Rio Disneyland at all, it wont be until the mid 2020’s.
(1/20/10) Disney has revelaed the name as well as the official website for their new Resort Hotel in Hawaii. They have named it Aulani, You can sign up for official updates on the site as work towards the grand opening in Fall 2011. In case you were wondering, According to an official Disney tweet, Aulani means “the place that speaks for the great ones” or “the place that speaks with deep messages.” Judging from the artwork they’ve got on the site, it looks like a beautiful resort.
(1/18/10) An interesting article came out over the weekend at the Orlando Sentinel reporting that Disney is spending around $1 billion dollars on a long-term multi-branch concept top secret project referred to only as “NextGen”. The whole point of the NextGen project is to eventually transform the Disney theme parks to offer an entirely new set of experiences for the 21st century… changing forever the experience and concept of your typical park visit. The project is said to be so big that even the various groups working on particular aspects of the project have not been entirely made aware of the big picture behind it all. Meanwhile various security measures have also been put in place to keep any and all information leaks to a minimum. That said, the general feeling is that Disney does consider this to be a game-changer… something that will once again set the Disney parks apart from the rest for years to come. For a good read about some of the technology that may be involved with some of the NextGen concepts, click here.
(1/11/10) Movieline has posted an interesting article claiming that Disney may very well be working on a ride themed around the popular LOST television series. It seems one idea being talked about included a ride that would use a Kuka Robocoaster style arm, much like what we will see used as the ride hardware for Universal’s Harry Potter themed dark ride in Orlando.
(1/7/10) It seems a group of fans have started an online petition to convince Disney to convert Tom Sawyer’s Island at Disneyland into a new attraction themed around the hit-show Lost, despite the fact that Lost will be starting it’s last season in a few weeks. I’ve got to admit, I’ve been surprised Disney hasn’t tried to market Lost to the theme park faithful yet… though I think it would really need to take over something bigger than Tom Sawyer’s Island. Maybe a Lost themed Waterpark maybe?
(1/6/10) Disney has announced plans to set up a new retail location in New York’s Time Square that promises new interactive experiences and attractions when it opens in the fall of 2010. Apparently having Steve Jobs (Apple) on the board of directors is having some influence on the direction of Disney’s newest retail locations. The new store will actually be set up in the site of the former Virgin Megastore. This also seems to be a prototype setup of what Disney may have in store for remodeling the rest of the Disney store chain over the next five years.
(1/5/10) It’s official… Disney is now the new owners of Marvel Entertainment after getting the final approval from Marvel stockholders. It should be interesting to see just what actions Disney will take with their new treasure-chest full of thousands of new interesting characters and very lucrative property licenses.
Gary Goddard Group - (2/2/10) Fun times ahead… as the Gary Goddard Group has now launched their own Facebook fan page. Check it out. They’ve also got their own Twitter as well. What has the Gary Goddard Group worked on? Check out the video embedded below.
Gerstlauer - (2/2/10) Gerstlauer has announced two new rides this year: the Suspended Polyp and Sky Fly. The Suspended Polyp actually premiered during this
past Oktoberfest and is owned by German showman Thomas Aigner. The ride concept is based on the old Octopus / Polyp rides from the past era, but adding the new twist of open seating.
The Sky Fly is actually an updated version of the Sky Roller, with both rides allowing the riders to control the rotation of their car by adjusting the wings. Sky Fly changes the experience a bit more however, as the “boom” is now tilted at 45º and every rotation features an elevation change of some kind. The Sky Fly is available in 6, 8, 12 or 16 seat versions.
Great Wolf Lodge - (3/6/10) All of the Great Wolf Lodge resorts will be taking part in a multi-location effort to make a new Guinness World Record attempt for the “Longest Distance Water Sliding in 24 Hours” record. This “World’s Largest Waterslide-Athon” event will take place on March 26th where the number of sliders down only one particular slide in each location will count towards the record. While Resort guests are being asked to participate in the daytime, the general public is being invited in to continue to rank up the numbers during the night. Visit the official site for details.
(2/12/10) Great Wolf Lodge will hold a conference call on Feb. 24th to discuss their Q4 report. Find out how you can listen in here.
The Gravity Group - (2/10/10) Check out the new Gravity Group video posted to YouTube showing off the footage they shared with the Eastcoaster event, giving a tour of the new Timberliner trains.
Herschend Family Entertainment - (1/26/10) Wondering what plans Herschend Family Entertainment has for the former Celebration City park? Apparently nothing yet… as they are still unsure of what to do with the 110 acre property and have reported that they are not ready to make any kind of announcement about it anytime soon. Read more here.
IAAPA Convention Schedule - IAAPA is currently scheduled to take place in Orlando in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019.
Lo-Q - (2/20/10) Lo-Q has announced that business has been quite good for them over the past year. On top of that, they are working on expanding the use of their Q-Txt product as well as the launch of a new product line that will be given a test run at two waterparks this year. They claim that this all new system will be even more revolutionary than the original Q-Bot system was and could have a much father reach of practical world applications.
While the official statement doesn’t mention the locations of these trial runs, Screamscape sources tell us that one of them will be put to use at a waterpark in Georgia. To me that pretty much narrows things down to Six Flags White Water Atlanta or Wild Adventure’s Splash Island. It’s a tough call, as both owners (Six Flags and Herschend Family Entertainment) are already Lo-Q customers. According to our source, this trial run will actually involve requiring every guest at the park to use the system, so I can only assume it will use some kind of RFID embedded wristband, similar to what Great Wolf Lodge has been using. Though Great Wolf’s use of the wristbands was for cash-free purchases as well as being able to use them as a convenient room key so you can enjoy the resort’s waterpark without wondering where to keep your wallet or keys. As for the second location, I’m going to guess it may be tested somewhere in Europe. More on this trial run when we find out.
MagiQuest - (3/2/10) According to this press release, MagiQuest Chicago will open April 1st in the Yorktown Shopping Center near Lucky Strike Lanes.
(2/27/10) For any MagiQuest fans interested in getting involved with the Beta test of the MagiQuest Online game world, click here to find out how you can get in.
(11/23/09) MagiQuest has announced that they will open a new location in the Chicago area (Yorktown Center) in February 2010, similar in size to the location just opened in the Mall of America. However coming in December however, MagiQuest will be ready to launch their new MQ Online multiplayer game that will recognize players wands used in the real world game somehow.
Maurer Sohne - (3/13/10) An interesting brief article about Maurer Sohne was posted at Interpark which includes an interesting technical items of note. Maurer is using LSM launch systems on their coasters in part because the latest version of the technology allows for them to recover braking energy as one train returns and re-use it again for the next launch.
Merlin Entertainment - (3/13/10) Merlin Entertainment has reported an attendance increase of 3 million from this past year, which strikes a strong contrast to how most other theme park chains faired in 2009. You can read more here.
(2/15/10) According to this article it looks like Blackstone’s plans to offer a public IPO with Merlin have been canceled. For now at least...
PARC Management - (3/3/10) Screamscape Exclusive - As PARC Management is gearing up for the 2010 season, they’ve paused for an internal review of their own leadership team at the corporate office. As part of a “commitment to healthy growth,” the company realized with the help of outside resources and consultants that it needed a flatter organizational structure for the long-term. “As a result, three executive positions were removed from the organizational structure to accomplish this. We believe that this simplified organizational structure will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness as well as streamlined communication across the entire company.”
“As part of our other efforts to increase efficiency and streamline communication, we are holding two management meetings this Spring. We are currently at one of the meetings right now where our theme and water parks are hearing about some industry-revolutionizing new programs coming out next quarter for our team members and our guests. We also have some colossal partnerships and programs under our not-for-profit, PARC Foundation, that are going to be big news! Our focus this year is truly all about our team member and guest engagement, and we have all banded together to make 2010 our best year yet.”
(1/31/10) PARC Management has launched their own Facebook Fan Page. Check it out here.
(1/18/10) In response to the story we posted last week about paperwork filed by Six Flags against PARC Management, I received a response from Amie Bolton, the Senior Director of Communications for PARC Management, which I will post below.
“Six Flags has not brought legal action against PARC for the return of the parks purchased by PARC from Six Flags in April 2007. PARC and Six Flags have had an ongoing dispute regarding the language of one of the agreements made between them as part of the 2007 purchase. This dispute involves the interpretation of a promissory note in which Six Flags alleges the language provides for non-scheduled principal pre-payments. Early last year, PARC filed suit against Six Flags asking the court to declare the language does not provide for non-scheduled principal pre-payments. This action was “stayed” when Six Flags filed Bankruptcy (meaning that PARC could not proceed in its legal action without Bankruptcy Court approval). Very recently, Six Flags filed in its Bankruptcy proceeding a claim based on this year-old dispute. You should know that Six Flags has not sought, has no right to recover, and has no security interest in any of its former properties. Six Flags has not requested any relief other than financial recovery for the alleged non-scheduled principal prepayments. In fact, PARC has upheld its obligations under its agreements with Six Flags and will continue to do so. Most importantly, PARC is looking ahead to the 2010 season with many new events planned for its 25 theme parks and family entertainment centers across the United States and Canada.”
ProSlide - (1/26/10) Looks like ProSlide has come up with another new innovation… a little something they’re calling the RideHouse. Think of it as a next generation water fortress where they’ve added in pint sized version of many classic ProSlide attractions. Two will be installed for 2010, one at the Olympic Watercube in Beijing, China and the other is going into a waterpark in Colombia. Check it out here.
S&S Worldwide - (2/16/10) S&S Worldwide has announced the sale of a brand new 4th Dimension roller coaster for the 2011 season. The new coaster, only the third 4-D coaster ever built in the world, will be going into Dinosaur Park in Changzhou, China. The press release describes the experience at featuring a 250 foot tall lift hill before taking the vertical plunge down at 80mph. From there the layout is only described as featuring, “raven turns, dives and half-twists”. The trains are described as holding 24-passengers each… so we’re looking at six cars per train it seems. X/X2 at SFMM had 7 cars while Eejanaika in Japan cut the trains back to only 5 cars. I’m hoping to find out more about the layout soon as well so stay tuned!
Six Flags - (3/15/10) I don’t know too many details, but I’m told that many Six Flags parks will be launching a new premium priced level of FlashPass this summer. They’re calling it the Plantnium FlashPass and it along will cost you more than what you paid to get into the park… but they promise that it will cut down your wait time on attractions by 90% as well as include a benefit that lets you ride two times in a row without getting off. Much like regular FlashPass, the price of the Platnium access will also vary from park to park. For example… according to my source the cost set for Six Flags New England right now is $80… while Six Flags Great Adventure is pricing it at $102.
(3/12/10) In a strange news story I find hard to believe, it seems that some of Six Flags creditors believe that Apollo Global Management may swoop in to make an attempt to acquire Six Flags shortly after they finalize the deal to buy Cedar Fair, thus creating the theme park mega-merger deal of the century. While many theme park chains have been exchanging hands and merging of late, it just seems crazy that the former Paramount Parks, Premier Parks, Cedar Fair parks and Six Flags parks could possibly ever operate under one banner. The marketing overlap alone from a deal of this magnatude makes my head hurt as several major competitors could soon be allies.
My biggest fear from a deal like this is in one fell swoop, we could see the monopolization of America’s regional theme park industry. Without competition to drive up innovation and propel the sale of new rides and attractions, the industry in this country will quickly become stagnant, wither and die. While it may not be a perfect example, lets take the events that transpired at Ohio’s Geauga Lake to heart as a possible micro-sized version of what could happen across the country.
For years, Geauga Lake and SeaWorld Ohio survived and even thrived as competitors running two very different theme parks on opposite sides of the same lake. When SeaWorld was sold to Six Flags, the properties were merged together into one giant mega-park experience and renamed Six Flags Worlds of Adventure. Instead of finding financial success… or even staying even with previous attendance levels at the two parks, they quickly found attendance levels at the megapark to be dwindling. Instead of spending a day at each park, many people simply came for one day to visit both at same time. Suffering, the park property was soon sold to their Cedar Fair, their nearest competitor who shared the same market with Cedar Point. They promptly removed the Six Flags branding and renamed the property back to Geauga Lake.
It’s no secret that once Geauga Lake and Cedar Point were owned by the same company, Geauga Lake essentially got the proverbial shaft when it came time to handing out budgets for new attractions. Cedar Point was Cedar Fair’s flagship park and there was no way they were going to get Geauga Lake steal their thunder. When the opportunity to buy the Paramount Park chain arose, Cedar Fair jumped right at it, taking over the other big competitor in the state… Kings Island. With three massive parks all sharing the Ohio market under one owner Geauga Lake always drew the short straw. Attendance and profits continued to fall, because of a lack of major new capital attractions, and before anyone knew what was going on Geauga Lake was shut down for good.
Now think about the parks that share the same basic market where this could happen all over again? Six Flags Great Adventure shares the same basic marketplace as Dorney Park and Six Flags America with Kings Dominion a bit to the South. In California Knott’s Berry Farm and SF Magic Mountain are close and to the north California’s Great America and SF Discovery Kingdom are also competitors. Six Flags St. Louis isn’t too far from Worlds of Fun, and Carowinds is about 4 hours from Six Flags over Georgia.
In short, this is the bad idea of all bad ideas… so lets hope this is just some crazy pipe dream and nothing more.
(3/10/10) What I’m assuming is the end of the Six Flags bankruptcy ordeal is now coming to a head in trial as Six Flags defends their position and business plan. Read more here.
(3/9/10) Six Flags new Q4 Report shows that their losses narrowed, despite suffering from further attendance decline. Compared to the year before, Six Flags Q4 losses were only $115.5 million from $208.4 million. You can read more here.
(3/3/10) It has been announced that the Bamboozle Roadshow will perform at five Six Flags parks this summer featuring: Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Forever the Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. Look for it to hit:
Six Flags over Georgia – May 23rd, 2010
Six Flags over Texas – May 29th, 2010
Six Flags Fiesta Texas – May 30th, 2010
Six Flags St. Louis – June 13th, 2010
Six Flags Great Adventure – June 24th, 2010
(2/27/10) I’ve been made aware of an interesting restriction of the Six Flags Funatics rewards program that could cause some problems for a small minority of coaster enthusiasts out there who are well traveled. I’ve confirmed with a Six Flags rep that whatever park you bought your 2010 season pass at will automatically become your Home Park for the rewards programs. All visits to parks in the chain will apparently tally up for your rewards program, however the rewards themselves will only be redeemable at your Home Park. While this is no big deal to 99% of you, for those who like to travel who may have taken advantage of an early trip to Six Flags Magic Mountain, the only year-round park in the chain, and bought your 2010 season pass while on vacation before returning home… all your rewards are going to be tied to Magic Mountain.
I would think that with the right procedure in place a simple e-mail or phone call would be all it would take to switch your Home Park to the actual park closest to you, but to date I have yet to get a response from the Six Flags rep to confirm if corrections like this are going to be possible or not. Stay tuned…
(2/23/10) I’ve got a quick correction to make, the Six Flags Funatic reward for your first visit isn’t for a free Flash Pass rental for the day, but rather for a flash pass style “skip to the front of the line pass” good for only one attraction.
(2/22/10 - edited) Six Flags has announced some new details about this year’s Funatics program for passholders, which changes out the rewards quite a bit from last year. After your first visit you’ll get an a free cut to the front of the line pass, good for one attraction. Second Visit – Free refills on your sports bottle. After that look for a free parking pass (or free parking upgrade), a bring a friend free pass and finally a 20% off coupon for buying your 2011 Season Pass after the 5th visit. Sounds like a nice way to ensure your passholders keep coming back over and over.
(2/18/10) While it looks like Six Flags will be finishing up their bankruptcy issues over the next month Resilient Capital Management LLC will be at a February 19th hearing to urge the judge to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee to oversee the company’s business. In part this is due to verbage in the Six Flags management contracts that will pay out a bonus to members of upper management upon the successful emergence of the company from bankruptcy.
(2/11/10) Six Flags has launched a new official corporate Blog site that will be updated at least twice a week it seems. Six Flags is also getting ready to launch a new Funatics Rewards Program this summer for Passholders. Every time you visit a park the system will send you an e-mail with a unique special offer available to you on your next visit. The offers are rumored to include line skip passes, free drinks, a bring a friend free pass and more. You can sign up already right here.
(1/18/10) In an interesting note, it seems that Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro has been snooping around the competition a bit on the side, dropping in to visit fan favorite regional parks like Holiday World and Dollywood.
(1/11/10) Six Flags has filed some new paperwork with the SEC regarding their bankruptcy plans. It’s very very long, but has some interesting data here and there. Speaking of the bankruptcy plans, Six Flags reports that they could exit the proceedings as early as March under an $830 million financing deal. Read all the details here.
(11/23/09) It was confirmed at IAAPA that Six Flags has struck a deal with 5D International to build the first 5-D attraction to the US market in time for Six Flags’ big 50th anniversary celebration in 2011. To be honest, I’m not sure I know much about 5D International or their products, though I did try out the FlyBoard at IAAPA 2007 which was quite interesting as it was a stand-up solo simulator style experience. Given that Six Flags has a bunch of old simulator theaters at some of their parks (SFOT, SFDK, SDGAm, SFKK, etc…) sitting around, some open and some closed, this could be a plan to remodel them into something new.
Universal Studios - (2/10/10) Looks like the proposed merger of Comcast and NBC-Universal is already hitting troubled waters as opponents and critics alike have come out of the woodwork to express deep concern over the potential disastrous consequences of the deal from the content, broadcasting and internet sides alone. It looks like Comcast hasn’t made too many friends over the years at all… anywhere.
(12/7/09) According to this article about the Comcast purchase of NBC Universal, it sounds as it Comcast does plan to hang onto the Universal theme parks, rather than try to sell them off as InBev did when they bought Anheuser-Busch.
(12/4/09) Sad news to report today, as expected G.E. has confirmed the sale of 51% of NBC Universal to Comcast. The jokes have already started to pour in about how Universal Express times will now become 4-6 hour long windows, Passholders may find their services disconnected without warning and guests who will wait all day in lines for broken rides because the technicians decided not to show up.
Vekoma - (3/3/10) When asking for more information about that new “Kneeling Coaster” from Vekoma, CoasterFusion got a reply that clears things up a bit. It seems the name is misleading. You will still be seating in the normal fashion, “on your buttocks” but your knees much be bent to fit into restraint system. Another Screamscape source describes it best, telling us that you will be seated on this inverted coaster in the same position used on the Vekoma Booster Bike coasters. So just imagine going for a quick flight around the park on what may feel a little like a Sky Bike.
(2/5/10) According to this article posted at Park World Online, Vekoma is showing off a new Kneeling-Suspended coaster design called Dragon Fly. Riders will sit four across and be leaning forward slightly while in a kneeling position. As interesting as it sounds, it also doesn’t sound like the most comfortable position to ride in. Remember, not all ideas like this are good... remember the Stand-Up Drop Tower? I’m sure ever guy who has ridden it does...
WhiteWater West - (2/5/10) According to a brief promotional article on Amusement Today, WhiteWater West is promoting their SilkTek line of translucent waterslides. In addition to adding a new feature to the slides themselves, it provides more visual entertainment to the crowds watching below as you can now see the person inside the enclosed slide on their way down. The translucent slides are currently available in blue, red, green, dark green, orange and yellow.
Zamperla - (2/5/10) Zamperla has confirmed that they have sold a dinosaur themed version of their MotoCoaster to Changzhou Park in China that will open sometime next year.
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