bkroz

He might've meant you can get into the park and get more rides than ever on your favorite attractions. It may still only be two attractions.

Some Disneyland fans would happily send a couple of their executives our way! And believe it or not, we wouldn't want them, either! Remember Disney's California Adventure in February 2001? That park, I'd offer, had more in common with Kings Island than with Disneyland, and more in common with your friendly neighborhood Six Flags than with Kings Island... Given those same executives had control of Kings Island, the Crypt may well be replaced with a walking tour of a working bread factory, and then it would be listed as one of the park's main attractions!

Or current, depending on how you view the public relations role he's taken on... By his own choice or otherwise.

My understanding is that it was set up in the arcade on Coney Mall and entered through the back door of it, along the midway to X-Base. In other words, it was just cardboard diving walls setting up a maze in the regular arcade. Having stairs in the middle of a dark, atmosphere, high-tension haunted house would not bode well for ADA regulations, I don't think... That's one of the reasons I never thought The Crypt's building could easily be used as a haunt... It'll be interesting to see how they get folks down to the ground floor of the building, or how they build a platform to connect the exit to the former queue if they do indeed include the former ride chamber as part of the haunt. (In fairness, people could enter through the cavern then exit through the "rendezvous point," skipping the ride chamber altogether and still packing a fair amount of maze into the queue and two pre-show rooms.

In seven hours, they removed the ride, I guess! Or there's miscommunication... Or misdirection... Politics Public relations! EDIT:

And via KIGMGREG: Remember, that's only seven hours after @KingsIslandPR said: That was fast! And so, rest in piece, Durga. Hopefully the fact that they totally removed the wall and ride means that they have something sizable planned.

But Son of Beast was never a "classic" coaster, or a celebrated one. It broke many world records, but was simply not met with much acclaim from any direction besides the park's marketing team. Even that has diminished to zero. So would a roller coaster museum want to showcase a piece of wood from one of the bottom ten roller coasters on Earth for however many consecutive seasons? Kings Island had lots of "biggest in the worlds." So far, two appear to be gone for good, and that's only in the past three years.

If Kings Island were to "auction off" pieces of Kings Island history for a good cause, my "what I would pay" for the piece would be much different than if they simply said, "Give me a hundred dollars for it." Owning a piece of Kings Island history is a great thing. Would it hurt anyone to take an old bolt from The Beast, the a piece of The Crypt's goddess, and a wheel from one of the old Son of Beast trains? They could make a fair amount of money for a good cause. If that weren't the case, I'd hope they'd at least say, "Just take it." It's not doing them any good, after all, so why shouldn't they give it to the fans?

Every time I watch that, I am truly, truly astounded that a ride like that existed in a seasonal park in Ohio, even if only for a few months. It was quite literally beyond the scope of what many expected a seasonal park could produce. And perhaps it was beyond the scope of what a seasonal park could reasonably produce. It's still one of the most innovative rides I've ever encountered.

Of course not.. They all went toward the transformation of Kings Dominion's Tomb Raider: Firefall into The Crypt (where they still stand today, by the way!)

I believe that the structure is physically part of the wall. I don't think it could be removed in one piece, and even if it could, you're talking about thousands of pounds of plaster or whatever it's made of. My hope is to somehow convince someone at Kings Island to give me a shard of it when it's inevitably cracked and obliterated off the wall. I tweeted them: They said the following: I hope they know how deadly serious I am. It would be a part of Kings Island history, and a memento of my favorite attraction. It's not like there's much better to do with it... :\

Soon? Will we? Lookin' forward to it! Hahah

I'd kill to see the president of Cedar Fair out there rebuilding the greatest wooden coaster (which as of 2012, according to a respected industry poll, is a bull of a ride in Jersey). I very seriously tweeted at Kings Island with an offer to pay for a piece of Tomb Raider's Durga statue if and when the giant goddess is dismantled (likely by a wrecking ball). Thus far, I have not yet received a reply. If KingsIslandPR reads this, I hope they're aware that I'm dead serious, and would eternally in their favor for the opportunity.

I would be. Why let it take up valuable space? Because removing the ride structure itself will be a costly and time-consuming endeavor that probably needs to be worked into a year's budget (not that it couldn't have been worked into 2012's). In other words, until it needs to be removed, it might not be. Look at Son of Beast... So many people say "Yeah, it's over, just tear it down." Do these people think that the magical toothpick fairies will fly down to Mason and reclaim the wooden splinters they used to build the thing? It's expensive, and there's no real reason to do it until it needs to be done, or until it can be done... I don't know. That's how I see it. Keep in mind that it's not a portable carnival ride either. It has concrete footings drilled deep into the Earth, most likely one with the concrete slab of the building itself. It wasn't built to be removed, and it will definitely put up a fight. I would wager that there will be jackhammers if the park wishes to remove the ride's legs. I don't know.

Is the belief that The Crypt, of all rides, doesn't deserve a funeral? It doesn't even need moved to be properly interred. Would a wake be more appropriate?

It completed ten years of operation. 2002, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Wouldn't you agree that the close of the 2002 season marked "one year" of operation? If so, than the 2011 season's end marked "ten years" of operation.

Common misconception, which I only bother to think about thanks to Terp. 2002 (1), 2003 (2), 2004 (3), 2005 (4), 2006 (5), 2007 (6), 2008 (7), 2009 (8), 2010 (9), 2011 (10). The Crypt did indeed operate for ten seasons because 2002 is year one, not year zero. And as it was, I hardly imagine anyone would've been having a "celebration" of any kind whatsoever even if it was open. Other than Son of Beast and Rocket Rods, I have trouble thinking of other recent multi-million dollar additions that have been reduced to nothing in such a relatively short time.

In the last five years, Cedar Point added Maverick, Planet Snoopy, Starlight Experience (removing Demon Drop), Shoot the Rapids (closing Chaos), WindSeeker, and Dinosaurs Alive (closing Paddlewheel Excursions). The Mat Racing slide added to Soak City is the first addition to the water park since 2004. Before that, it was 1995. In other words, I would hardly say Cedar Point was aggressively dismantling their ride lineup and aggressively beefing up their waterpark as of recent. I think we can agree that water parks are inexpensive compared to the draw they create, so it makes sense that that be the "off season" investment at Kings Island and Cedar Point while Canada's Wonderland has their "on season."

You mentioned having "seen before" expanding water parks and diminishing thrill parks. I went on to note the two recent examples of that that I've seen. In both of those cases, I said very truthfully that I don't think there's any resemblance to Kings Island's scenario. Why don't you say what you mean so it can be discussed, then?

But getting rid of a lawsuit-attracting ride that was arguably doomed from the start and an on-its-last-leg flat ride that's been a burden from a PR POV and a maintenance one hardly leads one to believe that Cedar Fair intends to turn Kings Island into a waterpark exclusively. In one of the two recent cases of that I can recall, a park on leased land removed its signature thrill ride then fell into political turmoil with the landlords at a time of great corporate focus shift in the lessee. In the second, an over-expanded family park was systematically dismantled as one ride at a time was sent to the company's other parks, where those rides doubtlessly did much more good marketed as "new!" than they did rotting away in Amish country. I return to what's been said in another post: it's about money. It has to be. It's unfortunate that Geauga Lake's generations of fans had to see it die, but would you rather have had Cedar Fair struggle through massive debt and have Kings Island, Cedar Point, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Dorney Park short massively popular attractions just so that no one in Aurora, Ohio would have to be sad? Officials apparently surmised that the cost to operate The Crypt finally exceeded the benefits of its operation, and thus it became a drain on resources. Just like that, it disappeared. Sad that a ride whose introduction was heralded by all manner of enthusiast just ten years ago could be dismissed just as quickly, but the marketing wasn't there, the draw wasn't there, the word of mouth wasn't there, and so it's gone. That, to me, doesn't resemble Aurora or Louisville's situations in the slightest.

Do yourself a favor and don't go on Kings Island's Facebook. Or any theme parks' (though Six Flags and many others are smart enough to not have the "fan" discussion be visible from the main page, instead opting for only official status updates to be initially visible). We're talking about a population who can't be corrected. Tell them all you want that Backlot Stunt Coaster does not go upside down - they'll say you're wrong. And with the anonymity of the internet, they'll likely insult you in the process. It's best to just stay off of the Facebook page of something you find great personal enjoyment in - you'll only upset yourself by seeing the opinions and naïveté. Truthfully, it's probably best to stay off of Facebook altogether.

Blue on blue. Makes for a happy color scheme! Hahha. The entrance plaza will definitely feel different now, but at least it's getting attention.

https://twitter.com/#!/KIGMGREG And with the same Twitter handle format. Methinks this more than a coincidence. @KIGMGreg @DPGMMcClure @CPGMJohn But will there be a @CWGMKinzel? What was that Ouimet said about being more engaging with visitors? More accessible online presence? And this season, Cedar Point will feature never-frozen burgers, an open line of sight down the Millennium midway, and a nighttime light show that (in true Disney styling) is called "Luminosity" that is expected to trickle to other parks as success is proven. And no one could overlook the other "Disney-esque" benefit for people staying onsite, who get into the park a half hour early...

I'm darn near in love with the colors of FACE/OFF when they're fresh. I never saw it as "yellow and red," but as a maroon and mac-n-cheese that I thought were dramatic, attention-grabbing, and appropriate for Action Zone. That being said, their faded counterparts are less than awe-inspiring. The Stinger colors at Dorney Park have me a little undecided. In promotional images (in which the color was Photoshopped), I like how the track comes across as a seafoam color. But in reality, it's blue on top of a different blue, which I don't like near as much. Since that particular ride is the first people notice when entering Kings Island, it would be weird to see it a different color. (PHOTOSHOPPED COLORS) (ACTUAL COLORS)

And not just them! No matter how one might romanticize Disney, Universal, etc., money has to be the basis for most every decision. If the boards don't demand it, the shareholders will. There's a reason for everything those companies do, and most lead back to money. See the $1.2 billion poured in Disney California Adventure. That park has received easily $2 billion in upgrades in the eleven years that it's been open, and none of that was done only to make nostalgic visitors happy. It was done because Disney believes that in the long run, it will recoup that $2 billion and then some. Business is business, but when you get too close and imagine it as something "personal," that's when feelings get hurt. Kings Island raises parking prices or charges for Dinosaurs Alive, and some here feel personally attacked, like a relative has stolen out of their wallet. When you become absorbed in a situation and build memories around it, it's hard to see it for what it really is. Visit micechat or any number of Disney message boards and you'll see how violently they pick apart the company and the way it runs the parks - similar to the way we pick apart Cedar Fair and Kings Island, seemingly forgetting that it has to come down to money. Pure and simple.