bkroz

It means it took them five years to get around to another. What they've been working on and innovating on has been their Mega-coaster design - apparently, to the extent that they've been able to feel comfortable expanding it into a Giga coaster... For B&M that seems to mean that they're very, very assured of their design and that they feel they've mastered that layout / train style / track construction. In my experience, Intamin starts near the top, then offers lower versions. B&M starts at the bottom and works their way to the record-breakers. That, to me, is why they're known for uptime, reliability, and comfort. It appears that the hey-day of inverted coasters (or at least, the first hey-day) is over, because for years, they were cranking off a few each season. That's when every park got one (except Kings Island and Kings Dominion, but Kings Dominion got that Intamin Accelerator in the lost mountain). Now it seems that they're doing that with their hyper coaster line and their wing rider line (with three of those opening in 2012). If the interest is there, I'm sure they'd built one. But what they're certainly trying to market to prospective buyers would be the two models they're focusing on at any given time. At least, it seems that way to me.

I don't think B&M has made a new inverted coaster since 2007 - they've all been relocations. But there's supposed to be one opening in 2012 that sounds like it will be an original, so maybe the era of the inverted coaster is returning. Still, I think Cedar Fair tends to go on patterns. I mean, almost every park got a Planet Snoopy. Almost every park got a Boo Blasters. Almost every park got a B&M hyper. Almost every park got a WindSeeker. Almost every park got a Dinosaur's Alive. That's not to say things will continue on in that direction, but now would be a pretty odd time to start deciding that each park deserves its own unique identity and its own signature attractions, right? And say what you want about Ouimet, but the parks he was previous in charge of are hardly renowned for their "original programming." Disney sort of seemed like the first "if it works here, let's put it there" mentality. Disney is the king of ride duplication. Tower of Terror helped out Disney-MGM Studios turnstiles? Put one in every resort... Same of Muppets 3D, It's Tough to be a Bug, Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Star Tours II, dozens of others, and the entirety of Disneyland Park!

Right, but if you were searching for Great America's website, would you ever assume it would be pgathrills? Especially with the Professional Golfer's Association!

Visitkingsisland.com is only so odd because it's so difficult to advertise. Imagine the radio ad: "Visit visit Kings Island dot com for more information!" But then, there was pgathrills.com. Who would ever guess that one?

I mean, it's not like he tried to come back. Sounds like it was plan from the beginning to take all he could and scram. I hope that $1800 can sustain him, because I can't imagine he'll be getting a legitimate job for quite a long time... One stupid mistake and he's basically blacklisted, even from the most high-turnover places.

The question is, would you prefer that each Cedar Fair park got an identical WindSeeker, or an identical Big Fun coaster? Would've been about the same cost, wouldn't it? Perhaps less, if the Big Fun model doesn't encounter the same mechanical issues that the WindSeeker did...

It's in Planet Snoopy, too... Smart. Very smart.

I'm surprised a single Dippin' Dots stand can amass $1,800 in a day, especially without making a deposit of some kind. That's a lot of money to have sitting in a little cart on wheels.

I'm saying, things happen. After Tower of Power's cable snapped, the ride reopened after only a few weeks. It wouldn't have done so unless everyone under the sun in power at Six Flags and in the State of Kentucky deemed it safe. It didn't matter. It was unpopular (and I don't blame people for that) and was shuttered soon after, despite the moderate financial influx it had recieved only the year before. SIX could've said, "Hey. We checked it, and it's fine now. And we just dumped all that money into giving it the Superman theme last year! We're not moving it!" That didn't happen; the small monetary investment of 2008 didn't stop the 2009 dismantling on a ride that was 100% approved for operation post-incident. Just because The Crypt got a minimal budgetary boost in 2011 is not a good reason to keep it around. The Tower of Power example is extreme, yes... But my impression of rotag's original post is that they wouldn't have given minor upgrades to the queue if they intended to close the ride the next season. My response to that is: wrong. I don't think we can count on The Crypt's continued operation just because its queue got a few more lights. Things happen. They may not be as major as Tower of Power, but a simple budgetary reevaluation or a guest comment or an accusation can change things. Has anyone written in to Kings Island saying they're truly, terribly offended by the idea of desecrating a burial place and making a crypt the location of a ride, and that they'll certainly make an announcement at their next church function regarding it? Has anyone called and said the ride gave them a concussion or an aneurism? If they did, would the ride close (even briefly), or would Kings Island representative say, "Sorry, we just added new lights in the queue so the ride's going to stay this way for a while, no matter the cost." It's the same if an internal complaint is lodged - like, if it's found that the ridership and guest satisfaction is down, at that the ride is causing more harm than good financially (which many here seem to think is the case). P.S. I suppose if what you're saying is true, I don't have the full picture. Hasn't it been said here that King Cobra was removed in part due to its inferior steel composition? If that's the case, why would Kings Island try to sell it? That hardly sounds like a fair offer. "Hey, this ride is made of inferior Japanese steel. Wanna buy it and operate it at your theme park? No refunds!" Haha. Maybe I don't have the whole story. That's like trying to sell Son of Beast...

Aren't we at a point where the question is, is it worth it? Funny how so many "innovative" choices from Paramount Parks are weighing heavily on Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. How was Sledgehammer at Canada's Wonderland this season? The Action Theaters are showing their age, now belonging to a company who doesn't seem too interested in refreshing them... Son of Beast speaks for itself. And so does The Crypt, I think... If Cedar Fair poured $6 million into brand new effects, themeing, building codes, movie licensing, or whatever it is, would the ride be any better? Some say it's "lipstick on a pig." No amount of themeing can hide the mechanically-flawed, weakened ride, and considering that it might not even be able to last from a technical point of view, is there great value in it? Even if it reopened next season as "Tomb Raider: The Ride," it seems that the physical, mechanical Top Spin doesn't have much life in it. So would that influx of money be worth it? On the complete other end of the coin, is there great value in a brand new, state-of-the-art suspended top spin placed in a building with such a lackluster theme? With no story? With no effects? With minimal lighting? In a region that associates the Top Spin ride system with what was Tomb Raider, an outdoor version might come across as terribly cheap. Surveys and guest questionnaires would need to determine that. The "best" choice (if money were no option) would be to get a brand new top spin and a well-themed ride. For Cedar Fair as we knew it, that might not be even a Blue Sky possibility. But now, there is someone else in charge of their Blue Sky... It's just a question of whether he sees or saw the potential, and how that potential best balances with the finances of the company and visitors. Plus remember that one draw-back of the pay-one-price park is that rides don't need to carry their own weight. In a pay-per-ride park, The Crypt might already be gone... People ride it now because it's included in the price of admission, but would they if it cost $2.00 per ride? Even if they did once, would they go again?

People will point to plenty of rides that have received major and minor improvements very shortly before their removal... Some even at Kings Island. In 2007, Kentucky Kingdom's Hellivator recieved a brand new coat a paint, a new sign, new theme, and new marketing. In 2008, it was dismantled separately from the park's 2009 closure... Things happen. Like, inferior steel beginning to show it's age, or unbanked turns making a very popular ride too logistically expensive to run with new tires needed every other week, or a ride losing the licensing that made it worthwhile, or a sudden lack of popularity for any number of reasons. If The Crypt is costing hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands, or even just thousands of dollars to run each year, then who would say "But, we just added new lights to the queue!" And better yet, who would agree that that is, in fact, a good reason to keep the ride around when it's costing money?

I think another issue would be that the ride's foundations are probably very, very deep. I imagine the entire concrete floor would need to be shattered and removed to get the ride's foundation out. But I don't know... Also, the building is coded for a certain thing and able to hold a certain number of people and a structure of a certain size and clearances of a certain height... Things like that that I am not privy to that may make building an entirely new structure more realistic. As for Flight of Fear, wasn't a crane built right into the building's ceiling for the roller coaster's construction?

One of the many justifications I provide myself on why a trip to California is far more practical than one to Florida... Flights to Florida may tend to be less, but as an avid park enthusiast, there's just no reasonable way to deny a trip to Islands of Adventure or SeaWorld or Busch Gardens when I'm so very close... Especially in the next few years, I'll be due for another "mega" trip, since there will be Harry Potter, New Fantasyland, Cheetah Hunt, Antarctica, Freshwater Oasis, and so much more... Meanwhile, in California, I feel comfortable staying at Disneyland Resort 90% of the time since Universal Studios and their SeaWorld are nearly inaccessible without a deep wallet for transportation, and neither is "updated" as often or intensely as their Floridian counterparts, in my opinion.

This is exactly where issues arise. When Kings Island does not get a giga-coaster for 2013 (or for 2012, as some doubtlessly suspect that construction truly has been occurring somewhere secretly inside the park), we will say Kings Island overhyped it. Yes, it seems that Kings Island saying absolutely positively nothing about a giga-coaster at Kings Island indicates that "Cedar Fair wants us to thing that a giga is coming to [Kings Island] but actually there isn't." Really. That's the place we've arrived at in off-season speculation. So many of us just beg for disappointment. And mark my words, people here WILL complain when Kings Island doesn't receive a giga-coaster in 2013; they will say exactly what is said here: That Cedar Fair intentionally misled us (how?) into thinking there would be a giga-coaster (why?) by never saying there would be one (yep!) when really there wasn't (huh?) exactly as they had not said there would be. What a marketing ploy that is! Brilliant beyond our meager mortal understanding, I guess.

But B&M focuses on reliability. Always has. That's why their foray into flying coasters was such a surprise. They only have one roller coaster which doesn't use a traditional lift, and for it, the launch mechanism was outsourced because they wanted nothing to do with it, right? So can you see them using an elevator lift, which has not only been a mechanical issue from time to time, but physically snapped on Millennium Force? That doesn't seem to fit their reliability, low wear-and-tare standard... I don't know.

Steel Dragon uses two chains, one after the other. And other than chucking tires, it hasn't had too many issues...

100 acres for parking. To compare, the entirety of Disneyland Park in California is 85 acres. It's Californian neighbor is 55. That's a lot of parking, and one can see why the figure is quoted as such an amenity!

And of course, there's the age old arguement: If SeaWorld released those killer whales into the wild, they would die. Like, within days. And any offspring they have in captivity will be in the same boat. SeaWorld is in the business of rescuing hurt animals and raising them to respond to positive reinforcement just like a zoo. And sure, they use the structure of performance to make money and keep the animals mentally and physically stimulated. But slavery implies there's no pay off for their performance. That isn't true. They're housed, fed, and loved. We can't pretend that SeaWorld doesn't make money of it, but it's certainly not criminal. And that goes back to what I said before - even if SeaWorld did work its animals beyond their desire (which I don't think they do), they're still fed, housed, given medical care, and undeniably given attention and love. As such, there are animals (and PEOPLE) in WAY worse situations and in need of WAY more help.

I think PETA has the right idea from time to time. For example, we probably should know the quality of what we're eating, and it's fair to say that when discussing what fast food chicken nuggets are comprised of, "shock" is really the only way to get it across since it truly is shocking. But the scare tactics, the ambushes, the preaching, the out-of-line behavior, the misuse of the court system... Somehow, PETA members fail to realize that in being so very boisterous, loud, and preachy, their often-legitimate message is lost. And in fact, it causes a sense of revulsion and opposition in people who would otherwise agree (like me). Some frequently-absent members here use the same methods, and just as blindly, fail to see how it diminishes their message. Sort of like how the Catholic church truly and adamantly decrees that same-sex marriage is the number one social issue on the planet at present bar none, and that all attention must be diverted towards combatting the legal equality of same-sex couples. It's like... really? Think what you will about same-sex couples or homosexuality, but is that the best use of time and energy? In the same way, it's a shame that PETA's representatives find this an adequate use of time, money, court resources, and advertising dollars. Again, regardless of how you feel about animals (and I am very pro-animal, if that's a classification), one can't help but say, "Really? I mean... Really?!"

THAT WAS MY SUGGESTION. I imagined I wasn't the first, and I was right! Hahha.

Weird to that that @KingsIslandPR might be run by someone who has never been to Kings Island! GYK, not necessarily talking about Twitter!

I hope you specifically mean material goods. I did not specify... And I didn't mean to! GYK, who apparently doesn't have enough money...

A friend of mine visited for the first time on opening day 2010 and vowed never to return... She swore that Backlot Stunt Coaster, Flight of Fear, and The Beast were down most of the day, and that Invertigo and The Crypt had bouts of downtime. I imagine Firehawk was the same. As the Interpreter always says, to the average guest, a ride being closed when they attempt to ride it may as well be the ride being down all day. But the point is, every year in recent memory that I've heard of via friends or seen here, any ride with any level of complex operation or more than just a simple chain lift ends up not working, be it because of inexperienced employees who have never had the chance to run the ride with real people, or simply parts that have not been warmed up. That was much less of an issue during technical rehearsal days in previous years. And at the very least, it ensured that anyone who was in the park (and thus, likely to experience extended downtime or closed rides) was a passholder that would have the chance to return.

They can deal, man! Will the otters be separated by glass?

Then the KD opening day experience must be entirely different from the KI opening day experience... Ouch... Year after year after year it's an ouch, but still no one sees the value of a technical rehearsal day for season pass-holders...