bobkmertz

BGWfans is at it again..... They show a lot of evidence of what BGW is currently working on and right now their best guess is a family B&M.

The short trains are kind of hilarious but the ride looks great. I'm so glad to see this ride was saved from being scrapped.

This is almost as interesting as Good Gravy ;)

This is actually really disappointing for me and I think a lot of others. Comet is such a classic and the fact that it had Buzz Bars made it even more so.

20 inch wheels is all I'm really taking away from it..... well, that and how similar the restraints are to the new Intamin, S&S, Mack, and like everyone else lol

Richard Zimmerman becomes CEO and the majority of the company will be half and half. The new company will use FUN but will retain the Six Flags name.

(Sorry, the link may be paywall for some) The Wall Street Journal is not only reporting that the two park chains are potentially merging but are stating that the deal could go through as early as this week. Not sure how anyone else feels about this but I think this could really hurt the consumer..... sure, everyone wants to think about a unified season pass but the cost to the consumer would likely skyrocket and we'd see less competition which would likely mean even less major rides being built.

From the article: "An agreement could be finalized as soon as this week assuming there is no last-minute snag, according to people familiar with the matter. Cedar Fair is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday morning."

A shipment from Gerstlauer is on it's way to Dollywood and the HS code indicates it is roller coaster related. For me, the references to axles and 8 containers makes me think this could be new cars for Mystery Mine. Anyone else have any thoughts?

The tech looks really cool as does the resulting video clips and images.

I haven't read through all of this yet but after skimming it appears that Universal is getting a special tax district not long after Disney's was.... Well, I don't even know what to call that mess. It seems that this could be a "less-isolated" situation than Reedy Creek was but it's still enough to raise an eyebrow at.

EDIT: More information here that takes away most of the hype at the end: https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2023/10/11/orange-county-approves-special-district-tied-to-universal-s-epic-universe

The district will be limited in power and will not be able to adopt its own land development or building codes. It also doesn’t have its own police powers.

I've had one of my worst experiences in the last week ever in dealing with Universal Orlando. When I bought my pass last year I opted to do the FlexPay program - it wasn't even a month before I realized that was a mistake but the gravity of the situation didn't become as evident as it did in the cancellation process..... Actually, I didn't want to cancel but.... Well.

So halfway through my 12 month term I upgraded to premier at the park... I paid the difference of the 2 passes in full and then just continued to pay the monthly payment for the power pass that I initially got.... I had thought that the excess paid would be credited -- it wasn't. That wasn't the really upsetting thing.... The notification that my 12 month term was up was realized when my credit card was charged $80. In calling customer service to cancel they initially told me that I was unable to cancel because I entered a new 12 month term and I'd be able to cancel in November 2024..... I told them that's not what was indicated when I signed up because, as I understood out, I was in month to month terms. My ultimate goal was to cancel the Flex Pay but renew (at the renewal rate) a Power Pass via a one time payment.... I was told I can only do that if I stop by guest services...... An absolutely unreasonable thing to ask of anyone but especially someone that lives numerous states away. Incredibly the company that always had one of the best customer service teams of any major theme park became just like Comcast (who would have thought, huh?) and clearly didn't care in the slightest about their guest..... I was told to just keep my pass active until I could visit again...... Absolutely not an option at the higher prices.

In the end I was forced to cancel my pass.... But ~~Comcast~~ Universal had one last trick up their sleeve. You can't cancel FlexPay over the phone.... It has to be done in writing and you are responsible for continuing to pay until they get around to canceling your pass which meant I ended up paying another $80 payment.

All said and done I completely pissed away $160 and received absolutely nothing in return..... And if/when I want another pass I have to pay full price.

As much as I love Universal these little Comcast games keep creeping in..... I suppose it's been a miracle that Universal survived as long as they did without Comcast dictating stuff but it feels like that's starting to change with this and the mandatory mobile ordering (requiring you to install an app that hoards data from your phone).