PKI Hits the Nail Right on the Head!

[BoddaH1994]

Ever since the 2nd Golden Age of coasters was ushered out of existence, fans of the amusement industry have been able to do nothing but patiently wait and see what the masterminds of the industry could possibly do in order to put us in awe. No longer are people impressed by going higher, faster, or even longer. The fans have always been the ones to set what we think of as standards in the industry, and have never hesitated to raise the bar at their leisure.

It seems more and more evident that the fans have asked for as much as they could out of the massive structures that we once knew as coasters, but still asked for more. In a world where almost every major city has a park, and almost every one of those parks have massive entanglements of steel to thrill the patrons, you can only step beside what you’re seeing and ask what the next level will be. It seems more and more evident that the next progression is right at our fingertips. With the opening of the Italian Job Stunt Track, I believe that a 3rd Golden Age has been introduced.

Being the illegitimate child of crazy Hollywood effects and the 1980s Arrow loopers, this new age offers something that an old retired coaster industry could never offer: a true experience.

PKI has never been alienated from progress in the amusement industry. With the construction of John Allen’s Racer in 1972, a long-lasting 2nd Golden Age of coasters was born, and rapidly progressed from there. Even before the Italian Job, PKI teased at this new vision that they had in mind. Take Flight of Fear for instance, you climb aboard an alien saucer after sifting through the mysteries of Area 51, but after you took your seat on the coaster, secured your lap bar, and were given the “all clearâ€Â, it once again simply became a coaster.

Then just recently, the Italian Job Stunt Track was launched. With this new attraction, no longer do you wait in long lines loaded with themeing only to climb aboard yet another coaster, but you become part of the show itself. Not only do you have the classic coaster elements of tight turns, airtime, and awesome G forces, but also in the process you weave through traffic, dodge bullets and explosions from a menacing helicopter, and narrowly escape through an LA aqueduct.

With this new era, an attraction can no longer be judged by heights and inversions. Words like, “tallâ€Â, “fastâ€Â, and “intense†will become some of the driest adjectives when describing a new coaster. Fans will no longer want you to tell them about the height or speed of a ride, but rather the experience you had. PKI constructed the ride to bring this new era upon us, and in my humble opinion, they hit the nail right on the head.

Godspeed to you,

Ryan

[thejoker8388]

I like the description. It may be a little exagerated but it definately makes me want to get to the park and ride IJ:ST more then before.

[Alien Seed]

I could not agree more. This is exactly the ride I have been hoping for. In my mind, it's still nowhere near the achievements of Revenge of the Mummy, but it's still an amazing ride. I am a severe themed ride lover (many of you should know this by now) and this ride has entered into my most favorites list, alongside Mummy, Tomb Raider: The Ride and Spiderman.

[PKI Foodguy]

I have to agree and disagree...I definately think that you're right about the 3rd age of coasters being intense themeing and lots of entertainment. But I dont think we will ever fully replace our classic coasters. And while tallest and fastest will no longer be the fad, it will always be looked upon as a favorable experience. just like Magnum has remained unforgettable, so will MF. And many coasters like it. The unique experience of being shot 120+mph on TTD and KK will also remain something to be cherrished.

[UncleHenry]

Boddah, you are a wise man. I mean, FoF had been my fav PKI coaster for years. I think IJST beat it last night. I'm gonna wait for all of the effects before I make that decision though.

[Skippy]

Beautifully written BoddaH1994 You read my mind.

Boddah, you are a wise man. I mean, FoF had been my fav PKI coaster for years. I think IJST beat it last night. I'm gonna wait for all of the effects before I make that decision though.

That right there proves his point that taller and faster are not always better

Alien Seed, your probably like me and just itching to ride Curse of DarKastle, aren't you?!

[Ben]

The 3rd Golden Age for Paramount Parks. Six Flags and Cedar Fair are going to keep waging war in the 2nd Golden Age. The Tallest and Fastest roller coaster race is never going to end.

[Reclaimer]

It may not end for awhile, but people are starting to want something different. "Tallest" and "fastest" just don't cut it for me anymore. This article hit the nail on the head...people are starting to want theming more and more.

[Player]

I don't care about theming, i want intensity!

[Stitch]

While it is you opinion and I respect it I think you are being a bit over zealous . I would be hard pressed to find anyone who would say "Hey do you want to ride Kraken or The Italian Job?" "Forget Kraken I am going to ride IJ"

[CPMac]

I guess I'll weigh in.

I too have always held tight to the opinion that bigger/faster/taller doesn't always make the best coaster. My enthusiast friends have always laughingly accused me of loving the runt in the park, preferring to spend my re-ride time on that Bobsled, Mouse, or smaller Woodie as opposed to the MegaLooper, MonsterWoodCoaster, or what have you. So I'm ok with the fact that PKI has given us a diminuitive steel ride with the kind of elements and forces that provide fun rather than extreme thrills. Now, having said THAT...

Even if you are a Disney, Universal, or a Busch, it's a tough task to make a modern theme park audience begin to believe that they have been transported in some way to another world/space/time, and especially tough to re-create a thrilling scene from a well known movie. Audiences these days are sophisticated, educated, and have a rather short attention span where entertainment and technology are concerned. Have you noticed that movies no longer run for months, but have very short first-runs then are retired to a shelf in a video store? Time will tell, but I believe the same audience mentality will apply to theme parks and their themed rides. (Even Disney has had to re-work popular rides to keep them fresh and re-rideable - i.e. Tower of Terror)

So in my opinion, PKI has not hit the nail on the head. I would much rather have seen them spend their money on more of the snappy ride itself than on lame, eventually-to-be-forgotten special movie effects. When I see what little of the area that once held three classic rides is actually being used, my heart aches.

And please don't get me wrong- from my rides last night and listening to the reactions of other riders I believe that they have a hit on their hands. But I also have to believe that something like a generic (but fabulous) one-of-a-kind extended wild mouse there in the Coney Mall would be just as big a hit. And one that would perhaps last through the generations, rather than become instantly old to today's throw-away society.

[PKI Punk]

I agree. Concerning movies and how little they stay in theaters relates to this new ride. Look what happened to FoF. It use to be Outer Limits. Now whether PKI lost the rights or whatever, I think that IJST will turn out to be the same some day. Just Stunt Track. The industry is changing and so are peoples interests. I think PKI just wants to be like Disney. I see nothing wrong with that as long as they keep up with the quality that Disney has.

[Gordon Bombay]

^^I think they dropped the title "Outer Limits" from the ride because the show Outer Limits went off the air. They probably didnt want to theme it after a show that no one knew anything about, that leads me to believe FOF will be re-themed to some other space oriented movie but they couldve jsut lsot the outer limits rights too, either way who knows. Great job Boodah, your right KI does a phenominal job with coasters and setting the pace for other parks.

[CoastersNSich]

I think with respect to Ryan's comments, the Italian Job: Stunt Track will be to steel coasters what The Raven (and some others) have been to wood coasters.

Granted there are some differences in costs and aesthetics, with IJ having the theming and technological advancements throughout.. But what's in common: elements of surprise, tight turns, and some airtime, not to mention less emphasis on being big - less concern about speed, length, height, etc.

I can't decide yet what my favorite part of this ride is, but I really enjoyed the pitch black tunnel. Sure, Jeff Siebert gave me and a few others a no-camera tour inside that tunnel, but even I felt disoriented when I took my first rides.

I, like many others, had some skepticism about IJST when it was first unveiled, being a lower-capacity family coaster that was short with some theming - because it wasn't the big speed machine with big drops and multiple loops and special inversions and big trains I had been hoping for.

But I'll look at it this way: There's a food court at my local mall/student center. The most popular places will be the ones serving chicken sandwiches, burgers, cheese coneys, and pizza. There will be a few ethnic stands, including the Mexican, and Chinese places. One day I choose to have the Mexican, which I rarely do, and it has less demand than the standard fare. I eat it, and I really like it, and look forward to doing it again! That could be said about IJST compared to Raging Bull, Magnum, SheiKra, Dragster, and Hydra.

I'll sum things up by saying that PKI has delivered what they promised in the animations: a thrilling, unique coaster that the whole family can enjoy. And as a big thrill/supercoaster junkie, it satisfied my needs as well.

[Ryan]

And please don't get me wrong- from my rides last night and listening to the reactions of other riders I believe that they have a hit on their hands. But I also have to believe that something like a generic (but fabulous) one-of-a-kind extended wild mouse there in the Coney Mall would be just as big a hit. And one that would perhaps last through the generations, rather than become instantly old to today's throw-away society.

Well, that's one opinion. If you infact do love smaller coasters as opposed to taller and faster ones, then yes, you'd probably enjoy some generic(the word you used, I'm not dissing them)wild mouse coaster. But as you said, it's a generic wild mouse. So how would a generic coaster have more staying power to the GP as opposed to something unique and different? I suppose if you love smaller coasters it would, but that's one view, and a unique one at that. I personally love dark rides, if TRTR's effects still worked I would still spend my re-ride time there, so I can relate with you. I just don't think a mouse would be as popular or have the staying power as IJST.

[CPMac]

You've got me thinking, Ryan.

By generic I guess I mean theme-free. In terms of Mice I think about rides like the Fly, or Ricochet and concoct a fantasy about a super version of such running amok in and around the trees of that once beautiful area of PKI. Maybe a double version. Maybe racing. Hell, an even longer more involved version of this Premier launched coaster would be fine with me.

Okay. I try not to lose sight of the fact that Paramount's Kings Island is a theme park (hello....) tied into a major motion picture company. They strive to provide their guests with experiences directly related to those found in action films. All one needs to do is take one Future Attraction survey to know that this trend will not be reversed any time soon. And perhaps I should take my thrills at Cedar Point, Kennywood, Hersheypark and quit complaining.

But I can't help noticing the tremendous amount of money spent on the Theme and the surrounding Hype for a product that will have a relatively short shelf life. There's discussion in this very thread that involves the re-naming, the re-themeing, and what-the-hell-ever-happened-to the Outer Limits Flight of Fear. And some of you already are guessing how the Italian Job will evolve into just Stunt Track. And get this- I actually overheard a guest in line for Tomb Raider on Friday night complain that she has to stand through all this b.s. each time she wants to ride. I thought well, so much for total immersion experience, huh?

My point is this- to amusement park goers it has always been and will always be, in the end, about the ride. I would be so much happier with IJST if they had given us a few hundred more feet of ride and less menacing helicopters. And if the GP isn't saying so this year, you can bet they will in a year or two. It'll be "been there- done that".

Paramount may be ushering in a new age in themed coasters where the effects extend beyond the station. Time will tell if it's a Golden Age or not. I think back to the riders nearly a century ago who thrilled to the special effects of the Scenic Railway. The concept itself turned out to be short lived, and the strong survivor through all of it was the roller coaster itself. That, as it turned out, was what the audience really wanted after all.

Thanks.

[KIfan73]

Paramount is a business, and they need people to come in to keep their doors open. I would say that this attraction is what they found that would bring in the right amount of people to justify the cost of building it, and would help them earn their sales projections.

[hauntguy]

Awesome thread man... great thoughts and ideas here, so here is mine (as if it matters). People love Disney for a reason, Disney puts it's guest in numerous experiences in one day. Yes, even Disney counts waiting in line as part of the experience. They have done that since they first opened. With PKI, it has always been wait-in-line, ride the ride... and that was it. When PKI introduced Top Gun, FOF, TR:TR and PT, they totally surrounded the guest in the enviroment of the ride... and "total theming" if you will. So PKI guest are now exposed to this Disney approach to theming rides. PKI must do a better job at starting the "ride experience" when they first enter the line until the leave the ride cars. I believe that PKI is on the right path to this... and I can't wait until it gets there! -Hauntguy

[Jasper]

OMG I cant wait to get up there and ride it!

[Kenban]

I think the ride will have more staying power then some people think it will. I think comparing it to the TRTR preshow is a bad example. First other then a well done queue the preshow is not very well done. You get the light on the door before it slides open (which is always pointed a little low). Then you have the video (which I don't remember being good the first time I saw it and now I just ignore it). But once you get on the ride the theming around you adds a nice touch. There is no preshow to IJST all the effects are done on the ride.

Also the Disney ToT comparison is also flawed. The ride was always designed with drop changes in mind. Before the ride opened they had 33 different drops programmed and they picked one to run when the ride opened. The only changes have been some minor show changes and the biggest change was the drop sequence updates. But even thats just a software upgrade not a real update to the ride.

Most of the rides at Disney do undergo times when the ride is shut down sometimes for months but normally its just minor changes. Splash mountain in California just upgraded to new boats (which turns out are too heavy and it looks like they have to shutdown the ride again ). Space Mountain (Disneyland again) is also undergoing upgrades right now and has been closed for I think its 2 years now (Ok this is major). Disney world on the other hand just finished redoing Its a small world. But if you notice all of these rides are older rides that have been operating for years. These are not the only rides that have been changed either but almost everything that has been done to these rides over the years is minor except in a few cases (Space Mountain). Often its just to bring effects up to a higher standard of quality (Haunted Mansion).

[Ryan]

CPMac, while many guests may be bored by theming and see it as pointless as you do, I think it's a more creative and original way to go then just straight forward coasters. I have no problem with straight forward rides, but that's why I love PKI, they have both. If you're looking for more rides of that nature, CP is definetly your park. But to say the GP doesn't enjoy theming would be to neglect the powerhouse that is Disney, and if the GP doesn't enjoy it than Disney wouldn't be as successful as they are. I personally love theming, so I really like PKI's direction. I'm sorry if you don't enjoy it, but atleast it's not like you're losing anything with it. The person that loves theming and goes to parks where there is none is the person who might truly get dissapointed, atleast you can't lose, haha.

[Stitch]

I don't mind PKI branching out and trying new things, variety is always nice. My problem is how Pki has been seriously neglecting their thrill riders group. I know everyone on here has their opinions and I respect them but I am not going to hinder mine in fear of flaming. The past four or five years we have had new rides that were themed and nice looking but not very thrilling. Runaway Reptar, excellent kids coaster, Tomb Raider .... well it isn't as thrilling as the smaller top spins but it has some spunk to it ... if it works and then we have Delirium, a ride that is unique but for a seasoned thrill seeker it looses it thrill very fast. I personally have no problem with IJ, my problem lies in how PKI is representing it as something it's not, a thrill ride ... if they would market it as a fun attraction for the whole family I would be a happy camper. I personally don't enjoy PKI anymore because I have ridden everything there and I haven't been greeted with the mega looper or fast hyper (sans themeing) that I need. Yes Pki is a business and they run it well but do I like how they have changed certainly not - Eric

[Ryan]

I don't mind PKI branching out and trying new things, variety is always nice. My problem is how Pki has been seriously neglecting their thrill riders group. I know everyone on here has their opinions and I respect them but I am not going to hinder mine in fear of flaming. The past four or five years we have had new rides that were themed and nice looking but not very thrilling. Runaway Reptar, excellent kids coaster, Tomb Raider .... well it isn't as thrilling as the smaller top spins but it has some spunk to it ... if it works and then we have Delirium, a ride that is unique but for a seasoned thrill seeker it looses it thrill very fast. I personally have no problem with IJ, my problem lies in how PKI is representing it as something it's not, a thrill ride ... if they would market it as a fun attraction for the whole family I would be a happy camper. I personally don't enjoy PKI anymore because I have ridden everything there and I haven't been greeted with the mega looper or fast hyper (sans themeing) that I need. Yes Pki is a business and they run it well but do I like how they have changed certainly not - Eric

Yeah, I agree I'd love to see a nice thrill ride. I thought by family park they meant something for everyone in the family is there, not that every ride could be ridden by every member of the family. Unfortunately, I think PKI may be going more for the latter of the two. But I think if you continue to wait, a thrill ride will come. The question is when.

[Scooby_Doo]

I rode it last night and I was blown away it is now my favorite coaster at the park PKI pulled this off I cant wait to see what else is in store for the future.

[ravereviews]

I have to say that Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (Disney MGM)

(rnr website) provides a full experience from start to finish.

As much as I love Kings Island, Paramount always seems to be a step behind Disney in the theming.

[flightoffear1996]

I dont know but it seems to me like PKI is heading in the right direction. IJST is no Milliuem Force but I think it is just as fun as it and it takes up alot less room. If you want to see some pics that I took just take a look at them here. The ones that do not have a copyright on the bottom are mine

http://ultimatethrillzone.com/gallery/PKI

[RingMaster]

I believe for what it is, IJ:ST is truly a great ride. i rode it last night and i seriously felt like a stunt driver. its a real smooth ride, and the helicopter scene was terrific (i didn't think there'd be THAT much water!).

PKI is heading in the right direction with their themed rides. if they do decide to put in a spongebob boat school ride, i will actually be looking forward to seeing how they theme it.

i just wish Stunt Track was a wee bit longer. other than that, great ride, and we only waited in line for five minutes. we were a couple of yards away from the bridge, yet we were waiting for less than five minutes! so this could have short waits in line once it opens up.

*puts his two cents in, then goes back to playing RCT3*

[Coney_man]

PKI Did a awesome job on Italian Job, the ride is a perfect work of technology, the effects, the layout, but most of all the thrills...that is a point on this ride.

[King Bowser]

They did such a great job on IJ:ST I loved it I cant wait to ride it again NOW if only PKI would give me an Addams Family Ride/attraction I will be a happy boy yup Iam still waitin on that addams family attraction I hope PKI hears our cry for it.

[flightoffear1996]

I dont think they will listen to your cry for a few years.