CoastersNSich

Anyway, any color the tower is, my point was that the answer to the original question was obvious. I was playing "Mr. Obvious" and one of my points backfired.

is Son of Beast tall?? do congo fals get u wet?? is the eifel tower blue?

There are six haunted houses/attractions, three fear zones, a live show in Paramount Theatre, an improv act on International Street next to Starbucks, live bands on Saturday nights, and Elvira's Superstition in the Action Theatre. Is it possible to do everything? Depends on the crowds, as Saturday may not be the best, with in previous years, lines being up to two hours long.

According to Screamscape, two parks will be getting water park upgrades, regardless of what the names and themes will be. Kings Dominion: Great America:

Where the hell has Late Show: The Ride been?!

I saw the current (Nick or Treat) day map. The whole park, including Son of Beast and Boomerang Bay are still there. However, on the FearFest night map, I guess it's just a space saver to take them off since they're down for the season.

I'm not calling t his guy a liar, but I'd still love to see some sources and evidence of it. If this is true, it 's proof that Cedar Fair is going to build the attractions that Paramount Parks/CBS had planned for Canada's Wonderland - and seemingly the other 4 parks, too. However, it seems that the lack of a name, even with artwork and description, is a good sign that Viacom/CBS trademarks won't be a part of that park's future.

My brief 9/30 visit: I went up for a couple hours, after seeing the UC/MU football game. The parking lot didn't look too bad, but keep in mind that there is no water park to take away from the crowd. I notice the two landscaping islands that flank the metal detectors before the front gate. To the right are two Phantom Theater cars that weren't kept as part of the Scooby-Doo makeover, with some skeletons seated within. On the left side are two front cars from King Cobra, skeletons standing up as directed to do so! It wasn't quite dark yet, still lots of younger children and familes began departing the park at around 6:30 pm, since many of the children's attractions were closing down. With daylight remaining, I got some good day photos of the retired ride tombstones on International Street, plus of some other things, like the Scrooge house, which was having some "overgrowth" around it. It was still before 7pm, and Cowboy Carnage had a good full queue plus more for it. It was exciting, and if they heard reviews before coming, they'll be in for a treat! I also checked out the Wings Diner Buffet (I didn't eat) but it looked to be a little busy - a buffet at KI is a long overdue thing, IMO. I went into The Beast queue, but it looked a little long for the little time I would allot myself, so I passed on it. Next, I got in line for Vortex, it didn't look too long, but it was moving slower than normal because of 2-train operation. If there's going to be good crowds for the next few weekends, they may want to consider going back to three train ops. Compared to last Sunday, Adventure Express is back to two trains. I did this before too late, because it's not scheduled to be operating late into the night for FearFest. That I don't like, because it's a really great ride at night! This was followed by the obligatory forward and backward run on The Racer. While riding the Forward, I noticed Elvira didn't have too long a line, but the Asylum had a very big and long line going on... I checked out the Bengal-Buckhaus... I mean Festhaus, just before the OSU-Iowa game. Outside, I noticed on the sign that they were showing the UC-Miami game- uh, HOW?! It wasn't televised to anyone else! Also, if you're looking to catch the Colts-Jets game tomorrow, find someplace outside the park - they're planning to show Baltimore vs. San Diego instead at 1pm. Of course, the Bengals-Patriots game will be on at 4 pm. "God Bless Tom... Brady." Befrore leaving, I was a bit surprised that the Monster Bash show at the Paramount Music Hall (as I call it) wasn't on for today. When I left the front gate, I noticed Greg Scheid (KI's new VP/GM, wearing a HalloWeekends shirt), and saw the freaky characters attacking and confronting park guests, just entering the area, just as I was exiting the gates.

I don't mind going to KI by myself most of the time, but the Fearfest attractions I'd rather not do alone. Maybe we could get together, pick me up in Springdale?

I did see the retired ride tombstones on International Street on Thursday night, but none of the Cobra or Phantom Theater cars - I'll have to take a look tomorrow.

I'm honestly not into frightening Halloween events, and even had real reservations about going, even IF I had a ticket to last night's Dry Run night. Now, I think it was an interesting thing that I was glad to attend. - In some previous years, the event was just some mazes and decorations scattered around the park. This time, it's almost EVERYWHERE! Even as you enter International Street! - Holiday Horror: rather than let some of the Winterfest props sit in some warehouse or go to waste, it's the result of Cedar Fair being creative and silly. Gay elf?! - Headless Hollow: I probably wouldn't be too excited about the latter half of this attraction, but I wanted to check out how the first half, the incomplete train ride, worked out. The length of the White Water Canyon exit pathway would be an indicator as to the length of this attraction. - Cowboy Carnage: This was probably one of the attractions that I wanted to check out most, and knowing me and FearFest, that seems to be news to the rest of you. But seriiously, this one turned out to be the most interesting of the mazes (at least the ones that I did.) This one I might actually do again! - Psycho Path: Besides obviously creepy, and muddy, some interesting scenes, besides the ones that Br-- Uncle Henry mentioned - the outhouse full of , with a sign atop it that said "Marshall University Alumni." Hmm, a scene involving death, the woods, and Marshall University - seems a little in poor taste, why not add a sign outside the entrance saying "the year is 1970...". - Heckle and Howl: Another creative use of Scrooge's House, using the same concept, except the joke's weren't about an Interstate "ride" or the men's room at Chili's. - Monster Bash at "The Paramount Music Hall": The performance wasn't on for the Media Preview last night - apparently Cincinnati native and Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer was speaking there sometime this week, and the live show for tonight's Pride Night was to be held there. Nonetheless, I can't wait to check out Monster Bash, having a live show with dancing and music will be great to see. - One of the best surprises of the night: Along International Street, you will find tombstones of retired/defunct Kings Island rides and attractions. Having been to Cedar Point's Halloweekends, which also does this in their Main Midway, this is also one of the great ideas that the Cedar Fair folks added to our park's event! Note that Winterfest has a tombstone - probably the only attraction to rise from the dead for a year, but I don't think I ever saw one for the Wild Animal Habitat Monorail (1974-1993), and a couple of them had incorrect dates. - Above all, this year's Fearfest might be the best ever, at least since the first one in 2000. I think Cedar Fair's acquisition of the park, and the cancellation of WinterFest had something to do with the changes that might make it the best FearFesr ever. - Oh, and did anyone notice Son of Beast removed from the map? Is it simply due to the ride's closure for the rest of the year, or does it represent something bigger?

I'd argue that Kings Island started as a theme park in 1972, with five themed areas. While the rides, for the most part, may not have been heavily themed, the colors, architecture, signage, music, even uniforms matched an area's theme well. The 1974 addition of a sixth theme land focusing on an African safari was very true of this. Though in the later 80s and early 1990s, it may have loosened a bit, but Kings Island for its first twenty seasons can be considered a theme park, even if one section of it rivaled a traditional amusement park. Enter Paramount in 1993. Rides were installed regardless of an area's theme, but began to have heavy themes in some cases. Slowly, specific ride uniforms (Top Gun, Phantom Theater, Flight of Fear) disappeared, and in some cases, the appearance of rides began to look cheaper. Paramount's Kings Island would still be a theme park, but much looser in the later 15 seasons than the first 20 - not the world-class quality caliber theme park we thought it would be. In the future, the new version Kings Island will be an overall cleaner park and more committed to thirll rides and some larger roller coasters. There will be more shows, more sit-down restaurants, but less, if not none, future installations of heavily-themed rides. Capacity on rides will be improved. How long will Cedar Fair be the owner of our beloved park? I'll guess that it can be measured in decades, whether its two, three, five - hell, even ten. This is not a company that will sell off a successful, profitable park just for the heck of it. If that logic of buying parks to sell later at a profit were true, some of their parks, like Dorney, Knott's, and maybe another would have been sold. They would have never acquired Geauga Lake.

"All this and more!"* How about repainting Racer to the original red-white-blue color scheme, and even returning the south side to forward operation? Why not re-stain The Beast, especially the wood that gets replaced? TAER down Tomb Raider. Relocate Stunt Track, maybe even to another CF park. Replace walkways with concrete or even NatureStone. Replace the flooring and walls in the restrooms, new toilet partitions, sinks and Xcelerator dryers as well. Add some sort of flying scooters. More trashcans I'm sure are on the way. Also, bring back the old 1972-92 logo! *borrowed from 2005 Ohio State Fair

Oddly enough, several people I know will agree with you and/or find themselves in the same situation. I've only been there once this year, (though on four consecutive days), because of trying to find work.... but I still love going to KI for a bit at least once a week.

Maybe they'll have a contest to let twins ride first. How about Conan O'Brien and Tarja Halonen (Finlan's female President)?

Not to mention that they've sold the parks to a company that, I believe, can do a better job than they ever could have done.

When I got to the station, they opened up the extra station queues. Even with those being used, I'm still sure the entire queue would have been filling out onto the midways. This happened at Delirium and Face/Off as well, at around noon, though their extra queues were either empty or a fraction used. Hopefully they go back to at least two trains next weekend and for the rest of the season - ESPECIALLY the rumored November weekend, if it is indeed added.

D'oh!* One thing I left out. *Simpsons Tonight: http://snpp.com/upcoming.shtml

I arrived at the park this morning shortly after 9:50. The Gold Pass parking lot still had an attendant, but this time, they put her in the median, rather than far off to the left, next to the EXIT lane. THAT I never understood. I had missed the ACE Walkback to The Beast, but no big deal since there weren't too many people in the park around then. Instead, I decided to hang around International Street for a few minutes until the playing of the National Anthem: "Ladies and Gentlemen, our National Anthem." A vocal/choral version of the song plays, IMO better than that old taped instrumental version that is heard ad nauseum. "Kings Island is now officially open. Enjoy the rest of your day." The rope drops, and people run down to Coney, Rivertown, and Nick. They now have the rope further down the Street, at the base of the Eiffel Tower. I decide to head to The Beast and through Rivertown via Nick Universe. I take a look at the Wings Diner, which is now a buffet. There were signs on the windows saying that it was closed, but there was a chance that those signs left over from yesterday's buyout from Toytota, since I saw people working inside, just after 10:00 am. There are "Enter here" and "Exit Only" signs on the doors. I peeked in, it looks like they have the cash register set up right at the door, and the food is set up in the same area it was when it was the pay-as-you-go Wings Diner. I'm assuming drinks are included, but do they have you get the refills yourself, or do they actually have wait staff now to do this, like at Cedar Point's Midway Market? Prices are $12.99 for adults and $7.99 for chidren. Walkback or not, my first ride of the day was The Beast. It was a walk-on, and got to ride twice, with a certain "89" guy working the platform. Fun as usual, but the ride got a little scary at times, with some bees hovering around the train. The Italian Job Stunt Coaster (or whatever it's called here) had a minimal wait, as they had only the brief short queue open, and rode in row 4. Getting off, I notice that the souvenir trailer is gone, though the On-Ride Photo trailer is still in use. After that, I walk by the 3-Point Challenge, and I notice that the permanent speakers and lighting have finally been installed. However, the scoreboard hasn't been installed yet, and the ground has been painted with the Sprite logo and color scheme. Is this a sign that Coke products will be back at KI next year? I follow those up with Vortex in 7-1, Flight of Fear in 1-2, and Racer, with a ride on each side - nothing different than normal - walk-ons and/or one-train waits, like I like. Adventure Express, oddly enough, was a whole different story. I notice people getting out of the line, and others confused whether the entrance was really an exit. I go up the exit, to check out the situation - people still in line, in the station, trains--- er, train, singular, still being dispatched. One train, what the hell? This is out of the ordinary, as AE usually ran ALL THREE trains this season. But I do decide to get in line, and go for it anyway, iPod handy. Before boarding, I ask the ride operator why there's only one train, and he says it's because one of them is out of order. Train #2 was in use, while #3 was on the storage track next to the final tunnel. Hopefully this isn't the norm for the rest of 2006. Before doing Top Gun and walking through Action Zone, I decide to check out Festhaus, which is now showing College and NFL games on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Looking at some of the signs, it seems the tackiness that the Festhaus had, before Winterfest '05, is back. I'm sorry, but some of the signs they use and such just look cheap, like it's some bar. I'm all for being able to watch football games on TV when I'm at the park, but make it less of an eyesore next time around. Helvetica>Arial And the place seemed biased to OSU and the Bengals, though at least they had the Colts and Browns schedules up as well. After doing the Top Gun, and walking through a couple shops, I head up the Eiffel Tower. I notice that the Coney Mall sign is now "CONEY MAUL" and there is a FearFest Metro Bus parked in front of the main gate. I've heard about the Hearse, but I think the Bus is cool as well. Before leaving the park around 12:30, I go into the "Thrills Are Paramount" shop, more of the non-Paramount merchandise is showing up, as well as some FearFest gear. Next door at "Convenience Corner," there' some Bengals Stuff. One shirt they have says "got jungle?" and "I'm here with Three Johnsons and Thousands of my Friends." At least they didn't have the "Three Johnsons and a Big Willie," the park has no business selling shirts with double entendre dick jokes. Personally, I think they should sell some Colts stuff too. Walking towards the car, I get some close up pictures of the Fearfest Metro Bus. But before going home, I stop at the bigg's on Mason-Montgomery for a few things - the store is getting a makeover, based on the success and the variety of Hyde Park Plaza location. Then I make it home to watch the exciting Bengals-Steelers game, and to listen to the Colts game on the radio.

Yes, expect walk-on rides. Many of the attendees, at least for part of the night, are going to a show in the Festhaus - at least that's the way it was on one Pride Night that I worked in 1998. Also, note that it is a private buy-out, and NOT a park-sponsored event, as some are led to believe. Different types of groups, many of them controversial, have rented out theme and amusement parks, so their target audience/members/etc. can enjoy the rides and attractions, without dealing with guests who have issues with their race, religion, nationality, or in this case, sexual orientation.

A little explanation as to why our beloved former-Paramount-now-Cedar-Fair park has its website as www.pki.com and NOT www.kingsisland.com: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200605/119/

http://www.pkipridenight.com/ "a private fundraising event for the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati"

Canada's Wonderland is finally going to offer the Maxx Pass... but not until November. http://www.screamscape.com/html/paramounts..._wonderland.htm

This thread's been up since Sunday night: http://www.pkicentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8272

http://valleyfairrenegade.ytmnd.com/