bkroz

I suppose all I'm saying is, there are without question those who will rethink future visits to Kings Island. Because of the power outage? No. But because of the way it was handled. I'm sure people feel cheated. I'm even a bit off-put that they continued letting people in, while admittedly having no way of knowing when or even if the power would return that day. What it comes down to is, Kings Island lost return visitors that day. A few? Some? Many? That, we may never know. Regardless, an unspecified portion of those upset guests might've remained happily returning guests had they only been given a small something - a coupon for free Starlight admission good only the following day, a free small drink, a "sorry" from the general manager as they leave the park... Any indication at all the park cared even a little bit would've saved face, and ultimately would've paid for itself in the long run. As it is, Kings Island stubbornly got its nickels from July 4, 2010. But who knows how many days of nickels they'll lose in the future because of it?

I was simply flashing back to a time when Cedar Point had roller coasters, but the question was, what about anything else? Kings Island was the answer to that: Tomb Raider, Delirium, Drop Zone, Viking Fury, and all of Coney Mall's classic flats... We had the upper hand in that category. Today, Cedar Point has maXair and Skyhawk, and we have The Crypt... In many ways, we're tied... It's a point I didn't think we'd come to!

They're both HUSS Giant Frisbees of the same size. I believe there are only three Giant ones on Earth... Funny that two ended up in Ohio, and owned by the same park operator... Guess that's what happens when two parks are severe competitors, one invests in a unique and groundbreaking ride, the other decides to break into the flat ride business by copying the other's successful ride, and then they both end up in the same park family!

... er... Kingdom!

You most likely did see a ton of posters from here! I always do, but I don't believe they recognize me (and probably wouldn't want to talk to me anyway)! I'm glad you enjoyed your first trip! Diamondback and The Beast are among the best of their models! It's funny to see you coming up here, because last year I did the complete opposite - I visited Kings Dominion, and loved everything about it. The grass is always greener, right? Otherwise, I'm sure many of us here would kill be able to visit the park for the first time again - to be "clueless" and have a "first" experience on every ride. So I hope you enjoyed it!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that X-Base get no new rides until it gets a bathroom and a connecting path to somewhere else in the park. The "dead end" thing is not cute anymore. Another suggestion: put a sign out at X-Base's entrance when Firehawk or Flight of Fear is closed... That's an awful walk mid-day only to find the ride you were going for it closed. Frustrating.

I think I know what you mean - it feels to me like on Viking Fury when you can feel the ship contact the wheels and there's an awkward lurch. This year, I felt that on Delirium as if the motor is sort of "kicking" and it attempts to switch directions. And I agree, I have not felt that at Cedar Point's maXair..

Walt Disney World will probably never have a thrill park. I think they've found their niche - families. And yeah, some families have teenagers, so there are two, maybe three, thrill rides at each of their parks. But look at Magic Kingdom - Big Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain are the only "thrills," and both are no more thrilling that Flying Ace. Disney knows its place in the Orlando market. It would be a tremendous financial and creative undertaking to try to create a "thrill" park to outdo Universal Orlando, or even SeaWorld. Can you imagine a tall, fast coaster with supports jutting out everywhere at a Disney park? No. Because it doesn't happen. Well, let me rephrase: It does happen. Disney's California Adventure, often considered the laughing stock of the Disney parks family. And what of it? Well, it's currently undergoing its $1.2 billion redo, effectively building the park up from scratch, because it had an unthemed S&S Drop Tower, and an unthemed roller coaster, and unthemed yoyo swings. If you think Disney would make that mistake again, you're wrong. Walt himself started DIsneyland because he was sick of taking his kids to sleazy piers. Why they thought adding a pier-themed area to DCA would be a good idea, I haven't the slightest. I think that the idea for the proposed "fifth park" that the rumors are floating around about were pretty silly then, and even sillier now. I understand their desire to compete with Discovery Cove - it's a unique, creative, and well-done attraction. But $250+ per person to go to some ultra-exclusive safari park? Most families cannot shell out an additional thousand bucks for one park.

If you ask me, it's different than a thunderstorm - the very reason that they do not offer refunds during rainstorms is because of their claim that "there's much more than the rides." They specifically say that, when the rides close due to rain, guests are encouraged to check out the shopping, dining, shows, etc. That was not an option yesterday. Literally, guests had paid fifty+ dollars to walk around in the scorching hot heat for three and a half hours. Add to that the realization that Kings Island was the only place without power, and according to the newscast, only a few rides were without power, so they consciously decided to turn off the electricity in the rest of the park to bring those few rides back online... They could've just lived without Festhaus and some Action Zone rides for the evening, but instead they chose to turn off the entire park for an unknown amount of time... So the park cursed itself, knowingly closed the rides, shows, shops, and restaurants, and then left visitors to meander around in the 95 degree humidity? I would want a refund, too. Kings Island was so busy keeping its hands grasped around that days money, they failed to see how much they will lose when those visitors choose not to return... They saved today's nickels at the expense of a LOT of days nickels in the future.

True. One wonders if the Kings Island of 1972 would've offered refunds for the day... What about twenty years later? There are those here who can answer that with far more confidence and evidence than I can, but I certainly believe the answer would be yes. Talk about a perfect storm, though...

Doubtful that rides were damaged per se... I read from other posts here that International Street and Festhaus were without power. Many of the rides were also down. Of course, like any attraction, there are emergency lights and backup generators that are always powering the things that need to be powered - block brakes, dark pathways, etc.

You'll find a lot of the effects, the original colors, and the props in .

There's also a mysterious beast lurking around in Rivertown. Of course, Rivertown is also populated by a giant snake, a pink bat-demon, and an inactive-of-late Hindu goddess. Come to think of it, that area of the park is quite a hodge-podge of different creatures, isn't it? Let's erect a monorail to travel through it!

Which is why we have feral cats. LOL Was that a jab at the quality of LaRosa's pizza?

Ohh nooooo! This is pretty awful timing when you think about it... Part of me wants only the low capacity coasters to be left operating so we can see how Kings Island deals with the worst case scenario!

1) They were going nuts with the "our fireworks show is twice as big as last year!" ads and tweets and signs. 2) Most people have Monday off. Teenagers surely do, and are not flocking to the park as expected. 3) And the park's $19.99 ticket after 5:00 is absolutely a STEAL, especially tonight when the park is open til 12:00! 4) And, today and tomorrow are the days that military personnel get in free, with tremendous discounts for family! So they did do a lot of marketing in different areas. The question is, did they do all that marketing in hopes of packing the park more than ever before? Or did they do it because they were anticipating the declining attendance, and sought to keep numbers at least similar to last year's? I'm very surprised the park isn't more crowded. Maybe it will be later on tonight... I always avoid parks on this particular weekend. Apparently, there's no need to this year. Too bad I couldn't have foreseen that, or I might be at the park waiting in 5 minute lines this evening!

For structure, it's a tie - Son of Beast is incredible and beautiful. You don't have to be a fan of the ride, or an enthusiast, to appreciate how immense and intricate the structure is. My vote, however, went to Flight of Fear. To me, there's absolutely nothing in this world like sitting in the front seat, squinting down the launch track and seeing nothing but pitch black darkness. And then, as soon as you pass into the spaghetti bowl, being instantly surrounded in hundreds of supports and track and glowing lights, absolutely unable to discern if you're upside-down, right-side-up, sideways... It's physically the most daunting and impressive roller coaster structure I've seen, and you're smack-dab in the middle of it. I'm sweating just thinking about it.

Well the effect has been working at Elitch Gardens for years without anyone worrying about that. Suppose we should ask folks at the other Paramount Parks if theirs are working (here's a wild guess: I bet they are).

I wouldn't agree that that's well-themed, really... But even so, it doesn't hold a candle to the entrance and queue of the Crypt. That queue combined with the ride chamber's goddess, volcano, and flashing lights is better themed than most rides at many corporate-owned seasonal amusement parks in the United States...

You bring up many good points - I too assumed that it was a Cedar Fair thing. And please don't get me wrong, in many ways it is. Not only are they poor at maintaining theme, but their installation of theme on new rides is minimal at best. Is Diamondback themed? Sure. But most every superhero-themed ride at your friendly neighborhood Six Flags looks better from a theme point of view. Then take into consideration Kings Dominion (and yes, I'm about to start repeating myself). Kings Dominion's Backlot Stunt Coaster had its splashdown returned this year. It's Crypt still uses its original Tomb Raider musical score, flames, fountains, even the monkey-warrior statue props surround the ride. Their entire Congo area plays, track-by-track, the score to the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Their Flight of Fear still plays the synchronized music each and every time, and the bass, lighting, and queue video still work inside their spaceship. So did Mr. Kinzel's word come from on high that Kings Dominion could have its original lighting, flames, music, movie props, and fog? Doubtful. As Terpy has said, Kings Dominion must compete directly with Busch Gardens Williamsburg and its "Most Beautiful Park on Earth" award, its landscaping, its music, its theme. As such, I imagine (thinking out loud here) that Kings Dominion simply allots x amount of money each season towards theme - the flames, the fog, the lights. It's not cheap, but it's all factored into the budget beforehand. Kings Island? What do we compete with? Directly, no other theme parks. Indirectly, we used to compete with Kentucky Kingdom and Cedar Point... Enough said, right? Our Crypt is still better themed than anything at those two parks, and our Cedar Point market doesn't necessarily search for theme the way visitors to Busch Gardens / Kings Dominion would. They come to Cedar Point for thrills, and if they hear about a little park three hours away with a really well themed, but 40 foot tall Backlot Stunt Coaster, they may be less than inclined to visit... But when Diamondback is three hours away, it might be worth it to hop down for the day! That's just what I've gathered so far. Look at the Crypt - the building is filled with fountains, Hollywood lighting, lasers, fog machines, and more. If they thought it would improve the park's visitation to turn them on, than they would. And if Universal Studios built a park in Ohio, you better believe those fountains and lights would get turned on pretty fast... (Or better yet, if Universal bought a park in Ohio... I think you know which one I'm talking about). When it's all said and done, I would take 2006's on-its-last-leg Tomb Raider over our current Crypt any day of the week... Who wouldn't?

^^ Wow I never would've noticed! Thanks bud! Boo Blasters is a great ride, and one that many, many parks out there would gladly take as their own. We're sort of conditioned to expect a lot because that building has been occupied by two much-loved family boat rides with pop-culture-friendly characters, a frighteningly high-quality haunted house, and another family-friendly dark ride adding interactivity and another well-loved character. Certainly there are those (especially on this site) who now dislike the ride - it first lost its high-quality animatronics and setting, then even that "downgraded" Scooby Doo version lost its beloved characters. With these elements left in the dust, many people claim to dislike the ride simply on principle - it lost its Scooby characters and its Phantom Theater realism, how could what's left be good? But if you suspend reality and pretend that building had long laid empty, riding it as if it were its own attraction, seperate from its past incarnations (which, to be fair, it is), you'll be pleasantly surprised. This news of the fog effect being out of commission is troubling, as it was a great effect that made the ride more than a "de-branding" of Scooby Doo & The Haunted Castle... One can hope that this is an accidental oversight. Then again, perhaps those in guest relations knew that a few effects would turn off here and there as the season progresses. Perhaps they anticipated that they could not take the inevitable heat, so they simply got out of the fire...

Double post!

Though you meant that last one as a metaphor, I would argue that both comparisons that both are true, honest-to-goodness opinions held by current management... But that's a discussion for a later time...

Rest assured that most every overseas Disney Park has an equivalent to a state-side ride, but much more well-done. Particularly Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney Resort - the latter, especially, because it is not operated by the Walt Disney Company, and thus sets its own budget and expectations (neither of which does it cut at the last second). Their Phantom Manor is easily the best of the Haunted Mansions. It even has a backstory: In Boot Hill lives an old miser who owns the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and all the excavated gold within. His beautiful young daughter falls in love with a poor miner, something that the old man cannot accept. So, on their wedding day, a mysterious phantom kills the husband, leaving the bride to wander around for eternity waiting for her love. Ironically, a very similar storyline was placed inside the stateside Mansions, narrated by the black ravens still perched in every room of the mansion. However, the Imagineers eventually decided that telling the tale through the ride decreased re-ridability, so it was never used. However, the "hanging man" in the portrait gallery, the wedding reception party, even the bride in the attic all remain. In 2008, the bride was transformed from the originally-intended benevolent beauty to a menacing figure as part of a redo of the Mansions. So in effect, the original remains of the storyline disappeared with the friendly bride... I love those rides!

Are you all really selfish enough to think you could have a Starlight Spectacular and water fountains? What do you think they're running, a charity!? And touchdown62, what roller coaster are you riding that goes by the name of Backlot Stunt Coaster and has had its effects "restored" by Cedar Fair? Fire? Water? Fog? Synchronized music? I'm not sure that we're riding the same ride if you think Cedar Fair is "catching up" with the things Paramount "ruined." And even suspending reality for half-a-second to pretend that Paramount "let these effects go..." Well, the ride opened in spring 2005... Cedar Fair bought the park in summer 2006... What Paramount could've screwed up in that one year, I haven't the slightest!