HomerJay

I could be wrong, but I actually seem to remember Adventure Express using the Indiana Jones theme before Paramount owned the park. . . .it was also the same year that they did a Scooby Doo/Fred Flinstone/Captain Caveman show in International Showplace that had an Indiana Jones theme...and it was before Paramount owned the property. I agree that CF will eventually drop the themeing. But it will do so gradually. Some rides will be no-brainers and others will take some time. For instance: Face-Off and Top Gun are movie-related in name only. Remove the theming, give them a new name and no one will care after the first year. Flight of Fear no longer has any theming connecting it to Paramount Properties, since the Outer Limits was dropped. Paramount Story can easily be de-themed (as no one bothered to keep theming up for the past 10 years or so), in Action Zone you just have to remove the movie posters, Bubba Gump's could probably stay if they have a separate deal or easily rethemed to something like "The Bayou". Really, there's only two areas where you could have a problem and they really aren't big deals: Italian Job--do some retheming to the name and maybe some parts of the ride. Retitle it "Getaway" and you have something. Tomb Raider--This is, initially, tough...until you remember there's the similarly themed Adventure Express. Just change the soundtrack and the name and you can have pretty much the same ride...a jungle adventure thing doesn't have to have Lara Croft (and given that the movies pretty much sucked, I don't think people will mind). Oh...and keep CF away from retheming it with a space theme! CF and indoor space-themes are bad...there's a big white box at Cedar Point known as Disaster Transport (Mistake on the Lake) to testify for that.

That makes me so funny that you guys took the trade for the Eiffel Tower and Space Spiral seriously...obviously he meant it as a joke!!

Lessee...what is missed in KI? King Cobra wasn't a great ride, but it was fun...great airtime on the bunny hills... KCKC was fun because it was a relaxing flume ride... I loved Skylab... Smurfs Enchanted Voyage was great for kids and a nice way to cool off...and was much more original than Phantom Theater or Scooby Doo.... And this wasn't a ride, but I used to love the International Restaurant! They had great food and the view couldn't be beat!

Wow...these Son of Beast threads get almost as annoying as the "Vortex is Closing" threads...everytime someone brings up SoB, we end up asking--is it too rough and we have to hear about the poor ol' tall people who can't sit comfortably in the trains. Sigh. . .

If you're going for a few days, the best thing to do is buy a souvenier cup of pop and then bring it back each day and fill it with ice water. You're spending some money, but you don't have to stop and get water 10 times a day (it lasts awhile) plus you get a cheap souvenier :-)

Why fill up a cup at the fountain? Buy a souvenier cup and take it to the food stands. They'll fill it up for free with ice cold water. You can get by on a whole summer for like $4.50

You know, since the CF purchase, there have been so many stupid and illogical rumors out there. But this takes the cake. Simply put: why in the world would CP begin to move ANY of it's coasters out of CP, especially to a park that has a strong collection of roller coasters. Why would they cut down their collection to move them to another park? And if they DID, wouldn't they move them to a a smaller park to give it a boost? Yet CP never did it with Geauga Lake or Michigan's Adventure. Trust me, CP will remain CP and KI will remain Ki.

If you look at how Geagua Lake and Michigan's Adventure have improved since CF took over, I don't know how anyone can see this as anything BUT a great thing to happen to KI!

Very cool news, indeed. Cedar Point has always been the trend-setter and I think Cedar Fair will still tend to focus more on CP than the Paramount Parks. However, I also think that Cedar Fair will be able to look at the strengths that PKI has (or is it KI now? CFKI?) and exploit them better than Paramount could. I wouldn't hold our breath about seeing record breaking coasters come anytime soon...but I think they'll really work hard to continue making PKI a world-class theme park that caters to the entire family.

You can't tell me that the General Public was in an uproar because the Antique Cars were removed. There was a new, state of the art attraction put in its place. I'm sure people were impressed by that more than over the slowly paced Antique cars, which appealed to little kids, senior citizens and die-hard PKIers. The public WILL notice, however, if food costs and arm and a leg, if the rides don't work, if the staffing causes long delays and if the park is dirty. THOSE are the things into which Paramount has to put some $$ to avoid losing attendance.

Overheard at the main gate from a Security Guard: "Sorry folks, park's closed. The moose out front should have told you."

I personally love going to Fuddrucker's, which is only a few miles down the road, I believe. I'm not from the area and that's one place we always make sure to hit.

I seriously doubt PKI will get rid of FOF. It's one of the most popular and best thrill rides at the park! That launch is fantastic, the ride is fast and it's one of the few rides that still manages to get me screaming when I go. A visit is not complete without it! I do think, however, you'll see a re-theme. Which is fine. Re-theme it, give people something to talk about. That's perfectly alright by me and doing something to make a great ride even better would be awesome! Who knows...maybe PKD's is getting a re-theme that's a preview for PKI's FOF! But I seriously doubt the ride itself will be removed anytime soon. It's in an out-of-the way spot where you probably wouldn't put another ride, it's a great coaster and it's still popular. There'd be no point.

Gosh...I have no idea if I'm even going to get down to PKI this year...haven't been since 2004...but the idea of not having HBL there...wow.... I first went to PKI in 82 or 83, when I was 3 or 4 years old. And the HBL carousel, the Smurfs ride, the Sunshine Turnpike...we'd spend hours there with my grandparents. Even now that I'm in my (late) 20s, a stop to PKI always required at least a walk-through of HBL because of the memories it brought back. Even though Nick was creeping more and more into it, it was always at least good to see the HBL carousel with the "Yogi Bear" song playing. . . now no more. Now, I'm all for the NU expansion. I think it's going to bring in new families to the park and it's probably time to retire the HBL stuff. But still...the think I'm going to miss the most is that carousel music playing the Yogi Bear theme. . . that's weird I know, but still....

FoF was TORTURE when it had the OTSRs. You'd smack your head and leave with a splitting headache most the time. With the lap bar it's turned from a mediocre ride into one of the best in the park. It really feels out of control, faster and more thrilling. It was a great move and turned FoF into one of my favorite rides at PKI.

I think it will be a good thing. More kids will want to come to the park simpy for NU, which will bring new guests...while I'm sure kids enjoyed PKI, did you really have kids wanting to go just for HBL in the past few years? Although renaming The Beastie is just a sad way to go.

I don't know why people feel the need to bash SOB. Yes, it's rough...but so is The Beast. If you go in knowing what to expect and just relax, it's fine. Bring some aspirins if you need to and stop whining :-) It's actually a fun ride.

First off, can we just call a stop on all the rumors about Vortex being taken down? There's absolutely no reason for it: the ride runs well, is a good people mover, the park still has space and it's a darn good ride. There is absolutely no reason why the park would celebrate its 35th anniversary by taking out one of the better coasters in the park...and wouldn't 2007 be the 20th anniversary for The Vortex??? Why take it down then? Beast is going to be 27 years old this year and it's still up and running fine. I think PKI will do something big for 2007. Will it still be Paramount-themed since the parks are being divested?? I don't know. If it IS, my guess is that you'll see something themed to M:I, although I'd love to see a dark ride based on Lemony Snicket. If it's not, I think we'll see a nice-sized coaster. But, of course, whatever we get, someone willl find something to complain about. When they got SOB there were complaints that it wasn't a big, themed coaster. When IJST came, there were complaints that it was too family-oriented and not a big thrill ride. People complained that there were no changes to the children's area and then pitched a fit when NU was announced. So, people will continue to be disappointed because nothing can satisfy the enthusiast.

You know, I just can't get psyched about WAH. When I went as a kid I remember it being boring...and I don't think I'd like another pay attraction...especially one that takes up so much room. From what I remember as a child, it was a long monorail ride and you didn't get to see much of the animals. Besides, with the number of rides at PKI, is there any more time left in the schedule to get in line and ride a 20 minute monorail? On a busy day I just can't see it being a priority. There's a lot I'd love to see brought back from the old days--the dolphin shows were fun, the entertainment in the Festhaus, even something as silly (to me) as having those announcements that "Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, in just 15 minutes, (whatever show) will be taking place at the International Showplace." WAH is not on my list.

I think the question of whether Kings Island was better before or after Paramount took over is pretty tough. I think a big part of the reason we believe it was better before is that there's a strong nostalgia attached to it. When we were younger, we believed Kings Island was some magical, enchanting place that existed so that we could forget about the outside world...let's not forget, however, that adverstising and reminders of that world were still present with rides sponsored by Kodak, John Deere, etc. In reality, Kings Island is and always has been a money-making venture. That's the nature of the business. When Taft owned it, the biggest concern most likely wasn't whether families were happy and joyful but rather whether money was being made. They just chose to do it a bit differently than Paramount. I went to Kings Island for several years, probably close to 13, before Paramount took over. And I do have to say there were some definite benefits. Most notably, there was a much greater emphasis made on theming different sections of the park. When you went from Oktoberfest to Coney Mall to Wild Animal Habitat...you KNEW you were going into a different zone because there was such a unique feel. The only thing that maintains any sort of the old feeling today is Rivertown, and even that feels smaller. The shows were much better before Paramount (an ENTERTAINMENT company!) took over. I remember the kids' shows being held in the International Showplace and it was great to have them mixing up all the Hanna Barbara characters in one show (and even reusing Gargamel--anyone remember Dr. Evilyelp?) and having a live band in the kids shows. Also, I do LOATHE the tv sets placed throughout the park. I hate standing in line for a ride and watching previews of Paramount movies or stupid music videos. At least Cedar Point has live djays in line, which really helps. But, Paramount has done more to tranform Kings Island from being the Midwest's Secret to being an American destination. There aren't as many record-breaking coasters, but there are more unique rides throughout the park. And while the theming has gone downhill, there HAS been a more concerted effort to create rides with more complex special effects, like TR:TR and IJST. And I know people mourn the loss of Hanna Barbara. But let's remember why a child's area exists: to attract the children...not nostalgic adults. Kids don't grab their parents and go "Let's go see Scooby Doo and Fred Flinstone!" They WILL, however, be thrilled to see Spongebob Squarepants and others there. So NU is a good business move and will probably be very successful. With new owners...who knows? We could get a company like Taft that wants to restore some of the old charm to KI. We could get a company like Six Flags that completely cheapens it and turns it into another McPark. Or we could hopefully get a company that combines the successes of Taft and Paramount and turns KI into something better than it has ever been.

I've never been prevented from putting my hands up at Cedar Point. Not even on the big rides, like Millenium Force or Dragster.

Um, hello...hasn't anyone noticed that the renaming has already begun? It was an inside job. First you get a station in the park and, like a virus, grow from there into: Starbucks Espresso Island

Anyone who doesn't like Winterfest should have spaghetti shot on them from Dane Cook's fingers. Enjoy your spaghetti, you're very rude.

People should stop whining about SOB. Yes, it's rough. Did anyone expect it to be smooth?! It's the biggest wooden coaster in the world (or was at the time; is it still?) Of course it's rough. If it hurts, don't ride it! The website seems odd. It looks "professional" enough and I wouldn't doubt that it's legitimate...but honestly, a few things bother me. 1.) It DOES sound like a trip report. 2.) Much--in fact, MOST--of it is based on hearsay. Someone reports that they had an issue. Was the issue looked into? What's the specific issue? This is just a complaint. 3.) Why in the world would a SAFETY organization be concerned about theming and effects? Those have nothing do with safety. 4.) If PR isn't answering their questions...something tells me that PR knows something's up. Any organization that legitimately has the authority to make requests or changes probably gets all their questions asked. If Seibert didn't answer questions, he probably knows that this is not really on the up-and-up.

Paramount won't go...it's a great way for the company to get their marketing in via the park. . . whether through a ride or through just putting posters up. As for people calling in PKI or just Kings Island...I've never told my friends "Let's go to Paramount's Kings Island." It's Kings Island. The name is just a brand. But the park is what stands alone.