Outdoor Man

My opinion. its a bad financial deal. Unfortunately, unless I'm mistaken there are none, if precious, few hotels located on the route, doesn't access Fountain Square and only gets 2 blocks away from the Horseshoe and is NO WHERE near the convention center. It seems a better route would have included the aforementioned. Downtown just isn't touristy enough to support. Now, it may give cheaper access to parking for downtown employees to park at the Riverfront to their jobs up on, say, 7th street... which will suck on the Business Day Specials.

don't know. probably a park employee, possibly an intern. I know with 100% certainty, that's not John though.

That's not John Mulcahy.

touche'

Terp- not doubting the info, but where did you hear that from? We knew people that worked in that division of Great American Insurance (or whatever they called it)- their take on it was that they couldn't believe that Paramount wouldn't allow KI to continue the event.

Group me in with this crowd. Winterfest did absolutely nothing for me, especially for the price (albeit that I never paid, but my parents did). The star and lights on ET were kinda cool but you could see those just by driving by, no need to get price-gauged just to see it up close and ice skate by the fountains. I love KI because of the rides, not because of International Street. So going in the winter and seeing all the rides and not being able to ride them was probably worse as a kid than not going at all! I think you are mostly referring to the 2005 version which WAS overpriced. And those who didn't like going didn't- but the pre-1992 versions were well attended.

me thinks that KD is being creatively positioned, if you know what I mean. I think Terp is spot on that long-term, CF purchased the Paramount Parks footprint for profit. Meanwhile I don't think that 6-flags and CF will merge, I think that a few Six parks could switch into CF hands and opposite in the coming years. The only reason I could see Kings Island staying in CF hands is so they can "manage" the in-state competition. I think there was a little of that going on when they bought GL and when they tried to right-size it they bought the Island and GL became an expendable source of new rides for the chain to weather a rough economic climate.

according to lunch-time webcam visit another piece has been added.

As far as presenting both sides of a coin in a debate I'd give the film in question a D+. If not mistaken, PETA is listed as a credible source for factual information. Not that they are not a legitimate organization, but they do tend to present very one-sided arguments.

thinking there will need to be some SERIOUS trim-break action before this section. ABORT!!!!!!!!!!!!

agree with your point about profit. and they are a "for profit" entity. But to my point, there are a lot of parks that do Christmas/December events that are profitable... otherwise they wouldn't do it either. Someone can correct me, but I believe it was profitable in the first run. I don't believe it to have been profitable in 2005- because it was, effectively a startup (most startups don't profit the first time around), and the price-points were ill-conceived. I think Paramount believed they could make it profitable in 2006 or they wouldn't have planned a year #2. When CF bought it- I'm sure it was an easy decision, as outside of Knotts, I don't think any CF park had a December event going. Ride maintenance wouldn't be affected since a very small percentage of rides would be open (no coasters or thrill rides)- and those maintenance workers would be mostly unaffected. My only point (with several sub points)- yes, they wouldn't do a program if unprofitable... however, there are a lot of park organizations that do- and they're profitable. They did it once- I'm sure they could do it again. to name a few: - Busch Gardens, williamsburg - Dollywood - Kennywood - Columbus Zoo - Cincinnati Zoo Now, that all said- I'm a bit surprised that a park named: Holiday World... in a place called: Santa Claus, IN- doesn't.

Personally, I don't see why Kings Island/CF could not make a run at it. There are a number of parks that do Christmas/Winter events that are seasonal parks... and most have Halloween events. Some that are open year-round make the transition while the park is in full operation. Besides, not that I spent a lot of time looking at the webcams- but the Haunt props disappeared off the webcams FAST. Someone may correct me on this, but if not mistaken- during the first run of Winterfest they may not have had a "Haunt" event, but they didn't begin decorating for Winterfest until after the regular season ended. There are a lot of places that do it and do it well. Kings Island did it well for 10 years... and arguably well in 2005. Perhaps the best indicator would be to gauge the number of future attractions that can operate in diverse climates: dark rides and low "impact" rides. If Banshee is any indicator, I'd rule out a 2014 Winterfest event... and with that big of an addition, we can probably expect some paint and general bolt tightening for 2015 as new attractions.

Holy Lottery Winnings, Batman. Seeing some of these wish-lists for summer '14. over ten park in 8 states in 5 potential months. Whatever job you're working, let me know when they're hiring.

You can love or hate British Invasion, but let's be honest - the Festhaus is German in name only at this point... agreed. I never actually saw the show, as I'm certain it was likely another musical review with no plot or story line. Granted, they weren't German-themed either, but Kings Island of old used to have some killer shows in there.

Its probably the film speed, but those turnpike cars look like they zipped through the course faster than their late 20th century counterparts.

Shows that are actually shows would be great. Also, never a fan of "British Invasion" of the "German" themed Festhaas. Was not a fan of the Alonzo show at all (for much of the reasons listed previously)... BUT, it was a show- I'll give it that. The shows of a number of years ago were much more creative and had content... not just musical reviews, which really aren't shows.

do the scanners at the front gate have the ability to scan a bar code image from a smart phone screen- like the Starbucks app?

I was just curious. Never had a page to turn- have been a season pass holder for 19 of the past 25 years and I probably rode the coaster twice (once with and without loop). was just curious, wasn't trying to light a candle for it. As for coaster timelines- from 'bar-napkin' to first ride, approximately how long in your experience?

Don, going to do a "copy-and-paste"- you probably don't have the time to sift through pages of comments to actually find where someone asked a question(s)- and a few have tried to answer, just curious. See below: Don, I have a few curious questions- and maybe this has been asked before, so my apologies if it has been. This is in regards to the former Son of Beast roller coaster; remember him? 1) when was the last time a person rode the coaster? did anyone physically ride it after the last time it was publicly shut down for ride "experience" purposes? 2) when was the last time a coaster train ran the course? 3) when was the decision made to demolish? My guess is late '10. Just happened to wonder the above. My guess is that the timeline for a coaster from initial concept to first ride is in the 30-36 month range.

.

Don, I have a few curious questions- and maybe this has been asked before, so my apologies if it has been. This is in regards to the former Son of Beast roller coaster; remember him? 1) when was the last time a person rode the coaster? did anyone physically ride it after the last time it was publicly shut down for ride "experience" purposes? 2) when was the last time a coaster train ran the course? 3) when was the decision made to demolish? My guess is late '10. Just happened to wonder the above. My guess is that the timeline for a coaster from initial concept to first ride is in the 30-36 month range.

great trip report. Have they changed up Downtown Disney yet? At some point its supposed to be rebranded as Disney Springs. I noticed that the rates for Saratoga Springs (our family's usual spot) has adjusted their pricing accordingly- It used to be a "moderate" level resort, and is now "deluxe"...

I'd STILL rather have Gold Star. The Flavor of Cincinnati. Dixie Chili, all the way. I'd like to see a classic flat brought back, oh the nastalgia in cramped areas of the park. uh... How about Price Hill Chili? (dwight, keeping off-topic)

I could see the old Crypt building being developed into a great dark ride of sorts (see CF CEO comments in other places about development of such rides- most outside this forum). Unfortunately, custom builds like that take a few years planning, designing and building. My guess (and certainly an unqualified opinion)- it would be '15 at the earliest before anything worthwhile could go in there. I have to agree through about SOB's station just sitting there 11 months out of the year as a relic of a past regime.

... way to throw water on that fire.