SO MUCH for the Barro-Romer equivalence theorem ("any symmetric allocation mechanism rations a shared facility identically")? I just finished updating my data on amusement park prices for the 2002 season, and I've discovered many more pricing options in place today than was the case in 1987, the first year for which I have this data. In 1987, some amusement parks resolved the Disneyland Dilemma by charging a high admission price and letting people ride as much as they wanted for free, and others charged a small fee to enter and let people pay for the rides they used. In Walter Oi's home town of Rochester, New York, the Seabreeze Amusement Park used to let people onto the grounds for free. A few parks allowed consumers (called "guests"in amusement-speak) to choose their own price plan.

Today the situation is much different. Many parks charge a different lump-sum fee on weekends than they do on weekdays, and several charge a lower lump-sum fee in the evening (classic peak-load pricing). Some of the parks still offer a choice between pay-one-price plan (enforced by a wristband) or a two-part tariff, but in addition they offer quantity discounts for ticket purchases. A few, mostly the coastal piers, allow walk-ons and sell rides only by ticket.

The major developments in the last few years are these.

1. There has been a proliferation of go-kart parks adding amusement areas to the go-kart tracks. Many of these parks sell thrills on a pay-as-you-go basis.

2. Conventional amusement parks and waterparks tend to affiliate. Sometimes admission to the amusement area includes the use of the waterpark. Otherwise, consumers can buy the services of both as a bundle more cheaply.

3. The latest version of the pizza and birthday party center is an amusement park. There is a chain, Jeepers, that offers such things all over the USA.

4. National amusement park chains have done a lot of acquisition. I was surprised to see what Anheuser-Busch has been up to, and Six Flags are in a lot of states that cannot claim to have been territory under six flags. The Crystal Beach Comet is now an asset of Six Flags, in its new home in Lake George, New York.