CoastersNSich

Probably a wasted topic, but then again, you did say here's my chance... However, I don't know if changing the place overnight would work well, but rather, I'd implement a 15-year plan, culminating with Kings Island's 50th Anniversary in 2022. cougarman4907's list is great - except for the stand-up suspended... - More attention to existing rides, namely The Racer - repainting to original color scheme, replacement of trains, maybe even having both trains faciing forward again. Rides with theming, esp. Adventure Express, would be enhanced. - 'The Big One,' a B&M speed-coaster placed in the ravine near SOB and Flight of Fear - Overhaul of the midway surfaces, replaced with type found at BGW and WDW. - More reasonable prices on fast, counter service food, while adding full-service restaurants for premium food - Regular size sodas $1, instant access to ice tap water. - More, larger restrooms. Some existing restrooms are either cramped or don't have enough fixtures - both genders. - Better signage throughout the park, from directions to popular attractions, to more that explain and enforce the smoking policy - Return to the emphasis on themed areas - Int. Street, Coney Mall, Rivertown, and possibly a complete makeover of Action Zone. My crowning addition for the 50th? A 15-20 story hotel over the main entrance plaza, featuring an open atrium (though enclosed), with attached parking garages, as well as conference center, restaurants, shops, and theater that could be open year-round. Think some urban hotels, especially the Disney Contemporary Resort.

I think Mark Shapiro, the new CEO, might be showing some new hope. He seems to understand the capacity issue, where additional coaster trains, flume boats, and other ride vehicles, sit idle when they are usable, especially on busy days. I also agree with him (somewhat) on a need to concentrate on park guests other than teens by adding family and children's rides. At several of their parks, like Magic Mountain, Great America, Great Adventure, and Over Georgia, their coaster line-ups are complete, IMO, so they should do well diversifying their ride lineup. I'd like to see SFMM re-open their sky tower and Metro monorail - these attractions would be great for those who avoid the coasters. Letting go of Flashback isn't bad either. BUT this doesn't mean that they should stop building large coasters altogether. After over 5 years, the thrill-seekers want something new and huge. Hopefully one non-SF park I know well understands this... One thing I'd disagree with him on is Mr. Six - I thought he was a great icon for the Six Flags brand, and he stood for the need to get away from everyday work and to go and have fun - now matter how creepy he is! As for season pass prices, they are too cheap, IMO. This might price them out of the market for some guests, but passes should be at least three times the cost of a single-day admission. If passes bring in people who spend little-to-none in the park on food or drink, then this hurts them in revenue - unlike a guest spending the whole day on a full-priced (or discounted) one-day ticket.

They should retheme it and rename it Metro Cafe or Metro Treats, and make it look a little sleak and modern like the IJST next to it.

Eventually, the family attrations will start to get 'boring' as the younger kids will become older teens, and begin to seek the large megacoasters, i.e. B&M, Intamin, etc that cost $10-$20 million or more. I'm not saying they should build a new large coaster every 1-2 or 3 years, like SFMM, SFGAM, or SFGADV, but a large family park like PKI is due for one. 2000 was that last mega-coaster (Son of Beast), and unfotunately, it put a (somewhat) bad taste in people's mouth - from corporate down to the guests. On a side note, one park I'd like to see an increase in dark rides, flat rides, and family rides is Geauga Lake, since the old waterpark has now been fully relocated across the lake to the new Wildwater Kingdom. Nice to see CP has put in 2 flat rides lately as well.

Now that I'm back, Maureen presented some great information about PKI in 2006: - Nick Universe will have 18 attractions total, including 6 new ones, like the Avatar Zamperla Disk-O. - The Beastie will become Fairly Odd Parents Coaster - A site plan (although not very detailed) was shown in the slide show, plus like wider paths, new food and shopping - SDatHC will remain as-is - A Hanna-Barbera film will be showing at the Action Theater, apparently replacing the SpongeBob film, at all 5 Paramount Parks - Will be one of the host parks for No Coaster Con XXX in June 2007 Also, David Mandt from Carowinds (formerly of KI) presented that PCar will re-theme and expand its waterpark to Boomerang Bay. Suzy Story of Kings Dominion previewed Italian Job: Turbo Coaster. Paramount's Great America will add Survivor: The Ride, a Zamperla Disk-O - the first CBS themed attraction in the parks Canada's Wonderland is building the Mission: Impossible Stunt Show arena to coincide with the release of M:I-3 Other Presenters came from: Six Flags Great America, Worlds of Fun, Cedar Point, Holiday World, Beech Bend, Geauga Lake, Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Sally Corporation, Lake Winnie, Indiana Beach, and Kennywood, among others. Note: Extremely tired, will edit for more info after checking notes Monday I just got back from Chicago, having seen downtown, then to watch my beloved Colts upset by the Steelers on TV. At least baseball and the coaster seasons aren't too far away!

I will be attending tomorrow morning, as I am now staying next door at the Courtyard by Marriott in Lincolnshire. I might just report what went on...

You have to be joking... of all the rides you want to ride that? Check this one out... TPR Video I rode it last February in the front seat. It wasn't the worst, but it's definitely not a coaster I'd fly out to Las Vegas just to ride. There's also the one that was located atop the Stratosphere Tower called High Roller. It gave its last ride on December 30, to make way for new thrill rides. I'll miss it a little bit, but it was more of an observation ride with OTSR than a trilling coaster, like Speed: The Ride at Sahara's NASCAR Cafe. The coaster I wish to ride doesn't open until Sat. May 6. It's Gemini at Cedar Point.

This I just saw on Screamscape. If they made an effort to run all their rides - ESPECIALLY the gentle/transport ones like the Metro monorail, tower, and incline shuttle (Orient Express?), and then keep a quality appearance, plus offer food, drinks, and parking at a lower price, then a $60 one-day ticket would seem justify - having a product that would be comparable to Disneyland. Heck, if they ran SFMM to its potential, they could claim MORE than Disneyland. Don't see it happening though. Most parks IMO do need to change some of their pricing policies - people are lured in by low gate (sometimes even with free promotions) and cheap season passes, only to pay $9, $10, even more to park, $3-$4 soft drinks, and the same kind of food that you could get at McDonald's or Wendy's near the park, but for twice or three times the price! One of the few parks that does it the good way is Holiday World. Season Passes should be 3 times the price of a one-day admission - the pricing may seem exclusive, but if I'm going to a place that has invested so much maintenance and cleaning into the experience, excluding some is not a bad idea.

Favorite Coasters - among my best: Shivering Timbers, Michigan's Adventure The Legend and Raven, Holiday World Raging Bull, SFGAm Gemini and Magnum XL-200, Cedar Point Flat rides: Flying Eagles - PKI->PCar Delirium - PKI maXair - Cedar Point Possibly the best defunct/SBNO: King Cobra, PKI Screechin' Eagle, Lesourdsville Lake Giant Wheel, Hersheypark

"You ask where the Eiffel Tower is. Lose a turn."

That's interesting how collectively Paramount Parks grew 2.2% yet their biggest park loses 5%. Has anyone seen the whole list (or at least the top 50) yet? I'm not surprised Cedar Fair grew - Michigan's Adventure I assume did well, and Geauga Lake must have gained since last year thanks to lower gate pricing and Wildwater Kingdom.

I saw on the local news, though, that attendance at Kings Island was down around 5%, while Cedar Point was down 2%. EDIT: Confirmed by DDN, thanks CoastersRZ

The best thing for that space would be a totally revamped restaurant. The place is nice but the look is a bit passé (and hign end/formal) and the only way I see it succeeding is to attract the casual park goer. Yes, the prices may be a little more than park stands, but not ultra-expensive... more like Friday's or Max & Erma's. I think the park desperately needs a sit-down restaurant, but something more attractive to today's park guests. It would also be a good idea to add a standard passenger elevator that is easily accessible.

Just how many of these threads have there been?! But the long awaited B&M is my #1 pick, and a HUSS flat or 2 by 2008 wouldn't bad either.

No, the Seattle Center Monorail was manufactured by Alweg. The original trains built for the monorail in 1962 are still used. Unfortunately, the monorail has been closed because of a side-by-side collision a couple weeks ago. For more, see: http://monorails.org/tMspages/scrunch2005a.html There was a good campaign and plan to build a full-length transit monorail for Seattle, but it was recalled in November after some serious overruns and final drawings that made it look far more imposing than what was previously proposed. And this is a more progressive city than, let's say, Cincinnati...

It was manufactured by Universal Mobility, which built the trains for the monorail's 1974 opening. The very same year, Kings Dominion also introduced their Lion Country Safari section and monorail - one year before the rest of the park opened in 1975. The company was later purchased by Bombardier, which has also manufactured the trains for larger monorails, like the one at Walt Disney World, and in Las Vegas. http://monorails.org/tMspages/TPBUM.html

First discovered on CoasterBuzz: Sounds like Viacom and Paramount need to clear some room for their newly acquired DreamWorks live action division. They may be selling Paramount Parks and Simon & Schuster publishing... http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArti...ryID=nL13773148 In other words, here we go again...

Earlier today I saw a new WinterFest TV commerical, which now has new live-action footage, which all looks great! This might help build attendance some when people see an actual event with real people and activities, rather than some computer-generated images. When it opened up, the announcer simply said "Kings Island," but at the end of the commercial, when the WinterFest logo was shown, he does say "Paramount's Kings Island." I wouldn't be surprised if they were phasing the "Paramount" name from Kings Island and the parks - but would be if some of the Paramount movie themes and names were removed, like Top Gun, Italian Job, and Face/Off. My guess if renamed, it would be "Kings Island: A CBS (Family Theme) Park". - thus the corporate part would be done the same way Cedar Fair does it. (i.e. Cedar Point, A Cedar Fair, L.P. Park)

Topic already exists... http://www.pkicentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6620

Six Flags New England will be getting SWAT and Diablo Falls from AstroWorld. Diablo Falls is similar to the Penguin's Blizzard River raft ride at Six Flags America near Washington, DC:

Congratulations! I'll admit that I'd rather have chosen the WinterFest tickets though, because my 2006 pass doesn't include it.

If anyone's going this weekend, try to take a picture of the box (or a display demo, if available) and provide a link. I'd love to buy one for myself, either at WinterFest or next season.

I'd say that the Kings Island WinterFest is a far different concept than Holiday in Lights at Sharon Woods. Sure, the Sharon Woods event is cheaper and you get to stay in your warm car (and I think you can tune your radio to local frequency for a soundtrack?), but you only get to see it all for several minutes. When you go to WinterFest, you get 5-6 hours to see everything. And it's far more than just a bunch of Christmas lights, including a 300+ foot tall tree of lights. It's got a lot of wonderful live shows, good food, shopping, and even some rides. I think $20 (at least for a one-time visitor) is very reasonable to get in. Do I think some costs are a bit high? Yes, they should lower the rink fee for ice skating, especially since you're paying to get into the park. And I haven't been the biggest fan of park parking fees, but that's how they cover the cost of running the place. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to WinterFest last Friday. Even a young adult like me nearing the age of 24 found it very entertaining, fun, and worthwhile. The White Christmas Express, contrary to the opinions of some, was a great experience. Not perfect, but still great. WinterFest may be the priciest holiday event around town, but quite possibly the biggest and best.

Lovely taime I had last night. Saw ZosoBeast and CoastersRZ there, for the Santa's Toy Factory show, train ride, and the 9:00 Scrooge show. By tomorrow I hope to have my own photo update up... I did enjoy the turkey meal available at the Winter Festhaus, as well as the Jack Frost magic show.

A few HydroFlumes that are still in operation and not too far from here, are the ones at Six Flags Great America near Chicago, Michigan's Adventure near Muskegon, and also one at Hersheypark in PA.