PKI in ACE News...
I don't see why anyone *expects* a park to round out its collection of rides, shows, and attractions in such a way as to satisfy ANY group....other than the shareholders...;)
I think the real question here is who is courting PKI, or who PKI is courting, to build the next coaster.
I have a pretty good feeling PKI is shopping around, not only with different manufacturers, but also coaster types. Probably taking their time, and covering all bases.
What I can tell you for sure is, PKI wants their next coaster to be top 10. I doubt they will rush it just to fill a year's new addition slot. I believe their next coaster will come, but only when they can install the cream of the crop. That may happen next year, may happen 2 years from now, may happen 10 years from now.
We'll just have to wait and see.
Shaggy
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Shaggy
Proud A-lister!
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Joe Barnett
Forum Moderator/Editorial Writer
www.pkiunlimited.com
And Gator,
I always thought the reason parks built new coasters was to make money from the ride. If you build the same type of ride you already have, you aren't gonna make much. That's why there's variety. ;)
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You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him find it within himself.
-Galileo
Putting my personal opinion is is just that and should only be looked at as a very small part of the big picture.
I have ridden about every type of B&M except the Drop Machines and find them enjoyable. IMHO though if they want the draw power and comeback apeal they will look to INTAMIN for a hyper/speed style coaster. As I said, B&M's are good but I find the Speed sensation, AIrtime and thrill factor are that much better on the Intamin style. I liked Raging Bull alot but didn't like Nitro at all except for some visuals.
Chuck, who is very seriously contimplating another 900 mile drive to SFNE.
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Charles Nungester.
Confirmed, Lesourdsville Lake opening for 2003 details soon at Lesourdsville.com
...that's what satisfies the IMPORTANT group...the shareholders...;)
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Never go unarmed into a battle of wits...;)
The secret to life is sincerity...once you can fake that, the rest is easy...
rollergator said:
DS...true enough, but what some are failing to remember is that the *variety* we're talking about isn't a variety of *thrill rides* to satisfy thrillseekers, but rides, shows and attractions that will satisfy the "target demographic" of the specific addition, and for the park as a whole.......that's what satisfies the IMPORTANT group...the shareholders...;)
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Gator, PKI and the other Paramount parks have gone to great lengths in recent years to spread the weath between thrill and family. In some cases combining both like Reptars. Pki went 1999-2000 with three major thrill rides. 2001 saw two family, 2002 saw a revitalized rivertown and TR:TR which is sorta combined ride but has a height limit. 2003 could go either way.Chuck, who realizes they don't have to get anything.
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Charles Nungester.
Confirmed, Lesourdsville Lake opening for 2003 details soon at Lesourdsville.com
Really 2004 can go anyway it wants, if anyway at all.
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Chris Tyson
Photographer
www.pkiunlimited.com
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Charles Nungester.
Confirmed, Lesourdsville Lake opening for 2003 details soon at Lesourdsville.com
ShiveringTim said:So did Area 51 head south for 2003?? :)
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Scott W. Short, "A-Lister"
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.comHmmm. Possibly so.
-Sean
Shaggy said:
What was not mentioned is besides B&M, there have been other MAJOR steel coaster designers/fabricators visiting PKI over the past year as well....Shaggy
Shaggy,
Whatever could you be talking about? Surely the park isn't dealing with multiple manufactures since that NEVER happens in real life. =;^)
-Sean
Sean F. said:
ShiveringTim said:So did Area 51 head south for 2003?? :)
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Scott W. Short, "A-Lister"
scott@midwestcoastercentral.com
http://www.midwestcoastercentral.comHmmm. Possibly so. Perhaps "the fence" will be used once more.
-Sean
Charles Nungester said:
I wouldn't mind a B&M at all.] IMHO though if they want the draw power and comeback apeal they will look to INTAMIN for a hyper/speed style coaster.
While there isn't a Intamin coaster that I have ridden that I didn't like, they aren't exactly the most reliable machines on the planet sometimes. This is not to say B&M are perfect in any way, they just have a better maintence record according to some of the people I have talked with.
The way I look at it, it doesn't matter to me who makes the coaster, as long as it is fun and safe.
-Sean (you get what you pay for) F.
Cameron who believes no matter builds it, as long as its fun, what is the prblem?
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Beast-Crew 04'
Personally, I think PKI is really heading in the right path. What may seem cloudy, or unintelligible to many of us enthusiasts, will most likely pay off big time in the future.
First, I think PKI has totally removed themselves from the coaster wars. Sure, we will see a coaster here and there, but not nearly to the extent of just a few years ago with coaster after coaster.
The coaster(s) they will install will be high-quality and totally re-ridable experiences. Although I do believe that they still want the thrill element, I am personally hoping they will steer clear of the "biggest","baddest","fastest","tallest" race. That whole deal is really fruitless IMO.
PKI is a family park and they are EXTREMELY proud of being chosen as the park with the best kids area and receiving the Golden Ticket Award. That is a title they will not want to part with anytime soon. So in order to keep it, they will continue to focus on family attractions.
But when I was present for last year's Golden Ticket Awards ceremony hosted at PKI, something became crystal clear to me. As the various awards for "best steel coaster", and "best wooden coaster" etc etc etc were being awarded, you could almost see the light bulb going off in the PKI Managerial Staff's heads. I know they were probably thinking "Why didn't we get that award?" or "Why don't people think we are the best?" I think those few moments may have been the catalyst for a whole new method of thinking by PKI officials and those making the decisions for the park. Park executives do not think in enthusiast's terms. That would proove detrimental if they did. They are business oriented and should be. However, that day served a great purpose in that I think it awakened some sense of "pride" among PKI's staff. In addition to having a keen business sense, I strongly feel a park has to have some sense of pride in what they are doing.
In today's corporate park world, "Pride" is something I find lacking. I bark about it all the time, but IMO SF's biggest downfall is that they have absolutely no emotional commitment in what they are doing. They are in the business to make a buck, no matter what sacrifices must be made to their park experiences. But the parks that top my list all have that heart. You sense the care and interest when you enter parks like Hershey, Busch, Holiday World etc. I also sense it at PKI, more so in recent years than in the past.
PKI has a new GM that I understand is a proponent of themeing and is continuing the example set by his predicessor. PKI recently lost a GM, relocated to PGA, that was a proponent of overall quality. They have an extremely smart PR and Marketing Team that are wildly savvy about what works for the park. They also now have a Head of Operations that IMO is exhibiting a desperately needed attention to overall detail and improvements.
So where am I going with all of this? Well, I have faith that PKI is shopping around for their next coaster and that they will not settle until they find the absolute best for their park. The folks running the park are not only really good at what they are doing, but they sense that need for heart, and are striving to bring back the pride.
Make no bones about it. I am a huge proponent of PKI installing a B&M hyper. Quite frankly, B&M is the best. And if PKI wants to be the best, then they should go with the most renowned coaster firm in the business. One need only look at B&M's track record to see how successful their coasters have been. There is also an odd quality to a B&M coaster that attracts a wider variety of ages and family demographics than most other manufacturers.
Parks like Hershey, Silver Dollar City, Busch Gardens etc etc etc generally attract familes, and a more widespread age range. Those parks have each chosen, along with many others, to install B&M crations that deliver big thrills, but also appear "ridable" to the average guest. When you visit those parks, you see more families and older folks riding the coasters. Why? Well, there is some quality to B&M that I cannot put my finger on. It lends itself to a more appealing and less intimidating ride.
Although I think PKI could do wonders with a firm like Intamin, who in turn has done wonders for parks like Cedar Point, I am of the opinion that PKI is not an "Intamin" park. For some reason I cannot invision, say, a Superman-type Intamin coaster at PKI as much as I could a B&M. Just call it a hunch.
Dont' get me wrong.... I love Intamin hypers, Superman at SFNE is by far the best steel coaster I have ridden. And I would be happy to see one at PKI, but I have my hopes pinned on B&M.
But no matter, I think PKI will end up with the type of coaster that can deliver them the elements they want, using the space they have, and falling within the budget they have. They want their next coaster to be a noteworthy installation, that will hopefully place them in the upper tier of "best" parks.
But I re-itterate, I dont' see PKI rushing to do this. I see a more deliberate concentration on overall improvements in the park. My crystal ball forcasts re-theming of areas, the gutting and re-building of esthetic items such as restrooms and eateries. I see a concentration on varied medium sized attractions each season that can cater to more than just one group of guests (thrill seekers, kids, families etc etc etc) over the next decade with perhaps a coaster or two slid in there.
Now, that may not be music to a coaster enthusiasts ears, but IMO it is best for the park.
This question was posed to me recently: "If PKI had $20M to spend for a season, would you rather see general overall improvments with several medium sized attractions or one coaster?" The coaster lover in me first wanted to bark "coaster!" but the realist in me took over and said that for the betterment of the park, the varied attractions would be the best bet. My answer surpised me, but the more I think about it, the better it sounds.
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Shaggy
Proud A-lister!
*** This post was edited by Shaggy 2/20/2003 3:51:30 PM ***
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- "I used to be in the audio/visual club, but I was kicked out because of my views on Vietnam........and I was stealing projectors" - Homer Simpson
Pride is in fact a lacking issue in many parks unfortunetly. People come from all over to visit amusement parks every year, and that is what they expect... To be amused. If only every employee who worked at the parks realized this, they could be so much more, so much bigger (if that is what they want) and such a better business. To me, what makes a park great is its ability to give its guests that sense of wonderment and excitement every time they visit, not just the first.
Just last summer I read an article that was written about Kings Island and printed in the Cincinnati Enquirer either in the 70's or the 80's. (It is one of the many articles about the park that are still hanging in the International Resturaunt's lobby) It described Kings Island in such a fantastic way that I wished I was around at that time to have been a part of the park and all the wonders it brought to its visiters. It really makes you think about what you are doing (for those working in the parks) and instilled a greater sense of pride in me that I had for the park. Unfortunetly not everyone thinks that way. They are there to just raise a buck.
Our new general manager has had a long history with Kings Island already. He has been with Kings Island for many years prior and that pride must still be there. Now that he is back it is evident and he only wants whats best for the park. He knows what needs to be done and what will make the guests happy. Give it a few years and you will see his dreams starting to spand out. Kings Island will most likely return to its hey-day and will fight hard for those golden tickets.
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Chris Tyson
Photographer
www.pkiunlimited.com
*** This post was edited by BeastFreak 2/19/2003 5:14:03 PM ***
Moosh [relax...he knows I'm joking]
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Humor Ingredients: all natural flavors, some artificial additives. Sold by weight, not volume. 100% satisfaction not guaranteed. Void in Texas and Puerto Rico.
-Danny
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