Kings Island's 5@5 Q&A Thread

[RingMaster]

I was under the assumption that Outer Hanks was going back to the old Bubba Gump moniker seeing as how it's on the interactive park map. But, considering the overwhelming amount of things wrong with locations on the map both interactive and static...

[CincyMan98]

I was excited for a great new exterior for Outer Hanks, and all it is is a door replacement? Really?

[TH13TEEN]

^ A door...

[CincyMan98]

^ A door...

Sorry but what was that supposed to mean?

[TH13TEEN]

^ You asked a question, I anwsered. The point is there is no diffrence in the outside of Outer Hanks; except for a door.

[CedarPointer]

I am shocked that they didn't match the doors with the theme of the restaurant! Absolutely shocked!

[HTCO]

Who cares? Its a little fast food place that no one really ever eats at. At least its something new!

[Beast1979]

Yay sliding doors! Now the AC will stay in the Building!

[kjkjkj]

Tons of new Planet Snoopy pictures on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5333596&id=155893938367#!/photo.php?pid=5345668&id=155893938367&fbid=429535158367

[CincyMan98]

^ You asked a question, I anwsered. The point is there is no diffrence in the outside of Outer Hanks; except for a door.

Not to get off topic or anything, but I just wanted to say I didn't ask a question. I meant "Really?" by "Are you serious???". Ya.....anyways......

[Beast1979]

Some that stuck out to me:

I like this. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the cobblestones to the asphalt. It makes the midway hot and doesn't look as good. Jackson Thumb of Approval.

Looks like they will be replacing all of the Character banners. I like that kind of detail, it's not just stripping Nick away, it's re branding it with similar Snoopy Style. Jackson Thumb of Approval.

I wish I could see the inside, but the outside looks very bright and vibrant. I love how they use primary, happy colors throughout the area, it'll be a place the kids will feel good in. Jackson Thumb of Approval.

The colors of the ride, while looking much better then I would have originally thought (Orange and Yellow? Who woulda thunk?) don't match the theme of the ride. How is the Red Baron fighting Snoopy getting an Orange Ride? Jackson thumb of semi-disapproval.

Wow, huge, awesome sign. And the entry area on the other side will have the Snoopy Figurine surrounded by the signs. Jackson Giant Thumb of Approval.

Overall, I'm soooo checking this out on April 17.

[kjkjkj]

I too, really loved when they switched over to cobblestone in Rivertown. It makes everything look nicer, and keeps you cooler. I really like the improvements being made to the area. I think it looks Fangtastic

[TH13TEEN]

^ You asked a question, I anwsered. The point is there is no diffrence in the outside of Outer Hanks; except for a door.

Not to get off topic or anything, but I just wanted to say I didn't ask a question. I meant "Really?" by "Are you serious???". Ya.....anyways......

I knew what you ment, I was just playin' around with you. Oh nevermind...

[CedarPointer]

So that makes one upgrade to the area- the cobblestones.

[kjkjkj]

How can you honestly say that this area does not look better than Nick U. Even if you don't like the fact that Nick is leaving and Snoopy taking over, you have to admit that the area overall looks a lot nicer than it did last year.

[CedarPointer]

Bright colors does not a good kids area make. It's just fresh paint. NU had that, too. But, PS has sucky names based on old characters with less theming than its predecessor. While Spongebob certainly wasn't a great character, at least kids recognized him without their parents intervening.

[bkroz]

I am very surprised and happy at the changes that have been made - look at the little Woodstock perched on top of the Snoopy banners! The whole area is being redone delicately. I can't stress enough how great it is that, contrary to their previous efforts with the park, this is not a "de-branding," but a "re-branding." Instead of simply making the area a "generic" version of its former self (see, Flight Deck, Kidzville, Backlot Stunt Coaster, The Crypt), the area is being given a fresh face. As always, the names leave something to be desired, but they have done a marvelous job with what could have really cost the park its noteworthy family reputation.

I maintain that the Peanuts are far from the best idea for a children's area, especially at the former Paramount Parks - but while the source material may admittedly be aged, the physical area couldn't look more brand new.

Touche, Kings Island.

[Delirium13]

I must admit, after seeing these pictures, I am A LOT less skeptical than I've been all off-season. The whole area really looks nice and worth checking out, can't wait to see the finished product!

[TTD-120-420]

I am very happy with the changes and for once I will compliment Cedar Fair on actually theming something! Yay for Cedar Fair doing something right! The only thing I don't like is that Scooby is gone.

[bkroz]

I will maintain til the day I die that the loss of Scooby is an unnecessary one. Dense as it may seem, I truly believe that the Hannah-Barbera could've been renewed and paid for itself even if Scooby was the only character from the library used. If the former Paramount Parks switched from Nickelodeon Centrals to Scooby Doo's Ghastly Island, there would be respect from the "elders" for maintaining such an integral part of the park's history, and kids and adults alike could connect over the fact that Scooby is, in many ways, ageless. He is still being featured in big-budget movies and TV specials alike.

Plus, Scooby Doo fixes one of the blaring errors of Planet Snoopy - there are so many repeats. The source material offers only so many recognizable characters - Linus, Charlie, Snoopy, and Woodstock, primarily. With 18 or so rides, you've doubtlessly noticed a lot of repetition - a lot of "Snoopy's _______." With Scooby's vast array of villains, each ride could relate to a favorite - Snoopy's Splash Dance could be themed to that evil SCUBA Diver, Avatar could be themed to Black Beard The Pirate or whatever... There's a lot more to draw from that would give the area a very diverse nature. And the main color could be purple, which would be fun.

[kjkjkj]

Bright colors does not a good kids area make. It's just fresh paint. NU had that, too. But, PS has sucky names based on old characters with less theming than its predecessor. While Spongebob certainly wasn't a great character, at least kids recognized him without their parents intervening.

Well the new theming, signage, and bright paint colors do help to make this area feel brand new and nice. I always thought Nick Universe looked really good, but now that I think back, practically every single building was painted an off Lime Green and bright orange. There was hardly any variety, and it just seems kind of plain when I think back on it.

A lot of kids know and will know who Snoopy is. Whether they get to know and love him from Kings Island. Or if Snoopy attends their school through Kings Island's Read with Snoopy program. Or maybe the kids will enjoy listening to their parents talk about how they used to love Snoopy, and like it themselves.

When I was really little, my dad and I were in a movie rental store. I was in the kids section, where if you rent one normal movie, you get a kids movie rental free. I had already seen mst of the cartoons and movies in that kids section. That day I was in there with my dad, I couldn't find anything good. He picked up an old Speed Racer movie, and told me how he used to watch it as a kid, and he told me I would like it. So I rented Speed Racer and watched it with my Dad, and I ended up loving it. Even though it was outdated and I hadn't even heard of it until my dad told me about it. This experience created a nice memory.

So maybe bringing Snoopy to Kings Island will introduce some kids to Snoopy, and they will get to know and love him.

[The Interpreter]

I will maintain til the day I die that the loss of Scooby is an unnecessary one. Dense as it may seem, I truly believe that the Hannah-Barbera could've been renewed and paid for itself even if Scooby was the only character from the library used....

Understand something about licensing....licensing Snoopy WITH Scooby present would almost certainly cost three to five times more than if Snoopy were the exclusive doggy in the park. Plus the cost of Scooby...who is currently under the auspices of TimeWarner, who licenses its characters to a certain park chain that numbers its flags. It is quite possible the Scooby license was not available at any cost....

[bkroz]

I understand that, and my point was to use Scooby instead of Snoopy - why do all of the Cedar Fair parks have to share the Peanuts when the parks are not and never will be cut from the same mold? Some can use Snoopy, and some can use Scooby, just as some Six Flags use The Wiggles, others use Thomas the Tank Engine, most use Looney Tunes, and many use a combination. Still, though, you're right. But I sort of find it hard to believe Cedar Fair even bothered looking into it. I could be, and oftentimes am, wrong!

[TTD-120-420]

Ah why would you enter the idea of a completely themed Scooby Doo kids area into my mind? I love that idea. I think I would spend more time there than on Beast!

[bkroz]

Jeffrey Schoenstra - First I kinda like the new web page look, I have 2 questions, Frist; what happened to the link showing the other parks, that really helped us plan our summer's, second; What is up with the web cam? CP & Carowinds have fixed web cams ours flips back and forth, You might want to take a poll, but the people I've talked to so, don't like the way it's set up now.

You’re right, we should make it easier to find the other parks. The Cedar Fair logo does take you there but it needs to be more clear. I like that the DB cam has the ability to change views. Fixed cams are good too. The other ones we are adding will be fixed position but we plan to leave the DB cam as a rotating view.

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Michael Eshom - I really enjoyed Endless Summer On Ice last year. Will the new ice show this year be the same (with the exception of Snoopy instead of Scooby) or is it a completely different show?

I’ve heard two things: (1) there will more differences than just the character and (2) guests will really like this show. Like you, I’m anxious to see for myself.

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Matt Godfrey - I would assume the ride vehicles for Boo Blasters on Boo Hill are losing the Mystery Machine theme to them. Are they being painted back to the regular black color reminiscent of Phantom Theater, or will they be more in line with the theme of the ride itself? As in, will they be painted to look like coffins or something of that spooky nature, or perhaps even given the glowing black light treatment

When I saw them last week they were not black and I don’t think they will end up that way. The Scooby version had a lot of great haunted castle aspects to it that really didn’t need to be changed drastically. I really liked the building exterior and was pleasantly surprised to see much of it still remains very similar. Same with the cars. They looked better in Scooby than in PT in my opinion and I was happy to see they were not changing a lot.

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Stan Byme - Does someone at the park choose the songs that are played around the park...or is it a service that the park pays for?

The music type is always selected by someone at the park. It is a service that we subscribe to but we have the ability to change it whenever we want. It is different from what we had here years ago and some don’t like the change but many (including me) like it very much.

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Bruce E Knolle Jr - How old exactly are are the original Coney Island Rides? Monster, Zephyr, Carousel, etc. What year did they start giving rides & memories to guests for the first time EVER

A great feature of our new website is the history section on the detail page for each ride. Click on the picture of each ride and scroll down. Some great info can be found in the History, Trivia and Timeline section located in the Media Center of the new site: http://www.visitkingsisland.com/public/news/media/history/index.cfm

The Monster originally opened in 1968 as a new ride at Coney Island in Cincinnati, Ohio. The ride was included among the many attractions brought from Coney Island after the park closed in 1971. The Grand Carousel at Kings Island was built in 1926 and was among the many rides that were brought to the park for its opening in& 1972 from Coney Island in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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[Oldiesmann]

Glad to see that they answered my question today. I'm looking forward to the ice show this year. Last year's was a lot of fun so hopefully this year's will be good as well.

[CedarPointer]

The answer to that question seems to indicate that it will *not* be a completely different show... interesting!

[Diamondback96]

Sorry for another late one. I'll apologize to you now and go home and apologize for missing dinner next! Answers for Thursday's questions below...

Mike Dahlmer - I remember reading about Carl Eckelburg. Is he still alive, and does he still ride The Beast every day?

Carl Eichelman is the man’s name and he’s doing just fine. Last count had his Beast ride total over 4,400 but he no longer rides every day. He attended Diamondback media and visited the park a couple more times last year. Really liked DB. He’s retired and living in Aberdeen, KY.

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Bret Shroats - You said in in a previous 5@5 that there would be a new show at night. When will this new night show be announced and can you give us any details about it?

We are working on something but we like to start the hype on our timeline! Once we start talking about something we usually don’t stop. You’ll get plenty of info on it but you’ll have to wait until we’re ready. We are not just lazy or sloppy. We think long and hard about the right time to release things so we maximize the message. Honest answer.

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Ray Osburn - I'm curious for the reasoning behind no re-entry during Halloween Haunt. What is the reason that you warrant this decision. I fail to see the difference between this and any other operating day of the season? Just curious. Thanks

First, I appreciate the questions like this very much. I also appreciate the answers some give but prefer to answer them myself if that’s okay. Jonathan had part of it right. It is a security and safety measure. Like most every park in the country that does a scary night time Halloween event, we take extra steps to make the event fun and safe for everyone. The re-entry process can be an inconvenience but it is the right thing to do. There are no “alterior motives”. It’s not to make you buy a sweatshirt from us because you left your coat in the car. It’s not so you can’t go eat. It’s a procedure we put in place for this event that works well and will be continued.

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Jordan Hill - Is the person (or group of people) who pieced together the current park map, the same person who adds all the new additions to the map? The recent additions to the map like Diamondback, Firehawk, etc look like they were created by the same person who drew up Vortex, Racer, etc. Also, how long did the map take to create?

The same group has drawn and edited our map for years. We have not done a complete redraw in a very long time but are planning on making that happen for next year’s map. I don’t have an estimate yet on how long it will take but once I do I think that would be an interesting thing to share.

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Action Theater 3D

Sorry, still nothing new to report here. As soon as I know I promise I’ll tell you.

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Goodbye semi-realistic map, and hello extremely cartoonish-not realistic-looking at all map.

[CincyMan98]

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Action Theater 3D

Sorry, still nothing new to report here. As soon as I know I promise I'll tell you.

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Was that a question? If so, that's the BEST question ever!

[bkroz]

Goodbye semi-realistic map, and hello extremely cartoonish-not realistic-looking at all map.

He said we'd get a new map - it may not be Cedar Fair style. In fact, there may be no "Cedar Fair" from which the style may be derived! I find this to be very unfortunate either way. I am something of a park map connoisseur, and Citigraph maps (used by most of the Paramount Parks, Six Flags, and for a time, Universal) are easily my favorite style. I don't think guests get tired of seeing the same style map, because most probably don't care. And those who are around often enough to see a map every single year probably don't use one...