CoasterKrazy

So today ( June 6th ) is IN FACT Bring a Friend Free Day? I wasn't quite sure if it was, so I checked the PKI website, but I couldn't find it mentioned on their calendar of events. If today is BAFFD, then I don't plan on going, so can anyone confirm this? ( Sorry to those of you who have said that it is BAFFD, I just want to make sure so I can decide if I want to make the trip or not. )

Well as far as PKI food goes, Mandarin Cuisine can't be beat. Good food and good prices! I don't get much better than that!

Okay, so I now know what the grandfather says and what Laura Croft says, but what about the giant statue at the beginning of the ride? Also, someone mentioned a small amount of dialogue at the end of the ice scene, anyone know anything about that?

What about the new Tomb Raider live action show that is supposed to be coming to Paramount's Kings Island sometime in June? The location of the stunt show has yet to be announced ( I think ) so could this be a prop or scenery for the show?

During the actual ride on Tomb Raider: The Ride, there are several parts where dialogue is used. At one point, the giant statue says something, and near the end of the ride, two different speakers are heard: Laura Croft's grandfather and another person. I know what the grandfather says, but I can't understand the other two speakers at all, including the "mystery person" at the very end of the ride. Does anyone know what they ( the giant statue and the last person ) say, and who the mystery person is supposed to be?

The Paramount Story. LOL

When I got my Gold Season Pass on Pass Preview Night, I didn't get a pamphlet explaining about the "Meal Deals." Can someone please explain how you're supposed to use your Gold Pass in order to get discounts on food?

The vibrating is actually part of the themeing? I guess that makes a little sense, because when the background "music" goes off, the vibrating stops. Even if it is supposed to be there, I would much rather be able to hear the "music" instead of that annoying vibrating. To each his own I suppose. StXBomber, tell your sups to give me a call, I'd be more than happy to come in and clean up the hanger. It may take me a while, but it'll get done!

The queue in the hanger is extremely dirty. I noticed that when I went to Paramount's Kings Island on May 4, the UFO had the trash taken off of it, but it hadn't been dusted. None of the other scenery had been cleaned either. Plus, the video wasn't running at all, and I noticed how incredibly dusty the air inside the hanger is as well. There is gum all over the floor, and that vibrating inside the UFO is very annoying. This isn't bashing against you or anyone else who works on Flight of Fear, but I think PKI needs to put some major work into cleaning it. The rest of the park is great, but Flight of Fear is way below average.

::cough:: Flight of Fear ::cough::

Face/Off used to have on-ride photos. It doesn't any longer.

Got to the park around 2 PM to discover that I do in fact have Free Parking on my Gold Season Pass. When my mom ordered my pass for my birthday ( I know it's corny, but hey, I wanted a pass! ) she didn't order free parking, and she didn't pay for it either. This same thing happened to my friend that went with me today. If you ordered a Gold Season Pass, were you supposed to get free parking? Anyway, got in the park with no problem and went to Delerium. The line moved very fast, like it did last time. After a great ride on Delerium we went straight to Adventure Express. I don't know if it was just today, but the music / dialogue in the station is already gone. Today, the Indiana Jones theme music was the only thing playing. It was nice to have at least a little theme, but the original soundtrack, that PKI JUST brought back is already gone. Next was Racer. Both sides were running, and we chose front seat, forward side. A great first ride of the season. I didn't notice the brakes on the turnaround much, but I would like to ride it sometime when they are off, just to see how much more airtime you get. Flight of Fear followed Racer. The movie in the queue wasn't playing at all, and the only thing on the screens was the queue itself. The hanger is still EXTREMELY dirty. ( Hope you're reading this PKI! It's pretty bad in there with in inch of dust on all the themeing and dust in the air so thick you could cut it with a butter knife! ) The ride, however more than makes up for it, and the new on-ride photos are VERY cool. Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle was next. New, clear plastic has been put over the wall paper in the queue so that the General Public can't peel it away. VERY nice job Paramount's Kings Island! My score this time was 1200. Not too bad for only my third time if I do say so myself. We then went over to Face / Off. I haven't ridden this ride in three years, and I had forgotten how smooth it is. I always come off the ride with a headache, may be the G-forces, but I'll be sure to ride it a few times again this season. The line was about an hour, but worth the wait. We ate at Madarin Cuisine and I got rice, Tso's chicken, sweet & sour chicken, and a water for about 8 bucks. Again, it was very hot and good; the best place to eat in the park. After a little walking around, we left at 7:30 PM. Another good trip, with very few downsides. Hurry up and get to PKI! Remember, there's no better time!

So has any cleaning been done in the FOF queue? I wasn't there on the 26th, so I don't know how it is.

All grey Delerium? What were they thinking? Why was the themeing on Top Gun closed off in the first place? Staffing? Money?

I must have misunderstood the information. I do remember reading that Paramounts Kings Island could provide low-cost housing to those employees that live more than "X" miles from the park, but I don't remember the exact distance. I just assumed it meant dorms, but apparently I was mistaken. Oh well.

Is it? I must have never really paid that much attention to it, but when we were on the ride, we noticed that as we reachd the top, the lift slowed down to a literal crawl for about 10 or 15 seconds. In the many times that I've ridden it, its never done that before. Also, later on in the day I used a view finder located at the front of the fountain and looked up at Drop Zone noticed a good amount of space from the top of the tower ( well, obvisously not the top, just where the lift mechanism stops ) and the lift mechanism. You probably know more about the ride than I do, but I'd never notice it move so slow or seem "so" low before.

NOTE: I'm not going to go to Grad Night. What follows below is JUST a question. Does PKI actually check to see if you are a grad or not?

There aren't dorms or employee housings at PKI? When I was looking into a job for this season, a little blurb on their web site mentioned that Paramount's Kings Island can provide low-cost housing for those people who are 18+ or who are 17+ and have graduated from high school. Let get back to you on that one, I'm trying to find it right now... EDIT: Couldn't find the information on housing. Anyone have any information?

Everyday I find another reason why I would have LOVED to work at PKI this season. I'll just wait until I'm 18 when I can stay in the dorms.

Grad Night, which is listed on the Paramount's Kings Island web site under "Calendar of Events" is on May 9, 2003 from 5 PM to midnight. However, this date isn't listed on the parks operating calendar on the web site or in the current park map. Is this day limited to ONLY grads, and if so, how does a grad get a ticket?

I didn't know that. Sounds pretty cool! I hope that Paramount's Kings Island will continue to "improve" their themeing. As far as I'm concerned, a 1 or 2 year break from rides could be taken just for overall park improvements. Anyway, did Flight of Fear ( then Outer Limits: Flight of Fear ) ever have fog at the beginning of its launch?

I remember the themeing under the station, and that fog was used, but was there actaully fog used in the station? I don't remember that.

The fact that a ride-op is always standing there doesn't really bother me, and I actually think it is funny. I DO hope, however, that all the themeing will soon return, and will be kept up for as long as Tomb Raider: The Ride is operating.

Our day at Paramount's Kings Island began with a $9 parking fee at 2:00 PM. We received are notice that the park was now equipped with metal detectors, and a coupon for $5 off our next visit. My friend and I both have Gold Season Passes, so I'll just give my coupons to other friends. We found a parking spot in the Drop Zone section, and walked to the entrance. The metal detectors were no trouble at all, but it took about 15 minutes to enter the park. We waited in line once, only for them to tell us that Season Pass holders were to enter through the other line. A sign would have been nice, bt it wasn't a big deal. Hopefully though, a sign will be posted soon, because I see that becoming a problem later on in the season when it is very busy. Delirium was our first ride of the day. The line was about 3/4 full, but it moved very quickly. The way they have riders move into position before the previous ride ends really helps move guests along. Once all the bugs are worked out with the arm and floor this ride will be a real people-eater. Delerium is one INCREDIBLE ride! The ride starts out with a feeling similar to a Scrambler, but then kicks up the intensity. The feelings of falling and weightlessness are AWESOME and the G forces at the bottom of the swing are extremely strong. One of the best rides in the park, without a doubt. Top Gun was next. While in line, I noticed that some of the scenery looked like it had been painted. Also, some of the scenery in the line that is closed off was visible, as the mini "garage doors" that usually hide the themeing were open. Top Gun is back to two trains, and the new tubs are easily noticed. I love this ride, and it is my favorite suspened coaster. I love the airtime you get on the frist drop and the intense ending. Too short, but a very good ride. Hopefully, its original themeing will return in the next few years. After Top Gun we headed to another Arrow ride, Adventure Express. I couldn't tell if they were running two or three trains, but the line moved very fast as usual. The music and spiels in the station were playing at full blast. I had NEVER, EVER heard the Adventure Express "soundtrack" before, and I'm glad PKI decided to bring it back. The music is pretty cool and the failed expeditions, closed tracks, and travel announcements are very amusing. The only themeing working was in the last tunnel, but I noticed that the first tunnel had been cleaned. Hopefully, a lot more work will be done, and Kings Island will keep the themeing working %100. This ride is wicked in the back seat! Airtime everywhere and it is very intense, but the roughness may be too much for little ones. Try riding up front for an easier ride. Another great Arrow at PKI. By this time we were getting hungry, so we headed over to Mandarin Cuisine. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted with smiling faces and several "Hellos." The man dishing the food was hard to understand, but eventually we got what we wanted and paid for the food, which is cheeper than other food in the park. Our meals were nice and hot and tasted very good. I recommend Mandarin to anyone who goes to Kings Island. The food is expensive ( Not as bad as the rest of the park, thats for sure. ) but definately worth it. We headed over to Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle. The line was past the exit, but only lasted about 20 minutes. PKI did a GREAT job with this ride. There are already signs of General Public destruction, which is sad considering this ride has been open only a few days. I'll never understand why a few people feel the need to tear everything up. Anyway, I thought that the themeing in the queue could have been more elaborate, but the ride makes up for it. Shaggy and Scooby need to be louder because it is hard to hear them giving instructions. The ride itself is VERY cool and fun. I thought I would just sit back to take everything in for my first ride, but I couldn't help but grab one of those guns and start shooting. For my first score I got 1530 points, and later on the day when we went on SDATHC a second time I got 960 points. This is a great ride for everyone, and is a perfect replacement for Phantom Theater. I don't know which one I like better, because they are such different rides, but Scooby is a must-do on every PKI trip. We decided on Vortex for our next ride. The line moved quickly like usual, and we were on in just a few minutes. Vortex is still a really good ride in my opinion. Plus, the new paint job looks great/ I understand why some people think it is rough, but I always enjoy it. Very intese in the loops and the final helix. One thing I noticed is that the brakes are very noisy, like metal against metal. I wonder if they will be replaced any time soon.... By this time, Tomb Raider: The Ride had opened up, so we took a quick spin. The flames outside the tomb weren't on, but the jewel at the beginning of the queue is back in its place. I think the queue had been cleaned, because it wasn't nearly as dirty as it was on our last trip. Only a few of the fake flames were on full blast once inside the tomb, and the lights that "unlock" the tomb didn't line up like they used to. I always think its funny when the tomb opens up with the dynamic music to see a ride op standing there to usher you in. Just something I find amusing. The pre-show worked fine, and we got on the ride. A few of the effects still aren't working like they used to but other than that TR:TR is the same as it was last season. I like this ride, but a new program every two or three rides would be nice. Drop Zone. The new permanent queues are nice, and will hopefully keep that huge line from forming out in front of the ride. While in we were waiting in line, a large group of people cut through about 3 rows of the line. A man stood up on the rails and yelled to the ride-ops that those people were smoking and cut in line. After a few curse words and gestures, the ride ops had the people step out of the queue and onto the "loading station." People in the queue began yelling as the line-cutters tried to get on the ride. One of them went over to a ride-op and offered her money to let them ride. After 10 minutes of more cursing and attemted bribes, the group was sent on its way. Later, I saw the ride ops describing the group to security. Hopefully, they were thrown out of the park. Drop Zone was a lot of fun, with a lot of airtime. My friend and I noticed that the ring didn't go up as high as it usually does. Anyone know why? We've finally figured out how to get a good ride on Son of Beast. Don't ride above the wheels! If you get a seat that ISN'T above the wheels, you'll get a great ride on this monster. By the way, SOB is back to two train operation! And you know what that means! ...Oh wait...no...there weren't new restraints. Don't know what happened, but they aren't there. Well, as long as I got a good ride, I didn't care. Anyway, our day at Paramount's Kings Island was perfect. We got in all the rides we wanted to, and waits were short. The park was clean and the food was great. This season looks like its going to be very good. If the rumored improvements come this season, it will be even better.

So is there any word on a Flight of Fear clean-up? Tell your reps. that I'd be happy to do it if no one else wants to.