Why do people hate the Paramount Period of KI?

[bkroz]

Yes, things were "misplaced." Some are more frustrating than others. For example, The Italian Job: Stunt Track. I do not claim to know what thought processes went into the decision of its placement. But off the top of my head, I would guess that not much thinking at all. I, like many of the park's visitors today, do not remember the Antique Cars, and I certainly would rather have Backlot Stunt Coaster than them (which, I know, puts me in the minority here. But not necessarily out in the "real world"). However, there's absolutely positively no denying that it fits PERFECTLY into Action Zone and, by all accounts that we've seen, would literally fit like a puzzle piece on the area of land currently occupied by Thunder Alley. That's frustrating, but again, it's not detrimental to the park's operation.

When people complain about Tomb Raider's placement, I really don't know what to tell them. Where else would you have it placed? Because our Adventure Village was removed, we didn't have the luxury of a "Congo" area like Kings Dominion. I'm proud to say we ever had a ride like that in our park. If Tomb Raider still operated as it did when it first opened, I wouldn't care if they put it in X-Base, or Planet Snoopy. They chose Kings Island to receive it, and the best option is Rivertown. And remember, that Rivertown wasn't an open plaza with a small concrete lake in the center. The Rivertown it was placed in was highly, highly shaded, with the beautiful Swan Lake in the center. When it was placed, it was actually well-hidden. A tiny little cave tucked away in the woods. The showbuilding was surrounded by trees, and honestly, it wasn't that distracting at all. Today, yes, it's instrusive, because the new open layout of Rivertown allows it to be seen from anywhere, and the trees that partially hid the showbuilding were removed for Diamondback. And yes, it's a big, ugly box... Well how would you have disguised it? Paint it brown? Cover it with dirt and grass? A random 100 foot tall hill? Even if Paramount had built a faux Indian temple around the thing, people would've said it ruined Rivertown (which, in fairness, it would've... But doesn't Diamondback?)

Basically, until Italian Job, they really did do a pretty good job. And all of three Backlot Stunt Coasters, ours is easily the most appropriately-placed. Wonderland's is literally under Behemoth, and Dominion's is "in the Congo" (I'll argue til the day I die that it's very clearly seperated into its own mini-area) at worst, and tucked into the waterpark at best. Definitely not as nice as ours...

[KIfan1980]

I, like many of the park's visitors today, do not remember the Antique Cars, and I certainly would rather have Backlot Stunt Coaster than them (which, I know, puts me in the minority here. But not necessarily out in the "real world").

When people complain about Tomb Raider's placement, I really don't know what to tell them. Where else would you have it placed? Because our Adventure Village was removed, we didn't have the luxury of a "Congo" area like Kings Dominion.

A couple of thoughts:

- I believe there would likely be more visitors of a different generation to the park today if we still had Antique Cars. I certainly would rather have both them and Stunt Coaster (and that should have been an option).

- Regarding Tomb Raider's placement. The issue for me is that you (like Paramount did) are beginning with the ride and theme in mind and trying to find a location for it. Imagine the options from a theme park design standpoint: begin by saying - let's add a Giant Top Spin, choose a location in Rivertown, then try to determine a good theme for it. No, it wouldn't fit nicely into the marketing plan for a movie, but I bet there could be some good options.

[bkroz]

Certainly. But that wasn't Paramount's goal. Some liked it, and some hated it, but their intention was to showcase their films. I would much rather have had Tomb Raider: The Ride for five years, than a top spin themed to a tornado in a barn for ten. You didn't have to be a fan of the movie to enjoy the theme. Universal, Disney, Merlin... All of their parks have rides that showcase adventure. The pure, exhilarating, energetic sense of adventure. Tombs, temples, curses, ghosts, goddesses... Indiana Jones Adventure, Tomb Blaster, The Revenge of the Mummy, Poseidon's Fury... And even today, I would rather have the adventurous, mysterious, story-less Crypt rather than a "barn" themed ride that might fit more appropriately.

So yes, I do what Paramount did - pick a movie and then find a way to squeeze it in.

But doing anything otherwise would be doing what Cedar Fair does - wanting a giant, pure-thrills ride, dropping it somewhere, and then coming up with a halfway-decent, barely-acceptable name that sort of fits the general idea of the area it's located in (see, Diamondback). In other words, Paramount started with the theme (usually, a movie) and built out from there. Cedar Fair picks a ride (like, a hypercoaster) and then barely progresses out from there towards theme, maybe going so far as a "barn" station or a sign that sort of fits the idea. Neither is right, and neither is wrong. But when mixed together, the park sort of feels disjointed. A halfway-working ride like Backlot Stunt Coaster that any casual observer can see used to have more, located next to a giant, new red coaster with barely any theme whatsoever in a cleared out field...

[Oldiesmann]

The antique cars were a lot of fun. It wasn't a high-speed thrill ride. It was good for what it was - a leisurely ride through the woods that was perfect for every guest, regardless of age, disability, fondness for high-speed rides, etc. There were also two sides - a regular side and "Les Taxis", which was basically the same except the cars had "taxi" signs on the roofs. You can get a good idea of why there were so liked at http://www.KICentral.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=99

As far as the placement, my theory is simply that it's a lot more visible there than it would be in the back corner of Action Zone, being along a highly-traveled path between two of the park's most popular coasters (Vortex and Beast). That pathway also has other advantages - it's a prime viewing spot for Vortex, it's right next to the only set of restrooms in that section of the park, and it's right near the bulk of the park's family rides, which made it possible to market IJST as a new family ride.

Putting it in the back corner of Action Zone would have made it less visible. Sure, they could have found a way to quickly get guests back there, but then they have three heavily-promoted coasters crammed into one area, with a fourth not far away, plus they lose a not-very-popular overpriced car ride. This way, they get to keep whatever revenue they might make off whatever the race car ride is called now, and they get to make a bunch more money off the merchandising related to their newest coaster.

[sam2cpa]

No hate here....

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

I also think "hate" is a strong word. I think "mis-managed" is more appropriate. In my opinion for every good year of changes and additions, Paramount always had a bad year to match.

In 1993 I was really excited about Paramount. I thought Top Gun was a really good new direction for the park and that future additions would be really exciting. This continued for me through the addition of Flight of Fear. Things started downhill for me when Adventure Village was killed in favor of Action Zone. It made no sense. Add tons of pavement and a couple new rides...but leave Amazon Falls and King Cobra? I really wished they would have added the new area somewhere else. The current X-Base area comes to mind.

The slide continued with SOB and Tomb Raider which were both horrible decisions. SOB did not match Action Zone...and well...we know its current status. Tomb Raider is ugly on the outside, which was big because we lost a good log flume to get it. And now the ride barely operates. It's clear that both were flops. I feel like this time period was really when they got away from doing some of the "classic" KI stuff. Costumed characters seemed to start disappearing. The fountains didn't look so great (later improved). Guest service and operations were hitting big time lows.

Italian Job shows complete incompetence to me and was what really made me happy that someone else bought the parks. It was marketed as a family ride (which I still don't really believe). I agree the Antique Cars were not a great ride, but they weren't horribly ugly. Italian Job looks like they installed a gravel pit and then put a coaster in it...all in the smack middle of the park! I'm still waiting to hear the "good" reason the eagles had to leave.

On the positive side, Paramount did great with the waterpark expansions and the kids area. Hanna Barbara, even though I love it, was heading out and it was time for updates. I think both of those areas were big time successes.

[bkroz]

^

Pagoda, this post is exactly why I love this place - I couldn't disagree more on many of the things you said, but I still respect what you think and it's interesting to read regardless. I believe Paramount's additions were extremely groundbreaking. Flight of Fear, Volcano, Stealth, Son of Beast, Drop Zone, Tomb Raider... Not only did they push the limits of technology during their respective times, but their level of themeing was absolutely unheard of outside of California & Florida. A pre-show... in an Ohio theme park? Fog machines? Flames? On-ride audio? Did it always last long? No. But I'd rather have the attempt and a few residual effects that are still working years later. For example, I consider Backlot Stunt Coaster in my top ten roller coaster experiences on Earth (and I've ridden just over 100, so it's not as if I've only been to Cedar Point and Kings Island). Is the layout inspired? No. Are the forces tremendous? No. But as an experience, the ride was top-notch. Ride The Revenge of the Mummy in Florida... The fast-paced coaster section is a family ride at best. But it's known as one of the best rides on Earth.

Love them or hate them, Paramount had someone, somewhere, literally compose from scratch a score for Tomb Raider: The Ride that synced up to the rides movements. Can you imagine? I mean, truly consider that. If you ever want the complete Tomb Raider: The Ride score, let me know - there are about 10 tracks that played in the plaza out front and queue alone, simply "ambient" music that in no way affected the ride. None of it was from the movie. It was specially created. And my God is that the type of thing that made you truly feel like you were in Universal Studios or something... In Ohio! Tomb Raider: The Ride was groundbreaking. How much did a typical Top Spin cost back then? Maybe $5 million? So maybe the Giant one was $10 million? How much of the $20 million budget was spent on effects, lighting, music, fog, interior design, atmosphere, etc. And yeah, the building doesn't look good, but as I said earlier, if they had constructed a giant Indian temple facade around it, it would be accused of ruining Rivertown more than it already does! And forget not that, until Diamondback's construction and the removal of Swan Lake, the ride was actually quite secluded, and the ride building hidden a lot more than it is now.

There are numerous debates we could get into: Son of Beast doesn't match Action Zone? Action Zone, supposedly, was themed to a studio backlot where you were a stunt double, stepping into a scene from an action movie. Son of Beast's "storyline" was that The Beast's offspring was captured and relocated to a high-tech government facility (hence, passing under the Top Gun / American flag bridge, the bright, metallic colors of the station, the swirling red lights) and that you were stepping aboard a Perimeter Surveillance Vehicle (the PSV tattooed on the sides of the original trains) to ensure it was still in the enclosure. Then, something goes terribly wrong. How does that not fit Action Zone? And if it doesn't, where else should it have gone? And in Action Zone's defense, Adventure Village had (according to what I hear) fallen into disrepair, with most none of its original charm. Sure, that was Paramount's fault, but at least they decided to re-invest and create a brand-spanking-new area instead of letting it rot further and adding a nice area elsewhere. Personally, I kind of like Action Zone - it's supposed to look like a bright, colorful, explosive studio backlot with the park's multi-colored, crazy rides, and people screaming and laughing all around you. I think it accomplished that in its hey-day.

When it comes to "removing the parks original charm," everyone who will ever own the park will play a part. Canada's Wonderland is having its Jet Scream ride removed for WindSeeker. It's not that old, but it's a piece of history nonetheless. If Kings Island today had the same lineup of rides as it did in 1972, it would be better off in some ways, and worse off in others. Paramount removed the Flying Eagles. And that makes many of the long-time visitors here angry. Cedar Fair removed Swan Lake, which also makes people upset, but Diamondback is "worth it" and The Italian Job "was not." I submit for my thought of the day that I'd rather have The Crypt, even in the state its in now, than the log flume that was formerly located there. Call me crazy if you must, but it's an opinion. It's all opinions, everywhere, all the time. I respect yours, because I know you and the others here always respect mine.

[KIBOB]

^Just to add, it was not Paramount who allowed Adventure Village to run into disrepair, it was the former; Carl Lidner........

Learned this from Terpy in another thread.

[jzarley]

^ and, personally, I consider the days of Lindner's ownership to be darker than the Paramount/Viacom (but not CBS) eras. (Although, ironically--two of my favorite rides came out of that time--AE and PT...)

I agree with 'Terp...the early days of Paramount's ownership held great promise, and I think could have been much better than they ended up. In theory, there should have been a lot of great synergies between Viacom's other media properties and the parks, but for some reason they could just never seem to make them happen. (I never will forget the year when they were doing tryouts for "Survivor" @ Geauga Lake instead of at PKI--and PKI and "Survivor" were both Viacom-owned properties!) And, the fact that a Hollywood entertainment company (the OLDEST studio company in Hollywood in fact) couldn't provide better live entertainment at the parks was practically criminal.

The parks also got bounced around organizationally with Viacom...going from Paramount Studios control, to Blockbuster "retail & recreation", to MTV Networks, and finally to CBS. It seemed sometimes that the parks were the "booby prize" that some poor corporate division had to take with each re-org. I think ultimately that speaks volumes about Sumner Redstone's true opinion of the parks...they simply weren't a "core" business in the overall enterprise. (Contrast that to Disney, where the parks & resorts division is always a major player--and consideration--within that huge media empire.)

And, while it's easy to cast blame at the big, corporate owner, I also think there were some lessons to be learned at the local level as well. For instance, the constant overhyping of each new year's attraction--inevitably comparing each new ride to something Disney-caliber, did nothing for their credibility. (I mean, I understand that a seasonal park can't have the attraction budget of a year-round park that does 4x the attendance, so why didn't the marketing dept. figure this out?) Each year the pre-season hyped promised the "most fantabulous, incredible, Hollywood-ized (<seriously--their word), special-effects laden attraction ever!"--and each year they couldn't even come close. Obviously, budget constraints were the biggest hurdle here (and obviously so), but why knowingly over promise what you know can't be delivered? (BTW...I'm still waiting for all that "lush, tropical vegetation" that was going to make Boomerang Bay look & feel like a "tropical paradise." )

[ahank]

Interpret this one how you will. This is one of the big downfalls of Paramount, however, was that the park was continuously nasty every time I went while under Paramount Parks. While I don't know about pre-2003, every time I went or my parents went we would always come back complaining about how nasty the parks were.

[muppetfan1999]

^Ok, now that is just scary.

[KIfan1980]

You'd never see that today.

There is no way that many bottles of water are sold at $4 each. :-)

[The Interpreter]

Not to mention the garbage cans have lids and there are six zillion of them.

I never understood why Paramount thought it fine that garbage cans be open containers. Not all of them were, but too many were. I often remember dodging bees, wasps, hornets and yellowjackets buzzing around them.

[CedarPointer]

I'm more curious as to why people were trying to shove more trash into an obviously full container... they couldn't have all been like that.

[The Interpreter]

Oh yes, they could. I fear I, too, was also there that day.

Or there was more than one day like that. Every trash can in the park was full to overflowing, as was the park.

It was Bring A Friend Free day, and perhaps the most miserable day I ever experienced at Kings Island. There was barely room to move...

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

goodyellowkorn182, you do make some good points. I certainly respect your opinion. I think it's true that the Paramount days of the park can be summarized as a "poor man's Disney". They set out with great ideas, but not the amount of planning necessary to make them long term successes.

I too remember Tomb Raider in 2002. It was indeed amazing. But it was no longer the same ride by 2004. I realize that losing the licensing is part of what made it what it is today, but it's a shell of its former self. I would take the 2002 Tomb Raider over Kenton's Keelboat Canal, but not the Tomb Raider of any other year. It's my belief that if you make the theming of the ride a definitive part of the ride experience then you simply cannot allow it to deteriorate. Paramount did that an extreme amount with Tomb Raider, and now all that's left is a Top Spin in a box that no one wants to ride. A success in 2002-2003 only is simply not a good decision by park management.

I could say the same thing about Top Gun. I always have to explain what the closed off queues under the ride platform were once like to those who never knew. Obviously, the coaster is the same which means there is less of a drop off in the experience. The same is true of Italian Job. But for that one they really didn't even get it quite right. The headlights didn't charge fast enough, there was never a stair step effect in the tunnel. It was a Disney like ride which wasn't given the budget and planning to be executed correctly.

When you add up these types of "fall off" from each of the Paramount additions, you end up with a park that feels "used". Someday when I take my kids to Disney, many of the rides will be exactly the same (or better) than they are right now. As for KI, I'll have to explain how Italian Job was pretty great in 2005, but now is short ride with almost all stationary props.

[Gordon Bombay]

I think Paramount Parks under Viacom and Six Flags under Time Warner all learned (well didn't really learn, but found out) that: You can't have a Universal/Disney quality theme park on a regional amusement park's budget. Cedar Fair never really dipped into that kind of thing, except with Disaster Transport.

[Pillsberry123]

I don't remember pre-2002 but after 2002 is when I really remember my family visiting, and I can remember from that point on all the overflowing trashcans like what ahank posted. We can argue about themeing all day, but the general public doesn't care as much as we do. However, when looking at something THAT disgusting, the GP takes notice (heck, I did when I was 6 or 7).

The problem I had with Paramount is that they didn't handle operations as well as Cedar Fair does. Take or leave the themeing, I don't really care. What I care about is the 1 or 2 hour waits for nearly every ride back in the days of Paramount. Heck, the bigger rides had even longer waits. The capacities on coasters have obviously improved. Back in the day you could only ride 3 or 4 big rides all day. Now you can tackle those before even eating lunch. I remember Action Zone rides being the absolute worst when it comes to long lines.

Now I know the main reason people liked Paramount was for the "unique" attractions that they added to the parks line-up, but these really weren't that unique at all. Almost every major attraction was a clone of something else, and the placement was awful. BLSC in the middle of a quiet section in the park when it could (and should) have been placed in Action Zone? Seriously? Not to mention they took out the antique cars, which was a family favorite for years. Flight of Fear is a clone, Invertago is a clone, Drop Tower (might as well be) a clone, TR:TR is a clone, BLSC is a clone...

I guess I'm critical of the Paramount days because I thought that both day to day park operations AND park management was pretty bad. Dirty paths, terrible lines, terrible placement of rides which killed the original atmosphere of the areas... The just goes on and on. I think that Cedar Fair is much better for the park. Like others have said, I'd rather have a good amusement park than an average theme park...

[bkroz]

The problem I had with Paramount is that they didn't handle operations as well as Cedar Fair does. Take or leave the themeing, I don't really care. What I care about is the 1 or 2 hour waits for nearly every ride back in the days of Paramount. Heck, the bigger rides had even longer waits. The capacities on coasters have obviously improved. Back in the day you could only ride 3 or 4 big rides all day. Now you can tackle those before even eating lunch. I remember Action Zone rides being the absolute worst when it comes to long lines.

Now I know the main reason people liked Paramount was for the "unique" attractions that they added to the parks line-up, but these really weren't that unique at all. Almost every major attraction was a clone of something else, and the placement was awful. BLSC in the middle of a quiet section in the park when it could (and should) have been placed in Action Zone? Seriously? Not to mention they took out the antique cars, which was a family favorite for years. Flight of Fear is a clone, Invertago is a clone, Drop Tower (might as well be) a clone, TR:TR is a clone, BLSC is a clone...

Perhaps those longer lines were not due to poor operation, but higher attendance... It was a different time in many ways, wasn't it? And at the time, the park was lacking a real "signature" ride that would soak up the crowds. Again, I would take the Paramount days over the Cedar Fair days, but only slightly. I'm not some fool who goes "I wantz da movie names back lolololol" without understanding the situation any further. And you must admit, it would have been absolutely incredible to see what they did with the parks given a better budget towards everyday operations & maintenance.

And when it comes to cloning rides, it's absolutely not even an issue. Look at Disney rides that are clones: Tower of Terror, Fantasmic, Ariel's Undersea Adventure, most every dark ride in Fantasyland, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Rockin' Roller Coaster, Soarin', Star Tours [iI], Big Thunder Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Turtle Talk With Crush... Literally, most every ride that's proven popular has between one and five clones. Simple as that. And does the average guest know that? More importantly, does it somehow detract from the guest experience that there's another Pirates of the Caribbean in Paris? Doubtful. I think when someone rides Flight of Fear, the last thing on their mind is to cynically say to their friends, "Oh, well, you know there's one of these in Virginia." If they even know that there's one in Virginia, they probably haven't ridden it.

Cedar Fair has done a lot of things right. In fact, there isn't much that they've expressly done wrong when it comes to the day-to-day operation aspect. However, they have (intentionally or unintentionally) hurt the park by forgetting about atmosphere. That's in-park music, pre-shows, storylines, landscaping, dining, shopping, foliage, and more. When Taft owned the park, that theme was Disney-esque, with beautiful, lively, mysterious areas. When Paramount owned the park, they attempted to make things more "epic" and colorful and cinematic. Today, it's different. Look at Coney mall compared to photos of its hey day and try not to shake your head in disapproval at what its become simply due to a lack of paint, music, lights, etc.

[Pillsberry123]

<br>Cedar Fair has done a lot of things right. In fact, there isn't much that they've expressly done wrong when it comes to the day-to-day operation aspect. However, they have (intentionally or unintentionally) hurt the park by forgetting about atmosphere. That's in-park music, pre-shows, storylines, landscaping, dining, shopping, foliage, and more. When Taft owned the park, that theme was Disney-esque, with beautiful, lively, mysterious areas. When Paramount owned the park, they attempted to make things more "epic" and colorful and cinematic. Today, it's different. Look at Coney mall compared to photos of its hey day and try not to shake your head in disapproval at what its become simply due to a lack of paint, music, lights, etc.<br>

<br><br><br>In my opinion the appeal of dining and shopping was only alive in the days of Taft (although I can't speak from experience, I imagine that many would agree). However, I think the foliage and landscaping in the park is great to say the least. The park may not look as good as it did back in the days of Taft, but it is still above average. <br><br>The appeal of the "full experience" (dining and shopping as well as rides) is what separates parks like Kings Island from the big destination parks where these things are still part of the appeal such as Disney World, Universal, and (arguably) Busch Gardens.

[KIBOB]

^That is my biggest gripe with Cedar Fair. Overall, I think that they are good in operations except for a few things (refunds forr unexplained phenomenon). However, its not that they don't care about having a good theme, it's that they don't really care about atmosphere. Other than Planet Snoopy and BB, the rest of the park has the same lineup of alternative and hip hop music that just completely messes with the feel that each individual area is supposed to have. The park says that the music is supposed to "pump up the guests and get them ready for a day at the park", but it really doesn't work, it just gets annoying. If we had the current lineup played in Action Zone, orchestra music played on I-Street, and classics from people such as The Beetles and Elvis in Coney Mall. Cedar Fair, I will admit has somewhat "experimented with themeing" in the past few years at Kings Island, the other former Paramount Parks, and the legacy parks. Look at things such as the attempt to make the area with Flight of Fear and Firehawk its own distinquished area-X-Base.

Cedar Fair can do theming, they just don't do it in depth, and they can tie specific rides to a specific area of the park where the rides might match the theme, (maverick, Diamondback, shoot the rapids, Firehawk) however, with some rides, they do pass over the area (see the Intimidators). Overall, I don't think that Cedar Fair hates theming, and they CAN do it, but they just don't seem to understand the concept of atmosphere, and to them, especially Kinzel, they seem to think that a Theme park is nothing but dark rides with no coasters or thrills, and that is not true. Like I have said many times on these boards, Cedar Fair has seemed to learned a bit in terms of theming from the purchase of Paramount Parks, but atmosphere, not so much.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, although i am getting really uncertain in regards to Haunt with what will be introduced this year, I forgot to add, CF does an excelent job with theming AND atmosphere at haunt, so why can't it be like that all year long?

[CoasterKrazy]

It irks me that "conventional wisdom" among roller coaster enthusiasts is that Cedar Fair paid "too much" for the Paramount parks. The vast majority of people in this community have absolutely no way to determine how much the parks are actually worth, and have little to no information whatsoever regarding the agreement between CBS and Cedar Fair. Without that information, any statements regarding how much CF should have paid are nearly baseless. Now, an argument that can be made is, given the price tag, was it a good move for Cedar Fair to purchase the parks? Hindsight being what it is, looking back it seems like CF would have been better off without acquiring the Paramount parks, especially given the recession. Assuming Kinzel and Co. didn't have a crystal ball, however, I can't blame them for buying the parks. It seems to me that adding the Paramount parks to their portfolio was the only viable way for Cedar Fair to grow. With Hard Rock Park, Wild West World, and even to some extent, California Adventure as examples, it's apparent that it is fairly difficult build a new amusement park from the ground up. If I had been in CF's shoes, five successful amusement parks would have been quite appealing to me as well.

Okay, off my soapbox...

As far as Kings Island during the Paramount years, my favorite aspect was the themeing. While some of the park was indeed a "poor man's Disney," Flight of Fear, Tomb Raider, and Italian Job were at least on par with comparable rides at Universal Studios, in my opinion. What I disliked most was that the quality of that themeing, invariably, lasted a season or less. I much prefer Cedar Fair's non-themeing, just-make-things-look-nice approach, compared to Paramount's theme-it-and-let-it-break policy. I don't hate the Paramount years by any means, but I appreciate what Cedar Fair has done, and given the path the park took under CBS, I think it is in much better hands now.

[BoddaH1994]

I think Tomb Raider, as it stood in 2002, was well worth having a 'big ugly box' in Rivertown.

[Coasterfun]

I like this thread.

I prefer Cedar Fair prior to the Paramount Park acquisition. I feel they are overextended now and it shows in multiple areas.

I personally think each each park has an attraction from Paramount that highlights the best aspect of this era of ownership. Here are my picks:

Kings Island: Flight of Fear

Great idea, and for the most part effects and atmosphere are easily maintained. Removing the OTSRs were an important move.

Carowinds: Afterburn formerly Top Gun

One of my favorite B&M inverts, also theming that is functional and maintainable. The Top Gun music would be a great touch here.

Kings Dominion: Volcano

Excellent repurpose of an exisiting attraction. Again the way the queue winds through the mountain is a great touch and maintainable.

Also, one of my favorite coasters at any park.

These are the additions that Paramount did the best on in my opinion. These are also the only former Paramount Parks I have visited. What are your favorite Paramount era attractions?

[bkroz]

I just like how the extra thought was put into Paramount's attractions. See, for example, FACE/OFF. I tend to believe it's more than a coincidence that you literally "face off" against your friends (or complete strangers) with the unique face-to-face seating. It's so simple, and so obvious, but it was just a really nice touch that still gives the ride a sense of uniqueness even today. It's one thing to ride a boomerang coaster. It's a whole other creature when you're staring at your friends, suspended under the track, and I really think that Paramount knew that when they purchased it.

Obviously I couldn't talk about Paramount's successes without mentioning Tomb Raider: The Ride. It was groundbreaking in most every way. Mechanically, it ended up being less than desired: today, if you visit the HUSS website, you can purchase a Giant Top Spin with a capacity of 56... HUSS somewhat "admitted defeat" and came to terms with the fact that the 77-seater simply did not and could not operate, and thus the only offering now is for a 56-seater. Thematically, the ride also fell quite a distance under both owners. However, you simply cannot talk about the history of theme parks without alluding to Tomb Raider: The Ride, which proved (if temporarily) that smaller, regional, seasonal parks can have synchronized soundtracks, water effects, theatrical lighting, storylines, and a real sense of immersion & adventure. I truly believe that it (and many other Paramount Parks attractions) paved the way for many of today's most well-themed rides, from Talocan, to Kings Dominion's Crypt, and even things like Six Flags' Bizarro. It blurred the line between thrill rides, and dark rides, and raised the standard for seasonal amusement parks, proving that a typical budget can be used to create a mysterious, interesting ride. I know it's hard to recall at this point, but look at that linked article, and google image search, and just be amazed at the attention to detail, lighting, movement, and atmosphere of the queue alone... How lucky we were to have such a ride, if even for one year.

Talk about a different time...

Interestingly, DAFE (Darkride & Funhouse Enthusiasts) settled the debate, and proclaimed Tomb Raider: The Ride to be one of very few "crossover darkrides." That status has naturally fallen onto its successor, and today, the DAFE Database considers The Crypt a darkride. I, personal, just consider it dark.

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

You mentioned something about the Tomb Raider score. Do you have that somewhere? Does it include the pre-show, pre-ride, and ride music?

I also haven't seen too many "good" videos of the actual ride in 2002. I thought I saw an "unapproved" one on youtube somewhere.

[CedarPointer]

You mentioned something about the Tomb Raider score. Do you have that somewhere? Does it include the pre-show, pre-ride, and ride music?

I also haven't seen too many "good" videos of the actual ride in 2002. I thought I saw an "unapproved" one on youtube somewhere.

http://web.archive.org/web/20060712074043/www.pkiasylum.com/features/pkitunes/pkitunes.html

[bkroz]

Yes, I have them, and now, so can you! (I would do this via PM, but they do not work... I don't believe this is against the terms of service). You can download some of them from MegaUpload individually by clicking each song title. The tracks are:

1. The Tunnel Mouth (the ambient music that played outside of the cavern, setting the mood).

2. Collapsed Tunnel (the music that played throughout the tunnel part of the queue).

3. Monkey Chamber (the chanting that began, intensifying the atmosphere once you entered the monkey warrior room).

4. Triangle Door (the sound effect of the Triangle of Light door rolling shut and locking you into the pre-show room)

5. The Preshow (narrated by Lara's father. I also have the music-only version lying around if you'd like it for some reason).

6. Vault Door (the sound of the rising wall opening & closing)

7. Loading Drumbeat (the music that played as you took your seat, pumping everyone up a lot more than the current howling wind loop)

8. The Ride (complete with sound effects - the goddess, bubbling lava, Lara's narration, etc)

9. The Ride (Music Only) (just the score without any special effect noises - the music that, in my opinion, should still be used during the ride if it legally can be, since without any of the added effects, it makes no reference to Tomb Raider and still pumps you up. Even a shortened, remixed-to-slight-fit-the-ride-cycle version would be an improvement over today's "score").

I also took someone else's POV video of the ride (likely the unapproved one you saw) and added in the score (and some Travel Channel footage) to give people an idea of the way that the score synchronized. You can view that video

.

EDIT: Annnndddd, they're on PKI Tunes. Thanks for stealin' my thunder CedarPointer!

[standbyme]

^I haven't listened to TR's loading drumbeat in quite awhile...boy that brings back good memories.

[bkroz]

^I haven't listened to TR's loading drumbeat in quite awhile...boy that brings back good memories.

Tell me about it...! And if you download the actual ride score (the one with the effects) it's incredible because the drum loop feeds right into the ride soundtrack... So there's that great "final beat" as the drum ends abruptly, and transitions right into the ride score instead of just awkwardly fading out or something. That's the attention to detail I'm talking about... They took the time to think that through, and specially compose that. Who even said they needed to play a musical loop as you board? But they did, and it honestly did pump everyone up! Very, very cool, and as you said, brings back a ton of memories!

Now if only someone can translate what the goddess says... (and yes, that is a life goal of mine...)