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If by some odd chance you did encounter a problem or question, I feel sincerely confident that Guest Relations would set things right in a timely and appropriate manner. Seriously.

Kings Island's got no rights to Cedar Fair. Just responsibilities. Cedar Fair is a theme park owner / operator who owns 11 theme parks in the U.S. and Canada, manages an additional one, and owns one stand-alone water park. One of the parks they own is Kings Island. Not too many years ago, Cedar Fair owned and operated only seven parks. Kings Island wasn't one of them. It was owned and operated by a division of Paramount (then Viacom and later CBS) called Paramount Parks. In 2006, Cedar Fair purchased all five Paramount Parks for $1.24 billion and folded those parks into their own, uniting them within their brand identity. That's when "Paramount's" left the park's name and film titles / references were more or less removed from the park. Cedar Fair has a particular style of ownership and management - just like any owner does or would! Just for fun, the original poster is having us imagine what it might be like if back then, Cedar Fair hadn't been the ones to buy Paramount Parks. What if Herschend Family Entertainment (owners of Dollywood and Silver Dollar City) had? What if Parques Reunidos had? What if Busch Entertainment had? Universal? Cedar Fair owns Kings Island and hasn't expressed any interest in letting it go. Some of the wisest among us foresee a not-too-distant future where Cedar Fair is no longer the owner of Kings Island, but for now it's just brainstorming and imagining and wondering what things could be like.

Here's a few zany thoughts: In 2002, Universal Orlando's then-half-owner Vivendi was looking to lose its half of the resort (which was way in the red thanks to a lack of investment, post-9/11 vacation dropout, and the low attendance at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure - a dark time for the resort). When asked by Reuters, Disney CFO Tom Staggs said of a possible acquisition: "Any assets that are in our core business that come available, we would certainly take a look at. Our primary focus is our core business. To the extent we can do an acquisition that is not dilutive to the earnings or cash flow, we'll take a look." Disney's stock was at a 52-week low post-9/11, so they obviously didn't go through with it. Instead, General Electric snatched up Universal for $3.8 billion. Vivendi was asking for $14 billion. But can you imagine if Walt Disney World had six parks divided into two resorts, one up the road from the other? Weird. Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Doubtful. New Fantasyland? Equally unlikely. Avatar? I don't think so. ------ Another fun thought... I was researching for a proper Geauga Lake article for Theme Park Tourist and came across a few different takes on the story concerning the merger of SeaWorld Ohio and Six Flags Ohio. The one we all know is the whole county-line-coaster-height-rule, or maybe the non-compete-agreement theory. A third theory I uncovered in my research was that, re-branded as a Six Flags, Six Flags Ohio refused to continue the cross-promotion with SeaWorld that they'd traditionally always done, and SeaWorld's attendance was hurting for it. So SeaWorld made the offer to purchase Six Flags Ohio not with the intention of combining them, but with the intention of owning both separate parks so that they could control promotions and marketing and create a two-day, two-park destination. (At the time, Geauga Lake / Six Flags was still a reasonably sized family park.) Obviously Six Flags refused and counter-offered, combining the two parks into Worlds of Adventure. But it begs the question: if that's true, might we have seen (or even still have) SeaWorld Ohio and Busch Gardens Ohio across from each other around Geauga Lake? If SeaWorld had bought Six Flags Ohio with intention to operate it, it makes sense that they would've folded it into the Busch Gardens brand, right? Even so, if it had taken that path, and given today's climate, it might STILL be closed. But weird to think about.

I'm not a finance guy, so just conceptually discussing who I think would be a good owner in terms of their style: I think the park is too big for Herschend. That's not really their expertise. They do manage Darian Lake, but that's STILL a step or two behind Kings Island's size and scope. Darian Lake ain't makin' any top 10 most visited seasonal parks in the U.S.... Parques, I think, would actually be a good fit. They seem to do well with Parque Warner and Parque de Atracciones, which - again conceptually - I think Kings Island should strive to be more like. They seem to be sort of the masters of maintaining and respecting the past, building for the future, and keeping power de-centralized so each park has its own identity and leadership and story. I like that. Merlin would also be a great fit. Their UK parks are outrageously cool and wonderful. They know what they're doing. They need a way to enter into the U.S. business beyond LEGOLAND, and acquiring some great seasonal parks would be a nice step. Their ideology also meshes well with Cedar Fair's, but takes it up a notch - coasters, but with a purpose. Well done theming and animal encounters and history and design. They could do wonders. I only see SIX getting the park if it's through a third party or through a merger / partnership with Cedar Fair. It seems unlikely to me that Cedar Fair would knowingly allow their primary industry alternative to come into possession of one of their top three parks. They probably wouldn't want SIX to control Cedar Point's primary competitor, and one of America's top three most visited theme parks. SeaWorld / Busch would - conceptually - make me giddy. I have yet to encounter a SeaWorld Parks park that wasn't lovingly cared for, wonderfully staffed, and filled with delicious food and drink. Obviously, current finances would probably make it wise for Kings Island to not be under SEAS' ownership.

As of now, they're illegal. FAA prohibits commercial use of drones. See Amazon's issue this year. http://www.dailydot.com/politics/disney-drone-patent/

So do I. I used them as an example of "bigger does not always mean better," as begun in Goble's post above mine.

Or HUSS anything. Or S&S towers. Or roller coasters...

It is a little hypocritical that many of us rally behind parks getting flat rides, then lambaste the park for adding one that isn't "right" for whatever reason. No, they're not coasters by most definitions. Who cares? I'll never get the whole "is it or isn't it?" question because other than those of us who like to keep track, who cares? I'm guilty of it, too. I probably wouldn't ride these Super Loop rides (not because I deem them unsafe or cheap or anything, but because I'm not the target market) except maybe once to say I did. But they're fine flat rides I guess. It IS weird since they're so synonymous with carnivals but oh well. People will like it. That's what counts.

Stupid complaint but Twisted Colossus looks a little silly to me having a green and blue track. Why not the "classic" red vs. a gray track or something? Small complaint, but it would be cool to play up the iron / metal look. As for the loops, definitely pretty well marketed. I do think it's an odd choice, but if they can get people in the gate for a million-dollar carnival ride, then more power to them. Seems like it's just one step below Premier's launched loop coasters (what's the name of that model? Like Busch Gardens' 2015 coaster or Superman at Discovery Kingdom?) And in the whole thing, there's only two "family" rides: the Spinsanity flat at Six Flags Over Georgia and Mexico's SkyScreamer. Which is fine, I guess, but not the trend we've seen at other parks / chains. Maybe that's a drawback of this mass-announcement type. If everyone else is getting a thrill ride / coaster and your park is getting a nighttime show or family flat, it stings.

^Maybe they are. It's a different time. That said, the Mega Loops don't exactly align to the time I thought we were in... We'll see. Right now, they've struck gold with the conversions of their wooden coasters. And if you ride them "before" and "after," it would be pretty daft to even begin to assume they're the same or even similar. They ARE new coasters, it's just a new way of creating them. These dark rides... VERY interesting. Animatronics provided by Sally Corp. Interactive elements designed by Alterface. The "multi-DOF" vehicles by Oceaneering... The people behind Spider-Man and DarKastle. Hmm... This is NOT a straight-up-Sally dark ride like the one in Australia.

Yep, rising floors: https://www.google.com/search?q=seaworld+raising+floors&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0XX8U4H3ApD5yQSK6oKwAQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=903&bih=515 Not in the show pools, but trainers don't swim with whales in the shows now.

As Dr. Phil puts it: "No matter how flat you make a pancake, it's got two sides." SeaWorld just allowed the public to believe that this particular pancake was one-sided.

Worse - people count watching a documentary as doing their research!

For those of you who are nerds like me, here's a scan of the paper souvenir map you're given inside Adventure. Fun to look over, even if you haven't visited yet! The map was provided to me by the exhibit's creative design team, Roto Entertainment. They're based out of Columbus, so if you're into the themed entertainment world and looking for a career, couldn't hurt!

IF it's true that St. Louis and Over Texas both open DC Heroes dark rides, I think that would be great. Sally's Justice League: Invasion looks like a fantastic attraction. Dark rides don't have to be for the "kiddies," and a super hero dark ride is one way to make a headlining, awesome dark ride that all can enjoy.

Now if only the Westboro "Baptist Church" and George W. Bush would publicly endorse Blackfish we might be able to convince some folks to reconsider the film's merits. Perhaps the reason why PETA didn't plaster its name all over the film despite their involvement.

Glad to hear it still sounds worthwhile! An unfortunately vocal minority despises the "new" COSI... or at least, they did in 1999 when it opened. In the opinions of many in Columbus, the gentle family museum that had been part of their community for almost 40 years had "sold out" in an effort to inflate itself. A multi-million dollar flashy building, "world-class" admission prices, and a new NASA-based CEO with a million dollar paycheck frustrated many, and the new COSI was sincerely boycotted for years. As I alluded to, COSI fell into financial peril thanks to that angry response, coming to a head in 2004. It lost levy after levy after levy by Columbus residents who were - frankly - holding a grudge against the loss of their children's museum in favor of such a huge, expensive "sell-out." There are still fan sites dedicated to the "old COSI," and the map archive they have there shows exactly what happened when that financial wave struck: Half of the "blimp" was shut off. Adventure, the Planetarium, Space, and the CityView gallery were part of the closure. How weird to have that whole "blimp" and half of it simply gated off... SBNO. Weird. Space was relocated. Two exhibits ("i|o" and "Simzone") were closed and never re-opened. Adventure was closed for almost a decade before re-opening for a "limited one-year engagement" in 2011. It's still open with no known plans to shut it. The $3.00 up-charge probably helps, and boy is it worth it! (COSI had also helped put together a COSI Toledo, which legally split during this time to focus on its own financial problems, eventually cutting ties with COSI. It's still around today as Imagination Station. I've never been to the Toledo location, but it was not designed or operated by the same folks as Columbus'. It did not and does not have the themed atria or "pavilion topic" style.)

Kings Island has TONS of room. Nothing needs to be removed for anything else, despite us losing a few classics with that as the cited reason. If Cedar Point isn't landlocked, then Kings Island DEFINITELY isn't.

So, I recently moved to Columbus for a new job (my first post-college, big boy job. *takes a bow*) and have had a chance to really get to explore COSI, the absolutely incredible world-class science center here in downtown. Brief history: COSI was originally a small, local, family / children's museum in Columbus. In 1999, it re-opened in a brand new, state-of-the-art facility on the bend in the Scioto River along downtown Columbus. The purpose of the move was to create in COSI a world-class science center. And I mean, world class. The idea was to be on par with Tokyo's Miraikan, Medizintechnick Berlin, etc. Designed by famous artist / architect Arata Isozaki, the building is just unbelievably incredible. From downtown, it's disguised with the remains of the city's old Central High School as a tribute to the history of the city. If you can believe it, the other side of the building is a 320,000 sq. foot futuristic structure (which I compare to a blimp hangar) made of 159 curved concrete panels. Architecture and math fans will get a kick out of the odd statistics of the West facade. So, from the city, the museum is a testament to the past. Approaching from the neighborhood of Franklinton, it's a statement of the future. A really, really cool juxtaposition right off The Bat (and you all know how I love that kind of thing / stories / details). Most science centers I've been to are simply large levels filled with fun experiments (green screens, bubble walls, piano floors, tornado machines, etc). COSI is different. It has this crazy Epcot-like mentality of having pavilions themed to different topics. You enter under the gold cylinder in the photo above into a three-story atrium with two levels crossing overhead on bridges. Two very long, high hallways split off from that atrium and flow down the length of the "blimp hangar." Just long, white walls with white vertical lights. Along those long hallways, you suddenly see... oh, I don't know, a shipwreck bursting halfway through the wall. That is the entrance to the Ocean exhibit. Like a freakin' theme park, COSI has massive themed atrium themed to seven topics that, when combined, make up "science." Ocean Entering through that shipwreck, guests step into an underwater cavern. The path branches. To the right is an exploratory submarine called the DMS Poseidon, full of hands-on exhibits that discuss the factual exploration of the ocean - how submarines work, how diving suits work, watersheds, piloting remote subs, pressure readings, and ecosystems (above). Back in the underwater cavern, the path to the left branches into the underwater Temple of Poseidon (presided over by a massive statue of the god and a shining gold halo behind him) where hands-on experiments deal with the fantasy of water - the incredible things it can do, how it feels, how it looks, etc. You'll find water bells, laminar flow cannons, waterfalls, erosion, and whirlpool activities as well as ancient fish statues (you can see one in the bottom left in the photo above) that spit laminar flow streams into the ceiling, where they disappear without a single drop falling back down). If you have an Instagram, you'll Instagram this room. You just have to. Progress How obvious and simple and yet brilliant is it to consider "Progress" an element of science? It really is. Here, you enter into the small town of Progress, USA in 1898 (so, set a few years before Disney's Main Street, where electricity and gas lamps still co-mingle). The town of progress has shops you can step into, a post office, a telegram office, grocery stores, etc. The town itself is on the crossroads of Hope Street and Fear Street as you explore the hopes and fears of the era, which are inseparable elements of progress and change. Then, you turn the corner and enter into the SAME town in 1962, which is 64 years later. Now there's a diner, and the department store has certainly changed its offerings. The telegram office has become a television news studio, etc. But along with a new era come new hopes and fears. The exhibit ends by asking "What would the streets of Progress look like today? What would be YOUR hopes and fears? What would your grandchildren think of the town of Progress in 2014?" Life Life is divided into sections dedicated to Mind, Body, and Spirit. Mind is full of brain teasers and hands-on exhibits that show that you can't overpower your brain's reflexes. Spirit discusses life and death, our conception of both, and the way we memorialize. Body contains fitness tests that allow you to compare your statistics (resting and active heart rates, flexibility, and strength) to national averages. The exhibit also contains Labs rented out by OSU faculty who partner with COSI and visiting programs right in front of guests. Space The final frontier, right? Space has been relocated a few times as COSI went through some difficult financial issues in the 2000s. Today it's the only exhibit that doesn't have its own giant themed atrium. When it DID, it was a crazy cool retro spaceport under the stars with one of those dizzying, spinning tubes as its entry. Today it's just a collection of exhibits along the mezzanine. This fall, COSI is re-opening its Planetarium (which is actually located in the big external gold cylinder... it closed during those tough years, and is now ready to re-open with your help) that should revitalize the exhibit or at least earn it its own official atrium again. Gadgets Gadgets contains probably the most "typical" science center stuff. This is where guests can play with lasers, floating foam balls, plasma-globes, chaotic pendulums, cogs, pulleys, pistons, transmission, circuits, light bulbs, etc. There's also a tiny little theatre that plays "how it's made" videos for things like automobiles, ice cream, etc that are really fun to watch and just a few minutes long. There's also the wonderful Gadget Cafe where you're given a menu of experiments (like invisible ink, mini-volcanoes, etc) and choose an appetizer, entree, and dessert to build or work on. A lot of fun. If you're a tech person, they also have old computers, phones, and household accessories to take apart and try to put back together. Energy The Energy exhibit is new. When walking in, you select an avatar and carry the card with you as you travel to the Home Zone, Product Zone, and Transportation Zone. At each, you place your avatar card into kiosks and answer questions about how to save energy given your character's back story. In the Home Zone, you walk around the home and look for "Energy Vampires" – household items that use power even when not in use. In the Transportation Zone, you can fuel up four cars with gasoline, natural gas, ethanol, electricity, and hydrogen and see which goes the farthest on $25 worth of fuel. You can also have two people "race" to the store - one by running in place on a sensor, and one by riding a stationary bike. Energy is totally interactive and a lot of fun to explore. Adventure I could (and may) go on and on about how unbelievably brilliant it is that COSI has deemed "adventure" an element of science, right alongside study of the oceans or space or life. Instead, I'll just tell you briefly what this is all about. Adventure is an add-on experience ($3.00, I believe, on top of general admission) where guests "live out" the scientific method. One group at a time is brought into an Indiana-Jones style outpost in the mysterious and ancient Valley of the Unknown. Set in 1937, the Adventure exhibit centers on a most peculiar element of the Valley of the Unknown recently discovered by the intrepid members of the Explorer's Society: the towering two-story stone Observatory at the island's center. Supposedly, the Treasure of Knowledge is contained within. No one knows, because the Observatory is sealed shut. The only way into the observatory is to awaken four stone statues hidden on the island, each of whom has one piece of a four-part code. P'lunk is the Spirit of Questions, who starts you on your quest. Then you - at your own pace - explore the island (in perpetual nighttime) and awaken Ba'ra'zoa in the Maze of Reason (where you must use reason to unlock his secrets), L'lala in the Temple of Inspiration (where you must think outside the box to bring her to life), and T'em-poa in the Caverns of Perseverence (where you must endure three physical challenges, each of which you may lose and need to try again... Get it?). Only once you've collected all four pieces of the code can you unlock the Observatory. It takes about an hour to unlock the Observatory in Adventure. What I've just recently learned is that there is a 'level 2' of the exhibit that takes 15 - 20 hours of work to complete. You end up plugging different codes into keypads where the island Spirits send you to new places. I won't say more in case anyone here is interested, but suffice it to say that once you unlock the Observatory, one of the island's guardians tells you that the code you used to unlock the tower has other meanings... Believe it, and check the ancient stone outside the Observatory's bridge. Conclusion The point is, if you've never considered a trip up to Columbus to visit COSI, think about it. It's very sincerely like a theme park for nerds (and I mean that lovingly, of course). If you're into science, it's the place to be. If you're into themed environments, architecture, museums, science centers, or storytelling, it's unbelievable. I'm blown away by Adventure. You will be, too, if you like that sort of thing. It's just sort of incomprehensible that all of this is at a science center. It's so unlike any other in the world. http://cosi.org/

Spaceship Earth is often overlooked. Not as "retro cool" as Epcot's lost dark rides (World of Motion, Journey into Imagination, Horizons, etc) and too dated to be a headliner. Wrong wrong wrong. Put simply, Spaceship Earth is one of the best dark rides on the planet. It's still around for a reason. It's the thesis statement for Epcot (especially as it was originally envisioned) and just wonder-ful.

Nope. Paramount Parks was headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kings Island was the first (and arguably flagship) of KECO's parks. But Paramount's Carowinds was, following the definition of a "flagship," the vessel overseen by the commander of a fleet. But you're right - under Paramount, Kings Island CERTAINLY seemed to have a boost of investment over the smaller parks. Maybe because two of the major driving forces behind investment are: Parks that make a lot get to spend a lot. To whom much is given, much is expected. With great power comes great responsibility. Etc. etc. This is why Cedar Point gets more costly additions than Michigan's Adventure. It's not equality. It's equity. Each gets what it needs and deserves based on its contribution to the whole. Kings Island today is, what, the third most visited seasonal park on Earth? Cedar Fair's goal is to get Carowinds up there, too, I think. But during the Paramount years, that wasn't the case nor the plan. Of Paramount Parks' lot, Kings Island was worthy of investment. Parks reflect the ecosystem they operate within... competitors and the like. Remember that Kings Island, at the time, faced off against a Six Flags park, Cedar Fair's flagship, Holiday World, and (a little farther) a SeaWorld and another Six Flags. The massive $40 million addition and expansion of Paramount Action Zone from 1999 - 2000 was not because Paramount Parks thought Kings Island was special and deserved a gift. It was a preemptive strike against Six Flags' plans for Louisville. Six Flags recently moved its headquarters to Grand Prairie, Texas.

Also keep in mind that Tomb Raider: FireFall at Kings Dominion kept its synchronized audio, film props, Triangle of Light painting on the ride carriage, fire, water, and steam, etc. The only notable change on the ride was the removal of a triangle of light plaque on the temple-themed backdrop and its replacement with a skull plaque. I don't know anything about this kind of stuff, but it COULD have to do with Paramount Parks Inc.'s patent for an "Enclosed programmably controlled looping swing," which is VERY specific on what's protected under the patent in relation to the Giant ride. It seems that Cedar Fair might've had very few options when it came to Tomb Raider... maybe even forbidden from an ancient deity / artifact search / adventure themed attraction. In that case, "theming" it to "The Crypt" was actually quite a smart response. From the patent:

Rides like Drop Zone, FACE/OFF, and Top Gun had practically no change in the actual experience. So why did folks still want the old names? THAT was not a matter of "theming" per se. Nothing about Drop Zone required the film to exist at all, much less for riders to know or care about it. Didn't matter. They could've renamed Drop Zone into Turkey Leg Doom Fall and the ride experience would be unaffected. (Might've been a better name than Drop Tower, anyway.) People resisted the new names because they weren't an upgrade. They weren't a re-theme. They were a de-theme. They hastily de-branded the rides into the most generic names possible. Nothing whatsoever tied the roller coaster formerly known as Top Gun to an aviation theme. It could've been named anything. Instead, they chose to come up with the most generic alternative to the "Top Gun" aviation theme that they could. I am still baffled that someone suggested Flight Deck, much less that it passed the many levels of approval one would hope is necessary before that became a roller coaster's name. Drop Tower is about as bad a name as you can imagine, and it hurt to lose the cool spiral logo in favor of... WordArt. Italian Job: Stunt Track and TOMB RAIDER: The Ride were both heavily affected by the removal of their licensing. Many here believe that they would've ended up even WORSE had they remained with those names under CBS's ownership. As much as we glorify, recall that during its last seasons, TOMB RAIDER was closed more than open. When it did work, it was without music or most of its effects. The Crypt 2008 was sincerely an upgrade from TOMB RAIDER 2006 / 2007. I think Cedar Fair of today would do a better job maintaining Tomb Raider. That being said, I don't think they'd go out on the limb to build it to begin with. As far as Intellectual Property, Cedar Fair has plenty of agreements. Peanuts, Pink's, LaRosa's, Graeter's, Dale Earnhardt, Coca-Cola... Lebron James?

I'm absolutely not saying they should be released to the wild, or oceanic pens. Just asking, because I don't know the costs and risks. I didn't necessarily mean "an oceanic pen that's still part of the park." I meant to let these whales "go" in the safest way, which may or may not be letting them live in oceanic pens where they're still cared for by SeaWorld specialists. That's precisely my point. First, I'd say SeaWorld can't compete with Universal and Disney. Even they probably don't claim to be trying to. Their zoological park (with a few thrill rides) simply shares a market with two huge international destination juggernauts. Secondly, the "Orca draw" appears to be waning. Has it reached the point where negative publicity from the orcas is actually hurting SeaWorld? Just as importantly, what if removing the orcas to oceanic pens, for example, gets a "Well... good... but I'm STILL not going to SeaWorld" from vocal activists and a portion of the general public? I don't know. My point was that SeaWorld should explore all of its options and projections and hypotheses. As a layman third party with absolutely no personal or financial investment in the situation, it seems to me that SeaWorld without killer whales might stand a BETTER chance than today's SeaWorld. The idea that they HAVE to keep killer whales to be something seems to be the same mindset that they have. The new exhibit pools seem to be a step in the right direction. I do question how much is "below the surface." Is it going to be much larger in size? Yes, and that's great. And up above, we humans will see beautiful rock work and waterfalls and geysers and fountains. My worry is that, below the water line, it'll still just be a big blue swimming pool. I don't know. I really don't.

It seems to me that any acquisition by Cedar Fair of any of the SeaWorld Parks would deserve a unique classification (i.e. no rides called Vortex, no i-dotted-with-flags, not part of the matching logo portfolio, etc). Give them their own division and their own unified branding. Cedar Fair Adventure Parks or something.God willing, the park(s) would be recognized as distinctly different from Cedar Fair's other parks. The needs and wants of their visitors are not the same as the needs and wants of Cedar Point's or Kings Island's or Dorney Park's. Different food, different culture, different atmosphere, different style. Though, truth be told, I don't think even regular-old Cedar Fair would be daft enough to add Williamsburg's 2015 coaster... In terms of renaming the parks, much would have to do with the way they're split, right? If say, Cedar Fair were to buy both Busch Gardens parks and InBev agreed to retain the current sponsorship deal through Anheuser-Busch, they could probably keep their names. If they split, perhaps it would be a Great America sequel. Like Busch Gardens Tampa: A Six Flags Park and Virginia's Busch Gardens. Head spinning.