A_Titanic_Mess

I agree that it was a really good idea. The other strong idea was a Star Trek themed IR. While the Vegas property is still viable, the parks were moving away from Star Trek. It had lost the appeal that the parks needed. Interesting though that Stealth was re-themed as BORG Assimilator at PC. Maybe there is some life left in Star Trek! On a side note, I heard from marketing that Stealth was originally to be named Mission Impossible, after the Tom Cruise movie. Word was that because PGA was to open the ride before the movie premiere, Paramount Pictures nixed the idea. They did not want the ride to premiere before the movie.

Timberwolf does have a backstage area. Behind the stage is the "green room". It is pretty much a double-wide type mobile home. Most of the acts that come to Timberwolf do not use the green room as it is in pretty sad shape. Most come on a very nice tour bus, so they saty on the bus until show time. Timberwolf was the place to be until Riverbend opened up. All the top acts then moved their shows there. Timberwolf was on the chopping block a few years back, but there was an effort made to try to bring in more acts. However if the park is to bring back really big touring bands, the stage will need a major overhaul.

The IR is pretty much in working order. It has been all along. The kitchen has been used for years, even after it was closed to the public. There are several meeting rooms and offices that are used by PKI staff. We regularly met in the IR for department meetings. Our annual holiday dinner was held there as well, although I do remember it being held in the Festhaus also. The IR really just needs some cosmetic work. It is very dated, has that 70's look. An interesting note about the IR, the park considered re-opening it a just a few years back. One of the plans going around was to renovate the IR and turn it into the First-Class Dining Room from the Titanic. This of course was during the Titanic frenzy. The royalties for Titanic were pretty high though, and the capital needed for the project was so large that it never happened. All of this speculation may be moot though, as the park has had in the plans for the past few seasons a total remodel of the front gate. The plan called for the demolition of the front gate and the IR. A new front gate was to be built with an expanded gift shop that guests would exit through on their way out. Very similar to the ride gift shops at IOA. While I don't think this plan has been nixed, it does appear to be on the shelf as nothing has happened. This was supposed to happen for the 2003 season.

There are absolutely VP's at PKI. There are about 6 VP's that report to Craig Ross, General Manager. But of course you would not know this CombatStupendous because you can't see the big picture outside of your seasonal summer job. What??? Are you for real? The alpha is the end all to how well the park is doing at any given time. It is so important that it is updated hourly. This number helps determine staffing levels for all departments. It also is CRUCIAL to finanace and revenue generating departments. Much of the financial budget for revenue generating departments is based upon this number. The fact that you believe the park capacity to be so unimportant shows just how out of touch you are with how the park operates. That capacity number is leverage for Resale when negotiating with vendors for food, games, and merchandise. PKI budgets their season on expected attendance. Winterfest would be no different. They would have planned a budget of what they expect to make in revenue, and what the per capita spending would be based upon attendance and PARK CAPACITY. Perhaps you should spend some quality time at PKIU this coming season to learn a little bit more about how the park operates.

Hey Roller, so is PKI getting more business than PC for Winterfest? What are the crowds like at PC's Winterfest? Reaction to the event? My friend that works in corporate said both PC and PKI Winterfest events are struggling. Not performing as the parks had hoped. What is your take on the PC event?

Paramount Parks has always been "for sale". They may not have been actively seeking buyers in the past, but if the right offer came along, the park could have been easily sold. We were all aware of this. Paramount was seriously considering selling the land that PGA was located on back to the city of Santa Clara. After the riots that shut the park down a few years back, they were really never able to recover. That park lost money for 3 or 4 years in a row. It was bringing the entire company down. I believe things have made a turn for the better over the past couple of years though. There were rumors that Six Flags was interested in some, but not all of the parks. And another rumor that the parks were beign sold to one of the big park chains, but that PKI and PCW would not be sold. PCW is second in revenue to PKI. On a side note, I spoke to a friend in the corporate office of Paramount Parks located at Carowinds. She told me that Winterfest at both PKI and PC are performing way below expectations, with PC getting slightly more business than PKI.

Hmmm.....I wonder.....hmmmm.....good question......hmmmm.....now try not to hurt yourself while you are figuring this out......hmmmmm.....

Wow, just a week ago I went from being a liar that never worked at PKI to now being fired from there. I must be moving up in the world!

Hey WooferBearATL, it may have been 1987. I am trying to find some press releases that I had about the ice show. It was 1986 or 1987 for sure. Yeah, the show was around for many years. Several of the ice show (and other PKI stage show) costumes ended up as rentals at Costume Castle of off the I-275 Wards Corner exit. Many of the performers names were still sewn into the costumes.

Hot Ice was in the Festhaus starting in 1986. After 2 or 3 years, it changed to Broadway on Ice. After about 5 years in the Festhaus, the show was moved to the American Heritage theater and named Paramount on Ice.

I always thought the Festhaus was great when they had stage shows and you could sit down and have a bite to eat while watching the shows. The performers did not like that though, people chowing down while they are singing (or skating) their hearts out! The Festhaus was on the chopping block until the ice show was put it. I heard it was a last ditch effort to draw business into the haus, and it worked. Now, even without a regular live show, the Festhaus does tremendous business. I think they set some one-day revenue records at the haus a summer or two back. With the addition of the tray washing system, I think PKI plans to keep the Festhaus around for a while.

The point being made about the ice making equipment is that since PKI did not but the ice making euipment, perhaps they are not fully vested in the event for years to come. The ice equipment is probably about a half million dollar investment. Maybe the park did not want to commit to such a large expense before they knew whether the first season would be a success or not. In the long run, it probably is less expensive to own or build the equipment themselves. I do not know this for sure, and the opposite could be that ABC Ice Rink Company approached PKI with a deal that made sense to lease ice instead of owning. The statement about the park "leasing" out Emporium also is a bit telling. Again, if the event fails, they are not stuck with tons of Winterfest merchandise as they were years ago. If you notice, the front gate shops were the only ones with Winterfest merchandise. I would take a guess that they purchased pretty light, and that what we see in the store is pretty much what they have. I am not saying this is a bad thing, just saying that it would be a wise move in the event they want to get out of this business quickly. Just some thoughts....

Hmmm....they owned the ice making equipment from the original Winterfest, but sounds like they leased for the new event. Certainly makes it easy for them get out of the business quickly if they wanted to. Perhaps this year is indeed a "trial-run" to see if Winterfest works or not.

I had forgot about the Boulder Bumpers refrigeration unit going to Festhaus until you mentioned it. It was the big chiller from the fountain rink that went to Paramount Theater. The zamboni from Boulder Bumpers also went to Festhaus. Thanks...I like when someone from pre paramount is around to talk with. I was employeed pre paramount, and with paramount, so I have seen a lot over the years. Lets chat more often!

That is correct, but the main chiller unit used for the Paramount Theater was from the fountain rink. The park still had it inside the refrigeration room next the the theater for several years after the ice show was dropped. The ice floor was ruined in the removal, but the chiller stayed. It may still be there as the only means of removal was to take a wall out, and then a crane would be needed to move it out. One of the outlet malls north of Cincinnati made inquiries into purchasing the refrigeration equipment several years back, but the cost of removal was too expensive. I was an ice guard on both rinks, and I remember the Boulder Bumpers rink and zam very well. Many of the guests never realized there was a rink available for the kids.

Click this link to go to the image from the above post.... My Webpage

Perhaps this will silence some of my critics who think I am making up my employment with PKI. As you can see, I have blacked-out some information to protect my identity. Of course I am sure that I will be accused of finding this on the web, or making it up myself. As I have said in my previous posts, I have been involved with many of the events at the park. This weekends Winterfest grand opening was less than stellar, and the lack of attendance will be a concern for park management. I would assume that Winterfest is part of the 2005 operating budget, so the Resale division will be under pressure to perform. Fortunatly for merchandise, it appears they have "leased" much of their retail space to outside vendors. Food service should be a bit worried about the Festhaus. The big draw for the Festhaus at the original Winterfest was that the stage show was located there. The haus was packed for every show, with lines to purchase food all the way to the front doors. Friday night (and I also hear Saturday night as well) at the Festhaus were pretty slow. At one time on Friday evening, we couted less than 20 guests in the Festhaus. The thought of bringing back Winterfest has been going around for years. Many of the same operational issues that plagued the original Winterfest will still be an issue for the new one. Although the much abreviated operating calendar for the new Winterfest may aleviate some of those problems. But with the shorter operating schedule comes the responsibility of making the most of every minute the park is open. This did not happen Friday night. It was almost like a dry-run. At any rate, I did not care for the event, and felt it was not up to the level of the original event. For those that loved it, great, I hope you will continue to give your business to Winterfest so it will stay around for years to come. All I was trying to say, as someone who has been there, that this will not be looked upon as a successful opening weekend. And they have very few weekends left to get it right.

WOW....combatstupid-endous....you are much too clever. You figured out everyone one of my moves out. How did you guess that I did a google search and found out all of that info on Craig??? Your superior intelligence is too much of a match for me. I can only hope that one day I will too have the knowledge of PKI that you do.

Gosh....you are 2 for 2...you got me again....I've never met Craig Ross, or his wife, and 2 boys....don't even know who they are. Didn't know him when he was the VP of Resale at PKI, didn't know him when he was transferred to Charlotte to work with corporate, and I still didn't know him when he came back to PKI as the GM. You're right....never met the guy in my life.

You got me....you are right....I have never worked there a day in my life. I made it all up. You guys are way too smart for me to try and pull the wool over your eyes. Have a great time at Winterfest.....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. "racing with clock, we are racing with the clock"

CombatStupendous89, you moron, I worked there for over 12 years. Get it straight. I was part of the original Winterfest crew. I was also part of the Fearfest crew. I was a full-time employee of the park, so while I may not know everything, I sure as hell know a lot more than the groupies and seasonal associates that post on this board. I was in the position of upper management for one of the Resale divisions. So I am extensivly versed in what is needed to make a successful event at PKI. You are the typical seasonal associate...think they know what is going on when they really have no clue. Show me the money, stupid.....when no one comes through the gate, there is no money. It's that simple. And by the way.....you have no idea how many times people were hurt on attractions. This was always kept quiet. On occasion, a statement was given to seasonals in the event someone asked, but the majority of them have been kept quiet. So the next time you hear that someone broke their neck on a ride, you should not dismiss it so quickly. You are so stupid to think these things do not happen....they do, more than you realize. PKI settles the suit and keeps it under wraps. One just recently.....I guess you know about that one, right???

What I did was give a review of an event that was not well planned or well executed. My point is that it has changed for the worse. Everyone keeps saying "wait, it is the first year". Then why are they charging admission as if it is a top-notch event? You only get once chance to make a first impression. PKI knows that. I saw Craig walking the street last night. You could tell be the look on his face how things were going. We were watching the mayor do the tree lighting. An attempt at humor that did not work. Frankly, I was embarrassed for PKI. Sorry...everyone there was NOT having a blast. The children standing right beside us at the Swan Lake show did not like it at all. They were making noises and saying haow boring it was. Several of the people seated near us on the train ride commented on how bad it was. The problem here is not my negative review, but that fact that so many of the PKI groupies on this sight are so "star-struck" with PKI that they think they can do no wrong. 2,000 people through the gate....what was the point of even opening? I am sure labor costs were through the roof last night. Oh, and to top it all off.....lights on the tower already burnt out....can you imagine what it will look like in another 2 weeks!

Went to Winterfest last night....the only Christmas decorations are on the outside fences. Still the same ride inside, nothing has changed for Winterfest.

Fearfest may have sucked the first year, but it was the biggest attendance the park has seen for that event. The numbers coming through the gates for Fearfest has gone done each year. Doesn't matter how good or bad the event is, it is the numbers that matter. Same thing for the old Winterfest. Yes, I am the first bad review, and it drives many of you crazy that I am not gushing about how great Winterfest is. Too bad!

Fine....let me make myself clear.....my position on Winterfest is that is a monumental flop. Clear enough??? And FYI....many full-time employees have left PKI over the past few years due to their dissatisfaction with the direction the park is taking....trying to extend the season by as much as possible. With the current restrictions for seasonal employees, the burden then falls to the full-time staff to make things happen. I spoke with several of my former full-time coworkers while at the park last night, and none of them were happy that Winterfest is back. And that clearly showed in the event itself. As for Jeff, he is destined for much bigger things that Paramount Parks. I wish him the best of luck.