CoastersRZ

Well, my guess is never. I mean really, which park is going to pay the huge bucks for this type of ride? I mean, just look at all the mechanical issues that the two 400 foot coasters have had. And do those parks think that the $20+ million price tag was worth it? I doubt it. These monster rides simply don`t bring in record breaking revenue figures. I mean, why spend $25 million on a ride, when you can spend $10 on a 150 tall coaster and bring in the exact same revenue and attendance figures. To build that 500 foot coaster is just not economical for parks that expect to see a return on their investment.

Lodge ready to howl BY JESSICA BROWN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER The buzz has been growing for months – but maybe we should call them howls. After years of planning and 16 months of construction, the Great Wolf Lodge will open the doors of its conference center, lodge and indoor water park Thursday in Mason, next to Paramount’s Kings Island. The $100 million project – nearly as costly as the $110 million National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati – hopes to attract people from hundreds of miles away to splash away the winter doldrums in a resort where rooms will cost $169 to $699 a night. This will be the eighth and largest resort nationwide to be operated by the Wisconsin-based Great Wolf Resorts Inc. Two more are under construction in Texas and Washington. Local officials also hope the north woods-themed lodge – where employees are trained to howl on a regular basis – will make waves in the region’s economy by helping convert the Mason area into more of a year-round tourist destination. The lodge will employ a staff of about 500. Tourism officials predict that the jobs and the spending of as many as 500,000 visitors per year will add up to a big economic impact. Although local figures haven’t been calculated, a similar Great Wolf Lodge that opened this year in Niagara Falls was projected to generate a $32 million annual economic impact for that region. “We’re all looking forward to having Great Wolf Lodge become a major player in our tourism playground,†said Shirley Bonekemper, executive director of the Warren County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. The 400-room lodge is next to Paramount’s Kings Island – the big attraction that has made tourism Warren County’s top industry. Tourism drew 6.4 million visitors to Warren County last year, which generated an estimated economic impact of $636 million. The Great Wolf Lodge could add another 500,000 visitors a year, potentially drawing guests from Columbus, Louisville, Lexington, even St. Louis and parts of Pennsylvania. Counting Kings Island, the Beach Waterpark, the Ohio Renaissance Festival, annual pro tennis tournaments and other events, tourism has become such a part of the area that a water tower visible from I-71 proclaims: “Warren County – Ohio’s Largest Playground.†Even more tourism growth may be coming because Mason hopes to land a deal next year to build a $52 million regional sports park. The downside of tourism in Warren County has been that most of the attractions shut down for the winter. Great Wolf will change that. It will offer visitors 84-degree days at the pool no matter how cold it is outside. “The indoor water park and conference center will add a year-round element to our destination,†said Bonekemper. “(It) will also attract visitors during our traditional off-season.†The star attraction at Great Wolf is the indoor water park. It features six pools and 11 waterslides – including a water roller-coaster. It also sports a four-story treehouse water fort, all under a 90-foot-high sky-lit roof. Great Wolf guests also won’t have to worry about bringing their wallets or room keys to the pool. As in its other locations, the Mason Great Wolf Lodge will equip its guests with computer programmed wristbands that will unlock their doors and allow them to make cashless payments for food, gifts or arcade tokens anywhere in the resort. On the dry side, the resort offers a 100-game arcade, a spa, two restaurants, a fitness center, miniature golf, and a multitude of children’s activities including story-time with lodge mascot Wiley the Wolf. The arcade, restaurants and other amenities are open to the public; the water park is open to guests only. Some say that policy may chase away local residents. “I’ve got this great community center that’s good enough for me,†said Carolyn Gibb, a Mason mother of five. Even so, she said she’s glad the lodge is in Mason in case she ever decides to take her family there. Jeff Karim, a Mason father of two, said he’ll consider taking his family there – but only after doing some research. “The exclusivity is enticing because you don’t have to worry about big crowds,†Karim said. “It sounds good. Especially when it’s cold. But I’d have to see the price and value.†Great Wolf plans to offer periodic “local appreciation†rates for Greater Cincinnati residents. Indoor resorts started sprouting up about 10 years ago with projects opening in the Wisconsin Dells. More than 60 have opened nationwide, according to industry analysts. The Mason lodge is the largest Great Wolf built to date. The next closest Great Wolf Lodge is in Sandusky, Ohio. The conference center is nearly as big as a football field. Its water park is about twice that size. It has 401 rooms, all suites. Some include separate sleeping quarters for kids that give the feel of camping out – with a flat-screen TV to play lodge-provided video games. The Great Wolf has been named the official resort of Paramount’s Kings Island. The lodge will be marketed to everyone from conference-goers to honeymooners. But families are expected to make up 95 percent of the clientele. So the lodge will offer lower price restaurant options and a kid-friendly atmosphere. “We want to make people come back time and time again,†said John Emery, chief executive officer of Great Wolf Resorts. Locally, the Great Wolf Lodge may face some competition from a smaller indoor water park to be built in Sharonville next to the refurbished Sheraton Hotel. But other tourist attractions generally view the new lodge as more of a boon than a threat. Officials at the nearby Beach Waterpark and the Kings Island Resort and Conference Center said they don’t feel threatened by their new neighbor. The Great Wolf is a completely different type of attraction, said Kings Island Resort general manager David Bowles. He expects it to actually help local businesses by boosting tourism throughout the region. Read the article and see some pictures on the Cincinnati Enquirer website here

Well, I heard that the original plan was to relocate the Eagles to the old Flight Commander site. But, apparantely corporate nixed that idea and sent the ride down to Carowinds. I think that the Flight Commander site is prime real estate for a new flat ride. Anything is better than the Eurobungees.

What? I think you are saying that most of the park`s thrill rides are in Action Zone. Well, Congo Falls is in Action Zone, and it is not really a high thrill ride. Also, what about The Beast, Flight of Fear and Vortex which are in other areas of the park. Those are also "high thrill" rides. I think that of all the places they could have put IJST, the best would have been AZ. But their location was a very pathetic choice. Expecially since it cost the park its center 'peacefullness' not to mention one of the older rides in the park (the Eagles).

Actually, I believe they already had installed a trim brake shortle after the crest of the second hill. That brake if my memory serves me correct came onto the scene in 2001 or late 2000. I could be imagining it, but I seem to recall there being a brake there.

Well, keep in mind that not all of Kings Island or MiA are visible from the public roads that are around them. I`m fairly certain that whatever park is getting X-Flight next year has already started to prepare to receive this attraction...

Not all of that canopy was removed. Some of it still resides next to the Chick-Fil-A. It is now used as a shaded eating area for the many food stands that are in that area. But it does not connect with Rivertown anymore. The area where it used to join with RT is now storage space for the food stand.

Well, thanks for sharing. Those are some great pictures. And if you get the time to dig up the pictures from `75, I`m sure many people will like to take a look at those too (I know I would)!

See my post above. Can`t be 1990 because Adventure Express`s entrance is in the lower right hand corner of the picture with King Cobra in it. Notice how blue the fountain seemed from the Eiffel Tower back then! I believe that the International Showplace opened in 1973. I know it wasn`t original to the park. But I do know that it was there as early as the mid 80`s.

It is either 1991 or 1992. Flight Commander is there, so it is at least 1990. And Top Gun isn`t there yet, so it is not 1993. Also, the entrance to Adventure Express can be seen in the lower right hand corner of one of the pictures. Based on the line for it, I would say that the pictures might be from 1991, since the Express opened in 1991. I can`t rule out 1992 though, because there are no pictures of HBL, where the Scooby Zoom was added in 1992 (now Little Bill`s Giggle coaster). But those are some EXCELLENT historical pictures! Thanks for sharing them!

While I think the theory is good. There are some issues. My alma mater (Anderson High School) only has select areas air conditioned, primarily any computer lab, the library and administrative offices. In order for year round school to be effective, they would need to install air conditioning. Face it, taking tests when it is 90 outside and probably close to 100 with the heat index is not fun. But on the flip side, until the addition was put onto my college in 1997, it did not have air conditioning (and this is at the University of Cincinnati), and there are classes year round in my program. I think eventually, most districts will shift to some form of year round education. Which will leave some places that depend heavily on tourism in the summer months cringing. Places like Kings Island depend heavily on high school workers in the summer to help operate the park. If schools were in session during the summer, it would make the already difficult job of staffing the park even harder.

Well, I don`t know about it going to any park. As I understand it, it is still in the preliminary design and programming phase anyway. I doubt that it will be built at Cedar Point, at least on the peninsula. It might go off of the immediate property if it does go up north. But the fact that Cedar Point does not have immediate access to an interstated could detract ACE from wanting it up in Sandusky. That being said, if ACE wanted it at KI, I would have to think that Cedar Fair would not be completely opposed to the idea, as it could be a way for them to bring in additional revenue, depending how they structured and placed the museum. It would likely not just draw ACErs, but the general public as well.

Nice. I`m sure that they will be evaluating how often they empty the cash drawers at their toll booths. It is really like a sitting target if they don`t empty them enough. I know that at Coney, from working the ticket booth numerous times, if it is busy, they will come and empty out the drawer numerous times throughout the day. They will then replace the money with "rob" slips that signalize how much money was turned into the cash room. It means that I have less physical money in my drawer, but it still accounts for the ability to complete the necessary paperwork. I wonder if they have cameras at their tollbooths. Not like that would have deterred the robbers from committing the crime in the first place. I can`t recall if KI has cameras watching over their parking tolls. But I do know that they have cameras watching over the front gates.

Well, I don`t think they are sending their profits across the street to The Beach. Because from what I understand, WinterFest did NOT make a profit last year. I think given the right price point, they could make WinterFest work. There would be logistical issues to overcome that were very visible the last weekend of 2005. It is all up to Cedar Fair if they decide to integrate such a holiday event in the future. I think for right now, they are going to stick to their core season and what they know, given their large amount of debt. When they pay off some of the debt, and are looking for ways to expand their income several years down the road, then they might reconsider having WinterFest.

As the Interpreter said, the ACE museum, is looking for sites for ite permanent home. Most of the stuff that is in ACE`s collection for the museum currently resides in storage in various places across the country. It will be interesting to see when they make a decision on the location of the museum, where it ends up at. I don`t know if they have a time table on a decision to select a site or not.

I believe that this occured during morning test runs, and as a result no one was on board the train when the incident occurred. I do believe that all the similar Intamin launched inverted coasters were temporarily shut down after the incident occured.

Yes, those are some nice artifacts. Although I doubt any one on here will have the expertise to tell you how much they are worth.

Well, it is not nice to cuss out the employees simply because they are doing their job. Annoying or not, a park is a family environment and vulgar language should not be directed towards the employee (whether directly an employee of Kings Island or not). Those are the rude and inconsider guests that I hated at Coney. That being said, there are plenty of rude and inconsiderate people that will cuss you out and yell at you for doing your job in an amusement park. I know, as I was a ride operator at Coney for five years, and was cussed out numerous times for not letting people`s kid ride a ride because they were too short. Its not fun to be on the receiving end of that, or for the ears of the children in line for the ride when those situations arise. Same thing goes for the midway and the game operators. They may be annoying, but that is no reason to show hostility towards them or use vulgar language. If you find them that offensive, file a complaint at guest relations. Personally, I don`t mind all the barking in Coney Mall. It is when they have the microphone`s dialed way up and the games associates try to talk over one another when it becomes an issue. When I volunteered in the games department last year at FearFest at Obey the Net, across from the Zephyr, I had a microphone, but didn`t use it. I instead just used my voice. You`d be surprised how many people will stop and ask the games workers for directions to the restrooms, rides and attractions.

Well, technically, they are located in Mason, Ohio and not Kings Island, Ohio. In fact, Kings Island is also located in the city of Mason as well.

I think The Beach might be feeling a little bit of pressure from the new Great Wolf Lodge. But for $500 to purchase two slides (minus the relocation costs) and a children`s ride is a steal! I wonder if they plan on having these slides ready to operate for their 2007 season.

And how do you know that? Who is to say that it didn`t get the same treatment that the third SoB train gets. Ie, it undergoes offseason maintenance during the summer so that they only have to do winter rehab on one of the two trains, in the winter, and just cycle out one of the trains the next summer to do its rehab. Ultimately, probably part of the reason that it ran two trains at GL was because there were not long enough lines to require them to do so. But if it were at KI, it could get some long lines, which would make three train operation ideal. Now, if there were issues with three train operation, they might be able to iron out some of these issues when it is relocated. Of course, that is still assumming that the ride is flying to KI. Which at this point has not been confirmed by the park. There are still other Cedar Fair parks it could go to. But one by one, as the other parks announce their attractions for 2007, the possibilities for which park X-Flight could go to become narrower and narrower.

Well, that is what my studio professor said in the summer quarter. Not sure what happened this past quarter as I have not been on campus (I`ve been co-oping at Cole + Russell Architects in downtown Cincinnati.)

^ Why don`t you leave the moderation to the moderators? If whatever park gets X-Flight runs it with three trains, and both stations running, it could get decent capacity. Not as good as Vortex and Adventure Express, but certainly better than say Face Off which has a disimal 28 people per cycle.

What I had meant to say is that I was surprised they are not staying open later than midnight! My bad. With the crowds they pull in on Saturday evenings, from my non-professional eye, it would seem like they could bring in more money if they extended their operations by an hour. But as it is now, they will close at midnight, like they have done since 2003.

Yep. I just checked the park`s calendar, and they are now slated to open at noon on Saturdays in October. Given the success of the nightly portion, I`m kind of surprised they have extended closing by an hour until 1am. I know there are some issues with minors working that late and all. But, when Fear Fest was a separate gated attractions, its hours were 8pm-1am. With the crowds that they pull in on Saturdays, I`d imagine that the games and merchandise shops would remain fairly busy until they closed. But then again, I haven`t seen any of their numbers.