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Voicetek

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Everything posted by Voicetek

  1. I loved, loved, loved the puppet tree! When I was a kid, one thing I looked forward to every season was the new puppet show in the puppet tree. Each season they would have new puppet characters and a new set of songs those characters would sings and dance to. I would always have one character and song that was my favorite every year. I absolutely hated to see the puppet tree get torn out. I'm glad there are still pictures and videos that exist online.
  2. 1. What is the best day ever at Kings Island that you have ever had? I've had many "Best Days" at Kings Island because I've been visiting every season since I was about 1 or 2. However, some visits do stand out in my mind. Those visits were the ones were I tackled different roller coasters for the first time. I'll never forget the day I finally got up the courage to ride The Beast, and the day I was able to ride The Vortex - my first looping coaster. Another day that stands out to me was one particular visit when I went with one of my friends from school. It had been raining on and off that day, so crowds were pretty much non existent. We were able to marathon Adventure Express. I just remember getting off, then running around and getting back in line. We did this over and over and over again. Good times! 2. What is your favorite Kings Island flat-ride? (Past or Present!) I don't really do flat rides since I tend to get motion sickness if I spin too much. However, I do enjoy the dodgems and I loved the antique cars. 3. Have you ever heard one of your favorite songs playing at Kings Island? If so then what song? The 1998 season, they played "The Way" by Fastball just about every time I visited. My friend and I would even hear it on the radio on our way to the park. It got to be our theme song for visiting KI that year. 4. Should Kings Island make The Racer go backwards again? Absolutely! 5. What's the worst part of the off-season? Looking forward to riding the new ride 6. What do you think is in the shed? #WhatsInsideTheShed: I have no idea. My hopes is that it's some kind of cool animatronic creature (tree creature maybe?) or display or some sort. Maybe a small dark ride scene similar to what we have in the last tunnel on Adventure Express. Some kind of unique element that would make you want to ride it again just to experience that final part.
  3. I've got a question: Back before KI opened for it's 1991 season, they mailed out some flyers advertising that new season. Within the flyer there was an advertisement for their new ride Adventure Express, complete with concept artwork. Just curious, by chance, would you happen to have this flyer or know what I'm talking about? I just remember, as a 10 year old boy, looking through this at my dad's house and getting excited to ride the new ride. Thanks!
  4. I think it really depends on the company. If it is a design-oriented company, then higher ups should know which designs follow good design principles. However, some companies are just normal companies that higher artists/graphic designers to perform a few tasks when needed. Such is my case. The company I work for is not a design company, so the management team are not artists and they have not been to school for design, so they think "good design" is whatever they think looks good - which is not always the case. I've been hired at my job because I've been educated and trained in a particular field, which is design. My boss hired me because of my experience with design, however, there are always those bosses out there that think they know more than their employees. There have been many times that I have tried to explain why his particular choices or direction on a design project was not necessarily a good one. His response? "Do what I told you to do, or I'll do it myself. Then I won't need you here." True story. I'm wondering how many of these corporations who resort to these "simpler" logos were a result of a management team that thought they knew better than the educated, trained, graphic designers who they had hired to perform this task. There have been some logos and designs I've seen before that were so bad that I questioned how any capable designer could've created such a mess, then I think back to my experiences and wonder if it was just a result of a crappy manager telling their employee to "Do what I tell you, or else!"
  5. I work in graphic design creating advertisements and e-mail campaigns for a local business. I know a lot of the trouble I run into is the complete lack of comprehension of what good design is or what it looks like. I can create 20 different graphics where I've wracked my brain and tried to push the design creatively, only to get feedback from my boss saying, "I don't like any of these." Usually what they end up picking is something simple and generic and it makes me question why I spend so much time trying to be creative. In instances like this, it's possible that the "higher ups" just have no vision for good design or creativity, and that leaves their trained graphic artists to produce generic looking stuff like this. I can tell you from experience, this is one of the most frustrating things that can happen on the job and it makes you want to bash your head into your desk, get up, and walk out of that office forever. For the graphic designers in those scenarios, I truly sympathize.
  6. 1. I have a couple: Being pushed around Winterfest in a stroller and riding the original Enchanted Voyage in Hanna-Barbera Land. 2. Has to be Adventure Express. This was one of my first "bigger" coasters when I was a kid, so it has some sentimental meaning to me. 3. I always liked River Town. 4. Phantom Theater 5. Mystic Timbers and Winterfest!
  7. I have memories of going to the park when I was very young, probably around 2 or 3. I've had a season pass every year except for 2 seasons, but managed to visit those years anyway. I'd say I've visited Kings Island at least 30 different seasons. Probably closer to 33 seasons, but can't quite remember before a certain age.
  8. I've always wondered about this, but what about the person that sticks their cell phone/camera out over the railing on the Eiffel Tower trying to get a selfie, and then drops their device? I know most people know better, but the lack of common sense among the general public amazes me. I would think taking pictures up on the Eiffel Tower could be as dangerous as taking pics or video on rides, if the person is not acting in a responsible manner.
  9. I hate hearing about this kind of stuff. Seems he and some others entered a restricted area. This pointless death could have been prevented. So sad for the family. Read more about the incident here: http://www.wqow.com/story/34113200/2016/12/22/update-florida-teen-dies-after-fall-from-mt-olympus-water-park-slide
  10. I saw Britney Spears in concert back in August of 1999. I got my ticket for $10. You can't even see a movie for $10 nowadays. Over the next few years I also saw Jessica Simpson and Plus One in concert there. I really wish I would've kept my tickets/stubs as they would've made for a cool souvenir.
  11. Just to be clear, I used Disney's old system multiple times. I've heard ridiculous stories of people arriving before the gates open with strollers in hand and as soon as the ropes drop making a mad dash around the park marathon style swiping at every FastPass they could get before they magically disappeared. It really makes it sound like it was the most exhausting and difficult thing to do and that if you didn't arrive at park open and run around frantically, then you didn't one. That's BS. My friends/family and I never ran around from FP station to FP station collection passes in order to secure them. We'd walk casually around the park enjoying the attractions. When we came to one we wanted to ride but didn't want to wait for, we'd grab a FP. We never ran into any situation where they were out of passes. Since the new system was put in place, I've had more instances of FastPasses being sold out than before on their old system where it was never an issue. And yes, I agree, Universal's new system does look to be fair. I'll be interested to learn more.
  12. I've talked about this before, and I'm sure there are those that don't agree with me, but when it comes to FastPasses and such, I'm old school. I still prefer the first come, first served approach that was originally in the Disney theme parks. I liked how everyone on the day of their visit, regardless of who they were or where they were staying, could walk into the park, swipe their ticket and get a pass. Everyone was on an equal playing field. This whole idea now where people staying on Disney property can reserve FastPasses 90 days in advance, while people staying off property only get 30 days, well, that's just junk. And I know why Disney does it, so I don't need an explanation. It's just my opinion. Now in regards to Universal's new technology. It seems as if, at least within their water park, that there is no reserving before you get to the park. It sounds like, once you're there, you walk up to the ride you want to ride, tap your band, and then get a reserve time. Sounds very similar to Disney's older technology, just updated a bit to coincide with this electronic band. If so, then I do like this concept a little better. However, I'm wondering too if there will be stand-by lines? It'll be interesting to see if theme parks will ever do away with stand-by lines as technology such as FastPass and now this TapuTapu becomes more refined. I'm wondering if it's at all possible for parks to orchestrate reserved ride times to the point that stand-by lines don't to exist anymore. Would that allow everyone a ride on a ride? What about riding a ride more than once? My opinion is that stand-by lines will always be needed, but I'm not saying that that'll be the case in the future. It'll be interesting to learn what this new technology is all about once we can see it in action.
  13. I sorta feel the same way. I wasn't that thrilled when I heard the kids area was going to be re-themed "Peanuts" back in 2009/10 whenever it was. Personally, I preferred the Nicktoons. If I had it my way though, it would have never been changed from Hanna-Barbera. However, neither of those scenarios are realistic because things change and other things become popular. But when I heard "Peanuts" were taking their place, I was slightly confused. I asked myself the same question, "Are kids really into them at all?" It just seemed like kind of an outdated property. I understand that Cedar Fair owns the rights to them, so that's why they're used in all of their parks. That makes perfect sense. It's cheap for them, and they don't have to go around negotiating licensing deals. To be honest, I don't really see them going anywhere anytime soon. Unless Cedar Fair somehow loses the rights to the Peanuts characters, they would have no reason to change the theming. To me, the Peanuts characters aren't all that exciting. They're ok, but mostly because I grew up with them and there is a slight bit of nostalgia associated with them. If not for that though, I wouldn't care about them at all. However, the kids area isn't for me, so I don't worry about it too much. I just wonder though, do kids really have that much of an attachment to the actual characters or do they just think the rides are fun?
  14. I was actually able to read your original post in my e-mail. It was a great post and very informative. Even if it was "beating a dead horse," I think there would be some who would've liked to have read it anyway.
  15. In all honesty, I'd be happy with anything that isn't Boo Blasters. Preferably though, I'd really like a classic dark ride that utilizes animatronic figures instead of cardboard cutouts or video screens. Of course I'd love to have Phantom Theater back in some form, but I'm just not all that optimistic about that happening. Although dark rides are a lot cheaper than a coaster, they still represent some sort of investment on the park's part. They'd have to be REALLY sure that Phantom Theater could/would draw a crowd to the park before they'd think about putting it back it. A ride like Phantom Theater (or any dark ride that uses animatronic figures) requires a lot of maintenance. If the park decided to go this route, I'd hope they'd really put the effort into keeping the ride, and all the figures, running properly. Judging by how well Boo Blasters works, I'm not sure they'd be up to the task. My biggest fear though, is that after Boo Blasters, Kings Island will decide that they're done with dark rides in that building and just remove it altogether. "But what will they do with all that space," you might ask. Well, that's easy. They'd just leave it sit empty all season long and use it for a few weeks during Haunt. I pray that's never the case, but I do have my concerns. I really hope they uphold the tradition of a dark ride in that space and that we see something really interesting move in over the next 2-3 years. We can only hope that KI will have pity on Boo Blasters and put the poor thing out of it's misery!
  16. Updates for the new Star Wars Land confirms that, at least for one of their rides, guests will be required to abandon their ride vehicles mid-ride, then re-board later. According to this article, a ride themed around escaping Stormtroopers will require guests to, "rush to your wireless and trackless vehicle and board and then disembark and re-board the vehicles on different levels of the massive ride building several times during the course of a long experience, all while under attack by Stormtroopers" Image and Article Source: (http://www.slashfilm.com/star-wars-land-update/) For those of you who might worry that this ride will be nothing more than a bunch of projection screens, have no fear! The article claims that the ride/attraction will contain 150 Stormtrooper animatronics as well as other animatronics of miscellaneous Star Wars characters both small and large. So what do you think about this concept? Do you think it's a good idea to have guests get in and out of a ride vehicle during the course of a ride? Could this have potential to cause any problems?
  17. I used to like seeing Phantom Theater stuff at Haunt, but now it's just kind of sad. A lot of the characters are in really bad shape. I hate to see them left out in the elements like they are.
  18. I believe Avatar Land was supposed to be Disney's answer to Harry Potter Land back when it was first announced. This was before Disney bought Star Wars and Star Wars Land wasn't even a possibility yet. It just seemed odd to me that this was the IP Disney decided to go with out of all the IPs that could have been available. You could tell they wanted something that would allow them to create a huge, immersive land like Universal did with Harry Potter. By the time Disney purchased Lucasfilm and owned Star Wars, design was too far along on Avatar Land and contracts had been signed. To me, Star Wars land does seem like a more obvious answer to Harry Potter Land, and perhaps that will end up being the case now. However, at the time, Avatar Land was meant to be that answer.
  19. This is interesting considering that I just read an article claiming that their price increase strategy was working. The article claimed that crowds were down yet profits remained the same or were maybe even slightly higher.
  20. Taking out the Stitch's Great Escape and the Laugh Floor attractions in order to install a larger Monster's Inc attraction would be pretty cool. This is something I could get behind.
  21. I wonder if they'd do a Monster's Inc coaster there since the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor is right across? To be honest, I'd really like to see an attraction/ride based on a Disney/Pixar animated property rather than something else like Marvel or a non-Disney Property. I feel they have so much to work with, why should they feel the need to draw from other places?
  22. Perhaps they could sell jewelry and other items made from "unobtainium."
  23. True, theming alone could make Avatar Land. As long as it gives guests who aren't fans of the movie something unique to experience. Carsland, Toy Story Land, and Star Wars Land, in my opinion, were all great decisions.
  24. It just seems like Disney's attitude lately is "Screw properties that have stood the test of time, just rip those out and quickly replace it with the most popular thing right now!" Not sure who's making these decisions, but I don't agree with them. Sure, make a Frozen ride, but create one from scratch in a new location. There's no need to rip out current rides and do quick re-themes. Same with Tower of Terror. I know it's based on a somewhat outdated property, but the ride is a classic. And who's to say Guardians of the Galaxy will still be popular 5-10 years from now? And please don't get me started on Avatar Land. Worst. Decision. Ever. Avatar? Does anyone even care about Avatar anymore? I never hear anyone talk about it. I never see any discussions about Avatar online. I feel like they're betting their entire land on the fact that Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 are going to do well and spark people's interest again. And that's IF James Cameron can ever release the dumb movies. He keeps pushing back the release dates. I, personally, have no desire to visit Avatar Land. Maybe that's just me, but that's my opinion on the whole thing.
  25. I rode the ride once back in 1997 when it was Alien Encounter and then once a few years ago as Stitch's Great Escape. There's no doubt that Alien Encounter was better, however, I do love Stitch and his animatronic is pretty awesome. That being said, when I was down there in 2014 I chose to skip the attraction. Why? Well, it was the end of the day and it came down to Stitch's Great Escape or Splash Mountain. The obvious choice was Splash Mountain. I have a feeling if it came down to Stitch's Great Escape or something else, most people are going to pick something else. That's why it's closing. I don't think it's a horrible attraction, but it could definitely be way better. It would be cool if they could give us another attraction/ride featuring Stitch since this one just doesn't do the character justice. I doubt we'll see that though considering the decisions Disney has been making lately regarding their attractions. Seems like they only want attractions based on current properties that seem 'hip and cool' at the moment (Maelstrom to Frozen, and Hollywood Tower of Terror to Guardians of the Galaxy). I wouldn't doubt if they eventually remove Stitch and put in some kind of Marvel attraction or something. I think this seasonal operation thing is just temporary until they can decide what will replace Stitch, then they'll make the announcement and shut it down for good.
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