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Thunder Alley could be no more...


McSalsa
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I would hate to have a Luminosity esque show where Thunder Alley is located today.

  1. The stage at Cedar Point looks awful. It reeks of a cheap architect hired to create a blueprint in 5 minutes, inspired by scaffolding and spindly metal contraptions.
  2. It would ruin Adventure Express' night time atmosphere.
  3. It would create horrible bottlenecking in the surrounding area (unless the stage is smaller and / or pushed way back).
  4. I thought of something really good, but then I forgot. I suppose I will have to edit this when I remember it.

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Honestly, I dont know that much about timber wolf. I have heard that timber wolf used to do lots of shows. But only does them at the haunt. I have never seen anything back there "active". I think its a waste of space, but thats just me.

Well think like this, it would cost too much to take it down, than keep it up with concerts that can bring in money revenue.

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Where on Earth did this rumor come from? And how is it even possible?

2013 - New Attraction(s) - Rumor - (9/13/12) While we haven’t heard too much on the rumor side for Kings Island this summer, there is a small rumor going around claiming that the park could possibly add up to two new flat rides this off season. Anyone know more

-Screamscape

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Honestly, I dont know that much about timber wolf. I have heard that timber wolf used to do lots of shows. But only does them at the haunt. I have never seen anything back there "active". I think its a waste of space, but thats just me.

"Back in the day" it certainly did. When it originated, similar theaters were popping up at amusement parks all over the nation. Timberwolf once hosted jimmy Buffet regularly among other folks. In the 90's under Viacom, it also received a lot of acts associated with Nickelodeon sponsored tours (Britney Spears, Aaron Carter, etc). Riverbend soon beat out Timberwolf in nearly every aspect - more seats, better amenities, better sound, larger stage, easier access for tour busses etc. And in recent years, Riverbend added a smaller, more intimate theatre right next door that took even more acts from Timberwolf.

When I was younger, my parents took my sisters and I to see Aaron Carter. It was for my sister's birthday, I unfortunately was too young to stay at home and was dragged along to hear the fake tones of aaron carter, the a-teens and Nick Cannon. The seating at Timberwolf is awful - benches that are hardly tiered to allow you a view. It's just an old venue that's been eclipsed by so many others around here.

Its only act the past few seasons has been Spirit Song, which tours many other amusement parks as well. As for Sean Hannity's Freedom Concert, it seems the last year for that whole tour was 2010. I believe they cancelled it in 2011 amongst a fundraising scandal and the tour hasn't been done since.

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If do take it out I would expect a new pay per ride they wouldn't want to lose the revenue.

Removing TA does not mean another pay-per-ride attraction is in the works as the revenue generated by TA can be compared to a popcorn fart.

TimberWolf, at one time, served a purpose. It has unfortunately fallen behind by the entertainment industry standards (lighting, compatability, electrical usage, etc.), thus why it has only attracted less than a handful of events per year.

Luminosity on the other hand is fresh & new. It attracted Carly Rae Jepsen, by no means a main attraction, but bigger than Spirit Song thus it is easy to see KI adding a Luminosity type stage to attract other acts like Carly as well as have a new home for SS.

AZ would be a perfect place for it.

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If do take it out I would expect a new pay per ride they wouldn't want to lose the revenue.

Removing TA does not mean another pay-per-ride attraction is in the works as the revenue generated by TA can be compared to a popcorn fart.

TimberWolf, at one time, served a purpose. It has unfortunately fallen behind by the entertainment industry standards (lighting, compatability, electrical usage, etc.), thus why it has only attracted less than a handful of events per year.

Luminosity on the other hand is fresh & new. It attracted Carly Rae Jepsen, by no means a main attraction, but bigger than Spirit Song thus it is easy to see KI adding a Luminosity type stage to attract other acts like Carly as well as have a new home for SS.

AZ would be a perfect place for it.

But isn't SS a seperate, ticketed attraction? As in, even though I have a pass, I can't go over and watch the concert unless I purchased a ticket specifically for SS? Sure, they could use the Luminosity stage for concerts, but if it is in the middle of Action Zone, I don't see how they are going to be able to limit the audience to only those who have tickets. If they put the Luminosity stage TOO far out of the way to allow for this, then the nightly Luminosity show probably won't attract too many people.

Edit: Also Luminosity is "Powered by Pepsi" which is something we don't have at KI. Not at this time, anyhow.

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Even if SS is a seperate ticket, I can't imagine holding on to Timberwolf and not upgrading to Luminosity for that one attraction.

Luminosity brought HUGE crowds to CP almost every night. If people are staying at the park later, and spending money, that would makeup for whatever loss of revenue due to SS not being at Timberwolf.

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While I see your point, it is also interesting to note that Pointfest (Cedar Point's version of SS) will take place at a stage set up in Soak City's parking lot this Saturday, not on their Luminosity stage. While it is a much smaller event than SS, Cedar Point didn't want to miss out on the extra money people will pay to see the concert.

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^ No park wants to give up a revenue event, but honestly, it is probably more about the crowd(s) than the money- at least for this Saturday.

HW Saturdays are notorious for bringing in HUGE crowds- to the point that the gates have stopped people from entering the park & the park ran out of a good amount of menu items.

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With enough planning, it would be pretty easy to make take a stage for luminsity and turn it seperately ticket event for spirit song (or any other act). I haven't been up to CP this year, so I have no idea if they have seating, and how that factors in, but lets say you place the luminosity stage near the middle/front of the curent thunder alley space. Then you redo the entrance into Adventure Express so that the exit and entrance are closer to each other.

that would open up space to provide a path that would take you back behind luminosity and to the SOB/flight deck area.

You take the new path extending from the current Adventure Express entrance, behind Sling Shot and delirum and towards the back end of the current thunder alley space and you cut another path heading back into Action Zone. You could then use the space directly behind Delirium for some sort of flat.

Move the entrance to eXtreme Skyflyer closer to drop zone, and now you've got a decent area behind the new luminosity area, whatever takes SOB's place, flight deck and perhaps another new flat.

finally, on the current paths b/s thunder alley and the water tower, and the new path from Adventure Express towards SOB are shut down in areas so that you can't see the stage if there is a ticketed event like Spirit song. On days that luminosity is open, these paths would remain open as paths to see the stage. W/n Action Zone, create temporary fencing from "On location" to the water tower to "Ice Scream Zone" that would seal off the back areas of viewing for spirit song. Bring in temporary HS stadium style seating so that the view is blocked from non-paying customers and gives those that want to attend spirit song a chance for an elevated view.

When events aren't going on, it would all be very open with easy access to the luminosity stage from multiple areas in the park. Meanwhile, you can start the deconstruction of timbewolf and plan on using that area for something new down the road. Flat, indoor family style ride, small coaster, etc... there are a lot of potential for an area that appears (from google maps anyways) like it would hold 4 Invertigos.

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^Why not just scrap Timberwolf and use that entire space for Luminosity? It's a lot easier, less removal of paths/trees (trees are something the park is getting rid of more and more these days), and Spirit Song is about 3 days out of the entire year. Better plan, less confusing, makes sense.

EDIT: I would REALLY love to see a few great flats this offseason. A couple thrilling, and other classics we need back (like Keggers, Cauldrons, Dutchman, etc)

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As I said, I've never seen the Luminosity stage, nor how "open" it feels. The only problem w/ putting luminosity back in Timberwolf is that it takes it to one of the more secluded part of the parks, an area that would be easy to skip on your way home. Perhaps that is the design of Luminosity at CP, I envision that its kind of like the KI firworks show at the end of the night, where you get large groups of people around the entrance to watch the firworks, listen to the music.

I imagine the biggest problem w/ KI's current setup, is that so many gather right near the exits, so once the show ends, its out the door and gone. Moving the main "end of night performance area" to Action Zone (or timberwolf) would force all those who view the show to walk past shops and food stands. Gives everyone one more chance to spend their money before hitting the doors.

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I realize I'm gonna be way off topic, but I first read this thread while at work and therefore couldn't get to my pictures on my laptop at home, lol. All the talk of the Timberwolf Amphitheater reminded me I had a couple old photos my dad took back in 1982, when the Beach Boys were there in concert. The most memorable part of that particular trip (besides being able to hear the Beach Boys from International Street)? The group of 3 or 4 guys in line ahead of us for The Beast with about 3 buckets each attached to their belts. These buckets were from the Bucket o' Beer you could purchase once upon a time in Kings Island. You got a metal bucket filled with beer. I would guess they were between 16 and 24 ounces maybe, I was 10 at the time so my ability to guess liquid volume was not well developed and memories tend to be distorted. Anyway, these guys were definitely showing signs of drinking 3 Buckets o' Beer each and singing Barbara Ann at the tops of their lungs while in line for The Beast. Quite entertaining, we were all having a good laugh.

So I mentioned pictures, didn't I? Below is a picture, taken from the Eiffel Tower, of Timberwolf, full to bursting with Beach Boys fans. Note the Festhaus, under construction at the time, and the top of the Viking Fury, brand new that year (oh, the chants of "Less filling!" versus "Tastes Great!" lol). You can also see the (Screamin') Demon and the monorail. Below it is a picture taken opening day this year, so you can see how much that area changed in 30 years. (In my opinion way too much cement there now.)

Enjoy!

timberwolf1982.jpg

1982

timberwolf2012.jpg

2012

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