Outdoor Man

and as the mind of a 5-6 year old, which would you feel more accomplishment in conqueroring, The Beastie or Fairly Odd Coaster? and to correct Jasper... The Beast will be renamed the "Very Odd Coaster" and be painted Barney purple. Son of Beast, the "Fairly Bumpy Coaster." Racers, the "Fiarly Old Coasters." FOF, the "Fairly Dark Coaster." Top Gun, "Fairly Neglected Coaster." Cobra, "Fairly Dismembered Coaster." (I hope we all can take a joke). Will I take my daughter to ride Fairly Odd Coaster, yes. Will the name change make any of my days shorter or longer, no. In the large scheme of things- this really isn't even a spec on the map of important things.... I type my opinion to say I think it's a dumb move.

i don't know WooferBearAtl.... i think we stand alone on this one.

I'll have to agree to disagree with you on this one. I still think it's a "fairly terrible" name change for one of the original coasters to the park.

i like your comeback Combat.... creative.... but honestly, as a kid (8 years old perhaps)... which are you going to get more excited that you conquerored, Beastie or Fairly Odd Coaster? I would have been embarrassed and made something else up.

you're right. i'm al for changing the name of The Beast too. and maybe even The Racer while we're at it.

I remember being able to say with a great deal of pride that even though I was not old enough to ride The Beast that I had rode The Beastie. I think the theming for it being the "Jr." to the "Sr." was excellent. hmmm- maybe once Nick Universe expands to encompass all of th eold RiverTown section we could be looking forward to a Barney colored 7,400 foot record-breaking roller coaster called something creative like the "Kinda Cooky Coaster." Soon, my daughter is going to be of Roller Coaster age, and just as the HB characters came and went, so too will the "Fairly Odd" franchise, and I would much prefer her first coaster experience being on the legendary "Beastie" than the "Fairly Odd Coaster." There has to be enough subscribers to this site to cause some stir to get PKI to review this. Moderators.... is there a chance of this happening in the least?

Fairly Odd Coaster. What great respect to call a 33 year old coaster "odd." Marketing genius! Must have come from the same minds that thought it was a great idea to trade the most popular player and public relations machine for the Reds to the competition for an unknown, problem laden pitcher (sorry, still sore about that one).

Good Friday.... many people off work/school.

as a side note, i was quite unaware that each of the building "blocks" represented a particular European culture. I guess I knew, just was never aware of which went to which.... this is detailed in CoastersRZ's post of the 1991 Winterfest brochure. Do they even try to make the distinctions anymore? the french village is now a tribute to Seattle (starbucks). I'm all for an IS makeover to mimick the Paramount Studios backlot. sorry, off my own topic.

i liked the toy factory show too. It was a good and complex production. Someone mentioned that this particular show was performed during the previous WinterFest run. Is that accurate? I don't remember who mentioned that.

the elephant walk almost circles the Delerium footprint. I wonder if anyone has any more similar pictures and corresponding pictures from the same angles to see differences over the years.

is that construction of the Festhaus on the left?

i hope they do drop the price.... even if a little. Newsletter subscribers did get a great deal later in the month.... but it wasn't just hand delivered. For those who missed the "thrills".... then you want to go to Kings Island in the July, not WinterFest in December.

actually i just looked on the RCDB site.. and the press release is still on there as well- but maybe they removed it because it was not technically under construction yet. who knows. I would like to think that a more impressive ride announcement may come, but with the investment in overhauling Nick Universe it'll probably be August they announce anything big.

I think PKI's website announces the arrival of another "Family Class Coaster for Thrill seeking families"... i think is the exact quote from the website. Maybe it won't called Avatar though.

I do remember the elephant walk. all you did was go around in a circle. I don't remember it's exact location but i think it would occupy the current Delerium spot. WooferAtl could correct me on this. I used to have that map. if I'm not mistaken it is the 1983 map.

i noticed that too... the Avatar was on there shortly after the press release was published.... ond now it's no where to be found on the site.

my answer is a little off-topic and may not necessarily refer to PKI, but the only entities that "lose" in the politically correct (or religiously correct) arena are those who try to cater to all. If it's a Christmas tree, don't skirt the issue, make it a tree. If it's a Menorah, make it a Menorah. If you don't intend on it being anything.... then don't pretend it's nothing. To defend PKI, they have never called it "ChristmasFest"... it's always been WinterFest.... so as to not confuse all holidays into one. This particular critique of mine aside.... it was a quality event that had some thought and investment behind it... overall i'd give it a 9 on a 10 scale... many more positives than negatives.

i'm not offended in the least. the typical christmas tree has an angel or a star topping it out. with the light scheme of the tower it was a little difficult to tell what they were trying to be. A christmas tree, the Eiffel Tower, or a tower with lights on it. was taking a friend from out of town past KI on I-71 telling them that they have never seen a christmas tree this large... and the typical christmas tree lighting NEVER came up. we saw no lights, then corner lights- then had to turn around and try again.

I don't know what rides B&M manufactures- but PKI would kick tail by getting a heavily themed ride like Spiderman or Dueling Dragons at Universal Florida. I agree with the IJST comments... the ride starts getting interesting...... then it's over. This was not a Paramount thing... the the absolute largest LET DOWN of any roller coaster ever made was the build up/exit to the loading station on Adventure Express. I remember my first time riding that thinking "i bet the track is going to go straight down after this tunnel." then you come down and gently ride into the loading area.

uh... i think this is it. hope i don't waste space trying. and, Reclaimer.... yes- but you had to see it at night.... and call me a pure-ist... but if it's to be a Christmas tree, use "A" star... not a logo.

the main reason I didn't care for the Eiffel Tower "tree" was because when they last had Winterfest in '92- the Tower had a star at the top and really looked like a HUGE Christmas Tree. It really looked imposing. If i could figure out how to post pics to this site I would post one. It was impressive. the way they had it this year it seemed like they weren't sure if they wanted a Christmas Tree or a tower with lights and a paramount logo on it.

Now that the "inaugral" season of the PKI Winterfest is about history, I am interested to hear every/anyones feedback. give 1-2 high points and 1-2 of your opinions of the low points of the event. As some do, don't just "dump" the low points without giving the positive.... as negative as some can be... it wasn't all bad. and don't even make it a long post.... just a few words for both. High points: 1. tremendous effort made to create a great event 2. Festhaus looked festive for first time in a decade low points: 1. WAY too expensive 2. lights hanging on tower. sometimes on... dim... only corners... off completely... leave em on already.

i am not a "code" guru by any means, but have had some experience in the last year working with State Health Codes as it refers to handicap accessible, food, etc... And any smarter chimp than I can correct me if I'm wrong. But as far as no elevator for handicap accessibility, I believe that would not matter as long as the following are not encroached: - change in the original use of the facility - a particular dollar amount had been passed in renovation and upgrades. otherwise, I believe that the old codes could be "grandfathered" over. Now, that is but a nutshell- but I believe that since it is open sporadically now, it could be open anytime if they chose.

(Hope you don't mind the double post... but I made my inaugral trip to Winterfest last Saturday as well. This is my post from another thread.) I believe that the park was truly at it's BEST last night. though I was concerned to be driving up at 5:30 and see no lights on the tower (didn't know that it doesn't light until 6-- years ago, it was always on). International Restaurant was bustling with people (which was nice to see). the Festhaus has not looked that good in at least a decade (maybe more). The lights on the Intl St. buildings looked good (i hope they carry that into the operating season... now that all the bulbs are changed/work). The souvenirs were all reasonably priced (at least I thought so). OK, Holiday Junction was a little hokey... but it's a Christmas show.... which ones aren't. And the actors seemed to really enjoy doing it (though I don't think in 32 years I've ever seen the line for the trains that long). the show at the paramount theater was great. Hokey as well.... but lots of enthusiasm and great energy. was also pleased with the amount of times that the upcoming holiday was referred to as christmas. The thermometer said 32... but my word it seemed like -32. I remember going there in my early 20's and it being in the teens, single digits... didn't care. Now I wonder, "why on earth would anybody with half a brain freeze their a## off like that more than once?" The ONLY suggestion I would even have unfortunately is with the marquee attraction..... the Eiffel Tower/tree. OK- the schizzo light show was annoying. Sometimes the lights were on; then only half on; then only the corners, then they were off all together..... then they were dim. Made it difficult to take picutres... and actually have the tree in the background. Suggestion.... just leave them on.... and turn the tower lights off.... looks more like a tree that way..... AND- call me a "purest"- but I ditch the paramount logo and go back to the traditional one-star approach. none of that takes away from the experience though. The park was at it's best last night.... employees and decor. I don't know what festival some harsh critics were at (maybe they were at Carowinds accidentally). if you're disappointed because not enough was open or doesn't match your PKI experience. then you want to go to Kings Island in July.... not Winterfest in December.