Coney Island

And so the expansion of the streetcar is now the talk of the town, I guess, as far as these advocates go.

So much so that This past Labor Day, there was a Labor Day function that used to be held at Coney Island before.

before the symphony orchestra destroyed Coney Island for their Farmer Music Center.

But the labor union, I guess the local AFL-CIO, would hold their annual picnic at Coney Island.

And this year it went to Stricker's Grove, which is a nice place.

I've been there.

But it's definitely not the same as the old Coney Island.

and one of the characteristics or features of the Labor Day picnic, the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic, is a lot of the politicians come and talk to the crowd and give little speeches and things like that, and this year was no different.

Uh, last year that Mighty Canadian Mind Buster is their out and back woody that kind of goes through the water park.

I believe it is a mirror image or a near mirror image of the old Shooting Star wooden roller coaster at Coney Island in Cincinnati.

I know that the ride model name from PTC is Shooting Star.

Last year, it was it's it's just an L shaped out and back.

Theme Park, and for good reason.

Dennis Spiegel has spent over 50 years shaping the places where the world goes to play, starting his incredible journey at just 13 years old, taking tickets at Cincinnati's historic Coney Island.

He climbed the ranks of Taft Broadcasting to help build iconic regional destinations like Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland.

In 1983, he founded International Theme Park Services, directing over 500 massive projects across 55 countries.

Theme parks, I think, for a long time were sort of democratic in, in their own way.

[laughs] And I think Disney was maybe at the top of that list of like, "Oh, everyone can come here," and now it, uh, I feel like we're getting away from that.

Well, let me tell you the one thing that's always irritated for me from when I got into the business at Kings Island and Coney Island to today, and no matter where I go, it's the parking charge.

I mean, y- it, when we started Kings Island, parking was $2.

controversy with the construction of this venue.

If you're not from Cincinnati, Coney Island used to be there and it had the largest recirculation pool in North America.

And like my grandparents swam in this pool.

Oh, wow.

couple years before they got rid of it my mom would have picnics there whether her work you know work picnics and I would go and like get a t-shirt and go swimming in the pool and you know eat food you know and like they took the rides out years ago very controversial thing that they did with Coney Island there but if fish comes back to this venue it will be worth it to me

Yeah.

Oh, it looks like a very beautiful venue.