bkroz

On that note, though, I honestly would think that this was a smart idea if the theater were revamped. Okay, new 3D glasses... But will the theater be getting Dolby HD digital projection to match? In other words, other than the glasses, what will make this 3D picture better than Spongebob visually? Will there be water and wind effects from the ceiling like many 3D theaters used by larger parks? If so, this would be okay with me, because the up-charge would be an attempt to recoup from the cost of renovating the theater, which in turn would pave the way for a wider array of 4D films to be shown in the future... I'll admit, I see Sesame Street 4D when I go to Busch parks... Not only is it a nice break from the weather, but the image is crisp and there are bubbles, water, wind, air blasts, vibrations, etc. If that were the case, I'd happily give my $2.00 because I'd know it was going towards something thoughtful. But they'd have likely already marketed the bejeezus out of it. Instead, it comes across as a downgrade like I said. A downgrade with an upcharge. And while I don't doubt that it's not cheap for the park to pick up a name-brand film, I also imagine that doing a survey or projection asking visitors if they'd pay $4.00 (or even $2.00) for a 10 minute documentary would've yielded a different outcome for this project... But we'll see, right? And as many have said, if people pay $2.00 for this film, it will cost $2.00. And if they don't, it won't. So what's there to worry about?

On Kings Island's Facebook, someone posted the following message: Kings Island replied: So no, Spongebob will not still be shown. Dinosaurs Alive 3D is being shown in "Side A" of the theater, where Spongebob used to be, and Side B will remain closed... Personally, I don't see why it's that much of an issue to just take a few days to move those props if it would mean a family attraction could stay at the park. But perhaps there's no where else those props could go, so they must be stored in side B, regardless. Still sort of disappointing, though. Feels like a missed opportunity. And like I mentioned, it makes a lot of sense to me for Side A (Dinosaurs Alive 3D) to enter and exit via the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit, and for Side B (Spongebob or something else) to enter and exit via Coney Mall. That would keep those two attractions (one paid, and one free) separate and allow the park to offer two great selections... Sort of like those present-but-unused props on some of the Paramount-era rides and attractions, it begs the question, "If you have it, and it would help, why not just use it?" Rocket science, right?

My point exactly. Especially when Escape From Dino Island 3D would've been such a natural solution, and allowed them to keep it as a ride. And I wouldn't mind if that was up-charge for a season or two as they capitalized on Dinosaurs Alive, because it would be an improvement and upgrade. But conceptually, this comes across as a downgrade. And whether it really is or not is essentially not even a factor, because it comes across that way. Intention isn't that important when it comes down to it - if the customer's first impression is that something is a bad choice, they're less likely to give it a chance. I think that's what we're seeing here. Maybe this projection system and film will be really visually striking. It's irrelevant. Whether its fair or not, many people have made a decision... And in the business / marketing world, that is something that must be considered...

I always liked the " What American landmark is constantly moving backwards." trivia question. ya but Niagara falls is mostly candian. Niagara Falls is typically understood has having two three sets of waterfalls - the Horseshoe Falls in Canada, and the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls in the United States. All three are in America...

If Urgent Scare can be removed from side A of the theater to accommodate Spongebob and this film, why can't side B be cleared out in the same manner? Plus, according to what we're gathering, this new film will likely not have motion... As such, those motion seats previously used on Spongebob are up for grabs, and if the theater is getting a whole new Dolby projection system (which may or may not be the case), then the 3-D projector from side A is free, too... Lots of speculation in that post, I'll admit. But worth thinking about, or at least hearing from the park. How I miss 5@5, when someone might've genuinely told us what was happening to the old equipment...

This, I think, would've been a smart idea. The path to Action FX Theater could almost certainly have been easily rerouted to be accessible only via Dinosaurs Alive!, and then to exit back into it. This would have made the new film available only to those guests who have entered (and paid for) the exhibit. As is, it seems like it'll be quite a walk to get from Dinosaurs Alive to the dinosaur film, even though they're geographically close. But they could easily have been combined. And like PREMiERdrum mentioned, imagine the bottle neck graph of people willing to pay extra upon extra upon extra to watch it... I can't see the film playing to a full house (but again, I may be wrong... it may be a massive hit! I think it depends on their marketing. 10 minute documentary? No. 3-D posters of giant dinosaurs stomping around? Maybe!) Dinosaurs Alive - the world's largest animatronic dinosaur park featuring a paleontological dig site playground and a 3-D dinosaur film. But that's not the case, necessarily. And it can't be truthfully marketed that way, either...

And while you make a good point, Kings Island is an amusement park that costs $52.00 to get into. These are zoos or standalone exhibits that generally have a low entrance price, and multiple add-on options. When a family comes to Kings Island, they expect that their $150 - $200 in admission has earned them a full experience. With Dinosaurs Alive, Kings Island politely teases them (as one would expect them to), and then politely requests an additional $30.00. But this is truly not even worth discussing... If people pay $2.00 for the film, it will cost $2.00. If they don't, it won't. And if Dinosaurs Alive! costs $7.00 to fully experience come summer 2012 (or even fall 2011), I will be surprised...

On a separate note (or maybe not), two days after Kings Island opens Dinosaurs Alive: Read more: http://cosi.org/visitors/exhibits/dinos/#ixzz1Lzxbc0LZ And yes, they will be showing "Waking the T-Rex 3D" in their 7-story Extreme Screen Theater (which will reopen equipped with brand-new, fully digital projection systems). A ticket to the exhibit costs $4.50 on top of your COSI admission... Only 90 minutes from Mason, Ohio.... Capitalism is alive and well.

Thunder Alley, Dinosaurs Alive, this film, Xtreme Skyflier, and Slingshot are the five I was thinking of. And I know that there are plenty of included attractions. As I said, it's the fact that a once-free attraction is now being charged for and that, only through what I've read here, it sounds like it won't be an "attraction" of the same caliber as even Spongebob. Even moreso, it's that that theater has the capability and capacity to continue to show a free film, but is not. Be it Spongebob or something else, there was potential here for the simulator to continue to exist, and to offer one more attraction for guests of Kings Island. They've decided not to utilize that potential for whatever reason. So what happens when the $2.00 upcharge is too much? What happens when no one's interested in this film anymore, or if they aren't well interested to begin with? Will it remain for eight more seasons like its predecessor? Or will the theater be closed since its motion bases are being removed? These are the questions I ask... I can't say I know the answers, or even that I can speculate... Again, I'm just saying that showing Escape from Dino Island seemed logical, and I'm totally shocked that they aren't showing it... Instead, they're taking out the motion and adding in a $2.00 fee and basically playing the documentary version of Escape from Dino Island... at a theme park! Of course, I'll reserve judgement of the film itself until I ride see it. But conceptually, the pricing and presence of this film confuse me. That's all that I can fairly say at this point.

True. That's what I mean. An educational film on dinosaurs? At COSI's IMAX screen, sure. At the Great Lakes Science Center's OMNIMAX screen, why not? But on Kings Island's "Action Theater" screen, likely using the same 3-D glasses we've seen for the last nine years at Spongebob 3-D? And it costs extra? Perhaps I'm underestimating the desire of children to see this film (which will vary depending on how they market it, of course), but I can't imagine a full screening even if the attraction was free. "For just a few dollars extra." That should be the tagline of Kings Island amusement park. Maybe this is a mountain-out-of-a-molehill reaction from me, but an attraction has essentially been downgraded and upcharged. Of course, with a 10 minute runtime, Kings Island is likely assuming they'll play this show continuously through the day, 4 times an hour. We shall see if the ridership warrants that many showings with a $2.00 price tag... Straight income, my friends.

Finished with the animatronic dinosaurs? See the computer-generated ones for just a few dollars more! Totally not a good move. If one side of the theater were showing Spongebob 3D or any other motion-based simulator for free, I'd be okay with this. But this is irritating not only in that it's a 10 minute documentary, but also in that we have just lost another included-with-admission attraction. It seems senseless, especially since the removed motion base seats could easily be relocated to side B and used to show Spongebob, or the much-more-sensical, much-more-fun Dino Island 3-D. This just seems like a poor decision... Will those motion seats be scrapped? Gah. Money, money, money, though. It makes the world go 'round. And common sense? Who needs it. This is mostly disappointing in that there was a very natural, very intelligent decision to be made here - the company who produced Spongebob 3D also produced Dino Island 3D. In minutes, the seats could be reprogrammed and the new film installed. If Dino Island 3D was in side B, accessible from Coney Mall, and this informational film was in side A, accessible only from Dinosaurs Alive!, I could be thrilled. And for those counting, it will now cost a family of four $28 dollars to experience this new exhibit in full - and they won't have a single soda, souvenir, or snack to show for it... GYK, who might rather have season nine of Spongebob and the Runaway Pickle than this... Couldn't even the film be free for season passholders? But then again, something tells me there wouldn't be a full queue for this film even if it was free... So we'll see how long the $2.00 lasts... And how long people will put up with carrying around a park ticket, a movie ticket, a dinosaur exhibit ticket... This isn't a zoo or a science center... People will be riding things, and none too pleased to have three separate tickets for three separate attractions that all cost extra. Kings Island, a pay-one-price park? Not anymore. I can count five attractions that require an up-charge, and two that will try to con you for a pair of cardboard spectacles... It's nothing short of thievery. Ask anyone who's paid $1.00 for 3-D glasses on Disaster Transport... And yes, they sell them.

I didn't see a topic about this anywhere else, and since Terpy has been diving into discussion elsewhere, perhaps it hasn't been brought up. Via The Sandusky Register (whose employees I believe Mr. Terp refers to as the "crack staff"). You can read both Mr. Kinzel and Mr. Falfas testimony concerning some disputed phone calls between the two by loading some PDFs linked at the very bottom of the article. I haven't the foresight or intelligence of The Interpreter in these matters, so I'll quote only two sections that I find most interesting. (Emphasis added)

Posted to Screamscape this evening, I thought this was a very telling / entertaining picture: It seems they've got no qualms being verbal about the maintenance problems associated with the new era HUSS rides, not unlike our own Giant Frisbee and Giant Top Spin (which, like Dollywood's Timber Tower, have experienced not only frequent bouts of downtime, but also extensive periods in which they're awaiting parts, etc). To me, something like this would actually be refreshingly honest to see... If The Crypt sucks because of forces beyond your control, then why not say that even without naming names? It takes the pressure off you and allows you to claim that you do "all you can" to keep the ride running at its best. Just interesting to see, and reminiscent of those pictures of Tomb Raider: The Ride's tunnel with the tented sign out front, Photoshopped to read "We're sorry, this ride is HUSSED today."

I'm not at all surprised about this. In fact, I would be surprised if all them don't skip the helicopter scene within the next 3-5 years. I think it'll be more of a degradation over time and then a quick spruce up as we saw this season. Since the water left (which is probably permanent, and due to the wear and tear on the track as much as it's for money-saving) all that really happens there is the flames and the helicopter. Both of those were pretty much absent or reduced last season, and now they've been reinvigorated with new music, new lights, improved movement, etc. In other words, it seems like it's something they wish to maintain, just not necessarily as a priority every single season. But the fact that they spruced it up once seems to me to be very good news for the future. And of course, we don't know the status of Canada's version this year... Not yet at least!

Are you serious? Like, visible during the daytime, or only at night? Lights that replicate sparks of showers, or little bullets of light flying past, or little strobes in the helicopter's gun barrels? I can't tell you how excited I am by the small details like this... Especially when last year, Canada's Wonderland's was reprogrammed to not even come to a complete stop at that brake run (why do it if there's nothing - not even a spinning helicopter rotor - to look at?) and Kings Dominion's had absolutely no flames! Either way, this will only increase my longstanding claim that Backlot Stunt Coaster is one of the top night rides of the 102 roller coasters I've been on... GYK, who unapologetically names Backlot Stunt Coaster as his second favorite roller coaster experience at Kings Island... Really!

Those debuted last year when the license with BMW expired.

Ah, interesting. I would actually like that... I think that the Saw music is almost too recognizable? If that makes sense... People might get caught up in hearing the Saw music and not focus on the building anticipation of the lift. I think the music should be a compliment to the ride, and not be so noticeable that it takes all the attention away.

The only one with changed music is The Crypt (which had more like ambient noise and animal calls last year)... The others just had music added. Except The Beast, which did have music on the lift underneath the narration... But I still haven't seen it confirmed that that music is for sure changed, or what to... The Italian Job used to have a soundtrack provided via the on-ride audio system that you can still see the speakers for. But that's gone.

Thanks, I updated the little list in my post.. And someone mentioned SAW music on The Beast? Is that music?

Sorry Terp, but you buy a Drop Tower, you don't name it that... GYK, who feels the same about anyone purchasing a Vekoma Invertigo, but can at least let that slide as it doesn't sound as poorly thought out... There's re-themeing and then there's de-themeing. I would assert that many of the rides were simply de-themed to the most generic versions of their former selves; as little change as possible; flat out avoidance of a fresh identity... What required the ride formerly known as Top Gun to maintain an aviation theme? But instead of re-themeing it to any number of fun, innovate, fresh identities, it was simply made into an off-brand Top Gun...

I am absolutely thrilled by the idea of music being utilized more heavily in the park this year. Not only is that the "attention to detail" that so many of us have been huffing and puffing over finally coming to fruition, but it's really building great memories. How unique it will be to associate that song with Delirium! And I imagine riding it and feeling like I'm being filmed for a commercial. Like people being more apt to scream when someone else screams, I just imagine that this music will liven everything up. And apparently the audio systems were there, and the music rights were there, so it's so great to see that being used. Really, really great. And unlike tactile special effects, I feel that this won't disappear as the season goes on, because it would seem that hitting the 'green button' for the ride cycle automatically starts the music? Is that right? Backlot Stunt Coaster: " "The Crypt: " ," InceptionDelirium: "Song 2" by Blur (see above) Drop "Tower": " by Van HalenDidn't someone mention a song playing for Drop Zone riders, too?

I am extraordinarily partial to most anything Premier rides does, especially in the launched category. Their rides are best described as "zippy." I always feel that they're enthusiastically designed, nimble, and have a "pep in their step" as it were... I especially enjoy that "Premier rattle" that you feel from time to time, like during The Revenge of the Mummy's first hill, or at the bottom of the overbanked turned on the Backlot Stunt Coaster. Plus in my estimation, no one has been able to integrate a ride so well into a themed environment as Premier. They're just great, well-rounded rides in all.

Anyone able to verify the new music on the Backlot Stunt Coaster? I believe I only heard one person mention it last week, and I just want to make sure before I get my hopes up.. Haha.

^ From what's been said here, it looks the same as it did last season. Without getting too political, this is exactly why I have questions about the color-coded "terror alert" Homeland Security Advisory System (which is now being fazed out, by the way). When would it ever be reduced to the green, low-alert status? And in fact, it never was... We can't see the future, so choosing select days to run the metal detectors, or to alternate between yellow and orange terror alert statuses comes across as arbitrary, even if it's not... And the public picks up on that. In my experience, I've noticed that Kings Dominion is much, much, much more stringent on security. Their metal detectors are manned by more people, who (at least in my memory of last season) were always dressed appearing to have more authority. And you will not get into the park until you've successfully gotten through the metal detectors and had your bag checked. I have seen people waved through multiple times at Kings Island, and seen bags just briefly glanced into. But part of that is the demographic... As I recall, Paramount's Kings Dominion was considered by many to be unsafe, catering to a crowd that was less than family friendly. Of course, their park draws patrons from Washington, D.C. and Richmond... Two very different cities than Cincinnati and Columbus.

Do you know what most songs today are about in one way or another? Just Dance proclaims "What's going on on the floor? I love this record but I can't see straight anymore. What's the name of this club? I can't remember, but it's alright! Just dance!" How about Brittany Spears #1 single, "Hold It Against Me" (need I say more)? Or Katy Perry's "E.T. (Futuristic Lover)" (which I assert should be played on Flight of Fear). And consider that just a few months ago, the #1 and #2 song in this country were "F*** You" and "F***in' Perfect." Really! It's a different time... Maybe that's why Kings Island sticks to the perfectly family-friendly, insinuation-free classic rock soundtrack in the park, right? GYK, who once heard Dr Phil (whose name lacks a period, not unlike Dr Pepper) criticize the possessive, controlling nature of today's teenage relationships by citing the #1 smash hit "You Belong To Me"... Of course, that is not the song's title, and he failed to mention that it was sung by a seventeen year old country singer... The point is, a song can say one thing, mean another, and be understood as neither.