What would you change?

[MarketingExpress]

Put yourself into the shoes of the PKI administration. If you were budgeted any amount of money you needed to change something about an exisiting ride of your choice at the park, what ride would you pick and what would you change about it?

Tell us why you would change it also.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

Not that I think it'd really take any money to do, but I'd have Tomb Raider reprogrammed to flip the riders a few more time at the end of the ride to make the finale something worth remembering. Something that could take some dough would be to replace the SOB trains with some that have just a bit more room in the seats for the bigger guests. Plus I'd add some tunnels to SOB and get some big ol' trees imported to add a wooded feel to it.

Edited January 1, 1970 by LongLiveTheSmurfRide

[Return_of_Yogi]

WARNING YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT IM ABOUT TO SAY:

Take a year off building rides and completly retheme. Rivertown - Adventure Zone, add tons of tropical plants and trees, new resteraunt names, etc. Coney Mall, restore that old time feel, more plants, add little touches to change the feel. Action Zone, defintly Do something here, maybe movie sets that you could pose in, or more atmosphere characters, explosions, a stunt show, that sort of thing. HB just become Nick and get it over with. Water works, doing pretty good but could use some flava, Oktoberfest, needs either to be october fest or Action Zone not Actiooberfest. Interantional Street, lets try being a bit more international shall we?

[Scooby_Doo]

I AGREE WITH YOU 100% YOGI...BUT i would leave a lil tiny bit of HB LAND because of scooby Doos ghoster coaster and the haunted castle...other than that i agree with you!

[missdi]

I couldn't come up with any one change that I'd like to see, I've got many. In contrary to all my opinions I still love going to PKI and nothing will change that in the near future. I've been going there since the first year you opened in '72 and realize that when Paramounts took over there were major changes that have been for the better. I still do miss some of the old attractions like the train ride for example, this now seems that the reason to ride is for the trip back and forth to waterworks, I remember when they had actual live actors such as cowboys shooting guns and indians with bows and arrows, does anyone remember when the beavers actually chewed down the trees and they fell over as you passed? To a child this was great, now it seems rather boring, if you're lucky you may see a rabbit or a groundhog. Theming has a big impact on the audience. In the Action Zone, the first year they had the stunt tower show, whatever happened to this? If they're not going to utilize this then they should take it out, it's just dead space. The Paramount Story needs to be cleaned up, it's a nice quiet place to go and get away from all the high traffic areas, just needs to be kept up a little better. Rivertown is my favorite area, you can go behind Wings and cool off in the trees, walk over the bridge and watch the animals playing in the creek, I remember when the candlemaker and old time candy store were in Rivertown, they need to move these back to retheme the area. Old time photo, leather shop and woodworkers are still there but would like to see more. Take out the "old fashioned" cars if they're not going to run these again this year. Waterworks is another of my favorite areas, it seems like such a long walk to get to the wave pool, if something were put into the dead spaces it wouldn't seem that far. Try to connect the front area to the back with some new attraction. Tuckers has been in the park for several years now, but it seems whenever we're there it's never open. Same for many of the small food stands in Coney Mall and some also in the kids areas. Maybe try like some other parks do and have a buffet restaurant. And last but not least, run the shuttles to and from the parking alot more! Don't want to come off as only complaints but these are just my observations over the past years.

[teenageninja]

Multi Year Plan let's assume everything is the same up until this point and we have a decent amount for a limited salary cap.

2004- Begin to retheme HB Land into Nick Central

Add colors to Coney Mall add Neon signs to change the age a little.

Paint Racer Red White and Blue

Begin to start new Military area by FOF

250 foot Intamin hyper "The Hunted" Goes through woods with theming

2005- Huss Jump 2 "Harrier"

Flying Super Saturator and finish change to Nick Central

Kiddie Flats

Integrate Oktoberfest to Action Zone.

[Coasterfan]

I completly dissagree with changing Rivertown at all except for adding new rides that are themed for that area.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

How would you theme a hyper coaster to "the hunted"? Put a knife fight in the queue line somewhere? Hehe. I like the idea. I'd just assume slap the name on there but do as much theming as they did for Face-Off or Drop Zone. I guess you could make the station all camouflaged or something. As long as it used the terrain well and they don't cut all the trees down around, it'd be very very sweet.

[TraderJake]

I agree with Yogi-- Take a year off building Multimillion Dollar Blockbuster attractions, and work on Major Capital Improvements to heighten guest service and experience. Bring a carnival, festival like atmosphere to Coney Mall, have street performers, give the place an updated, lively feel. But then, this is about updating an existing ride at the park now isn't it? Well, I'd love to see Racer repainted, and the Eiffel Tower be repainted to Eiffel Bronze. Do something to the path from the Eiffel Tower to the Rear Rivertown Bathrooms, do something to make it more than a path to Paradise Island Smoothies. Perhaps the biggest suggestion of all I have to say is to do away with HB Land. Let Nick Central take over, I'd love to find a kid now who knows who Pixie, Top Cat, and Mr. Jinx still are. Kids can Identify better with Nick characters, for most already know who they are. It may be hard to pull of since so much money recently has been placed into Scooby Franchises, but I think the conversion of HB land to Nick Central would be a good move overall.

[Return_of_Yogi]

IF YOU LISTEN TO ONE THING I SAY LET IT BE THIS:

you can still have scooby in nick central. No problem. It's still all in the viacom family.

I think that it would be worths the parks money to take the year off. I DONT CARE IF THERES ANOTHER COASTER. My gutt instinct says that its a family park to begin with. Make the park a true theme park. give Universal a run for its money. It wouldnt be hard. I would defintly volunteer to work the off season to get it done. college aint that time consuming.

[Scooby_Doo]

True i agree PKI should take a year off and clean and touch up the park and expand Nick central just to get it done with!

[mars1825]

I think PKI needs to put in a major coaster and spruce up the park and make it look nicer. It has been 3 years since PKI got a major coaster and a new one would help. I think PKI shouldn't always focus on the family and not enthusiets. Hopefully PKI will get a major coaster next year.

[Dane]

Paintjobs all over the park.

[Dino2003]

PKI has always been a family park! and always will be there not gonna be like Cedar Point and put up a mulit-million -Dollar Coaster up! i dont really want a coaster i have The Beast to entertain me and Sob,FOF i could live without a new coaster! i think pki should take a year off and fix up coney mall...Expand Nick central to get it done with!

[mars1825]

Just because PKI has been focusing mainly on the family for a while doesn't mean they won't add a coaster. PKI is not just a family park. It has a mix of everything. I don't think they always need to focus on the family. If we already have the best kid's area in the world, then why don't they focus on the other parts of the park. PKI is due for a new coaster soon.

[teenageninja]

Look at Cedar Points new ride, they used to strive for quality, but two launches in a row. They are now going for quantity now. PKI goes for quality and I'm glad.

The Hunted would be a good theme just have it go flying through the woods have the line all camoflauged with army things and some cool knife FX.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

I don't care about the quantity argument of CP, I'm too busy being excited to ride that monster. As long as they make something that's going to be fun, I don't care what their motivation is. I do know that they're getting more attention at their park with that attraction than PKI this year, so I don't think it's a valid argument. The bottom line is money and what attracts the money. CP is attracting the extreme thrill seeker money this year, and that's what they're delivering. They may have the quantity, but when I'm 400 feet in the air, I think I'll be satisfied and not worrying about their reasoning behind it.

Edited January 1, 1970 by LongLiveTheSmurfRide

[teenageninja]

Cedar Point may get thrill seeker money, but not family. Their children's area is horrible. They have 2 coasters, but they are nothing spectacular. I do think that PKI still has higher attendance and is the higher park. I am not saying that the 420 foot monster will not be a good ride, I'm just saying that it was probably a bad mistake to make it Launch Top Hat Brakes. I know it would have cost tons more, but it would have made the experience a litle better.

[kev21]

i think that anyone who says we should shut down the park for a year is crazy. i mean come on lest be realistic. if they shut it down for a year a lot of people are going to lose their job for a year. that would stink. also if u guys wanna get a big coaster anytime soon where is Kings Island gonna get the funds to build when they have had no money coming in to the park for a whole season. there are some simple things to take care of the paint jobs and all that. just do what universal does and have the night shift touch up the buildings every night. thats all u gotta do. u dont have to shut the park a whole year

[teenageninja]

No one said close the park. People said to lay off building rides. Not many would lose their jobs because frankly most wouldn't have had them.

[Return_of_Yogi]

Uhhh shut the park down?........someone doesnt listen or read welll.. Edited January 1, 1970 by Return_of_Yogi

[Beastfreak]

The new upper managment of KI has seen what the park looks like. They have already stated the over the next few years that the park will get its "general" cleanup improvements, (eg new paint jobs and rebuilding stuff and making it look better) All this can't be done in one year. Mainly cause of money. There is a limiited amount of time to do everything. There are a limited number of people to do those things. Hiring more people only costs more, and maybe make them pay less attention to detail. Don't you worry guys. You will start seeing these improvements soon even if the park does deside to build something big. Just gotta let them take their steps and eventually they'll be back up running again.

[DragonLord]

It's been said already, but I agree totally with a general clean up of the park and better theming over all. Building bigger and bigger coasters would help, but the park is much better than the biggest coaster it could build. The family feeling in the park and the service that the employees offer are what keep people coming back.

The biggest problem I saw last year was that the park was just dirty. I remember walking behind someone in ecology with their broom and pan and picking trash up that they would just leave on the ground. There also weren't enough people to clean and stock the bathrooms... I must have had almost 30 people during the summer last year ask me to have someone put toliet paper in the rest rooms or to clean them up.

Something else that would help would be to build a larger area out side the front gate for eating. Guests ARE NOT allowed to bring any collers in the park unless they have medicines that have to be kept cold (which they can check into First Aid) or have baby bottles in them. A lot of guests don't like that, and have to go all the way back to their cars. If we had a bigger space for them to use I think they would enjoy it.

Water is another thing KI could get better on. When it's 100 degrees out and really busy, people aren't going to get out of a line to get water (which is FREE if you ask for it!). We should have carts that have nothing but water on it that can go through the lines to get people water. The biggest problem on really hot days are people that don't eat or drink enough and pass out. We should accomodate for that by having much easier access to water than by filling up First Aid with patients.

[aero11]

I like the water in line thought.

[Beastfreak]

Some lines like SOB and the like they have people go around with little carts and sell lemon ade or the cart is at a certain point and people can buy pop or water as they go by. Other lines have pop machines in them or near them that also sell bottled water.

Having people go around with just water to give away would eat up our labor cost and be a waste when it comes to a business stand point but would be great for guests. The park just needs install some tarps or roofs over some of the queue areas and add misters like they have at the "Coca-Cola Cool Zone" in front of The Beast.

Now what would I like to see changed. To start, I would love to see all the path ways redone. Either some sort of paving brick or just more concrete. The black top is just ugly. Plus it is cracked all over the place and the park "re-surfaces" it every year with a fresh thin layer of tar or whatever though it doesn't do anything for the cracks and uneven-ness. True that would cause more stains to show and the landscaping department already sprays the whole park down everynight with a huge water truck, but couldn't they just bring around a pressure sprayer (Hotsy, since there are many of them in the park) to get up whatever the water trucks can't get. It may take another whole hour but big deal, it'll look nice.

Staying on the landscaping thing. Certain "back areas" of the park are just not hidden well from the guests while they are walking around. Not going to mention where but in some places you can just see into the "service areas" of the restruants and merchandise stores. At the food stands its especially bad cause they can see us cleaning off the greasy equipment and its just looks bad. From a guests stand point, I wouldn't want to see what is going on behind the scenes like that if I was trying to enjoy the park. Having that hidden makes it easier to have them "lost in the world of wonderment" and be in a happy place, but walking along and seeing that can really throw them off and maybe be disgusted.

There is more I would love to see changed but that is the main stuff. I just want to see the park look more "magical" and "beautiful" so that the guests don't realize that anything is going on beside what they are experiencing from the rides and shops and atmosphere.

[DegenRider]

What I would like to see is a cleanup of the park I think that has been said enough.

I would like to see alot of adult trees planted around Son of Beast to give it a bit more of a beast feel. Make it look more like beast by Filling some dirt around some spots and creating a artifical ravine and hill area. Tunnels also.

I would like to see some sort of shows in Action Zone. Its just kinda blah and you have the stuff there to do stunt tower shows again. Smaller free concerts in timberwolf.

Speaking of timberwolf get some different bands in there. Some alterntive music would be a nice change from the christan rock and the pop music.

The chilli visons or whatever there called now should have content that pertains to the area Maybe have cameras for guests to see shows that they they can't get out of line to see.

Coney should have neon lights and all the rides should be lit up at night. Vortex and Racer are a bit dark.

Rivertown looks good but maybe that "The Hunted" ride could go there cause it could fit in with the TRTR theme a bit.

Make the walkway from International street to River town active again. Have it be a part of coney mall and have a few newer flats there. you can fix the car track up so a few nice rides would fit. Its empty anymore so its a good Idea.

Waterworks should get a few new slides. And more shade

I liked the idea of having a teen party type thing at the park. Having certain rides be open really late and have names of bands that teens today like have concerts.

Then maybe for the older crowd have a backlot type party. Have the festhaus have kinda club atmosphere and open up Action Zone.

Also have few cameras in line (that the ride ops can see

. That would control line jumping a bit. Plain cothed security guards could walk around also and catch some of the illegal crap that goes on IE pot smoking (There seemed to be alot of that last year)

Have the old hana barbara characters leave HB and walk around the park. Its always fun to have a picture taken with your favorate character (this is a suggestion I Heard ALOT when I worked at the park)

Go back to diffrent uniforms for diffent rides except make them section wide.

Action Zone could be a T-shirt and jeans type look with The Action Zone logo on front and the last name of the person on back and have it say like Action Zone stage hand.

Coney could keep the current blue shirt and kaki pants look.

Rivertown should all have the explorer outfits on.

Hb and nick should be as colorful as can be with there uniforms. Maybe tyedie shirts with Nick central or HB on it.

Another ride Idea is a B&M dive machine called Enter "The Core"

Thats all for now.

[pki_guy]

The B&M dive machine is a good idea, but I would like a B&M speed coaster like Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. That ride rules. Also, I would like it taller and faster than Apollo's Chariot". As many have said before they could theme it to "The Hunted". Too bad paramount didnt make "Dream Catcher" That would fit in perfectly in the woods by The Beast. I read the book and it was very interesting.

[Scooby_Doo]

i dunno i kinda like B&M Flying Coasters....put a coaster near The Beast in the woods i dunno to me ...The Beast has claimed those woods! but i can see what you mean!

[missdi]

I like the idea that SOBRIDER had, different uniforms for different areas.

[The Bat]

I would lower the price of parking and reopen the International Restaurant.