jzarley

Just got back from Vegas and thought I'd give a review of Paramount Park's new "Borg Invasion 4D" at ST:TE. This post contains some spoilers, so if you're adverse to that, you might want to skip this. (It's also pretty long...so keep that in mind as well <g>) The admission price of Star Trek the Experience is now $29.99/person, which includes one time through each attraction (the new 4D movie, and the existing simulator). Sort of makes PKI (and every other park) seem like a great deal, huh? <G> If you haven't visited before, ST:TE is located inside the Las Vegas Hilton. You enter the attraction through a space-themed casino. At the attraction's "gate", you have a choice of going up or down. Going up takes you to the ticket purchase area and attractions. Downstairs leads to Quark's Bar & Restaurant (a Trek themed restaurant), and the "Promendade" which is a really big ST gift shop. After buying the ticket you walk through the "Museum of the Future" which is display of Star Trek props. (If anyone remembers the "Star Trek Earth Tour" which toured the parks in the late 90s, this is pretty much it.) This leads to the queue area for the attractions. Both attractions share a common line separated by a divider. The 4D movie holds around 40 people; the simulator around 25. They take turns loading, with an attraction loading (theoretically, anyway) every two minutes. The ride ops seemed to be having some difficulty getting the timing down, but in all fairness the 4D movie had only been open for a few days at the time. (Here's where the spoilers start...) You enter the pre-show area into what looks like a space station. We're told that we're visiting a research station on the edge of the Delta Quadrant, and we'll be briefed by the center's director. The Doctor (from "Voyager") appears on a video screen and tells us we've been selected to participate in "Project Resistance" because we have a genetic uniqueness to resist certain infections...possibly even Borg assimilation. While he's talking the room shakes & the lights flicker. Another video screen activates, and the bridge tells us we're under attack by a Borg ship. The attack continues...explosions occur...Borg drones start coming toward us. Our tour guides say they have to get us to a shuttle craft to escape. The attack continues, and the Borg keep pursuing us...one of our guides gets "borged." The "shuttle craft" is actually the theater. The first thing that hits you is how small it it...usually "4D" theaters hold a few hundred people. This one holds less than 45. The movie itself is pretty typical for the genre...3D effects in the film, sound effects from speakers built into the seats, atmospheric elements in the theater, etc. I won't go into too much detail about the movie itself, except that it mixes live action with the movie. The structure is very similar to "Terminator" at USF and USH (I believe they were produced by the same company...Landmark Entertainment maybe?) except the the Borg movie isn't nearly as long, or the 3D effects quite as impressive. Overall, it's a good attraction and very enjoyable. The 4D movie complements the "Klingon Encounter" attraction (which, BTW rivals "Back to the Future" as the best simulator I've experienced) well. The entire attraction is very well themed, and all of the ride ops do a great job in keeping in character. (Granted...the "acting" is a little cheesy...but, hey--it's Vegas.) I think the quality of these attractions just shows that given the resources, Paramount Parks can produce rides that can rival Disney and Universal. Joel

I think this is a great move. I've been to WOA twice, and after the last time swore I would never go back. The customer service was terrible, and running one train on any coaster is ridiculous, but EVERY coaster is almost criminal <G>. And, while I know that there's a lot of PKI vs. CP attitude around, you really have to respect Cedar Fair's management and business savy. In a travel/leisure market that's still "challenging" (at best), they were able to pull out their best financial year ever. I also think they do a very nice job with just the "nuts & bolts" aspects of runing their parks. (As does Paramount...) It doesn't suprise me that the "Wild Life" side will probably be closed down. Personally, I've always wondered how animal parks make money...the overhead must be incredible. And, considering Cedar Fair achieves an operating margin of something like 37%, I think it would be difficult to work an animal park into their current business model. However...they bought the land (and everything on it) that the wildlife side occupies, and all the infrastructure is already in place, so I have to wonder what their plans are for the acreage? Maybe move the waterpark over to that side and create a large separate-gated waterpark? Joel

I wonder how different the ride would feel with the suspended floorless train? I think one of the best parts of the Arrow suspendeds is the "swinging" of the cars. I wonder if the floorless models swing, or if they "grip" the track similar to a B&M inverted or Vekoma SLC. If the latter is the case, I think the sensation of speed may actually be reduced. However, if the trains were floorless AND swinging I believe it would be an amazing sensation. Regarding the under station theming...when TG first opened the mock "aircraft carrier" that you walked through was nicely themed. There was an article that appeared in Cincinnati Magazine in either February or March 1993 that talked about KI's acquisition by Paramount, and how themed attractions would be the focus of the "new" park. The article said that a fair amount of TG's budget went into the theming of the ride, which was a departure in focus from what KI had previously done. Yes, new themed attractions became of the focus of PKI... Unfortunately, maintaining the theming in subsquent seasons has proven to be less of a focus. Joel

The Bat's cars were "enclosed" as well. Interestingly, while many other design modifications were made after The Bat, the cars themselves from the prototype through recent (well...ten years ago <g>) installations look remarkedly similar. (Well, at least to a non-engineer like me <g>). Apparently, there's a replacement train which can be used to retrofit existing suspended Arrows. Those cars are "ski lift-style" (legs dangling), sort of like a non-looping B&M. These trains were replaced on an existing Arrow model in the UK...if I remember correctly it was the "Vampire" at either Chessington or Alton Towers (can't remember which off the top of my head...) There were rumors after the crash of one of TG's trains last season that PKI would retrofit TG's trains with the new suspended model. However, I guess that proved to be just that--a rumor. Joel

Of course, we're missing the best part of an in-park parade...the reduced lines at the other attractions during the parade times. Before Fast Pass, I always timed visits to the bigger rides at Disney by the parade schedule. It really made a big difference. It would be interesting to see what PKI would do with a parade... Something along the scope of a Disney parade takes millons of dollars to produce. All of the floats are computerized, and sensors in Main Street USA track the movement of the parade and launch the special effects, music, etc. when appropriate. Of course, there's no reason PKI would have to go to those extremes...some characters on floats with piped music would suffice. Chef--I like the chronological order idea...sort of "characters through time" or something. I was talking about cartoons with one of my employees not too long ago (slow day) and he had never heard of Captain Caveman! That made me feel old! Joel

I have to agree...I love the taste and smell of LaRosa's. Whenever I'm in Cincinatti (which isn't all that often anymore) I always go to LaRosas. (I also always stop at the BP and get a big bag of BBQ Grippos...which are by far the best chips ever made! <G>). A former co-worker of mine always thought that LaRosas should market a frozen version of their pizza for sale in grocery stores, and co-brand it with Kings Island. ("The Pizza Kings Island Made Famous" or something). LaRosas could expand their market share, and PKI could use the box for advertising, coupons, etc. I think if rolled out regionally (OH/IN/WV) it would be a success. Joel

Beastfreak & CoasterRZ-- Thanks for the information. You've answered all my questions :-) Joel

I have some general questions about PKI food service, that I bet some of you will know the answer to... Are all of the F&B outlets sourced out to outside companies, does PKI operate them internally, or is it a hybrid (some are leased out, some are PKI-operated)? If they're leased out, is the contract given to a single company that runs all F&B outlets (like Sodexo or Host-Mariott in airports), or are the individual units leased individually? And, finally...does anyone know how the bidding process works? Sorry for all the questions, and thanks in advance. Joel

I rode The Bat in the early 80's...only once, because it was down every other trip to KI during its brief life. I was in 7th or 8th grade at the time, and even on a Tuesday in early June the line was still over an hour. I can't remember exactly how the queue was configured, but it was the same structure used by Vortex. The building was painted and "themed" (somewhat) as a haunted house. (If you look at Vortex's station now, you can kind of see how with the right paint and accessories, the haunted house look was achieved.) I remember the ride being extremely intense...very wild swinging and seemed very fast. Much more so than Top Gun, even. The limited banking of the track, caused the cars to swing wildly (pretty much parallel with the ground at some points), but has already been mentioned here--was also the cause of the maintenance problems that caused its removal. The first time I rode Iron Dragon at CP a few years after The Bat closed, I was shocked at how crappy it was compared to its prototype. (Of course, I think the same thing about "Iron Draggin'" compared to Top Gun too! <G>) Joel

Actually..."Dr. Spock" was (is?) the famous pediatrician who wrote the best selling baby book back in the 70s. "Mr. Spock" is the Vulcan. (And, yes, if this post doesn't label me as a geek...nothing will <VBG>) Joel

Hopefully :-) I was reading the description of the "Borg 4D" film which is opening at ST:TE in Vegas in March. It sounds very cool...with effects rivaling "Terminator" at Universal. In general, the quality of ST:TE is outstanding. The theming is easily on par with Disney & Universal. (Plus, the theming has been kept up now for several years.) Joel

As an update to the discussion a few months back regarding the lack of Star Trek theming in any Paramount Park... Carowinds put out a press release yesterday announcing that the former "Stealth" (moved from PGA) would be renamed & rethemed as "Borg Assimilator". Here's a brief description of the theming from the press release: "Warping to our time period through a rift in the space-time continuum, the BORG crash-landed in the middle of Paramount's Carowinds and their ship - a giant gray and black sphere - has come to rest near the park's new flying roller coaster. The BORG Collective beckons riders across the landscape of the island and into the loading station. Once inside, guests board 24-passenger coaster trains and are rotated backward to a reclining position before beginning their ascent to the top of a 115-foot, 30-degree lift hill. Anticipation builds as the coaster crests the lift hill, inverts and turns guests facedown, suspending them below the track in a superhero-like flying position and racing toward the ground at speeds of up to 50 m.p.h." The rest of the release hits on the coaster's technical information, and quotes from the GM. The full release is on the Carowinds website. Joel

There's a pretty good article in the current (12/19) issue of Columbus Business First about Boomerang Bay and the Beach, under the title "I-71 theme parks kicking up some competetive waves." I checked online to see if I could find a link to the article, but couldn't find it in the online version. The article is written by a reporter from the Cincinnati Business Courier, so it probably appears in that edition as well. There was no new news (to anyone here, anyway) about BB, but a spokesperson from The Beach hinted about their new attraction for 2004: "Preliminary plans for the new feature call for a wrap-around element, a typhoon twist and a free fall drop at the end. Managers hope to fashion the ride into what looks like a volcano, said Tara Nahrup, marketing manager for The Beach." The article also talks about how The Beach and Waterworks (and now BB) have been able to co-exist successfully for so many years. Joel

Chef--glad you added the "perhaps", as I too have spent my career writing. Of course, my subjects aren't nearly as fun as parks and coasters. But, someone has to write those boring technical/operational manuals, right? <G> In the 90s that was certainly the best ROI for a degree in journalism :-) Monkeyman--I certainly agree with Chef's advice to go for it! You may find that there a lot more "coaster geeks" in your school than you ever thought. Good luck! Joel

I've heard a few times that the parking lot is 100 acres. If I remember correctly, I picked that up from a talkative elevator operator several years ago on the way up to the top of the tower... At any rate, PKI it was fortunate Taft had enough foresight to buy enough land at the beginning to allow for decades of future expansion. According to Chef's book, we can all thank Roy Disney for that! Joel

I doubt that becuase thats the year the viking fury was opened....are you sure you foudn a map for pki...maybe you got it confused with a 1982 rand mcnally man. Actually, no. Here's a rundown of the new attractions in 1982 (taken from this very website)... 1982 -- Hanna Barbera Land gets a $2.1 million face lift. Among the new attractions were the Hanna Barbera Carousel, McScrappy's Farm, and the Jelly Bean Bowl. One side of The Racer is turned around backward, adding a new degree of excitement to the ride. Two new rides were also added to Oktoberfest, the Ferris Wheel and Viking Fury. Timberwolf Amphitheatre opens as well. This year also saw the debut of Winterfest, featuring the new Festhaus. But, very clever post. It would be more clever if proper spelling and punctuation had been used, but good try none-the-less.

I did the exact same thing to my nephew when he was about seven. I don't think he rode another coaster until he was 14! (My neice, on the other hand, would ride anything that she was tall enough!) Joel

Reading the topic about old maps, I started to think about my early memories of Kings Island. KI (long before the "P" <g>) was the first park I ever went to, and is probably responsible for my fascination with the amusement industry today! I was five or six the first time I went to KI, so I'm guessing it was probably '74 or '75. I was tall enough to ride The Racer, and I thought it was the most thrilling thing I had ever done. (Which, at the time, was probably true). I rode it with my Dad, and I remember at several points thinking I could actually come out of the seat. Back then, the trains only had one large lap bar that went across both seats, so a six year old riding with an adult got some serious air time! I also remember the "Enchanted Voyage" (what is now the Scooby Doo Haunted Castle). At that time is was a dark boat ride, and you rode through different scenes with Hanna-Barbera characters. I thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen! When I went home, I was determined to build my own theme park in our backyard. I convinced a neighbor kid to get in a bucket on the clothesline (a basic "sky ride") and I pushed him across. Of course, the clothesline broke, the kid got hurt, and I got in trouble! Later, I realized that my "park" needed paved paths, so I took sand from my sandbox, mixed it with water, and attempted to pave a portion of the backyard. My dad came home that night and wanted to mow the grass, but of course a part of the yard was coated with wet sand! (And, yes, I got in trouble again <g>). These days I just play RCT to fulfill my park building fantasies—it’s a lot safer that way! So…what about everyone else? What are your early memories of KI (or PKI)? Joel

I was at my parent's house a few weeks ago and found a King's Island visitor guide from 1982. It's still in pretty good condition--it was on a bookshelf squeezed between some old books. I must have gotten it on a class trip in 6th or 7th grade. The headline was "Celebrate Kings Island's 10th Anniversary!" and the new attraction was a redesign of Hana-Barbera Land. The map wasn't nearly as "graphical" as the ones are today. Instead, mostly circles & squares indicated where attractions were. But, it was a pretty cool find Lucky that my Mom never throws anything away :-) Joel

While profitable (I assume), the parks don't contribute as much to Viacom's bottom line as we'd all like to think. The whole "Entertainment" division contributed 16.6% of Viacom's overall revenue for the quarter. Only a portion of that is actually Paramount Parks, since the division also includes Paramount Studios, the chain of movie theaters, and all publishing activities. Even if all of these businesses contributed equally (which probably isn't the case) the parks would make up about 4% of overall revenue. What's kind of interesting (well, if you like these geeky business things <g>), is that Disney & Viacom reported very similar revenue numbers for Q3 (Viacom--$6.6B; Disney--$6.2B), but Disney's "Resorts & Attractions" division contributed 27% to their revenue for the quarter. (And, that's a 5% decrease from the year before.) Of course, there's lots of intangible benefits that the parks bring to Viacom. It's a great PR tool to have people's pleasant vacation memories associated with your media properties. It's also a great forum to cross promote the company's other activities. Joel

Viacom announced its quarterly results for the three month period ending September 30th. The division which includes Paramount Parks ("Entertainment"-- which also includes Paramount Studios, Simon & Schuster, the theater chain, and music publishing) posted the following: --A 3% increase in revenue (to $1.10B), which was attributed to revenue increases at the parks, theaters, and publishing that offset decreases in feature film revenues. --A 24% decrease in operating income (profit) to $112 million that they attributed to higher advertising costs for feature films. Since Viacom doesn't separate out Paramount Parks in their public reporting of results (like Disney does their parks/resorts), there's no easy way (that I can think of anyway) to know how much the parks made. However, I think it's good that the parks were mentioned as part of the increase in revenue growth. Complete financial results for the whole company are available on the Viacom web site. Joel

I know nothing about Yen-to-Dollar conversions, but this figure would seem to make sense to me. At just under $1.1B, I believe this would be in the neighborhood of what it cost to build IOA, Animal Kingdom, and California Adventure. (And, the opening date for the Japanese Paramount park will be nearly a decade--of DAK and IOA anyway--of those parks.) I also believe construction costs can run quite high in Japan due to lack of land, earthquake building codes, etc. Joel

Yeah, I also found it interesting that the article referred to Paramount Pictures and not Paramount Parks (or that Viacom wasn't mentioned at all). I assumed that might because it was from a Japanese news site, and that "Paramount Studios" would be most recognizable to their readers. I also think it's interesting about the money that's been invested in brand new Japanese parks over the last few years. First Disney and Universal and now Paramount. Considering how much the Japanese economy has suffered over the last several years, it's interesting that these companies have made such huge investments in discretionary activities. I guess bad economic times haven't affected theme park attendance as much in Japan. I'm really anxious to see what the plans for this park will look like...I'm sure "Action Zone" and "Nickolodeon" will be represented, but I wonder if any of the "pre-Paramount" theming/attractions will be carried over? Joel

I saw this headline over on CoasterBuzz about Paramount planning to build and open a new park in Japan. If I'm not mistaken, I think this will be the first park (not including the Vegas Star Trek attraction) that Paramount has built from the ground up. I think it will be interesting to see how Viacom develops a park from a "blank slate." Here's the link: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20031016p2a00m0fp003000c.html Joel