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World's Best Kids' Area to Get a Whole New Look in 2010!


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It's now official! Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus will adorn Kings Island's Golden Ticket Award winning best kids' area in 2010 as it is re-branded as Planet Snoopy.

“The Best Kids Area in the World is getting a fresh new look with a timeless classic." said park spokesman Don Helbig, "Planet Snoopy will feature PEANUTS-themed rides and attractions, which includes four roller coasters, and daily meet and greet and photo opportunities with Snoopy and his pals like Charlie Brown, Lucy and Linus.”

Peanuts, celebrating its 60th year of existence in 2010, was the product of Charles Schulz and has been featured in 2,200 newspapers, classic television specials and on re-mastered DVD’s, on stage, in hundreds of books and across the Internet.

Further details on Planet Snoopy, including new ride names, will be released during the 2009/2010 offseason.

Nearly a year in the making, "Riding History to the Limits," the brainchild project of CET Cincinnati's Nate Byrum is finally available for you to enjoy! Explore the history of Kings Island with facts, footage and photos that have rarely been seen by the public in this 90 minute feature length documentary!

Synopsis:

As early as 1964, the design and concept of a groundbreaking amusement park was growing in the mind of an ambitious young man by the name of Gary Wachs. Until this time modern amusement parks were leaving roller coasters and other thrill rides out of their parks. Gary Wachs knew that bringing back the thrill to amusement parks was a path that would be as profitable as it was popular in the future of entertainment. After a five year struggle, Gary finally got to see his dream materialize and eventually opened to the public in 1972, Kings Island.

In this program, we sit down with Gary to learn first hand how Kings Island went from a glimmer in Gary’s eye, to the multi-million dollar park it is today. We will tell you how Gary brought back the rollercoaster to parks in the United States, and how Disney played a roll in the birth of this park. Kings Island has set a precedent in the American amusement park industry and has given millions of park goer’s memories that will last a lifetime.

This program combines old film footage, photographs taken by Rick Norton and other patrons of the park, and new footage.

Interviews include: Gary Wachs, Dennis Speigel, Charles Meechem, Jack Rouse, Don Helbig, Carmen Electra, Walter and Nancy Duff, Barry Williams, and Michael Lookingland. Hosted by Nate Byrum

Do you want the latest information sent directly to your cell phone? Sign up for KICentral's official mobile club and receive text alerts with the latest news and information about Kings Island! Signing up is fast and free! Click here for more information about KICentral's official mobile club!

Are you an avid Kings Island fan or do you casually visit once a year? It doesn't matter! KICentral.com is the site for you. Why not register on the forums of KICentral and tell us about your thoughts and experiences involving Kings Island! Registration is fast, FREE, and easy. Don't forget to keep checking KICentral.com for the latest news, rumors and information about Kings Island amusement park!

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Even though I hold Nick U near and dear to my heart and they will be missed greatly, I think this change will be very interesting and give it more of a Cedar Fair kids area feel. I do think however, that a tribute to Nickelodeon Central video should be arranged. Gotta love the tribute videos.

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hey Ryan... change the "Words" to "Worlds"...

I was afraid this would happen. Hanna Barbera was contemporary and very up to date for the time. Nick Universe (even though they are necessarily my favorite) are very up to date for today. Peanuts........ maybe in the 1960's or 1970's.... There aren't a lot of options out there I guess- would hate to see an entire area dedicated to "the Wiggles"- Bugs Bunny would have been great (not necessarily up to date, but a favorite of mine)- but that is already taken.

Is SDATHC changing right away? and can we lobby for Fairly Odd Coaster to go back to "The Beastie" and not something like "Snoopy's Barnstorming Adventure...."

I guess "Snoopy" is who Cedar Fair has the license to and yes, it does reflect "wholesome famiy entertainment"... with usually 3 cartoons aired per year.

It is the rides and not the graphics as I think i read someone writing from somewhere.... but as a parent of a die hard Nick U fan.... I can't really get excited about this.

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Good-Bye Scooby-Doo! I will miss you! :( I hold Scooby-Doo and the gang very close to my heart so this is a bitter pill for me to swallow.. I wonder what will happen to SDATHC? I mean it's only six years old..I hope Cedar Fair doesn't muck it up and I hope they won't transform it into a joe cool cafe that would be a nightmare! I hope they re-theme to the ride to snoopy and the round-headed kid it would be fun..what ever happens I'm hoping for the best.

-But I HATE to see Scooby-Doo go he's been a staple at Kings Island for so long...it's like the yummy-super-delicious blue ice cream leaving the park ...

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Good-Bye Scooby-Doo! I will miss you! :( I hold Scooby-Doo and the gang very close to my heart so this is a bitter pill for me to swallow.. I wonder what will happen to SDATHC? I mean it's only six years old..I hope Cedar Fair doesn't muck it up and I hope they won't transform it into a joe cool cafe that would be a nightmare! I hope they re-theme to the ride to snoopy and the round-headed kid it would be fun..what ever happens I'm hoping for the best.

-But I HATE to see Scooby-Doo go he's been a staple at Kings Island for so long...it's like the yummy-super-delicious blue ice cream leaving the park ...

I think that a Sally Corp GhostBlasters attraction is pretty likely, considering that SDatHC was a character retro-fit of the original GhostBlasters.

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The link to the CET documentary deserves it's very own topic! That's a fantastic production!!

It has its own topic here.

Sorry--I had missed that original post and didn't come across it until the Peanuts item was posted...

I stand by my original comment still--that's a GREAT production :)

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Good-Bye Scooby-Doo! I will miss you! :( I hold Scooby-Doo and the gang very close to my heart so this is a bitter pill for me to swallow.. I wonder what will happen to SDATHC? I mean it's only six years old..I hope Cedar Fair doesn't muck it up and I hope they won't transform it into a joe cool cafe that would be a nightmare! I hope they re-theme to the ride to snoopy and the round-headed kid it would be fun..what ever happens I'm hoping for the best.

-But I HATE to see Scooby-Doo go he's been a staple at Kings Island for so long...it's like the yummy-super-delicious blue ice cream leaving the park ...

I think that a Sally Corp GhostBlasters attraction is pretty likely, considering that SDatHC was a character retro-fit of the original GhostBlasters.

I think we might see something related to Snoopy and the Red Baron (though I'm not sure exactly how you could turn that into a kids' ride), or possibly something related to the Great Pumpkin...

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I think The Beastie should go back to it the name The Beastie. I will never call it its new names. Plus The Beasties better becasue when it has that name it was part of the family then. My definition of family is as such - The Beastie-The Beast-Son of Beast There just one big old happy family of wood.

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I personally hold the opinion that kiddie land is gonna be ruined after this... I'm going to miss SpongeBob :(

I think they should have just kept it Nick U. I grew up when it was HannaBarbera Land and it was pretty cool, but now, it's really awesome. I think Nick U is the best it's ever been, and I really don't see how they can keep all the rides they have and make it based off of just ONE show. With Nick, they had dozens of shows they could theme rides after.

I personally don't see how this is a 'good financial investment'... wouldn't it be cheaper just to pay Viacom what they want for the licensing rather than have to pay a large sum of money to completely re-do the area?? Some rides can't be transformed as simply as just painting them... rides like Avatar, Plankton's Plunge, Blue's Skidoo... Those will require A LOT of work to re-do them. They'll all require new trains/cars..

I like snoopy, but I don't see how this is gonna work... Good thing I don't have kids, so I don't have to break their hearts and tell them SpongeBob, Dora, Diego, and all their other Nick favorites will no longer be around after this year.

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It not just KI going through a re theme there are several other CP parks also. like what was stated time and time again was the fact that it must be very expencive to renew for all the parks. Lets face it since Nick-U was put in its gained in popularity. So what they paid back then for all the parks could have tripled in cost now to renew now. CP hasnt to my knowledge, give a true responce to the change but we can only speculate its due to cost. they are bugeting for the company. i look at it this way....if they didnt reduce cost in some areas then perhaps they may have to close some parks down. I am sure there is a good reason for whats been done. with that said yes i will miss nick-u, and yes i will adapt to the change. Is there somthing i could do to keep the change from happening ? no.

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You know I am one for change, however the right changes. I mean come on kids now don't have a clue who Snoopy, the fat blad kid Charlie Brown, or any of the Peanuts brats are. I was a little upset when they (Paramount) didn't renew the Hanna Barbara contract. But I understand they wanted to bring in characters that kids know today. Thats why I went to CP for a change from KI. Now they (Cedar Fair) wants to change KI into another CP? Thats what Paramount wanted to do with KI, make it like Universal and Disney MGM Studios and it failed. They need to bring KI back to it's old roots, roots that the parents grew up with just with a updated kick to the park. Now I hear that Hallowfest in 2010 won't be included in the seson pass that year? Paramount tried that one year and they lost their shirt on that idea. Paramount even tried to bring back Winterfest but charged season pass holders admission. Thats why that failed. They just need to go back to the roots the park had in the 70's and 80's. Oh yeah more people went because more people could afford the admission. My parents paid $20 for season pass that had admission to Winterfest, but we spent more $ in the park on games and food. That's what they need to do go back to $25 or $30 admission.

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Are you willing to go back to what your parents earned back then? To put up with the huge crowds a $25 or $30 admission would bring? Oh, wait...admission to the park WAS available all summer long for that....at most Kroger stores. And that didn't move the needle that much, apparently. As for Haunt, word is on the park's website and by the mods here that Haunt IS included with a 2010 gold or platinum season pass, and gold is usually the only kind of Kings Island only season pass sold until near Memorial Day. And if bought at the park the next three days the park is open to the public, a season pass renewal is only $69.99, the lowest price in years!

Winterfest? That not including with a season pass the last time Paramount put it on was due, in my opinion, to the entire thing being a part of a dress up to sell the parks. It worked, quite well. I seem to remember Cedar Fair paying $1.24 billion for the Paramount Parks. Two Winterfests (Kings Island and Carowinds)....not unlike painting the living room white and cleaning out all the clutter just before putting the house on the market.

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I will have to be honest. right when I saw this topic my exact thoughts were "oh boy here we go with snoopy, I knew it would be too soon when Cedar Fair brought Planet Snoopy to KI" to be honest, I agree with a few things, What will they do with dark ride (SDaHC) and a few others like avatar, runaway reptar,spongebob's bikini bottom bash and a few others....they are really going to have to think on how they can remodel some of these rides...ok, now that I think about it, there are only a few they would have to think about I guess. even though I love the peanuts gang, I do have to agree, most of the kids of theese days have no clue who they are, I mean I have three cousins at the age of 13,11, and 8 and none of them know who the peanuts gang is...I am too a little worried about how they are going to pull this off, but maybe we are all just jumping to conclusions and imediately thinking it will be a flop. I'm pretty sure they thought long and hard about this before they made a final decision to bring in the peanuts gang. so I guess we will just have to see what changes come to the kiddie area and how changes are made...just like with Diamondback, all we really can do is just sit back and watch what happens and what comes to life for next year...I mean who knows, they could have really awesome ideas that we are just not thinking about right now, even though I am a little skeptic about the transition, at the same time I'm kinda excited about it to see what will be done and how they will change the entire area...

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  • 2 weeks later...

First off I still miss all those happy friends who live in my TV....

I wish they would keep Scooby forever... They just came out with another live action Scooby Movie, their making a new cartoon. Scooby doo is not only timeless but has been apart of the park in one way or another since opening season. I don't know who's office it is but its one of the bigger guys at the park, anyway they have an old scooby cut out, life size along with many other Scooby items from over the years.

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