Give PKI a chance.
I am new to the site, and after reading posts for several days now, I am somewhat disturbed by the elitist attitude of many posters. Granted, my track record is not terribly extensive (37 coasters) and I only make it out to parks maybe two or three times per year. From a business perspective, I would say that I represent the average park-goer. However, I don't think that that makes my opinions, or the opinions of people like me, invalid. Does the fact that I really enjoyed Spiderman make me a non-enthusiast?
I think that we have to be realistic regarding what types of attractions make sense, fiscally speaking, for amusement parks. The enthusiast segment of the population probably makes up no more than 5% of the average attendance that a theme park will have over the course of a summer. For example, MK has NO coasters, yet is the most highly attended theme park in the country, and Tokyo DL is the highest in the world. Am I personally thrilled that TR:TR is a dark ride instead of a 100 mph+ giga? No, but I'm guessing that the lines will be upwards of 2 hours all day long if it's anything along the lines of Spidey. Look at it from PKI's point of view- CP and SFWoA are competing for the enthusiasts' money, and as it stands currently, PKI would have to build 2-3 big money coasters to keep up. So does it make more sense for them to take another path? Absolutely. TR:TR may cost more money than any 3 coasters by the time it's finished, but it will take 1/3rd the time to complete, and will probably draw more people.
I completely agree with the sentiment that PKI has lost something over the last few years. I remember being six years old, walking through that park with my big brother and thinking that I had never been anywhere so cool, and that CP paled in comparison. Of course, the Beast was only four years old at that time, and Vortex was yet to come-in fact, the Bat still loomed over the park. The last TWO times I have been to PKI, SOB was down the entire day, and I was forced to wait almost 2 hours for Face/Off. In fact, I've been to PKI 4 times since SOB opened, and I've ridden SOB exactly once. Not because I didn't want to, mind you, but because it wasn't running.
I read the post made by the gentleman who wrote the flaming e-mail to PKI regarding TR:TR. As was duly noted by many of you, this type of attitude makes all enthusiasts seem like whining children. Ohio has enough coasters for now...let's try something different.
I think that we have to be realistic regarding what types of attractions make sense, fiscally speaking, for amusement parks. The enthusiast segment of the population probably makes up no more than 5% of the average attendance that a theme park will have over the course of a summer. For example, MK has NO coasters, yet is the most highly attended theme park in the country, and Tokyo DL is the highest in the world. Am I personally thrilled that TR:TR is a dark ride instead of a 100 mph+ giga? No, but I'm guessing that the lines will be upwards of 2 hours all day long if it's anything along the lines of Spidey. Look at it from PKI's point of view- CP and SFWoA are competing for the enthusiasts' money, and as it stands currently, PKI would have to build 2-3 big money coasters to keep up. So does it make more sense for them to take another path? Absolutely. TR:TR may cost more money than any 3 coasters by the time it's finished, but it will take 1/3rd the time to complete, and will probably draw more people.
I completely agree with the sentiment that PKI has lost something over the last few years. I remember being six years old, walking through that park with my big brother and thinking that I had never been anywhere so cool, and that CP paled in comparison. Of course, the Beast was only four years old at that time, and Vortex was yet to come-in fact, the Bat still loomed over the park. The last TWO times I have been to PKI, SOB was down the entire day, and I was forced to wait almost 2 hours for Face/Off. In fact, I've been to PKI 4 times since SOB opened, and I've ridden SOB exactly once. Not because I didn't want to, mind you, but because it wasn't running.
I read the post made by the gentleman who wrote the flaming e-mail to PKI regarding TR:TR. As was duly noted by many of you, this type of attitude makes all enthusiasts seem like whining children. Ohio has enough coasters for now...let's try something different.
Hey, I can't WAIT to go!!! I'll be riding the Beast at night! Woo hoo! Beast at night! :)
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Yeeee Haaawwww!
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Yeeee Haaawwww!
Great post Mark, I think you nailed it. Welcome to CoasterBuzz!
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
I have no negative comments pertaining to your post at all.
However, I do have a problem with PKI sinking that kind of $$ into an "attraction" that may have a limited shelf life. Tomb Raider "the concept" is still too new to warrant it's own colossal attraction. Spiderman, Batman, even Indiana Jones are forever etched and set in stone. I just hope that if TR:TR DOES indeed turn out to be a faboo ride, that the ride won't suffer when the Tomb Raider pop culture backlash hits.
I'm from Greenville, SC and my closest park is Paramounts Carowinds. They, like other Paramount Parks, had an entire portion of the park themed to Wayne's World. Now their woodie twister, The Hurler has a bit of a stigma to it because of the theming. I just think/fear that Tomb Raider:The Ride might outlive it's theme.
However, I do have a problem with PKI sinking that kind of $$ into an "attraction" that may have a limited shelf life. Tomb Raider "the concept" is still too new to warrant it's own colossal attraction. Spiderman, Batman, even Indiana Jones are forever etched and set in stone. I just hope that if TR:TR DOES indeed turn out to be a faboo ride, that the ride won't suffer when the Tomb Raider pop culture backlash hits.
I'm from Greenville, SC and my closest park is Paramounts Carowinds. They, like other Paramount Parks, had an entire portion of the park themed to Wayne's World. Now their woodie twister, The Hurler has a bit of a stigma to it because of the theming. I just think/fear that Tomb Raider:The Ride might outlive it's theme.
I actually think that what you said Homey G. about the hype and all of the things surrounding the movie/games and everything would eventually die out, might be a good thing. I think I actually enjoyed Spiderman, because i had never seen the show before in my life and the effects that came out with the ride were something I wasn't expecting from the characters so it did end up being, like Tomb Raider will hopefully be, a "totally immersive dark ride experience". I really don't know how many people this will initially attract, whether it be from the Tomb Raider name or not, but I believe the word of mouth and talk about the ride will be more related to an Indiana Jones and that's how more people will know about it. Not really because they know about the games/movie, but because they want an adventure dark ride. I've always wanted a big dark ride, not related to a movie, but honestly this feels that way to me and some of the people I've talked to, because it's more mysterious since they don't know much about the subject of Tomb Raider anyway.
Ok, I think I'll shut up now. Hopefully, I made at least a little bit of sense.
Ok, I think I'll shut up now. Hopefully, I made at least a little bit of sense.
Mark W. Baruth said:
"For example, MK has NO coasters, yet is the most highly attended theme park in the country..."
Actually, they have three coasters: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and The Barnstormer. But I think I know what you're saying -- they aren't so wildly popular because of their coaster line-up.
Here's my take on why there is so much frustration with PKI. In order to build a something like a gigacoaster, a park needs three very important things: space, money, and no restrictions on height. PKI has all three of these. They have plenty of room for expansion, they're backed by a major corporation, and they don't have to deal with the headache of getting permission every time they want to build something tall. There are very few parks that can say that, and I think that's where some of this disappointment in PKI comes from. I know when I read the rumor of them building a gigacoaster that would also be the world's longest (giving them the longest steel and wooden, side by side), my hopes were sky-high that the rumor was true. I'll admit, when Tomb Raider was announced, I was more than a little disappointed.
But here's where I differ from the PKI-bashers: I got over it. That disappointment I felt went away in about five minutes, and I focused my attention on what was coming instead of what wasn't coming. So PKI isn't building a coaster? Oh well, there's always the following year, or the year after. I, for one, am eager to see what this highly themed, mysterious new attraction is. I say kudos to PKI for giving us something different.
It's been said many time before, but I'll say it again. This is an amusement park that we're talking about. You know, amusement, as in fun? I don't know where that got lost along the way for a few of you, but you really should try to remember that. There are far more important issues in life to get worked up over than a coaster not being built.
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Aaron
Anyone remember what PGA got this year for their anniversary(a mouse, two FX Theatre films, and a couple flats if you didn't know)? Remember what we got this year for our 29th anniversary(the first junior inverted coaster, greatly rethemed log flume, two new FX theatre films, an all "new" smash hit coaster)? Yeah, I think ours was a lot better. No offense to PGAers and I'm very sorry the TA2K didn't go there. I do believe that they were the park to need it most though. Cross my fingers they'll send a CCI or Intamin woodie there. Maybe we should be glad that(from what I've heard), all five of the Paramount parks are up this year. Which means they really do know what they're doing with these family attractions. Hey, I enjoy them.
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