Another PKI opening day...the good and the bad

After a lot of thought on whether or not it would be worth a two hour trek from Columbus I decided to pack up my brother and nephews and take a chance that some rides would be open even though it was unseasonably cold (29 degrees in Columbus when we left).

When we arrived the parking attendant gave us a slip of paper that told us which rides would be open (only coasters listed were Racer on alternate tracks and Flight of Fear). It also said that other rides may open as the day progressed. It also stated that Tomb Raider would be running but may be down from time to time throughout the day. I found out later that not all attendants were handing these out and several people were very upset with the few rides that were running in the morning. PKI really needs to communicate a lot better with their guests.

PKI had exactly two ticket booths open. A 35 minute wait to buy tickets. The second longest line I waited in all day. The time was well spent however for as we stood in line we had 3 of our 4 tickets actually given to us by people who had gotten more comp tix than they needed. 42.00 for four people at PKI is a fairly good deal I would say.

We made our way back to TR first and at 10:30 they had not yet opened the ride so it was off to Flight of Fear. This was the first time I had ridden it without shoulder restraints. Such a better ride than it was. wait was about 25 minutes

Tomb Raider. The wait was an hout and a half. The wait was approx 2 1/2 hours when we got off the ride. Theming was decent but not great. The ride itself was different. I'll leave it at that. I was a little disappointed as were many of the people who rode it it. I don't think I would ever wait more than 20-30 minutes to ride it again. I felt really bad for the people at the end of the line when it was over two hours long. I wanted to tell them that it wasn't worth it, but figured I would let them go through the experience and make up their own minds.

By afternoon, all but The Beast and Face/Off were running strong. Other than TR all rides were under a half hour wait.

Good day at the park. A little chilly and a few more people than I expected but it turned out much better than I originally thought.

Then I got home and my wife, who is pregnant w/twins started having contractions. Another roller coaster ride...but thats another story.

Nice report! I thought TR would have a better capacity! Were did the line strech to?
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So what is better? SFMM or CP? I don't care! They both have 29 coasters between them that they build so we can have a good time!

From the Enter sign, we found it to be an hour and a half wait to get to the ride. I was quite impressed with the indoor queue theming and Pre-show 2 theming, but I wish there was a little more "show" in Pre-Show room 1. The music was really great all around the area and Rivertown looks fantastic. I didn't even ride and didn't mind the wait for TRTR. I heard about 70% positive comments and about 30% negative. Most of the negatives were about how uncomfortable it was when you were held upside down, but not in disappointment or anything. All my friends I went with loved it and I'm sure if we had more time, would have ridden it again. The theming is on par with Disney and Universal I think. I really don't know what else could have been added. I guess some people were expecting too much.

Nice TR and about the sheets of paper they were giving out: they were originally supposed to go to the parking people, who didn't get them until 10:00 as it sounds and they were only giving them to people who were paying daily for parking and not the parking pass, lol. They tend to do that a lot. I don't think hardly anyone was mad about it though. The rides had good reason to close and most people seemed to be understanding. Most rides opened by 11 or 12 anyway. Besides the ones you mentioned, I think Vortex and Top Gun were the only rides not open by 12. I'm not sure if they ever opened Reptar or not. It's a Vekoma though... oh, and of course, Face/Off was too. ;)

On side notes, since I'm not doing a TR, SOB was running the best I've ever ridden it and The Racer was providing some outstanding airtime. Most people seemed to be excited about Sling Shot and quite a few people were getting on and watching Cyber Sez. There were a lot of positive things I heard about Vortex once it opened, so maybe everything is going to be running really well this year. It was also funny to see people actually getting on the water rides, lol.

The Beast was running cool ,,,,,,,,, I thought It was down for a while????????? Did It seem the same are the brakes any different?????????

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---- IGGY .

He said everything except The Beast and Face/Off were running by the afternoon.

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Giantwheeljay said:

Tomb Raider. The wait was an hout and a half. The wait was approx 2 1/2 hours when we got off the ride. Theming was decent but not great. The ride itself was different. I'll leave it at that.

I felt really bad for the people at the end of the line when it was over two hours long.

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I was at pki on thursday, friday, and saturday. i never saw the line get over an hour and a half honestly. i waited through the entire full que and the wait was only 90 minutes........tops.

I can honestly say that I waiteed an 1 1/2 hours and the outside queues were not full (about 90-95%). I guessed 2.5 hours because when I left the ride, the line was well out into the midway. The ride may have been running smoother when you wnet on. I know for a fact that it was at at least 1 hour and 20 minutes because while in line oone of the area managers gave the women in front of us a card with his name, time and message for the loaders to call when they boarded. They were trying to figure out how long it took people to get through the line. When we got on it had been almost 1:20 from that point. We had been in line for at least ten minutes before that. I'm not complaining. I know it's a new ride and the line will be longer. Just reporting what happened. As for the theming, it was good for PKI. I just expected more because of the way they were hyping it. It's a decent ride...but IMO it is not worth longer than a half hour wait. It's a glorified carni ride. I'm glad you heard some positiv comments because I can honestly say that I didn't hear one. Not one. Some were indifferent but none were praising. However, I don't think this was really because it was a terrible ride, I think it was becasue people had to wait for so long for something that was not a coaster and too short for many peoples taste. I also heard that (spoiler) the water on the ride was turned way down because it was so cold. When the water is on, when you hang upside down the gysers will reach the second row. I'm glad I went and I'm glad I rode TR. With twins on the way it may be my only trip this year. I encourage people to ride it and make up their own minds. Your experience may be much different than mine.

Jay,

Where do you live in Columbus? I ask because unless you stopped a few places on the way, or were driving pretty slow, it takes just over an hour to reach the park from where I live, but I live in Southwest Columbus. Do you live on the far, far, Northeastern side

-Sean

I'm sorry, but there's something wrong with carnival rides? I guarantee you that the Huss Giant rides are easily $2 million or more (I'm basing this on the price tags of other big rides I've seen). Besides Reithoffer, and a few other big shows, you won't find many carnivals who could afford that.
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The word "definitely" is definitely the most misspelled word on the buzz.

Hmmmm. Going to any park when it's 29 degrees sounds kinda stupid, and the themeing "ok", wow coming from someone who lives in Columbus..............thats funny

I actually live on the north end (Polaris). Takes an hour 1/2 most of the time. It was 29 degrees at 8 in the morning when we left. It was in the 50's by mid afternoon. Annonymous, I'm sure everyone on the board who went to PKI that day really appreciates you calling them stupid. Oh, and thanks for being so mature and accepting of other peoples opinions. What does theming have to do with where you come from. It's people like you who make me not want to post on boards like this.

Jay,

Don't feel bad. I would glady go to a park in that temperature also. Some people just don't get it I guess.

Intamin Fan,

Right on! There is nothing wrong with a carnival ride, and for the record, I don't find Tomb Raider to be any more of a carnival ride as a roller coaster which can be found at carnivals either.

I really don't have anything against carni rides. I actually really enjoy most of them. However, I can't think of any that I would wait an hour and a half for. I think small portable coasters could be considered as a carni ride but most coasters at amusement/theme parks I think should be put in a different catagory because they are much more permanent structures. Just my opinion.

Hey I was there that day, and had a great time, and the themeing rocked, and I could'nt beleive someone from Ohio can't appreciate the exstensive themeing on that ride, but hey you have your opinions, and so do I .

*** This post was edited by Anonymous on 4/13/2002. ***