Twilight is upon Hanna-Barbera Land

[italianchef]

Since 2003, the only Hanna-Barbera Land character roaming the park is Scooby Doo. No more Flintstones, Jetsons, Captain Caveman, Quickdraw McGraw, etc. which makes me sad. I am a member of the Hanna-Barbera generation.

Magilla Gorilla Grill will become a Chick-a-Filet soon - and I know that H-B Land will cease to exist around 2008.

However, I felt a great sadness today when I went to PKI and saw that the only Hanna-Barbera merchandise now sold are Scooby Doo items. No more Flintstones stuffed animals, Hanna-Barbera Land t-shirts, etc.

Twilight is upon Hanna-Barbera Land. The characters and now even the merchandise are gone - sans Scooby Doo. This is a sign of the times. My generation has grown up and the new generation is the Nickeloeon generation.

As far as I'm concerned, the old Hanna-Barbera toons beat Nickelodeon any day. However, my son will grow up with Nickelodeon. His only exposure to Hanna-Barbera will by Scooby Doo and my old tapes. Let's hope he likes Dad's taste.

Have a great day!

Italian Chef

[jlopez]

Yeah, this is really sad. I bet sooner or later all of Hana-barbera Land will be Nick Central.

Jennifer

[CoasterXtreme]

I also grew up with HB land......I will also be sad! I miss them already but we all know it has been along time coming! HB will still live in my memories..At least all of us old folks will have them.

Sean

[Mikewhy]

I agree with you completely and also think it is sad. For me though, HBL was never the same when the orignal Enchanted Voyage was replaced with the Smurfs. (Which were also cool though!) As a small kid, the song you heard about the Hanna Barbera characters while on the Enchanted Voyage dark ride was THE THEME SONG of Kings Island. ('Those happy friends who live in your TV.') I still hear it in my head when I enter the park...

[Columbus coasternut]

I have to agree it is sad to see it go. but on the other hand I've introduced my kids to Boomerang and they all love the Hanna Barbera toons.

[PKIFan4Life]

As much as we all love the Hanna Barbara toons that we've grown up with, most kids today don't enjoy them. My friend told me that when he worked Pixie and Dixie's Swingset last year that almost every kid asked him who Pixie and Dixie were. It's sad, but there's no reason to market things that kids don't even know about.

[Scooby_Doo]

Yes it is very sad and heart shattering I have always been a huge Hanna-Barbera Fan I grew up with HB in the 80's and early 90's and I will admit I have never been a fan of nick sure they have some great toons but they arent respected like HB is.But Iam just glad HB isnt dead in the main stream with new HB merch coming out left and right(DVD's etc.) and movies being made based on the classic characters I love so dearly I think HB is here to stay those classic characters may not roam Kings Island anymore which is sad because at one time the park was going to be themed to HB entirely but I will always remember them and I have been sharing my love of HB with my nephew and so far he loves to watch Yogi Bear and The Flintstones,Scooby-Doo(thats a given! ),Snagglepuss,Jabber Jaw.

[Gulliversrubadub]

Yes it is sad that HBL is disappearing. I grew up on HB in the 70's and 80's and now my children watch some old HB cartoons with me. My daughter is more into Dora, Wiggles, which is great cause they teach children, however, I think the old Scooby Doo, Flintstones, Jetsons, were the great cartoons of the time. So long HBL and long live HB!

[HomerJay]

Yes, it is sad. When I was a kid I loved going to KI and seeing all the Hanna Barbera characters at the main gate. I loved spinning around in Winnie the Witches' Cauldron, going on the Flinstone Flyers or in the Smurfs Enchanted Voyage. I loved the shows that they used to have in the International Showplace with Scooby Doo and Fred Flinstone all on the same stage.

But let's face it, times change. While it is sad to see our childhood pushed away, we have to remember that we're adults now. And Hanna Barbera Land is not for us anymore. The changes have to be made to accommodate the new generation. In another 20 years, this site will have someone else posting about how sad it is that PKI (or DKI or UKI or whatever it is by then) is getting rid of Nick Central. They'll say how they miss Dora and Spongebob and that they can't understand why kids don't know who they are anymore. It's just that the times are a-changin'.

So while it's sad to see HBL fade away like this, we have to remember that it's to be expected. One great thing to remember is this: the kids' areas will change. . . but kids grow up and outgrow them anyway. The hallmarks of PKI--The Beast, The Vortex, The Racer--will still be there, and how cool is it to introduce your kids to that??

[familyman]

My 3 year old was on the kiddy bumpers yesterday and asked why the cars looked the way they did. Does this mean we are getting old?

[Gulliversrubadub]

My 3 year old was on the kiddy bumpers yesterday and asked why the cars looked the way they did. Does this mean we are getting old?

YES IT DOES! Sad but true!

[BoddaH1994]

My 3 year old was on the kiddy bumpers yesterday and asked why the cars looked the way they did. Does this mean we are getting old?

No, but it does directly proove the matter at hand.

[KIBeast]

It is a sad thing to see the old HB characters go. I used to love greeting Captain Caveman at the front gate.

[jzarley]

I agree with you completely and also think it is sad. For me though, HBL was never the same when the orignal Enchanted Voyage was replaced with the Smurfs. (Which were also cool though!) As a small kid, the song you heard about the Hanna Barbera characters while on the Enchanted Voyage dark ride was THE THEME SONG of Kings Island. ('Those happy friends who live in your TV.') I still hear it in my head when I enter the park...

I think Enchanted Voyage was the attraction that sparked my lifelong fascination with theme parks. I thought it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen! (Granted, I was five or six at the time...) But, to this day I can still remember how that one ride affected me.

I understand why Paramount Parks would phase out HB characters due to the licensing issues. However, I don't understand why Time-Warner isn't working to keep these characters around. They've done a pretty good job with keeping "Loony Toons" in the mainstream, why not HB?

Joel

[Scooby_Doo]

^ Most of the popular Hanna-Barbera Characters are at certain six flags parks roaming around greeting people like Yogi Bear,Scooby-Doo,Fred Flintstone,Dino,Barney Rubble,Boo-Boo Bear,George Jetson,Astro,Captain Caveman,Tom & Jerry and some Cartoon Network characters like The Powerpuff girls,Dexter,Johnny Bravo and of course the Loony Tunes roam almost all six flags I rather see PKI keep HBL so we can have the best of both worlds but as I have said before I rather go to six flags or USF and see them plus they have the coolest HB merch!! just because the characters are gone from PKI and other paramount parks doesnt mean they are outta the main streams eye heck WB is planing so pretty awsome stuff like the yogi bear movie which is coming to theaters in 2006/2007 & and a new direct to dvd Yogi cartoon, The Jetsons Movie which hasnt got a release date but I hear WB is in the casting phase 2006 seems likely.. KidsWB is also planing some new shows one of the new shows is The NEW yogi bear show which looks very cool and The Smurfs movie which is a CGI movie is also coming in 2006/2007 its not the end of the world PKI maybe lamer without me seeing yogi or fred flintstone but Iam just happy scooby is still around I can always go to another park to get my HB fix.

Just to fill you guys in Cartoon Network and KIDsWB has been beating Nick in the Tween ratings and the adult ratings thanks to CN's adult swim and there anime block.

[Gordon Bombay]

Just to fill you guys in Cartoon Network and KIDsWB has been beating Nick in the Tween ratings and the adult ratings thanks to CN's adult swim and there anime block.

Beating teen and adult ratings......but not beathing the main target.........kids. Its a kiddie land, not teen and adult land. Are the Jetsons and Yoggi movies supposed to have real people or animation?

[Scooby_Doo]

TWEEN ratings not teen TWEEN kids that are pre-teens and younger CN and KWB are beating Nick in ratings because of there new shows like The Batman and Yu-gi-oh,What's New Scooby Doo? etc. I watched the kids choice awards w/ my nephew I tell ya everything we voted for got beat like the simpsons got beat by spongebob man I tell that award show is rigged ...The JETSONS movie is live-action like Scooby Doo/The Flintstones and Yogi Bear is also live-action w/ CGI.

[Gordon Bombay]

Good, i loved the flintstones movie and i love the jetsons, it should be good

[Scooby_Doo]

Thats great to hear man,Steve Martin is going to most likely play george after he is done with the pink panther remake and danny devito is in talks to play mr.spacely just some friendly info.

[Gordon Bombay]

HAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! that is a going to be a fantastic movie if thsoe two are in it!!! they fit the parts perfectly!!

[Ryan]

Yes, it's very sad. I'm guessing soon the rides will be renamed and rethemed to Nick enteties? I hope PKI doesn't just demolish them and replace them with like 2 Nickelodeon rides. That would definetly lose them the gold ticket. I just hope they save the rides so PKI still has so many different things for kids to ride. PKI has done outstanding in this area with so much variety and the quantity of kids rides. I hope they stay with that, even if it does involve some Nick retheming. Ultimately, it's what's best and the most fun for the kids. Though I did find it cool PKI had 2 kids areas, which seemed to be for 2 different age groups, which was great.

[Gordon Bombay]

I think they willl re-theme most of the rides and maybe pull out Ghsoter Coaster to put in some new awesome kidie attraction. KI will do a good job iwth their NC expansion althoguh this year Carowinds will probably get the golden ticket this year.

[RailRider]

I love HB as much as the next person, because thats what I grew up with, but kids today dont know it as well as us. We would love to see HB land remain because it reminds us of our childhoods, but we are not the target market for the Kiddie area anymore. I have taken my niece and nephew to PKI before and answered numerous questions about who certain HB characters were. Kinda shows me that HB land is no longer making that connection. Scooby Doo is about the only character that the kids even really knew and loved. HB land is going to be transformed into a Nick Central expansion. Hopefully we will get a Super Saturator to ease my pain.

[CoasterXtreme]

I am sorry I am just getting older and I grasping for straws here. Give us old people a break......LOL

[King Bowser]

Yes paramount has spoon fed most of you HB Classic Characters are still widely popular paramount or PKI just made up that lame a$$ excuse that HB isnt popular anymore because they didnt want to fit the bill by paying WB/HB money to have them in PKI or any Paramount park.While working this weekend I overheard a young boy he looked to be around the age of 14-15 he was with an older man so I guess that was his father but they were asking/talking about Huckleberry Hound and Fred Flintstone.

And pki taking out HB merch p*ssed me off Iam not going buy a teddy bear at Build-a-Bear that will cost me 50-76 bucks they can keep it,PKI made a bad move on that end I found out the hard way I was look for HBL shirts for my nephews but surprise PKI took em away...they should have more choices not all kids like nick.

[jzarley]

Does anyone think attendance/revenue at PKI will fall off this year due to a lack of HB characters or merchandise in the park? Nah, me either...

Keep in mind--it's a business. Why pay for licensing rights if you've determined that the license isn't really needed for the health of your business? Also, we're all assuming that it's Paramount Parks' fault...it is possible that TW isn't willing to extend the licenses, or perhaps doing so violates a provision in their long term agreement with SF. That's for a bunch of lawyers to sort out...

Look at it this way...maybe they'll put the million$ it would take to license TW's intellectual property into that B&M we've all been wanting

Joel

[King Bowser]

^ well to tell the truth I used to know a nice couple that went to the park just to see HBL and the characters but that was back in the summer of 2002,My point is HB is still popular they may not be around PKI just because they arent in PKI anymore doesnt mean they are less popular.

[jzarley]

I don't disagree with you about the continued popularity of HB characters. I imagine that's especially true of my (Gen X) age group. And, if a lack of popularity is the reason given by Paramount Parks, then yeah, that's a pretty lame argument. (Although, while I've read that explanation here and on other fan sites, I've never actually seen the company's "official" statement to that.)

But, from a business standpoint, what is the bottom line value of HB's popularity? Does the presence (or lack of a presence) of HB characters significantly impact revenue and/or profitability of the parks? Particularly at the expense of showcasing another media company's franchises over your own? (And, again, that assumes TW is even willing or able to renegotiate an extended agreement...)

I really believe that if PKI announced tomorrow that HB land would be replaced with a "fantastic, unbelievable, lushly landscaped, Hollywood-ized" (and whatever other adjectives the marketing dept. could come up with ) brand new Nick Toons area, attendance & revenue would not be negatively affected. In fact, they'd probably get a boost from the hype it would be given.

Would some people complain and be upset? Most definitely! There are an entire group of Disney-philes who complain everytime they make the slightest change at Disneyland. But like Disney learned a long time ago, the reason people complain about things like that is due to a love of the park and its history. However, that love keeps on compelling them to come back (no matter how po'd they might be about someting). The greatest threats to an operation like PKI are recessions, war, high unemployment, and terrorism--not removing a beloved ride or group of characters.

Believe me, I'm not saying this is a good thing from the park enthusiast's standpoint. Like I said earlier, the Enchanted Voyage was quite honestly a life-altering experience for me. Personally, I hate to see HB characters go. But, I'm also a business person, and realize that first and foremost the parks are a business, and as such things change.

Joel

[BEAST RIDER]

Its really ashame that Hanna Barbera Land for all actual purposes will probably be gone in 2006. And I was there today on the 10th of april with my soon to be 2 year old son he had so much fun! And all those old rides they really need to preserve for the kids that are going to be thrill seekers one day!

And they have a great collection of rides! And rides in that kids land that are great for little ones. And one ride that struck me as great was one of the newer rides the copter tours that is great but will be sad soon not to here Hannabarbera messages while riding I'm in one way not looking forward too" you're getting ready to land at NICKTOONS HELIPORT" or something like that. And the dismiss of Hanna Barbera characters is a loss , especially since some kids these days still watch those classics.

So hope fully Kings Island AND PARAMOUNT does that section of the park perfect while keeping the old rides for all ages.

Only time will tell how it goes!

thanks

beast rider

[CoastersRZ]

I would imagine most, if not all of the rides in the current Hanna Barbera Land will remain. It will most likely be similar to the Hanna Barbera Land renovation back in 1998 when they repainted a majority of the rides and renamed them. I think PKI will keep the classic rides and retheme and name them to fit in with the Nickelodeon theme. Yes it will be sad to see the classics leave, at least they will still have Scooby. Hopefully, they keep the kiddie bumper cars! With the large addition to Carowinds` Nick Central, PKI will have to make a big expansion to their land next year to retain the golden ticket award for best children`s area (or reclaim it if Carowinds dethrones Kings Island of that award this season as I have heard they might!)