CoastersRZ

Well compared to how the water park was pre- 2004, it is a lot better. Especially since they added a major water slide over by the wave pool. I didn`t say there wasn`t still a lot of concrete to walk on. And, to be honest, I`ve only been in Boomerang Bay once since it opened, and that was when they had a pass holder preview weekend for it back in 2004.

Low cost in the last three or four years? That puts 2003 in that time frame, and by all accounts I`ve seen, Delirium has been a huge hit among guests. Yes, it has suffered some bouts of extended down time, but that was in part due to the park having to wait for a part to arrive from Germany. Also, while it may be a cheap replacement for Phantom Theater, Scooby Doo is still bringing in long lines of people three years after it opened. Also, the water park expansion in 2004 was a much needed expansion, that helped to bridge the large concrete gap that resided between the original WaterWorks that was built in 1989 and the new expansion that was built in 1997. Yes, it will be interesting to see what happens with one of the "new" coasters in 2007, and when (or if) it opens for this year. Personally, I hope the park can get the issues with this ride straightened out. But I, like a lot of other people on here, are somewhat skeptical. And I don`t think that the park will have a bad year as far as attendance goes, based solely on the reported 'reputation of Paramount.' A lot of things play into attendance; weather, economy and how well the new attraction is received by the public. I think that people in the Cincinnati area will get a kick out of Firehawk, even if it is a relocated ride. Like it has been said before, the people that have ridden the ride when it was up north and known as X-Flight will be in the vast minority of the public that will be visiting the park. So to most of them it will be a brand new experience. I feel it will be an experience that most will fall in love with.

Do you have a link to a pictured of the Valleyfair sign?

I wouldn`t be so sure that the P word and mountain logo will disappear that quickly from the main marquee.

Well now, Flight of Fear is a major steel coaster. Granted, I also believe that the park could use another large sized steel coaster to round out their collection. But, I don`t believe that Paramount did as much harm to the park as you think. Granted, they did install several gimmicky rides, and rides themed to poor movies and sited in poor locations throughout the park. But they also made some very wise installs over the year, such as Delirium, Drop Zone, Flight of Fear, and the emphasis on the children`s area seems to have paid off for the park. Now, had the parks continued under the stewardship of CBS, I feel that attendance would have suffered, no questions about it.

Why exactly do you think KI needs a coaster of that size? The park has done fine for thirty five years without a steel coaster of that size. However, I do feel that a large sized steel coaster along the lines of Millenium Force (although it doesn`t have to be 300+ feet tall) could be a huge hit at the park, I don`t see that happening at Kings Island anytime soon.

I actually stayed in that hotel when I visited the park in 2002 when it was know as Worlds of Adventure. If my memory serves me correct, that hotel isn`t immediately adjacent to the park but a couple of blocks from it.

Well, I believe that Cedar Fair owns at least one, if not more than one, hotel by Knott`s Berry Farm in CA. Also, Cedar Fair owns 12 amusement parks, not including their management contract for Gilroy Gardens (formerly Bonfante Gardens), Star Trek: The Experience or their separate gated water parks. Also, while it will take some time to integrate the Cedar Fair philosophy into the former Paramount Parks, it won`t be quite the transformation that Cedar Fair has been, and still is, trying to do at Geauga Lake. That is due in large part because of the fact that the Paramount Parks were generally well run parks (at least they were before CBS got total control of the parks at the start of 2006). While Six Flags didn`t do the best things for Geauga Lake, and Cedar Fair is having to deal with those issues still, even after owning that park for several years.

But see, with the Reds, the designated smoking areas were located within some what confined areas. The Reds took that these areas, which were located on the concourse areas, could be deemed interior spaces, so they decided to comply with an outright ban of smoking inside the Ball Park premises. Kings Island is slightly different in the fact that it is not like the ball park which has a lot of corridors which are semi-indoors. At Kings Island, most of the midways are out side and not protected areas like the concourses at the ball park.

Actually, back around the middle of last year, they said how much revenue each park brought in. Cedar Point brought in a lot more money, but that was because it included all the resorts that Cedar Fair also owns up there. I wouldn`t necessarily say that CP brings in more out of towners compared to Kings Island. While Kings Island may indeed have more season pass holders, that doesn`t mean that pass holders don`t spend anything in the park. Why do you think they brought back the Gold Season passes? It is loaded with perks to get the pass holders to visit the park often, which will entice them to spend more money in the park.

I really don`t have a problem with people smoking on the midways, because I can get away from them if I want to. The problem I have, is when smokers decide to light up in a line for a ride. That, is just inconsiderate to the guests waiting in line, which is why smoking has not been permitted in lines at Kings Island for several years. Even so, you will still find an occasional guest who decides to light up while in line.

Yes, part of why Cedar Point has received large installs is because Cedar Fair owns a lot of hotels up there. So in order to keep those full, they have to give guests a reason to return to the park year after year. That being said, I doubt that Cedar Fair will simply 'forget' about Kings Island. Apparently, Kings Island is a park that Dick Kinzel thinks very highly of, and was in part one of the handful of reasons why he wanted to buy the Paramount Parks. Heck, in this first year of ownership from Cedar Fair, KI is receiving $10 million in capital expenditures, which is more than what some of the other Paramount Parks are receiving for this season. True, it is not as much as what Cedar Point is receiving for this season, but Cedar Fair didn`t have a lot of time to implement a capital expenditure program at the Paramount Parks for this year. While some people are disappointed that Kings Island is getting a "used" ride from another park, it does not bother me. I enjoyed X-Flight when I visited that park back in 2002. It will be a ride that will be a welcome addition to the park, and the public will quickly embrace the ride. Plus, if the park can get Son of Beast rolling at some point this year, Firehawk will increase the overall park capacity, which is always a plus.

I don`t think that those are the "floor" pieces of the trains. They look more like the actual seat portions to me. But yes, they are parts from a Son of Beast train.

Just to be clear, The Interpreter was referring to Kentucky Kingdom, in Louisville, KY and not Magic Mountain in CA. Now, I`ve only been to Kentucky Kingdom once, and that was back the year that Chang opened, before Six Flags owned the park. But from what I`ve heard, the customer service at Kentucky Kingdom was not something that was, at least in the past several years, very prevalent in the park. Although, I`d venture to say that things might be on the upswing for that park under the new management team at Six Flags.

Yes, SDatHC at KI was a cheap replacement for Phantom Theater. But, the park also added Delirium the same year that Scooby was added. In fact, the transformation to Scooby was not totally unlike the transformation of the Enchanted Voyage to the Smurf`s Enchanted Voyage. The Smurf`s invaded the building in 1984, the same year that the park brought in King Cobra. In both the Smurf`s and Scooby`s case, the ride conveyance vehicles (essentially) remained the same, with just cosmetic/scenery changes to the ride.

True that! Or in the colder months of October, a tent that has a built in heater! I never was much of a big camping fan. I did it a couple of times as a cubscout and in the backyard of my friends house a couple of times.

Well, I believe that some of the land by the Little Miami River, which is a state and national scenic river, is a protected animal habitat. Not sure of the exact limits placed on the land, or how far this boundary extends from the river.

The Beach Boys are one of my favorite bands! I actually saw them back around 2000 when they did a concert after a Reds game at Cinergy Field.

Yes, the clown band was great entertainment along I-Street. Although, officially, they were not called the clown band by the park. They were referred to as the "Kings of Komedy."

Well, from what I`ve heard, the decision to move the Eagles to Carowinds came from the corporate Paramount Parks office. Even Maureen stated at Winter Soar that Craig Ross, who was the general manager of Kings Island at the time, fought hard to keep the Eagles at Kings Island. I remember reading a quote in the paper back for the park`s 25th anniversary, I believe it was from Al Weber, who at the time was the GM of KI. He said something to the effect of "the park will be different in the future, we just don`t what shape it will take yet." The park, whether we enthusiasts as enthusiasts of the park like it or not, will change as the years pass by. But the bottom line remains, the park is a place for having fun, and creating memories with friends and families. While the actual ride hardware in the park may be different than it was in 1972, the same basic principles apply. Heck, one can argue that the "magic" of going to KI is no different than when families would sojourn to Coney at the turn of the 20th century.

Looks good. Hopefully, they can resolve some of the issues they`ve had lately with the water park. I believe that the success of the Great Wolf Lodge can only enhance tourism in Warren County, which in turn, would help Kings Island.

I wasn`t trying to sound harsh. I was just relaying what I had heard on the radio while I was building models like a mad man. It has been a while since I watched the Brady Bunch episode. A majority of the music that was used in that episode was recorded from the Kings Island Carousel`s band organ! The music used in the opening scene from the park is the Ben Hur Chariot Race.

Actually, I heard on the radio the other day that Viacom is suing YouTube (Google) for $1 billion over copyright infringement. That is no small amount of money!

What do you mean the Taft parks were "broken up" in the eighties? True, they were no longer part of Taft, but they were owned and operated by KECO, and then owned by Carl Lindner and managed by KECO. Taft bought Carowinds from E. Pat Hall as part of a partnership, which later dissolved and Taft became the sole owner in 1980. Taft was a partner in developing Wonderland, owning a 20% stake. Canada`s Wonderland would not be fully reunited with the rest of the parks until 1993 when Paramount purchased the remaining 80% stake of Canada`s Wonderland that they did not already own. Yes, Paramount made some very bad moves over the years. Case in point was ripping out the `Tiques and Eagles for IJST. There were far better locations for that ride to sit without sacrificing two classic and loved rides. However, some moves were exceptional moves. Look at the install of Delirium. It has become a tremendously popular ride, and was located in a prime spot that provides ample opportunities for guests to watch the ride in motion. Another smart install was Drop Zone. The ride is so popular that they actually extended its queue line several years ago! Obviously, FearFest has been a huge success since it debuted in 2000. And I think that FF will grow even more under the tutelage of Cedar Fair Entertainment Co.

Yeah, they used to have the season pass days as a "dry run" before the park officially opened to the public for the year. However, they have stopped doing pass days a couple of years ago. 2004 was perhaps the last year they has a pass holder only day, as I know they had a preview weekend for Boomerang Bay just for pass holders.