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Outdoor Man

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Outdoor Man last won the day on January 23 2013

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  1. Missed opportunities.... mismatched theming. Action Zone: Bat, Banshee... Is there a theme developing??? then Inverigo, Delerium: maybe a motion sickness theme. Oh, wait- Congo Falls? Rivertown: rustic 19th century theme. Mystic Timbers, meanwhile, themed to an abandoned 1980's lumber company that apparently has a Y2K camera/surveillance system. To be fair... TR:TR was one of the best themed attractions to ever be on property... and it's didn't exactly match the Losantiville Train Station next door. Just to name a few.
  2. Wow, Outdoor Man blog entries quoted from 14 years ago. SOB removal seemed very unrealistic- give the sheer size of the structure, and sizeable investment they had in it. But, once a roller coaster gets a strikes on it- that persona is difficult to shake off. The ride experience wasn't that great to be gin with. Flight Deck... I can't say for certain, but I'd be willing to bet it was saved in the 11th hour from it's demise. Before they refreshed/repainted/rethemed to The Bat it was looking pretty worn down and neglected. renaming to The Bat worked pretty well to bring some popularity back to it, though I think the former line queue through a aircraft carrier could have been changed to a "bat-theme" and added a decent "wow" factor to it. Now it's just a metal platform structure in the woods. the Crypt.... wow, what a sad ending for an iconic ride like TR:TR. And a lasting scar/imprint of what once was. It's been 18 seasons since anyone experienced a ride at Kings Island that I would have put up against an attraction based in Orlando. Total immersion in the experience from the time you stepped foot into the line queue outside, to the exit.
  3. would be a pr nod, a feel-good story, and great theming element if ki were to reconstruct a replica of Moonlite Gardens at the cap of Coney Mall, perhaps where The Vortex line queue was. Maybe as an indoor/outdoor eating area. In addition, reconstruct the iconic Coney Island entrance gates at the west entrance of Coney Mall. Coney Mall will soon be the last remnant left of the once iconic park. KI has an opportunity to do things to give nods to its history. what, if anything, will they do? Or will it be as I suspect, business as usual. I'd like to be wrong.
  4. Just an opinion. Somewhere in the regional park lore it is unwritten that a park must do annual multi-million $ installations to keep the fan base returning. Meanwhile, since 2020 KI will have created three new themed areas to bring them to a total of 9. Area 72.... eh... OK. Adventure Port, nice (if it will be kept up), and now Camp Snoopy. What's the long-term vision for this? Will any of these be built onto or will #10 be developed? Assuming that between Orion and the other two developments there has been $60M+ invested in KI over the past four years. OK, Orion is a "giga"- but it's still just a taller, updated version of Diamondback. Think of the infrastructure, themed area development, show innovation, etc. that could have been invested in to create memories worth repeating. Perhaps an entire, ground-up, remake of Planet Snoopy into a fully immersive "Camp Snoopy" area. Maybe a fully immersive experience to make use of the TRTR building.
  5. hmmm. A company with a history of financial problems (SIX) and one with storm clouds on the horizon (FUN)..... what could go wrong here?
  6. I'll go back a few years more. If they had listened to the guest pre-2009, Diamondback would have been a giga. In the Paramount days (and before), Kings Island enjoyed flagship status. World firsts and innovation came here before the others. Since then, not only has it played 2nd fiddle to Cedar Point- but Orion was the 6th (and shortest) Giga+ in the chain to be built... and wasn't even intended for KI. That said, taller and faster doesn't immediately translate to better. Better is better. Disney World's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is 41 ft tall... it rarely has a wait less than 2 hours. Hagrids at Universal is 65 ft tall and I rarely see a wait less than 3 hours. VelociCoaster, half the size of a giga.... multi-hour wait every day. Difference: these roller coasters tell a story. The parks determine the story they want to tell and have a coaster built that tells it = guests will ride again and again. Some will say Banshee is themed... sort of- the theming largely ends once you leave the station. The Bat isn't themed at all. Imagine how effective the shed "show" with Mystic Timbers would have been if it were placed at the tunnel, mid-course. Then when, whatever was going to strike you, happened- a second launch propelled you back to the station. But fortunately for Giga lovers in Cincinnati- word is someone higher up wasn't astute on structure height restrictions in Santa Clara, otherwise the roller coaster nka Orion would have been built there with just 11 years to live... Paramount, to their credit, tried this with Tomb Raider. It was a game changer and got them national recognition. It was a unique story that another park wouldn't be able to replicate. 250-300ft tall roller coasters can be found at most parks.
  7. To the original post: comprehensive RFID bands for season pass- al la Disney. Could be a profit center with benefits. Loyalty Program, track guest trends Store multi-factor enabled payment methods Of course, season pass info- which would have an image of the pass holder for security on purchases Give season pass guests the ability to leave their wallets home or in the car. Line Queue management - having spent time with people at Disney who work with MDE and Arm Bands- the amount of robust analytics gathered by these are a key reason that the Disney experience is repeated. Honestly, the amount of analytics would probably overwhelm them and, this isn't a knock, they probably wouldn't have the horses to disseminate the info. More investment in technology that encourages interaction with said technology... this gives = analytics. Data-based decisions may avoid things like $40M coaster installations that are largely identical to one your already have. I know, I know- Orion is a Giga..... it's basically an updated Diamondback layout. Take a percentage of that investment and create an immersive experience inside the Tomb Raider bldg. Create an experiences worth repeating... and one that people will wait hours for. Make an experience out of a coaster: put a small body of water under a hill on Banshee.... have fog and strobes at night. Stop creating new "named" areas in the park and theme the areas already there. Adventure Port is very nice area and very Herschend'esque- but I'm not sure what the theme is. I assume it is Latin America... Meanwhile Oktoberfest continues to shrink. Rivertown, assumed to be 19th century Cincinnati'ish... Mystic Timbers... basically an abandoned saw mill from the 1980s. Pick a lane. As a guest and Season Pass holder for the past 18 consecutive seasons it seems that large investment decisions are made based on what a committee thinks guests want and not what data/analytics would say. I could be wrong. But, from where I sit- instead of spending millions to go taller and faster- completely remake Camp Snoopy into the entire area... I'm sensing that CS and Planet Snoopy will be "two" areas... Kids are interactive... put more than just rides in there- imagine experiences that families will want to repeat and that older kids will want to revisit.
  8. Kings Island: buy historical landmarks that will be lost forever in a few months... refurb Coney Mall with said landmarks.
  9. Call me crazy but maybe this could lead to a 2025 refurbishment of the Coney Mall section to reflect the legacy of Coney Island. I'm thinking to rescue Coney items that could be lost to the wrecking ball and could dramatically dress up the area. For instance the "Coney Island" gate entrances (the ones cars passed through as well as the one by the river with the lighthouse) relocate them to near the Coke building and juke box diner. Disassemble Moonlite Gardens and place in part of the former Vortex footprint as a new restaurant as an end cap of the section. Steal the flyers back and maybe even replant Ginkgo Trees... Also, take anything of historical significance the can be relocated and refurb/remake the area. This is an opportunity that will be lost forever in less than 6 months. All very much long shots. But if public interest demands... CF/Six could even get federal funds to rehab/restore historical landmarks.
  10. To be fair, the Sevierville/Gatlinburg area has a slightly better Spring and Fall climate it's more of a destination park and it will operate 335 days in 2024
  11. I have a fairly pessimistic outlook. Two large companies- one with a history of financial woes and the other with a recent spat of financial difficulty combining... what could go wrong here? AOL, Time Warner, & Turner Broadcasting had a good thing going.... until they didn't less than a year after the merger; all of which became corporate afterthoughts.
  12. Something creative with good theming and memorable elements. Please no taller, faster, or a design that 100 other parks have. KI would never get something themed like a Hagrid's, Guardians of the Galaxy, or Velocicoaster but not all "themed" coasters reside in Florida or are installed by entertainment conglomerates. Phantasialand in Germany has a Vekoma named Taron that would be incredible. Even Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City is well-themed with a changing experience. Just skip the taller/faster mantra that seems to pervade the Cedar Fair checklist.
  13. Please note that the "anchor" for the Winterfest/Eiffel Tower Christmas Star has been installed.
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