King Cobra's End at PKI Confirmed
Hmmm.
Never saw that coming... =:^)
John, it appears as if the 'map' was correct after all.
So long KC, it's been fun.
-Sean ( RIP KC, & KC KC)
rest in peace kc!
i'll never forget as a child getting my picture in front of kc! the trick track was awesome too. this is a sad day.
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seek first to understand
then to be understood
Has Paramounts Kings Island made any type of annoucement reguarding this?
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Wild Thing: 75Laps! Power Tower: 73 Rides. Valleyair Security 2002! 8Years Working at Valleyfair :)!
Yes, "The Beast" PKI officially announced yesterday in the Cincinnati Post.
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KC is, I believe, being taken down delicately, yet quickly. It will most likely NOT be SBNO this season and visitors to the park will find an empty plot of land. The ride, I expect, will go into storage.
Really, I must remark on the dramatic changes that are taking place at PKI. Ever since Action Zone made it's debut, we have seen MAJOR overhauls to certain aged areas of the park. PKI is striving to be a very up-to date park. Each year there are significant changes to it.
Actually in hindsight, I now see where the park has been headed esthetically since the mid- 1990s. There is obviously a big picture at large. I think one major thing that the park may concentrate on this season is landscaping. By the end of last season, the park's grounds looked wonderful. There is a concentrated effort to update the park to modern standards rather than just maintain the looks of years past.
Certain areas of PKI have become dated. KC stuck out like a sore thumb in Action Zone. The area where Nick Central was added was a dead end, yet it received a complete overhaul and looks 100% better. Vortex had gotten to the point where it was embarassing, yet now looks as good as it did they day it opened (trust me, I have seen the completed new paint job and it is phenominal).
I think the key to predicting PKI's future attractions is to look at the past few years and apply their logic. Really it is not that hard to figure it out. A keen eye will notice 2 or 3 areas within the park that I believe will get a "new life" in 2003.
Stay tuned..... I have a feeling KC was just the FIRST suprise removal.
Shaggy
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Shaggy
A.K.A. John K.
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Sit up right, hold on tight!
Shaggy, I'm speechless on what you just said and I'm afraid if I actually say anything or even glance at your post again I may get chills down my spine. You don't know how exciting, mysterious, and haunting you have just been. I see it safe to note that we still have Coney Mall and Oktoberfest left to go... If that's one and two, I can't exactly put my finger on the third. And the first surprise was probably KCKC. I expect the possible removal or replacement of Congo Falls, Days of Thunder, and maybe Viking Fury, but besides that I don't know exactly what you're thinking of.
Hopefully, Coney Mall will turn into a boardwalk like they did at DCA. I definitely don't want to see high-tech spin and pukes replacing my beloved CM flats. Brightening the colors, adding more night lighting effects, etc. would be excellent though. I think the CM area is the main land being prepared for next year noting the Vortex and Racer paint jobs, the lap barred FOF, and the futuristic new and changing FX Theatre films. I think you're seeing this as well.
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Danny
I wouldn't be surprised to see the 2003 "fence" up around the empty KC area very soon into the season. My personal thoughts is that it seems like Hypersonic was a success...
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Danny
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- Peabody
King Cobra,
I will miss you dearly, even though I never got to ride you. I remember visiting your park and staring at you in awe. I wish you were operating so that I could say, "Yes, I rode the King Cobra." I would wear that badge proudly.
Sincerely,
Joseph T. Cwik.
My very first trip to PKI was in '87, and I remember staring at the empty plot where the Bat stood. Then gawking at the drawings of Vortex and thinking "I've got to come back for this!!!"
Here's to hoping I get to repeat that experience on June 9.
Later,
EV
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"Just remember, wherever you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai
I will tell you what I saw today at PKI (3/8). King Cobra is being taken apart, I will confirm that. Half of the helix has already been taken out. Two cranes happening to be smaller than the lift have been taking it apart. Cement Trucks were at the site all day. On the helix site near the festhaus a silver metal support stands, and appears to look like the skyflier's supports. The wall attraction near the Express has been taken out (or it is just taken down during the offseason). On that site there is a bulldozer.
That is what I have seen today, soon you will be able to see from outside the park that the King Cobra is really leaving . Then the skeptics shall see their proof.
*** This post was edited by DropThisFar on 3/8/2002. ***
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I`ve ridden Son of Beast 67 times!
*** This post was edited by coastersrz on 3/8/2002. ***
Again, I apologize ahead of time Shaggy if you don't want me to repeat something from another board, but using your clever trickery, ;) you've made another post that makes one continue to wonder about the future of attractions at PKI...
Shaggy wrote at URC:
" 'Think multiple attractions. Think more removals.'
Let's just clarify that I did not say there would be MANY removals.
Those who know PKI well can probably figure it out. King's Island has a distinct pattern by which they add/remove rides. I believe another "suprise" removal is in store for the park this season.
Many will be upset, many will be happy and many will not care.
As far as new attractions, just look at the success PKI has had recently with adding several smaller attractions in place of outdated, or older rides.
As others have pointed out, I like to "tease." Not in any sort of malicious way, but it helps wet peoples appitite for things to come. However, for now lets get the 2002 season going first.
Shaggy"
First off Shaggy, this does seem to be partitial your impression on what you think will happen at PKI in 2003, so I don't really knew if this is really your personal feelings on what will happen or if its connected to one of your inside sources. I won't question you on it, but you can reveal if you want. ;)
I do want to say that out of all the coasters operating at PKI, I think that Adventure Express has the highest chance of becoming removed from the park whether you believe it to be a great ride or not. The popularity is probably one of the lowest for coasters in the park, the theming has slowly diminished, and it really doesn't fit into the surrounding areas themes: Action Zone or Oktoberfest. Why PKI would want to lose one of the best mine trains in the world is beyond me.
I think anything that was made into the park through Paramount will stay, except possible upcharge attractions which I think anything besides the Skyflyer is possible to leave the park. That's the only reason I'm saying Adventure Express would be more likely over Top Gun since it is themed to a Paramount film. Otherwise, it would leave for the same reasons as AE, although more may find it to be better.
For non-upcharge rides, I could again easily see Congo Falls being either relocated or removed entirely, especially if PKI gets a liquid coaster...
As far as 2002 rides go, are there any more surprises we haven't heard about yet? Or do we only get TR:TR, Meteor Attack, Slingshot(uc), and Cyber Sez(uc)?? I still don't think we have enough yet. ;)
Adventure Express is one of the most popular rides in the park, and has the highest capacity of any ride at PKI. I doubt it will be going anywhere.
As far as inside sources.... I have not been told anything by any park rep. Thus it is all rumor. We do know for sure that KC is/has been removed for *a* attraction in 2003.
Now as far as other areas of the park....... time will tell.
Shaggy
TITLYFPT
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Shaggy
A.K.A. John K.
But as far as coasters go, don't you think that Adventure Express probably looks like it has the best chances anyway to leave? Do you agree its the ride most out of theme in the park(for now)? I say this since about the best chance of a coaster leaving because 1) they just repainted Vortex, has great capacity and still pulls in a crowd 2) Face/Off, SOB, FOF are fairly new 3) TG has about the same capacity as AE from the looks of it, but it was put in by Paramount, so I doubt they'll want to take it out already if they have a plan 4) All of the kiddie coasters still get 15+ minute lines each and I doubt they would take one out besides the low capacity SGC in the near future. 5) Removing The Beast and/or The Racer would be deadly for the park IMO.
So, you must not be talking about a coaster since all of the non-kiddie rides are extremely popular(I still would say AE and TG would be lowest in the adult coaster category), have excellent capacity, etc. But you're definitely right about AE. Mine trains especially with this kind of capacity and popularity are essential for a park.
And from what I saw yesterday, KC's lift, drop, and loop are still standing from what I could see. I didn't even see a crane, though it should be there.
Just because a ride doesn't have a long queue that crawls doesn't mean it isn't popular...out here in snow country, the most popular coaster (VF's WT, 1.3 - 1.4 million riders /year) is a walk-on during the week and I've never seen a wait longer than 30 minutes on heavy days.
It just runs with two trains every day or three if things get hectic.
Besides, retracking AE with Arrow (or Morgan) steel isn't very hard to do.
- 'Playa
(who says, Long live all family coasters)
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