LEAVE IT BE!

[ssdd1970]

I'm sorry I made a poll titled KEEPERS and I could've give an option for nothing removed, with that in mind let's try this again.

[The Interpreter]

Any park that changes nothing won't be around for long. . .

Most Kings Island business is repeat business, and familiarity eventually breeds contempt.

[CoastersRZ]

And in order to maintain that repeat business, the park must continually adapt and change to meet the demands of their customers. Just look at grocery stores, and the changes that have been sweeping across the Kroger prototype in the last ten years. In order for businesses to remain viable, they have to continuously adapt to what their clients want. And that might mean that some of the older attractions that don`t receive high attendance counts anymore might be better suited to be removed and replaced with a new attraction that will help get bodies through the gates.

[PKIVortex]

That's true, if Kings Island stayed the same since it opened in 1972 do you think they would bring in over 3 million visits a year? Very doubtful.

[KIfan73]

True, but think about how unique an amusement park is. You can go to Kings Island and still experience things built in '72 (and all the years in between). You can't go to a Chevy dealership and test drive a '75 Chevy. When I go to Kings Island, as you walk around different parts of the park, its like walking through a different era as you look at different things. Its neat to ride the new stuff like Firehawk. I also think its kind of fascinating to think about The Racers or Viking Fury and how they were the 'hot thing' when they were built (Sorry, I had to throw VF in there. For some reason, even though there's not much left, I'm a little partial to Oktoberfest).

[PKIVortex]

Oh I can't agree more with that either. Of course with new stuff you have to keep some of the old stuff too. I can't imagine KI without rides like Racer, The Beast, etc. just to name a few.

[KIfan73]

I always think its a little sad when you look at the pains they went to on the older rides. All-wood, covered queues. Lots of little ornamentation. Heck, even on Congo Falls they went to the trouble of making a design out of the wood that holds up the wooden hand railing. The new rides are awesome, but then they're just thrown down with some pavement and an aluminum handrail.

[PKIVortex]

And back in the day, all of the station floors where wooden, now they are concrete. AE was the first coaster that had the concrete floors.

Vortex, The Beast, Racer, Fairy Odd Coaster all of the wooden station floors. King Cobra also had them.

[The Interpreter]

That may well be a fire safety thing. A wooden station is not the best idea from that standpoint. . .

[KIfan73]

I've also noticed with the rides built, say pre-Vortex, (although AE is like this) that the ride itself is not visible from the queue. I think that with the older rides they were much better at building in some "suspense" before the ride, and I think it makes a difference (yes, The Racers are visible from the park, but think about when you're getting ready to get on; you really can't see the circuit). I thought about it this summer in the burning heat while I stood in line for Firehawk. There is no real suspense. I honestly don't think The Beast would be what it is without that element of suspense. I also think people's opinion of SOB would be completely different if it had it.

[PKIVortex]

Definitely not, and your right, building codes do change. And considering The Vortex station was built for The Bat, things may have changed by 1991.

[Tuskin]

Change is good, things must constantly continue changing over time otherwise you will start getting a dull park. Not dull by the means of not fun, but dull by the means of the same style of stuff over and over again