What happened to King's Island

[Mikey Pop]

I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has already been discussed. I just feel the need to vent.

I went to King's Island yesterday for my first time since June of 2006. I was shocked at how much the park has deteriorated! Many of the rides are decrepit, several of the ride crews are so irresponsible and idiotic, and I feel like the food has gotten worse. It was all very disappointing.

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time because I love thrill rides, but it is all just very sad to see such a wonderful park begin to go downhill. I also can't stand to see employees act like complete morons. The Flight of Fear crew was terrible. There were about five crew members interrupting the prerecorded message with screams and screeches, two were punching each other in the arm, while only one of them actually appeared to be working. It was very discouraging. It really makes you begin to feel unsafe. It totally ruined the ride experience too! Flight of Fear has some really good theming and music, but when it's constantly being interrupted by the operator turning the loudspeaker on and off for kicks, it's gets really annoying.

One last vent session . . . WHAT HAPPENED TO TOMB RAIDER?! I went with a buddy who had not been on it yet. It is an excellent thrill for a first time rider (At least it used to be.) I was expecting him to get into his seat, only being able to see his seat, but the whole room was lit up. You could see all of the scenes that you would come in contact with on the ride. Not only could you see the scenes before the ride started, but you could see them throughout! They kept the lights on during the whole ride!!!! It totally ruins the ride. I was so disappointed.

I guess I should end on a positive note. The Beast still is and will always be the best ride in the park! I should have stayed on The Beast all day.

I MISS PARAMOUNT,

Mikey Pop

[Dvo]

uh oh.. I sense a catastrophic explosion in the VERY near future regarding that last part.

[BoddaH1994]

This isn't a place to complain about ride crews, employees, etc. If you saw something you didn't like, you should have stopped by the Guest Relations window on your way out. I infact, you can still email KingsIslandGR@ParamountParks.com .

Which rides did you think were in bad shape? In all honesty, Cedar Fair is in the process of cleaning up the mess that Paramount left the park in when they quit caring 5 years ago.

Tomb Raider... see all 5,000 other threads about the same topic. That thing hasn't worked correctly all year..

[WooferBearATL]

I'm new to this forum, so I apologize if this has already been discussed. I just feel the need to vent.

I went to King's Island yesterday for my first time since June of 2006. I was shocked at how much the park has deteriorated! Many of the rides are decrepit, several of the ride crews are so irresponsible and idiotic, and I feel like the food has gotten worse. It was all very disappointing.

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time because I love thrill rides, but it is all just very sad to see such a wonderful park begin to go downhill. I also can't stand to see employees act like complete morons. The Flight of Fear crew was terrible. There were about five crew members interrupting the prerecorded message with screams and screeches, two were punching each other in the arm, while only one of them actually appeared to be working. It was very discouraging. It really makes you begin to feel unsafe. It totally ruined the ride experience too! Flight of Fear has some really good theming and music, but when it's constantly being interrupted by the operator turning the loudspeaker on and off for kicks, it's gets really annoying.

One last vent session . . . WHAT HAPPENED TO TOMB RAIDER?! I went with a buddy who had not been on it yet. It is an excellent thrill for a first time rider (At least it used to be.) I was expecting him to get into his seat, only being able to see his seat, but the whole room was lit up. You could see all of the scenes that you would come in contact with on the ride. Not only could you see the scenes before the ride started, but you could see them throughout! They kept the lights on during the whole ride!!!! It totally ruins the ride. I was so disappointed.

I guess I should end on a positive note. The Beast still is and will always be the best ride in the park! I should have stayed on The Beast all day.

I MISS PARAMOUNT,

Mikey Pop

I think that you can attribute many of the issues to the "Paramount" that you miss so much.

Ya are going to have to give CF a bit of a chance to bring back the magic that Paramount tried to quelsh.

[Mikey Pop]

I hope Cedar Fair gets working then. I was not impressed with what I saw yesterday. If the old spirit of King's Island (pre-Paramount) was limited themeing, rides that are not maintained, and horrible food prices, then Cedar Fair is working in the right direction.

[BoddaH1994]

Give Cedar Fair a chance -- it's only been a year. They have a LOT of debt to pay off and this is their first experience in having a load like that.

[Mikey Pop]

This isn't a place to complain about ride crews, employees, etc. If you saw something you didn't like, you should have stopped by the Guest Relations window on your way out. I infact, you can still email KingsIslandGR@ParamountParks.com .

Which rides did you think were in bad shape? In all honesty, Cedar Fair is in the process of cleaning up the mess that Paramount left the park in when they quit caring 5 years ago.

Tomb Raider... see all 5,000 other threads about the same topic. That thing hasn't worked correctly all year..

Oh, I thought this forum discussed "General info about King's Island." I was only trying to see what other people thought. I can see my comments are not welcomed. I guess people only hear what they want to hear. Thanks. This was only my opinion. It's clear that I'm not in the majority.

[Mikey Pop]

Give Cedar Fair a chance -- it's only been a year. They have a LOT of debt to pay off and this is their first experience in having a load like that.

I will give Cedar Fair a chance. My experience will not keep me from going back to King's Island.

[DropZone99]

I miss Paramount too, i was never alive when it was just Kings Island until now so i don't know how the park used to be before Paramount took over. You have to think.. if it wasn't for Paramount KI wouldn't have Drop Zone, Face/Off, Son of Beast, Delirium, Flight of Fear, Firehawk, and Tomb Raider. The only thing i don't like about Paramount is that they took out Flying Eagles, and Antique Cars for Coney Killer.

[Hendrick]

Firehawk was Cedar Fair.

I have thought about this too. Paramount did add a whole bunch to the park. But who's to say that had Taft still owned the park, the same wouldn't have happened? And under Paramount, Flight of Fear would have been closed all this year, and would be removed during the off-season.

[Outdoor Man]

settle down mikey.

"Experience Venting" is present on this board quite a bit. But honestly, I agree with Boddha- if the employees were that bad, you should have reported it right away.

Anytime the majority of your staff is 18 and under that is going to happen. I don't know if CF has done this, but hopefully they have done away with the Paramount philosophy of giving Supervisor positions to minors.

[Cody]

Paramount ftw

[welchce]

Firehawk was Cedar Fair.

And Paramount were the ones that could've had a flying coaster here sooner but told Vekoma to poop in their collective hats.

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

Mikey, I'm sure there are plenty of people who agree with you on parts of your original post. But this is a King's Island fansite, the main visitors to this board are folks who love King's Island. You can't expect a triumphant welcome if your first post is completely negative. What about the park do you like? How long have you been going to the park? Have you been to other parks before?

What inspired you to join this forum? Was is just because you had a bad day and wanted to let people know about it? Or because you wanted to discuss the details of King's Island and how it could be improved?

[Dvo]

^yep. I was right. Catastrophic explosion.

[DeLorean Rider]

Man, I cannot stand when people go on and on about the "terrible" things that paramount did with disreguard for the good things paramount did. I know there seems to be a collective hatred for Paramount here but I for one will stand up for paramount. I will admit that 2005 and after saw some dissapointment but even still, Paramount had Kings Island in the top spot for kids area for years, and if I may say so, Nick U is an amazing kids area that can be 100% attributed to Paramount. There were other things that dropped off in the end but that was also much due to problems within the corporate level of the company. Personally I believe that while paramount owned the park with interest, they did a GREAT job managing the park.

[Dvo]

Wow sweet #1 kids area in the world wahoo! Now I absolutely MUST get to KI again.

[Mikey Pop]

^yep. I was right. Catastrophic explosion.

HA HA HA HA!!!

In response to the posts of late, I love King's Island. I joined this forum because I love to discuss roller coasters, thrill rides, and theme parks. I am a member of other forums, and I decided to join this forum as I was inspired by my trip yesterday. Don't worry, I have tons of positive things about King's Island to speak of. I understand this is a fan site, but fans of an amusement park can get disgruntled too (Especially when things change drastically at the park.)

To change things up a little here, since I am usually a pretty positive person, I really love King's Island. I have been going to King's Island since 1995. My favorite rides are Delerium, The Beast, and Face Off. I used to love Tomb Raider a whole lot, but my experience yesterday changed that a little.

Finally, what fun would a forum be if there wasn't a little bit of controversy? We'd have nothing to discuss!

[MarketingExpress]

Wow sweet #1 kids area in the world wahoo! Now I absolutely MUST get to KI again.

Might not seem important to you now that you are older and can ride anything. Put yourself in the shoes of a parent or a 5 year old child and you will see why having the #1 kids area in the world is a big accomplishment.

I can't think of very many other parks that can compete with Nick U.

[teenageninja]

For your information as of '04 supervisors had to be at least 18 years of age at least in the rides department (the important department of course )

Also, every roller coaster must have an 18 year old that is fully trained on the ride at all times.

[raptor]

Sorry, I'm thrilled Paramount is gone, not to mention I'm tired of the movie theming crap, and the music is much better, every song doesn't have to be from a paramount movie, or at least it seemed like that used to be the case.

[BoddaH1994]

This isn't a place to complain about ride crews, employees, etc. If you saw something you didn't like, you should have stopped by the Guest Relations window on your way out. I infact, you can still email KingsIslandGR@ParamountParks.com .

Which rides did you think were in bad shape? In all honesty, Cedar Fair is in the process of cleaning up the mess that Paramount left the park in when they quit caring 5 years ago.

Tomb Raider... see all 5,000 other threads about the same topic. That thing hasn't worked correctly all year..

Oh, I thought this forum discussed "General info about King's Island." I was only trying to see what other people thought. I can see my comments are not welcomed. I guess people only hear what they want to hear. Thanks. This was only my opinion. It's clear that I'm not in the majority.

Did I say your comments aren't welcomed? No, not at all. In fact, I was trying to help you. If you don't like the service at McDonald's you ask to speak to a manager, you don't talk to the guy working the register at Burger King. He may agree or disagree with you, but it doesn't make a difference. A lot of people e-mail me and Dane, or post on the forums ranting about a good or bad guest experience, and that does absolutely nothing. Talk to guest relations about that stuff, that's what they do for a living -- they make things "all better".

On that same note, if you're going to flip out when people don't like what you have to say then I'd recommend straying from the internet... that's all you're going to get, which is both the nightmare and the beauty of it.

[raptor]

Man, I cannot stand when people go on and on about the "terrible" things that paramount did with disreguard for the good things paramount did. I know there seems to be a collective hatred for Paramount here but I for one will stand up for paramount. I will admit that 2005 and after saw some dissapointment but even still, Paramount had Kings Island in the top spot for kids area for years, and if I may say so, Nick U is an amazing kids area that can be 100% attributed to Paramount. There were other things that dropped off in the end but that was also much due to problems within the corporate level of the company. Personally I believe that while paramount owned the park with interest, they did a GREAT job managing the park.

I guess they were great for kids, but adults and Seniors this is not so, how about removing just about ever non wild leisure adult ride that my parents could enjoy like the antique cars, the flying eagles, and others.

[BoddaH1994]

Man, I cannot stand when people go on and on about the "terrible" things that paramount did with disreguard for the good things paramount did. I know there seems to be a collective hatred for Paramount here but I for one will stand up for paramount. I will admit that 2005 and after saw some dissapointment but even still, Paramount had Kings Island in the top spot for kids area for years, and if I may say so, Nick U is an amazing kids area that can be 100% attributed to Paramount. There were other things that dropped off in the end but that was also much due to problems within the corporate level of the company. Personally I believe that while paramount owned the park with interest, they did a GREAT job managing the park.

I guess they were great for kids, but adults and Seniors this is not so, how about removing just about ever non wild leisure adult ride that my parents could enjoy like the antique cars, the flying eagles, and others.

I'd say up until '99, Paramount was respectible. It was right around then that Viacom was vested and started to estrange the parks.

Look at the list:

2000 Son of Beast: Response to CF competition up north.

2001 Nick Central: Gutted the charm of the old kids area to add more rides.

2002 Tomb Raider: Give 'em props for the first year on that one.

2003 Delirium/Scooby: Anyone can make a flat, and Scooby is a step down IMHO.

2004 Boomerang Bay: Waterparks are inexpensive and get you cheap props.

2005 Italian Job: Nothing like the animation, cost cutting ruined the ride, even after opening.

2006 Nick U: In case you didn't figure it out, this was kind of thrown together.

[The Interpreter]

Don't forget under CBS in 2006:

* Raise food pricing throughout the park, lower food quality and understaff foods.

* Don't let guests into the park to spend a dime before official opening time. Don't even let them through the metal detectors unless it is going to be very, very busy. And on days you don't let them in at all until opening time, make them BEG to please use the restroom before 10 a.m.

* Cut way back on entertainment department, and don't even have any shows before Memorial Day.

* As has been mentioned, close Flight of Fear at Kings Dominion and let it be known that your plan is to move both it and the one at Kings Island to other parks at the end of the season.

Say what you will about Cedar Fair, but in many ways, MOST of these decisions have been reversed. Thankfully. They were short term cost cutting and bad for the parks' long term reputations.

[WooferBearATL]

Very nicely posted Boddah.

That really sums up some of the serious damage that Paramount did that folk want to ignore.

[stewwill]

Folks, please, I implore you....Paramount is gone. The tumor has been removed. Now...let CF do their thing. No one has ANY idea whagt isw going to happen or what direction the park is headed. Let's look FORWARD. Then King is dead, long live the King. What the park was is not what it will be. Let's see what the park WILL be in the next 3-5 years. It took Paramount years to screw the place up. It will take years to fix. Patience...

[The Interpreter]

Whether or not Cedar Fair will have time to do "its thing" or will end up selling to an investment company or someone else remains to be seen. When you say no one knows what Cedar Fair will do with the parks, I figure you are right. Including, at this point, Cedar Fair.

[Browntggrr]

Personally I believe that while paramount owned the park with interest, they did a GREAT job managing the park.

If you believe that Paramount did a great job, you should have seen the park in the early/ mid 80's. That is when the park was in it's heyday.

It really is too bad that many here did not know KI other than under Paramount's operation.

In the almost 13 months that CF has owned the park, there has been great strides, as well as some well known setbacks. The world was not built in a day, and the park is not going to transform overnight.

The food prices are high, but it was just yesterday that I read on another site that HolidayWorld has a 3 piece chicken finger meal for $6.00. not exactly a cheap meal. But nothing is anymore. I have brought my family to the Cleveland Zoo, a Cleveland Indians game, Pittsburgh Zoo, and I went to Put-in-Bay with a bachelor party 2 weekends ago, and guess what. They all had high food prices. And in particular, the food at the zoos SUCKED! But for each trip, I brought my trusty cooler. (And as an FYI, I did purchase a nacho & large soda at Jacobs field- $7.50)

The money pit known as SoB certainly threw CF a left hook that they were not expecting. Imagine what the company could have done with all that money elsewhere in the park instead of pouring into a ride that has had a terrible history since day one. But on the plus side, it's currently running. Next week may be a different story if SoB is operating, but CF certainly did not give up on the ride. They did what they had to do. The jury is still out if the effort was worth it. Imagine what Paramount would have done with SoB given the same incident. I really don't think the outcome would have been the same.

The entire park has needed a good scrub down, and a new paint job. Again, post Paramount years, that is alot of scrubbing & paint in a one year span. After Paramount announced their intentions for selling, many things went to ****.

CF spent over a billion dollars to purchase the parks. They do not have an open check book to spend money left and right for little things. The park will look a whole lot different in '08, much like it looked different this past spring. CF has a long way to go to improve the park, but what they have done so far is more than most of us imagined a year ago.

[WooferBearATL]

Those of us that were in management during the 80's worked very hard to make the parks not only special but memorable as well.

Thank You.