The Interpreter

It's almost certainly for Goliath at Six Flags La Ronde in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. http://www.rcdb.com/ig3385.htm?picture=3

"One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." I love that thing. It's hysterical, and far more fun than Dumbo.

Yes, that part of the factory is still there, and yes, it is a good way to get arrested if you enter that site without permission. But, the park itself is also on former Kings Mills Ordnance Works property. That's one reason such a large parcel of property was still available for development in the late Sixties, early Seventies. Most of the land around the park was vacant back then, but it had been subdivided into smaller parcels already, for the most part. And before someone asks, the P on the tower on that building did not stand for Paramount!

Yep, I intend to be at opening day at Paramount's Carowinds, as per usual. . . I'll be sure to check around and see what other benefits (if they aren't already posted on the website by then) are available for the platinum passes.

Well, considering that PKI is on the site of the former Kings Mills Ordnance Works....how do you know this information and how long have you known it? They have ways of making you talk, harvestofyoursorrow, you know!

Because the topic was brought up. And, since I was rightly corrected, they apparently don't have ANY season passes!

Also, guests bought passes with the expectation that the benefits would be similar to those in the past. They may be, they may not be. Time will tell.

Don't forget that the completed ride has to be inspected and passed by the State of Ohio.

There is only a parking fee for Kennywood if you want to park very, very close to the entrance. Spaces as far away as the season pass parking lot is at KI are free.... From their website: PARKING: Preferred parking is $5 per vehicle. Free parking is also available. Handicap parking is near the front gate. (A handicapped entrance is available at Gate 2, except during Fall Fantasy Parade Days.)

I know one thing. They install a Jump2 and get it to run reliably and well, and I will be a very, very, very happy camper!

Now, I'm not so sure. All my Pittsburgh friends told me last year that Kennywood was selling season passes at last, but they are not on their website. Does anyone know?

Uh, Kennywood DOES sell passes. They have for a couple of years now.

There is a minority theory in the industry that more money could be made by abolishing passes and lowering daily admission to, say, $19.95 with free parking. NO discounts to anyone, the same low price for all, per day. Shorter lines, more guests paying closer to the admission price, etc. Another group would abolish pay one price and go back to pay by the ride. In some ways, that is already happening, what with QBots, upcharge attractions, premium access (VIP tours), etc.

In a sale, the terms are always negotiable. It all boils down to what the willing buyer will pay to the willing seller...

CoastersRZ: It would not surprise me if the parks were offered at two different prices, one with the licensing rights, and one without. I certainly would NOT assume that Paramount is throwing in the licensing rights for free. Wouldn't make sense. Sumner has more sense than that!

flightoffear1996, after Cedar Point's and Six Flags Great Adventure's respective experiences with Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka, not to mention the drastic high cost, I don't think you will see a rocket coaster at any Paramount Park, at least not under the current owners. In fact, I daresay, I doubt you see a rocket coaster of any size anywhere in the USA for quite some time. Which, quite frankly, is probably just as well.

IF they aren't processing til opening day, my guess is that it is yet another of the budget cuts being made to improve the balance sheet at the park pending a sale to the new owner. Look for many other kinds of cuts during this difficult year for the park.

As I posted earlier this year (and was roundly made fun of), a sale is in progress. Cuts in all kinds of things (including hours and shows) are being made to dress up the parks' balance sheets. As for a Fear Fest show, "like always," be aware that right now, nothing is "like always." There may be, there may not be. NO ONE KNOWS. Including current management of the park. Some things will be up to the new owner, if there even is one (which there probably will be). To sum up, these are NOT normal times for Paramount's (insert name of theme park here). And after the sale, if there is one, what happens next is simply not known. This is a tough time for the people who run Paramount Parks. This is a tough year. People are concerned about their careers and their families. Please try to understand that as much fun as you may have at Kings Island, this is a business...and a business that is for sale. Tradition may be important to you, but to the owners, it is only important to the extent that it delivers shareholder value.

Well, what the policy will be for parking for 2oo7 is, to be fair, quite undetermined. It may or may not be the same policy as in the past. After all, we don't even know who will own the park by August. It may be CBS Corporation, it may not. And a new owner may not even sell passes, for that matter. Probably will, but one never knows.

Don't waste your time or breath. The name change has been announced, it is well underway, and it won't be changing back. And online petitions aren't worth anything. At all.

Beastie was already renamed once. And we weren't very amused the first time around, either. Scooby Doo, anyone?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...s.1ed3fa73.html

I certainly hope not. If there is, they most likely will NOT be free. See, for example, Six Flags and their QBot system, now known as Flash Pass. All ride reservation systems really do is generate profit for parks and make people who paid one price to do most everything pay even more if they really want to do it efficiently. And before someone says it, the Universal system, where you get immediate access only by staying on property, does the same thing. Only Disney does this in a sort of fair fashion. . . Paramount tested a ride reservation system, in the Jane Cooper days, at Kings Dominion. They didn't implement it any further, though for a while it looked like they might (remember the separate queues built for IJST and Scooby?--they ended up using them for things like walk on Wednesdays or walk on weekends, but then and now I suspect they were built to allow ride reservation systems). And next year, the likelihood is that a new and different owner will own the park(s). So, who knows? By the way, those QBots can get VERY expensive.

Yes, there was such a thing planned up in that same general area on an Indian reservation. This writer was thrilled at the prospect of a 500 foot Skycoaster..which, like the park, never materialized.... Sigh.

Well, it's not just Cedar Point that got burned going for super coasters and super records. Let's look at Kingda Ka in New Jersey. Or, let's look at Son of Beast in Ohio. Or, let's look at Hypersonic in Virginia. Or Hercules in Pennsylvania (oh, we can't, it's gone). Or Steel Phantom (same story...with a better ending) I don't see 2007 as being the year of the coaster, but one never knows. . .