Outdoor Man

yea, when was the last time CF produced a movie? I don't go to watch the shows so I couldn;t tell you if they're better or worse.... but they're doing something that Paramount didn't do much of: TRY.

The only thing that CF did that didn't make a lick of sense is closing before they made the announcement. They could have had some very large paydays with very significant goodwill attendance. If anyone wants to blame anyone it would be Premier Parks for the massive expansion to GL to get it to a point where it was too large to its base. However, to see the population centers it was near I get why they gambled it. Despite what anyone on a GL board says- CF didn't buy the park with investor money out of personal agenda to close the place. It's sad to see what is happening, but dollar and cents speaks. And yes, it is about money. It should be... example: i love my car... but with a long commute, 17 miles per gallon, and $4 gas... next week my beloved V-8 is getting traded in for the smallest engine I've had in my life, a 1.3liter 4 cylinder Civic Hybrid.... which is not what I ever expected to drive. BUT, saving money and making a wise financial decision for me and my family is more important than my pride. ie- CF tried the experiment to make GL work, and scale it back to a financially manageable size failed. And with the current state of the economy- they only saw more years of losses coming. Sometimes you have to make the tough decisions; and trust this- Mr. Kinzel isn't happy about this stain to his management record. To take GL back to a manageable size would have alienated the people who had come to expect the larger thrills only making attendance that much worse. If you were to take a completely objective look at this through a case study you'd see that there really were no appealing options. Unfortunately, in the long run the prospects for WWK don't look very good either. But again, what I cannot figure out is why they didn't do a few farewell weekends. In the end my thought is that was the biggest mistake.

wow, it's interesting to read the comments on this thread. I've been on a Geauga Lake forum glancing over the "deconstruction" pictures and there is NOTHING but BLISTERING comments for CF there. interesting contrast.

Of course Uncle Henry- you know the Empire music theming would last about a month before it went silent for eternity.

passholder or not, the $1.99 cup refill is a pretty good deal too.

A friend of a friend of a lady who used to be friends with some boy with a rock in his shoe (now you know the credibility that this begins with) said that the western themed facade buildings in an area of Geauga Lake were going to be dismantled and loaded on a truck bound for Cincinnati later in the year for their new "attraction." The info seems reasonable enough (though never been to GL to know if they had a western-themed area)- but the person who remarked that had never been to Kings Island to know that there was a Rivertown area. This was volunteered by an individual who went to GL auction as a spectator and had asked the question of "what's happening with this stuff?" So- based on that I concur with the Western-themed/name thoughts. He said that man who told him had been told the information while he was sitting on his grandfathers lap in a bar. According to Gary Burbank (700 WLW) that makes it legit, right? I dont' write the news, I just report it. (as a side note, did anyone that frequents this board go to the auction?)

sounds like a fun day was had. between the two of you you laid down $115 at the park. That just makes my heart skip a beat. ps- can we get spell check on these forums?

one thing I will never understand. I get the closing of the park- although with the creative minds and resources that CF has i can't believe that they could not make a park work in a metro area that consisted of Cleveland, Youngstown, Akron, Canton, Columbus, and Pittsburgh all within easy driving distance. Another is why even after they made the decision to close why they wouldn't open for 1 or 2 more weekends after announcing the "swan song" to get a few more large paydays from the park- all the while offering a bit of goodwill to the residents, faithful and enthusiasts.... CF certainly is above my scrutiny and petty questioning- but I cannot figure that out. in a few short weekends they could have made more money than in the entire auction. Someone explain that logic. I don't need the symantecs of why close the park- that's sort of an easy one. So hows the waterpark holding up?

at a max of 350 feet tall- I'm not sure you could make a case that the Eiffel Tower (at Kings Island) is capable of 50 floors. Perhaps you mean the 50 foot observation area.

what was that space ever used for anyway?

also- if the original story calls for an "indoor" attraction, I can't imagine that would translate to Swan Lake- a very ominous outdoor location.

how about the theater back between the turn-arounds for The Racer? Someone mentioned the "abandoned" photo stations in RiverTown. I'm going to say not likely. I was pushing a stroller with a sleeping toddler in it Saturday and was walking on the "porches" of those buildings. can you say- MEGA storage locations?

I'm no expert when it comes to coaster lingo, but if I'm not mistaken it takes two loops to make what is known as a cork screw.

I agree with the post regarding the Crypt... they could EASILY re-theme it to a Mine Shaft of sorts. But also agree that with the complete absence of theming- it would be best served as an outdoor attraction. My guess is that next year when the new coaster opens, RiverTown could be a thing of the past. My guess is that CF has no intentions of building up the Theming of the areas any more than they already are.

i would like to break back into the topic. went last night with the wife for a quick ride blitz in the grown-up areas (left our little NU fan with family)... I have to wonder if CF is going to replace some of the lost theming... Flight Deck was stripped of everything (even the billboard- that I think didn't even have traces of Top Gun on it and was actually a Gillette advertisement was completely gone). the Crypt retained much of it's line theming..... and it seems that some could be added with little or no effort... ie- crypt-like music... closing doors between the "pre-show" area and the rest of the line. International Street could actually play international music instead of the 1980-1990's mix

this was probably sprinkled in the other responses. but- i think that kids under a certain age love trains. period. even though there is nothing particularly "attractful" about the trains these days, she absolutley loves the "choo choo." i think Amazon Falls could receive a new lease on life if they moved it to the RiverTown area... There's not much to the theming of it in its current location... and its almost a mile away from anything else that is "water." I do think that in some locations theming done right is part of the ride experience and disappointingly Paramount only did it once... maybe twice. Tomb Raider had outstanding theming.... it was almost worth it just standing in line. FOF is "ok." Universal Studios theming is almost as good as the rides themselves: Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, the Mummy... About the extent of KI's ride theming is an endless supply of turnstiles (SOB as prime example).

actually the online ticket price is for sale at a reduced rate until sometime in June. So, i think technically they do have a discount for these early operating days.

clean park!?!?!? someone should talk to the yellow shirts about that mud pile between Stunt Track and "the mystery".... they've got mud everywhere. you'd think they're building something.

i haven't read all the posts so don't torch me if this has already been mentioned. But CF won't get rid of BB... that is the CF answer for when the dry park underperforms. No, actually I can't imagine that would ever happen. I haven't been over to the waterpark yet this year.... hasn't been NEAR warm enough yet on any consistent basis- but it usually has a very healthy crowd.

yes, and I'm a little sensitive about it if you don't mind.

nostalgia.... that tag line is only supposed to make all of us schleps feel good about the fact that there was nothing under our tree this year. The "all-forward" Racer was the only "new" thing this year... and I'm gueesing that the decision had nothing to do with nostalgia. As far as mood is concerned. I agree with the music on Intl. Street... but really there's nothing international about it anymore anyway. The first couple of weekends I was REAL impressed with the overall attitude of the ride opps... then last week the apathy of "this is a job and it's going to be a long summer" seemed to leak in.

not sure that they were the failure that you point out. Everyone is entitled to an opinion- here is mine. 1. antique cars- really kind of a dinosaur in today's thrill parks, which KI is. I know they were sacred cows as far as some of this site are concerned- but in reality obsolete. 2. The Bat was a 'prototype' coaster that would have been excellent had it been designed correctly. ufortunately the only way to assess that was to build and fail. 3. Screamin Demon was aging and in the day of Vortex, obsolete. Age and ongoing maintenance had something to do with it being trashed. 4. Kings Mill Flume was just re-designed and still operates. 5. KCKC- no need for 2 log flumes and Paramount Parks wanted to construct a building for Tomb Raider. 6. bad management probably contributed more to their demise than design. Flight Deck is still operable. As far as contribution- I think they served their purpose- but with competition comes better designs and they just got nudged out of the market.

for what its worth, he didn't accumulate nearly 3,000 posts overnight... its taken a few years.

I'm going with Uncle Henry on this one.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!