CoastersRZ

Well, on Friday night they were sending in groups. But because of slow walkers in the group ahead, we ended up forming one long line. That is the thing with the indoor haunts. They have to keep the number of people in the huants within the maximum occupancy of the building. For example, on Circus of Horrors, there is a sign that says only 99 people can be in the maze at one time.

Yes, sun and the elements like rain can do a number to the logo, which was nothin more than a decal that was applied to the ride.

Yes, when I was there on Friday, I could tell that the fog was b eing blown up in the air by the wind. But is also seemed like there were less fog machines operational, especially over by Massacre Manor and in Coney Mall. It could have just been the conditions, but it seemed like there were a few less. Also, one of the fog machines in Coney Mall was running on a gas powered generator (across from the Dodgems).

Well, having done Headless Hollow on the first night of Fear Fest (for Beast Bash) and then again this past Friday night, I have to say that there was a significant improvement. They had more scaractors towards the end on Friday then they did the first night. The first night, you would pass by crate after crate with no one hiding by it, close to the bridge that crosses the track. On Friday night, there were more people in this area. I still think that the ending is a little anti-climatic. But it is a new haunt, with a really good idea behind it! Over time, and in future seasons, if it comes back, which I`m sure it will, it will improve.

That is because the 30th of October is a Sunday. I remember the first couple of years they did FearFest, they were open a couple days and the day of Halloween. It must have proved not profitable because they haven`t done that for several years now. On Friday when I went, they had a LOT of the restaurants closed. Festhaus, Bubba Gump`s, Skline Chili in Coney Mall were the only ones I recall being open. Almost all the shops on International Street were closed, I`m assuming because of staffing issues. But it seemed like they would have tried to get one of the shops open on International Street.

Just because the track is below the trains, and there would be no sense of "flying" does not mean that it would not make for a good Top Gun coaster. Those pictures look good, and that layout, while short, looks fun and intense, but not too intense. It would be nice if PKI got a ride like that in 2007. That said, I don`t see them removing Timberwolf or Top Gun anytime soon. CoasterXtreme, things will continue to be built at PKI. They will not just focus solely on the families either, because while that is one of their main demographics, it is not their only demographic. Teens and adults make up a large part of their demographic as well (just look at the popularity of FearFest). I`m sure a new thrill ride in the form of a coaster, (a little longer and heavier on the thrill factor than IJST) is on the way to the park soon enough.) I`ve heard rumors that 2007 could be a big year for PKI. It will be their 35th anniversary, and in addition to that, PKI will be hosting the ACE Coaster Con. If they were to install a major new coaster, that would be the season in which to do it. But lets not forget that they are installing some form of a roller coaster next season in Avator.

I highly doubt that this "rumor" is true. Last I heard the only Paramount Park that was being planned was the one over in China. And I haven`t heard if details/plans have been finallized or if that project has been given the green light. Now Paramount does have a managment contract with Bonfante Gardens (a not-for-profit park in Gilroy, California).

Well over in the other thread about today, Klockster is saying it was crowded. They had a concert in Timberwolf, the walk for Diabetes, and of course FearFest and Nick or Treat. I don`t know how crowded the park was. But I know Coney got pretty crowded, despite the cold temperatures. I had a constant line on the Scream Machine all day, right up until around 7:45, and then it was just the same people riding again and again and again. (We were understaffed today and my manager had to give me my break, and the President and Vice President of Operations worked the Pythoon for three hours so that the coaster people could give other people breaks! The Ferris Wheel didn`t open until 4:30 because of the staffing issues).

Well when I rode it on P&G weekend, it was running just fine. I haven`t ridden it since. I was going to ride it yesterday, but it was having floor issues!

Yeah, I would imagine with the concert up there in Timberwolf, and the Juvenile walke for Diabetes up there as well, it would probably be on the crowded side. Last night with little to no lines, will become a rarity as it gets closer to Halloween.

Well, according to what Jeff said, they plan to do a lot of extra track work this season. Because of the hot summer (something like 28 days where the temperature was 90 or above as compared to only like 4 days in 2004) the track took a beating. When it is how out, the wood expands, and is more susceptible to fatigue. He also mentioned that with preparations for Winterfest, they have less of an offseason to complete their winter maintenance of the rides. (That is why Adventure Express and Vortex are down to two trains.)

Yeah, I saw you ZosoBeast in the Italian Job station, with only about a five minute wait. I didn`t say ho, because I thought you were with your girlfriend, and I remember you saying how you have to prepare her to meet the PKICers. Klockster, it wasn`t just The Vortex that had a line like that, The Racer, Drop Zone, Face Off, and Beast were also like that! It was deserted because of the rainy weather. I was a little surprised at how deserted it was. I went back in 2002 on a Friday night when it was really cold, with a light mist and there was a decent sized crowd. Maybe it is not close enough to Halloween yet.

Yes, tunnels would improve the "experience" of the ride. But they would not improve the roughness or smoothness of the ride, which in a lot of people`s opinions, is a big problem. I`m sure the park won`t add tunnels to Son of Beast, when they can spend the money on trying to fix the track/trains/structure, to make it a smoother and more enjoyable ride for the general public.

Yes, the park has a lot of trash cans. At Beast Bash, Ryan was talking to one of the people emptying trash cans by The Beast when we were waiting to go on our behind the scenes tour. He was an older gentleman, and he listed off the numbers of trash cans in seperate areas of the park. Some of the numbers were amazing. But, I don`t remember the numbers.

Yes, the park was deserted tonight! I`m not complaining. I walked onto Psycho Path, did Fear Street again and Circus of Horrors. I also did Headless Hollow again (they weren`t giving out tickets). It was much better this time, and there were more scaractors hiding behind the crate leading up to the bridge. The ending is still a little anticlimatic, but the highlight of that maze is the fog filled bridge. You become so disoriented in that, even with holding onto people`s shoulders. Yes, Delirium was having some sort of floor issues. When I went to ride it after riding Drop Zone, there were people on it, but the floor wasn`t rising, so they were stuck. A couple minuted later (and a ride on Face Off), they people were off, but the floor was still down.

I`m assuming Ghoster Coaster? Also, the flowers in the planters in front of the Paramount Theater are beautiful. The flowers are literally overflowing from the planters!

No, don`t leave PKIC for EPKI! I know you will continue to post here Scooby! (I actually have posted over there a couple of times. Mainly to correct someone that had said something that was blatantly incorrect.) Yes, PKIGuide had a forum website. In fact the webmaster on that site had stumbled across the history page for PKI that I had up on my geocities site, and asked me to incorporate it on his site. I said sure. (I no longer have that history page on my site, but I do have several pictures from PKI, with several from early years including the smurf ride, among other theme park travels). Guidetotheisland.com did not, to the best of my knowledge have any forums.

It`s ok. I wasn`t trying to be rude. I was just trying to give you a heads up. If you were to continue to post with sentences like that, the mods might edit or delete your posts, because of what CombatStupendous said. No harm done!

Wow. You could use some better sentence structure in that post. As has been discussed before, they did not run a Racer train on Son of Beast. (Not to mention that all four Racer trains are still on the tracks of that ride). But PKI`s PTC trains use electric strikes on the sides of the trains to lock and unlock the lapbars. Son of Beast`s trains, llike most of the steel coasters at PKI, use bars that rise underneath the trains to release the bars. (They can be unlocked by the operators stepping on pedals in the rear of the train. If they ever were to run PTC`s on Son of Beast, they would have to buy PTCs that have that type of locking mechanism, or retrofit the station. IMO, the trains themselves are not the reason for the bad experience. It also has to do with the track and the way the train jackhammers on the track in certain spots. With the amount of money PKI has spent on Son of Beast, I`m sure they will continue to wokr on it, to make it a more enjoyable ride for the general public. They want to be able to see some return on their investment. However, it may reach a point when they throw in the towel. I don`t forsee that heppening in the very near future though!

Yeah, that is the spiel. I used to know it, but having ridden Son of Beast less this year, (in part due to classes at UC in the summer) I had forgotten parts of it.

Vortex, to my knowledge, the park has done track work every off season on Son of Beast since it opened. PKI prides themselve in maintaining their wooden coasters. While Son of Beast is rough, they are continuing to work on it to make it smoother. As the old saying goes, a wooden coaster is always under construction.

Well, I think it is safe to say, that PKIC will be around for quite some time. The staff here is very dedicated to improving the site, both design wise and content wise. If PKIC dies in the near future, I`m sure many of us will migrate onto the next great PKI website, like many of us veterans from PKIU, or even PKI Guide have done.

I don`t really remember the adds on PKIU. I do remember when Aaron took the boards offline for a couple days. Yeah, I`d like to know what happened to Aaron. He sold the site, and has not been involved in this site much, if at all after the merger. Maybe it was his time to move on to bigger and better things in life.

Yeah, there is a recorded spiel that plays periodically in the station. Jeff is the one saying it and it goes something along the lines of "The Son of Beast is a forceful, turbulent roller coaster with quick turns and sudden drops. Guests with recent back, neck or bone injuries should not ride."

That is one thing that bugs me about IJST though, is that the onboard audio and headlights are no longer working. While the headlights did not add much to the ride, unless you rode at night, the onboard audio, made the ride more fun and enjoyable. On the flip side, the fishtailing effect that was almost unnoticable in the beginning of the season, is begining to become more evident as the springs loosen up. On Saturday, I felt two or three spots where our car was definantly pivoting. But other than the onboard train issues, which are in part due to the new technology involved, the effects on IJST have been pretty consistent. THe "stunt" show in the middle of the ride has worked flawlessly every time I have ridden the ride this year. Thanks for the kind words CombatStupdendous! It bugs me when people critique the park, and blatantly do not tell the truth or know the reasons behind why things are done the way they are. Take a look at some of the other theme parks around (like PKI`s neighbor in Kentucky) and you will realize how well Paramount takes care of their parks!