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I also like how the Cedar Point flag on their opening page is larger than any other parks flags. I hope all of use that are KI fans can except the park not being the flagship of the company. Weather or not you like Paramount they did treat the park differently than the others.

Yep, that they did. Especially for a while there. Let's see...they moved corporate operations from Cincinnati to Charlotte. For quite some time, they led one and sundry to believe that the flagship park was near corporate headquarters, in Charlotte. The busiest Paramount Park in recent years has been Wonderland.

In more Paramount years than not, Kings Island was NOT the park that received the largest capital investment of the five...

Yep, as a sale was coming, in the past couple of years, they started making noises when they were in the Cinci area that Kings Island was the flagship park, but the noises were louder than the actions.

In any event, that was then. During the conference call on the day the acquisition was announced, Mr. Kinzel himself pointed out that Cedar Point is the engine of Cedar Fair and will remain so. This is true even though the company has now acquired two parks that do more business at the gate than does Cedar Point.

It will be interesting to see both who owns the now-current Cedar Fair parks five years and ten years from now, and how the corporate emphasis is placed on the individual parks, in marketing, capital expenditures and prestige.

I really don't buy that the Paramount Parks are going to be treated and run differently long-term than the "original" Cedar Fair parks (of which all were purchased at one time--except, perhaps, depending on one's viewpoint, Cedar Point). Even if that is the current intention (and I am not sure that it is), it may well fade over time as a single corporate culture develops. To me, it speaks volumes that on the map of Cedar Fair properties, there is no differentiation between the old Cedar Fair properties and the old Paramount Parks properties.

Really, though, the bigger question is how much of the Paramount Parks culture makes it into the new company and how much is left behind. Not to even mention the question of how much SHOULD make it.

Much depends on what happens to the middle and upper managers from Paramount. Will they be allowed to stay? If so, for a year or so or permanently? Will they want to? Will their pay remain the same? Will they seek better opportunities elsewhere? Will they get helpers from Cedar Fair? Will their jobs even survive? Or will 'snyergies' in the new Cedar Fair make many of them redundant? If so, will the company find out, too late, what some of these people really did and that it was far more necessary to the company than they thought? And all of this is really on a person by person basis. The one thing I KNOW is that some people WILL leave...and they might not be the ones that the company would prefer did. More likely, they will be among the best and the brightest.

As for directing parking at non-Cedar Point Cedar Fair parks, even Geauga Lake, with the relatively low attendance it is getting, directs guests to parking areas. The last time I was there, they probably had 6 people working the parking lot directing parking! On the other hand, I have never, ever seen a tram in the parking lot at Cedar Point. I am not even sure they own one. Come to think of it, I've never seen a tram in ANY Cedar Fair park. At least I don't remember seeing one. (I have seen the hotel shuttles, but those are not trams in the parking lot...)

Yes, I do think KI was treated as the flagship.

KIs Tomb Raider is much better than KD.

Our kids NC is better than the other parks.

KI is the only park in the chain that has a 200 foot hyper coaster.

We got IJST first. (weather or not you like it)

KIs waterpark is the largest and best out of the other parks.

Think what you may, but I don't think it will be as exciting as some are thinking when CP is getting the largest rides and we get what the other CF properties get. Example: CP gets MF and the other parks only have a Magnum type ride. CP gets Dragster and KBF gets Excelerator. And the list goes on. I can already hear the forums in 3 or 4 years. Why did CP get a 20 million dollar coaster and we got X. Why did they get a new ride this year and we only get new rides every other year?

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whats gona happen to TR:TR ?? and IJST? they are highly theme rides. what will CF do with them?

I hope they remove them, (won't happen wishful thinking) because they are 2 of the worst rides I have ever been on!

-adam12

Adam, please, stop spamming the forums with your anti-paramount propaganda. IJST is one of my favorite attractions in the park. I was at the park just last weekend with several first time PKI visitors who have gone to many other parks, and they LOVED IJST. The very first words out of one of the people's mouth was "That was fun!" And no, these were not kids, these were coaster veterans older than I.

My argument on this forum about you since I first read your post was that you can say you don't like Paramount, or a specific ride, but you can't go around calling rides "the worst rides" in the park and not back it up with hard proof.

I hope IJST spends MANY more years in the park!

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whats gona happen to TR:TR ?? and IJST? they are highly theme rides. what will CF do with them?

I hope they remove them, (won't happen wishful thinking) because they are 2 of the worst rides I have ever been on!

-adam12

Adam, please, stop spamming the forums with your anti-paramount propaganda. IJST is one of my favorite attractions in the park. I was at the park just last weekend with several first time PKI visitors who have gone to many other parks, and they LOVED IJST. The very first words out of one of the people's mouth was "That was fun!" And no, these were not kids, these were coaster veterans older than I.

My argument on this forum about you since I first read your post was that you can say you don't like Paramount, or a specific ride, but you can't go around calling rides "the worst rides" in the park and not back it up with hard proof.

I hope IJST spends MANY more years in the park!

That is not spamming, I was just expressing my point to someone that had not heard it before. You know not everyone has time to read every thread on this site to see how people feel about things.

-adam12

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On page 3 of this topic, over 1/4 of the posts are from you, and all are anti-Paramount. He asked what was going to happen to TRTR and IJST, he did not ask you for your opinion on the rides. Therefore, not relating to the question, therefore spam.

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I give it 4.

lol, I will give it a few years. It definatly isn't why people come to PKI. It will be there as long as there are people in the line. I wouldn't wait over 10 min to ride it, I do know that. The first time I rode it I waited an hour to get on the thing. When I got off it, Jeff Seibert was standing there and I almost had to say something to him about the ride. It is WAY over rated, and not worth the hour I waited! I also noticed the cars aren't build well either; there where already cracks in the fiber glass around the door hinges, and this was like the second week of operation.

-adam12

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I would bet that IJST will not be the first ride currently in the park to be removed by Cedar Fair. Rethemed? Perhaps. Removed first? Very, very, very doubtful. It's not a bad ride. Not at all.

It certainly could have been sited better, but it's by no means a bad or even unpopular ride.

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Yes, why would they remove a ride that is only two years old, simply because it isn`t a "great" ride. Sure, it is not a world class caliber coaster. But it is a fun, thrilling ride that can be enjoyed by families. Not too many launch coasters are out there that are geared towards families. That is part of what attracts the families to PKI. And we all know that they are the ones who bring in the money for the park and increase the per capita spending.

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UncleHenry, look at it this way: We'll no longer be saying look how bad Paramount is but will now be saying "Remember how Bad Paramount Was?"

<G>

Had to get that one in!

I, for one, want to give credit where it is due.

I STILL think for the most part Paramount (and Viacom) were good for the parks.

CBS?

Don't get me started....

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Yes, Yes, Yes!

Paramount Good Parks! (cough, gasp, eeekk)

Maybe decades from now I'll be able to look back fondly on the corporation. Infact, the company as a whole I've never had an issue with. Heck, they make some of the best movies out there. But as a park operator, well, never mind. <G>

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Yes, why would they remove a ride that is only two years old, simply because it isn`t a "great" ride.

Because it cannot be easily de-themed and the land could be better be used for a different project. Even if they got rid of the name ITALIAN JOB - it is still a Mini cooper ride - and still themed to Italian Job movie - even if the name is different. Take away all the theming - and you have nothing.

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One MUST understand that this partial season was when we saw how CBS operated the parks. From 1993-2005, Viacom ran the parks. Paramount's only season was really 1992, and they had very little effect on the parks while they ran them.

In fact, for a good part of the time that Viacom ran the parks, they were in the Blockbuster division of the company. Paramount Studios involvement with the parks was minimal, at best.

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Paramount/Viacom did get the original Taft parks together again. They let the parks have individuality. Not every park got a "Wayne's World", nor did every park get a Bubba Gump restaurant. The good thing about CF owning the park now is that we will have rides and attractions for their own sake, not for the sake of cross promoting other products I don't want to "ride the movies", I want "a" kick a coaster!

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I personally don`t buy the thought that because IJST can`t easily be rethemed it will be removed notion. True, the ride does depend heavily on the theming elements to make the ride what it is. But I don`t see why Cedar Fair would completly scrap a ride that is only a couple of seasons old, and is fairly reliable, and for the most part, seems to be a hit with the public. True, capacity is an issue and if they decide to remove the theming it poses some challenges to the concept of the ride. But I just don`t see Cedar Fair removing three relatively new multi-million dollar rides at three of its new parks simply on the basis that the rides are themed around a Paramount movie.

The Interpreter, Viacom didn`t buy Paramount until 1995. Before that year, Paramount Parks were owned by Paramount Pictures. The first two seasons under the Paramount banner were solely Paramount and no Viacom. It wasn`t until Viacom purchased Paramount in 1995 that Nickelodeon entered the park in the forms of Nickelodeon Splat City.

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That's NOT what the Paramount history says.

It says March 11, 1994, so we are both wrong!

http://www.paramount.com/studio/history.htm

Thanks for that....in any event, CBS didn't enter the picture until this season. Thankfully, at least in my book, they no longer have anything to do with running the former Paramount Parks.

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Is Hydra a bad ride? I don't get out of Orlando anymore.

Whether KI was under Paramount, Viacom, Blockbuster of CBS, it seems all corporate positioning under a larger umbrella. I always felt that the profits returned from the park could not compete with the profits made from even one release like Titanic. Spinning off companies to the CBS division was death. Viacom kept the profit producers and CBS got the also rans. Blockbuster was sold back to that company when the profits from that business started to slide.

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Except now CBS is NOT part of Viacom. It was truly odd that CBS was promoting Viacom's Paramount Pictures when CBS didn't have a dog in that race. Then running parks that they had already made quite clear they had no interest in running as they didn't fit their "core" businesses.

No matter how you slice it, the Cedar Fair acquisition was the best thing that could happen to the parks under the circumstances. Cedar Fair is a pure amusement park company. They don't sell cars, make movies or have as their

goal the promoting of other products than amusement.

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CF will not take out IJ. They can just put a building aroung it and have you believe that you are on a trip to Alaska.

I highly doubt that any major changes will take place this year, but it is possible you could see a drop in some of the food prices which would be a relative easy task.

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Today around 11:30am at Boomerang Bay I noticed four very over dressed men, two with blue shirt men with ties and two white shirt men with ties. It seemed like the blue shirts were showing the white shirts around, So I started to walk somewhat close to them and overherd the elder white shirt man tell the the other men as he was pointing to a sign and said your sign shop does a great job. I walked up to him and asked if he was from Cedar Fair, He said yes. and told him that we were glad that they were thier. He was very pleasnt and said thanks.

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I highly doubt that any major changes will take place this year, but it is possible you could see a drop in some of the food prices which would be a relative easy task.

I think that needs to happen A.S.A.P!!!

But this is great news that they got the deal finished this quickly and I can't wait to see what Cesar Fair has in store for the parks.

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This has been discussed left and right. While Paramount Parks signed a seven year deal with Coke back in the first part of this year, it is believed that all Cedar Fair parks will serve Pepsi products next season. (Much to my chagrin, I prefer Coke over Pepsi).

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Except now CBS is NOT part of Viacom.  It was truly odd that CBS was promoting Viacom's Paramount Pictures when CBS didn't have a dog in that race.

Although, I guess you could say their shared "dog" was Sumner Redstone biggrin.gif

I wonder if Moonves really will blow through his cash from the sale of Paramount Parks to start a new movie studio? We've seen how well that works over the last few years. I think he should stick with the original (announced) plan...pay down some debt and buy back some stock.

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On page 3 of this topic, over 1/4 of the posts are from you, and all are anti-Paramount. He asked what was going to happen to TRTR and IJST, he did not ask you for your opinion on the rides. Therefore, not relating to the question, therefore spam.

1.) I posted several times becuause I want to make it easy for people to know what I'm commenting on, IE quoting others posts.

2.) Isn't that what this site is all about VOICING YOUR OPINION? If that is true, does it really matter if he asked what I'm thinking or not?

I suggest you find better things to do than complain how others get their thoughts across.

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UncleHenry, look at it this way: We'll no longer be saying look how bad Paramount is but will now be saying "Remember how Bad Paramount Was?"

<G>

Had to get that one in!

Oh so true... I knew Paramount would fail or sell out sooner or later, since they were just in it for the money. But now that it is done, it feels better than I could have ever imagined.

-adam12

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UncleHenry, look at it this way:  We'll no longer be saying look how bad Paramount is but will now be saying "Remember how Bad Paramount Was?"

<G>

Had to get that one in!

Oh so true... I knew Paramount would fail or sell out sooner or later, since they were just in it for the money. But now that it is done, it feels better than I could have ever imagined.

-adam12

Well, speaking as a unit holder...Cedar Fair had better be in it for the money, too!

Remember everyone...it's the theme park business. smile.gif

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