Top Gun - Themeing - CoasterBuzz

When did Paramount's Kings Island decide to close off the themed section of the Top Gun queue? Why did they close it off in the first place, and if they were to open it back up, would the themeing work?

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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.

It never really did anything. Not sure why they closed it. Maybe it had something to do with the ride being renamed "Gillette Mach 3." ;)

Eric

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"Air time is not a crime. Take a click, you're a prick" - Kris Allen (Jul 2002, HW)

LOL, that's good Eric. Anyway, part of the reason is because they didn't need it anymore. After the first few years, it rarely had a long line. The walk to it is already a pain, why bother making people walk more than they need to? Of course, since one train was horribly twisted and mangled (j/k), reopening it might not be such a bad idea.

Eric's right, other than some lights, all that theming kinda just sat there. It might need a little dusting, but they could reopen it if they really wanted to.

Written by Dana C., who is incidentally listening to the Top Gun soundtrack right now. :)

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"I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe."

*** This post was edited by Skylab on 9/4/2002. ***

Wasn't there a fog / mist effect too? At least in the early years I think.

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Go Tigers

Actually the reason that portion of the queue was closed was because it eliminated a ride op position. When the "control room" areas of the understation were open, it required a ride operator to be staffed there and monitor the safety and flow of guests. Once themeing bagan to fail, the park saw fit to move the ride op elsewhere and closed that portion of the queue.

Shaggy

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Shaggy

R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002

When are they going to upgrade to Gillette Mach 3 Turbo? I've been using those blades for a couple months now and find them superior to the original Mach 3's. I think it would add a lot to Top Gun to upgrade that portion of the theming. :)

So what was down there - something worthwile that added to the "attraction" or just some stuff to look at while standing in line?

Just stuff to look at. Not much is lost by not having it open.

Shaggy

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Shaggy

R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002

It always seems odd to me when parks spend the time and money to "theme" something and then don't use it or let it get run down... I guess in this case, they just put the theming in a bad place - maybe they could move some of it out on the path up to the ride...

I hated walking through that area anyway, as the fake smoke and mist irritated my eyes and gave me a bad taste in my mouth... ew.

However what I really miss is that cool, *huge* 3-D mural. The mural itself is still there, but it's different and the 3-D element is missing.

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He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking; can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding.

kip, the money they spent on the themeing in the section was relatively low. It's been open since 91? The cost of that was a non issue at this point.

Eric

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"Air time is not a crime. Take a click, you're a prick" - Kris Allen (Jul 2002, HW)

Top Gun opened on 4/9/93.

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Intelligence is a God given gift: Know how to use it.

When did they remove all that good stuff? I mean, I'm sure that the stuff was better than the ride considering the ride is only like 22 seconds (that's one short ride!). But I've been on it twice and there was nothing special in the queue. (the first time I went on it was in 99)

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You want to know what Millenium Force is on a scale from 1-10? Oh, that's easy. A bajillion out of ten.

Down there there was a couple missles, flags and things. And your right they could eliminate a ride op sitting there, which is a pretty good idea, therefore, why pay more, when you got what you wanted out of it

And your right they could eliminate a ride op sitting there, which is a pretty good idea, therefore, why pay more, when you got what you wanted out of it

That's what worries me about PKI's theming decisions though. That mindset with Top Gun could easily be carried over to Tomb Raider in a few years. They'll get what they wanted out of it and let it die a slow and horrible death, Disaster Transport style. That kind of theming neglect is acceptable at a traditional amusement park like Cedar Point, but when your marketing campaign is based on the power of your themed rides, you can't let things go down like that and still be considered a well kept theme park.

Fog/misters really do add to the ride, even though Den is right about the smell/taste....hate when parks have these effects on the ride and don't use them....and it happens a lot! I won't even go into my standard "dissertation" on theming....

edit: upon second though, the theming with the new sponsorship could look quite.....SHARP....

*** This post was edited by rollergator on 9/4/2002. ***

As I understand it, the company that themed andventure express and phantom theater did a bad job. This is why phantom theator is being redone. Adventure express and top gun are next on the list to fix up. It seems to me that pki is getting more and more concerned with maintaining theming. They have been doing a pretty good job with maintaining trtr.

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Welcome to the Magnum XL200, were gonna take you up really high, drop you really low and your gonna go really fast!!! Your gonna go upside down not once, not twice but ZERO times!!

As far as I'm concerned, the best theming on the 2002 version of Adventure Express is the really tall foliage as you first exit the station. If they let the rest of the ride grow up like that, it'd be great.

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He let the contents of the bottle do the thinking; can't shake the devil's hand and say you're only kidding.

grimlock82 said:
As I understand it, the company that themed andventure express and phantom theater did a bad job. This is why phantom theator is being redone. Adventure express and top gun are next on the list to fix up. It seems to me that pki is getting more and more concerned with maintaining theming. They have been doing a pretty good job with maintaining trtr.
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Phantom Theater is being replaced because, as far as I know, Kings Island ( before and after Paramount ) has decided that something new should be put there every decade. This is what they have done so far. As far as Tomb Raider: The Ride goes, I think that is too early for us to tell how well they are going to keep up themeing. It has only been one season...

Not to move the topic to AE, but man that ride would be SO much better if the statues were on the FIRST lift.....kind of anti-climactic to get me all "skeered" of the angry gods, and then drop me at the station....

As for Top Gun, I'll take the lush landscaping over any "sponsored" theming, any day....