SonofBaconator

I like how Adventure Express is used to highlight the park’s past lore: Amazon Falls, SOB, King Cobra, etc. It makes sense that a coaster that features ancient ruins would have some metaphorical park ruins incorporated into the theme.

Not only that but the SOB eyes are clearly visible in the background

I’m going to veer off topic for one second. With all the attention to detail they’ve been putting into their new themed lands, I only hope that we see this progress with Rivertown and Action Zone in the coming seasons. Things have been looking too good for the practice to not be applied elsewhere.

Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?

Anytime you are pushing a new product, you typically want to have a hashtag associated with it.

Does 1937 hold any significance or Easter Eggs?

From what I gather, Paramount didn’t really take the time to maintain the ride. I’ve seen multiple POVs from years past where affects weren’t working and some animatronics were basically static figures.

They must’ve had the lawyer from Jurassic Park create their business plan:

I don’t think the average guest really looks at capacity and judges it like enthusiasts do. The average park goer won’t be waiting in line thinking “they should’ve gotten the larger model.” Historically our park hasn’t received a lot of flat rides under Cedar Fair in comparison to other parks in the chain so perhaps going with the lower capacity models will help the chain monitor ridership numbers so they can make decisions down the road.

From the park:

“Cheap” is an overstatement considering the chain has invested millions of dollars in KI over the last decade alone.. Also, “junky”? What’s junky about modern versions of old favorites that people have been wanting back for years?

Any last minute guesses before Adventure Express reopens?

Mini parks can prove to be a success, they just need to have good attendance. The benefit of the WDW Resort is that there are multiple parks for people to go to and that’s not even including the other non-Disney Parks around central Florida. If Disney wanted to branch out to say New York or Chicago, they would have to do it in a way where the company can take advantage of other tourist attractions, similar to what they already do in Florida and California. For example, they could do an indoor Star Wars experience in a colder climate city that resembles the inside of the Death Star, a Star Destroyer, or whatever suits their fancy. They could have gift shops, immersive experiences, certain types of rides, actors, etc- basically a Star Wars mixed with the Mall of America if you will. I’m just spitballing ideas for how something like that could work in a realistic setting- Disney gets to benefit from the tourism of a big city and expand their brand and the big city gets another tourist attraction. This would work better than say a Frozen themed park in Michigan. I am quite intrigued by the idea of mini parks as I’ve brought them up in past threads. Location seems to be the deciding factor with these things and for good reason. I’m not sure how Disney’s America would’ve fared had it been completed.

https://www.reuters.com/article/walt-disney-parks/disney-dismisses-idea-of-building-miniparks-in-us-idUSL4N37J386?utm_source=reddit.com I think we’ll see more mini parks of non Disney IP, similar to what we’re seeing with Nintendo, Peppa Pig, etc. Regarding this article, this seems like a complete contrast to Disney’s entertainment model in the 90s when they wanted to be present virtually everywhere as they tried their hand at their own version Chuck E Cheese, their introduction into international markets, and of course the failed Disney’s America in Virginia.

If we get a return of Phantom Theater, I personally hope some things change; for the better. I was 5 when I rode it so my knowledge is solely based off of old POVs, images from here, concept art found in books, and so I’m in no way an expert on this stuff, just appreciate a good dark ride. I’m also going to be basing some of this off of other dark rides and my own “fan fiction” so bare with me: A more interactive que One of the first nitpicks I had about the original layout of the que was how the natural light shown in from the outside based on how guests entered the building. This could easily be fixed by simply re-angling the entry way to prevent the natural light. I think it was cool how you saw Maestro interacting with guests from his balcony, but personally I think it would be an improvement if he never turned around and kept playing his organ, never addressing the onlookers. This would make him seem more demented and “stuck” in his past state so when you do see him later on, it really makes it seem like you distributed the spirits (plus the park wouldn’t have to animate him swiveling in his chair and moving his mouth). I’d also have portraits with moving eyes that follow guests as they move through the que (this is a practical affect that can easily be done at home.) I’d put more details into the hallway where the busts are just to give people more things to look at which would take their concentration off of the busts thus making the affect stand out more when you realize the head has been following them. The ride itself My biggest nitpick about how the Phantom Theater was done comes down to how heavily they relied on animatronics. Granted when building the ride I’m sure they didn’t anticipate the park was going to be sold to Paramount and that the upkeep was going to go downhill… If you look at what Haunted Mansion does at Disney, you don’t really see animatronics until the second half of the ride as it relies on practical affects for the first half like 2d portrait scrims as opposed to having a character behind them like ours did. I’m fine seeing Maestro at the beginning of the ride but personally I felt like we shouldn’t see actual figures until about halfway through to give you that “you’ve distributed us now we’re going to materialize and wreak havoc” vibe. Again a nitpick but I’m sure that would save money and upkeep if they did this. This nitpick will probably get me tarred and feathered but I wouldn’t have the soundtrack playing throughout the whole ride. I’d have the vehicles have audio that would sync to ride to where you could be hearing Maestro talking to you. You could bring in the soundtrack when you would start to see the characters in their physical form and have it play through the rest of the ride (recall in Beetlejuice when you didn’t hear his music until he appeared with his antics.) I’ve started this before but it would be cool to see the ride vehicles swivel to face different directions, allowing riders to see something different each time they ride (similar to the shed.) Imagine the cars are numbered and the odd numbered cars are facing a scene on one wall while the even numbered cars are seeing a different scene. Thanks for listening to my nitpicking and fan fiction. If the ride comes back and is 100% like it was I won’t complain in the slightest, just thought I’d give my 2 cents.

Like I said, “insulting” might not have been the best choice of words. I think there can be a happy medium between what they were charging guests and the bare minimum. I follow Star Wars but I’m not big enough of a fan to spend 6K, but I know there are some people who are and more power to them.

Out of curiosity- as you are fan of the franchise, did the price they were asking surprise you or come off as insulting? (I can’t think of a better term so please forgive me.) I ask because while companies have to make a profit to stay in business, I think what they want people to fork over be outright insulting at times. I argue it can even turn people away from their fandom because it they care more about the $$$ then providing an experience.

Mind you it’s not bad when it’s on a flat or a small coaster like Flying Ace. It just seems like a color most parks would like to avoid.

It’ll get there, especially with that type of yellow. Better to open it with colors that pop vs starting it with a faded color that will only become more faded overtime. On a side-note, I am somewhat surprised that the color yellow is still used in a lot of newer amusement park attractions like Sol Spin, Wild Mouse at Cedar Point, and even for repaints like Montu and Flying Ace… it seems like yellow fades the fastest and looks “unkept” over time: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/Invertigo-photo-from-kings-island--462252349223985711/

I’ve seen YouTube videos and heard people talking about World’s of Fun being a “giga worthy” park. I get where people are coming from with the Kansas City region and the desire to remain competitive with St. Louis and Silver Dollar City but I’m not sure they’re ready to break 300ft with a coaster just yet.

Let’s begin with a huge What if… I’ve had: What if Kings Dominion got their tax incentives instead of Carowinds?

Not to go all conspiracy theorist but its possible that we might get another attraction in 2024 that could divert some attention away from Adventure Port, thus evening out capacity a bit.

Yes I don’t think what we have is a huge competition between parks but what @BeeastFarmer said does have some logic to it. I’m surprised we haven’t seen something like a S&S 4D Freespin or a Premier Skyrocket II come from KK considering how both are marketable to the general public and could certainly take two models out of KI’s potential ride selections (not that two parks in overlapping markets haven’t had similar rides in the past.) With Herschend at the wheel, assuming they work well with the fairgrounds, only time will tell with how aggressive they are with new attractions.

The comparisons are definitely astute. KK is a competitor to KI when it comes to the Kentucky market (with exception to NKY of course and individuals looking to get more out of their amusement park experience.) I always hoped KK would’ve went with a hyper that I believe was a very loose rumor years ago, but with T3 apparently biting the dust, we might see a higher quality thrill ride that might force a response from KI.