King's Island

What was once Paramount's King's Island is now owned by, "Cedar Fair Entertainment Company". For years the park was known as the mid-west's only destination for movie-centric theme parks. Film props, posters, music, and even cinematic rides were the central theme. It was convenient for many who couldn't afford to make the trip to any of the Disney or Universal theme parks. But in 2008, the park opened under the new management, and was officially de-moviefied.

I'm not gonna lie, that change was tough for me. I'm a theme park junkie, and I've been going to that park nearly every summer for as long as I can remember. In true geek fashion, I even got engaged to my husband standing in the park's movie prop museum under a model of the USS Enterprise. I have childhood memories of posing for Indiana Jones pictures and seeing Star Trek ice-skating shows. I visited last summer, eager to see what kinds of changes had been made now that the movie theme was no more.

At the time, the changes were few but impactful. No more movie music, all the rides had to be renamed due to the rights to all the Paramount films being gone, and nothing new had been added. As could be expected, the first year under new management was a tough one for transition. The overall quality of the park seemed to me to be down at that time, and the new lack of theme definitely hurt the atmosphere of the park.

But I'm hoping that 2009 will bring new life to the park. The Cedar Fair company is well known for being very coaster-centric. They own and operate "Cedar Point", which has some of the world's most thrilling and impressive coasters. Also, King's Island is well known for already having the world's two longest wooden roller coasters. (The Beast and Son of Beast) Pair their reputation for thrill rides with the fact that this summer will see the opening of a new ride at King's Island, "Diamondback", and I'm game to try the park yet again.

While it's true that some rides suffer greatly due to the lack of theme, others aren't affected at all. For example, the "Tomb Raider" ride is now simply called, "The Crypt". Without the music from the film, the specific film props, or the benefit of Angelina Jolie's likeness...the ride falls a little flat. But other rides, such as the former "Top Gun", "Face Off", and "Drop Zone" are exactly the same with the exception of the queue music.

One benefit to Cedar Fair's new ownership is that they have vowed to make in-park food and merchandise much cheaper than it was under Paramount's control. They have also maintained the Australian-themed water park, which is still named, "Boomerang Bay", despite all the "Crocodile Dundee" posters being pulled from the area. Upon my visit last season, all the rides were fully operational and just as much fun as ever.

I'm not going to lie, as a movie geek, a little bit of the magic is definitely gone for me. But I can imagine that such a large transition in corporate ownership of a theme park would take a lot of time. I'm more than willing to still recommend it to anyone living in the mid-west and looking for a cheaper summer vacation destination in 2009. Just be aware of the changes. Especially those with young kids, because King's Island still has all the rights to its Hanna Barbera partnership, as well as having a multitude of Nickelodeon themed rides and attractions. Those have not been changed at all. In fact, the park was recently named the "best theme park in the mid-west for families and young adults" according to their website.

The signature replica of the Eiffel Tower is still there, along with the evening fireworks shows and souvenir shops. Also available is a recently constructed hotel resort built to accomodate guests. The hotel is called, "Great Wolf Lodge" and is following Disney's original formula of keeping guests onsite and making a King's Island vacation more all-inclusive. I would recommend this option, as it can be far less stressful than driving to the park every day if you intend to stay for more than one day.

I'll be taking a handful of trips there this spring and summer, and I'll be glad to report back how the park is looking, feeling, and functioning during its second year under new management. My hope is that Cedar Fair will begin to focus on the idea of finding a new theme for the park, whatever that may be. That they will reach out again in the future to strike a licensing agreement with someone (maybe even Paramount) to recapture some of that movie magic that the park is currently missing.