July 13,14,15

[Skippy]

Well, I just got back from my long awaited trip to PKI and I had a blast! I live four hours away from PKI so I have to stay at a hotel when I go. This time I stayed at Residence Inn Blue Ash which was pretty nice, up kept, and clean, just a little outdated (2003 I stayed at TownePlace Suites which is newer and also very nice)! Let me start off by saying that the weather was basically crap up till the day we were to leave! Now on to day one!

First day we got to the park right when it opened! We headed straight to the season pass processing center (as we ordered are passes ahead of time off the internet when they were discounted) and couldn't have been more happier with the efficiency of these guys. We were in and out in 5 mins and the employees were very curdious and enthusiastic (take notes Cedar Point, I shouldn't have to wait an hour and a half to get my season pass processed and be greeted by some very bored looking employees), off to a great start so far! So now that were in, we waited a little (huge family) and then took some pictures in front of the sign/fountain/tower. Now we headed straight back to get our Speed Lane tickets and then rode The Beast. Oh how I missed you Beast (best woody hands down)! Then we headed back to the Italian Job to use our tickets (not worth it since it was walk on all week)! Well I'll just start out by saying this was the biggest disappointment of the entire trip! Some of the theming and none of the landscaping from the video showed up in the attraction (which I thought was lacking theming from the start)! The theming they did have wasn't working (still no stairs effect, no fish tailing, in-car speakers weren't working, burn out tail lights, the police car sirens weren't running, and right after us the helicopter shut down)! Because it was cloudy and a little rainy, there was practically no one in the park! Everything was literally walk-on! So we rode the Tomb Raider (we didn't last time due to the ninety minute wait). This was the biggest surprise of the entire trip! This is an awesome ride, although the actual ride part is way to short. This is now my little brothers favorite ride in the whole park. This ride really needs refurbished though (needs new lights on the ride portion, needs paint touch ups especially around the door in the antechamber where the styrofoam is showing, and they need to use better glue because the rocks are pealing off the wall), although I must mention that PKI does maintain it as the next day I saw the pealing rock stuck back on. Now we were hungry so we ate at Happy Days. The place looks great, the food was only good, but the entertainment was great, so overall it was great! Flight of Fear was just as awesome as I remember it! The emergency lights were on though, so the in queue lighting effects weren't working (but it doesn't matter since there was no wait). Sponge Bob really needs to be replaced (although still entertaining), we were the only people in the theater. Speaking of which, the whole Action FX Theater and surrounding area need refurbished. New paint, landscaping, two new shows and maybe a gift shop instead of an arcade at the end are all needed! Also, the addition of 4D effect would also be nice! Adventure Express is still awesome except it just feels so misplaced where it's currently located! Also, why was it playing the Indiana Jones ride theme song in the loading area (I know it's the ride's music because I have it on CD)? Indiana Jones its my dream retheme for Adventure Express, if only they could get the rights! Son of Beast has received it's new nick name (Son of a B*****), since that's all I heard as I got off the ride. PKI would be wise to put up warning signs stating that they are not responsible for any back or neck injuries obtained during the ride to avoid any lawsuits! Now we headed up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and I must say, the paint job looks great! At the top, my mom saw that Tuned In was starting so she threw us into the nearest open elevator! To my surprise, Tuned In was very good! An exceptional theme park show (especially the TVLand bit), and no one showed a weak performance in my opinion (some very cute girls too). After words we saw the Nick Parade, in which the show quality was also outstanding (although VERY short)! Unfortunately the parade stopped with the elephant guy right in front of us. He sprayed us over and over again and with it being so cloudy, it took a while to dry off! The only problem with my day was with everything being walk-on (just like Geauga Lake), we finished everything, and then some, and we still had two days left! We originally anticipated long lines and it to take two days to get on everything and to then spend the other day at Boomerang Bay. Unfortunately Boomerang Bay was closed all three days so that screwed up our plan! So we went home early that night. On to day two!

Second day was basically a recap of the first day just without a ride on Son of a B****. Here's what was different though! I went on Tomb Raider and this time it broke down while we were in the first room! We didn't wait because it was a walk-on all day (but I took advantage of all the emergency lights on and took tones of pictures of the ENTIRE queue without any people in the way)! To my surprise it was back up in about five minutes (according to an employee they were just restarting the computer). When we finally got on the Tomb Raider I noticed lots of details I didn't notice the first time (like the skeletons frozen in the ice, reminded me of Dueling Dragons)! This ride could be truly amazing if it received a fresh coat of paint, new lights, a new preshow (one that goes with the story and isn't so lame), and was a bit longer! Also, this ride has so much music it could really use a soundtrack! Actually, the whole park could use a soundtrack. It could have Tomb Raider music, Flight of Fear music, The Beast's theme music, Adventure Express' theme music, the Wild Thornberrys' queue music, the Nick Parade music, and anything else I'm leaving out! I rode The Beast again, this time the "Hollywood Makeover" was actually running! The queue lighting, sounds, and signs are awesome! With The Beast's theme music and roaring up lift hill being the best of the makeover! We ate at Bubba Gumps (very nice theming) and thought the food was pretty good! We then went on Drop Zone with it raining, it was very cool beating the rain to the ground. It was like the Matrix with the rain moving in slow motion! Afterwards, I spent about an hour documenting (taking pictures) of everything in Hanna-Barbera Land! When I say everything, I mean everything. The only thing I didn't get a picture of was the graveyard infront of The Beastie! Yeah, I even got a picture of every wall in the nursing /lost child building! What happened is I asked the lady if I could take pictures of the walls (luckily no one was in the building or else I would feel even more awkward then I already felt)! She looked at me like I was an idiot (I felt like one) and said sure, but then asked me why I would want to take pictures of the walls! I then explained to her how I was told that all the Hanna-Barbera stuff would be gone next year! She the told me that to her understanding I was correct and pointed out all the Hanna-Barbera things in the room. By the end of the day I took over eighty pictures of Hanna-Barbera Land! I'm going to email PKI and see if they're willing to sell me that "Hanna-Barbera Collectables" sign with Fred Flintstone on it to me (it's my favorite sign)! My Dad said he may drive me back down here to video tape the entire area and narrate a walk through of what will no longer be! We then saw Tuned In AGAIN, which was alright saying it's a great show! Now we finally saw School of Rock: Live in Concert and this was also an exceptional show! We had to see it today because it's dark on Tuesdays. It stayed true to the movie and I really like how they found someone who looks a little like Jack Black and does a good job of impersonating him! Very, very good show! Then we rode Flight of Fear again, this time the queue lighting effects were on but their was still no wait so we didn't have time to admire it. We went on the Italian Job again, this time the speakers were working , although you can only hear them at the beginning, the top of the helix, and at the very end! We rode it three more times after that. The only good thing about this ride is that it's the smoothest coaster in the park! Word of advice for PKI, don't theme a ride if you can't do it right. Even being the theming buff that I am I would much rather have a non-themed thrilling coaster then a half-assed themed mini-coaster! On the other hand, the tourists seemed to like this ride a lot! Next we caught both showings of Star Search Live! In the first Star Search a boy won singing an Elvis song (I forget which one), he was pretty good! The second show (16&UP) was bad (no offence to any of the contestants, it takes guts to get up there) but one kid didn't even sing the song (Raining Men) but instead just acted like a complete jackass, very funny! We then took a walk through A Paramount Story, which seemed to be missing a few props. Now for The Beast experience of my life (you guessed it), my first Beast night ride! I rode it three times that night, the hollywood makeover really shines at night! The flashing lights in the line are very creepy, the speakers on the lift hills are more hidden, and the tunnels are now pitch black! Yeah, I love The Beast! Right afterwards we caught the Magic of the Movies fireworks, man what a end to a day! Now on to day three!

The only thing we did today that we haven't done in previous days was we saw CMT Presents: Turn It Up! Once again the entertainment division at PKI impresses me as the CMT show was just as every bit as good as the other two shows! One thing I happened to notice is that PKI reuses a lot of the performers between Tuned In, Turn It Up, and Star Search Live! We also saw the School of Rock show again to get pictures of the props from the movies! By the afternoon the sun came out (first time in three days) and the park was starting to gather a crowd. We waited a half hour for the Tomb Raider! After that it was souvenir time. I bought the new Beast shirt with the claws ripping out of the "A" in The Beast, I bought the comic book Beast shirt, I bought a Tomb Raider shirt advertising supplies, and lastly I bought one of those bronze Eiffel Tower statues that says Paramount's Kings Island on it! I also got couple of free Tomb Raider hats because I bought them at the Outfitters store! Overall a great ending to a great trip! While not perfect, PKI is still one hell of a park and their push for hollywood really shows!

100th post!!!

[zeldafreak313]

Sounds like you had an awsome trip to PKI! You had some great suggestions and i personally agree with you about SOB. But glad u had a great time and hope u continue to come to PKI!

[gburn07]

Lol fun! I got the new Beast shirt as well and over here in the burgh (Pittsburgh), people are always stopping me and commenting about the ride (all positives)

[Jasper]

Sounds like a great trip. Sadly i will not make it up there until october.