CoastersRZ

Well, the answer to your question is 6pm. But seeing as how it is after 6pm, I assume you are already at the park, and do not need me to tell you this information.

I highly doubt that seasonals are approaching the 1800 number. If you do a simple calculation that a seasonal could work for 90 days (the entire months of June, July and August, although the end of August the park isn`t open). Then the park is open weekends in April, May, September and October (as well as the first weekend in November. With roughly 8 operating days per month plus the two from November nets a total of 34 days. A total of 124 days. (Now I know that there are training days and dry run days, but I`ll leave those out of it.) Assuming each day is a twelve hour shift a seasonal worker would be at 1488 hours, still well short of the 1800. Not to mention the fact that it would be highly unlikely for a worker to work EVERY shift available to them. Moreover, I thought a stipulation of seasonal employment was that they were not allowed to be employeed for two months out of the year. (In PKI`s case, that would be January and February.) Sorry, JPButler365, I highly doubt that your "friends" at the Paramount Park office would divulge financial information regarding an event at the parks to you. Yes, it is no secret that they have not attracted the attendance at the events that they had hoped, but it does not necessarily mean that they are loosing money. No, I don`t see PKI going to year round operation. They had to start earlier on several off season maintenance projects because of WinterFest (namely Son of Beast). They already effectively cut two months off of their offseason by opening up the park to WinterFest. The off season is the busiest time of the year for most of the park`s maintenance staffs.

I was there on Sunday as well. (You spent four hours in the park and missed all those things??) You must have really taken your time in the shops! The park had a modest crowd on Sunday, but still seemed on the light side. It was busier than what opening night had been.

Well, hopefully that is true. I know that the first year they had Fear Fest, they rented all the haunts that first season, that way they weren`t out a ton of money if they decided to can the event due to lack of interest. I sure would like to see the WinterFest become an annual PKI tradition again, much like what FearFest has become. FF struggled the first couple of seasons as well when it was a seperate gated admission from the park. Hopefully, with the feedback the park is gathering, they will be able to work out an admission program to WinterFest, or more/different attractions in the coming years that will turn the event around. Personally, I find nothing wrong with the event, other than the high price of admission, and some areas could use some more lights. But all in all, I think it is a wonderful event, and the live entertainment is what makes the event so much fun.

Looks good. What day were you at the park, Saturday or Sunday? I was up there on Sunday when i took the pictures for the update to this site. I also created a video, but it is more of a slideshow, perse. Here is the video I created.

Some of the midways that they have open are very close to the demolition/construction site. Pixie and Dixies Swingset is right next to Boulder Bumpers which is being worked on. And Animation Station, is also right next to some of the demolition of the former Slime Zone.

Enough time to cool down? When it is cooler than 50 degrees out? Is the other train undergoing winter rehab?

Um, they are doing construction in NU/HB land with WinterFest going on. I hope that PKI continues WF for years to come. If they fine tune it enough, and get the attendance and revenue that they desire, it wouldn`t surprise me to see the other Paramount Parks (PKD and PGA adopt a WinterFest). PCW would be a little harder to pull off a winter event, simply because of its location up in Canada with colder temperatures than what Cincinnati experiences.

Yes, PKI has been getting feedback on what people think of WinterFest. When I left the park on Sunday, they probably had three or four people handing out brief surveys about the event. Also, when I picked up my Santa`s Toy Factory tickets, they gave me a little business card telling me to go online to complete a survey about my thoughts and opinions on WinterFest. (I completed the in park survey as well as the online survey). I`m sure they are getting feedback on what things are working and what things are not quite what they should be.

Originally, Boomerang Bay was supposed to have sand volleyball courts. They were scrapped, most likely as a result of the maintenance required with the sand courts. Not to mention that the sand that people would be tracking into the pools would not be good for water quality or the filtrations systems. The Beast did have Hollywood effects added. They added lights in the station, and speakers playing music on each of the two lift hills. While they may not have been "Hollywood" effects, they were nice little touches to the ride. I am still trying to figure out what they meant by the Top GUn reference. I remember them mentioning it in the newsletter, but as far as I can tell, Top Gun was the same this year as it has been in the past couple of years.

Well, I think it is obvious that WinterFest is struggling. Which is ashame, because the park looks great. I think the fact that they have lowered their prices demonstrates that they are not achieving the attendance numbers that they had hoped for. There is a lot of competition for families` holiday activity money and time. A lot of families that have memberships to the zoo or passes to the Beach get in free to their respective events. I believe that that is one thing that is hurting PKI`s WinterFest. They simply priced themselves out of the market, and are only recently adjuscting that situation. I am glad to see that Paramount Parks was willing to invest in bringing back WinterFest and introducing it at Carowinds. Hopefully, they will make changes to it for next year, and add some new things, get rid of stuff that didn`t work and make it better for next year, provided they decide to hold it again next year.

I think that the plans for the light rail system in Cincinnati are for the most part dead. The light rail was planned to connect the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Interanational Airport to downtown, and to follow the I-71 corridor up to Paramount`s Kings Island. However, there are no funds available to fund the building of the necessary rails and infrastructure for the light rail line. So unless another Metro Moves plan is put on the ballot, or some sort of federal grant is secured, the light rail will remain a dream on a drawing board. Most of the local legislative officials are trying to secure funds to replace the aging Brent Spence Bridge, which carries I-71 and I-75. Even that, which has recieved some federal money is years out as feasibiility and environemental studies are being conducted. Then comes the part of right of way aquisition, and all the necessary engineering for the new span and the approaches. So a new bridge is at least five years out.

I would think that Paramount Parks, if they are sold, would retain the licenses to all the Paramount, Viacom and Nickelodeon liceneses. The parks reach a large demographic of people that are exposed to those brandings. That being said, I like Italianchef said, do not foresee any major changes in the next few years.

I`m assuming that you can buy the tickets at the buy one get one free price through December 18th, not November 18th as it was mentioned in the newsletter?

The parks, IMO have been making significant progress in the last couple of years. Paramount Parks have continued to invest in the parks (adding WinterFest, and expanding FearFest). They must be doing something right if they have had one of the most visited seasonal theme parks for years. Heck, even Wonderland last year posted strong attendance figures. I don`t think they are running the other way because things aren`t going their way. I just think that they don`t see much growth opportunities in the parks. They make good money from the parks, but there is no way to effectively increase the revenue from the division.

A lot of the old subway tunnels could not be used for light rail. Many of the tunnels have been filled in, or were never completed to tie into anything. One of the tunnels houses a large water main. There is an entire website dedicated to the history of the express ways, bridges and the abandoned subway in Cincinnati. Here is a link to the page on the abandoned Subway. And yes, had the Metro Moves plan passed in 2002, they would have been using the tunnels for light rail lines.

The Lion Country Safari was added to Kings Island in 1974. That makes those monorail cars almost 32 years old. Hard to believe that Kings Island will be 34 years old this coming year!

Yep. I added a couple photos of the progress that has been made on Sunday night. They are still in the demo mode as the backhoes had O`Rourke written on them. O`Rourke is the demolition company that also demolished Cinergy Field (aka Riverfront Stadium).

RIP blue elephant! Great pictures Combant Stupendous! That elephant used to reside in a fountain in front of the restrooms by where Atom Ant Airways sits.

I liked the ways they had some of the trees trimmed out in lights. That was my only complaint with PKI`s WinterFest. The trees on I-Street could have used some lights, as well as some other areas of the park where there seemed to be a lack of lights. That tunnel of lights was awesome too. But PKI`s ice rink and light show both look better than the counterparts down at Carowinds. But both parks still look wonderful with all the lights that they do have. Hopefully this becomes an annual tradition at both parks, much like FearFest and Scarowinds has become. And hopefully, in time, the event will grow with more decorations and entertainment.

Actually, they took down the Paramount banner, so that they could put up a WinterFest sign. I`m sure that they will bring back the Paramount sign next spring. (I like the way they have the WinterFest sign so you can still see most of it from in front of the lighting ceremony display. I wouldn`t read too much into them not refering to themselves as Paramount`s Kings Island. In fact, in the last year or so (maybe even a little longer) they have stopped referring to themselves in advertisements as Paramount`s Kings Island (at least they have reduced the amount of times they include the P). Most Cincinnatian`s will call it Kings Island, even though it has been Paramount now for twelve years. Its just easier to say Kings Island than Paramount`s Kings Island. While it will soon be under the CBS company instead of Viacom, it is my understanding that Paramount Parks will still be the company in direct control of the park.

I attended WinterFest yet again tonight. Several changes have occured since opening night. The lighting ceremony is now briefer without all the attempted humor. The Eiffel Tower now goes through various changes throughout the night, other than the back lit lights changing colors. The Christmas lights dim and blink on and off. Sometimes they even turn off, and the tower is lit simply by the spot lights shining on it. The lights on the fountain pedastels also dim as well. Everything else was essentially the same. (The HB Carousel and Pixie and Dixie`s Swings were closed (I`m assuming because of the snow on top of the rides). They have added blue rope lights to the chain fence down in the grass on Holiday Illuminiations. As far as Nick Universe construction goes, all of the facade for the Boulder Bumpers has now been removed. Additionally, there were backhoes sitting on the former sites of the kiddie tumble bug (Boo Boo`s Baggage Claim) and the Hampton umbrella ride (Huck`s Hot Rod`s). WinterFest Update

Retheme it, like they did when Paramount bought the park. It was known as Tower Gardens prior to 1993.

TopGun1993, Vortex always has two trains in most of October. It has for the last four or so years. Same with Adventure Express. It is only more noticable whent he park is really crowded with people from FearFest.

Well a lot of the problems with Delirium were out of the parks control. (You can`t really control how long it takes the manufacturer to fix a part that unexpectedly broke.)