robintodd

I saw Weird Al at the Fraze in Kettering. I have seen him live over 15 times through the years. At the Fraze he started Amish Paradise and about 1/3 of the way through the song must have forgotten the words!! He said "You don't want to hear that song anyway" and screamed "Radio, Radio" and covered that song instead. Only time I've ever seen it happen. He is an absolute riot and an outstanding musician in every right. I love his originals the most, but White and Nerdy just doesn't come across well live. Other than that it is a fantastic show and I'm looking forward to it. Todd

The event was fantastic. I thought everything went well, great value, good time and it was nice to see everyone from KICentral. Thanks for putting it on I'll be looking forward to the next one!

Received my tickets yesterday. Me and my son will be there. Looking forward to it.

Ok, just to add to the rumor mill. A fellow guest (who sells houses and knows some people in the front office) said they were putting in a hyper next year. However, they also stated that they were going to demolish the Amplitheatre and Congo Falls to make room for it. (Reason was so it could be seen from the highway.). I quickly responded to him that if you put a 300ft roller coaster ANYWHERE on the property you could see it from the highway. From the bobcats and the clearing of land it is possible that this is what they could be doing. We'll have to wait, see and keep our ears open. Todd

I am a LONG TIME KI'er. If memory serves me correctly the Wild Animal Habitat was removed BEFORE Paramount took over. The Vortex is on the "to kill" list because mostly of the time it was made. To repair/revamp the coaster would cost more than to just put in a new one. As for the brakes in the middle of The Beast, yes, they always are on to some extent. I'm sure they are watched more closesly with all the media attention to theme park accidents as of late. They have been adding so much for safety. Almost every coaster now has a seat belt. I would look at the industries safety standards more than I would blame this on park management. Last summer the park did make the decision to gear itself to more of a family park feel. With this change you would be seeing less coasters and more "experiences". They are looking more toward Universal than Cedar Point. Mostly because of all the competition in the area. When Six Flags bought Geauga Lake they added 3 coasters in one year just to try to compete with CP. PKI decided to go into a new direction instead of getting into the coaster wars with CP, Geauga Lake (now owned by Cedar Fair), Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. Not a bad move if they do it effectively. I'm all for coasters to and I'm sure one is coming in 2007. Most people are resistant to change. I HATED the smurfs talking over the Enchanted Voyage. They are selling alcohol in the park again (something they have tried to kill in the past) and the food is quite acceptable. Could Paramount have done a better job? Probably but the BIGGEST change I have noticed since the purchase is the shows. Taft had FANTASTIC shows. Celebration ran for two seasons and they made the soundtrack available on a record (way back, huh?). After that they did Gotta Dance which was also great. Now they have School of Rock, Nice show but they could do it outside just as effectively. They have a FANTASTIC theatre and don't use it to it's fullest extent. All in all I'd have to give Paramount a B. At least they didn't run it into the ground before trying to sell it. Todd

On the Evil front. There are only 2 jumps his son has not re-created. The snake river canyon and the jump at PKI.

Oops. LOSE not LOOSE (proof reading is IMPORTANT).

Mr. Fudd (love your opera ) is exactly the kind of person I was talking about. I can surely think of better things to do with my wife for $100 (stop the snickering ). I think the longer KI stays with this price structure the better chance the event has to FAIL. (Is that their intention all along?) In order to make money, you must spend it. With this kind of event (just like fearfest) you can expect to LOOSE money the first couple of years. It's like opening a new park. It takes time for word of mouth to spread and get the excitement about the attraction. That being said I too will be going to Winterfest. In the past I can't ever remember it being that "Busy". I think that if the marketing department of PKI is ever expecting a "sellout" in the first year of operation they will be sorely dissapointed. As a season pass holder, I believe they should raise the price of season passes 20 - 30 bucks and include winterfest for pass holders. If I go down and it's "too crowded" I'll just leave and come back another time if I don't have to pay to get in. (just like I do now in the summer). But on low attendance days the park will have more people in it (watching beginner ice skaters is pretty entertaining ) and would give that park a "busy" feel. With so little attractions a half hour wait for scooby doo would probably help burn time. I'm extremely hopeful that KI will do the right thing. Christmas is a season of giving and as I always saw Winterfest in the past, it was a way of the park saying "thanks" for a wonderful summer season. Happy Holidays, Todd

Well, I have not been to Winterfest yet this year, but I was at the original Winterfest. From what I've been reading I think that they will HAVE to drop prices to get people into the park. It is a matter of what else people could do in the area. The Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo cost $9. True there is no skating, but that is upcharged at KI. The Zoo has shows also and 2,000 animals to feed to boot. Which would you take your family of 5 to? KI, like many amusement parks makes it's money on Food and Beverage. If people don't come in the door, there will be no food & beverage sales. It's a delacate balance. I am very disheartened to hear the same feel isn't there anymore. The original Winterfest had lights EVERYWHERE. Horse drawn carriages were a real nice touch, they surely could have had that this year. They will work out the kinks. I would suspect they will offer a deeper discounted admission for season pass holders the last 2 weeks of the year (during Mon - Thur). What they need is word of mouth from experience. They need a bigger buzz about what is going on. And I also remember no parking fee for winterfest, but I could be wrong. Here's hoping they work the kinks out. Todd

There is still a section if it (I believe) behind the busytown grill.

I think the easiest roller coaster to turn around would be The Beastie. Everytime I've been this year I've only notice one train on the ride. Maybe they are retro fitting one of the other trains. That or they will run the Rivertown train backwords. Maybe that's it. If they are having ghouls and ghosts come at you it would be scarier when most of the seats are facing backward. This would also be so simple to do. Just my thought.

Ok Coasterville I can see some of your point. But we are talking about a family attraction. Having free ice skating (unless you rent the skates) doesn't answer to Grandma with the artificial hip. Inflation you say should be double plus some. Fine, 17.99 would be fair AT THE GATE. Not 24.99. Specific day tickets should be 10.99 and you take your chances on a "snow out". You forget parking used to be free. Now it's $5. Just seems steep. The park makes more money once you're inside the park. As far as charging more to "get the train back on the tracks" with that mentality if you open a new theme park next year you should charge everyone $250 to get in (since you had to buy all new stuff). You make the money in the long hall. It costs money to make money. They amortize the decorations and such out to as many as 5-10 years when they do something like this. That way you aren't putting a burden on the current year's budget. With all the money the park makes it always seemed like Winterfest was the "deal" it used to be as kind of a thank you for a successful year. They used some of the budget to "give back" to the people who visited most often; the season pass holders. You don't get many people coming from across the country to go to Winterfest like you do in the summer for KI. Just my thoughts, for what they are worth.

You can find the brocure at http://www.themeparkbrochures.com. They also did horse drawn buggy rides back then. And yes the zoo charges 20 but the still have the ANIMALS. It's a ZOO. They are were open in winter before they started the Christmas light thing. Animals need to be feed year round. Cincinatti Zoo has the festival of lights and if you had to spend 25 a person would you do it for 4 hours a PKI or all day at the zoo? Put on your marketing cap. First you create the demand, then you can charge more for your supplies. Either way it will be interesting to see the turnout. I just want it to be a success so they keep doing it for years to come.

Just did a quick check to verify my memory. In 1991 they had the dodgem cars and les taxis open in addition to what they are offering this year. Parking was free. Children under 3 free. 6.95 per person otherwise. Hours were 4-10 most days and 2-10(ish) on the weekends. Just some food for thought. Todd

I'm happy Winterfest will be back. I'm not totally thrilled with what they are presenting. Being in my mid-30's I remember what Winterfest was and although they are trying to give more to the mix I'm disheartened with the admission price. 17.99 for specific day tickets, 24.99 at the door (unless they are sold out). I inquired how many people would be considered a "sell-out" and no one could tell me. Back when Winterfest used to be around it was relatively cheap to get in. There was a fee for renting skates and the usual expensive food fair found at any park. I can never remember a time when it was "extremely" crowded and that's when season pass holders got in for free. (parking was never charged for, couldn't find an employee to to sit at the front gate in freezing weather maybe? ). I'm a bit fearful that they are setting up Winterfest to fail. In the summer choices are pretty limited for theme parks (except for Kentuky Kingdom) but in the winter there is alot more competition. You could almost go to a football game for the same price as Winterfest. They are renting skates as well this year so that will be on top of the price of admission. Like $3 for hot chocolate isn't enough? I guess I would have liked to see them charge less and if they indeed have "sell-outs" then they could raise the price next year. Paramount is an unknown entity in the winter market. I would be better to have it more affordable so they could re-establish themselves in the area than to ask people to pay money to take a risk. I'm planning on attending this year and will be interested in how many people they get in the park. The public wanted Winterfest back. The one they knew. Affordable and an added value to your season pass. They will be open 4 hours max (6 - 10 even on the weekends?) The carousel, Scooby's Haunted Mansion and the train will be operating and for that they think even 17.99 is reasonable? (plus $5 to park). Just seems a bit greedy to start out in a already crowded holiday attraction market where they actually have competition for family's pre-christmas dollars. I don't mean to be a scrouge and expensive winterfest is better than none at all. But are they just doing this so next year they can not do it and blame low attendance at this years event???? What happened to the season of giving and how many will be giving to PKI this season. Todd

Ok, as far as movies to theme rides after how about....War Of The Worlds. (would probalby make a FANTASTIC dark ride though). Also as far as a hyper theme Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow would be a good candidate. Also the Core or possibly Mission Impossible (3 is in the works). I would love to see a hyper and it's about time they made up for SOB. Just my thoughts... Todd

I rode the Raptor at CP in the snow. AWESOME! Plus I always look forward to an early/late season BEAST ride when the temperature is down as are the crowds!

My wife gratuated from George Washington University with her Masters last Sunday and I noticed an article in one of the GWU newspapers that caught my interest. It seems a former graduate has designed and built a model of an Inverted Wood Coaster. He is currently trying to find a park that would be willing to build it. Gee, another first for a wooden coaster, wonder what park would be most fitting for this radical new idea??

I agree with the gitting rid of Hanna-Barbera theme. It is running out and there was speculation they were keeping the old Antique cars around to be used somewhere else. Most likely they will be re-vamped and used in NC. Just my thoughts.

Small world was in the ride. At the end. I believe there was a couple of songs throughout the ride.

Consensus around here is that it was acutally "It's a small world after all". - PKIJUNKIE from '72 on.

You forgot to mention 1 important thing about The Beast. Not only when it was built was it the longest, fastest & tallest coaster in the WORLD, it held ALL THREE records for TEN YEARS! That is a feat that will NEVER be duplicated. It didn't break records, it CRUSHED them. It was so far out on the edge and even today it rivals any coaster built. Long live The Beast!

BTW Sandusky's graduation is June 5th this year.

Ok, about 4 years ago I went on a sunday and the employees outnumbered the guests! I was told it happens alot during Sandusky's Graduation!!!. Not sure when it is this year but I would find out and plan for that Sat/Sun. The park was literally a ghost town. Todd

No, No loop, but the track does bank perpendicular to the ground.