new letter about TR:TR, from Jeffrey Siebert

This was sent out to a lot of people just a few minutes ago.

October 30, 2001

Dear TOMB RAIDER: The Ride enthusiast,

Thank You........

It is hard to believe that our 2001 season at Paramount's Kings Island
is
about to come to a close after this weekend Nov. 3 & 4th. This is your
last
chance to see, in-person, TOMB RAIDER: The Ride (TR:TR) under
construction.
We would like to thank all of our guests and enthusiasts for making
2001 an
award-winning memorable season.

PLEASE NOTE 2001 SEASON PASS HOLDERS..... This is your last weekend to
purchase and process your 2002 season pass and receive your free
parking...
just a friendly reminder.

Now for the Future.....

In less than one month the exploration begins when you receive an
exclusive
link to behind-the-scenes construction information and photos. The
biggest
mystery of 2002 unveils right before your very eyes.... what will it
be???
TOMB RAIDER: The Ride promises to change the face of thrill ride
history....
and you have a front row seat as the most ambitious project in
Paramount's
Kings Island's 30-year history materializes from a designers dream into
a
thrill-seekers reality.

Who is involved in this project?
What are the details of the theming design?
Where is this new attraction being built?
What is the ride like?

All of these questions and more are answered in the winter months
ahead.

Stay tuned...more to come.....the adventure lives on!

Make sure your friends and family don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime
experience...please visit www.pki.com to sign-up for you TOMB RAIDER:
The
Ride updates.

If you would like to remove your e-mail for the list...just let me
know!

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Siebert
Marketing Communications
Paramount's Kings Island

I'll tell you this... when they announce who is in on the actual ride component, you'll know just what this thing is about.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I rather know the answer to
"What is the ride like?"
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Top 3 coasters that I have ridden.
1)The Beast 2)The Hulk 3)Son of Beast

That is very cool, thanks for posting. Jeff Siebert brings a level of enthusiasm to his job that is unparalleled in the theme park industry (outside of Santa Claus, IN, that is...). He was an excellent host to us during CoasterCamp, and truly enjoys working with those in the enthusiast community...
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Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

This is cool. The ride will be great, no matter what it turns out to be ..... PKI never builds bad rides, and no park spends this much money and advertising on something that has been done before. I'm just hoping that it will open on time.

While a little low on info, this letter really builds the suspense. Thanks for posting it.

I can't wait for all you "It's a flat ride in a box" people to choke on your words...:)

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"I’m more than a bird..I’m more than a plane...More than some pretty face beside a train...It’s not easy to be me"-Five for Fighting "Superman" dedicated to all of the hardworking rescuers of the WTC...

Just a reminder for those that might be heading down 71 south! CVS's and taco bell's (there in cincy) have a buy (1) addmission get (1) free coupons which comes out to 20 bucks pp - this is KI final days for the season Sat & Sun 10-8

*** This post was edited by Mr. Mouse on 10/31/2001. ***

Anybody who reads First Drop or who have seen early construction can probably tell you what TR:TR will be.

As for the "flat ride in a box" people choking on words, that goes both ways, SFMWManiac87 ;)

-----------------
Scott W. Short
mailto:scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.com

Shivering Tim if you're talking about the same construction pics that im thinking of, we've all seen em. Truth be told im still stumped, if thers something you can tell us that we dont know FIRE AWAY!

"or who have seen early construction can probably tell you what TR:TR will be"

I watch the construction, and I don't know what it is..

I can't wait to see this ride grow. Ingenious marketing plan taken on by PKI.
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What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowman. That is the entire law; all the rest is commentary. -The Talmud

DWeaver: Just wanted to fire a quick "thanks" for your signature...not familiar with the text per se, but the sentiment is absolutely fantastic!!! I really don't care so much what TR:TR turns out to be, as long as it's 1) well done, and 2) reduces waits for Beast/SOB/DropZone...
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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

Jeff Seibert is one of the wisest park reps in the amusement park industry. He doesn't offer promises just commitment to world class thrills. Even though the construction does look like "a flat ride in a box." I'm looking forward to seeing how PKI is going to change the amusement park industry like they have claimed they are going to do.

quailroberts: i must disagree with you, pki has built a few bad rides...honestly i don't believe that top gun was a great investment for the park, that ride has been around for less than ten years and is one of the least popular coasters in the park. but all in all pki builds excellent rides.....the beast and and racers are proof of that......those rides are world class.

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johnathan

Top Gun is awesome don't be dissign it now ;)
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Does CCI know how to make a bad coaster?

Just occurred to me...how many would consider Spiderman to be a "flat ride in a box"? I'm not saying that that is a good thing or a bad thing, just curious. If TR:TR proves to be a motion-base 3D special effects "ride", I wouldn't be AT ALL disappointed, but I guess some would be disappointed that it's not a coaster...
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rollergator - intent on improving the "guest experience" - coming soon to a park near you

The reason PKI's Top Gun is not popular is that it takes 5 minutes to walk to it from the nearest place where people are. In a better location, it'd be as popular as anything else.
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You can't spell "dishonorable" without "honorable."

Jonathon: I was kind of disappointed by the Beast. the first drop into the tunnel was cool, but after that it was just a fast moving train over some little hills and wide turns. The massive helix didn't do much for me either.

gatorwoodie said:
Just occurred to me...how many would consider Spiderman to be a "flat ride in a box"?

Were I in a position to decide, I'd classify The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman as a dark ride. Of course, PKI isn't even close to being in the same league of entertainment as Universal or Disney parks, and so I would be beyond surprised if it turns out to be anything on par with TAAoS.
I can't really quite explain why, but I'm doubtful that PKI, or Paramount in general, would go contract out a completely unique ride system. Parks like Paramount, or Six Flags, or Marriot, or Cedar Fair, or whomever, often pursue turnkey solutions because they're easily cloned, and significantly cheaper.
Tomb Raider: The Ride sounds like a glorified flat ride in a box; like it or not. Maybe it'll be the greatest flat ride in a box on the face of the earth, but that's probably all it'll be. But, in any case, at least PKI is making a move toward a more thematically cohesive and story driven attraction, rather than simply throwing in another variation of the spin 'n' puke formula.
~ Michael ~

Chernabog, what are you talking about? Disney and Universal are theme parks. You can't even compare them to PKI. And what rides has PKI 'cloned'? Every coaster in the park (except Face/Off) has been a completely new design. And how about Disney copying PKI and PKD when they built the Rock'n Rollercoaster?

By the way, how can anyone make judgements on a ride under these circumstances:

1. The ride itself hasn't even been built

2. PKI has given NO info as to what the ride is

3. No one has even seen pictures of the proposed ride

All that we know is that PKI has said repeatedly that this is a NEW type of ride, one that we've never seen before. Until one or more of these things has been accomplished, no one can say anything about how good or bad the ride will be. The reason I think that it will be good, though, is that PKI does not have a history of spending this much money promoting a ride and PKI does have a history of producing good rides.

Johnathan

"pki has built a few bad rides...honestly i don't believe that top gun was a great investment for the park, that ride has been around for less than ten years and is one of the least popular coasters in the park. "

Personally, i don't think that Top Gun was a world-class ride either. But it IS a good ride. The reason it's the least popular ride in the park is that it is surrounded mostly by rides that ARE world class. Right next to it are SOB and Drop Zone. And Vortex, FOF, and Beast are not far away either. King Cobra and the Racer are still great rides, and when they were built they were the best in the world. (as far as the investment, i don't think it cost the park that much money. the lift goes up the side of a hill and the ride is rather short. Plus it is a sponsored ride, meaning a lot of it was paid for by Gillete.)