CoastersRZ

I stumbled across this article on Vic Nolting, who has been President of Coney Island since 1984. I did not know that he had previously worked at Kings Island as well as Kings Dominion alongside Dennis Spiegel, who now owns his own firm. It is definantely an interesting article and I learned some things that I didn`t know about Coney. The article was published in April of this year in FunWorld Magazine, the magazine published by IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions). Vic is currently on the IAAPA board of directors. I have personally met Vic with my work at Coney as a ride operator. It is not uncommon for him to be seen walking around the park carrying a pan and broom sweeping up trash. He truly cares about the park guests. On a day when we were short staffed this year, he was even running the Frog Hopper. Hometown Visionary

I was able to go to Kings Island this weekend because my Dad works for P&G. Anyway, a large projection screen has returned to the Festhaus (as well as some plasma tvs) to air football games. They had the UC OSU game on Saturday and the Bengals Browns game on Sunday. Additionally, by the main entrance to the Festhaus, they were selling several items of Bengals merchandise. They also placed banners over the main doors proclaiming "Who Dey" complete with the Bengals logo. This was the first time that I actually saw the park promoting the Bengals and selling their merchandise. I know that they have given Reds and Bengals stuff away as prizes before at games in Coney Mall. I also know that at one point in time when the park first opened, they had a shop dedicated to the Cincinnati Reds. Does anyone think that this new merchandise is related to Cedar Fair now owning the park?

Yep, good to hear that he is doing well down in Texas. As an aside, I do know that he has visited Kings Island back in June, shortly after The BeastBuzz event. Luckily for KI, Maureen has taken over where he left off and has been doing a wonderful job.

Well, it seems as if Elvira and Funhouse Express are returning to Carowinds. Can we expect them to also return to Kings Island for FearFest?

Well, actually it was the Enchanted Theater. Which was in the same building as Phantom Theater.

Well in the past, they have had a hearse parked outside of Maze of Madness (now the Asylum). While on the subject of cars, they have added some FearFest theming to a car already in the park. I was at KI this weekend for P&G weekend. They are starting to get all the theming ready. Anyway, in the driver`s seat of one of the two cars outside of Happy Days is a skeleton. (Its in the car off towards the eating area and not the one closest to Shake Rattle and Roll).

Yep, nice find. There are also other updates on there, including some revisions to the live shows that will be taking place. It definantely sounds like this FearFest could be the best one yet!

Yeah, but they will still have a couple of days to iron out any last minute details and changes after media night.

Well, I was at the park today. FearFest preparations are in full swing. But they still have a LOT to get done between now and opening night on September 30th (or at least it appears that way from the midways anyway).

While the PKI website no longer has the webcam available (the camera is still mounted atop the Eiffel Tower the last time I checked) you can still find a KI webcam on the net. Over on WCPO`s website at www.wcpo.com/webcams/pki, you can view a webcam that is mounted ontop of the Action FX Theater, and pointed towards the Eiffel Tower. Also, at www.wcpo.com/webcams/coney, you can view a webcam from Coney Island. I believe that webcam mounted on top of the Administration building, looking out across Lake Como to Kellogg Avenue.

Well, if I recall, The Beast commercial was an animated commercial. When they created it, the animator might have had some sort of royalty agreement. By default then, if the park were to sell a video with the commercial in it, the creator of the commercial would logically want to see some reimbursment. Not sure if this was the particular case with this commercial though.

Uh, what links don`t work? The websites are a lot better than what they were before they were upgraded to the current version. I believe that Paramount Parks built and maintained the websites out of their corporate office. Obviously, those people have been relocated to Carowinds as Cedar Fair let the lease on the Corporate office in Charlotte lapse. In all likelihood, the websites will receive some sort of overhaul during the offseason as Cedar Fair begins to make some changes to the former Paramount Parks.

Actually, I never remember hearing about the Paramount Story area being used as a FearZone. I`ve been to every one except the very first FearFest, and never remember such a thing. But I could be wrong.

Yeah. I would much rather pay the money to cut in line than I would to eat a roach. That is just disgusting. Quite frankly, I`m glad PKI doesn`t do anything like that. How long before PETA protests Six Flags for this practice?

But at the Six Flags parks, don`t guests have to pay to get its benefits? I`m sure that a lot of teens that wouldn`t want to pay for the privelege of cutting in line would be more than willing to eat a roach to get to the front of the line.

That foliage tunnel dissapeared from PKI after the 1997 season. That is the year that PKI remodeled Hanna Barbera Land. Half of the tunnel still exists as a shading device for tables. Originally, the tunnel connected with Rivertown right across from the entrance to the restrooms and along side what was once used as an Antique Portrait shop.

I see that they are copying Kings Island`s FearFest motto of Fright by Night and Fun by Day. Only for Six Flags, it is "Family by Day and Fright by Night." Personally, I think the whole ****roach eating thing is utterly disgusting. Not to mention sure to make those waiting in line angry with those skipping the line.

Well, I`ll be at the park this Saturday, and I`ll bring my camera along to grab a couple shots.

Well, media night as stated before is not open to everyone. As others have stated, it is a chance for the media to come to the park to get the scoop on this year`s FearFest. KI workers get tickets so that there are people going through the haunts when the media is there. The event proves as a dry run for all the new scaractors to refine their roles before the paying public comes through the houses that they are staffed at. Yes, I`m sure at least some of the staff from PKIC will be at dry run day. But, keep in mind that FearFest`s opening night this year is on Saturday, September 30th, just two days after dry run night.

What? A special show for P&G day at Kings Island? They`ve never done that in the past.

See, that is where I think that the Maxx pass falls short. If they are going to charge $125 to get admission to all three major parks in Ohio, and you buy a parking pass to one of the three, I think you should get free parking at the other parks. I understand that part of the Cedar Point parking toll goes towards paying a toll for the causeway to the park, which would be fine to not be included in the free parking. But not even offering an upgrade possibility to the Maxx pass for a premium parking pass just seems kind of silly.

Well, I believe that there was a shop situated between where Drop Zone and the current On Location shop are located at now. 1999 was also the year that Outback Discounters was torn down and Ice Scream Zone added. (The King Cobra line no longer dumped you out into a gift shop). Also, the site that Face Off sits on used to be one of two public picnic groves that were outside the front gate. The second picnic grove was sitauted down in the valley, along side what was once Columbia Road before the park opened in 1972. There was a set of wooden stairs that connected the lower picnic grove with the one that resided where Face Off now resides. That wooden stair is still there and visible from the Face Off queue line. Although it is now completely overgrown and blocked by a chain link fence gate.

Very interesting tidbits. I have a couple ideas about where the Circus could be relocating, but they are pretty much wild guesses at this point. It will certainly be interesting to see where all the Fear Zones end up at.

I think that they might be learning that lesson some what. Look at Maverick. I`m sure others have noticed its similarities to IJST. It is not an extreme ride, and from the animations I`ve seen will have some elaborate theming to make the ride more interesting. Theming that, unlike IJST, actually fits into the themed area in which the ride is being built.

Yes. All the mazes from last year will be back. There are a couple of name changes (Maze of Madness is now The Asylum, R.L. Stine`s Fear Street is now Massacre Manor). Also, the former Massacre Manor that was housed in a large white tent behind the Eiffel Tower on the former site of the Saltwater Circus has been relocated to the Mining Company Building in Rivertown and renamed Cowboy Carnage. As far as the Fear Zones, Cornstalkers is back. I`m assuming the one over by Action Zone will be back and there will be a new Fear Zone this year, but I`m not sure where it will be at. The other addition this year seems to be more live entertainment in the International Street area of the park.