Browntggrr

Having it in the center of the park is a great idea. IJ is the type of ride that looks to have such good theming that even non-riders will enjoy observing the ride in operation. My assumption though is that it will take PKI a few months to tweak in the timing of when the expolsions are to go off etc.

Exactly who should read their post BEFORE posting? How embarrassing for you! Yes it is a coaster, with trains, rails, and launches- and is heavily themed. A coaster does not have to break records, or have "-est" in the description to be a good ride, or even a great ride. Look at ThunderHead at DollyWood. Great layout, sharp turns, good speed, for a coaster that broke no records. IJ could be the same way. W/O the theming though, it would probably be a really boring coaster, or just another launched coaster like FoF just w/o the inversions.

Tell you what, for PKI NOT to relocate the Antique Cars really upsets me. That ride is one of the "first" driving experiences for most kids with their mom or dad. I don't ever want to hear about the "family park" argument again. I would hope that PKI would put the cars in an area between BB and the main park. It would be nice to have some natural scenery. But just getting rid of the cars altogether is frustrating to me.

I really like the addition, and it is tackling the "Hollywood theme" PKI is going after. I just hope that the theming is not forgotten about, that is the biggest part of the ride, if the theming goes under, so will the reputation.

I think that your Discovery Channel poll that you found says it all. DC picked those coasters (back in 2002) to be voted on, and the voters have accumulated 0% votes for SoB, or only 29,734 votes out of 7,052,618. And the only reason SoB is on that list is that it was featured on DC in a "Modern Marvels" segment. Additionally, SoB is the most expensive coaster on that list, I would hope the investment warranted a stronger showing than 0% votes. Everyone loves a big, fast coaster and there are people that love SoB, but if you would go to any other coaster site, or even use the "search" feature on PKIC, the general consensus is that SoB treats you like a James Bond martini, "Shaken not stirred". A truly great coaster should be more fun than pain (just like The Beast), and SoB is MUCH more pain than fun. And I would hope that any park would not make a $20,000,000+ investment and not have that ride be a signature ride. And they even tried to fix the problems this year with retracking, yet to no avail.

*yawn, snore, zzzzzz* -another troll Trying to flame people just because you don't agree with their opinion only shows immaturity. I consider SoB to be a bad investment only because it is the tallest, fastest, and world's only looping wooden coaster, and even with those great accomplishments, it is known more for the pain it dishes out. A ride like that, especially with that kind of price tag, should be THE signature ride for PKI. Like TR;TR is considered one of the best dark rides, SoB is not even close to one of the best woodies in all of the polls, now that is not only my opinion, that is the opinions of many.

SoB- For reasons that I have stated numerous times before.

*smacks head in disbelief* On a side note, when someone uses the reference "It is raining cats and dogs", there are really no cats and dogs coming from the sky, it is just raining very hard.

That has got to be the worst rumor. So bad, in fact, that it sounds MADE UP. PKI would not scrap three years worth of planning just because information was leaked.

"DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE CHEF IS COOKING?!?" You can almost visualize Chef with a microphone, and tounge hanging out, and head lifted to the sky.

Coming in 2005- A ride with a fresh coat of paint, theming that works, and uses wheels. More details in December!

If 9/11 is the reason, PKI needs more than those metal detectors.

So you are saying that a higher crime rate influences the use of metal detectors? Then the crime rate in Charlotte would have nothing to do with Cincinnati since PKI now has detectors, or that Cincy's is higher and that is the reason they were installed. Again, the crime rate in Charlotte has nothing to do with the installation of metal detectors. PKD has used detectors for over 5 years now in Richmond VA., and there are test detectors being installed in Disney. Probably the main reason PKI is now using them is because of the racial tension that gripped the city some time ago.

What difference does that make?

I don't think that it is the price of gas that is directly affecting spending, but the combination of gas prices AND the price of food and beverages in the park. $2.50 for a 20 oz. bottle of water? There is a vending machine at my place of employment, and the same brand, same size of water is $1.00. And it is not just PKI, but any vacation destination that overcharges for convienence. People are just sick and tired for paying for things that they can leave in their car/ hotel room for a 1/3 of the price. I just wonder if this 16% increase is paid attendence or people who chose to buy a season pass and have unlimited entrance to the park, which would increase people through the gates, but have a small affect on the bottom line for paid entry.

My family just stops at Meijer's before going to the park and buys lunch meat, snacks etc. Healthier, cheaper, and alot more convenient. Charging admission for a ticket that claims to be "all day", and then trying to prevent people from leaving by making them pay to re-enter is really bad business. Not to mention, if PKI is losing enough money on concessions to the point that they would even consider an idea like that, they should consider dropping the price so the convince factor does not outweigh the price. If I could buy a Pepsi out of a vending machine for a $1, that would stop me from going to my car.

You missed the point.

That would be the worst mistake ANY business could do. You cannot stop a person from leaving to go eat just because a particular park wants to make more $$. PKI, and every other park, already prevents guests from bringing in food- which is understandable. But stopping them from leaving, or charging them twice for leaving, is just a lawsuit waiting to happen. Think about the person that got hit by lightning, they wanted to sue PKI for not being informed about the severity of the storm. Now given that same situation, and some poor soul would be hit with lightning, all they would say in the courtroom is that they didn't want to leave because they did not want to get charged twice. Viacom would be writing a blank check to that family. :offtopic:

It would be absolutely shocking to have a ride that is even CLOSE to Spiderman @ IoA. That ride's price was is the hundreds of millions. I cannot see PKI, a seasonal park, swallowing that kind of price tag. Not to mention, if they were going to put in a 3-D ride, the Italian Job would not be a good choice for theming. Now the Italian Job wild or spinning mouse-type ride sounds good. Ricochet (wild mouse)@ PKD is a decent ride, as is Exterminator (spinning mouse) at Kennywood.

What pavement?

I-90 west, I-271 south, I-71 south (through Columbus) till I see DZ and the tower in the horizon. 360 miles, one way. ...and still worth it!

I *heard* that this list was made up 3 years ago. It is a good possibilty MSN needed some "summertime vacation" information and dug it up. And on top of that, even putting AstroLand on the list is a slap for at least 30 different parks. It even mentions "Hurler" at Carowinds, and "Serial Thriller" at SF in Texas. Even a bigger joke! A poll like this should just be laughed at and considered humorous.

Don't they call that BaFFD?

Volcano is a good ride. Heavily themed and usually a long line. I have not been on Hypersonic yet- it is always down when I go. PKD is nothing compared to PKI or BGW, if you were going to take the trip and only go to PKD I would advise you not to do it, but if you would go to PKD for free (season pass) and also go to BGW than the trip is worth it. BGW is one of my favorite parks. It is by far the cleanest park, and easily has the best food (not as good as Epcot, but I don't consider Disney an amusement park). You can sit in Italy ( :chef: ) at an outdoor theatre, eat Cannelloni, and watch a play. Alpeingeist is neck in neck with Raptor- so it is that good, but Apollo's Chariot is the best coaster in the park. Rumor has it that BGW is putting in a large ride for next year. Overall, PKD is disappointing. My wife and I were there for the day, and around 3pm we started searching for nearby parks. There are many similarities to PKI, but once you go to PKD, it is easy to see why PKI is the signature park for Paramount. This whole post is :offtopic: !

BBW is much more intense, and is probably the best suspended that Arrow built- that still operates of course. If you ever have the chance, check out BGW. It is a great park. You could actually plan a nice 4-5 day vacation. Use your season pass for PKI and go to PKD for a day, and then travel about an hour south and go to BGW.