standbyme

It is amazing to me how you mixed your loss into a fun trip report and it came out perfect...I agree with Scooby_Doo, it really is one of the best reports I have read on here in a long time. Sorry for your loss.

Gordie: "Alright, alright. Mickey's a mouse. Donald's a duck. Pluto's a dog. What's Goofy?" Teddy: "Goofy's a dog. He's definitely a dog." Chris: "He can't be a dog. He wears a hat and drives a car." Vern: "God. That's weird. What the h*ll is Goofy?" I think I have a new "straight man" with 74Gibson!

Maybe the park is trying to avoid a lot of tearful goodbye scenes between the kids & the characters...kinda like the train scene from Casablanca...."we'll always have Paris Nickelodeon Universe". (By the way, Casablanca is about as much on the kid's radar as Snoopy is. )

This comment reminded me of one of my favorite lines in a movie trailer...it was for one of the Naked Gun's...the line went "If you only see one movie this year....you really need to get out more". (So I think the same thing applies...if you think that THIS site has the most meaningless and wasteful discussions...you really must not be going to too many sites!)

I wonder if they are back...last time I ate there, in mid July, all they offered were those cups of "ice cream"....which are SO hard you could use them to build footers/footings for a coaster. (Other than that I also think the BBQ is a great deal.)

You just have to relate it to someone/something they do know...in Fess' case, you could say "He's the old guy who own's the winery down the road from Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch. (By the way Fess still IS, not was.)

I for one have never said Snoopy sucks...I do think that the idea of Snoopy as a character that is considered "current" to the children of today IS ludacris. When Nick replaced HB I myself was dissapointed that I would never see those characters walking around again...but I knew that for the children's sake it was the right thing for the park to do. The way I looked at it was "Well, I had my time...now it is time for the new generation to have their time". I did come from more of an innocent era...at least compared to today's standards...on my very first trip to Kings Island, which was WAY before most people on this board were even thought of...the only souvenirs that I wanted were some postcards showing the HB characters riding the rides. (Yes, I still have them.) I can also still remember the HB rainbow...and I can't count how many times that my parents took us on The Enchanted Voyage that day...my siblings and I were just amazed to see our Saturday Morning cartoon characters come to life...it would NOT have been the same if Kings Island had had character's that we were not familiar with. And to anyone who says "They'll get used to them"....how does that compute to the family that may only go once every year or so...I guess their children are just out of luck for that "magical" experience. And now for my take on Snoopy...I think his TV specials are GREAT! It is never Halloween unless I watch "It's The Great Pumpkin" or Christmas without "A Charlie Brown Christmas". (Last year my avatar during halloween was Linus in the pumpkin patch.) So I AM a Peanuts fan...but, just like I am a fan of Calvin & Hobbes, The Far Side, Chas Addams, Felix The Cat, Gigantor, Popeye etc...I know that the kids of today would rather see someone THEY love....which is what a kid's area SHOULD be all about.... And i'll repeat this gripe one more time to anyone (and no one in paticular) who keeps saying "Give it a chance...see how it turns out"...well, here is the picture I posted on page 1...these are the ACTUAL costumes that CF is already using...so we already KNOW how they are going to look. As I said before, Snoopy looks good...as he should...but the rest of them look creepy...and out of proportion....these costumes are NOT done well. These characters look like The Rugrats when they were teenagers...their heads are not the correct size for a "child"....when they made these costumes they should have made them more along the lines of Patrick...a big rounded body with a larger head. Here is how they should look: Notice that their heads are a liittle less than 1/2 of their body size...the CF outfits are nowhere near that. It may sound like I am being picky...but if I can compliment the park when I like something I feel like I can complain also. I can almost hear the crys in the park next year from the kids..."LOOK MOM! It's the dog from the Metlife commercials!" Now I am off to paint a room....

So, can I assume that YOU consider Nick "Prime Rib" and Snoopy a "Double Cheeseburger"?

^That is more where I lean...if it were a choice between The Peanuts or a "generic" kids area I would vote for the generic one. Like I said on the other thread, with the exception of Snoopy, the rest of the costumed characters look creepy to me. I would have preferered "generic" characters running around like a Teddy Bear, dragon...etc...as long as the costumes were done nicely I think that would have been a better choice.

Gee, guess how I voted! I was surprised to see that The Peanuts had so many votes...I didn't think that age bracket used computers. (Just kidding, just kidding...i'm trying to cheer myself up.)

Like a fungus....sorry if that didn't really add to the conversation but I couldn't resist!

I am a realist…I know that if the cost was too high they had no choice…but it is like CF is sticking the knife in and twisting it by replacing it with something SO worthless. Well, I guess you are the demographic CF was thinking of when they thought The Peanuts was a good idea! By the way…Scooby_Doo & pcc…thanks for sharing the nice memories…although they seem a little sad now.

^But what has also been said is that unlike Disney & WB cartoons, The Peanuts do not have constant television exposure...THAT is a big difference.

Tomkatt7, I am loving both the passion and the way you are conveying your thoughts on this topic. I do think you are giving CF too much credit here though...I would settle for someone of The Easter Bunny's caliber...I think Snoopy is more along the lines of getting a quarter under your pillow on Christmas from The Tooth Fairy.

I also am not going to "force" my Nephews to like something just because the park that we love so much is trying to save money...now I know that Nik's new asking price may have been way out of Cedar Fair's budget...but you would think that they could add a dollar or so to the admission cost in order to keep them if they TRULY wanted too. (Or use all of the money that they are saving on the lack of front-gate security.) I picture the execs at Cedar Fair after reading this thinking “Why didn’t WE think of this!”. The thing is, CF could make it look GREAT…but it is still based on a dated cartoon so it is a no win situation in my opinion.

Well said. At one point, when we didn't have any little one's in our family (a span of about 3 years) I didn't even know the kids area existed...but for at least the next 3-4 years the kids area is very important to our family.

Besides the fact that The Peanuts are hopelessly out of date the thing that REALLY bothers me about them coming to the park is that it ruins one of my favorite souvenirs that I always enjoy getting…photos of my family & friends with the characters…they are my favorite photos by far. If you would visit my family member’s homes you would see countless photos on the walls throughout the history of the park with everyone from Captain Caveman, Hong Kong Phooey, George Jetson, Scooby and of course Spongebob & Patrick. I find that you get the best shots when someone is with a character…adults become kids again and there is no matching the thrill a kid gets when he sees someone he loves watching on TV…they do not yell “Look it’s someone in a Spongebob outfit” they yell “LOOK! It’s Spongebob!” . I will miss these moments SO much. We are an old school family…I was raised on watching all of the Peanuts specials once a year…and own most of them on DVD. I have TRIED to keep up the tradition with my Nephews…but they do not seem interested…they will set through them with me once a year…but it is more out of a kindness to me…they don’t seem to be interested in them. With that said…I have seen photos of the Peanuts at Cedar Point before…and that is why I have been scared…except for Snoopy, can anyone really say that the kids look good? They LOOK like costumes…and bad ones at that. To paraphrase Captain Quint from “Jaws”…”they’ve got... lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When they comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. (This is not my photo…I got it from the internet.) This is the saddest Kings Island news I can ever remember…it is like a double whammy…not only do we lose something really great (Nickelodeon and possibly Scooby), we have it replaced with something that is laughably out-of-date…although I am not laughing.

Tomkatt7, Nice trip report...it has lots of personality...which is what I enjoy the most when I read a report. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Jesse, A truly original trip report...as usual. It really was a lot of fun watching...both times! I like the little things that you added like the rain & the bees. I am sorry that I wasn't there that day...but now I kinda feel like I was. Thanks!

^Oh, so you have a problem with numerous members. (Yes it's a joke...sorry.)

A fun trip report! Thanks for sharing.

I have not “jumped in the water” on this thread…until now… I do not think that the problem that you have is with “The Interpreter” himself…but more of what I have been seeing more and more and MORE of lately…it has been bugging me for a while but I have not mentioned it…there are WAY to many terpy “wannabes“. The man’s (or woman’s) identity seems to being usurped more and more every day. I do not think that The Interpreter is the greatest offender of the “Yes” answer…I find that he himself uses it sparingly…and usually when some just “asks” for it by posting a question that deserves it…such as “Does anyone know if Son of Beast will re-open”…obviously someone DOES know the answer, but that person is not allowed to post the answer…so why ask the question…in my opinion they “deserve” a simple “yes” answer! The Interpreter has a personality all his own…which I enjoy…but seeing some other posters it only reminds me of the difference between The Beatles & The Monkees…one’s the original…the other is a copy. I KNOW that no one means’ any harm…it is just all in fun, but for me personally, I would prefer reading lots of DIFFERENT personalities and not a bunch of clones…everyone should try and just be themselves…I for one am happy being the cranky old man!

I like that...as in Kings Island Central Intelligence Agency....or KICIA for short...I checked, unfortunately www.kicia.com is already taken...so there goes that idea.

If you get get number one to happen I will be very happy. I on the other hand would be creeped out since both Ricardo Montalban & Herve Villechaize are dead.

^This Saturday...there is no onsite registration...so if you didn't register by August 1st it is now too late, sorry.