They are running this place into the ground.
Written: Jun 25 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Some great rides when they work, location, nice kids' areas
Cons: Lots of broken rides, expensive (bad) food
The Bottom Line: Normally a great park, but avoid it until Cedar Fair completes its takeover. Paramount is not taking good care of it.
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| petunia0384's Full Review: Paramount's Kings Island |
As a WV native, I live less than 4 hours away from Kings Island, so it has been a favorite place to escape for a weekend for many years. This year, it really disappointed me.
The General Facts
Location: Just outside of Cincinnati, OH.
Website: www.pki.com
Admission: Our tickets were $30 each, as we purchased them from our local credit union. Coca Cola sometimes teams up to offer discounts, as do other places (like Kroger). Online, tickets are $37.99 for adults, $29.99 for children and seniors. I believe they are much higher at the gate, so it is better to purchase online. You can also pay once and visit twice for $49.99 (online, same price for all ages).
Parking: $9
Lockers: $6. $4 key deposit, which you get back upon key return.
Food: I expect amusement park food to be expensive. I'm not so naive to think it won't be... But it should at least be decent. The selection was bad. There was LaRosa's pizza, chicken tenders, fried chicken, pulled pork sandwiches... And that's about it. A fried chicken meal with 3 pieces, a roll, and 2 sides was $10. This was probably the best thing we had, though it's still not a bargain. Large drinks are about $3.75. You can buy a souvenir cup for $6.99 and refill it for something like $2.99 all day, but we didn't want to lug a cup around on the rides. You're better off with the snack food, like pretzels and donuts (near the front gate). One thing they have that IS awesome is fudge. As a special, we bought 2 half pounds and got 1 for free. Check it out if you're a fudge fan. For 3 people, we spent about $150 on food/beverages for the day between noon and 8 PM... No joke.
Rides: The park boasts over 80 rides (including 13 roller coasters), and a water park. I didn't visit the water park this time, but it was a lot of fun the last time I was there. It is included with park admission.
Atmosphere: There is a lot of Nickelodeon influence. Most of the staff we encountered was friendly. The staff is mostly made up of young people (college students). There are special services for handicapped people. The security is good, as you are forced to walk through metal detectors at the front gate, and all bags are searched. The park is pretty clean. My biggest complaint is that they have no "cool off" places (like misty areas or anything) other than the water rides (which had 2 hour waits when we were there).
Shopping: There isn't much. A few little shops here and there. If you're going to shop, you'll be disappointed... Though there is plenty of shopping in the general Cincy area.
Lodging: Plenty of hotels around the park, less than five minutes away for about $110+ a night, cheaper if you go further away. You may want to make reservations if you are going on a weekend. We stayed at a Microtel, which was no frills, but clean and comfortable.
The Problems
Those of you who are huge amusement park fans may be aware that Paramount's parks were recently purchased by Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point. Since control will be given to them shortly, Paramount has apparently decided to do nothing for the upkeep of this park.
Maybe I hit them on a bad day. I'd like to think that I did, but I'm afraid that isn't the case. I was here just two years ago, and it seems like this visit was more than a bad day.
The Beast. It's a world famous coaster, the longest wooden one there is. Coaster enthusiasts come from around the world to ride it. It was built in 1975. That makes it a 21 year old wooden coaster. When I was there two years ago, it offered a smooth and thrilling ride. This year, it jerked and beat the passengers around like you wouldn't believe. People in front of us were even turning around and asking, "Did that beat the crap out of you?" This was yesterday, and my neck still hurts today. The only explanation for the roughness of a ride that was smooth 2 years ago seems to be that they haven't taken care of it.
Speaking of things they haven't taken care of, 3 major rides were broken during our visit: Delirium (a pendulum that swings and spins the riders), Flight of Fear (an indoor roller coaster), and Tomb Raider (an indoor thrill ride), and Spongebob 3-D (an indoor motion theatre ride). Now, we did eventually get to ride Delirium and Flight of Fear (which we were in line for when it broke), but still. This seems more like a poor maintenance pattern than bad luck.
Another apalling thing? The 3-D movie that was up and running, a Hanna Barbera themed cartoon, inexplicably had no 3-D glasses. WHAT?!
The parking lot trams weren't running either.
Overall, I would advise people against going to this place, until Cedar Fair completes their buyout. It seems like they aren't interested in keeping the place up until then. In the meantime, visit Cedar Point in Sandusky, which is a better Ohio amusement park all around (www.cedarpoint.com).
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
petunia0384
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Member: Shainna
Location: Morgantown, WV, USA
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Hi, I'm Shainna and I'm a 22 year old graduate student at West Virginia University.
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