bkroz

As someone who obsessively follows Halloween Horror Nights (and yet, ironically, would never, ever amass the courage to visit), I'm so optimistic about this year's event. For me at least, the event's "prime" began in year 10 (when they introduced the idea of the icon and overall theme with Jack the Clown) and really improved year after year after year until 2005 (with the incredible, World-of-Warcraft-esque Tales of Terror year, when each and every house was interrelated with the others, full of backstories and imagery and symbolism that was out-of-this-world). If you ask me, the last four years (during which the event has returned to Universal Studios Florida after a couple of years at Islands of Adventure) have been incredibly lack-luster. HHN 16, 17, 18, and 19, to me, have felt like a "best of" without anywhere near as much originality. Instead of introducing new icons, every year since 15 has featured one giant house that puts all of the past icons together just to get use out of the creativity they spent time and money on in the past. "Scary Tales" was a brilliant house at Halloween Horror Nights 13, but there's been a "sequel" to it most every year since. Instead of new ideas, there was "Scary Tales II: Malice in Terrorland," "Scary Tales III," "Scary Tales IV," etc. Sure it's a good concept, but talk about milking it for all it's worth! And much to my happiness, the first communication between the creative minds at Universal and the fans this year was all about how this would not be another "best of" year, but instead, every single house (with the exception of Psychoscareapy) is original. They've even mentioned that they've shifted and decided to try to find the next great house franchise instead of continuing to milk the same old ones, and this year's event does not rely on Universal's film catalogue (which was the entirety of last year's event - every single house and scare-zone was movie themed). Over all, this year sounds like it will be absolutely incredible. I love the idea of Fear being the icon, and being the puppet master between all the past events. I'm one of those new-age kids who prefers it when the event is in Islands of Adventure (or even half-and-half) because, to me, there's a lot more to work with as far as theme and immersion. But this year looks to be off to a good start, with a good attitude that has been missing for a few years.

Next year's additions total $5.2 million dollars: Air conditioning in the Plymouth Rock Cafe Safari Sam's Splashland at Splashin' Safari - a kid's water play area with 8 new slides & water features. Added restrooms, changing rooms, & lockers Restoring parking lot Replace airplane ride in kiddie land with a Santa's sleigh flat for the whole family (at 3:00 in the video) Added seating & shade in Splashin' Safari. "We're really into comfort this year! We're giving you things that will make you more comfortable, let you have a much better experience, and enjoy your day! Don't forget, I'm going to be eighty! And I'm gonna keep it clean and friendly. We'll be here with smiles, along with our comfort." -Pat Koch. She looks great as always, doesn't she?

Via Screamscape, the following letter was sent out to Six Flags staff from Al Weber late Tuesday afternoon. To quote Screamscape's summarization (which may or may not be accurate - I'm not an expert, I'm just sharing this with you all):

I'm 99.999% sure they're announcing from NYC. I mean, a Disney park in Shanghai has been semi-confirmed for years, to the extent that people have been following the applications, government allowances, etc. I don't think they could sneak up and secretly plan a park there. If it really is a new installation going into New York City, I imagine it might be like the new luxury resort Disney is building in Hawaii. After all, that particular division is called "Walt Disney Parks & Resorts."

Perhaps that's a lesson that ought to be taught to those gut-bustlingly funny, original, clever members who want to see (and I don't know that I could ever get tired of hearing this - each time is funnier than the last:) the world's largest bonfire in our own park, over in Action Zone!

What a... [hmm, what word to use...] shame? Thank heavens it will be operating as usual soon.

The awards are largely a tradition more than a real, polled award show. For example, Kings Island has won best kids area for what, nine years? Is it nice? Of course! Better than Disneyland's Fantasyland? Idlewild? Universal's Islands of Adventure's Seuss Landing? Millennium Force is a great coaster, yes, but the best on Earth? In my opinion, no. Perhaps we could hear from some of the veterans here who have traveled the world and see how many would list Millennium Force as the undisputed best roller coaster on the planet? And the best amusement park, according to these awards, is Cedar Point... That one honestly should be baffling. Does it have more roller coasters than any park on Earth? Yep. Better roller coasters? I suppose that's up for debate. But what about atmosphere? Food? Shopping? Entertainment? While Cedar Point certainly has some good points in all of those categories, it doesn't win "#1" for any of them... So how can a park without award-winning dining, shopping, atmosphere, entertainment, friendliness, or cleanliness somehow achieve best overall amusement park? It's quite a leap, I can tell you that much... Love or hate Cedar Point, would you really rather visit it than Six Flags Great Adventure? Universal's Islands of Adventure? Holiday World? Disneyland? The fact that Kings Island's Halloween Haunt ended up as the "#5 best event" is, in my opinion, due in part to hype (which we get plenty of - not saying it's always positive) and name recognition (see, Knott's; In the end, the list needs populated. Knott's Haunt is incredibly famous, and of the other parks featuring a "Halloween Haunt," Kings Island is the most recognizable by name, and I imagine that's why people vote for it). Don't necessarily believe the Golden Ticket Awards. They're all in good fun, and certainly give one perspective on the "world's best" things (and are great press for the winning parks, who get on the list through good old-fashioned hard work, of course... Didn't Mean Streak win best wooden coaster from a similar award show a few seasons ago?). But they are not the only opinion, nor do they typically represent the opinion of the well-informed, well-traveled minority. Simply questions & ideas to ponder, and nothing more. The opinions expressed are my own, and do not represent anyone else's.

Err... Sarcasm? I mean, one-of-a-kind? Even Diamondback... it has unique elements, but the idea is a tale as old as time, and there are a multitude of similar experiences scattered across the continents. Cedar Fair can do unique things (Maverick & Prowler, for example) but it's not always financially beneficial... Next year, the "buy four and get a discount" sale typically applied to season passes will really take on a whole new meaning for the company, yes? GYK, not defending Paramount for once, because there's not much of a platform for doing so in this case.

Then give these pups a read! The Beast at least holds the dubious distinction of being the only roller coaster on the planet to have a famed children's horror author write a series of books about it, right? (P.S. The sequel is "The Beast 2" and not "Son of Beast?" ) Actually, I think that the real "haunted" stories about The Beast are unrelated to the tale that R.L. Stine has woven into his books, which are about time travel?

I would say "or maybe you should have to be 16 or older to get in without an adult," but isn't that pretty much already a policy? And even then, I visited when I was fifteen, and was absolutely respectful. So maybe instead, there should just be a test to get in... After all, maturity and age are not the same thing. Sometimes, they're not even related.

Right, cus if there's one park on Earth that has nothing but lame wooden coasters, it's Kings Island... We only have a landmark John Allen racing coaster, often cited as the impetis for the Second Golden Age of the Roller Coaster; a still-legendary-after-thirty-six-years wooden coaster; the world's only hyper-woodie (which some hate, but in all fairness, some love - some people find The Beast is incredibly over-hyped, and still others find Son of Beast over-criticized...); and a PTC family woodie that's still a fantastic wooden coaster on its own merits. I don't think you meant it that way, but it still made me laugh.

Of course they will; that's not the question. The question is, why voluntarily bring an event to the park that requires extra security personnel? The answer? Because they think that the numbers that this new show attracts will outweigh the cost. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen.

You're right in noticing that - Cedar Point's event is much, much, much less bloody. As well, as I've said, at Cedar Point, there is always a way from point A to point B without engaging in the "festivities." At Kings Island, you are essentially forced to walk through a mini-scare-zone just to get into the park - something that people like me, who are just going with friends and chose to sit out while others do haunted houses - do not enjoy whatsoever. A Kings Island season pass is $69.99. A Cedar Point season pass is $99.99. That is a major difference, but again, it's consistent with park pricing. Kings Island had that two days for $48.99 deal for the past few years, whereas a two-day ticket to Cedar Point is $75.99. That's because Cedar Point offers on-site hotels with ticket discounts, and because, as you said, there's much smaller of a population using season passes (because Kings Island caters to the local area and a few travelers, and Cedar Point is mostly a destination park - hence the existence of on-site hotels to begin with). I don't know how accurate this is at all, but I think that maintaining the Coca-Cola and Pepsi rights are probably heightening the price for all the parks... Again, that could be entirely wrong, but I can't imagine Pepsico paying them since they're not Cedar Fair's exclusive drink seller...

And again I just have to ask, why was our event singled out to be the most trashy one? Kings Dominions, Carowinds, Great Americas, Wonderland's, and certainly all the Legacy Parks have Haunts more along the lines of Knott's. Not in a million years would you find "midget wrestling" at Kings Dominion (though its stereotypically closer to the region in which that sort of thing would be a draw). Imagine if a small, family park like Dorney Park or Valleyfair announced the addition of midget wrestling. How would the community react? Why is Kings Island considered "big" enough and "corporate" enough that what the local community deems offensive doesn't matter? Why does our event, more than ANY of the other eleven, have nudity, blood, rampant sexual themes, and now, white trash midget wrestling? It just sucks. As a fan of the park, I've almost grown tired of defending their ridiculous changes & policies. If I were an adult, I'm not sure I'd take my child to Kings Island at all, knowing that the money I spend is going towards funding these incredibly offensive things. The money I pay for my child's ticket and meal going towards a show so violent and grotesque, he can't see it? If you don't approve of an action that the park takes, you're supposed to limit it's future occurance by taking your business elsewhere until policies change. That's why Terp hasn't been to Knott's Berry Farm due to a very strange riding policy for those with eyeglasses. That's why many of us here will not be at Haunt this season. Maybe it'll be enough to cause change next year. Maybe not. But at least we're doing what we think is right.

^^ Yeah no kidding... I feel like if a performer of one of the regular-season shows in the Festhaus were to fall and have a cut on their arm or something, they'd quickly move back stage just so as to keep the bodily fluids well away from the guests. Now, we're going to have real blood, sweat, and tears? With sweaty people being thrown into things, their spit knocked right out of their mouth, blood in the ring that they'll be stepping through? My God, this is just horrendous on so many levels. Halloween Haunt will not be getting a visit from me this season. How unfortunate it is that this really will be a draw for many... But the "wrong kind of people"? In my opinion, yes. In Kings Island's opinion, perhaps there is no "wrong kind" of customer. Money is money, right? Hopefully, this will trigger a catalyst that will change that train of thought. I don't want to see Kings Island struggle in its image or financially, but if it takes a drop in group sales from churches, businesses, families, etc. to get rid of these ridiculous schemes to garner attention than let it happen now. I absolutely shudder to think how Halloween Haunt will attempt to push the boundaries next season, or five years from now, unless this is stopped.

Mr. Kinzel values Cedar Point so much because he has such a history with it. He does not have such a history with Kings Island, and thus feels much more detached from it. Not that I blame him - he grew up at Cedar Point, and has owned it for decades. Kings Island joined his "family" of parks four years ago. He probably spends 100 x more time at Cedar Point than he does at Kings Island. It just sucks for us...

General update page located here. (The photos provided are screen-captures from an official YouTube video, embedded below. __________________________________ New at Water Country USA will be "Vanish Point." ___________________________________ Meanwhile, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, you'll find "Mäch Tower." ____________________________________ Additionally, there are various improvements going on in the Oktoberfest area (in preparation for the new attraction, I'm sure). My mind immediately hopes that they'll do a second massive update of DarKastle, adding new scenes, effects, and re-programming the movement, as they did in 2006: ____________________________________ And perhaps most notably for many here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSr2PcUttU4&feature=youtu.be

If only I had a quote-of-the-day blog: Anyway, I'm glad that the whole "Dubai" crazy is more or less ending. It would have been incredible to see a dolphin-shaped island, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Six Flags, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, Paramount Park, Universal Studios, etc. all in one place... But it was clearly just a rushed attempt to capitalize on the oil prices of a few summers ago, and now that that's "over," so are the plans. Spain is a fantastic location for a major park - it's similar to France in most every tourist-important way (landscapes, weather, etc) except it doesn't rain 80% of the time like in France.

If this new coaster's trains look like cheetahs in the same way that Diamondback's look like snakes... Oh man... What a ride.

Inside the ride chamber, the entire front wall is the goddess (because she literally is the wall, I don't believe she's removable in any sense - the little trap doors on the back of the building as seen from The Beast's queue are for direct installation of her eyes, fire, and ice). The chamber also still has the volcano stretching up the back wall and the former "lava pits" and stalactites. The rest of the faux temple walls, & the floor-level props are gone. Many effects, like the sparkers and fountains and sound systems, were faltering before Tomb Raider was renamed.

Yeah. But when it first became The Crypt (and was still performing its nine-flip cycle) the big hub-bub was that the building should be removed entirely since it served no purpose anymore, and only disguised how thrilling the ride was from people who might be interested if they knew. When people were suggesting that the box be removed, I just laughed. Even when it was performing that intense cycle, it still would've been an eyesore to be outdoors. Especially since it's awkwardly facing towards The Beast's station. If it were facing the midway (even set a ways back from the path as it is) and surrounding in rock work, flames, waterfalls, and jungle flora like Kings Dominion's it would be acceptable. But to have it outdoors, literally just sitting on a concrete slab in a field and performing such a lackluster cycle? Talk about a walk-on... Of course, since then, the building became almost necessary just to disguise how un-thrilling it is... One might argue that if the ride were outdoors, it would have been removed by now. For the most part, the people in line today are there because they: have never heard of it, still think it's similar to Tomb Raider, just a changed name want to see how bad it is from what their friends have said, are enjoying the air-conditioned, and/or can't tell from outside how the ride is lacking in thrills & theme.

Oh my God COSI is the best place on Earth. I have only been to the new one, and would count it as equal to some and superior than most amusement parks. Oceans? Adventure? Gadgets? I'm in love.

Definitely a successor to Maverick... Wouldn't you say? The twisting transitions, the awkward throw-you-on-your-side-for-no-particular-reason-then-straighten-you-back-out portions... Yep! Ride Sally, Ride. Also, what a beautiful animation... Wow.

Har har har! Oh Terp...

http://www.sixflags.com/stLouis/rides/skyscreamer.aspx WindSeeker, indeed! I hope our tower lights up at night.