The Interpreter

I couldn't agree more. The employees are doing the very best they can. They deserve praise. Brickbats, if any, go to the people making the budget decisions and staffing decisions, not to the hardworking, great people working their best to do the best they can in very trying times. Every park employee I saw was doing a great job, trying to their utmost. We can't ask for more. PKI employees are great! That all being said, these budget decisions are going to hurt Kings Island long term, I fear.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12349982/

Actually, it doesn't. For that I get directed to my parking space by courteous employees, a waiting tram with service to the gate, security in the lot at all times, and in most cases, a newly paved lot. At Kentucky Kingdom, parking is only $5, as the state owns the lot. At most Six Flags, the cost of a season pass plus season pass parking was less (if bought last year) than the price of a single PKI pass (that included parking, if bought last year).

...especially when they paid the same price for those tickets as people who go in July for a single day. For season passholders, a less than wonderful day in the park is no big deal. For destination visitors who go once a year or at most twice, a single visit can crush a park. Repeat business is what keeps parks in business....

One of the most unbiased people I know is Dave Althoff, Jr. He posted this on the worldwide web. I think the last paragraph echoes what you said (the rest is at the link for reading): http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff/da...06/uspki01.html

Avatar is a powered ride. It is not, by most definitions, a coaster.

You mean my memory was right for once?

And it looks great. Not finished yet, either. The purple on down is still to be done! Knowing PKI, it will be finished soon and look even better than it does now.

a. The Floral Clock usually doesn't have its hands this early in the season. They have to plant the flowers first! They will no doubt be back. b. The music is louder as Tim Fisher is back as general manager. He likes it that way. c. PKD's FOF did not have orange seats. Besides, those orange seats are NEW, not reconditioned.

It'll be okay. Beast DID run today. DragonLord, among others, rode it! http://www.pkicentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=7210

Not only that, but even they say that though it may storm in the morning, the afternoon looks pretty darn good:

If it only rains, most rides will stay open. If there is lightning, then the rides will close. They will reopen after the storm passes, though; so long as there is at least a reasonable number of people in the park.

Paramount's Great America opens Wednesday. We'll see how that goes... Paramount Canada's Wonderland opens Sunday, May 7.

I am not about to wait over an hour to fill out a card. There were tons and tons of people complaining Friday and Saturday. And Wonderland is a wonderful park I need to get back to SOON! PCW is used way too often around here. Some people use it when they mean Carowinds, others mean Wonderland. For that reason, many use PCWi and PCWo. Much less confusing!

You may well be right. I was amazed at how wonderful Carowinds opening was (if you mean PCWi). And the park was spotless and service was great. I do have a question, though. Does Carowinds also have the no early opening policy this year? On the other hand, PKD was truly terrible at opening, as many others have also observed. And a chain WILL be judged by its weakest park. People remember that it is a Paramount Park. The typical PKI customer will never go to Carowinds. Most don't even know where it is. Also, don't judge Six Flags now by the Six Flags you used to know. There have been major changes at Six Flags, and they show.

Uh....Craig Ross IS gone, moved to corporate. Tim Fisher is back. You and I may be the only ones who think this is a major improvement. Sometimes the bosses that everyone loves are not the ones who make everything work well. That all being said, I don't see major improvements in the Paramount Parks until ownership changes. And yes, I, too, hope to be in Georgia soon. Perhaps as soon as this weekend, if I can arrange such with my job... More than once on Friday and Saturday, I kept asking myself, "What is this world coming to when Six Flags seems to care about the customer so much more than Paramount Parks?" It was never thus before. The most amazing sight to me was the long line of people STILL trying to get season passes processed Friday night as the park closed. All because they didn't even offer off-season processing.

1982. Next?

Heavier than expected crowds? Puh-leeze. The marketing department didn't know it had given out tons and tons of free tickets for prize winners at radio stations? And the crowd Friday was NOT that heavy. As for Italian Job, no, no new effects. And no, the speakers didn't work. And, oh, yeah. Two trains. Count them. Two.

To be fair, PKD is even worse. A double slice of pizza at PKI is $5.49. A single slice at PKD (and that slice is about HALF the size of the single slices at PKI) is $3.99. A double slice would be double that: $7.98...making Six Flags' Papa Johns at $6.99 a slice for pan pizza--the only kind offered at the parks--look a little less ludicrous...Not much, but a little. And the pizza at PKD is, without exception, burned, based on my experience. PKD is also a park where a person on a low carb diet will have a very difficult time finding ANYTHING to eat. ANYTHING at all. I have pointed this out to that park many times. No response. At least at PKI, there are many food choices. The new side salads at the International Street restaurants (both LaRosa's and Skyline) are a welcome addition.

They no longer have five ways. A large four way is $6.49, if memory serves. A cheese coney is $1.89. Small drinks (20 oz) are $3.29. A large (32 oz.) is $3.49. So: A large four way: $6.49. Two cheese coneys: $3.78. A drink (small to be fair): $3.29. Tax: about 95 cents. Total: $14.51. Embarassed by that? The park must be. You do NOT get an itemized receipt. Wonder why? And for all this, they didn't even have ANY napkins! Can you imagine? I asked for sugar or artificial sweetener. They didn't have any. The crowning glory was they had NO forks or spoons. Sigh. (I walked to LaRosa's and got my own...something none of the workers seem to have enough gumption to do...or more likely, they weren't allowed to leave the stand). You haven't mentioned where they really seem to hit you hard. Salads and desserts. They apparently are somewhere between 2.99 and 4.99. I don't know. Nowhere is the price listed. For all I know, the employee misrang every single thing I got. You can't see the prices as they are rung up. And ANY Skyline outside the park that was as slow as Skyline was Friday or Saturday would have given me the food and apologized for the lousy service.

Uh huh. Six Flags in New Jersey has been open for the TWO weekends before this weekend. And on opening day, virtually everything was open and working, except for the wooden roller coaster (which is being modified for the new coaster being installed). Six Flags Over Georgia has been open for six weeks. Paramount's Carowinds in Charlotte opened without all these ... issues. Paramount's Kings Dominion on opening day was far, far worse than Paramount's Kings Island. That all being said, the issues here are quite simple, and mostly a matter of budget. To me, by far the worst is the not opening the parks AT ALL before 10 (10:30 at PKD) (for anyone other than ACERs <at PKI> or people eating breakfast with the characters). That can be fixed. It needs to be. Soon.

And coming very soon? The Jetsons, the movie. What wonderful timing...

Uh huh. I guess that is why Cedar Fair LOWERED admission prices this year. And is selling cotton candy at 25 cents. When your customers are having trouble coming up with enough money to pay admission, raise prices. Yep, that'll work.

There were actually LARGE bumblebees around and IN the International Street Skyline.

No, it's not normal for opening day. This year they had no dry run day. That's affected a lot of things. So has, apparently, reduced budgets. The employees, God bless them, are doing the best they can under some very trying circumstances. It is not their fault(s). Be nice to them. They deserve it.