criminaljustice

Does anyone actually believe that maintenance was doing there morning inspection, saw a problem, and let the ride open anyway?!?!. How many times have you been to Kings Island and a ride is not open in the morning because maintenance is still working on it. I was working at the park last season when it was shut down for an extended period of time, and you know why it was closed.....they found something in the morning inspections. My argument here is these people will have a more difficult time finding the park negligent than if they would have just sued for pain and suffering. A somewhat similar case happened I think in 99, when several teenagers were beat up in the parking lot at the park. They tried to sue because they said park security did not do their job (negligence). They stated if security would have been there the fight would not have happened. The case was thrown out. Most of the injuries that have happened on that ride have been pre-existing in the person who got hurt in the past. Did the park pay the persons medical bills, yes. I think we'll just have to agree to disagree with this issue, because neither of us will convince the other.

"The park is the one that didn't find the problem and caused these people to get injured." - The state has already said that the board would not have been found in that condition in the pre-operational inspections. The "park" did not "cause" the problem. "Do they need to put up a warning the says it's wood and could fall apart at anytime ride at your own risk?" - It's on the back of the tickets dude. "I do know about it. When I worked for General Motors everything I did had my name on it. If something I done gets someone killed I know they will be wanting to talk to me. When you are playing with someones life you don't guess at it." - So everytime a fatal car accident happens you hear about it, you must be a busy person. More people die in car accidents driving to the parks. "As for the Judge they will ask for change of venue to secure fair trial. It will probably be moved to Columbus." - nope Your looking into this as if Kings Island has commited a criminal act. The media has made this a lot worse than it actually needs to be, and is ultimately the ones to blame for the negative responses. I of course have talked with people who still work there, and the media only presented about 50% of what actually happened. They of course left out how well the ride crew on SOB did in handeling the situation, and were praised by even the injured guests. Thats not good tv though, and the media knows that, because we like "train wrecks". Parks deal with these types of cases all the time, and they end up winning the majority, because of peoples lack of knowledge of the industry. Kings Island is an extremely safe park, and has a very good safety record, and an excellent maintenance staff. This accident was not the first and certainly will not be the last one to happen. It would be impossible for accidents on rollercoasters to be prevented, and if you don't think so then get out of the computer chair and do something about it, and present your ideas.

I don't know about that. They have judge Flannery, and he's fallen on the side of Kings Island before. It was either him or Bronson who made a judgement for KI when those teens sued the park because they got their butt's kicked in the parking lot, and tried to say Kings Island had poor security. Anyway the judges here at the common pleas court have heard it all before, and will have the final say. I hope they side with the park, and don't give those folks any money.....All they should get is medical bills paid for.

Your exactly right, there are cases that just get settled. I dont mean to sound like an expert....especially now that a new owner is involved. Things may be going down that I wouldn't think would happen. I understand that part, but with my experience the park has always taken very good care of people involved in situations like these, and when I say good care I mean to the extreme. Cedar Fair may run a completely different way. I know cases with Kings Island get settled as much as thrown out.....as I work closely with Warren County courts, but like you said it's sad to see things like this, because it just hurts the bottom line of the business. I guess my point could be summed up into the fact that NO ONE WILL WIN because of this lawsuit, and that is sad. The result will not make their PAIN go away, and that is my problem with the lawsuit. SOB will not run better because of "this" lawsuit. Kings Island will not lower prices because of this lawsuit. They "might" even decide to remove SOB. I could keep going on why I have a dislike for lawsuits, and their ultimate goal, and how it's purpose has been lost over the years, but I would be typing until next week. I'll just leave it at that for now.

I worked at the park for 11 years, and now currently work in law enforcement. I can tell you that KI will or already has paid the medical bills, thats just policy. (not sure if Cedar Fair does). I wasn't shocked that these people are sueing...thats just the way greedy America rolls. I was shocked of the alligations of the case. Kings Island like so many other large parks have an excellent maintenance staff, and procedures. If I were a lawyer representing KI, I would not want them to settle. I saw the news story on another station, and their (the plaintiff's) lawyer stated the park's medical staff took over an hour to respond, and only one nurse was working......WRONG! In all my years responding to calls at the park first aid always got there first, and there were ALWAYS at least 3 - 4 emt's ready and on call. I'm sorry these people got hurt, but don't act like you know how the operation works. Another person stated on here that there is always a lawsuit going on at the park that the public hears nothing about, and that is 100% true, and most are found frivolous and thrown out, and the plaintiff's are out a lot of money.

Exactly...I got what you were saying, I've seen those tunnels painted every so many years, it's nothing new. It's the ride operations clean-up crew that is responsible for that. kudos to Operations for keeping up on that. I'm sure within the week the rednecks who deface park property will have that tunnel looking bad, and KI will yet again be criticized for it, and someone will blame Paramount for that, and when it gets fixed again Cedar Fair will be praised.......hmmmm I see a trend brewing.

Wow, that website is extremely biased when it comes to parks. They take bashing to a whole new level, and the "staff" doesnt seem to know anything about park operations. Oh Im sorry "venue" operations

Something I've noticed at Kings Island is not what "Paramount" has or hasnt done, it's the guests who visit, and destroy park property. I rode IJ last season when it was very new, and about a month later when I rode the speakers in the cars were busted out. I rode Vortex, and saw someone had wrote how much they loved their highschool sweatheart. This would be a pain in my A$$ if I were management. It's not something that seems to happen a little bit, but something that continues on very frequently. We sit here and blame "Paramount" for that stuff, but it's the very people who visit the park who are to blame. I've seen people throw trash on the ground, and beleive me I said something. I've been going to KI since before I can remember, and the same crap happens from the people who don't care, and unfortunately those people don't read this site. CF will not be able to waive a magic wand and make it go away. They will have the money (given SOB's outcome gets taken care of) to keep up with the constant destruction by those among us at KI who could care less. I've seen this type of stuff at many Cincinnati attractions, like the zoo, aqarium, newport, and stadiums. The "don't trash the Nati" campaign needs to be extended throughout southwest Ohio.

and 30 minute plan A was a great idea....kinda like the color of blue chosen for all the ride ops stools. I envy the guy who had to make that decision!

How can you find time for that when your too busy with "annex baseball"

exactly.....

I don't beleive any company would be able to staff PKI with nothing but friendly employees. What the out-of-towners on here should realize is Kings Islands location. Mason, Landen, WestChester, Loveland, and Lebanon are predominantly wealthy cities in Warren County........So what does that have to do with customer service? well the fact is Kings Island like other companies in the county have trouble recruiting quality employees who care and NEED a job. Basically mom and dad are giving them allowance or have the money to give them extra cash on the side. I've lived in Warren County all my life, and notice this everywhere. Grocery stores, restraunts, and any other place that hires young teens. There are still good employees out there though, and it's not to hard to find them at KI. Just don't expect Cedar Fair to completely overhawl the staff, and all 5000 employees walking around showing their pearly whites as if they were given a happy pill when they came to work. You WILL still run into that one 16yr old who wow'd the interviewer, and smooth talked his way through that process, but turns into a management nightmare. I'm sure you've seen it where you worked no matter how good the GR Training may be, and the rides department at Kings Island has an excellent GR training program before employees start their summer, but it's up to them to develop that. If they don't, they'll most likely not last. The difference with Cedar Point (as I have noticed) is that it's employees seem to be college aged staff...and if you've been to college you know how importatnt a job is. Those guys up there work hard, because they have obtained that work ethic....They also would have no other way to pay for beer. For them they have no other income. They have had some bad apples though.....It's inevitable

I think this will be a great transition for the former Paramount Parks, and current Cedar Fair Parks. I don't think BIG Corporations should get involved with the theme park industry unless they focus on the details of running a park. The main reason (in my opinion) Kings Island has been a success is not because of what corporate name was behind it, but the dedicated management team that runs it. I've never talked to anyone in management from Kings Island who hated their job or did not take it personally. The management staff is mostly people from the Cincinnati area who have always loved the park, and I'm sure the same goes for Cedar Point. Now that Cedar Fair is the owner, they will be able to divest solely in their parks. Kings Islands earnings will now be used more for just the theme parks, and not for television, radio, movies or whatever else Viacom/CBS had under it's belt......and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Cedar Fair is just a theme park related company, they don't own like Nabisco or anything right??hahaha. I still think KI has done a great job the past 15years or so keeping up with other parks, and I think it will only get better over the next few years.

Huh, and I always thought Paramount was a charity organization. Rides were broke down????? man did they run out of the fairy dust that keeps machines operating no matter what. I thought they were required by law to keep Ride fairy dust in stock all summer so rides don't break down. Whats with the world today....soon they will be asking us to pay for gas, and what would it be like if counties started making us pay for water....I mean gosh EVERYTHING SHOULD JUST BE FREE!, AND THE WORLD PERFECT

There was also extreme winds last night, and knocked a tree down on my street (I live in Mason)...Im sure some of the decorations had to be a mess. I dont blame them for closing. Im sure everyone will live without one night of winterfest.