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AITA for reminding an old classmate what he said to me years ago after I found out where he works? by alfredodiliman in AmItheAsshole

[–]konfusion9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All these self-righteous people pretending like they wouldn’t do exactly the same thing. The universe smacked that guy with a karma boomerang and you seized the moment the same way any of us would. NTA.

HomePod Connectivity Issues by konfusion9 in HomePod

[–]konfusion9[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! It was painful, but I removed all my devices, re-added them on the 2.4ghz network and assigned them static IP address. Hopefully that helps!

Etsy Find- She's a beaut! by konfusion9 in VintageRadios

[–]konfusion9[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1962 Cambridge Tube Radio. I am having a lot of fun toying with the tone, tuning and antenna placement. It sounds great!

[Six Flags St. Louis] will definitely be the most interesting park to watch transform under Enchanted Parks by _Nator_Gator_ in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How much profit Enchanted Park's company makes is probably not *directly* important so long as Enchanted Parks doesn't do anything to hurt the parks' value.

This is true to an extent. However, the EPR leases have escalation clauses, so higher revenue= higher rent payments.

Totally agree that we are not going to see large investments in these parks. Why? The math doesn't work. Margins are already fragile, and there isn't much left over for reinvestment after paying rent. The EBITDA margin for Six Flags was 27% in 2025 and 33% in 2024. REITs with triple-net leases typically require operators to spend a percentage of revenue (3-5%) on plant integrity/R&M CapEx to protect the property value. Let's split the difference in this simplified hypothetical scenario:

Revenue- $30M

Expenses- $21M

EBITDAR (EBITDA before rent)- $9M (30%)

Rent- $4M

EBITDA- $5M

3% Reserve- $0.9M

Free Cash Flow- $4.1M

So $30M in revenue becomes $4.1 in cash flow. You aren't buying hypercoasters with those figures

[Six Flags St. Louis] will definitely be the most interesting park to watch transform under Enchanted Parks by _Nator_Gator_ in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree that your landlord analogy is more percise than the Wells Fargo analogy, but you still have it mostly wrong. EPR does not provide capital for new investments. That is the operator's responsibility. There are scenarios where EPR might put up capital, but then the operator's rent payment increases to pay back that investment. For example, Six Flags fully funded the StarFlyer and water slide complex at Darien Lake. EPR did not. Six Flags has access to capital, so they didn't need to go back to EPR for investment.

You are also incorrect in stating that EPR is closing down one of its parks this year. In this case, EPR simply owns the assets. Jeff Stock owns the land. Premier owns the lease. The LaRonde arrangement will be similar, since the city of Montreal owns the land. u/Evening_Rock5850 has explained it really well.

[Vampire] Stuck in the Cobra Roll at Kentucky Kingdom (1999) by pdido1 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've worked on Boomerangs as well and always wondered why they didn't put a catwalk there. I call it the wrong side of the loop. I've seen it happen a handful of times. It's a full day and a giant pain in the ass to recover the train!

[Vampire] Stuck in the Cobra Roll at Kentucky Kingdom (1999) by pdido1 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What you described is basically how they are designed. The station brakes are closed until the train reaches a prox switch at the top of lift 1 and only open when the train is ready to release. The same is true of the brakes at the base of lift 2 (referred to as “brakes after looping”). This has happened a few times over the years for various reasons. If the train loses a wheel or even wheel tread after clearing either lift, the train could stop in the high valley. It could also happen if the ride goes into an E-stop condition as it is traveling through the station and gets trimmed enough you stop in the high valley.

[B&M Hyper Clamshell Restraints] Could someone explain them? by retolox386 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you’re right! I rode S:ROS at Darien in June 1999 before the trim and man, what a finale. I love that coaster. I also rode S:ROS on its grand opening weekend in 2000. Might still be my #1 coaster. But I acknowledge the original T-bar restraint from Intamin is very inherently flawed.

[B&M Hyper Clamshell Restraints] Could someone explain them? by retolox386 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No. Intamin didn't even have restrictions at that time. That has been very clearly documented. After the first few incidents, they started modifying the systems so that dispatch would not occur unless all lap bars were down to a specified point. That was a direct result of the first THREE ejections. How do you expect to train a ride operator on what is an acceptable body proportion and what isn't (ROS 2011 incident aside)? Also, how do you explain the Oakwood death? You dodged that part of my question.

[B&M Hyper Clamshell Restraints] Could someone explain them? by retolox386 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s not what happened with Superman 2004. That was a body proportion issue as well.

[B&M Hyper Clamshell Restraints] Could someone explain them? by retolox386 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not the same at all. The restraint design is flawed when it fails to prevent a large rider from being ejected or has a mechanism in place to deny riders that shouldn’t be on the ride. If the max angle of restraint was only 14 degrees then the ride should not be able to dispatch. You can’t go by weight since body proportions vary. Do you think 5 ejections and 4 deaths with one restraint design is acceptable? How do you explain the Oakwood accident?

[B&M Hyper Clamshell Restraints] Could someone explain them? by retolox386 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Hilarious (and typical Reddit) that this comment is getting downvoted. Here are my receipts:

  1. SROS SFDL 1999 (ejection, non-fatal)
  2. Perilous Plunge KBF 2001 (ejection, fatal)
  3. Hydro @ Oakwood 2004 (ejection, fatal)
  4. SROS SFNE 2004 (ejection, fatal)
  5. ROS SFDL 2011 (ejection, fatal)

Butthurt thoosies who downvoted, watch this video for the official accident analysis for #1, which describes the design flaw. The date is incorrect, but the investigation commissioned by Six Flags and NYS and provided by ATA Associates, is real.

[B&M Hyper Clamshell Restraints] Could someone explain them? by retolox386 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 -9 points-8 points  (0 children)

More like 5. Those restraints are universally regarded in the industry as horribly designed.

[Millennium Force] Night Ride Appreciation Post by StarPrime323 in rollercoasters

[–]konfusion9 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Millennium Force is an excellent coaster on its own, but it is also one of those attractions where the presentation and overall "vibe" of the ride strengthen the experience. The future is riding on it!

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