The Interpreter

Games. Law. Hmm....must not ask out loud why amusement park games are not gambling....Must not. No, can't do that.

...formerly known as Oscar's. Sigh. Again.

Seems to me it is an afterthought left over from Phantom Theater. Sigh.

Thought? Yes. Money? No. Priority? No. Cedar Fair will do better? The jury is out. It all depends on what priority THEY put on entertainment. Personally, I thought entertainment at Kings Island was much better in both quality and quantity before it was largely outsourced. The same could be said of the food.

Perhaps Paramount wanted to save the thrill of participating in an audience participation show for paying customers...and avoid the appearance of having only paid shills be the participants! Not to mention in some situations an employee could make staying in character difficult for the players.

Yah, I saw the show at four of the five Paramount Parks, and I don't remember any audience participation either, other than loud applause!

There have been several posts here to the effect of one of two things: * Kings Island won't change much regardless of who owns it (most of these were BEFORE the Cedar Fair acquisition was announced...and I suspect most of them were by younger park fans who love the park but don't really understand how it is run). * Who cares? None of this stuff really matters. Go enjoy the park. (One of these was as recent at this past week...and there have been several). These have been a very small proportion of the total posts, but they have been out there.

Very well said. This is why I think those who think there will not be major changes at Kings Island (or any other Paramount Park) are mistaken. Cedar Fair WILL run these parks differently than Paramount was or would have if they had kept them. Perhaps not quickly so, but definitely so. There IS a Cedar Fair way of doing almost anything. There is, (soon to be was), a Paramount way. They are not necessarily the same, though in many areas of park management and operation, they are similar, in others they are vastly different. Some of these things are in areas guests easily see (queue lines, food service experiences, hiring practices), some are not at all visible (cash management, capital investment philosophy, degree of management autonomy at the park level, etc.) and some are a bit of both (training of employees, corporate philosophy, etc.) One of the reasons that the old Six Flags had so many problems was that there never really was *A* Six Flags way of doing things. Operations and management varied wildly from park to park. Bad operations at any Six Flags park diluted the entire brand. Excellent operations in one area at a park (say, pass processing) were easily outweighed by poor operations in another (say, food). There was no overarching philosophy or oversight.

Thanks. That page badly needs a description of what each perk IS. It's really poorly designed, IMHO.

Agreed. There is legal structure for tax reasons, and there is what is visible to the public. I doubt that Paramount Parks will be visible to the public 5 years from now.

That's because it was in May, which no longer shows... I don't think there is any gold pass early entry in June. Anyone?

My prediction is at least three levels of passes, if not four: --Single Park Pass. --Ohio Park Pass. --Platinum Park Pass good at all CF parks, but not including perks except at home park...parking is extra... --Super Platinum (or some such thing_ pass good at all CF parks, including preferred parking, early park entry and discounts on food and merchandise at ALL CF parks. That's just my guess....I am sure they don't even know yet. I do wonder if they will process the year before, as Paramount always had. Cedar Fair pass processing, IMHO, leaves a LOT to be desired. This is one area they could learn a LOT from Paramount Parks...at least how Paramount did it UNTIL this year.

If it makes you feel any better, most Six Flags parks aren't very good about policing smoking, either. And I see a lot more smokers down south (especially in Texas) than I ever do in the Midwest.

http://www3.paramountparks.com/kingsisland...ss_calendar.cfm This will show you the special gold pass benefits, and when they apply.

I think it is a fair statement to say that under no circumstances do I see season pass prices going down. At Six Flags, Cedar Fair, Disney or anywhere else. I DO see Cedar Fair cutting gate admission. And I figure season pass prices will go UP. Perhaps drastically so.

The Klockster opined: Which takes us to the biggest question of all, as I see it. After the Paramount Parks acquisition, will it be Cedar Fair's goal to run amusement parks and theme parks...or to convert the theme parks it bought to amusement parks over time?

Not to mention there is no asking price for those things that are not on the market for sale... I don't think Cedar Fair is buying the Paramount Parks to ruin or to resell...they are buying them to run them and to make money for their unitholders.

In the current scheme of things, a Cedar Point pass DOES include all other Cedar Fair parks EXCEPT Geauga Lake. That is the only park you must pay an additional fee to have included in your pass. So, I really don't understand your comment... Especially since now to get both KI and CP passes, you have to buy BOTH passes, or at least buy one pass from each chain--Cedar Fair and Paramount Parks.

Well, Cedar Fair did have a ride reservation system, of sorts, at Cedar Point...called, if memory serves, Free Lane. You could get a handstamp for two selected major coasters, which were given out at different times and strictly limited in number. Then you went to the speedlane at the time that appeared on your hand...say at 11 Millennium Force stamps were given out, the first 100 or so may say 12, the next 1, etc. It worked well, but was discontinued. . .

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Cedar Fair does to those speed lanes.

As well it should be, since Kings Island did not license the rights to Indiana Jones or Raiders of the Lost Ark...just as it did not license the rights to Phantom of the Opera (which another ride that KECO installed strongly resembled...)

Mr. Chef, I think you and I just said the perzact same thing in our own vastly different ways! And CF doesn't have to decide whether or not to renew the Nick license until it expires...four years from now. In kids' cartoons, that's an eternity....

I so agree. I can't imagine not seeing that ride on Coney Mall. It's almost as much of a classic to the park as The Racer, the Carosell or the Tower. Cedar Fair apparently agrees. And they even call the one at Cedar Point....Troika!

But, but, but.... It really doesn't matter if you or I understand kids' tastes. What will matter is what Cedar Fair thinks will best help the parks. And I bet Cedar Fair will stick with the tried and true, what they know, and what they, in their conservative and infinite wisdom, believe that kids either DO or SHOULD want... And that, that I bet is and will be Peanuts...as in Snoopy, Charley Brown and Woodstock....not Dora the Explorer or Spongebob or the Wild Thornthingies...

Why do I have this sudden urge to go eat some of those new White Chocolate M and M's? Themed on Pirates of the Carribean, no less? And THIS is my post 666. An omen, perhaps?