bkroz

One thing you have to know about Cedar Fair by now: It can be themed to an ancient tomb, but really be a garage. The last thing they'd take notice of is the theme of a restaurant. Haha!

I tend to think that, should Universal buy Kings Island (a longshot, don't get me wrong, but its a hypothetical) things would get very good, very fast. Not saying that Universal would buy Kings Island, just that things would probably get better "in the snap of a finger" if they did. Do you think that The Crypt in its current state would operate for even an hour under Universal's leadership? Do you think Backlot Stunt Coaster would have trains as were posted in the first post of this thread? Do you think "Flight Deck" would be the name of a ride at Universal's Kings Island? Also, here's an idea: Backlot Stunt Coaster... with Dale Earnhardt themed? Why not! Maybe, just maybe, licensing from NASCAR includes the right to use headlights... We can only hope!

The cars and the Flying Eagles are gone. Love it or hate it, most folks who come to the park don't see Backlot Stunt Coaster and say, "I bet this area used to have antique cars and was a lot nicer." They don't. As someone who was born in '91, visiting the park multiple teams a year since '93, I forgot the cars even existed there to begin with, and I would imagine most normal visitors have, as well. Should it have been placed elsewhere? Yes. Could it have been placed elsewhere? Yes. Was it placed elsewhere? No. So at this point, the question is, should they just allow BLSC to be even more of an eyesore than many enthusiasts already think it is just because antique cars used to be there? This is about the terrible decisions Cedar Fair is making with this ride, not what should've been done five years ago and likely will not ever be done. The ride is there, and there to stay. Even having one red car, one blue car, and one white car would make it more tolerable than it is now. I just keep picturing the white train. It must be so hideous...

And what it comes down to, in my situation - I live 2 hours from Cedar Point, 4 from Kings Island, 2 from Kennywood. The "charm" and "immersion" that rides like Tomb Raider and Italian Job had is what kept me coming back to Kings Island. It suddenly occurs to me (and this is all my opinion, so take it for what's its worth) that Backlot Stunt Coaster has lost its charm (no water, no splashdown, no fog, no music, no ties to one of my favorite films), The Crypt is nothing (no fog, no water, no music, no storyline, no pre-show, no Angelina Jolie), Son of Beast is closed, Nickelodeon is replaced with Snoopy... So at some point I have to say to myself, "Why do I prefer Kings Island? Because I can ride the now crapped-up rides and enjoy myself because I recall what they used to be? Because I ride the God-awful Crypt, but I can still see the goddess on the wall and that thrills me? Because during Backlot I can say, 'This is where the water used to be! I loved that!'" With Backlot running terribly, The Crypt being pretty much unridable, no Son of Beast, no Nickelodeon, no Scooby Doo... It's like, what's the point? All that's left are unthemed, poorly-named rides with no spirit and no sense of adventure and no sense of immersion... Hell, I'll just save on hotel money and gas money and just go to Cedar Point. But then again, yay, it's cleaner and we have Diamondback, so woohoo Cedar Fair! I'm just over it. Honestly, maybe I'm just saying this because I'm angry, but my upcoming birthday trip to Kings Island may be my last for a while. Really, it's been one little tiny change at a time and a few details lost here and there, but in the "big picture," Kings Island now has no theme, awful music, no Tomb Raider, no Son of Beast, Snoopy, overpriced food, trims on everything, no Scooby Doo, and now a broken-down, tired-looking Backlot Stunt Coaster. I'm not driving four hours for that.

The fact is, Cedar Fair owns a wide, wide variety of parks. Like Six Flags, there are flagships (if you ask me, Cedar Point and Kings Island, predominantly) and there are parks that are purposefully kept much smaller (Worlds of Fun, Dorney Park, etc). By their very nature, the Cedar Fair legacy parks are mostly those smaller parks with a few big investments, but mostly considered "local" activities the way Geauga Lake was. Not many folks take 4 hour roadtrips to Michigan's Adventure... And the Paramount Parks, by their nature, are bigger and "grander," simply because they carried a brand name and were, especially during the last few years, pulling to be regional destination parks. Not to mention that the Paramount Parks were (however loosely) theme parks, whereas parks like Dorney & Michigan's Adventure don't have themed areas, much less themed rides. What I'm saying is, if it came down to it, I'd want a park with a Backlot Stunt Coaster (including the flames, water, car-trains, and music) over an equally-sized, but unthemed and character-less ride (see, Roundabout at Freestyle Music Park). The fact that the Paramount Parks have "marketable" rides gives them a draw that parks like Dorney don't have (of course, Dorney has a different kind of marketability that Kings Island doesn't). So the Paramount Parks are the ones that would likely be snatched up by larger corporations (Merlin, Universal) while the smaller Legacy parks might go to Parques, PARC Management, etc. The thing with that is, like you said, if Cedar Fair tries to sell off some parks and keep a reduced number, they'd likely try to keep most of the Paramount Parks since they're the most notable.

They could certainly be used to help alleviate power expenditure here and there, but we're a long way from solar power being a fully-usable resource.

I'm saying that, if the parks were all put up for sale individually, we'd be picked up fast. We're easily in the top 3 best themed of the Cedar Fair parks (alongside Kings Dominion and Knott's) and have an amazing (and well-rounded) assortment of rides. And what you said is something I've been afraid of for a while: That, even should Cedar Fair slowly and painfully "die" in bankruptcy, they'll hold onto Kings Island with a stranglehold for fear that someone can use it against Cedar Point, or even just that they think its one of their few "winning" parks. They could, and it is. The fact that they'd rather strip the park (or, to zoom into a microcosm, this ride) of nearly every single thing it had when it opened than to pay for a few simple licenses here and there... And that they'd rather reduce it to the image posted in the first post above says a lot... It really does. And if the issue is that they don't have enough money to afford to buy licenses here and there... Then they probably shouldn't own amusement parks.

It's a joke is what it is. It's a big, remotely-car-themed piece of red plastic. An absolute joke. I can live without the doors, as you said - just having headlight stickers would be okay. But I don't want to encourage them to continue their cheap, awful, hideous "budget cuts." It's not even a matter of "how can we make this better." Pay for the darn liscencing. I highly doubt Mini Cooper roller coaster cars are in high demand. This is just too much. If you ask me, these hideous trains will make the ride look even worse than it already does with its rusting track, lack of effects, and more. Oh God, just think of the white one - just an all-white, car-shaped train riding around. Wow. Despicable. If this is all a remnant of Cedar Fair's financial troubles, then it's time to let go of the parks. If this is the best they can do, they don't deserve to have them. Sold off separately, I have no doubt that Kings Island would be one of the first of the parks to be snatched up and just about any company could do better at maintaining the parks atmosphere and theme. I mean, even the license plates?!? Does Viacom own the rights to putting license plates on cars? Does Mini own the rights to having headlights? Yes, I am very heated about this.

Yes CoastersRZ, that was very informative! I get the feeling that, if it cost $1 million to power an entire theme park forever on free energy, the entirety of the USA could be converted to running 100% on solar energy for less than the government spends in a typical week.

Has there ever been a reason for 50% of the things that have been changed? Icicles are copyrighted by Paramount? Water effects are licensed from Viacom? Fog is owned by CBS? This is honestly too much. Wow. I'm seriously in shock. People will say this doesn't affect the park at all, but add together all the "little things" that have been changed and you just totally get the picture that Cedar Fair will sacrifice just about anything to save money. Like "oh it's just some Mini Cooper decals." Well okay, it's that, plus no splashdown, no music (and no attempt to replace the movie-specific music with anything, even a generic song), no water effects, the helicopter doesn't lift up like it used to, no fog... There comes a point where you have to look at their changes in the "big picture" and realize almost nothing of the original ride remains. Honestly. I can't get over this. I honestly can't. Wow... Kings Island is no more than an amusement park. It really is. Wow.

You've got to be FREAKIN' kidding me. Honestly, I somehow feel like this is the straw that's going to break the camels back. Like, I honestly feel... angry. Like the name changes suck, The Crypt sucks, but this is honestly pushing me over the edge... Wow.

I'm sure it's possible, but who would want to ride it? And thus, who would spend money to design and build it? Many of us can recall the hangtime in Tomb Raider: The Ride. Why you'd want to do that, but flying down a hill at 55 miles per hour I certainly don't know.

This looks like it was a lot of work! Haha.

Yes, I would wager his reaction is fake. Especially since he... picks his nose? I just thought it was funny, and wanted to point out the girl behind him.

Video of a guy freaking out on the ride ^ Also, you can see the woman in the second row black out for a moment during the helix after the first drop... That's the area that's been the "problem area." Not that it's a problem per se, but that's where everyone seems to be blacking out haha.

Oh, yes, entering a turn makes sense. Good thinking. Ahaha and yes, I'm aware of how close that goose incident was - further evidence that it's not only goose season, but goosey areas! So we're lucky no one met one at 92 mph....

Well, yes it's a separate piece but do you really think it got knocked off-kilter? I mean, it obviously did looking at the picture... That's pretty forceful. Also, I am saying a little "thank you" in my head that we have had another roller coaster successfully make it through its first two days without any goose incidents. I know that it's only happened once (?) but I'm just silently thankful each time that it doesn't happen a second time, ya know?

Wow...

^ If you're referring to that video on CNN, it's probably because it was the media preview day - notice there's no line. Because it was a special event. You have to love the fine print in Cedar Fair world records. Intimidator 305: The tallest, fastest gravity driven roller coasterowned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company on the East Coast that is red and NASCAR themed.

Someone on KDFansite said thy preferred our Crypt to theirs... Haha!

Also, here are my responses. Which one do you like more? Kings Dominion or Kings Island The relocated coasters from Geagua Lake: Dominator or Firehawk Inverted: Volcano or Invertigo Family: Avalanche or Adventure Express Ricochet or Flying Ace (Runaway Reptar) Backlot Stunt Coaster: Theirs or Ours Arrow Megalooper: Anaconda or Vortex Flight of Fear: Theirs or Ours Racing Woodies Rebel Yell or The Racer Paramount's attempt at a Woodie: Hurler or Son of Beast Woodie in the Woods: Grizzly or The Beast The "Others": Shockwave or Flight Deck Drop Zone: Theirs or Ours (but I much prefer our colors & location) The Crypt: Theirs or Ours Swinging Ship: Beserker or Viking Fury White Water Canyon: Theirs or Ours (haven't really ridden either enough...) Log Flume: Shenadoah Valley or Race For Your Life Charlie Brown New Coaster: Intimidator 305 or Diamondback (Haven't ridden I305... probably too different to compare) Themed Area: The Grove or Coney Mall Old Virginia or Rivertown Congo or Action Zone KD International Street or KI International Street Former Coasters: Hypersonic XLC or King Cobra Waterpark: Waterworks or Boomerang Bay Hotels: Kings Quarters or Great Wolf Lodge

They're doing this over at KDFansite, so I thought it would fun to see how people's opinions change... You'd think it would be obvious, but perhaps it's not! Of course, you can just "reply" to this post so the category headers stay bolded and then delete the one you don't like in each category. Which one do you like more? Kings Dominion or Kings Island The relocated coasters from Geagua Lake: Dominator or Firehawk Inverted: Volcano or Invertigo Family: Avalanche or Adventure Express Ricochet or Flying Ace (Runaway Reptar) Backlot Stunt Coaster: Theirs or Ours Arrow Megalooper: Anaconda or Vortex Flight of Fear: Theirs or Ours Racing Woodies Rebel Yell or The Racer Paramount's attempt at a Woodie: Hurler or Son of Beast Woodie in the Woods: Grizzly or The Beast The "Others": Shockwave or Flight Deck Drop Zone: Theirs or Ours The Crypt: Theirs or Ours Swinging Ship: Beserker or Viking Fury White Water Canyon: Theirs or Ours Log Flume: Shenadoah Valley or Race For Your Life Charlie Brown New Coaster: Intimidator 305 or Diamondback Themed Area: The Grove or Coney Mall Old Virginia or Rivertown Congo or Action Zone KD International Street or KI International Street Former Coasters: Hypersonic XLC or King Cobra Waterpark: Waterworks or Boomerang Bay Hotels: Kings Quarters or Great Wolf Lodge

Once the park opens, does processing continue until it closes? For example, if I go on a Friday night when the park is open at 10, will they process until 10, or shut it down at like, 8...?

Any company that decides to actually alter a service or stop providing a service on April 1st is, pardon the pun, foolish.

Wow, so awful. Disney Transportation has been all over the news, and I fear people will start to assume there's a problem within their transportation system. These are terrible, isolated instances. So many lives have been changed in irreversible ways from each and every problem. First and foremost, thoughts and prayers must go out to the family, the school, the friends, and everyone who is touched by this tragedy.