bkroz

I'm not saying the problem would be finding the staffing. It would be justifying it. Without an upcharge, I don't know how they could.

^^ Obviously, do NOT click that link. I agree. I wasn't being facetious. It's absolutely awesome.

My big hope is that as part of the Amusement Dark initiative, Cedar Fair also rolls out new classic dark rides for each of the parks. That is to say that when Kings Island gets its interactive 21st century ride, I do not think it should replace Boo Blasters. But I think Boo Blasters does need replaced. I think it's entirely redundant to have two "blasting" dark rides, but apparently that didn't stop Wonderland. Have a cutting edge Iron Reef style dark ride, then a classic one, even if its The Great Pumpkin Adventure or something. It's not like we have a shortage of space, and we need more dark rides. It would be redundant for Kings Island to have Boo Blasters and a "better" interactive dark ride. At Knott's it makes more sense for Iron Reef to coexist with the park's other rides.. Two super classic dark rides, each FILLED with animatronics, lighting, music, storytelling, and craftsmanship, and each completely and totally refurbished in the last 3 years. Iron Reef is a good foil for them, and a nice way to add a 21st century dark ride that still feels like it's built for the park.

You can get close at Universal's Islands of Adventure, where the [in?]famous Triceratops Encounter attraction in Jurassic Park is becoming a meet-and-greet with Jurassic World's intelligent velociraptors. Seriously.

I know the idea has been discussed before and that it's a silly bit of armchair Imagineering, but here in Columbus the zoo has a relaxing, drop-free boat ride through a few simple Pacific Island animal habitats that, every summer, becomes Dinosaur Island. They simply rent animatronic dinosaurs and place them along the ride's course. Very simple. No drops. Just a relaxing boat tour. I think they charge $2 or $3 dollars for passholders and guests, respectively. Even though the terrain back there is prohibitive, I think a relaxing boat ride past dinosaurs is such a nice diversion. What a simple way to reinvigorate the attraction. And if each boat tripped the animatronic well before it was in sight, it would give the appearance that they're constantly moving, at least. Obviously it's entirely unlikely, but perhaps in another world the Cedar Fair parks would've built this kind of thing to begin with. EDIT: By the way, don't come up here looking for it... This summer, it's Pirate Island instead, and is likely to stay that way; the zoo purchased the pirates instead of renting the dinosaurs.

The problem would be staffing. In most cases, the quality of a haunted maze / walk-through is directly proportional to the number of people working. Actors and attendants. Thorpe Park had a SAW-themed horror maze that stayed open year round for two years before becoming Halloween only. I guess it's possible, but I'd expect an up-charge of at least $5 a person. And like Dinosaurs Alive, I'm not sure that that could be sustainable long-term. I mean, I guess to some extent, they might as well try. What good is it to have the thing set up and gathering dust in the Tomb Raider showbuilding all season? Might as well put a few workers in costumes and make some extra money off of it.

Maybe they could charge $5 ($4 for passholders) for a beautiful Midwestern Woods Walk featuring 100+ varieties of deciduous forest biome flora. (Squirrel sighting extra)

Probably the smartest thing about it is that it acknowledges the park. It's just just plopped in like Boo Blasters. You're facing off against an army of steampunk sea creatures who have been rising up from Knott's boardwalk and devouring old metal signs and rides. It's a clever way to explain why rides have disappeared, to see them rusting below the water. Even Wonderland's ride (which is apparently no where near as good) tries to scrape together a premise by finally explaining what's been inside of Wonder Mountain all these years: a vast network of caves and fantasy landscapes ruled over by a dragon (who then - correct me if I'm wrong - is featured in their awesome Starlight Spectacular). In other words, the fun thing to think about is how Kings Island's would [in theory] use the park's history and theming. If it were in The Crypt building? Imagine using the volcano or the goddess in the ride chamber as "physical sets" to break up the screens. I don't know. Cool thought.

I like it a lot. I was always turned off by the short program on each dino and then the 2 minute break they take after each. Just let the things keep moving. Or else what's the point? Either give the illusion they're real or don't. It's just like what Terp says about ride closures: if a ride is closed when I try to get on it, then for my intents and purposes, it was closed all day. If half the dinosaurs I walk by don't move (because I caught them during a "break,") then those 30 dinosaurs must just not move at all. Which is not good show. Either we're supposed to think they're real, we're supposed to think they're statues, OR we're supposed to think they're statues they occasionally move. Which of those is the most engaging? Which is the current plan?

Seems a LOT better than Guardian. Omnimover vehicles, 3D screens, physical sets, a [somewhat] discernible storyline. Masterpiece? No. Could it stand without the interactivity? No. But a fine ride. Triotech and / or Cedar Fair is learning.

And Fast Lane is very different from FastPass in that regard.

Disney really opened up Pandora's box when they introduced FastPass. FastPass allows you to trade waiting less for a small number of rides for longer waits on your other rides via the standby queue. This is an important point - all FastPass (and the other quick cut-the-line options) does is re-allocate who is waiting and for how long. FastPass didn't suddenly add capacity to actually cut down wait times. It simply lets some people wait less while others (those in the standby lines) wait longer. All FastPass is doing is changing the perception of how you feel about waiting by giving you some small rewards in the form of a few FastPass opportunities. FastPass isn't really making anyone wait longer in theory. The computer knows that Space Mountain has an hourly capacity of X. It distributes (for example) 30% of X to FastPass users, and the remaining 70% is the "Stand-by" line. To make this very simple, let's say there are 100 people in line for Space Mountain. There are only 70 people in Stand-by. But the computer knows that 30 will arrive within the hour long window for their Fastpass reservation, so it adjusts the wait time to compensate for that. The marquee outside will broadcast a wait time based on 100, not 70. The "point," in a sense, is that 100 people would be in line for Space Mountain from 9:00 - 10:00 if there were no FastPass. But Fastpass allows 30 of those people to be out in the park spending money. For the 101st person who chooses to wait in the Stand-by, they're told a wait based on 100 people ahead of them, even if there are only 70 in the Stand-by line. They're waiting just as long as they would've, just with 30 of the 100 people "virtually" queued instead of literally queued. The point is, Disney's system is weighted and measured by computers and adjusting algorithms and return time and capacity formulas that adjust throughout the day. It's also very complex for the operator. Compare it to a simple wristband and a sign pointing up an exit ramp. Voila. Fast Lane. No limits, no computers, no measurements, no extra employees. Just a big box of wristbands and cash in the register.

I like that he's created a "safety committee" "to inspect the park's rides and equipment every week and to fix any problems that could pose even a remote danger to their customers." A weekly inspection by a committee (made up of who, exactly?). Voila. Safety. You can't budget it.

Backlot's block sections are practically a moot point. The second track section after the MCBR (the tunnel) is so short that it doesn't seem to make any operational difference that the MCBR exists at all. I would guess that it's been a one-train-on-the-course ride since it opened and hasn't deviated from that.

Plus at least one incredibly historic dark ride. Kennywood is not the kind of place where you need to look over your shoulder the whole time. If something similar happened at Kings Island and our friends started saying, "Well clearly Kings Island is dangerous and I'm not going to go," all of us would leap into action to assure them that this is unusual and that it's being sensationalized. Same thing here. Be safe always! But Kennywood is NOT a park to avoid because of this. edit: Fixed last sentence!

The idea that there are people standing on the derelict sidewalks around the park holding signs that doubtlessly say "Save The Big Dipper!" is laughable. Not that I don't agree, but c'mon. Those people - probably incited by a Facebook group - have no idea what they're asking for, or even who they're asking it of. At this point, it's just become an intangible concept to people, not a real plan. If you asked them who they were hoping would see their protest, I bet most would say "Cedar Point."

Universal's on it. First, a brilliant 21st century park of themed IP islands: Marvel, Jay Ward, Jurassic Park, Seuss, and two outstanding, Disney-quality original concepts. Now, they've redoubled their efforts and have acquired the rights to Harry Potter, The Simpsons, Nintendo... Recently added outstanding E-tickets based on Transformers, Despicable Me... Skull Island is on the way... They've added two islands to IOA and are now focused on updating the original Studios park by adding themed lands. Truly, Diamondback96. Trade a single day of your family vacation to Walt Disney World for a day of Universal. I promise you that you'll wish it had been two. And the year after, it probably will be. Me? I grew up with Walt Disney World and went year after year after year. Now, if I go to Florida, it's for Universal. Period. If I want to visit a Disney Parks property, I can get more at Disneyland. Really.

A Luigi's Mansion dark ride would have all of the pieces in place to be just like Phantom Theater. Although, while Phantom Theater was great for a regional, seasonal park, I'd expect at a park like Universal to get something more along the lines of DarKastle So, along the lines of Universal's Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, which DarKastle is a budget version of.

Whoa! Disney did NOT release concept art of Avatar. They made the same exact announcement that Universal did today: that they'd secured the rights to build attractions based on Avatar / Nintendo, and that they would begin developing attractions. Disney did specifically announce that the first of those attractions would be a land at Animal Kingdom (whereas Universal hasn't announced which park specifically will be the first to get Nintendo). But no art. No ride announcements. No timelines. It was two years and a few weeks later that Disney finally released concept art of Pandora. Deal signed September 17, 2011. Announced three days later. Concept art released October 12, 2013. Two years later. And the project will open in 2017, six years after it was announced. At each progressive revelation, it was met with a sigh of disinterest from fans and GP. Compare that to this announcement, which is going viral online. Nintendo is a HUGE coup for Universal. Not quite Potter sized yet, but a HUGE acquisition. Enormous. And incredibly relevant... Especially compared to Avatar. Mario Kart ride? Kirby? Mario? Pokemon? Zelda? Donkey Kong? Metroid? Just because you've aged out of it doesn't mean everyone has. The "Tumblr" crowd and early twenty-somethings will be very impressed by any E-tickets that come of this. And think about the "Peanuts" effect. Twenty-something couples or early thirties couples with young kids... Guess who they grew up on? And guess who pays for the tickets? Those folks would show up in force for a Zelda ride.

Toon Lagoon is a contender, but it would need to be wiped and built from scratch. Its two rides (Popeye and Dudley Do-Right) are huge, though, and wouldn't be easily re-adapted for new characters. I think they'd seriously need to close the land and re-build it from the ground up, which seems a little silly. The park needs those two water rides and there's no sincere impetus to get rid of them, necessarily. Even though Nintendo would make a worthy replacement, I don't think it's where they'll go. Lost Continent will eventually disappear, which makes me a little sad. But I'd watch for Potter to creep into the Sinbad's Bazaar area of it first (maybe the Forbidden Forest could take over there?), and maybe eventually the Lost City area. But thematically it still fulfills an important position in the park's creative roster. To eliminate it turns 5/7 of the park's island's to cartoons, which is a little heavy. Lost Continent helped balance that and provide something "different" so I don't think it would be the first place for Nintendo. My big bet? The kids area in the studios. It's currently got Fievel and Curious George play areas, an animal show theater, a Barney theater, and an ET dark ride. Especially as the Studio park pushes to both update and build themed lands, I think this property is PERFECT for expansion. Barney Theater becomes Pokemon Battle Gym with a live Pokemon battle show. The associated playground, gardens, etc. become a little village from the show / game with a Pokecenter gift shop, etc. with a classic spinner of flying Pokemon. ET dark ride building becomes Mario & Luigi's Adventure dark ride. The two playgrounds (Fievel and Curious George) become a Hyrule Adventure play area leading to a new Legend of Zelda dark ride. For a long time, I assumed that kids area would get the Dreamworks overlay, but that apparently can't happen (because if it could, I think it already would've). So Nintendo would be marvelous there. What a perfect theme for a kids area. And three little distinct sub-sections within: Pokemon, Mario, and Zelda.

Especially today, dark rides have a hundred thousand different forms. I think Kings Island should get a SCOOP based dark ride like Spider-Man. In the same vein as Busch Gardens' SCOOP ride, DarKastle, they'd doubtlessly need to farm out the creative process, animation design and storytelling of the ride (I shudder to think what Cedar Fair would create in-house with just the technology to work off of). But those rides can be family rides and thrill rides and are much more accessible than they were 15 years ago financially. That said, I expect that a SCOOP ride is exactly what Knott's Voyage is going to be. But with interactivity and without physical sets integrated in, it loses most of its wow factor. Alternatively, a dark ride / coaster hybrid budgeted for a regional park (i.e. Verbolten or Thirteen) would be a welcome family addition. Truthfully, even a classic dark ride like (a more well-done) Boo Blasters, Phantom Theater, or Enchanted Voyage. But that seems entirely unlikely. The SCOOP and coaster can be marketed like crazy, but Cedar Fair's people would take one look at a classic dark ride and go, "We can't market this!" Realistically, we're not going to get an IP-based dark ride or something on par with Revenge of the Mummy. But if we can get ANYTHING without lasers, I'll be ecstatic.

What type Kings Island should get, or will get? It seems pretty certain it'll be from Triotech since Cedar Fair has partnered with them for the Amusement Dark initiative thing. Their products are priced well, one can imagine, for regional parks like Cedar Fair's and offer "budget" versions of well-known ride systems. So far, Guardian at Wonderland is Voyage to the Iron Reef at Knott's isn't open yet, but it will probably be Given those two examples and pending any others, Kings Island would likely get an interactive indoor dark ride that's mostly (if not entirely) screens and may or may not include a very short roller coaster section. Boo Blasters' building seems more fitting than The Crypt's unless they make a very compact ride split between two levels. Or worse, a very SHORT ride on one level with the rest of that tall building standing for no reason. Of course, a new building could be constructed, too. At Cedar Point, could be a new building or the remains of one of the park's lost dark rides.

This one? http://www.wlwt.com/news/blue-ash-police-investigating-red-roof-inn-shooting/28168970 http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/crime/2014/09/20/police-find-trail-of-blood-in-red-roof-inn/15948907/ Looks to be a delightful little place.

Music is such a simple element that can make a world of difference. Cedar Fair was bad about it. Real bad. Remember when The Crypt opened with techno music? Eventually, it was replaced by jungle animal noises, which was a (narrow) step up. That was about when WindSeeker opened and they seemed to suddenly realize that music licensing is simpler than other types. WindSeeker is VERY musical, and we got simple but effective music added to Delirium, Drop Zone, Invertigo... WindSeeker had Harry Potter and Star Wars scores, and The Crypt got the music from Inception, which was really great. Backlot played smooth Michael Buble songs that totally fit the "spy" aesthetic. It was just a big boost to atmosphere and style. Seems that that, too, has fallen by the wayside. I'm not saying that Diamondback needs to play songs that reference snakes or anything, but why SHOULDN'T Banshee play atmospheric Irish music, or Diamondback play Western songs like Maverick does (er... apparently, used to ). Maybe blame FunTV? I was SHOCKED that they actually added flatscreen TVs in Boo Blasters' queue playing "Rude" by Magic. I mean, shocked. Is nothing sacred? The park existed for decades without the songs of four-years-ago playing in the queues. Is it more fun for the masses? I mean, maybe narrowly. But c'mon. When waiting for an experience like Boo Blasters or Banshee or Diamondback, at least try. Different music for different themed areas. Music creates atmosphere. Walking through Islands of Adventure, the music is on par with the physical theming. What fun is walking through Jurassic Park without its score playing? What's exotic about Lost Continent without its music? The Wizarding World's big emotional punch is the score from the films playing. At Kings Island, you get "California Gurls" from the early Ohio settlement to the Irish moors. And then there's International Street...

Cedar Point is the kind of park that developed over the course of a century (and then some) growing from a picnic park to a carousel park to a midway to a coaster park. Its setup (particularly the long midways dotted with vendors and rides) reflects that history. I think of that as a "natural" or "organic" layout that develops over a long period of time as a park grows. Often, those parks aren't very intuitive or easily navigable because they grew out as needed and under the care of many different owners. (See Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, Conneaut Lake Park, Universal Studios Hollywood, Kennywood, etc.) In 1955, Disneyland opened with an innovative "hub and spokes" park layout with an entry land that forced all guests to the center of a wheel from which other themed lands radiated outward like the spokes on a bike tire. That was very unique and new, and one of the key elements that separated Disneyland from the parks, midways, and boardwalks that had predated it. To me, that layout is intentional, purposeful, and man-made. It's got traffic flow in mind. It's got the benefit of being developed and built all-at-once instead of responding to growth like the other kind. (See Disneyland, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida, Animal Kingdom, Kings Island, etc.) Being 50+ years old by time American parks began being built in Disneyland's image, Cedar Point maintains its midway style. Its themed areas - Frontier Trail and Frontiertown - were built between 1965 and 1972... right around the time Magic Kingdom opened. What's cool is that Cedar Point has shown an interest in at least giving personality to different areas. Gemini Midway is a great example. We'll see what else the park has in store. Valravn and a "dark forest" dark ride in Rougarou's area would build a very compelling themed area (if trees came along, too). Of course, then Millennium would be even MORE stranded than it is right now.