Hi readers. I’m back from what’s likely my longest hiatus in 5+ years. It was an unplanned one created by the Thanksgiving holiday, work, Theme Park Geekly, and my usual off-season plotting and scheming of the next project. I hope that you checked out last week’s partly Thanksgiving-themed edition of Geekly. It includes this great image (pictured to the left) created by a theme park blogger in Spain who’s site is: BloggerCoaster.com . If you use Google Chrome for your browser, and you should, then you’ll get an option when you visit the site asking you to translate it to English. It’s a good blog. Check it out.
Also read:
A Theme Park Geek Gives Thanks
3 Things Theme Park Fans Should Thankful For (But often aren’t)
Behind the Numbers: An-Depth Look at Cedar Point’s Ridership Data
I hope that you’ve listened to The Seasoned Pros List Show by now. It’s been available via a player in the sidebar on this site and on Geekly. I had a lot of fun debating and defending my favorite steel coasters with Robb Alvey (ThemeParkReview), Doug Barnes (Season Pass Podcast), and Arthur Levine (The About.com – Theme Parks Guide).
New content on The Coaster Critic’s Blog will come much less frequently these days, but I’ll shoot for at least two fresh posts per week. To keep the off-season interesting you can also visit my other sites. I’m hoping to publish Theme Park Geekly’s Issue #4 of 10 mid-December. And of course, you can submit and find links to just about anything at Theme Park Hype. Lastly, if you’re itching to know the very latest happenings in the theme park world, visit Theme Park Syndicate. It’s home page is packed with the very latest stories from leading theme park sites like ScreamScape, CoasterBuzz, NewsPlusNotes, and more!
Also, feel free to submit a (You)Report if there’s some news that you’re itching for me to post and discuss. That’s a new feature that worked out pretty well this year.
December 2, 2011 at 18:54
Good to have ya back. I've been missing the blog. BTW, Theme Park Geekly is great.
December 3, 2011 at 07:12
Yeah, Theme Park Geekley is AWSOME!
December 3, 2011 at 10:36
Thanks Quil. I'm glad that you're enjoying. Should be some fun stuff coming. More really interesting interviews hopefully.
Any favorite articles so far?
December 4, 2011 at 04:14
I really liked the "3 Things Theme Park Fans Should Thankful For (But often aren’t)" post a lot, and I also liked the one with the guy who talked about the haunted house he had in his garage. I don't remember the name of that one.
December 3, 2011 at 10:47
Thanks. Any favorite articles? I'm trying to gauge which kinds of posts people are liking the most?
December 3, 2011 at 12:50
I really liked the infographic on roller coaster history from the second issue. For whatever reason, roller coaster history interests me. We went from sliding down ice-covered ramps to 400 foot steel monsters! I just think that's cool.
December 5, 2011 at 17:48
I liked Joey's article explaining the aversion to new wooden coasters in the UK.
Also, the recent one revealing Cedar Point's ridership numbers was fascinating; if that's characteristic of the industry, it looks as if theme-park attendance has been declining since long before the current recession. I suppose that makes some sense, given the increasing number of things that compete for the attention of people who want to be entertained.
December 5, 2011 at 19:56
That was one of my favorites too as I've always wondered abou that.
December 3, 2011 at 16:35
I guess if you're back, I should get back, too. Might squeeze in a first-time December Kennywood visit this month. Otherwise, probably no parks until Feb. (Florida mini- vacation?) or March (Dollywood?). Time for me to get caught up on my reading and learn how to use an iPad. So far, my best find has been wait times for Disney World rides.
December 4, 2011 at 13:13
This is off-topic, but it I don't know where else to put it.
Does anyone know if, when you get a season pass for a cedar fair park, it can be used at any cedar fair park? For example, if I got a Dorney Park pass, could I use it at Carowinds? I know it's like this at six flags, but it's not on any cedar fair websites.
Thanks for answering.
December 4, 2011 at 13:42
I'm pretty sure there are different levels of passes. Some good for just your park and another one that'll work at any park in the chain. That may be Platinum Level but don't quote me.
December 5, 2011 at 10:20
The platinum pass is good at ANY Cedar Fair Park in the U.S. and Canada. It not only includes park admission, but parking fees, too. I usually figure that if I go 3 days, I have my money's worth. A few years ago, I started ordering my pass through the Carowinds website as they are the park that opens the earliest that is within driving distance from Pittsburgh for a weekend trip. I must also compliment them on having the most effecient crew of season pass processing folks I have ever met … in and out in just a few minutes!
December 5, 2011 at 13:26
Yes it is the platinum one. I used my dorney platinum pass to go to cedar point one year and kings dominion the next. It is a great deal to do that if you are planning on staying for a vacation at a cedar fair park. Plus, the platinum passholders at Kings Dominion get an exclusive up close parking lot!
December 4, 2011 at 15:12
Thanks for your help CC.
Do you know where I could get a pass?
December 6, 2011 at 11:29
Google any of the Cedar Fair parks. You should be able to order a pass via any of their websites. Print out the pass and stash it somewhere for safekeeping for spring.
December 5, 2011 at 02:52
Why should I ditch my Firefox for Chrome? Firefox is non profit, nuff said
December 5, 2011 at 19:59
Nothing wrong with Firefox Surya. I'm just a big Google guy I guess. Firefox was my go-to before Chrome came along.
December 5, 2011 at 14:34
you havent emailed me back in about 3 weeks! but dont worry about it, i dont mind
December 5, 2011 at 20:05
Sorry, I'm not great about replying to email, but there's a new feauture coming to the site that might address that. Check back when the site gets its annual redesign/new look on January 1st.
December 7, 2011 at 17:05
I have to know if anyone got the lyrical reference from this post's title. According to Wiki, it hit #1 on the Billboard charts back in 2000.
Anyone?