PREMiERdrum

I believe most of (if not all) of the TR:TR show lighting is still in place, just most of it isn't used. I wouldn't go as far as to place them on the floor (as the floor is visible thru the ride cycle, but mounting them at the bottom of the side "ladders" and cross-shooting them up and over (bottom right shot up and to the left, bottom left shot up and to the right) would extend shadows not only up (to increase visual size) but also extend shadows out and makes the object appear farther out from the wall than they actually are. I'd also throw a couple H2O projectors focused down at the old pool, cycled through red patterns, to give the appearance of water (if the pool isn't coming back, we might as well preserve the effect).

The video looks great! It looks like the lighting is much better controlled this time around. That was one of my biggest complaints about SDatHC, most of the scenes were much too "hot." The UV effect only works if your black level stays true black, and there was way too much ambient light in SDatHC to make that possible. The load area was actually probably the best lighting job in the ride.

I would almost bet on it. The question is if they will come before or after a lawsuit is filed.

I think it's another case of CF putting too much trust in IntaRide for the effects on rider. This is a lesson that should have been learned after Maverick;s last minute "alterations."

Parks still need big scream machines (Behemoth, DB, the Intimidators), that's a given. They didn't however, set out to reclaim the "tallest" or "fastest" record now, did they? They are but an ingredient in a successful park.

Because it's hard to market "Family-Friendliest". Tallest, Longest, Fastest were much easier to use as "hooks." They're getting there, finally. The ads the last few years have been very family focused. TTD/Kinga Ka were at the pinnacle of the Coaster Wars and I think both comapnies saw that the battle was unsustainable. They also noticed that, while easy to advertise, the new monster coasters weren't accessible to a large portion of their customers.

This would have been a great opportunity for the park to affirm their commitment to themed, escapist experiences. They didn't. Thrill park it is.

These are just the costumes for the show. If you look at 2010 pics of KD, CW, or CGA (on Facebook) you'll see the PEANUTS in their "street" clothes.

It's a themed park... different areas are themed to different things. At Disney, the theme isn't Disney, it's 1. Main St USA (turn of the Century midwestern town), 2. Fantasy (Fantasyland), 3. Frontier (Frontierland, the American west),4. Adventure (Adventureland, "exotic" locales), 5. The Future (Tomorrowland, currently a mess of Retro-Sci Fi and modern futurism), and Liberty Square (a Colonial themed area, patriotic). At Kings Island, you have International Street (a European "showcase" with each building representing a different country), Rivertown (a turn-of-the-century settlement on the Ohio River), Coney Mall (an early 1900's trolley park), Planet Snoopy/NickU/Happy World of Hanna Barberra (the childrens' area, in each iteration allowing cartoon characters to "come alive"), Action Zone (a weak attempt at a Hollywood Stunt/Back Lot area), formerly Wild Animal Safari/Adventure Village (exotic, African buildings with lush landscape and animal encounters, animal themed attractions). I think that calling Kings Island a "Theme Park" is a welcome change from the typical CF Amusement Park attitude. It may indicate a shift back to themed rides residing in matching themed areas.

What exactly do you mean by that? I think he means that if you go to www.visitkingsisland.com, the headline bar (the blue bar at the very top of your IE window) reads "Kings Island Theme Park - The FUN and Only - Mason, OH."

Well, the first half of Africa is in the African Forest, back along the river. This portion has the jaguars, drills, bonobos (one of only a few zoos in the counrty to have them), drills, and Gorillas. In 2012, the zoo is supposed to open an African Savannah exhibit, which will hold lions, african elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, gazelles, and other savannah animals. This exhibit (which is rumored to be around 70 acres!) will go on currently empty land purchased from a church a few years ago. The zoo is also planning a "Madagascar" Biome on another seperate expansion pad inbetween Asia Quest and North America. Once the Savannah is complete, you'll have a zoo made up completely of "Biomes": North America, Asia, African Forest, African Savannah, The Islands Of SE Asia, Australia, and the Shores. The penguins, alligators, discovery reef, manatees, and reptiles make up the "Shores" region of the zoo. A sea lion pool has long been rumored for this area as well, in the large grassy field that sits infront of the Discovery Reef and Manatee Coast. This area was formerly taken up by the Johnson Aquatic Complex until it was demolished in the early 2000s. I should note that arranging the animal collection into "Biomes" is different than standard geographical classification, as a Biome is grouped by climate conditions. Even though all the animals in the Shores region aren't necessarily from the same geographical area, they share climate characteristics.

In my rant last week in the Cedar Fair / Apollo thread, I got all worked up about stupid and shortsighted decisions by CF management. I didn't mention my issue with the Aurora property but I might as well here. The land in it's current state isn't likely to sell anytime soon. I doubt Dick is going to sell to anyone with the intentions of opening a park, and traditional developers are staying away because of 1. NE Ohio's economy, and 2. Near saturation in that area. I would love to see a small (at first) Town Center development on the land. I'm picturing 2 or 3 anchor stores, a boardwalk along the lake, A large park/greenspace in the middle with an enclosed carousel and a kids water play area, and of course the Big Dipper. I'd like to see smaller "strips" of storefronts against the boardwalk (picture the old games setup), with a few restaurants and cafes spread around. Maybe build a special events center against the lake at one end, for weddings and parties and whatnot? In the winter, a temporary ice rink could be set up for rentals, they could do holiday programs, carriage rides, "hooks" like that to get people to come out in the cold. Then, once the development was established (and the real estate market stabilizes), develop some small condo and apartment units.

And the worst part? The old Polar Bear grotto was actually renovated out of what used to be five seperate exhibits. All the bears used to share that barn and there was a small rock grotto for each. The bears were in those conditions until the mid-80's. From the Columbus Dispatch, Friday, November 15, 1985 And do you remember when the new bear, who was wild-born, nearly escaped as she was let into the enclosure? From the Columbus Dispatch, Saturday, May 9, 1987: ::emphasis added::

Simpy closing parks will do nothing but hurt CF's bottom line. I have on good authority that those parks are still profitable. Look at what happened with Geauga Lake. The park was closed and razed, rides ripped out, and the land put up for sale. Still today it sits, costing CF money in (minimal) upkeep and tax obligations. Exactly. GL could have been "right sized" back down to what it was before Six Flags ill-fated flagging effort. Had CF not purchased the former Paramount Parks, I believe we'd have a Geauga Lake today that looked more like Michigan's Adventure, and a complimentary park to CP. I hope and pray that the unitholders demand new leadership at the top. The industry has changed quite a bit and Kinzel&Co are still stuck in a very old and very dated business model. When former Boeing CEO Alan Mulally took over as CEO of Ford a few years ago, he walked into a very similar situation. He looked at the product line and noticed that Ford actually lost several hundred dollars on every Focus they sold. They had to pad up margins on trucks and SUVs to offset the net loss they got on small cars. He inquired as to why they continued a product line that didn't make any money, and nobody was able to offer a decen answer. By operating that way, they were 1. Limiting the appeal of the Focus, keeping production constrained to relatively low levels as to keep the losses down, and 2. Limiting the appeal of the trucks and SUVs due to an inflated price point that had to be done to cover the losses on the car side. Sound familiar? CF keeps gate prices low (and almost certainly low to a point of not covering the park's operation. They then inflate prices for in park purchases (food, drink, souvienrs) to cover losses at the gate. Now, one would argue that a few extra bucks per ticket wouldn't have a dramatic effect on attendance, and "discount" admission could then be lowered to the normal gate price now. Doing this would allow food and drink prices to be lowered to more reasonable levels and therefore encourage customers to eat another meal in the park, or buy more at each sitting. Higher gate prices would also encourage more "season's pass" sales, and lower in-park prices would encourage these passholders to spend more in the park. Right now, passholders know better than to spend money in the park, since it's much easier to hop down Kings Island Dr and eat off property. If you give passholders incentive to spend their money in the park, they will. This was an excellent insightful post. I am glad you posted all this, so that I could take a break! haha Are you sure you chose the right career by the way? That analysis and comparison is golden! I did a presentation and research piece on Alan Mulally last year and have to say that I noticed some of the same parallels but didn't really apply them in the way that you did! Thank you, Cory! I'm not sure about the career field question, since TV News picked me (as opposed to me picking it). I started an internship in 2005 at WSYX6 in Columbus at their assignment desk and was offered a job 2 weeks later. I've since "moved on up" to WBNS and still love what I do. I would, however, jump at a park Planning & Design or Marketing/PR position if one were to open up. The frustrating thing is that the evidence of these problems, as well as the tools to fix them, are all painfully obvious. A few weeks ago in the 5@5 note, they said that each office employee is supposed to visit the park with their family once a year and take notes of things that need changed, improved, etc. Which, in and of itself, sounds like a good idea. The problem is that the issues found in these visits are likely to be the super obvious ones anyway: "this line moves too slow," "this ride needs new paint," "this show wasn't very entertaining." Why not require all of your area managers to eat at least one meal in the park per week, paid out of their own pocket? Would the Food Services Manager feel the same way about $4 Cokes if he had to spend his own money on one? Or, better yet, why not require your area managers to buy dinner for a random family of guests in the park once every week or two? This would get direct feedback straight from the guests to the manager, without being filtered thru comment cards or guest services. It would also go a long way in building goodwill between that family and their ideas about the park. I'm sure they would make a big deal to their friends, family, and coworkers about how much Kings Island "cares" about them. The investment into those policies would be minimal (if at all), and the results would be invaluable.

No worries! It all makes sense now... And +1 for liking BBoBH better than SDatHC, what we've seen at least. It looks like the park has done a solid job.

You mean the wallpaper? It was great for Phantom Theater, but was so peeled and faded recently that it just looked terrible. That and it didn't match at all the upper 1/3 of the walls, painted flat black with the UV sillouettes and white cotten "cob webs". I hope the preshow area of BBoBH looks more cohesive than SDatHC.

As long as they take down that awful wallpaper in the preshow room I'll have no complaints.

I just looked at some of my 2009 pics... Each outer fountain has 4 light fixtures positioned around it, while the inner bowls look to have 8. In my '09 pics, 2 of the lights on the outer fountains were gelled blue and 2 were gelled red. Compare these to the the pics you posted above which show 2 blue (although a much lighter saturation value, meaning more light can pass thru the filter) and 2 green (again a much lighter saturation than the red used in '09), which would increase the light level on the water dramatically. In the '09 pics, I see that 4 of the lights on each bowl were gelled yellow, and 4 were gelled red. Compared to the pics posted above, where the bowl lights were yellow and white.

Also, don't forget that it is customary to present the first Mounted Police officer you see with a shrubbery. One that looks nice. And not too expensive.

They still do have different "show" levels that cycle thru, but I'm not sure that they've ever "danced." As for colors - aren't they all still dichrotic lensed? Or have they been upgraded to RBG mixing LED? Have they been red all season? I thought that was just for the Haunt. It would honestly be up to whoever installs the lenses on the fixtures. (that is, of course, unless those fixtures have been upgraded and I wasn't aware).

Am I the only one who remembers Subway conveniently deciding to offer only Coca-Cola products right around the time that all of their restaurants were retro-fitted with ovens to mimic the growing trend that was Quizno's...? And wasn't it days later that Quizno's conveniently set up a deal with Pepsi? And that's not even close to the only example of such behavior in the past decade. I remember that as well... Applebee's also switched quietly from Coke to Pepsi a few years ago (despite my objections).

I submitted a question for Friday's 5@5, asking about the band organ and Festhaus clock. We'll see...

Which likely means: 1. There's a new film and they have an announcement coming this week. -or- 2. Action Theater will be dormant for 2010 and they would rather people find out "quietly" on opening day.

Good point! It's hard to sit by and watch such terrible decisions being made, while most of us have a much better grasp on positive changes that would both improve guest experience and the bottom line at the same time. The old "captive audience" mindset (getting people thru the gate cheap then gouging them on in-park purchases) simply doesn't work anymore. The parks simply have too much competition, and the outrageous in-park prices factor into your guests planning. Most will still make their annual trip (for traditions' sake), but more affordable (or even offering a quality of food deserving of the high prices) out of pocket expenses once you're thru the gate would encourage return visits, or even "season's pass" sales; increasing per-cap increases and better overall guest experience (thus adding more positive word-of-mouth, friends and family coming as guests of passholders). All of these would be very marketable changes. "Here at Kings Island, we know times are tough... and that's why we've made it more affordable than ever for families to enjoy a day of fun and excitement. Kings Island... your best value for family entertainment... just one more reason we're the FUN and only." See? It's not that hard...

Simpy closing parks will do nothing but hurt CF's bottom line. I have on good authority that those parks are still profitable. Look at what happened with Geauga Lake. The park was closed and razed, rides ripped out, and the land put up for sale. Still today it sits, costing CF money in (minimal) upkeep and tax obligations. Exactly. GL could have been "right sized" back down to what it was before Six Flags ill-fated flagging effort. Had CF not purchased the former Paramount Parks, I believe we'd have a Geauga Lake today that looked more like Michigan's Adventure, and a complimentary park to CP. I hope and pray that the unitholders demand new leadership at the top. The industry has changed quite a bit and Kinzel&Co are still stuck in a very old and very dated business model. When former Boeing CEO Alan Mulally took over as CEO of Ford a few years ago, he walked into a very similar situation. He looked at the product line and noticed that Ford actually lost several hundred dollars on every Focus they sold. They had to pad up margins on trucks and SUVs to offset the net loss they got on small cars. He inquired as to why they continued a product line that didn't make any money, and nobody was able to offer a decen answer. By operating that way, they were 1. Limiting the appeal of the Focus, keeping production constrained to relatively low levels as to keep the losses down, and 2. Limiting the appeal of the trucks and SUVs due to an inflated price point that had to be done to cover the losses on the car side. Sound familiar? CF keeps gate prices low (and almost certainly low to a point of not covering the park's operation. They then inflate prices for in park purchases (food, drink, souvienrs) to cover losses at the gate. Now, one would argue that a few extra bucks per ticket wouldn't have a dramatic effect on attendance, and "discount" admission could then be lowered to the normal gate price now. Doing this would allow food and drink prices to be lowered to more reasonable levels and therefore encourage customers to eat another meal in the park, or buy more at each sitting. Higher gate prices would also encourage more "season's pass" sales, and lower in-park prices would encourage these passholders to spend more in the park. Right now, passholders know better than to spend money in the park, since it's much easier to hop down Kings Island Dr and eat off property. If you give passholders incentive to spend their money in the park, they will.