CoastersNSich

http://holidayworld.com/clubs/ You can still register on-site, as long as you're a card-carrying member of a coaster club, or the guest of a member.

My assumption is that Pepsi will be served at the newly acquired parks. Honestly, Kings Island under Paramount hasn't been terrible, with some neat attractions many like. Very dirty and trashy? Yes, some guests can't grasp the concept of trash cans, not smoking in lines, and hygeine, but the employees do work hard to clean stuff. But I agree with many here that things can only get better with Cedar Fair! Last note, I think some should either read the more recent trip reports from Six Flags parks, or visit one. I encountered clean pathways and good employees on my visits to SFKK and SFSTL.

Local 12 WKRC said today that the Great Wolf Lodge would be opening in September. Am I hearing this right? It's possible to open some of the rooms by the end of the month, by the looks of the south wing.

If you think there was a frenzy when Cedar Fair bought Geuaga Lake from Six Flags in March 2004 wasn't frenzied enough.... Get ready for FIVE parks. All BIGGER than Geauga! Not to mention that the parks are open while this goes on. I know that there won't be any physical changes this season, but this is downright interesting.

Starting in 2007, I see them probably keeping the Paramount themes on rides, at least for a temporary transition. It might be difficult to make rides Italian Job or Tomb Raider generic. However, I do see the park's name reverting back to "Kings Island." I hope WinterFest returns, but if attendance is too low at this year's event, Cedar Fair might axe it aftewards. Keeping the Nickelodeon licensing is great - I like Peanuts, but doing away with Nick Universe after one year just sounds wrong!

Since the site owns the domain name, get ready to be Kings Island Central, or KI Central! This is surreal right now!

What seat did you sit in? Yesterday (Saturday) I had the very back seat, which made it a bit rougher, but it was still a better ride than last year.

I did the very back row just after 8pm today. I took into account the over-wheel-seat vibrations, yet really enoyed the overall smooth experience. Maybe some amount of roughness is what makes a wood coaster great.

Like others said, if Cedar Fair does buy KI, NOTHING is certain. Assuming this does happen, KI will be their second biggest park, over 3 million visitors/year, so it will be fitting to invest greatly into this park - large steel like B&M, other thrill rides, and some family attractions in between - probably equivalent to or more than even Paramount has done in the past approx. 13 seasons. Now, when they took over Michigan's Adventure in 2001, the only really appealing thing about the place was Shivering Timbers, which the Jourdens put in in 1998. Otherwise, besides a small selection of rides, the pathways, buildings, and landscaping were sub-par. These were things CF, as new owner, slowly added, the necessary quality infrastructure. For this season, they have added the Coasters Drive-In and the Grand Rapids river rapids ride - the biggest investment in the park's history. They didn't go crazy and sink in monumental attractions in just a few years, like Six Flags did to (what's now Geauga Lake)- but slowly add and improve things as attendance grew. From my 2004 visit there, I felt it's a park that is getting better as time goes by. Dorney Park, CF property since 1992, grew from an older, worn park to a modern amusement park within almost 14 years: as they added a Morgan hyper, 2 B&M's, several thrill rides, expanded Wildwater Kingdom, and revamped the atmosphere. Geuaga Lake was simply grown too fast as SFWOA, at the expense of guest service, which CF is trying hard to correct through reversing attendance levels that plummeted. The crowds may never reach their highs in 2000 or 2001, but things will hopefully become more consistent. Eventually, a new coaster will be added, even if it's at the expense of another. And like CoastersRZ said, Wildwater Kingdom is nothing to sneeze at. Overall, growth amongst the parks is good to attract guests, but it needs to be sustainable, safe, and healthy.

Obviously, Son of Beast was testing its 2 trains almost continuously today, and I can't wait to get my first ride of the year tomorrow. Again, better get to bed soon!

One thing I hope does stay with the park, if Cedar Fair decides to buy KI, is the Nickelodeon licensing. I would be shocked if anything Paramount would remain though. As a refresher, Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon are part of the Viacom corp, while CBS Corp. owns the Paramount Parks. Now, the only bidder that is currently in the park business, that I see interested, is Cedar Fair. There is most likely another company, not currently in the amusement park business, that is more likely to keep things "status quo," including Paramount theming and the Paramount name. My $0.02: If Cedar Fair becomes the new owner, it will be for the better of the park. More consistency, some bad, but mostly good, on the way. "Kings Island, a Cedar Fair, L.P. Park" may just get the B&M (or similar large steel of other manufacturer) that's been missing. EDIT: Once again, CoastersRZ beats me (although parts of his post are different)!

I was thinking Bed and Breakfast... maybe those muffins are the reason the wave pool looks, smells, and tastes funny.

One of the SOB/Gun supervisors today said Son of Beast would be open on Saturday. I was hoping it would be tomorrow* but just one more day isn't too bad. I saw it test with 5-car trains today as well.

Anyone else coming? Ooh, right, I need to be sleeping...

I'd agree with the first response to my last post here - it would be ridiculous to store someone else's Intamin coaster track at Cedar Point. After seeing the photos of Atlantis Adventure at Lotte World, I'm now led to believe that CP's next coaster will be such an attraction. Maybe not as well themed, but just as fun. A water coaster is great to replace the great but under-visited White Water Landing.

I've had several visits so far this year to KI, and for the most part, have had a great time there. There are surely some things that happened that aren't the best idea: one of them was giving away the gate on a day that wasn't staffed too well. Some employees have been pathetic: i.e. The Racer crew treats the operation like it's Burger King. And I don't like to have a slow, long wait to pay $10 for 2 pizza slices (though tasty) and a drink. If prices go up slightly, I can handle that - just as long as the service and quality is good. But some people forget why they go to the park in the first place. I've gotten many rides on Beast, Italian Job, Vortex, Adventure Express and some others. I haven't gone on the busiest days, so that probably makes things better. Nickelodeon Universe looks great: people who call it a carnival probably haven't been there yet. I would argue that the park has somewhat been neglected over the past decade, but not at a dangerous level some would say. Rides continue to operate in a safe manner, and every year, at least one new ride/attraction has been installed; few parks have such a long track record. Whoever becomes the new owner would find it best to invest greatly into Kings Island, ESPECIALLY Cedar Fair, L.P., as a park that draws well over 3 million a year from hours and states away, has been known as an industry giant, and located in a large metro area. CF has changed Ohio's third big park around, Geauga Lake. Sure, they will NEVER be as big as Cedar Point, in the number of attractions or attendance. It might be several years before we see a new coaster there, since Six Flags grew it too fast. They (probably mistakenly) took out the former Sea World park. But 10 coasters, large water park, and more for only $25 a day? Not a bad deal. And the operations are a lot better than when Six Flags sold it, especially the restrooms.

NOTE: The above post is for entertainment purposes, and going along with the theme. It does not endorse or criticize the viewpoint in the orginal post.

going along with WooferBearATL's song post: Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) Styx Written by Tommy Shaw Lead Vocals by Tommy Shaw You see the world through your cynical eyes You're a troubled young man I can tell You've got it all in the palm of your hand But your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it Why must you be such an angry young man When your future looks quite bright to me How can there be such a sinister plan That could hide such a lamb, such a caring young man And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it You're killing yourself if you don't believe it Get up, get back on your feet You're the one they can't beat and you know it Come on, let's see what you've got Just take your best shot and don't blow it And you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it You're killing yourself if you don't believe it Get up, get back on your feet You're the one they can't beat and you know it Come on, let's see what you've got Just take your best shot and don't blow it

Looks like I need to kill a new bad habit: going to bed late.

I'm surprised the current owner (CBS Corp.) hasn't used a P&G product (Ivory) for a retheme of the wave pool: Will it Float? The Ride (for all you Late Show fans)

PFFFFTT!!!! I've got the parody starring Jeffrey A. Siebert, Maureen Kaiser, and Jeffrey B. Siebert as Alice on DVD!

No problem! No doubt this is an assumption. The previous posters either may be real, for all we know, or are just shysters playing with us! Who knows, another entertainment company, or large corporation, that is currently NOT in the amusement industry, could become the new owner, at least for PKI. Remember when both KECo and Carl Lindner (KI only) were selling the parks back in '92? We didn't have the internet to speculate: could we have ever dreamed that Paramount Communications, a movie and TV conglomerate, was seriously getting into the amusement park business?

Now, I do see Carowinds and Kings Dominion definitely being part of a Cedar Fair deal - they are both a long ways from any current CF Park. Which is the "5th park not included?" Here's the pros and cons for the other three (other than KD and Carowinds): A: Kings Island Pro (reasons why Cedar Fair doesn't want this park): They would have a "monopoly" in Ohio Kings Island has a lot of highly themed attractions, do they want to keep them up? Con (reasons why CF DOES want this park): CF bought its closest "competitor", Geauga Lake, from Six Flags in '04 Six Flags has 3 (scratch that, 2) big parks in Texas: SFOT, and SFFT (Fiesta Texas). Almost listed AstroWorld! KI's first B&M installtion could be on its way... B: Great America Pro: CF already has a park, Knott's, in CA This Santa Clara park is landlocked by the office buildings of Silicon Valley. Con: Again, the Geauga factor. And prior to the end of the MOA agreement, ran two parks in Minnesota as well: Valleyfair! and Camp Snoopy There is a clause by the City of Santa Clara, that an amusement park continue to operate on its site. The City bought the park from Marriott after the 1984 season, and gave management rights to Kings Entertainment Co. (who later bought the park and became Paramount). CF, then, might feel "right" to continue this landlocked park. C: Canada's Wonderland Pro: CF may not not want to expand into Canada. (Liability?) Con: International presence. Great flat ride selection, probably even the chance to finally add a "mega-coaster" That's why I think, according to your rumor, and after personal assessment, that Canada's Wonderland is the park Cedar Fair probably doesn't want. EDIT: Looks like CoastersRZ beat me before I could post! What the heck.

I might be crazy, but I have the feeling that the new for 2007 attraction won't be using the Intamin track you have seen outside of Breakers Express. Could it be replacement track for Top Thrill Dragster (or even Millennium Force, yes, I know it's blue)? Could it even be track for someone else's new for '07 Intamin coaster? I don't doubt that Cedar Point is getting something big for 2007. I just have a funny feeling that they're playing with us!

Not a rumor, but unfortunately, wrong Ohio park!