KIBOB

You can see from the video that the quonset hut is actually a pretty good size. Looks like we might have a really cool show building on this ride, which will really help setup the theming and Area 72 storyline.

Will the book be available at Joseph Beth?

I was thinking about this the other day (modernization), and realized Tim Fisher, who wanted to modernize KI when he was GM, is the COO of Cedar Fair. Probably no connection, but interesting nonetheless.

In retrospect, it wasn't just that the ride was poorly designed, it was also that early Cedar Fair management accelerated the problems. Remember, previous company management didn't really care about immersive experiences (unlike today), and mainly focused solely on thrill rides. Once Cedar Fair lost the Tomb Raider IP, they decided that instead of creating a new story and theming, they would just strip out most of the ride's immersive elements and amp up the thrill factor. They tried making this less of a threat to the ride mechanism by removing a row of seats (I think it was only one row?). Regardless, the highly thrilling cycle used in the 2008 season probably redlined the fragile mechanisms of the ride far to often, leading to the tame cycle. I think that even if previous management opted to change the storyline instead of making it into a thrill ride, we would be in the same situation today. That ride system was not going to last. I know this is touched upon in the video, but I wanted to add a little more depth to my answers. :-)

Ah, thanks! I totally forgot the ride operated with the final cycle for nearly three seasons. If I recall correctly, the water effects were originally removed not from Paramount's lack of maintenance (surprisingly), but due to corrosion issues.

The last year of the ride's operation as The Crypt used an incredibly tame and short ride cycle. From what I remember, this was to help ease wear and tear on the ride, but nothing was really done to substantially upgrade the ride systems. They were just prolonging the inevitable.

The Giant Top Spin was the problem. The ride was a poorly designed prototype that was tearing itself apart. Exposing it to the elements would be like placing a standard laptop in your lawn during a thunderstorm and hoping for the best. My long term hope is that we get a new themed dark ride, fitting the aesthetic of Rivertown, placed into that building. :-)

It could also be as simple as them sending a piece of track to a museum before a certain date. Or, since they removed the lift gear for reuse, it may have been easier to just cut off the rails at the bottom of the lift.

From the bike trail, on the other side of the river.

Thanks for this. It is quite thorough! This makes a lot of sense, especially the proximity to an airport. I believe that Intimidator at Carowinds, which is as tall as Diamondback, also has a light. Carowinds is also very close to the Charlotte airport. In fact, the last few times we’ve flown into Charlotte, we’ve passed over Carowinds. So close in fact that we could see people.

I wonder if Orion will be tall enough to require its own aircraft warning beacon at the top, similar to Fury. I suppose we'll find out once the lift is topped off.

It consisted of a large display along the path between International Street and Rivertown, between Diamondback and BLSC.

I believe they are the phones you can find in and around ride stations. Think of the one in the weatherproof box just outside the Eiffel Tower elevator. I could be wrong though, and these could be strictly for ops. :-)

I’m pretty sure that is where they were hiding the confetti cannons for Carnival.

Yea, anything of that height has to be engineered with the knowledge that it will be nailed by CG lightning many times... Off topic, so if this needs to be moved so be it, but I did notice last week that the aircraft warning strobe at the top if its antennae was out. Random curiosity, but is there a deadline for which the park needs to have it operational again? Some kind of FAA guideline?

There is a noticable if not substantial difference in maintaining/adding/adhering to theming (even if light) between the Kinzel era and the Ouimet/Zimmerman era. It is almost startling. Carowinds and CW just opened two brand new relatively immersive themed areas. Knotts has had major renovations done to its two Disney-esque attractions. Carnivale, and I-Street (along with the glockenspiel) are, in my opinion, the epitome of this.

With the success the park is seeing from Grand Carnivale, and all of the polishing/restoration efforts, I would love to see a store (just one, at least) on International Street that sold artisan goods from different countries. You could call it something like the "KI International Marketplace" and have different shelves/tables for a handful of countries stocked with items that could be sourced from the third party company they use for photography and other specialty items. This could easily be put in place of one of the 3 stores on the street which currently sell very much the same type of stuff. Even adding a chain restaurant like Piada would be really cool for continuing to improve the street.

Are all of the effects on MT still down as of today?

+10 My wife and I recently went on vacation to Southern California, and made the trip over to Knott’s (we bought Platinum Passes for the first time this year). I have to say... We were absolutely blown away at the amount of theming and attention to detail in that park. Ghost Town was incredibly immersive, and both the Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mine Ride, which were both recently gutted and renovated by Cedar Fair, had incredible, some may even say Disney levels of theming. The scenes were huge and the animatronics were very life like. So, if you think Cedar Fair is incapapable of pulling off excellent theming, you really should try and visit Knott’s. This park, more than any other, really shows the company’s changing priorities. It will change your perspective of what could happen here at home.

For those of us who were patient, this is definitely looking great! I'm guessing they just fell a little behind schedule, and perhaps certain pieces of the fountain hadn't arrived at the park yet. Those nozzles look really fancy. In fact, the nozzles in the center look almost like hundreds of miniature pedestals. I bet this new lighting, plus the lighting from above will look amazing! Thinking back, it is pretty cool that they at least tried with the PVC, rather than just letting it go for opening day. Things are a changin'!

Whoa. So, I’ve been checking out the blog posts from Worlds of Fun (thinking about visiting this summer), and they have an entry about Grand Carnivale (WoF is getting it too). There’s some concept art, but some of it isn’t WoF: (Images by Cedar Fair, from Worlds of Fun blog | Source: https://www.worldsoffun.com/blog/2019/new-international-festival-announced-grand-carnivale)

Mr Koontz is doing an amazing job! In addition, it seems as though this new emphasis on theming, atmosphere, and restoration may be more chain wide. Worlds of Fun just announced similar changes, including theming enhancements across the park, which I’m guessing will help take guests back into the classic Jules Verne story it was originally themed after: https://www.worldsoffun.com/blog/2019/cotton-blossom-bbq-new-2019 Amazing things are happening with Cedar Fair.

I agree, but regarding the credit given to Cedar Fair... I very much thought the same thing during the Kinzel era. While I'm grateful his reign at Cedar Fair oversaw the purchase of Paramount Parks, I was critical of the moves seen as diminishing to the individual identity of the parks. I think the fresh management brought in over the last few years has created a significant shift in priorities. Not only have we been seeing a renewed emphasis on atmosphere (theming and otherwise) and quality (while still seeing the addition of large, thrilling attractions), but we've also seen a greater commitment to the overall experience. The performance of the company is reflective upon these moves. Cedar Fair is worth much more now than it was at the end of Kinzel's tenure.

Given the history of our park, I found this to be very interesting and revealing. While not mentioning the parks division, the last decade has certainly proven that the parks are once again in good hands. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/business/media/paramount-pictures.html

Just saw this: http://www.wkyc.com/mobile/article/features/cedar-point-making-changes-to-maverick-roller-coaster-in-two-year-plan/95-526564974