rlentless Posted August 27, 2015 Posted August 27, 2015 Nice interview with Mr. Ouimet. http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-cedar-fair-coasters-20150827-story.html 5 Quote
WindingSon Posted August 27, 2015 Posted August 27, 2015 Confirms what I said about a month ago. They're satisfied with KI's entrance as is. 5 Quote
marth555 Posted August 27, 2015 Posted August 27, 2015 “I want you to be impressed at our doorstep,” said Ouimet “When you get to the park and you see that coaster, you can’t help but think you’re in for a good day.” This is exactly how I feel when walking into Carowinds. “While several parks with beautiful promenade entrances like Canada’s Wonderland and Kings Island will never get gate coasters”. KI already has a great entrance. “The revitalization or rejuvenation of wooden coasters is probably a card that gets played for the next 10 years,” Ouimet said. “We are obviously looking at our whole portfolio just to decide what we do with it.” Hopefully Racer gets some love. 3 Quote
Steph88 Posted August 27, 2015 Posted August 27, 2015 “When you get to the park and you see that coaster, you can’t help but think you’re in for a good day.” This is exactly how I feel entering Cedar Point too. Used to be the thrills were a bit further out in the distance, but at CP it's right up front, and as you're waiting outside the gates it builds a lot of anticipation and excitement. You're seeing the beauty of the coaster, hearing the sounds, and seeing the people having a blast. It makes for such a great atmosphere and a great start to the day. Kings Island's entrance is beautiful as is. It has kind of a more relaxed feel to it. Like "home" I guess is the best way to put it. 4 Quote
bkroz Posted August 27, 2015 Posted August 27, 2015 I like how Ouimet is willing to show you just enough of the cards to keep you engaged. He doesn't say exactly what's planned, but you know the plans are there. I'm not sure if his style is intentional or not, but it's very fun. 8 Quote
WindingSon Posted August 27, 2015 Posted August 27, 2015 “When you get to the park and you see that coaster, you can’t help but think you’re in for a good day.” This is exactly how I feel entering Cedar Point too. Used to be the thrills were a bit further out in the distance, but at CP it's right up front, and as you're waiting outside the gates it builds a lot of anticipation and excitement. You're seeing the beauty of the coaster, hearing the sounds, and seeing the people having a blast. It makes for such a great atmosphere and a great start to the day. Kings Island's entrance is beautiful as is. It has kind of a more relaxed feel to it. Like "home" I guess is the best way to put it. Even then though, with KI you can see and hear Banshee roaring and screeching. Diamondback towers over the park ominously. The screams of Invertigo chill your bones. The excited children pointing at the T-Rex, their imaginations running wild. Then you get through the entrance. The monstrous fountains hit your ears at the exact moment the peppy pop music does. You look up and there's the green metallic Eiffel Tower, looking as tall as ever. Then it hits you: you're here. 10 Quote
Steph88 Posted August 27, 2015 Posted August 27, 2015 I forgot I haven't been to the park since before Banshee was built (2012 doesn't feel that long ago), so I bet the atmosphere has changed a lot! 5 Quote
McSalsa Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 To be honest, IMO Invertigo is already Kings Island's front gate coaster as it is located right next to the ticket booths, and towers over the pre-entrance hub area. It just doesn't go overhead or to the other side like Fury 325 and Gatekeeper do. And to build such as coaster at Kings Island you would likely need to remove Invertigo, Congo Falls, Timberwolf Amphitheater, the front gate building, and possibly even the Kings Island Theater depending on the size of said ride. Since the entrance is fine as-is, it's just not worth it to remove so many things for 1 coaster. Canada's Wonderland, at least from what I have seen via Google Maps street views of it, also has a very nice entrance already and thus I also don't see them or even Kings Dominion getting one of these front-gate coasters either. At those parks, Leviathan and Dominator- 2 large, fairly new to the parks and popular B&M rides- are in the way. So I don't see them getting one of these either. 3 Quote
The Interpreter Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 Gates can move.... It's not an open and shut case. 6 Quote
McSalsa Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 ^Hmm. Didn't think about that...it is possible to move a park's entrance, that's true. Then again, moving the gates for any of these 3 parks that have the fountain-style entrances means no fountains right at the new entrance, and just seems like a unneeded extra hassle. For Kings Island, I'm not sure where you could even put a new entrance and still have the park layout make sense, other than moving the front gate back or something... Also nice pun. 4 Quote
KI Guy Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 The gate is fine. Kings Island (originally) was designed to be on a higher level than the typical, local amusement park. 5 Quote
TheBeast1116 Posted August 28, 2015 Posted August 28, 2015 I love the entrance for Kings Island! But their's going to be a day when there will be a new entrance 2 Quote
SonODiamondback Posted August 30, 2015 Posted August 30, 2015 I think the entrance is fine. I would like to see a large HD video board over top the entrance like they did with the new Carrowinds Entrance. and I'm not sure if they still have a restaurant above the entrance of not but I like to see them do something creative with that space. Maybe a Cedar Fair store where you can buy merchandise or other things for the other Ceder Fair parks. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk 3 Quote
Diamondback96 Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 If I were in charge of KI, I would definitely work on updating the International Restaurant to modern standards (I believe one of the problems has been fixed with the addition of a GP elevator) and reopening it. I'd make sure the restaurant is accessible from the park (isn't the entrance actually outside of the turnstiles right now?). 1 Quote
jcgoble3 Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 (isn't the entrance actually outside of the turnstiles right now?). No, the entrance is still inside the park. 3 Quote
Magenta Lizard Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 There used to be entrances on either side of the gates, and you didn't have to be a park guest to eat there. I think the door outside the gates is still there, but it was the inside one we entered through when they had the comedy show last month. 2 Quote
Oldschool75 Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 Gates can move.... It's not an open and shut case. like 345 feet to the west?Sent from a signal coming out of the Vega system. 2 Quote
calakapepe Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 "Paramount for Ouimet is making sure major new coasters are comfortable for riders and non-riders alike. " Seems like a harsh pun thrown at an old owner of Kings Island rides. *giggle* 4 Quote
The Interpreter Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 ...and previously noted here. 1 Quote
calakapepe Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 *thought this was a new forum somehow, only saw page 1* 2 Quote
CoasterDirected Posted September 3, 2015 Posted September 3, 2015 I don't think we really need a new "gate coaster." It would be nice I guess, but I think Invertigo covers that well, as well as Banshee. If it was my choice to decide where to put the KI giga, I would probably put it at the end of Coney mall near WindSeeker or in X-Base (probably not the second choice because that area gets crowded enough as is.) 1 Quote
Leland Wykoff Posted September 4, 2015 Posted September 4, 2015 LA Times sheds some light: "It now seems clear that a Six Flags contract with Rocky Mountain is likely preventing Knott's parent Cedar Fair from working with the coaster company." http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-joker-coaster-six-flags-discovery-kingdom-20150903-story.html 4 Quote
The Interpreter Posted September 4, 2015 Posted September 4, 2015 Gee. Imagine that. Nothing bush league about it, the park business is quite a wonderland. Terp, not lying, who loves the magic. Quote
Diamondback96 Posted September 5, 2015 Posted September 5, 2015 How does that work if other parks are contracting RMC? Quote
The Interpreter Posted September 5, 2015 Posted September 5, 2015 However the other parks and RMC agreed--for which a price was paid. Quote
Joncars05 Posted September 6, 2015 Posted September 6, 2015 I never understood why coaster companies have exclusive contracts with a certain amusement park company. It just seems that you would want to work worldwide instead of exclusively in one corner of a continent. It just seems like you are cutting off a major revenue stream. With the window of profit for so many coaster companies is so short you would think they would strike while the iron is hot and seek their product to anyone that wants it. Exclusive contracts, at least with limited suppliers as in this case, make little sense to me. 2 Quote
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