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I think The Villian might be the first wooden coaster to be moved by a major chain (Cedar Fair). Sure it's not wooden in a purist' eyes (steel frame), but wood track is wood track. As for the other woodies, I can see Big Dipper staying where it is and being bought by a private owner locally. Having it put into storage for a while seems more likely than having it moved and reopened any time soon. Wolf Ka-bobs is the candidate for the junk pile, especially because it derailed this season. I forget where, but I read rumors that CF didn't have much interest in fixing it (or maybe they just didn't want to since they knew this was the end for the park).

I think the Tomb Raider specific theming will be gone sometime between 1 - 4 years from now. That means the pre-show movie will be gone (it may not even be back next season, I wouldn't be surprised) and maybe the entire audio track during the ride will be gone. If the park continues to have serious issues with the ride being able to balance itself, then it might be removed. That is an extreme case though, and I highly doubt it will come to that. The building itself is useful for storage, so there's no way they'll tear it down without removing the ride entirely. As for the theming, it will be kept at a minimum working level. These are all predictions of course. =)

Platinum Pass. It's a really good value...for certain folks. Just looking at where the Cedar Fair parks are on a map, the platinum pass is really great for people who live in Ohio, Michigan, and North Carolina. Otherwise, you probably have to drive 4+ hours from your home park to get to another CF park, making it harder to get the best value out of your free parking. It also is a good deal for people who visit a home park a lot and want to visit another CF park when they are in a different area. Personally, I probably wouldn't get the value out of it visiting only CP or KI, but both together make it a deal.

Here's an unbroken link: www.pki.com/2008pass

...and they'd be able to share the same parts! And then the folks from Switzerland would only have to send stuff to one place! That's a great idea. I only want TTD at KI if you put it where the top hat goes over the Eiffel Tower, which I'm sure is not feasible seeing the width of the Eiffel Tower.

I'd like to see the ridership numbers for the SpongeBob film. It's in the back of the park and it's been the same movie for like 5 years. Those numbers can't be good! (or at least on the decline)

KI hates B&M...and Intamin. What are we getting next? Better check out what's new in Vekoma's product line!

This is based on what exactly? Years of analytical coaster reliability data?

If Cedar Fair allows the licensing to expire, I highly doubt there will be any re-theming. Rather, there will be a name change and a whole lot of 'un-theming'.

Hmmm. I'd say unlikely to happen anytime soon. Top Gun doesn't exactly sit on prime real estate in my opinion. It's sorta out in the middle of nowhere...over a ravine type terrain. It still adds somewhat of a draw, as it is another type of coaster to have on the list.

I want a cool VIP pull over jacket when I get my pass. KI should offer some incentive like CP is or else I may just get my pass there. Since they are likely rolling the Gold Pass benefits in with Joe Cool benefits...it now matters a lot less which park is your home park. Maybe they'll even find a way to do away with having to sign in at a park which is not your home park.

Everybody has a different opinion about what is good and bad. Even if I had ridden every coaster in the world, I would still favor some over others due to personal preferences. I tend to trust Mitch's Coaster Poll more than any other rankings. It's done in a sort of win/loss format that compares mutual riders from groups of people who ride a lot.

Remember that they adjust the price slightly depending on the market area. Buying a pass in Ohio is more expensive than just about anywhere else because of CP and KI. Even so, I'd be shocked if it includes the waterparks for that price. I'd be surprised if they didn't offer a waterpark/non-waterpark pass option, but here's hoping.

Worst thing? The lack of a coaster made by Intamin or B&M. Seriously, what have they been doing for the past 15 years? I can forgive 5 years or so, but it's hard to think a coaster by either of those companies would be less successful than anything they have put in over that time period. The addition of such a coaster would encourage me to visit at least an additional 2-3 times a year.

I once saw a kid throw up immediately after getting off of Adventure Express. There was a trash can right there on the platform next to the exit, so no mess. Funny thing was, it took me a minute to realize what was happening. The kid was throwing up pure Icee. Totally red, as if you had poured it straight from a cup. I'm sure he probably drank the whole thing shortly before riding. In honesty, it was the least disgusting puke I had ever seen.

This doesn't seem that complicated. Drop Towers tend to be less complex than coasters (at least, the non S&S ones). Why so much discussion of the brakes? Isn't it the small carriage that tows the car to the top and lets go? If it didn't let go like it should have...what other option is there but to tell it to come back down still attached to the car? I'm sure it's complicated with the safety system and all, but wouldn't that be like an e-stop?

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you saw some volunteers operating rides during the slower months (April, May, September, October). KI has a program that allows groups to come and fundraise by working and I think you also get a bonus ticket or two when you do it. This is somewhat commonplace across the chain. It's not true of every ride, but of some. It's thoroughly annoying to ride Millennium Force in October when it's being part staffed by sorority girls who don't know what they are doing.

That's a bit of a stretch I think. It's now been about 1 year since the take over. Have things improved in that 1 year? I would say they have. Sure they're not perfect, or up to where they should be yet, but they are moving in the right direction. I'm sure season passes will be handled better this year than last. If not, I'll eat my words. The problems described have mainly been relative to the Paramount merger, not to the Cedar Fair company chain as a whole. If there were significant problems with guest relations/season passes at that level, it would be obvious at all the parks, not just the former Paramount ones. Food prices and quality? I agree they do suck, but no worse than what's being offered any where else. Pricing at Six Flags is just as bad if not worse. I would guess that if you asked some higher-ups at Cedar Fair whether there were still quite a few issues to iron out or not, they would flat out agree with you. I have yet to see anyone covering up or lying about the way things really are. Mergers are complicated, especially big ones.

The Flying Eagles from Carowinds. It can be placed in the empty grass area where it used to live before they put nothing there instead.

They would be wise to use that area for a new FF attraction. The 10 mile walk to Top Gun might be useful if something else were nearby. Also, the club blood thread can be found in google's cache if you really want it.

I would expect all of the Paramount parks to get new logos within another year or two. All their websites are exactly the same template, while the other CF parks have all different layouts. I would imagine new logos would be done for the sites, as well as use in the parks.

I wouldn't say the pass program at CP is all efficient. They have been struggling for years about what to do with parking passes. Ranging from a mark on the pass, to window decals, to number of eligible vehicles, etc. With the acquisition of the Paramount Parks, the Cedar Fair chain is much closer together than ever before. That means, they are dealing with lots more passes being used at non-home parks. I think the Joe Cool thing is related to this. I highly doubt that the admission staff knows all the nuances with non-home park passes. It wouldn't surprise if they would let someone in early for Joe Cool if they explained that they were from a different park. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying that's the way it is. Heck, I've gotten into CP early with a regular ticket just because I was at the Magnum gate when all the resort guests in! CP has a lot more gates to enter the park (4 at last check), which means there are probably better chances that non-legit passes will be able to get in for Joe Cool even though they shouldn't. Things are bound to get better though I would imagine. Parking may take a while longer to really be improved, since I know of no park that has really found a "good" way of doing it.

1 hour waits for Mean Streak? Something is seriously outta whack if that happens. Was it just the rain or was it REALLY crowded too. Also, 2 hours for Maverick is a lot.

What is it about ride ops (especially coasters) at KI? I went to CP recently after a KI trip and it was like night and day. Almost like KI had to beg people to run their rides, while CP filled more than half the spots without asking. Don't people realize they could be sweeping trash or cleaning bathrooms all day instead of pushing buttons or checking restraints? I just don't get it. Running a coaster is one of the coolest jobs you can have at the park. Why are there no positive attitudes, hard workers, or overall crews who are proud to do what they do?

Mikey, I'm sure there are plenty of people who agree with you on parts of your original post. But this is a King's Island fansite, the main visitors to this board are folks who love King's Island. You can't expect a triumphant welcome if your first post is completely negative. What about the park do you like? How long have you been going to the park? Have you been to other parks before? What inspired you to join this forum? Was is just because you had a bad day and wanted to let people know about it? Or because you wanted to discuss the details of King's Island and how it could be improved?