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Episode 148 - New Six Flags
21 Plays1 year ago
This week on the premier comedy roller coaster podcast Ben and Zach discuss the mega merger between Six Flags and Cedar Fair as well as Zach's trip to the When We Were Young music festival and much more!
Actually, we're the worst roller coaster podcast!
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Transcript
Introductions and Banter
00:00:41
Speaker
I'm Zach and I'm taking bong rips tonight. I'm Ben and I'm excited for the Flash XL 200. There's the first bong rip. Classic. Classic Zach.
00:01:12
Speaker
We're back. We're back. Here's another bong ramp to celebrate. We're back! And it's kind of a...
00:01:26
Speaker
Dark day, grim day, exciting day. I don't
Cedar Fair and Six Flags Merger
00:01:29
Speaker
know. This is it's I think this is the only time I've ever had this kind of feeling in my life regarding the theme park industry. So we got we got the news this morning as of recording that Cedar Fair and Six Flags will be merging.
00:01:51
Speaker
which after all of the year, and to be fair, this is not a buyout. This is, this is a merger, which is a merger stock merger. Yeah. Which is kind of, it's, it's really, I don't know. It's interesting. It's basically like, it's kind of like when you get married and join your checking accounts.
00:02:20
Speaker
Like you both still have your own jobs. You still have your own identity. You still have like your own credit cards and stuff, but like you've merged finances in one household. Yeah. And if you want to buy a new B and M, you got to make sure it's okay with the other one. Yeah. So cause that's a pretty frequent married argument.
00:02:46
Speaker
who gets to buy the BN. Oh yeah. I want a hyper. Well, I want a surf coaster. But yeah, no, this is a merger. So, um, we know for sure that Richard Zimmerman, the CEO of Cedar fair is going to be the CEO of this new company. And Salim's going to be the executive chairperson.
00:03:15
Speaker
Um, we know for sure that they're going to keep the six flags name and branding. Yeah. And that makes sense. I don't really see the names of the parks or the theming of the parks changing whatsoever. I'm really fascinated. What's going to happen though, with all of the, like the DC stuff though, that's going to
Theme Integration Speculations
00:03:41
Speaker
stay.
00:03:42
Speaker
But are they going to bring it into the Cedar Fair parks? Because Cedar Fair parks have Snoopy. Yeah, they said Snoopy Warner Brothers and DC are all staying. OK. My guess is they'll probably integrate.
00:04:02
Speaker
But I mean like stain and like remaining at their individual parks or is like now it's free reign. Like, are you going to have the flash next to peanuts? Right. Like, is that a thing? Oh, definitely possible. I mean, look, here's the deal, right? There's a lot of questions that we just can't know right now.
00:04:32
Speaker
Just unknowable. But. There's something that knows more than us, Ben. Uh, scrimscape. Sure, no, they actually scrimscape was suggesting that Six Flags and Cedar Fair would be a monopoly. I mean, it will kind of be. No, I.
00:05:04
Speaker
I mean, if here's the thing though, like, um, I witnessed the veil monopoly gobbling, um, of the ski industry and like,
00:05:20
Speaker
I think the same thing, I don't know, there's a lot of parallels to this. One is, I don't think it's going to affect places like Great America or Cedar Point or Kings Island, but I think it will dramatically affect places like
00:05:36
Speaker
Northern California, where you have great America and Discovery Kingdom or in Southern California of knots and magic mountain or like that stretch of swamp between over Georgia and carolins. Like so my short prediction is we will be seen
Market Predictions and Concerns
00:06:03
Speaker
significantly higher crowds or actually first significantly cheaper season passes because now like all the, if all the revenue is going to the same place, they're going to do everything possible to get as many people into the gate as possible. And now people who wouldn't otherwise have two different season passes now only have one pass and they can go to both places. But that's so few people.
00:06:29
Speaker
Because there's only three markets in which there's overlap now. True. But I do think that one of those one of those are it won't have already is scheduled to not have overlap. Pass wise. Well, because California's Great America is still scheduled to be. Oh, right. Demolished.
00:06:59
Speaker
which makes even more sense now because the same company owns Discovery Kingdom. Mm hmm. Yeah, and like Dorny and Great Adventure. I mean, and it's almost arguable that not in Magic Mountain aren't even direct competitors. No, but I do see them
00:07:27
Speaker
like being on the same pass? Yes, definitely. The only other one that I would maybe be a little concerned about redundancy wise would be Great Adventure and Dornie.
00:07:44
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean, Dornie serves a smaller market. I mean, it seems like that park is really just popular for the water park. So I could see the dry side going. The other one, I guess, would be Six Flags America and King's Dominion. Maybe, but. Don't they kind of fundamentally serve different markets?
00:08:16
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I think they do. Like I thought Six Flags America is really more considered for like the Baltimore area. Yeah. And like King's Dominion is more like the Richmond area. Those Richmond, North of Richmond. Fudge rounds.
00:08:47
Speaker
Um, but yeah, I guess both are like in the greater DC area. But I was pretty sure they both serviced an additional Metro separately. Yeah, I mean, I guess that it's true that there is kind of overlap there. But I feel like I don't know.
00:09:15
Speaker
If Six Flags America has hung on so long as it is, you know what I mean? Yeah, that's true.
Skepticism and Industry Parallels
00:09:29
Speaker
But I also can't imagine that they're not going to divest some stuff because I think the total portfolio would be 40 properties, all said.
00:09:46
Speaker
Right. Yeah. Like twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven, something like that. Are those with theme parks? Yeah. So, OK, so King's Dominion and Six Flags America are. Only like an hour and a half apart. OK. And I'm sure someone. From the East Coast would be like, yeah, without traffic.
00:10:15
Speaker
But they're basically next to each other in the grant. Like, as far as theme parks are concerned, an hour and a half is like literally neighbors. An observation about Six Flags America. But yeah, Baltimore, basically Baltimore is north of Six Flags America. Kings Dominion is south of Six Flags America and it's north of Richmond. It's literally north of Richmond. Um,
00:10:47
Speaker
So yeah, I guess they do technically have different markets, but there are a lot of people who live in between the parks. Oh, there's a place called man ass as man ass as I can't pronounce it. I think it's my analysis, but I could be wrong on that one too.
00:11:18
Speaker
Um, so yeah, but yeah, it's, uh, they did say they're looking at, uh, you know, expanded pass options. So hopefully, you know, one pass to rule them all. Yeah. I mean, that's, and I guarantee you the first couple of years, it's going to be super cheap. Cause now that they have this consolidated company,
00:11:45
Speaker
the goal is going to be to appeal shareholders. And like, if you can't, you know, the good trick of corporate shit is like, well, if you can't get your
00:12:01
Speaker
revenue up, you can at least get your attendance up, right? So as long as you show a slow steady increase of attendance, you know, it's, it's better than nothing. So like, cause it's exactly, that's exactly what veiled it veil was like, how do we get every asshole in the West coast to own one of these passes? We don't care about their skiing experience. We don't care how often they ski.
00:12:24
Speaker
Like and I feel like they might try to do the same method for theme park passes. I just don't see them making them like super cheap. I could see them continuing on the model where there's a super cheap one that's good at just your home park. Yeah.
00:12:52
Speaker
But like internal chain pass, that's going to be a premium no matter what, because that's already a premium and six flags as of this year. Yeah, well, they might do it. We're like. I get well, I could see them grouping passes by region, so like if you buy like, let's say you buy your local six flags over Georgia Pass. You get like 10 days at.
00:13:22
Speaker
uh, carowinds or, you know, if you buy like a six legs metric mountain pass, you get five days at knots. Um, something like that. And then they have block updates.
00:13:39
Speaker
So like if you have, yeah, so if like you could go to, you know, this would be something where like, oh, if you buy your magic mountain pass for $49.99, you can go to Knott's Berry Farm five times, you know, from Monday through Friday from, you know, whatever.
00:14:00
Speaker
And then try to upsell and then try to upsell more things, like try to get you to buy more food, more drink, like upcharge, flash pass, all that stuff. I mean, they are curious. I'm hoping that the grandfather in the existing memberships. I could see them doing that for a couple of years, but I don't think it'll last forever.
00:14:36
Speaker
The thing is, I don't know though, because you're talking about they're going to want like memberships are consistent monthly revenue. Well, I mean like the exact price, like I'm sure they'll keep the memberships, but they'll probably be like, Hey, you have at the end of this year, we're expiring your,
00:14:57
Speaker
whatever, and you have to upgrade to the super fun Cedar flags, you know, or six fair. Actually, the six fair thing is. A lot funnier now. I'll tell you what's not funny is the amount of people that have been making jokes about like DC themed rides at Cedar Point or Cedar Fair Parks. That's so good, though.
00:15:28
Speaker
The only really funny one was the one where it was like top thrill to as Mr. Freeze reverse blast. Yeah.
Humorous Branding Changes
00:15:42
Speaker
But I don't imagine they'll be adding like. The name Six Flags. To a bunch of the existing properties, at least not right away. No.
00:15:59
Speaker
No, I don't think it was going to be any name change whatsoever. Like, like I think it'd be a long time before you see like six flags, carowinds. Yeah. I think what you'll see first are.
00:16:17
Speaker
trash, like a Six Flags trash can. The one that say like, my family comes here too. It'll be a slow, it'll be a slow introduction. So you'll see one of those things in like the parking lot of the overflow lot. One day and you'd be like, Oh, that's funny. There's a Six Flags trash can right there. And then the next year you'll see one like in the bathroom.
00:16:40
Speaker
And then next thing you know, like the games employees are wearing like the sick old Six Flags games uniforms. It'll be like a slow introduction to where you won't even notice it's happening. It'll be 2035 and you'll be riding, um, you know, Maverick, but it's themed to Wonder Woman. You'd be like, Oh wow. I didn't even, when did this happen? Like,
00:17:11
Speaker
Question is, are the Six Flags Parks going to get like an assload of new garbage cans now? Probably. Actually, yeah, actually, it would be the other way around. The Six Flags Parks will get the Cedar Fair cans first. Right. Yeah.
00:17:30
Speaker
They'll be like, or you know what I think is going to be happening? There's going to be a bunch of like merch going to the wrong parks. Cause that already happens with the six flags parks. So it'll be, but instead of just being other six flags parks, it'll be like Cedar Point or like Kings Dominion.
00:17:50
Speaker
Oh God, the merch situation is going to be even worse. Like now that you say that. Yeah. Yeah. It's going to be the same tired designs. And now it's going to be every park has the same one. It'll be, um,
00:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, it'll, it'll be like a shirt that's supposed to be for like, um, I don't know any ride, like Raptor, right? It has the Raptor logo, except it's the old like, like SLC serial thriller or mind eraser SLC photo from like the nineties that's been reused so many times. Yep.
00:18:36
Speaker
Yeah, the merch is gonna get bad. The only good thing is Cedar Fair's got a pretty strong nano game. So like, hopefully there'll be some, you know, good nanos available at the Six Flags Park soon. Yeah. This episode is brought to you by Starring.
00:18:54
Speaker
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00:19:17
Speaker
What are you hammering? Brock's candy canes. Candy canes? Yeah, I'm turning Brock's famous candy canes into my famous holiday peppermint park. Uh-huh, with the hammer? Yeah, I crush up candy canes, spread them on the sheet pan, pour melted white chocolate over them, and refrigerate. I see. Yeah, why are you holding a wreath? Well, I was going to hang it. But you need the hammer. Mm-hmm. Brock's. Make moments sweeter.
00:19:53
Speaker
Oh, God, I just realized something.
Corporate Strategies and Humor
00:19:57
Speaker
Get ready for fucking seat belts everywhere at Six Flags. Oh, yeah. And I rock, I rock operations. So yeah, you're going to go to Six Flags, be like, I don't remember this bench having a seat belt on it.
00:20:20
Speaker
Remember my old dumbass joke about them serving the funnel cake on a fucking watch. Or like you get a burger and it's in that like cardboard box that you open, except there's a seatbelt that attaches the top and the bottom of the box.
00:20:51
Speaker
You have to wear velcro shoes.
00:20:55
Speaker
Yeah, I see more like that's the thing. It's literally just everyone's like, oh, this will be the best of both worlds. No, it's going to be the worst of both parks just going to both park or both. You know what I mean? It's going to be the worst of Six Flags and the worst of Cedar Fair combined for a mega company experience. And that's just the reality that everyone's going to have to accept because like and now you can't even be like, well, fuck this will just go to King's Dominion instead.
00:21:23
Speaker
Yeah. And not the plus like two. The other, the other thing is that like all the upper management, they're out. Like every, anybody who's held together both companies in the last like couple of decades is out. They're gone.
00:21:47
Speaker
and they're going to get replaced by like someone, you know, it'll be like, I don't know, Beth Ann from like, who works in pharmaceuticals, right? And she, she worked at Pfizer for eight years or something. And she'll be like on the R and D department being like, you know, she'll be like in a meeting, have it on a PowerPoint and they're deciding whether to build like a Gohoma boomerang or like a B and M hyper.
00:22:17
Speaker
You know, like it's it's going to go to shit. I'm going to be really pessimistic about this. Same. I'm like sitting here thinking like their board of directors is all new. Mm hmm. So I'm sure they're sitting there going, how can we attract the attention of BlackRock?
00:22:44
Speaker
Like, I'm sure that's what they're doing. You know what I mean? Yeah, we might actually see the first Golden Horse roller coaster be built in the United States because of this market. They're like, wait a minute, there's a cheaper company that does this. It's just it's going to happen. I mean, not literally Golden Horse, but like, you know, I I have I have a thought now.
00:23:14
Speaker
We've been due for a good Intamin accident for a while. Oh, yeah. Nothing like the merging of operations of Cedar Fair and Six Flags. To be the catalyst for that. Yeah. Well, inevitably it's going to happen and I'm going to feel a little bad about making that joke. But at the same time, it's Intamin. It would have happened whether I said that or not. Yeah.
00:23:43
Speaker
Yeah, the shitty Cedar Fair wooden coaster maintenance is gonna go to the Six Flags parks. Although, I guess Six Flags parks don't have that many woodies left that are like, well, the Comet. Here's the thing, Cedar Fair can neglect the GCI and it goes rough in a couple years somehow.
00:24:16
Speaker
Are they going to put like Coasters Drive in at all the Six Flags parks now? Yeah. Well, I'm actually trying to find like if you go to Six Flags website. I'm curious. Here's here's my question to you, Ben. Yeah. Let's go back in time.
00:24:46
Speaker
20 years and jump onto a forum and post, Hey, I'm from the future. And on this date in 2023, six flags and Cedar fair emerging. Yep. Aside from the obvious, like bullshit from the future. Where does that conversation go in 2003?
00:25:15
Speaker
I mean, I mean, you're obviously going to get the people that won't believe it. And that's fine. You get, oh, imagine, imagine the response from Coaster Boy. I'm like, Sif Gam World. Just the full on essay.
00:25:46
Speaker
Maybe he's already written three books. Maybe he's already predicted this. Actually, if anyone in the world who would have predicted this, it would have probably been him.
00:25:58
Speaker
Possibly. You're talking about predictions. I didn't predict Six Flags and Cedar Fair emerging, but I do remember before COVID even on this very show, I did say I don't see Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and SeaWorld all surviving the 2020s. Yeah. So. True.
00:26:23
Speaker
Q up dashboard, confessionals vindicated. Cause holy fuck I'm feeling so right. I mean, that was a pretty big, like, yeah, I just, yeah.
00:26:39
Speaker
I never saw it happening. I was actually surprised. Cause like, it feels like we hear this every single year. Like, okay, it's that time of year they're talking about merging. And then this one was like quick. Basically they announced it the night before. And then the next day it was like, Oh, it's official. It almost feels the thing is like, you said that cause we had our, our, uh, Patreon hang last night. And you said that when we were talking about it, like, yeah, they talk about this all the time. But I was thinking like,
00:27:08
Speaker
Like because last night it was already saying like it's rumored that it might get announced tomorrow. Yeah. And it's like, yeah, they've said that before, but it's never been rumored to be actually announced like the next day. Right. Now, I did read somewhere somebody on Twitter was saying basically they thought this was a good smoke screen because Cedar Fair had their Q3 financial today.
00:27:37
Speaker
And they did the announcement beforehand as a way to help protect from disappointing earnings, which makes sense. Let's see what a good old fun stock is up to. Yeah, they're keeping that ticker, by the way, which I think is better than SIX. Any ticker that starts with FU is pretty great. Yeah.
00:28:07
Speaker
I'm surprised they got that one. Like no one else thought of that before. Seriously, you know, Ben, if we ever, if we ever have a company that offers an IPO, I really want the ticker to be F UK.
00:28:24
Speaker
Oh God. So I was just curious. I knew, I knew the answer, but I just wanted to put it into Google. Cause by the way, if I ever, uh, have a funeral, I want there to be a scrolling marquee of my Google search history, like by my casket. Um, so yeah, sex SCX stock. So I just searched for that.
00:28:54
Speaker
And all the results are just like free sex stock photos, sex, stock video. And I don't want to click it, but I already did. Got to have to. So there's no company with the ticker as he acts, though. No, it's a symbol as he acts. Well, that'd be a good one, too.
00:29:22
Speaker
X, X, X. By the way, I didn't ask, does my microphone sound? Does my microphone sound fine? Blow into it. Yep. All right. I mean, does it sound like the good setting? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. All right.
00:29:43
Speaker
Little bit of how the sausage is made here at your favorite coaster stocks. What if they asked for like, what do you want your stock symbol to be? And it was like 420. And they're like, you can't do that. You're like, oh, OK, 69. They're like, yeah, you can't have numbers. You're like, oh, OK, 420.
00:30:18
Speaker
They're like, they're like, no, you can't have numbers.
Industry Impact and Pessimism
00:30:21
Speaker
No, no, no. Spell it out. F O U R 20. What would be another good ass, A S S that'd be a good stock symbol.
00:30:39
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. LSD is not taken. It reminds me of my last job where we had our, our big SAP client and it was called LSD. So like it just be like, Oh yeah. Well go log into LSD. And that's just what it was called. Yeah. I'm going to log into LSD.
00:31:05
Speaker
A little bit early though. Here in Chicago, we have Lake Shore Drive, which frequently gets shortened to LSD. Oh, nice. So it'll be like, take LSD. Like, yeah, take LSD. Classic. Absolutely. Speaking of, um,
00:31:33
Speaker
What about what about C and T? I don't like S.U.C. Century Global Commodities Corporation. What's that one? C and T.
00:32:06
Speaker
What about, um, what about, uh, uh, SHT? Um, yes. Smart high tech or D SHS class B, whatever that means. It's a penny stock. Okay.
00:32:35
Speaker
Hey, that could be your next winner there, investors. It opened at a dollar 20 euro and today it is at eighty point eight euro. Well, so there's a potential opportunity. All you investors out there. It actually went public July of this year.
00:33:04
Speaker
All right, well, I hope shit does well. I would consider investing in the new F U N. Yeah, I'm wondering. Let's see, when was Six Flags thing? Are they still doing that? I don't know how that works. What?
00:33:33
Speaker
Like do they have an earnings call coming up? Probably. So yeah, it's still, let's see. Yeah. It's still like 50% of its all time high, which was back in 2017, 2017, it was $70. I don't know what their problem was. What was it at two days ago?
00:34:03
Speaker
Um, let's see. Right now it's had too much attention, but two days. Okay. So last, I know that was, nevermind. That was the first. So.
00:34:24
Speaker
October 30th, it was at $34. It did shoot up to $38 today at two 30. Yeah. Yeah. But then it fell back down. So. OK. But yeah, I don't know what the game on this one is going to be because this could go to shit like it because the thing is is like realistically, we're in a recession. So here's here's what's kind of scary about it is that
00:34:54
Speaker
the fact that they're doing this merger means that the market conditions are rough, which also means that we're in a recession. People are not spending money. They don't want to spend money. Um, you know, even though that after the 2008 bus, there was an uptick in theme park visitation because people were deciding to go to theme parks for their vacation. But like,
00:35:18
Speaker
they switched to the, I mean, both Cedar fair and six flags switched their model so drastically to from like the family on a day trip to like the memberships and like the continuous visitations and you know, repeated visitors and all that. So like,
00:35:37
Speaker
people don't have as much money nowadays and shit's expensive. So I don't, I don't know. I guess what it tells me is that like the market conditions are really rough for the theme park industry and this merger is like the symptom of it, which also means that it's probably gonna get way worse before it gets better.
00:36:04
Speaker
That's cherry. Yeah. I mean. So she was still lean. They're going to hire a bunch of people who have no idea what the fuck they're doing, and it's they're going to fuck it up. That's just how it works. I mean, you're right, but like. I also. I mean,
00:36:39
Speaker
I almost I hate to say this because it's almost like throwing a challenge into the universe. But like, how bad could they fuck it up? Really? Yeah, I know. But seriously, here's here's the sad thing, right? Is that all of these executives are, I guess,
00:37:03
Speaker
if you're in the position of an executive, you have like nothing to lose. And at the end of the day, if they really fuck up, they can always sell the land, right? Cause now they can like, you know what I mean? Like if they really fuck up, they can just sell parks. They can just sell real estate and like probably make more money than they would from the thin profit margin of operating the theme park. You know what I mean? Like that's what's sad about it is like,
00:37:30
Speaker
If they have a couple bad ears, they'll just sell off three parks, move the rides to other parks, and sell them as new rides. And then they make a shit ton of money on real estate, and they go back into the black. Shareholders are happy, the stock goes up. The executives get swapped out a couple times by new people every year or whatever.
00:37:57
Speaker
And as a consumer, we just lose theme parks. We lose roller coasters. You know, we lose the hobby. I mean, you can just head over that. Thank you.
00:38:25
Speaker
No, not as long as GE is still a part of the industry in some way, we're not going to lose all of it. Well, I mean, we'll still have like universal whatnot. That's what I'm saying. If GE is still involved in the market,
00:38:58
Speaker
All right. I'm getting food delivered into the room. Oh, wow. You fancy, huh? I got a shirachi bowl. Yeah, you is fancy. All right. I see you.
00:39:23
Speaker
So I was really pessimistic there. Sorry, I blew up. I just, I don't know. I just, it's like you want to be hopeful because it's the theme park industry and it's like a close hobby, but like the sad reality is like corporate America is very predictable and it follows a very specific pattern. And so like, I don't think that this industry is going to be any different.
00:39:54
Speaker
I mean, you're probably right, because capitalism only really works in one direction. Yeah. Harry Styles. God damn it, that was stupid. But capitalism does only go one way and it's not in the way that's fun. Yeah.
00:40:20
Speaker
It's a very unfun way. Yeah. So throughout my working life, I've been a part of. One, one, two. Yeah, my first three jobs were part of. Like mergers and acquisitions.
00:40:42
Speaker
And like, it sucks. Like, you know what I mean? Like it sucks for the company. Like it always starts with the company, like the employee morale, the employee morale is the first thing that gets cut is like the first thing that plummets. Once you lose that, then you start losing people at the top. Then once you start losing people at the top, then the customer experience starts to diminish. And it's just like this very predictable cycle.
00:41:11
Speaker
So what I lost, I lost my train. I thought what I was going to say is like, this might be the time to like start supporting, you know, independent parks, like canals, holiday world. Um, I dunno, boardwalk parks, lagoon.
00:41:28
Speaker
So that way those places can like really shine and be supported by a good community and hopefully can remain as like, you know, the good ones out there in case all these six flags of Cedar Fair parks go to total shit. I mean, they're gonna, I don't see them improving. No.
00:41:57
Speaker
Cause there haven't been great improvements over the past couple of years. So how could they get, it's not like it's suddenly going to get way better. Yeah, exactly. But that is really unfortunate.
00:42:29
Speaker
Because I. And like, I hope I'm wrong, I hope I'm wrong, like. But. It's kind of hard to imagine it. Being better, you know, like you say, it's like it's hard to imagine things improving
00:43:01
Speaker
quantifiably. Well, it'll be like, I think there, I think it is possible that there will be a couple of years in the very beginning where it is that it is better, right? It's like, I don't know. It's kind of like, it's like an, I don't know, like I'm trying to think of a good analogy.
00:43:28
Speaker
It's kind of like when you're, it's like when young people get their first credit card, right? And they're just swiping the shit out of it, going out, going on vacations, buying flights, buying new clothes, you know, like, I think there'll be like that, that euphoria phase where like everything is better, but then it'll catch up and then start to go the other way. And then people don't realistically at best, that means like,
00:43:55
Speaker
some sort of version of Falcon's fury in America. And then like a bunch of bathrooms and food trucks. Yeah. Or like, I mean, we're kind of like Six Flags of the early 2000s where they were built. Every park got like two new roller coasters. We could see that. I mean. Which like would be cool economy.
00:44:23
Speaker
No, but I mean, like they'll they'll, you know, they'll do it on credit. Like they'll be like, oh, we're making big investments. Right. And they build these like massive, you know, giga coasters at. I don't know, Michigan's adventure and, you know, no fucking way. No. That's not happening. I don't think it. I don't first see another giga happening.
00:44:54
Speaker
like at all. Like. I mean, the one they tried to build was barely a giga. Yeah.
00:45:22
Speaker
So operations though, operation wise though, what like I could see, I think we're going to see the first B and M with one train on a Saturday kind of vibe. Yeah, probably.
00:45:48
Speaker
that wouldn't surprise me at all. It's going to be like, okay, you know, like I've never gone to opening weekend at Cedar Point, but you know how it's always described as being like a complete shit show. Um, it, I don't think so. It's not that bad. What is it though? Is it now? Is it recently?
00:46:15
Speaker
I've always heard that it's like a shit show.
Music Festivals and Nostalgia
00:46:22
Speaker
I've been to like three Cedar Point opening days, but they were almost always a shit show, no matter what part. Like shit show crowd wise or shit show, just like operation wise, operation wise. Oh yeah. Yeah. Basically I'm picturing that kind of becoming the default.
00:46:45
Speaker
Yeah, that makes sense. Although. I think the I think a lot of it, though, is also weather. To like, like opening the weekend at Cedar Point is always like shitty weather. I mean, but I know I get I know. Yeah, I get what you're saying.
00:47:21
Speaker
I just definitely think that that's going to be like the way things are now. Yeah, most likely. Okay. But fun, fun, re-theme ideas. First, what are your initial, what are your, yeah, just first thoughts. Like if we're going to see a theming crossover, what's, what's, what's it going to be?
00:47:50
Speaker
OK, well, let's start with the easy ones here. The bat obviously becomes Superman. Like Kings Island, the bat. Yeah. Yeah. All the inverts have to become Batman, the ride. Or maybe like Raptor could be Riddler only because they want to paint it.
00:48:22
Speaker
Yeah, but names that are like that generic, I could just see them keeping. Yeah, they just put a Batman sign and they just add the bat logo and it's like all green. They just put it over the Raptor itself. Yeah, it's the green Batman logo.
00:48:51
Speaker
Yeah, Raptor will probably be Riddler revenge or whatever. Or they start doing like dual theming like Riddler and they just call it like Riddler and Riddler versus Batman or something. That could be kind of cool though.
00:49:18
Speaker
Uh, Millennium Forest could be, uh, um, Mr. Freeze. Yeah. Um,
00:49:45
Speaker
Wonder I don't know like I was trying to think like what would be the worst cedar fair coaster to be re themed to Wonder Woman? Magnum XL 200 Yeah Becomes Wonder Woman's Beach lasso
00:50:15
Speaker
Um, or well, how sad would it be if the original Batman, the ride at great America becomes flight deck? Oh God. That would be horrible. I think that would be one of the worst ones. Yeah, that would make me sad. Cause wasn't that also kind of the first DC themed ride in the chain?
00:50:46
Speaker
I think so. They had the Batman stunt show and then they introduced Batman the Ride. Every time I think of Batman the Ride, I just think of that one Janet Jackson song that plays in the station. Oh yeah.
00:51:18
Speaker
Yeah, I like the, uh, I've always been partial to the TSTO one. But the, uh, that's a Prince song. I'm pretty sure though. Oh, is it? Yeah. Was it TSTO song in the movie or is that just like, okay.
00:51:44
Speaker
I'm not sure how that got added there because the rest of those songs were on the Batman Returns soundtrack. It's like you two and the guy from an excess doing the passenger, you two hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me. All right. And Prince doing like that dance seal.
00:52:15
Speaker
Yeah, Kiss by Rose and then T.S. Stowe in my memory, Gabriel and Dresden, Elephant Vocal remix. And some some of just like. The actual like soundtrack of the Batman Returns movie.
00:52:43
Speaker
I also one or two, like remember that video of the new England dark night coaster footage. Yep. That wasn't like always there, right? That was like added later. It must've been. Cause I got me that one. 2001. Mm hmm.
00:53:12
Speaker
But it was like by the time I really super started paying attention to coasters and stuff was like 2002. Yeah. And by the time I was around Great America to actually notice that type of shit was 2005. So I missed I.
00:53:40
Speaker
Highly doubt that they played that before that right open though. Yeah, I was wondering like when it was added because I do remember. I do remember the first time I saw it, it was a year that power dive was still there. Like I have a very vivid memory of riding power dive than riding Yankee Clipper and then riding Batman. Well, King Chaos is 2004.
00:54:11
Speaker
Yeah. Pretty sure power dive would have been 2003. It got removed. Which, by the way, that that space is now unoccupied again. Oh, yeah. So that the super loop got taken out. Yep. Never got a chance to write it.
00:54:42
Speaker
Yeah, me neither. Was that the biggest one or was that a copy of the biggest one? That was the biggest one. Cause they never, I don't think they sold another one of that one. Oh, okay. It's still available. I just don't think another part, but one of those giant ones, you know,
00:55:15
Speaker
That's like a cursed plot, though. It is. It is. Because let's see, it was. The edge. Then that had the accident and then there was it was power dive from like. I want to say the mid 90s. Up through the early 2000s.
00:55:43
Speaker
Then it was King chaos from oh four until I want to say 2016 and 2017. And then it was a Mardi Gras hangover from 2018 until 2023. So was it, so I was trying to, so is it mechanical problems or what was the,
00:56:14
Speaker
No clue, because that was. I'm pretty sure maybe Power Dive was a new, but King Chaos is definitely relocated. Yeah. So it's just surprising that ride only lasted five years. I heard a rumor about King Chaos that it was like in storage from Hoos.
00:56:43
Speaker
or something and they just like bought it on discount. That's possible. Sounds like a 2006 flags thing. Yeah. Oh wait, this isn't my role area. Yeah. They added the big easy balloons and uh, gestures wild ride, which is the rock and tug.
00:57:14
Speaker
and Raging Cajun. This is not my role. One moment, please. Uh oh, sushi drama. Cause I assume that's not about like a dinner role. Although if it is, I'm be...
00:57:41
Speaker
I mean, just because I don't think Ben's got celiac or is gluten free or anything. If he isn't, I wouldn't be. I mean, just because, uh, you know, that's not funny. But where's the role?
00:58:02
Speaker
No, you're all shut your mouth. It's the rock. He used to say that. I think it's the weed. That's why I'm kind of just like free forming over here. It's getting dry as shit in the winter.
00:58:26
Speaker
I went to Great America on Halloween night. It's closing day of the season. It was cold and snowing, which is appropriate. Had a good time though, walked around a bit, bought a couple things. Um, was just kind of sad.
00:58:50
Speaker
Cause it felt like there should be holiday decorations, but alas, there are not and there will not be. So that's what we did. Did you write anything? I did not. There was no lines or anything. Yeah, there was no lines or anything, but it was cold and snowing and I don't know.
00:59:21
Speaker
So I like value my comfort. It's funny because when I was a video. Oh, sorry, go ahead. I was just saying, so someone posted a video on Reddit of Goliath running in the snow, like a blizzard, basically. And it was like crawling through the stall. Yeah, it sounds about right. I almost went on Batman.
00:59:53
Speaker
But then I was like, eh. You know, sometimes I just enjoy going there and walking around because it's a fun atmosphere. I mean, you can walk around a park in your city. Might as well walk around a theme park. Exactly.
01:00:21
Speaker
especially when you already pay for admission on a monthly basis. But yeah, it was a good time, but it was definitely just like, you know, it's closing day, so it's just sad. And I realized that like, not having, having holiday in the park and then having it get taken away,
01:00:52
Speaker
just makes the offseason sting that much worse, you know? It's like back in high school, like the days of being really invested into the park and the offseason hits and it's like, man, this is like six months. Yeah, yeah. But even then,
01:01:12
Speaker
After like two two solid off seasons of being like a real dedicated nerd, you're like, all right, it is what it is, you know. But then when they're like, oh, we'll throw you a bone and it's open through New Year's. So essentially the off season is like four months. It's like, all right, that's cool.
01:01:40
Speaker
But then they took it away again and you go, shit, that extra two months really hurts. Don't ever forget when.
01:01:58
Speaker
the first time I went. Okay. So the first time I went, I'll never forget the feeling I had. Cause like it was, this was 2019. So I wasn't super, actually I wasn't really invested in theme parks at all at the time. And this was actually during, actually we know we started the podcast. This is after we started the podcast.
01:02:22
Speaker
but I flew into Chicago and then drove up to Wisconsin to visit family. And I remember driving past the park and it was like this, you know, it's December right before Christmas. And so like, I haven't lived in the Midwest in so long and my subconscious was like, Oh yeah, I drive past the park. And I remember seeing like raging bull run with people on it.
01:02:47
Speaker
And I was like, wait a minute. Holy shit. Holiday in the park. Like what the fuck? And it was the first time I've ever been in the park in December. So I literally just like pulled off the highway and like bought a pass on my phone and just like went in and rode a couple rides and it was awesome. Yeah. Like holiday in the park was great. How were the crowds like when you were there?
01:03:18
Speaker
Um, so I remember I basically walked on Batman and V2. And I'm trying to remember what was open. Like Eagle was closed. I think Viper was closed. It was, it was basically like just raging bull. Max force was close. Or actually max force wasn't even open. I don't think.
01:03:48
Speaker
No, or it was there, but it was closed. I don't remember. Um, yeah, I only wrote a couple of things. Basically just wrote like Batman V2 raging bull. And then I left, but the rides that were open, like by the time I got to raging bull, I think I waited like 30, 45 minutes.
01:04:20
Speaker
but interesting. Yeah. I always thought like it seemed weird to just like stop doing it cause it seemed profitable. Yeah. I mean it, and so the thing is it seems profitable, but I guess if people are just are paying for their memberships anyway, right? And then you open, it's like, if the, if you're going to have the membership with the polity part in the park or not, like,
01:04:50
Speaker
I guess it makes sense to not have it from like a profit stance, but they, well, they replaced it with a separate ticket thing. Yeah. Where it's like, it's in the parking lot and only part of the carousel, carousel Plaza and Orleans square will be open. Right.
01:05:26
Speaker
but it's pretty damn insulting to your, you know, members to take it away and then be like, Oh, well you can buy a ticket to this other one. Yeah. You think they would at least give you like one admission to that or something?
01:05:53
Speaker
Yeah, I don't think they give a shit. But we'll see what happens, you know. Fucking world is crazy. Oh. I had to go soon because I have to work in the morning and it's getting later, but real quick, I wanted to tell you about this music festival I went to in Vegas. All right.
01:06:23
Speaker
Yeah, man, I saw all of the bands of. The early 2000s. It was awesome, Vegas. So I got there, it was all fucking day, dude, it started at 11 and it went to midnight. And the limit to midnight. Yeah.
01:06:56
Speaker
So I went with my brother-in-law, because you know my brother-in-law, he's our age. He's been on the show. He likes all the same bands. So we got there for the main stage, right at the opening. And we got to see Phoenix TX. I don't know if you remember them at all. But they were pretty solid live.
01:07:26
Speaker
I'm pretty sure the top of my head, every band, it was pretty much like. The music of Rob Alvey videos. Yeah. So it was Phoenix and. They had like the alternating stages. For the main stage, you know. So it's hardly a break in the sets.
01:07:54
Speaker
So then, um, on the other stage was the Atari's and shout out to our buddy Keith. Cause the Atari's version of, uh, boys of summer is frequently referenced in his book.
01:08:17
Speaker
I actually shot a quick clip with my phone and sent it to him. I was like, why the fuck aren't you here, dude? They were a little boring, but it was cool to see him. Was going to say, like, just to be kind of like this kind of shit on it. I mean, it sounds cool, but like. It's like everyone's just old, right? Like.
01:08:48
Speaker
Yeah, but it was like going to the work tour. But now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And there was nobody there was nobody the younger than like 30 there. Right. Except for people who brought their kids. Well, the kids were younger than 30. Yeah. So then after the Atari's, it was a Motion City soundtrack.
01:09:17
Speaker
And they were pretty good. Lead singer had a cane. He I guess was just out of rehab.
01:09:27
Speaker
And so he was like, like physical rehab. He's like, I'm just out of rehab and I'm ready to party. Physical rehab. But he had like a fill in playing guitar for him, but they were, they were solid. He was getting it for being limited in mobility. And then bro, it was something corporate who hadn't played in several years live.
01:10:00
Speaker
You are completely unimpressed. That's fine. I know somebody listening to this show is, is really stoked about that. Something corporate was pop punk. It's pop punk for people who read books that aren't Harry Potter. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good summary.
01:10:29
Speaker
Um, then after something corporate, it was newfound glory. Yeah, classic. Fucking awesome, dude. They were great. Unfortunately, their guitar player, Chad, has some kind of cancer, so he wasn't there right for the gig. Did somebody fill in in?
01:10:54
Speaker
but they were great. And, uh, Jamie and I had worked our way basically to like the second row behind the rail at that point. Now it was 93 degrees and the sun was really beaten down. So it became challenging to handle in the crowd of like almost a hundred thousand. Yeah, right.
01:11:22
Speaker
Cause we like, we're really rocking out for new found glory too. Cause that was one of the bands I was there to see like totally and same for Jamon and then right after them was yellow card. Bro, they were great. Another one of those bands that they did a reunion this year. They did all the hits except for, uh,
01:11:50
Speaker
except for miles apart. That was the only one they didn't play that I was like, Oh, so then after yellow card, Jamie and I were like, we're in our thirties. It's time to sit down in the shade. So like,
01:12:09
Speaker
We sat down just on a piece of concrete that was in a shade somewhere and just like, all right, for like an hour and drank cold beer and I smoked a joint. And then we went and fucking they had a vert ramp set up on the festival grounds. And we had to see fucking Tony Hawk's skateboard. No shit.
01:12:40
Speaker
Oh, cool. Yeah, dude, it was awesome. So I'm watching Tony Hawk's skateboard. And then. Like they put these chairs down on the other side of the rail in front of us. And fucking every Levine sits down five feet in front of me. Close, close enough to smaller. That's fucking creepy, but yeah.
01:13:12
Speaker
But it was cool because it was like, holy shit, there's Avril Lavigne. But also at the same time, like two seconds later, it's like, holy fuck, there's Tony Hawk doing a skateboard trick on a vert ramp. Yeah. And then not to mention in the background while we're watching Tony Hawk, some 41 is playing.
01:13:40
Speaker
didn't get to actually see their set, but heard a lot of it while watching Tony Hawk. And that was cool. Yeah. So then, uh, Jamon's like, Hey, I'm going to leave and catch Reliant K. And I'm like, cool. I'm going to watch the rest of Tony Hawk. So I meet up with him after Tony Hawk, which ended pretty inconclusively for a skateboarding demo. But, uh,
01:14:08
Speaker
It was really cool to see the Birdman. So then we went back over to the main stages, got some food, and we caught Good Charlotte. And they were awesome. Same deal there. They hadn't played live in like five years or something.
01:14:34
Speaker
And they were really good. Yeah. I. What about like panic at the disco where they're there? They were not there, unfortunately. Oh. This was like coming into the end of the night now. Yeah. So like sun's starting to set and everybody's starting to come up to the main stage. And so then next up is fucking 30 seconds to Mars. Nice.
01:15:05
Speaker
And I'm a little upset that we were at main stage and they had fucking simple plan playing at the same time on one of the side stages. I should have gone to see simple plan. Cause 30 seconds to Mars fucking sucks. It's the Jared Leto show. But the problem is Jared Leto only sings about a third of the lyrics.
01:15:40
Speaker
Like live. Oh yeah. Like for one of them, he literally brought out the dude from rise against to sing the whole chorus. It was embarrassing. They did, you know, they close with like that song, the kill and he wants the crowd to sing the whole chorus. Oh,
01:16:14
Speaker
I just don't think he's got the chops. Yeah. That's like when I saw Coolio in 2014 in Milwaukee.
01:16:33
Speaker
It was bad, like really bad. First of all, he's bald, but he still keeps those like, um, the spider braids. Yeah. But he only has two. He only had two of them. So it was almost like it just looked like antlers and then like a shiny bald head. Um, and he would literally be out of breath, maybe 10 words into the song.
01:17:00
Speaker
And then like just kind of like stand there. And then he would he was just kind of like dance and fill in. And then like halfway through the song, he was too tired to dance. He would just stop and just kind of like walk around. And he had like 20 people on stage with him for they weren't. I don't even know what they were supposed to do. It wasn't like they were dancers or anything. They were just like on the stage. It was a bizarre. It sounds a lot like when I saw him in 2009, also in Milwaukee.
01:17:30
Speaker
opening for the Insanclam Posse. Oh shit. It was not great, but it was cool to see Coolio, you know? Yeah. Cause now he's passed, so. Yeah. So good or not, that was the show you get. You're not getting another one.
01:17:57
Speaker
So yeah, unfortunately, 30 seconds to Mars was a was a real stinker, but. Right after them, dude. The fucking offspring. Man, I'm. Over that. Dude, they were so good. Well, what did they play, though? Like, was it 90s offspring or was it like?
01:18:25
Speaker
No, all these bands were doing like greatest hits sets because, you know, it's only a half hour set or so. Yeah. But I mean, offspring greatest hits, though, like. You know, the like post 2001 offspring, like I never really cared for. All right, here's their set list. Yeah. Opened up with the kids aren't all right. All I want.
01:18:55
Speaker
Come out and play. Want you bad? Bad habit. Why don't you get a job? Can't get my head around you. Pretty fly for a white guy. You're going to go far, kid. And they closed with self-esteem. OK, that actually doesn't sound that bad. Yeah, they fucking killed it, dude, it was great.
01:19:26
Speaker
Then right after the offspring and I think they were like the highlight for me Right after them it was blink with the original lineup Okay, well not not the original not Scott Rainer the classic lineup I should say Mark Tom Travis and
01:19:54
Speaker
I kind of feel that way about Blink, like post take off your pants and jacket. Yeah, no, same. Yeah. Although their newest album that like just came out is actually really solid. I don't even know there was one. Yeah, it's the first one with their classic lineup since shit, I think 2011.
01:20:25
Speaker
They were pretty good, although they still do the same thing. Yeah. Like in between the songs, they'll be like, Hey, I was eating this really tasty thing the other night called a penis.
01:20:56
Speaker
Yeah. And you're like, you guys are like 52. Yep. Now I remember that warp tour, just those dumb thing. Yeah. Yeah. There was literally a part where there's like a break in the song and like Mark was like,
01:21:25
Speaker
penis and Tom's like vagina. And then after the song, Tom was like, that legitimately made me laugh. And I'm like, is something wrong with these people?
01:21:50
Speaker
It was like one of those moments where it's like, what am I actually watching right now? Yeah. Cause they play the song and of course you know the song and you're like, Oh yeah, you know? And then as soon as they're done, they're like, they're like, a lot of high guys in this crowd tonight. And you're like, uh-huh. Okay.
01:22:16
Speaker
It reminds me if you were to go over to dinner at some creepy culty Christian's house, like a house party without alcohol, and they've got a karaoke machine, and two of the guys are like, oh man, we haven't sang that song in 20 years. Let's bring it up for old time's sake.
01:22:38
Speaker
And then, you know, they started singing and like everyone. Did they do that? Of course they did. Okay. Yeah. That's like, that's the only one that I think they can get away with. Cause I don't know.
01:23:06
Speaker
There was something unsettling about them watching, like watching them making like, I fucked your mom jokes. Yeah.
01:23:17
Speaker
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01:23:43
Speaker
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01:24:22
Speaker
So did they close? No, after them, it was fucking green day. Okay. They were the, the like headliner headliners. And I've never really been a big green day fan. Yeah. I mean, like I bought, I bought Dookie on vinyl and that's kind of like all I was ever into green day for.
01:24:52
Speaker
Yeah. And they they were scheduled to play for two hours. And in the first hour, which we ended up leaving it halfway through their set. Because it was a long day. Yeah. Long day in the Vegas sun of standing. Yeah. So much standing.
01:25:21
Speaker
which is so different when you're in your thirties. Well, like, um, remember, I guess like my problem with all those bands, it was like, once I got old enough to start actually going to live shows and be interested in that stuff, like it was probably like 2005. And that's when all the bands started to go like emo.
01:25:50
Speaker
There was like a sharp transition. Like all of a sudden it was like eyeliner, black, you know, whatever black tie or black shirt, red tie, you know, it was like black hair. The same festival last year. It was like the same thing that instead of pop punk bands, it was emo.
01:26:17
Speaker
Yeah, I was like, I'm good. Yeah, that wasn't really my scene. I like the pop punk, but I was younger than two because I'm thinking about it. I'm like, yeah, I liked all these bands when I was like 13, 14. Yeah, right. Yeah, exactly. And it kind of like when all the pop punk bands turned emo and then they were putting out emo shit, I was still listening to like the four or five year old albums.
01:26:46
Speaker
Well, yeah, and it was weird, too, because all these bands were basically like parties and shit. And then all of a sudden they have feelings. What the fuck is that about? Right. But yeah, Green Day, they they were solid live. They put on a good live show. I still don't think I'm like a not really like a big fan or anything. They played some good shit, though. They played a hitch and a ride.
01:27:17
Speaker
They opened with American Idiot, not really a big fan. That's part of the thing is that like, I'm not a big fan of that album. And we saw like almost half of that album in the half of the set. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. And like people think of Green Day as like, that's the, that's the pinnacle of Green Day. And it's, I think that's was before they fell off.
01:27:45
Speaker
Like to me, American idiot was sort of their first like kind of sellout album. Same. I didn't like anything after warning, really. Yeah. Yeah. So they opened with American idiot. Then they did Jesus of suburbia, which is pretty solid from that album. Then they did a holiday.
01:28:15
Speaker
then Boulevard of broken dreams. And at this point, like, I'm like, okay, can we seriously get to something else? Yeah. They do know your enemy, which is fine. Um, then they did long view, which is dope. Then burn out and then hitch in a ride.
01:28:43
Speaker
which is really cool to hear that. Then they started a new song. And that was the point at which we left. It's like, all right, we're both tired. It's like 11 p.m. at this point. And we had been we parked at fucking. Not circus circus, that's right next door, we parked down the street.
01:29:08
Speaker
T.I., we parked at Treasure Island. So we had like maybe a 20 minute walk. So we had been out since we had we got there, I don't know, nine 30 in the morning. Yeah, it's 11 p.m. At this point, we're like, OK, I knew Jamie was a big fan of Green Day, but he's like, hey, we can go if you want. And I'm like, all right, well, he's the big fan. So if he's the one saying that.
01:29:38
Speaker
Looks like the only songs I'm not super stoked that I missed are Minority, Basket Case, When I Come Around, and Goodrins.
01:29:56
Speaker
Yeah, see, those are the yeah, those are the ones that I don't like to see, but I mean, whatever. Here's the problem with Green Day, especially being booked for a two hour time slot. Every one of those songs turned into a six minute version. Oh, sure. So like even the short songs,
01:30:21
Speaker
which are most of them because it's Green Day. I mean, yes, Jesus of suburbia is a longer song. But like even Hitch and a Ride was like six minutes. Because they would like do like this long breakdown and Billy Joe would be like, all right, everyone go. Yeah. So like a two and a half minute song suddenly became like a five minute or six minute song.
01:30:52
Speaker
And it's like, just don't just have them play an hour and a half and skip that shit. But whatever, it was a great time. I enjoyed the shit out of that festival. It was super cool to see all those bands all in one day and see like Tony Hawk skating and shit. Yeah. You know, and Bucky Lassick
01:31:25
Speaker
Wait, what was that? Bucky Lassick was there skating too. Okay. Yeah. If you recall the Tony Hawk's pro skater game. Yep. It was Tony and Bucky and then a bunch of other pro skaters that were great.
01:31:47
Speaker
I mean, it sounds like maybe because it's sort of this might be the last, like the real last blast for all these bands to be in the same place at the same time because everyone's getting old and stuff. But that's kind of what I felt like, because like I didn't get to go to the warp tour when I was a kid.
01:32:05
Speaker
Because my dad was like I he he has a very strict rule about like he just won't go to music festivals. Yeah. Even when I was a kid and I kind of get it after that last weekend. I don't go. Yeah, I don't do festivals. It was basically just the appeal of seeing like everybody on the on the poster is like, fuck, I want to see them and them and them. Mm hmm.
01:32:42
Speaker
And yeah, it's that last blast of like, yeah, this is probably the last opportunity that's ever going to be for me to see like that kind of like warp tour with especially with the lineup of bands that, you know, were around when we were that age. Right. Yeah. Why they literally call the festival when we were young. Mm hmm.
01:33:12
Speaker
which I realized as tongue-in-cheek as that name is, it's also a dare. I was drinking bottled water all fucking day.
01:33:32
Speaker
I think I only peed once. How much, uh, well that's the benefit of the desert climate is that it just literally, it just sucks the water out of you. That's like my biggest, that's one thing I do notice is like, if I leave Denver and go somewhere else, cause I drink a shit ton of water throughout the day. Like I probably drink like gallon plus gallon and a half and like,
01:33:59
Speaker
I've noticed, like, if I, like when I lived in Seattle, the first couple of weeks I was there, I would try to walk across town, like, I don't know, just kind of like feel, you know, get the lay of the land and take it instead of taking Uber. But like 20 minutes into the walk, I'd have to piss and I'd be like 20 minutes away from my apartment. And so I would like almost piss myself every fucking time. And like here I can go wild without pissing. It's nice. I like it.
01:34:32
Speaker
Yeah, that definitely was a nice advantage out there in Vegas for, you know, standing up near the rail for like basically three hours. Yeah. That was the part that killed me is like we had been up at the front from the time we got in and it was like after all those bands were like, OK, we're done. It took us like 30 minutes to get out of the main stage area just because of how dense the crowd was. Oh, sure. Yeah.
01:35:02
Speaker
And it was like, that was super exhausting. And on top of the fact that, like, at that point, you've literally been standing for the duration of a full concert already. Yeah. It's like, oh, God damn. It's like that moment where you just realize, like, shit, there's still 10 hours to go. Yeah. So that's what is definitely a challenge.
01:35:31
Speaker
See, that's what I love about Red Rocks, because you have, it's like Red Rocks is the perfect venues for your 30s and 40s because it's got the concert, or it's got the like music festival vibes, especially in the parking lot, the tailgating, you know, and like the openers and all that stuff.
01:35:53
Speaker
But then like, you're done. At the end of the night, it closes at, the show's done at 10.30. Hoppin' an Uber in your home in 20 minutes. Yeah, I mean, I would like to see a show at Red Rocks, but also I'm really curious about when they announced the lineup for next year's when we were young.
01:36:24
Speaker
So they're doing the festival again. They haven't made any announcements for sure yet, but. They had it last year. Yeah, last year it was my chemical romance and paramour and Hawthorne Heights and the used. And Avril Lavigne and Bright Eyes. Yeah, so this year's was definitely better.
01:36:55
Speaker
I regret when we were watching. Oh. I definitely regret watching 30 seconds to Mars instead of going to see simple plan, though. Yeah, I would have definitely gone and seen the simple go to see simple plan. But.
01:37:21
Speaker
I mean, it was a great time. And if they do it next year, then you'll have to consider going if the lineup's good because it was a blast. I mean, it's a music festival in Vegas. How would it not be a blast? You know what I'm saying? I mean, yeah, but it's it's like that.
01:37:44
Speaker
It's like that transactional trade of, I'm sure it's awesome. Like I'm sure it's a lot of fun. It's just the, the fest dealing with the festival vibes and all that. I don't know. I don't know. Like the giant crowd, 10,000 people, or was it a hundred thousand people? Yeah, I think it was like 80 or more. Yeah, that's insane.
01:38:09
Speaker
I mean, if there was a way, is there anywhere to go? Like in between, like are there places to hide or they're, you know, like, can you walk and can you leave and come back? Yeah. They let, they let you do reentry. So like, okay. I definitely think it might be worth just coughing up the money to stay at circus circus. Cause it's literally right there. Yeah. From the gates of the festival. Oh, okay. Yeah.
01:38:39
Speaker
I mean, obviously they spike up the price because there's that festival going on, but right. You could, you could walk to your room and probably 20 minutes. Okay. Yeah. And then take a nice AC break for an hour. Yeah. As long as that's the thing, like as long as there's a place to hide, then yeah, then it's, then it's doable. Honestly, you could do it.
01:39:08
Speaker
If you don't need like a private space, you can probably just go sit on the casino floor for an hour. Yeah, true. Which we should have done when we were just sitting there. Because as soon as we left that pit area,
01:39:30
Speaker
I bought cold beer cause it was really refreshing. Um, and it was like, I just need to sit fucking knees hurt my feet. Yeah. Yeah. I'll keep an eye on the, if they drop a lineup and if it looks good, maybe next year. Yeah. It'd be fun.
01:39:57
Speaker
Like I think it would be really fun. It's, it's just, yeah, I'll consider it. We went, um, cause I flew in the day before cause it was on a Saturday. They had it on Sunday too. Same lineup. Oh shit. Okay. Yeah. Which honestly, now thinking about it, there was tickets available for half the price I paid for them at face value when they did a drop. Mm-hmm.
01:40:24
Speaker
because I bought them right when they went on sale. But like basically a week beforehand, there was tickets on StubHub for like half the price of what I paid.
01:40:34
Speaker
Maybe that's the way to do it. You get both days and then you pay the same as one day, but you wait both days and you go both days. But you like half out your days, you know what I mean? Or like you alternate the bands you want to see. So that way you're not, you know, you're not continuously there both days. Just like, yeah, space it out a bit.
01:40:58
Speaker
Well, I also wouldn't mind doing a rail on one of those days because I was so close at the beginning. Jamie and I could have stayed at rail, but you need to really strategize that shit. Yeah. And we were not strategized for that.
01:41:24
Speaker
But like, yeah, that might be something fun if they do. If it's a good lineup next year, we'll see. My wife really wants them to do a pop one. Like 2000s pop. Yep. Does
01:41:53
Speaker
I guess does pop work if like, what kind of pop? Well, if it's 2000s pop, it could work pretty well for Vegas. Cause like Katie Perry has a residency there. Christina Aguilera has a residency there. Britney Spears has had a residency there.
01:42:20
Speaker
I don't know if you could get a full on in sync reunion, but they probably would do it as a one off and for a Vegas festival. Yeah. Backstreet Boys still play together. Nice. Yeah. Because otherwise, if they keep doing like rock focused bands and I'm not really sure
01:42:50
Speaker
if they have a full festival's worth of bands left. Cause like, yeah, they could try and get print and Yuri slash panic at the disco and like fall out boy hasn't done it yet. Yeah. Other than that, I don't know, like the strokes or weezer or the killers maybe. Well, remember that, um, yeah, I want to see all those like 2005 bands. Remember there was like,
01:43:22
Speaker
That's, it was like that summer of 2005 where there were like seven awesome albums. Maybe. No, it was when, it was like the same time that that Killers album came out. Okay. But there was like a whole bunch of bands that came out that summer. That was like the first year I was like into music.
01:43:55
Speaker
But. Well, I hope the fingers crossed for a good lineup drop for next year, then, because. Maybe maybe the most non-traditional your favorite coaster sucks meet up. Zero credits. Well, no circus, circus is right next door. Oh, yeah. Which has the adventure dome.
01:44:27
Speaker
That's true. Well, anyway, thank you for letting me indulge you with my story about the music festival. No, I mean, it sounds cool. Like, I mean, I guess I'm glad it exists. It sounds fun. I could probably get into the nostalgia. But yeah, if I go, I would definitely like to do the two day strategy and like
01:44:58
Speaker
parse out the days. So it's not a just continuous blast of sun and 30 something BO. The BO actually wasn't terrible. That's good. People were pretty well behaved and groomed for a music festival crowd. Yeah, that's good.
01:45:29
Speaker
Which I guess for, you know, um, you know, a hundred thousand millennials is a good thing to report. Yeah. Oh yeah. Well, go ahead. I was going to say, did you hear the rumor that six flags supports Hamas?
01:46:00
Speaker
Wait, what? Nevermind. I was trying to make six fly. I wanted to make a joke to make about six flags looking bad. I just getting my frustration out on this whole deal. Oh yeah, for sure.
01:46:26
Speaker
Well, I'll say comfortably. Maybe maybe ace. I could see that. Should that be a cube cube out drop? He supports Hamas. They're trying to get a kitty coaster built in Gaza. Oh.
01:46:56
Speaker
I was going to hell. Also, I'd like to say for the record, that's not a political opinion. My political stance on this topic is uninformed. Yeah, that wasn't a political joke. That was just, I just like making people look bad. Yeah. And I would just like to make it very clear that there is no, no stance
01:47:27
Speaker
from your favorite coaster sucks. Other than other than just in general, you know, genocide is awful and sad. Yeah. And war. Fuck terrorists and war, world peace. That's that's the stance beyond that. No specifics. Uninformed.
01:47:56
Speaker
Well, it's crazy to me how how many people suddenly became experts on the political climate of the Middle East. Mm hmm. And such strong opinions, too, as if. Yeah, I don't know. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Opinions and Diverse Perspectives
01:48:16
Speaker
I know for me, I don't know. I know very little about it. It's barely enough to
01:48:26
Speaker
form an opinion of, uh, uh, anything. Yeah. Well, it's also, it's like the people who have the strongest opinions are people who haven't left their state in probably like 15 years and like never left the country and like watch a single channel of news, like, uh,
01:48:55
Speaker
Oh, I will say though, probably if, if, if your feelings are that an entire group of people should be killed, you're probably in the wrong that one. I will say that's, that's about as far as I would take a stance. Yeah.
01:49:20
Speaker
But just to be clear, because boy, there's a lot of people spitting opinions about this shit out there. And I think we're, we're much better off if we don't. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna go with that.
Duluth's Unique Appeal
01:49:37
Speaker
Um, but other Lee, I was in Duluth this past weekend in Minneapolis.
01:49:49
Speaker
Um, we were house hunting in Duluth. Duluth, Iowa, Minnesota. Oh, okay. What's in Duluth? Um, so.
01:50:13
Speaker
I love it. I've, I fell in love with that place a long time ago. It's a small town. It's like a hundred thousand people, but it's, it's, so it's like two hours north of Minneapolis yet. So it's pretty far up there.
01:50:30
Speaker
Um, but it's kinda like, it's got the same topography as like San Francisco. So just like very steep hills all going down towards the waterfront. Um, Oh, that sounds so nice in those classic Minnesota winters. Yep.
01:50:54
Speaker
But it's it's just I don't know. It's just a cool place. It's like it's on Lake Superior. It's basically being on the ocean. It's on the largest. No. Huh? Lake Superior is not like being on the ocean. I mean, it's cold as shit, but you can it's got some of the best freshwater surfing.
01:51:21
Speaker
Um, but the benefit of it is that in the summertime, uh, it was not, did you become a surfer? I didn't, I didn't. I'm just saying it's, it's like, uh, that's a hobby I can get into. I try, I just get into it without the like, that like douchey California culture around it. It's more down in earthy Midwest vibes.
01:51:51
Speaker
You know, like. Go surfing and eat a pierogi. But that just sounds like somebody that has a surfboard with a magga sticker on it. No. It's OK, so what I was going to say, though, in the summertime, it. Doesn't get hot there, like because of the because of Lake Superior, it stays below like.
01:52:20
Speaker
Like it'll be 95 degrees in Minneapolis. You drive up there, you get out of the car and it's like 70. So the lake acts like an AC unit. And it's kind of the only
Great Lakes as Future Refuge
01:52:34
Speaker
place in the country like it as far as like a city, small city. So it's kind of a long game strategy as far as like real estate.
01:52:47
Speaker
Plus I just love it up there. I, I would spend a lot of time up there. So thinking of potential part time, uh, you know, residency out there. So you're getting a vacation home. Yeah. In Duluth. Yeah.
01:53:12
Speaker
I'm telling you when the West, when the West is on fire for three months a year and it's like a hundred plus degrees and everywhere else is hot and humid and you can't be outside and it's mid July and you can step out of your house and it's like 75. It's that there's going to be a huge benefit to that. Plus like, I mean, just think about how much benefit there is of just being on fresh water. Like, I mean, Chicago's the same way.
01:53:40
Speaker
You know, like it's a very rare resource that I think my honest prediction is that the Great Lakes region will become like the hotspot to live in like a decade or two. Once the West becomes, you know, uninhabitable in the South is just like a fucking ball sack.
01:54:08
Speaker
Florida's underwater. I don't think the rest is going to be uninhabitable. What was that? I think that major cities are going to always find a way. Yeah, but no, it's not that I think it'll be necessarily uninhabitable, but it's like
01:54:29
Speaker
Okay. You can live in Phoenix or it's going to be 120 degrees out, or you can live somewhere where you can be on a freshwater lake and it's only 75 degrees. You know, like there's, there's going to be benefit to that. So that's what I'm, that's what I'm thinking. That's my long game. So everyone's, everyone, everyone's joke. Everyone like laughs at that, but.
01:55:01
Speaker
you'll get the last laugh. Ah, fuck the long game. Next heat wave, heat wave of the big heat wave of 2028. I'm going to be wearing a long sleeve t-shirt, sipping coffee on the porch. And everyone's going to be like, Oh my God, I'm so bad. Hashtag global warming. This is so bad. And I'm going to be like, what global warming?
01:55:30
Speaker
No, people are going to be like hashtag liberal hoax. Hashtag AC for Charlotte. Yeah. Or like when the power grid goes down and all everyone's AC, but breaks and you're in the middle of that, like three week, 100 plus heat wave. The power is out.
Missed Trends and Real Estate in Duluth
01:55:54
Speaker
And like. I just step outside. I'm like, oh, it's a little chilly today. I grab a hoodie.
01:56:00
Speaker
And then I'm going to post a selfie of wearing me, of me wearing a hoodie. And everybody's like, you fucking incessant, insensitive asshole. Fuck you. Except by that time, it'll be like 80 there. Sure. It'll be 80. Yeah.
01:56:19
Speaker
be like, Oh man, the heat or like, yeah, plus his selfie to be like, Oh man, 81 degrees in Duluth today. The heat wave is, this heat wave is brutal. This is the first time I've ever had to wear a t-shirt in the middle of July. But then two years later, it'll be 83. I'm just saying it'll be a couple notches below everywhere else in the country. That's the important thing.
01:56:45
Speaker
Um, I genuinely like a hundred percent. I'm, I, I miss the vaping thing. I miss the seltzer water thing. I miss the alcoholic seltzer water thing. I'm not letting this idea, uh, go to waste. I'm taking action for once. Plus I just want to live there. So yeah, well,
Conclusion and Technical Notes
01:57:16
Speaker
I hope I hope you find what you're looking for there. But, you know, I got I got to go get to bed because I got to wake up early in the morning and go to work all day. Same. All right. Well, this is a hopefully not super depressing episode. Keep riding coasters or never mind. That's not our tagline. Oh, shout outs to that guy, though.
01:57:44
Speaker
Yeah, he's dude. He's put out videos every day. He's he's a good sport. I made a joke about him and he was a really good sport about it. So shout out to that guy. Yeah, I guess we can say it because he's nice. Theme Park predictions. Yeah. Shouts to him.
01:58:00
Speaker
He's he's a nice dude, even though even though he says some wild shit in the name of clicks, that's kind of the name of the game nowadays. So, yeah, no, that's the thing. I'm not even like him for that. No, but that's the thing, though, like I'm not even like like when I watch those, I like laugh, but it's not like a not like mad or anything. It's more just like, dude, that's insane. But also like, that's exactly what I
01:58:29
Speaker
I mean, it's really no different than people who'd post on forums 15 years ago. Like, yeah, six flags, build a 400 foot, you know, whatever, like. Exactly. But all right, man, this has been fun. We'll do more uploads regularly, Nick, because now we're in the offseason and we all need something to help with that. Yeah. Also,
01:59:02
Speaker
I'm going to have to look for I'm going to look for a microphone for my phone so I can do these on a road a little easier. All right. Well, let me know what you need. I'll help you find something. Because it's nice to have a real mic again, and I'm sure the viewers listeners. Appreciate it, hopefully. Oh, yeah, definitely. If they're even actually listening. Somebody is.
01:59:34
Speaker
Holy moly. All right. That's my cue. OK. Thank you all so much for listening. It's been a pleasure. Glad we're back and we'll get back into the swing of it now. So. Keep keep seated and keep your seat belt fastened. Did I lose you? Oh, no, I'm here. You good. We good. We close them out. Ben.
02:00:02
Speaker
Uh oh. Well, fix it in post, but your favorite coaster sucks.