Outdoor Man

I admit I don't like the idea of getting "hand-me-downs" from other parks either. BUT- under Paramount's ownership I think our days with Flight of Fear would have been numbered. And I think the ride rotation with the other five parks would have eventually yielded a hand-down from one of th others... possibly in a worse form. Look at what Carowinds got from us......... the Flyers.... I know it's a favorite of many on this board- but what a crappy hand down to pass off as "new." It was over 30 years old.... a classic by all means that should have remained in Coney Mall. But that's beside the point. CF will keep the crowds coming to KI. They won't want a 360 acre park to use as a huge tax write-off. But I wonder how many more record breakers we may get. But then again in 14 years under Paramount we had only one genuinely unique coaster, that in and of itself was a let down. Some may say "FOF"- well PKD got one as well. (Which, by the way- did it get moved, re-opened, or still SBNO?)- I'm not sure about Face-Off.... is there another one like that? I think that CF may use KI to get creative (and that may be the parks trump card). KI has acreage upon acreage to expand on. CP is severely landlocked.

this is off topic but i did see it posted somewhere within. I don't personally feel that CF would blink twice about removing the Paramount name from the parks in signage- it wouldn't matter if they owned the rights. Same factors occured when they rescued Gauega Lake from Six Flags a few years ago. They could have kept the "Worlds of Adventure" name- which wasn't too shabby on the marketing front- instead they went with the old name. The funny part is that KI staff and a precious few that have been in the park already know the answer to these questions.... and probably get a kick out of all of the debate in here.... and I am willing to bet that there are about 4-5 on this site that know. It all bounces back to something to the effect of "those who are in the know, don't talk."

i don't know what theming issues CF may be looking at in regards to Coney Mall, etc.... A family coaster fits the whole Coney effect- but to place a family coaster right beside a ride called "Flight of Fear" doesn't work.

apparently not too many are aware or it would have been posted already- but the Flight Commander pad was originally where Drop Zone was going to be located. I remember the summer before it opened a big sign in front of the Flight Commander site saying that "Something New Will Be "Dropping In" in 199_" - I don't remember the year.

in the footprint, it would have added a bit of built-in theming if they hadn't cleared 100% of the trees.

opinion. CF working with and correcting the problems of a record-breaking coaster is consistent with their track record. Had PP not sold and continued to own the park would SOB support beams be rosting chestnuts on the open fire this year?

as far as naming items go, and this may be minor- but I drove past the park today and noticed on the scrolling marquee it rolled past the lone name Kings Island.... not the permanent writing on the big sign- the lit up letters. Normally didn't all of the name include Paramount?

Doesn't our little "dead park" to the west have a flier ride just sitting there? The only thing that didn't make sense to me when PKI moved the eagles was the fact that it came from Coney, it had been at PKI for over 30 years..... then they try to market it as a "new attraction."

................. you take yearly treks to Carowinds just so you can ride the Eagles????????????? It's not a ride, but I miss Winterfest.

Crowder has some entertaining facial hair.

This is positive on two fronts. #1- If KC was really not worth anything to sell, it is finally getting a "dignified" death. #2- this means that CF may actually be cleaning up clutter that has spansed the outer borders of the park. Let's face it- a scrap yard of steel from a defunt coaster that sits in the weeds for over 4 years is a bit sad.

It should take longer for Sandusky because according to the movie "Tommy Boy" - and Hollywood is always accurate, the only "entertainment" Sandusky has is a Brake factory and "cow-tipping"- with a 32-belly option. WooferBearATL (is there a shortened version of this)- didn't the park close for the season in early October when you worked there. I seem to remember the park closing early back in the day. Last year was a shade confusing to see "FearFest" active with all of the Winterfest props set up right next door. Back to a comment that someone made earlier about why KI would care about what Great Wolf Lodge wants. I'm certain that before they made the multi-million dollar decisions to come here, strategic partnerships were formed that allowed for certain perks and seasonal promotions. Otherwise they would have built somewhere else. Great Wolf and PKI probably figured that they could mutually benefit off of each other. Under the logic that they shouldn't care, I'm certain their website would not proudly proclaim "the official Resort of Kings Island." It benefits hugely for a winter event. filling the rooms in December gives you potentially 2000+ more people in the park.

only comment. They certainly don't spend much money on it's appearance. I rode it one of the last weekends of the season, and it certainly has seen better days. It could possibly be due for a "Re-Theme".... maybe keep it as Top Gun though, but as a memorial to Tom Cruise before he became such a freak of nature.

OK- don't get all serious and "legal-eze" on me. the "lawsuit" comment was not intended as fact, only to point out that having anything that had any sort of outdoor speed with it whatsoever during a winter event would not only never happen but be an invitation for ambulance chasers. I agree with WooferATL's comment on the Halloween popularity being cyclical. All trends are. Fearfest seems to be enjoying somewhat of a zenith right now and who knows how long it will last but there will come a point where the thoughts will be "been there, seen that." This year (and maybe it's like this every year)- but I was sort of turned off by some of the attractions. Some of the set's, i felt, crossed the line of being grotesque. And the location where you can get your picture taken in a coffin. I don't care what anyone says, thats awful. I can't imagine sitting in a "think-tank" room somewhere with grown-mature adults where someone would think that's a good idea. I know I'll probably get lit up over that comment, but that's my thoughts. Oh, yea- Winterfest. I think it may be up to the management of the individual parks to sell CF on the idea. CF probably had a bit mnuch on their plate to deal with than to go with an "if-y" event.... and with the Cyclical nature of trends.... it'll probably be back sooner or later and maybe expand to some of the other CF parks.

Racer open for a winterfest....... are you for real? maybe on days like today, but i have been to winterfest when the wind coming off of the carousel was almost too much. they had lawsuits filed for "unintentional" injuries on SOB last year. How about next year let's invite lawsuits for "frost-bite." Couple of quick questions: - did they announce WF's cancellation before or after the SOB accident? - anyone aware of any "re-theming" going on inside the park right now? A person I know that works in the "offices" at the park said they were on the fence about Winterfest all year and that the SOB incident placed a final spike in the coffin for this year- but that one of Great Wolf's requests from the park was that they have a mid-winter event to help fill rooms in December. I don't know what the legitimacy of all of that is, but it sounds plausible.

I agree it is a VERY impressive and unique "Christmas" train display, but I'm not sure if you've been in downtown recently but there's not much else to do besides freeze in downtown during December. And judging by the looks, even though they celebrated it's "opening"- the multi-million$$ "new" Fountain Square is a long way from being completed.

another problem now is the "stigma" that is going to dog it. I would estimate that it would cut the already short lines in half. I would make the mistake and ride it at least once/twice a year. And from here, I know it's rough, it has already sent some to the hospital and 4 minutes of thrill riding is not worth a lifetime of back problems. The issue is, how much will CF spend to repair (and repair, and repair) an obviously troubled and already expensive to maintain ride. My guess/prediction is SOB will be "SBNO" to start 2007 with an announcement mid-summer that it will be dismantled before 2008.

come to think of it, looking back- I bet Paramount was planning to move our FOF. At the beginning of the season hadn't they removed several items from the area including, but not limited to completely removing the camera viewing area? And if I'm not mistaken, those things have returned.

Klokster.... "IDOT???"

I am by no means an expert of corporate opinions but if I were to guess I'm thinking the largest change we'll see next year is ******* NEW SIGNEAGE ******** ******* NEW THEMES ******** ******* NEW OWNERSHIP PERSONALITY ******** and perhaps a token new ride just for formailities sake.

about the only "trump" card SOB has for reopening ever, in my opinion, is that Cedar Fair enjoys having record-breaking coasters in their portfolio.

what was going on down there on Monday? I have NEVER seen that many cars in the lot. There were so many that they were parking in the grass near Kings Island Drive. Was there something special going on?

I agree with WooferBear.... personal injury attornies feast on such things. Yes, lawsuits brought against KI probably happen on a daily basis... but none like this. An actual event that cannot be disputed by anyone. There will be a settlement(s)... and it probably won't be a fun day for the insurer of KI... and I'd be willing to bet as a continuing stipulation... they won't cover SOB in the future. With all the negative press for this... not saying it couldn't happen again, but I'd be REAL shocked if SOB carried another living sole around it's tracks again. With lawsuits coming in (both legit and frivolous)- it won't take long for the tab to equal the original cost of the coaster.. I hear taps playing in the wind.

seen some old cars like that too.

just per curiousity. i feel and am pretty certain it's accurate. Kings Island, or any other park for that matter has no intentions of putting KC back up..... But why are they keeping the trains?