The Interpreter

Only in one side. The other has the HB. Over the weekend, they have been rotating which side is open. Don't despair!

You say that as you did not pay more than forty dollars to get in (per person), plus ten dollars to park. Also, Racer did NOT operate all day. It was closed more than once during the day. If the park is not going to have a dry run day, and guests are to expect issues, then the park needs to reduce the price of early season admissions. Guests who pay full freight have a right to expect a full performance. And that includes shows, properly operating food stands (the Skyline on International Street had the slowest operation of any food service stand in any park I have EVER visited. When I was there Friday, they didn't even have basic condiments in stock, such as sugar, cutlery and napkins. Yes, napkins. And the employees had a "just accept it" attitude. I'm sorry, but for sixteen dollars for a lunch, I expect both a napkin and something to eat the food with. I'm funny that way). I wish I could say Saturday was better at that stand. It was not. The lack of a dry run day has really hurt that place. Still, I suspect major staff cuts have hurt more. If Paramount doesn't think the guests notice, they are wrong. If they don't care, that's even worse.

Those cars are used to this day at parks like Paramount's Kings Dominion, Six Flags over Georgia and even Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. They are worth many, many thousands of dollars each. They won't be disposing of them for free to anybody. They might DONATE one to a group to be sold for charity, if that. As for the park benches, that's about the same story, though they of course are not worth quite so much...but...since they are unique, who knows? You might even see them at Jungle Jim's some day. They'd be cool with a monorail!

Maintenance on Hurler this year and Grizzly last year was also the implied reason. Yet, in every season before 2oo5, PKD had managed to have existing coasters rehabbed BEFORE the season. It's all in what you want to do and have the money to do. The individual parks aren't the ones making these decisions. Is there any reason whatever they are doing to Son of Beast, for example, wouldn't be done by now, if it really was a priority to them? Probably not.

Yeah. Besides, only kids and a few silly adults ride it. They can ride Racer and Avatar. May as well close Beast in the early season, too. It takes too many people to run and the maintenance is expensive. No one will notice. (At PKD, Hurler is closed til late May, as Grizzly was last year. Their FOF is closed for the year. Coincidence? Or a trend?)

One would think. But this foolishness has been going on at Carowinds and Dominion this year since they opened. Then again, PKI is much larger than either and has more season passholders percentagewise than any other North American park. I can't imagine that even season passholders are amused by this. There is no separate line for them. And with the new biometric passes that PKI is now selling, confirmation of the pass at the gate will now take 10 seconds or more per pass, if the Carowinds experience is applicable, further lengthening those long lines to get into the park. Mad customers at entry does not make for a happy day in the park, nor for repeat visits. I actually worry more about the effects on the Paramount Parks NEXT year. This year's passes have mostly been bought. This year's (in many case single) trip(s) to the park has already been planned. Next year, there are other choices. Some people may go to Florida rather than put up with that hassle. Even if Paramount wises up and fixes it now, many people will never find that out...They will know how bad it was when THEY went in 2oo6. And remember. And the longer this goes on, the more people will have that sour taste in their mouth. People talk to each other. A lot. And that talk is far more powerful than any paid advertising. I have never taken as long to get in Disney or Universal on the busiest of days than I did to get in Paramount's Kings Dominion on opening day this year. And many people waited a lot longer than I did. What's worse is if you get tired of waiting, you can't even get your parking money back and leave without waiting in Guest Relations, which doesn't open til 10. How nice.

And as I posted in a reply post to another thread, the re-entry line for people with handstamps is back this year (after it had been eliminated [unwisely, in my opinion] last year)

a. You are exactly right...but that's the old Six Flags logic, not the people and the company it is today. b. With all this cost cutting going on, PKI should do what Dorney does (and yes, I am serious). Since much of the park either doesn't operate or operates at reduced staffing and capacity levels at Dorney on early and late weekends, they cut the admission price. I'd have no problem with only one side of the Action Theater running, with the train being closed, with Delirium being iffy, etc., if the park passed along its savings to the daily admission buyer. Like that's going to happen!

Don't worry. Paramount's Kings Dominion has that one, easily. Opening day there this year made the old days at Six Flags Great Adventure look absolutely like operational successes. And heaven knows, that's hard to do! All things considered, things went pretty well at Paramount's Kings Island opening day, ridewise. It was in the admissions and parking areas that the AVERAGE guest was absolutely infuriated. Let's see...first you take ten dollars from the guest to park (and have only ONE set of toll booths operating, NO one in the parking lot to direct you to an empty space, NO trams operating), then the guest stands in front of a metal detector for up to an hour, with NO restrooms available other than in the secured area. (You could and many did BEG to go to the restroom and some of the security people let people go, others didn't). Worse, the first half hour, there was NO ONE to even see that people not enter the so-called secure area. People who had tickets for Breakfast with the Characters were NOT nicely directed to the proper lines on Saturday, unless they had some idea what was going on. These are among the park's best customers. Also, many of those guests waiting in front of the metal detectors did NOT have their tickets yet, thinking they would buy them from the old ticket booths just inside the detectors. Little did they know, (and there were no announcements that I heard), that those booths were no longer in use. Then, at 10, they opened the metal detectors (shortly before 10 on Sunday). The line slowly proceeded into the park. Guest relations didn't open til 10, either. So, I guess if you have a season pass from another Paramount Park, you have to wait for guest relations to open, then go to the back of the now huge line to get into the park. Compare the old days, when these same people would have been inside the park, on International Street, with restrooms and the possibility of spending money for that hour. An hour so profitable many parks call it the "Golden Hour." Over at season pass processing, since no passes were processed during the winter, the line quickly built up to over two and a half hours. When the park closed on Saturday night, it appeared there was still at least an hour line waiting to get a pass processed. Paramount used to have the very best season pass processing. What happened? Budget cuts. Cuts in departments that produce the money that runs the park. How stupid is that? The area outside the gate was a total fiasco both days. I am surprised there wasn't more fighting and minor mayhem than there were. And there was some. Oh, yeah. They did something else. Something right, but confusing. The re-entry line for people with handstamps is back. And this is the way that CBS is treating its best customers at Paramount Parks this year. If they were going to do this anyway, I, for one, am glad that CBS is selling.

Bingo! But there was nothing new and nothing but typos in that article! Yep, you win a prize! There are more errors, too.

No need whatsoever to change the scenery. The name can be changed in seconds. Big whoop! And maybe I'm one of the ones watching for fun! Tee hee. Anyway, have a good night.

Easy. Minor changes to the trains. Done.

Not to argue, but WHAT heavily themed rides? With the exception of Tomb Raider, all the theming at Paramount's Kings Island could be removed for less than the cost of a dozen major market television commercials. For an example of how that is done, look at what Cedar Fair did at the old Six Flags Worlds of Adventure...

I have no idea how you know the Paramount theme likely won't be affected much. Quite frankly, it wouldn't surprise me one iota were that NOT the case. And $7 instead of $10 is HARDLY a typo. It's WRONG.

That is really weird. ~vl2 Rome was not built in a day. The other trains will no doubt also match it soon.

Well, you two win no prizes for reading content. Among other things, the article MISTAKENLY says it is $7 to park at PKI. Where they got THAT information I have no idea. Remind me to not have you two read the dosing directions on Granny's supercritical medicine!

Avatar is very much like a wonderful updated Viking Fury...smoother, more fun, and more participatory! It's a great addition to Kings Island. I had very low expectations for this thing. It actually surprised me. It's that good!

Read the article. There is NEWS in it. Along with considerable opinion.

Because they are in the business of trying to make money and think they will make more money at these prices than they would have at the older prices? And because the park is for sale, and they want to show the prospective new owners that more money can be made?

It certainly did NOT have no wait yesterday or today. It is a good ride and most assuredly does NOT need removing. What's your favorite ride? Perhaps I will suggest IT be removed.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../604140430/1077

THIS year's Beast, at least so far, is QUITE impressive. The braking is very light compared to most recent years. The brake before the helices is basically off. Yee Haw!

There was sausage and pepperoni pizza at LaRosa's last year. I had that combination several times. Someone asked about why the music is so loud. I suspect it's because Tim Fisher is back. He is famous for liking loud music in the park.

Yes, Gillette has a new razor, The Fusion. And Gillette is now owned by Proctor & Gamble of Cincinnati, Ohio. You would think that would mean something!

They removed it to add the walkway to FOF. Not really. Particularly since the one side disappeared about a year before the other...and the walkway had been under there for some before...