Post by robert on Aug 22, 2007 15:27:15 GMT -5
Now, Kennywood in Pittsburgh, PA is removing the Gold Rusher. DAFE has the story. However, there's a new dark ride for 2008, so it's possible that the Gold Rusher could simply be reused/converted into a different theme rather than removed. This is turning into a bad year for dark rides. All of NY's dark rides at Playland (except the Old Mill) and Coney Island could be potentially lost after this year. LI Adventureland in NY (Farmingdale) has a one level ride-through haunted house called 1313 Cemetery Way which is not closing. We still don't know what is going to happen to Trimper's in Ocean City, MD or the Haunted House and Pirate's Cove-that's up to the Trimper family and their decision this fall to stay open or close/sell due to rising tax assessments. Granville Trimper (the grandpa) doesn't want to sell or close, but a family member in FL prefers selling or closing the park and moving on. This:
The park was founded in 1890 by Granville's German immigrant grandparents. Today, the park is controlled by 14 family members, who are divided over whether to sell the property. Granville Trimper owns the most shares -- a third -- and he wants to keep the business.
Joyce Foreacre Trimper, 66, whose late husband ran the park before Granville, owns the second largest number of shares, about a quarter. She said she wants to sell because the business is no longer economically feasible.
"I think it's time to move forward," she said in a telephone interview from her home in Vero Beach, Fla. "If you own something and it can't produce the income to make it worthwhile, then anybody with a good business sense would look to do something different."
Discussions of selling the property have strained relations within the family.
"There's a definite difference of opinion," Joyce Foreacre Trimper said. "I could lay it all out for you, but I don't know that that's the thing to do." (end)
That's bad news for dark rides when park owners start exploring options to close or sell their property because of unprofitability and too much competition with newer things for the entertainment dollar.
Very Sad.
And one more thing, starting next year we'll need passports if we ever want to go back to Canada and Niagara Falls and the haunted houses, Castle Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. Our stupid govt wants to demand a passport (or cheaper pass card for land travelers) for all those seeking entry or re-entry to the United States. Blame 9-11. So, if I ever want to go back to the falls, we'll have to go somewhere like a post office and apply for new ID's to be able to go to Canada again. No more using birth certificates, driver licenses, state ID's, social security cards to pass the border checkpoint.
The park was founded in 1890 by Granville's German immigrant grandparents. Today, the park is controlled by 14 family members, who are divided over whether to sell the property. Granville Trimper owns the most shares -- a third -- and he wants to keep the business.
Joyce Foreacre Trimper, 66, whose late husband ran the park before Granville, owns the second largest number of shares, about a quarter. She said she wants to sell because the business is no longer economically feasible.
"I think it's time to move forward," she said in a telephone interview from her home in Vero Beach, Fla. "If you own something and it can't produce the income to make it worthwhile, then anybody with a good business sense would look to do something different."
Discussions of selling the property have strained relations within the family.
"There's a definite difference of opinion," Joyce Foreacre Trimper said. "I could lay it all out for you, but I don't know that that's the thing to do." (end)
That's bad news for dark rides when park owners start exploring options to close or sell their property because of unprofitability and too much competition with newer things for the entertainment dollar.
Very Sad. And one more thing, starting next year we'll need passports if we ever want to go back to Canada and Niagara Falls and the haunted houses, Castle Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. Our stupid govt wants to demand a passport (or cheaper pass card for land travelers) for all those seeking entry or re-entry to the United States. Blame 9-11. So, if I ever want to go back to the falls, we'll have to go somewhere like a post office and apply for new ID's to be able to go to Canada again. No more using birth certificates, driver licenses, state ID's, social security cards to pass the border checkpoint.
