CoastersRZ

I would imagine that those boats are for a small boat flat ride, similar to the Huck`s Hot Rod`s at PKI, which are manufactured by Hampton. If it is what I am thinking about, the boats are attached to a center pole, and float in a circular moat of water and spin in circles just like the car ride by Hampton. I believe that Stricker`s Grove has a boat ride like this.

No the park has not released the length of the ride yet. I believe the steel in foundation_1 is for the station structure. I was not on the construction tour, so I do not know for sure, but that is what I heard someone on these boards say.

Yeah, since the floats travled to all 5 parks, they were driven by drivers. In fact even the sound system for the parade was temporary. You could see the wooden crates with the speakers on top of several buildings along the parade route, such as bathrooms and foodstands. The Disney floats are computerised because their parades follow the exact same route everyday. The expense of the computerized floats is justified by the fact that the parks are open year round and they don`t have to pay people to drive them, which eliminates operator error. PKI and the other Paramount Parks could not justify the expense of installing computer driven floats.

How can you say that Cedar Fair would be interested in buying Kings Island? They already own two parks in Ohio, which are each about a 5-8 hour drive from PKI. Cedar Fair would not be interested in PKI because it is not a new market. They would be competing amongt themselves for customers. While I agree that Cedar Fair manages its parks extremely well, I don`t forsee them buying PKI in the near future. Additionally, if Disney bought PKI, they would not close the park and tear down everything. Why? Money. It would cost a lot of money and they would not be earning any when the park was closed. Additionally, many locals would be upset that the park would be closed and would miss the classic rides that PKI had. It just wouldn`t make business sense to tear down everything and start with a clean slate. I do think that they would renovate rides a couple at a time and add theming to them, but not start from a clean slate. That being said, I wouldn`t put any faith in Disney buying PKI.

That is a very good point. PKI while owned by Paramount Parks since 1992, the parent company of Paramount was indeed bought by Viacom in 1994. To the guest, the only visible change that occured to the parks was that Nickelodeon properties were introduced, and early on they were not pushed as much as they have been in last couple of years.

Yes, I agree with you on Tomb Raider, and the fact that there is no story line to TR:TR. However, I think the concept and storyline to IJST will stand on its own, and guests will not have to have seen the movie to get the just of the ride.

Really I don`t see how the closure of the campground at PKI wilol lead to the demiss of the entire chain of Paramount Parks. As was stated in an earlier post, this could merely be a move to try and boost the stock of Viacom.

Personally, witht the state of economics over at Six Flags, I don`t see how they could afford to purchase any parks. And, as an enthusiast of PKI, I would not like to see Six Flags buy PKI or any other Paramount Park.

Really? I never heard of a rumor of Disney buying PKI. I have to admit though with the direction PKI is moving, Disney could make for some interesting changes to PKI. But I don`t think Disney has any interest in undertaking seasonal theme parks anytime soon.

LOL, yeah I have an entire 29 page word document with information on PKI. I`ve compiled quite a lot of information over the years on the park.

To the best of my knowledge, Canada`s Wonderland was built by Taft Broadcasting and then later owned by KECO before being sold at the same time as the other KECO parks to Paramount. Viacom didn`t enter the picture until they purchased Paramount in 1995. It very well may have been $400 million, but for some reason, $200 million also stands out. Here is what I know about the history of KECO and how Paramount Parks came to be and to my knowledge all this information is correct. In late 1983, a group of general managers at the Taft parks as well as several vice presidents at Taft Broadcasting led by Nelson Schwab III, purchased the parks. They then formed their own company to manage and own the parks, the Kings Entertainment Company (KECO). In 1985 the Marriott Corporation, owner of the Great America parks in Santa Clara, California, and outside of Chicago was selling the parks. They sold the Illinois park to Six Flags. The California park was sold to the City of Santa Clara Redevelopment Agency. The city then entered into a management contract with KECO for five years with an option for KECO to purchase the park at the end of the contract. KECO would later enter into a management deal with Great America in Santa Clara California. In 1989, KECO exercises its option to buy Great America`s business assets (buildings, rides and equipment) from the City of Santa Clara. Also, KECO then entered into a 50 year land-lease with the city`s redevelopment agency. Meanwhile, in 1987, KECO was reorganized as Carl Lindner purchased the majority of the shares of Taft Broadcasting and KECO. KECO now owned 100 percent of the parks, except for Great America. Carl Lindner continued to let KECO operate the parks. However, the parks were rapidly loosing steam and money under Lindner`s direction. So, on July 31, 1992 Paramount Communications purchased KECO, which by this time was comprised of five parks. In 1993, all five parks were rebranded as Paramount Parks. I agree that if they are shopping the parks around, it is unlikely that they will sell them to another park chain. Instead they will do as you say and either spin them off as their own company or form a trust to own the parks.

Well if you are two hours from the park, I would not suggest you work at PKI. Get a job closer to your home and save on gas so you can make trips to PKI for fun, instead of to work. But that is just my opinion.

The only reason that Cedar Fair execs were at PKI was to observe and learn about Delirium, since their MaxAir is the same type of ride. Additionally, Busch Garden`s and SeaWorld are both owned by the same conpany. Personally, I can`t really imagine any other company taking over KI than Paramount. Think of how many rides would have been different in the past years.

Yeah, I think they remove several of the signs in the winter to protect them from fading in the harsh winter sun. On topic, I am looking forward to the Nick Parade again this year. It was quite a production and had people lined up well in advance of the parade starting!

If Viacom does end up selling Paramount Parks, I would imagine that there would be some sort of license agreement to at least allow the use of the Paramount branded movies, and Nick branded shows. Depending on who purchased the park, they may even drop the Paramount moniker. (If Cedar Fair bought the park I would imagine that they would drop the Paramount moniker.) When Paramount bought Kings Entertainment Corporation (KECO) back in 1992, they purchased the four parks for $200 million. I would imagine that the cost to buy Paramount Parks now would be triple or quadruple that amount at least. I don`t know if they are worth $1 billion though. Yes, I don`t think Cedar Fair would be A. interested, and B. have the capital to purchase the parks. As stated above, there aren`t too many companies interested in purchasing theme parks right now. The reason GE held onto the Universal parks is they could not find a buyer and they want to make the financial statements of the park look better so prospective buyers would be more interested in purchasing them. Only time will tell if Viacom decided to sell the parks to focus on its core brands, spin them off into their own seperate entity or sell them. I don`t know much the workings of Paramount Parks, but I always thought that they were ran independently of the rest of Viacom and Paramount Studios, but that they had to report their financial statements to Viacom, or the entertainment division of Viacom.

You can not change the group that you belong to. In most cases you will be in the members group. The PKIC Local, Expert, Enhusiast ect, is based on the number of posts that you have made on this site.

PKIJake13, your post makes no sense. First of all, the article mentions selling Paramount Parks as a whole, not individual parks. Secondly, Paramount`s Carowinds and Great America, while no the largest parks in the chain, still bring in quite a few people, and I would assume quite a lot of money as well. This will probably amount to nothing more than this brief article, but it is certainly interesting to note that Viacom considers the theme parks expendable.

Very interesting. I doubt this will ever amount to anything, but it certainly raised my attention. On the Hanna Barbera side of things. Doesn`t Paramount Parks` license agreement with the Hanna Barbera rights end at the end of 2009? If so, what happens to Scooby and the rest of Hanna Barbera Land? Will Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle be rethemed, and will there be just one big Nickelodeon Central?

Just checked out Screamscape today. According to Screamscape, "In an article posted in Variety this week, Viacom head honcho Sumner Redstone mentioned that he may be shopping around Paramount Parks and their Simon & Schuster divisions in addition to other small assets." I found this some what surprising. First off, I thought that the theme park division brought in good money. Secondly, the parks in recent years have been amping up their tie ins to Paramount Pictures movies. Whether this has any truth in it is beyond me. I don`t know if they would have any interested buyers. Six Flags, well they are not in a buying mood because they have sold parks reently to recover capital to pay off their massive debt. I doubt Cedar Fair would be interested, or at least in Kings Island, because they already own two parks in Ohio, and have competing parks in some of the other Paramount Parks market. That leaves Busch Gardens, and I really don`t forsee them being interested in acquiring more parks. So the low demand for purchasing parks and the fact that I thought Paramount Parks made money, leads me to believe that this will not be happening. But stranger things have happened.

Yeah, just imaging what they could do with the old animatronics and some new ones with today`s technology. It will never happen, and if it did then you would get people complaining about where the park`s B&M coaster is and why the park is wasting money on a dumb attraction like this. Personally, I think it would be a great idea, but I don`t think they will ever do it.

IJST is not meant to be a major thrill attraction like Drop Zone or Son of Beast (if you can call that ride a thriller). In all honesty, I am looking forward to IJST. Having visited Disney for the first time this past summer, a story and a theme really go a far way in making a ride more interesting and fun. Yes, IJST might not be the tallest or fastest, but it will offer a unique experience on a roller coaster that can not be found at other seasonal amusement parks. PKI is trying to become a seasonal version of Disney or Universal. While the park will never reach Disney or Universal standards, look how far they have come in the past couple of years. A nice renovated Nickelodeon Central, a new Spongebob Movie in the Action Theater, a highly themed and immersive dark ride experience in Tomb Raider, a new themed interactive dark ride, a themed water park resort and now a themed roller coaster. I for one am excited about IJST and the future attractions that the park has in store. The park has realised that they can`t compete with CP when it comes to roller coasters, so instead they are offering a different themed experience that other seasonal parks don`t offer. Only in Orlando, or in California can you find theming better than at PKI, and then you have to shell out big bucks to enjoy it! To each their own though.

Yes, I had a couple incidents involving spit on the Ferris Wheel at Coney, which is not a pretty thing considering when people spit off of that ride, it usually ends up in a car below. We can actually call a manager if we see someone spitting and they can remove their ride bracelet without refund. Back on topic, I think the best thing that can be done to improve Coney Mall, other than IJST, is to put another new flat ride in, where Flight Commander used to be. Pull some guests back into that section of the midway.

Phantom Theater was definantly a unique ride, with theming and animatronics that approached Disney. Scooby Doo simply has cutouts. I really enjoy Scooby Doo and the competition if offers is great. Also, the interaction with the guests is its biggest benefit to a ride. I liked the animatronic figures, and the fact that there was no other ride like it in the country (contrary to the Scooby ride). It was a classic ride. I am glad that they brought out some of the animatronics for FearFest this past year at Dracula`s Haunted Castle.

Keep in mind that in the survey a while back, they asked if people would ride The Beast when it was cold out. I don`t forsee them havening The Beast open if they have Winterfest, because that would be one frigid ride when it is 20 degrees outside. However, they could, as mentioned previously, have The Carousel, Dodgems, and Scooby open. Additionally, they could also have newer indoor rides like Flight of Fear, Action Theater and Tomb Raider open since they are heated. Although, they might not want that much of the park open, and they would have less time for the off season rehab, which would probably occur between January and opening day in April.

I don`t see them rerouting the train in the near future. Why? Cost. It would cost too much to have to build new infrastructure around the new track if they made it travel to different areas of the park. Additionally, the current locations is good because in addition to going over to Boomerang Bay, it also is a location that is out in the woods and removed from the chaos of the rest of the park and can be a relaxing ride.