Mikewhy

The Paramount parks are run MUCH better than any Six Flags park. Paramount is much more in tune with what people want, and they do maintain their parks to a higher standard. They are much more family oriented as well. That being said, some of the Six Flags bashing is over the top. I have been to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Great America and St. Louis this year, and I had a great time at every one of them. I actually think Great America has the potential to be close to Kings Island with better management. There were problems with rides not running to capacity and food quality not on par with Kings Island, but it is still possible to have a nice time at these parks. I think a blanket statement like "all six flags parks suck" ignores the fact that you CAN have a good time at some of them. Six Flags has strong problems and their management is clueless overall about a lot of things. But some of the parks do have merit. Personally, I would like to see them make improvements and get better. I think the more high quality amusement parks we have, the better. But yes, Kings Island is by far a superior theme park experience!

It is definitely the atmosphere. International Street is the most impressive and amazing entry area of any park, and it really puts you in the mood for the adventures to come. It was a fun escape for me when I was as young as 6 and it is as a 30- something adult. While I do not agree with all the changes I have seen over the years, overall it remains the best theme park out there and it feels special just to be there. It really is an escape from the drudgery of regular life...

I agree with you completely and also think it is sad. For me though, HBL was never the same when the orignal Enchanted Voyage was replaced with the Smurfs. (Which were also cool though!) As a small kid, the song you heard about the Hanna Barbera characters while on the Enchanted Voyage dark ride was THE THEME SONG of Kings Island. ('Those happy friends who live in your TV.') I still hear it in my head when I enter the park...

Yes, that is how I remember the arbor/vine tunnel. They never really replaced it with anything when they removed it. By getting rid of it as a passageway, It did route traffic around to several eating places in HBL, so perhaps that had something to do with it. It also gave HBL more shaded areas to rest with the tables that are under the remaining portion of it, and I know that was a goal of the 98 restructuring of HBL that led to the tunnel's removal. Still, the benefits to me did not match what was lost. I miss it, and it gave the park character!

Kings Island Cedar Point Kennywood Indiana Beach Hoiliday World Dollywood Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom Six Flags Darien Lake Sic Flags Great America Six Flags Over Georgia Six Flags St. Louis Disney World/Epcot/Animal Kingdom/Studios Seaworld Orlando

I miss some of the things that are now missing that I felt really added to the atmosphere of the park. I hope someone else remembers some of these things. They were small, but I really felt they were important: I miss the arbor tunnel that used to connect Rivertown to Hanna Barbera Land. A small portion of it remains as a shady place to eat, but the original was much longer, had benches along the length of it, and had lights at the top that really seemed magical at night when you walked through it. I really can not figure out why they removed it. (Does anyone know?) I miss the lights that used to line the edges of the roofs on International Street. (Why did they remove them?) I miss when the fireworks at Kings Island were more strongly stressed and a big deal. (Few seem to care these days, and you can not even see them from International Street anymore...) I miss the bridge that was across the lake. I miss the Dolphin show and Wild Animal Safari. I also miss being able to walk up to the lower platform on the Eiffel Tower. I miss some of the cool shops they had on International Street that sold craft items or stuff from other countries. I miss some of the other little landscaping details that were once a part of the park. I miss when the train was themed and was more than a simple way to get to the waterpark. And even though the original post said no ride, I miss the original Enchanted Voyage from the 70's and that music they played on it which stuck in your head all day. I also miss the sky ride.

I think some people are being too hard on SFKK. It of course pales compared to Kings Island, and I agree that Six Flags has not managed this park well. But it can still be a fun time with Chang, Greezed Lightning, Thunder Run, Hellavator, Twisted Twins. I enjoy Mile High Falls and Blizzard River, but I am sure that will not be running until May. I even enjoy their Mouse coaster, the Giant Wheel, and the Thrill Park theater. There are so many things that Six Flags are doing wrong, but I still enjoy the place and think it is possible for a family to enjoy themselves here for at least 4-5 hours or so. As for rude employees, I have not found them to be any worse then anywhere else, and it seems to have gotten better in the last year. The food is usually pretty below average, and they do have that terrible Six Flags way of running coasters where they are only running one train.. If you go, check out the little Flying Dutchman ride. That used to be at Kings Island!

I have to say the "You can just walk away from it" argument is not very solid. During one visit, I was sitting outside eating my fries and watching the train in Rivertown and some smokers sat near me and started smoking. I asked them not to because of my asthma and they told me to go F*** myself. Then later I am sitting on a park bench, and the smell of smoke nearby hits me forcing me to move. This happens to me many times during a day. When people get off rides, they often light up, and the walk away from the ride is filled with smoke. There is no way to "just walk away" from it until you are out of the exit line. If I am sitting there enjoying myself, why should I be forced to constantly move around to avoid toxic and health threatening smoke? People think that being outside makes the smoke okay, but it can still be overwhelming and make the entire area around the smoker smell awful. And I see smokers throw away their butts all the time, and it looks terrible. Yes, there are polite and wonderful smokers out there and I appreciate them. But there are many more who are not that way. This is an activity that by nature harms everyone around the person doing it, and therefore it should be controlled. I am for designated smoking areas so that they have a place to smoke, and the rest of us will know in advance which areas to avoid. In that sense, we can "just walk away". Otherwise, us non-smokers should be shielded from this very unhealthy and unpleasant activity. If Kings Island is implementing a smoking ban of some sort, then I applaud them!

My greatest memories were my visits to the park when I was a young boy, from 1974 through 1979. The ride I loved was the first, original Enchanted Voyage. It felt like magic in there, and that theme song "Happy friends who live in your TV" was to me THE THEME SONG of Kings Island. To this day, I hear that song in my head when I am walking through the park. Of course I ride coasters and such now, but Kings Island showed me the wonders of a good dark ride as well. I miss the Enchanted Voyage...

I really wish I could ride the original enchanted voyage, the way it was in the 70's with HB theming. The song they played on that dark ride for me WAS the sound of Kings Island! When that ride shut down in 83, so did my childhood. So yeah, I would love to do that opening day!

I think the park is pretty clean, or is when I go! If you read the rules on your park guide, it already says that Smoking in que lines is not allowed. Sadly, this is rarely heeded or enforced. I have had to get out of line before because of smokers aggravating my asthma... Because of this and the rudeness of *some* smokers, I would like to simply see smoking banned only to certain areas, which seems fair to me. Like someone else said, I would like to see a return to the kind of landscaping they had in the old days. And does anyone besides me miss the arbor tunnel they had between HB and Rivertown? I loved that thing and really miss it.

1. TheKlockster 2. BoddaH1994 3. AZ Kinda Guy 4. Ohiocoasterman 5. TheRickster 6. Alien Seed 7. Beast79 8. PkiJake 9. ZosoBeast 10. PKI_Diana 11. TRTR guy 12.sobrider 13. familyman "Lucky 13!" 14.flightoffear1996 (maybe maybe not) 15. PKIDelirium 16.Coney_man (no school for me tommorow) 17. Derbeast (coming with drew, the guy that got banned) 18.Scooby Doo I will be there with GreenGhost 19. UncleHenry / StXBomber (I'll have to leave by 11:30 for exam though) 20. CYoung2003 (I got nothing) 21. CoastersNSich (no classes) 22. Skylab (I hope...) 23. SOB_TOM (gatta check out where I will be spending a big chunk of time in March-early April) 24. Mikewhy (new to the board)

My problem with Scooby Doo and the Haunted Mansion is how "flat" it looks. There are very few 3D scenes... everything looks like cardboard cutouts that you shoot at... not very imaginative. If they had put more money into it and made the environment look more 3D, it would be far more interesting. I love Scooby, but I think they could have made it far better...

I was really struck by your comment on how the theming at Kings Island has changed since Paramount took over. I feel the same way. I know parks have to progress and change in order to bring in new guests, but I really miss that old world feel. The European flavor of International Street is still there with the Eiffel Tower, but I worry about it changing too. Little things bother me. One was the removal in the 90's of the arbor tunnel that used to connect Hanna Barbara Land to Rivertown. I remember how it was lit at night and it looked so nice. It was also a cool and atmospheric place to rest during the day. (Part of the tunnel is still there as a shady place with tables, but it is NOT the same.) Then there were the lights that used to be on all the buildings on International Street. They are gone, as are some of the really unique gift shops. There used to be a bridge over the lake near Rivertown, but that is gone. I still regret the loss of the Enchanted Voyage, which was a really magical ride. They have nothing like that now. AS a child that ride WAS Kings Island. The loss of the old theming and some of the old magic of Kings Island bothers me. I realize with Paramount that they will concentrate on the movies, and that is not always a bad thing. I love Top Gun and Tomb Raider. But something is being lost in the transition, and it makes me a little sad. I agree with your comments about Action Zone and Nick being "too much concrete." You can go anywhere to see amusement parks like that. But parks with atmosphere like you get on International Street are rare, and it adds a special element to the place that goes beyond thrill rides and such. I LOVE the idea of a Kings Island museum with exhibits that honor the parks past. I love that idea very much.