CoastersRZ

Have you been to Cedar Point and experienced Disaster Transport? Not exactly a good indication for Cedar Fair doing any better maintaining the theming than what Paramount did. And in all honesty, for the most part, Flight of Fear has kept most of its theming relatively in tact. Yes, some things have vanished from it over the years like some lighting effects on the UFO, but for the ride being eleven years old, it has maintained its theming better than other themed rides at Kings Island.

The Great Wolf Lodge next to Kings Island is adding an outdoor miniature golf course next to its outdoor pool. The course is slated to open in June. See the article about it in the Cincinnati Enquirer here.

According to the book "Amusement Parks of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky" by Robert J. Wimberg, fire destroyed the dance hall on May 14, 1921. Two days later the owners decided to abandon the park. By August 4th of 1923, the last structure fell to the demolition crews. Houses were built on the site of the old park in 1925, and the lake was finally filled in in 1967. The old clubhouse is now an apartment building.

JacksonPKI, the site http://www.coneyislandcentral.com is an extension of Kings Island Central that I maintain. The official Coney Island website can be found at www.coneyislandpark.com

Take a chill pill! I was not saying that what you had heard was wrong, nor that I was doubting you. I was merely stating that it appeared to be more than just a minor repair, but was typical of routine wood coaster retracking that is typically done in the off season.

I don`t know recall if that was part of the legislation that Ohio voters passed into law. I seem to recall that it wasn`t. At any rate, most seasonal amusement parks have a hard enough time filling all their positions, and that is with paying their employees minimum wage. Just imagine the employee shortages they would suffer if they paid their employees less then the minimum wage? Keep in mind that as seasonal workers, they do not qualify for overtime pay. As a result, they can work 50-60 hour weeks earning the same minimum wage rate.

Sorry. It not like I want to state something negative about the rides department at Coney. Heck, I`ve worked in that department in the summer months for the last six years! And I could potentially be returning next summer as well. However, it is a fact. Most families that come to Coney are not coming solely for the rides, but rather the pool. Some may come because of the pool and the rides, but few come strictly for the rides. That being said, having worked the ticket booth numerous times. There are plenty of people that come to the park to ride only the rides. Its just that the amount of people that come strictly for the rides do not provide enough income to cover the costs of staffing the rides. Especially with the increases in Ohio`s minimum wage.

Yep. It was legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright who said "There is nothing more uncommon than common sense." On the subject at hand, I`m sure Cedar Fair is concerned what will happen with this proposed stadium because it could significantly affect California`s Great America, from both an operational as well as an economic point of view. The fact that Cedar Fair is not the owner of the land the park sits on further compound`s Cedar Fair`s valid concerns.

I NEVER remember hearing anything about the Nick toons being dropped from all the Paramount Parks except Carowinds. That just would not make any sense. I would imagine it would be a take it or leave it type of thing. I can see all the Paramount Parks keeping the Nick characters, and them not being extended to the legacy Cedar Fair parks. I could also see the Nick characters packing up and vacating all the Paramount Parks. I cannot, however, see the characters vacating all but one or two of the parks that Cedar Fair owns. Just doesn`t make any sense, no matter how you slice it.

While those may end up being the names of those attractions at Kings Island, the links you posted are actually in reference to the attractions of the same name at Kings Dominion. Notice that the IJ link mentions that construction started on the ride in Fall of 05. Kings Dominion`s Italian Job opened in 2006. Kings Island`s and Canada`s Wonderland`s Italian Job opened in 2005.

Ah. But here to stay for how long is the question. Cedar Fair`s license agreement with Viacom for the Nick franchise was only reported to be four years long at the time of their purchase of the Paramount Parks. Unless they Cedar Fair has decided upon a new licensing agreement with Viacom, it could be reasoned the the Nick licenses would be up sometime in the 2010 operating season. The more telling issue, is that Cedar Fair (at least not yet anyway) does not appear to be spreading the Nick franchise to the legacy parks. This could be in part due to them trying to work out a new licensing agreement with Viacom to include the right to use these properties at more properties than the former Paramount Parks. But the rumor is that Cedar Point is revamping one of their children`s areas next year and it going to be themed to the lovable hound that has graced other kids areas at that park.

I was referring to a previous poster who had asked where the Cedar Fair creativity was. The very next sentence, he asked what was wrong with naming IJ Xcelerator. I was merely pointing out that copying names from other parks isn`t being creative. Not every haunt at Halloween Haunt was renamed based on a Haunt at Knotts`s Berry Farm. CornStalkers, Massacre Manor, the Worksite, and the Cemetery all had the same names that they had in 2006. Additionally, Kings Island has used the name Massacre Manor for a haunt prior to Cedar Fair purchasing Paramount Parks. The original Massacre Manor was housed in a tent behind the Eiffel Tower in 2005. The attraction dates to 2004 when it was dubbed Sleepy Hollow Horror. In 2006 and 2007, the haunt that was housed next to the Scrambler was dubbed Massacre Manor (the original name of this haunt was House of Darkness). But that is a lot more information then you probably cared to get from me!

Hey, at least they are not recycling ride names at other Cedar Fair parks just yet. I mean, why would they name a ride at Kings Island after a ride at Knott`s Berry Farm. Personally, I have no problem if they rename Italian Job Stunt Track to Backlot Stunt Track. And the theming for Tomb Raider the Ride would still make sense if the ride was renamed The Crypt. The more interesting thing to look for (besides the name changes) is what and how the theming on these attractions will change (if at all).

Yes, I would concur with your sentiments about the parking lot needing a repaving. Some areas the asphalt has just about deteriorated to the point where one can clearly see the soil base underneath (mud). It is especially treacherous with potholes and haphazard repair jobs by the South exit of the parking lot.

Not that I don`t doubt you. But almost the entire turn after the lift hill had the track removed. (That is longer than just a few boards). And there were several new boards in place as well. There was also a gage guide laying on some of the new wood. But the fact that the trains had been removed means that they were likely undergoing off season maintenance as well. Ohio Ride Inspectors stay busy in the off season as well, inspecting the rides when the parks tear the train apart and rebuild them every off season.

The "starting" and stopping that you are referring to, I believe is simply the motor that they have powering the lift. It not pull the trains up at a consistent speed, but has a slight rhythmic pattern to it. And as PKIVortex said, the train will often slow to a crawl on the lift when the other train is clearing the brakes outside of the station.

And parking garages are inherently expensive to construct. To the tune of about $10,000 per SPACE! Surface parking lots (like KI`s) cost only a couple hundred dollars, and have considerably less maintenance issues then what parking garages have. Due to the high cost of parking garages, that is why most seasonal amusement parks rely on cheaper surface parking instead of space saving parking garages. And besides, it is not like Kings Island is short on space for new attractions.

The article claims that the admission tax would be to fund infrastructure upgrades around the parks. I`m not exactly sure if Kings Island Drive is the responsibility of the city or the county (my hunch tells me it is the city), but I can`t imagine any infrastructure alterations that would have to be done soon. Its not like the roads immediately surrounding Kings Island are in bad shape, or are constantly clogged with traffic in the summer months. Now, Kings Island does rely on the Mason Police Department for outside support sometimes. It is not uncommon to see Mason police cars patrolling the parking lot. Additionally, if the park needs to call in an ambulance, they will bring in the Mason Fire Department. Kings Island`s fire department and police department simply are not large enough to handle anything but the most basic needs and be the first respondents to any incident within the park. The threat of the admissions tax to Kings Island (and The Beach) is a real issue. If the tax is applied to the admission tickets it means two things. Either the park doesn`t raise ticket prices and Cedar Fair receives less revenue from each ticket, because a portion of each ticket would go to paying the tax. Or, more likely, Kings Island would raise ticket prices by the amount of the tax, and the burden of paying the tax would be passed on entirely to the paying general public. As a result of higher ticket prices, attendance could be negatively impacted. And I do believe that with all the urban sprawl that is going on in communities, it is sometimes hard for them to keep up with maintaining all the essential services of a city. However, it is not like Kings Island just opened a few years ago. It has been around now for thirty five years. (The Beach has been around for more than twenty years as well). The amount of growth that the Mason area has seen because of Kings Island is partly the reason why that area has become so highly populated. Should Kings Island be penalized because they`re the ones that ignited this growth? Or should the specific new property owners that are buying the houses have to fork over some of the infrastructure costs? I agree more with the latter than the former.

As the resident Kings Island history researcher at Kings Island Central, I can shed some light on this subject. In doing some more general Kings Island research (to enhance the already extensive information collection on this site), I came across some very basic information on this incident. The incident occurred in 1976, and the person killed was named John McCann. He was mauled to death by lions after leaving his jeep. It was reported that he had left his jeep to pet the lions, but that was never confirmed by the park. I could not find an exact reason why he had left his jeep in any published news articles.

Besides the potential name change for Italian Job Stunt Track, the more pressing issues is what will happen to certain other elements from the ride. Specifically, will the Mini Cooper styled trains be reworked into something else? Will the helicopter remain at the shutout scene? What happens to the bill board that the cars crash through? Is it just a new sign placed on it? This ride could have a drastically different feel next season, depending how much or little is done to it, besides the name change.

Nope, the program the Tomb Raider was running this year (before the ride closed for the year due to waiting for a replacement part from the manufacturer) was the exact same program it was running the day it opened in 2002. No tweaks were made to it. The skydiving concept would be a cool concept for a Top spin ride! I just don`t see Kings Island spending the time or money to transform TR:TR into that specific theme. I can, however, see them using some props from the Curse of the Crypt to supplement any Tomb Raider theming that is removed this off season (if any is even removed).

From the Cincinnati Enquirer. I`ll abstain my comments on this subject for a while, and let others chime in before adding my personal insights on this subject.

Yep. Carowinds is a fun park. I could ride Top Gun all day if given the chance! It is an intense, yet fun and very re-rideable coaster. I last visited Carowinds in 2003, before Borg Assimilator landed on the scene.

Well, now people can call it K-I, instead of P-K-I. It will be interesting to see Kings Island`s sign finished, since they are stripping it of its elements that tied it to the Paramount gate as well.

flightoffear1996, I would imagine that the park has the rights to use Mr. Pottorf`s music. The rights probably were included when the park was building those attractions. After all, the music was written for those specific attractions. But none of us can really know for sure, as we do not know all the terms and licensing issues with all of Kings Island`s rides.