The only thing I didn't like about this video is that it ended. These serious in depth research videos that you do are simply amazing and want them to just not end.
goose6413 this should’ve been a tad longer and include all Paramount rides in detail. Like how the Days of Thunder 3D Ride was a prequel to the Intimidator coasters.
One thing I would've liked to see at the beginning of the video was Paramount's famous "And now we're pleased to bring you our Feature Presentation" with that iconic jingle in the background.
An interesting fact about Canada’s Wonderland’s Top Gun: It was originally going to be a B&M invert, but cedar point had a clause that a B&M invert couldnt be built in a certain distance from cedar point. Would’ve made Canada’s Wonderland’s coaster collection a lot better
Cross Crease Hockey well the one at Carowinds was planned to be themed to the 1998 Godzilla movie, but that movie flopped, so it became another Top Gun coaster.
@@joeykelly0157 The Bat was already under construction by the time that Paramount made the purchase. I don't know what the original name was supposed to be.
that ride was so amazing when it was brought to the park my 13 year old mind was blown. to me it will always be Paramount's Great America, I miss star trek characters walking through the park.
Carowinds is my home park, and Top gun put Carowinds on the map. However, Cedar Fair has done amazing things to Carowinds, and so happy Carowinds is what it is now.
Kings island has been my home park my whole life. I miss the theming that Nickelodeon had at the park for the kids area. They did a great job with those themes. However, cedar fair just puts more into the big thrill rides. Rides like banshee make it worth the change in ownership. I will say when the park was "Paramount's" they were a lot nicer to it's hourly employees though.
King's Dominion is my home park (even though I've since moved, I still call it my home park). I didn't spend much time in it when it was owned by Paramount, but I do remember things like The Hurler and Outer Limits. Man, fond memories there...I loved riding the Rebel Yell both forward and backward facing, and the line was usually pretty manageable. I also remember losing $6 when I was a kid on Grizzly. I watched it fly past me. This was a great video. Thanks for sharing it!
Zac G it would’ve been weirder if Kings Islands’s Hanna Barbara Land expansion relied on their shows running at the time, considering they were all airing on Nickelodeon’s rival, Cartoon Network.
@@DoswarePictures The Peanuts theme looks silly on the Ghoster Coaster at Canada's Wonderland... the ghost theme needs to go since they don't have Scooby-Doo...
Racing Photographer yeah, they should combine Kidzville and Planet Snoopy into either a bigger Planet Snoopy (like what KD did) or give it the Camp Snoopy aesthetic. Ghoster Coaster becomes Woodstock Express, Silver Streak becomes Kiddy Hawk, and Taxi Jam becomes Wilderness Run.
Carowinds is my home park. I remember going as a really little kid during the paramount days. It was before I was really into coasters, but I remember how impressive it was to me to see HB and nick characters all around the park. It was years ago, but I’d definitely say the vibe was a lot different then than now under CF. It seemed a little more generic and thrill oriented back then, rather than focused on overall experience. Sorta six flags -esque, IMO.
Orange Laowai and many of their IPs weren’t used that good. Key example being Star Trek, only having one ride, and it wasn’t immersive like the Vegas experience. I would also say Indiana Jones, but Disney had it covered.
@@DoswarePictures No doubt they failed to use some of their better IPs in a more immersive way. On top of poorly utilizing Star Treck, they never used their gold mine of mission impossible.
Orange Laowai and for some reason the parks were doing less shows, even though Paramount has had many notable musicals like Grease and South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. Also not seen is Titanic, although it does have Fox involved.
I live near Kings Dominion, so that first map you showed of Virginia pretty much showed the street I live on. I grew up loving the Paramount and Nickelodeon days. It gave the park such an epic feel. Then everything felt generic, especially with the stunt coaster no longer doing the effects. I loved the Nick water splash zone with all of the characters out and about. Now it's just a garden and concrete, but I understand they want to keep the water activities to the actual water park. I also remember Hypersonic being so cool when it opened but it was placed in the middle of the walkways. It was so awkward. I do think they are trying to make the park better again with Winter Fest and the coaster, Twisted Timbers, but hopefully they find a replacement to Volcano
Kings Dominion is so boring nowadays that I wished they would've sold it to Busch Gardens or just bring back the fun and exciting themes paramount brought to the parks
@@LewEl26 Same. As a kid who went there between 93/94-2003, then in 08 (As late 03-06 we were busy selling and building a house then saved for a year after), I would "Joke" Paramount's Kings Dominion was our Disneyland/World to the other kids at school due to not having a lot of money growing up so we didn't take a lot of trips but my parents made sure I went here every summer at least once (More if family/friends invited us after going once) even remember the Skyride that took you to a side of the park to cut down on walking, Yogi's cave, and several other HB stuff for pictures... last time I was in the Kid's Area they had Wild Thornberry's cutouts to take pictures.
I love Kings Island when it was paramount branded. I was about 10-11 when they made the transition to cedar fair. I will say that the paramount version had a lot of flash but wasn’t taken care of nearly as well as KI is today. It’s so nice going to the park now, new coats of paint, consistent atmosphere, and amazing coasters.
very original video. no one has really covered the paramount days, and kings island is my home park. Miss the days when attractions were themed to the films
Back when they first put the flight of fear in . I had two friends on separate occasions become so disoriented but the ride they walked into the wall . Still one of my favorite rides .
I live 30 minutes from Carowinds. I have been there 100s of times in my 40 years. My best memories are from the Paramount Waynes World days. I LOVED the "Hurler" coaster and "Top Gun" my sons first coaster ride was on Top Gun" so many amazing memories and fun times.
Me on days when Airtime Thrills doesn’t upload: when will he upload again? Me on days when he does upload: YES!!!!! In all seriousness, the time in between videos feels like forever. That should show how much I love the channel.
Great video! I worked in the HR department at PKI between the 2002-2005 seasons. Some great memories. The best was being able to go into the park in the off season and walk along the various coaster tracks and watch the new rides being built. I snuck a buddy in one January and he took some great shots of the Beast along the tracks in the dead of winter - unfortunately I've lost the pictures over the years. :(
Paramount's Kings Island was, for me, the Golden Era of the park, even though I started going for years prior. Now, it just feels like any other amusement park. Even the TV commercials from back then were so cinematic and thrilling, you wanted to get and go immediately, even if was midnight. The ads today are dull and lifeless.
KD is a my home park and I totally disagree. The loss of Volcano hurt, but the park experience is so much better under CF. The park was a dump when Paramount owned it.
Joey Mistretta KD is my home park too. All Cedar Fair did was add giant Candy Apples, Singing Mushrooms, and a corny Clown Band. All tree of those things are lame. They expanded Planet Snoopy every year and that place can’t compete with the old Nickelodeon Central.
@@AuburnFanSince2010 Totally agree! Paramount made Volcano, Drop Zone, Flight of Fear, Spongebob 4-D, Hypersonic XLC, and Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion! They knew how to create thrills AND theming, not just thrills...
I grew up during the Paramount area and have great memories at Kings Island and Carowinds (my home parks respectively at different times during that time period). I have a soft spot for the TOP GUN themed roller coasters as that's my favorite movie. The Wayne's World area at Carowinds was really cool as well.
I used to work at my home park California's Great America which was still owned by Paramount back in 2000, right when Stealth came out. I was fortunate to have worked on that attraction a few times and as fun as it was that thing broke down quite often. Managers almost deemed it a piece of junk since the company that manufactured it went bankrupt (go figure). I did have a lot of fun working there those two seasons (2000-2001) and the park looked more vibrant and exciting, giving me a sense of pride being there. In a way it's kinda sad to have seen the Paramount ambiance long gone still the park is actually doing better with Cedar Fair in control and adding new and cutting edge rides and attractions. Even though it's one of the smaller less popular parks in the U.S. still it's great to see the attention it's finally getting.
I worked the other Great America as a teenager and it has always been (and still is) one of the largest and most popular seasonal parks in the country. It was an ongoing joke that even though Six Flags was bad at running parks "at least we are not PGA!"
I had a Paramount's Kings Dominion season pass in 2001 and 2002 (back when they were dirt cheap) and it was an awesome experience filled with great memories. My friends and I had plenty of free time after school and work, so riding Volcano, the Hurler, Rebel Yell, and Flight of Fear just became something we did on a regular basis. On top of that, Paramount did a great job with their Halloween events at KD. I still love amusement parks and go to as many as I can, but as an adult, I miss my playground that was Paramount's Kings Dominion.
My son just turned 3. I remember the Scooby-Doo coaster being the biggest coaster I could ride as a child. I want my son to have the nickelodeon experience that I enjoyed there for over a decade! We live just 40 minutes away, and I still get season passes for my family, but it just doesn't hit the same as it did before. Paramount sold during my freshman year of high school, and it's never been the same.
Kings Dominion was my home park (now i live near Magic Mountain) and I have nothing but very nostalgic memories from the paramount days! I especially loved the Nickelodeon themed areas as well as a Nick kid lol
Weyland Productions while I’ve talked a lot here about my nostalgia about the Nickelodeon stuff at KD, since you mentioned Magic Mountain, I also had nostalgia involving Thomas Town, as I was really into Thomas at the time. Earlier that year I went to SFDK and went to their Thomas Town, and to this day I still love the scenery on the train ride. It made you feel like you were actually on Sodor.
Kings Island... such fond memories. Thanks to my high school girlfriend and her twin sister and a gold pass I learned to adore rollercoasters in 2000. RIP Son of Beast. I'll always remember you in all you inverted glory.
I know you mentioned it in the video, but I would love to see this same style of video for the Marriott’s Great America’s. Especially since it would be very interesting to see how each park compares and grew once they were sold to different companies.
Also, what happened to the third park. Yes, there was a third park planned, in the Washington DC-Baltimore area. It would be the crown jewel of the chain, but local opposition at two proposed locations (in between Baltimore and DC , Maryland, and just south of DC, in Virginia) shut down the project
I visited Paramount's Great America in California several times in the late 90s/early 00s. The first time I went, they had a theater experience ride (I don't know the actual term) called James Bond: License to Thrill. You, as Bond and witnessing everything in first person, go on a chase of a baddie, I specifically remember a moment where you "jump" from a car onto a train. There were queue videos with Judi Dench's M, and Desmond Llwellyn's Q, and themed props. It was one of the coolest things I ever witnessed at a theme park and I must have gone on that multiple times as a huge 007 fan. The second time I went, it had been replaced with a Spongebob attraction and I just about cried. I've read since that time that particular ride is now based on the Mass Effect video games, which sounds cool too. I haven't been back to visit it though.
Kings Dominion is my home park. I've always lived within 45 minutes of the park. They used to have job fairs at my school and our students practically ran that place! I've had a season pass to the park probably close to 10 times. It was best under Paramount. Without a doubt, the year they added the Hypersonic XLC was the peak experience window. I'm 32 now with a family of my own (i bought everyone passes), and i don't believe my son will ever find it as magical as i did during the nickelodeon days. I just want my childhood park back.
Yeah I have nephews and nieces/cousins who were born the year after Paramount sold the parks and they won't ever know about that era outside of pictures and any videos on here, but it won't be the same I remember a lot of the HB themes right before WB bought them, and last I was there was in 2008 and even though the Nick and Scooby-Doo were still there, it lost a lot of that magic as I noticed the walk of fame at the entrance of the park for famous movies were gone and the movie names were gone. (Didn't know about the sale until after that trip as fast-speed internet was still expensive so didn't get the news online plus I'm an hour and a half away so probably didn't get much news coverage for my area) Now some of the rides I grew up wanting to ride or grew up riding are gone like Yogi's Cave, Tomb Raider, Hurler, Shockwave, the action/motion theater, and ESPECIALLY Volcano
Another fantastic video as always! I remember visiting kings island and kings dominion while they were still under the paramount name. I actually still have beach towels from the parks with the paramount name on it!
Hi Airtime Thrills! I love your channel and all of your videos! You are my favorite coaster channel! I have my own channel called Coaster Legend but my channel is not growing and I was wondering if you could give me a few tips on how to grow. I saw your channel hasn't been around that long and you already have 21,000 subs! You are my biggest inspiration for RU-vid! Thanks!
Thanks! I suggest making videos that appeal to a wide audience and have an attractive title (nice way of saying clickbait) and make it the best quality you can
Kings Island has basically been a 2nd home for me over the past 17 summers. I grew up under Paramount being born in 2001. Every single time I went to Kings Island all I remember was memory after memory. Such an amazing time. I remember being so confused about all the name changes and color changes after the CF buyout. It felt like such a fever dream that left me so confused. Nowadays seeing all they've done for these parks has made me so excited for the future of these parks. I kinda wish Ceadr Fair would remake Son of Beast cause I never got the chance to ride it.
One thing to remember about Great America, Cedar Fair was able to something that secured Great America’s long term future. When Marriott sold Great America in Santa Clara, the City of Santa Clara kept ownership of the land while selling the park to Paramount Parks and Cedar Fair. This made the park vulnerable as they didn’t own the land. Cedar Fair made the major investment of $150 million dollars in 2019 to purchase Great America’s 112 acres of land, securing the parks long term future. This is quite an investment and shows Cedar Fairs long term commitment to the operations of Great America.
Great America is my home park. Just 20 min drive from my home. I always went as a kid. Top gun was won my favorite rides there. There’s a whole stadium next to it now and they added a new wooden coaster like 7 years ago. It’s called “Gold Striker” which is appropriate being that the 9ers play next door.
I consider Carowinds as one of my home parks. When I was a kid we would go there at least once a year. That was in the 70's and 80's. It still had that home town park feeling. I returned as an adult after Paramont owned it. While I still had fun. It no longer had that same feel to it. It seemed cookie cutter to me. I was lucky enough to return this summer and omg. It blew me away. Loved the Cedar Fair touches. While I missed two of my old favorites. Thunderoad and White Lighting. It felt like my home park again. It has those personal touches.
Kings Island was my home park growing up. Throughout the late 90's and mid 00's my family would spend every single weekend there. Our Christmas presents growing up were always next year's passes. Those weekends are some of my favorite memories. Long since moved away from Ohio, but recently I took my wife to visit. I was a little sad, as the kid's area themes are no where near as solid as it was under Paramount, but the top tier coasters that they've added really makes up for it. When I heard they were being taken over by Cedar Fair, I kind of hoped they would revive Son of Beast, but alas that hasn't happened. I still have my ride photo from opening weekend, it was a real thrill, so sad that it had to be put down.
What's weird is that I feel like most people are fond of when these rides had their tie-ins to movies, probably just nostalgic since it was like that when they were younger. Overall, Cedar Fair has been good to all of these parks.
There was something about the Taft background music that just worked for their parks. Other than in the kids' areas, Canada's Wonderland used to play non-stop classical music (or was some of that polka?) which went perfectly with the medieval theming of the place. The tunes made you "march" along to the next ride. Then Paramount took over and played movie bits. You're walking along and hear machine guns sounds from one movie, then some random theme song from another, then a voice like "Come with me if you want to live". That was f-ing ridiculous especially if you were in the Medieval Faire or International Street where it totally didn't fit the theme. Cedar Fair plays more of a CHR mix which is usually palatable but I do miss the old Taft playlist.
The only thing that Cedar Fair didn’t do well with Kings Island was the Tomb Raider rose, which was legit. Other than that, the park is great. I try to go to it once every other year since I’m in Cleveland and closer to CP. Helps make the decision on a platinum pass easier though. King’s Dominion is just in a tough market with Busch Gardens in the area
Let’s be real with each other kings dominion was the paramount park that got treated the best and cedar fair treats it worse than paramount did and it’s irritating
Edward Isom although Cedar Fair brought us i305 and Twisted Timbers, and apparently Paramount Did away with the skyride and also did less shows, even though they were the studio who made Grease.
First coaster war in the early 2000’s? I argue the actual first coaster war was in the 80’s when we got the first hyper coaster, megaloopers, suspended and standing coasters.
and the first coaster wars were between Cedar Fair, Six Flags, and the Japanese parks. Of course Paramount was too cheap to even try to put up a fight. To think shitty little Darien Lake near Buffalo got a hyper coaster (Superman Ride of Steel) 7 years before Canada's Wonderland (Behemoth).
A interesting piece of history is the timing where Cedar Fair got the parks. The purchase closed on June 30, 2006, and literally 9 days later, on July 9, 2006, Son of Beast at Paramount's Kings Island would have its major accident, that would result in 27 people going to hospital, new trains and the removal of its most important element.
One neat detail about Kings Dominion is that the land it was built on was the Chenery Horse Farm, the home of Secretariat, the greatest horse of all time. The land was split between Kings Dominion, and a permanent home of the Virginia State Fair. Also, the movie "Roller Coaster" was filmed there, featuring the Rebell Yell, which was going to be blown up by terrorists.
I actually worked at Paramount's Great America while in college from 1995 to 1997. I started off as a rde operator, mostly on Top Gun, and then moved to the First Aid Department a few months later. I was working there when Beverly Hills Cop III was being filmed there. Didn't get to meet any actors, though.
Great retrospective. I grew up with California's Great America and have been going since it's first season as Marriott's GA in 1976. Love that it is now in the hands of Cedar Fair given it's tumultuous history and for all the reasons you spelled out. Looking back, I'd say the 1st season CGA was Paramount's Great America, was a great year for the park...it was exciting that the park was now the place "Where the Magic of Movies meets the Thrills of a Lifetime"...with Top Gun being the star attraction. But the "honeymoon" of Paramount was short-lived...the park really seemed to lose it's way and it when the Viacom properties came in, it just seemed really disjointed...by the time it was sold to Cedar Fair...the park was a mess and very sad. I was also able to experience Paramount's Kings Island as well. I already knew the history of Kings Island and KECO (and how it came to purchase Great America), but I learned something new with your video about the historical perspective on Carowinds...I never knew how it became a KECO park. Thanks!
Paramount's Great America is the reason I became so interested in theme parks in the first place. I was a big Nickelodeon kid and distinctly remember a trip to Great America in 1998 for their Nickelodeon themed area Splat City. While I was pretty much terrified of everything at Disneyland - including Mickey Mouse - during a trip that same year, I had no problems with the Rugrats or anything at Great America for that matter. I'm really glad Cedar Fair has recognized the value of Great America the last several years. It still has a long way to go, but it definitely beats whatever tragic development project would have taken the space if the park had been sold.
justsamo o remember when the resort planned to open this year when first announced? Sorry whovians, you’re gonna have to wait awhile longer for a Doctor Who ride, and by then Jodie Whittaker would’ve regenerated by then.
Kings Island has been my home park since I was little. I remember the days when me and my family would visit the park during the Paramount ownership days. I understand that some choices made like the construction of Son of Beast and the IP's used weren't exactly great. But the park was a lot of fun to visit. Cedar Fair has done well making it one of their best parks (and I'll be forever greatful for it) but part of me misses the park I grew up with.
It might have have been cedar fair but my first time at great America, the kids section was Nickelodeon themed and while the snoopy theming is still good, I really miss the Nickelodeon stuff. I loved that Woodstock express was Runaway Reptar! I actually lost my hat on that ride and I never got it back. This was 2009 I think. The second time I went back, I believe it was all Snoopy/Peanuts which was like a year later
I was born in 91 in SC, I knew Carowinds as "Paramount's Carowinds" for basically the entirety of my childhood. Cedar Fair's decision not to exercise the Paramount branding rights baffled me because from my point of view, it was what was most identifiable about most of the rides. It was hard to process being a teenager and not seeing any of the characters or theming I'd gotten used to every summer since preschool.
Carowinds has been my home park for as long as I can remember my 21 years of existing and every time I see it mentioned in one of these videos it's like a serotonin dose straight to my brain. I saw a video saying "Paramount Parks" and knew EXACTLY what that meant because I remember that transition vividly (my siblings don't so I always help my dad explain how things were) and I clicked INSTANTLY. I'll add a bunch of anecdotes in the replies
Okay, storytime. The freaking BORG. Aka Nighthawk now. When I was... oh gosh, maybe 8 years old? My dad and I were at the park after a long day of riding as many intense coasters as I was tall enough for, and despite my thick skin facing down heights and airtime, I was WAY too tired to handle the background sounds coming from that ride as we walked towards the park entrance/exit. I can't remember exactly what they were; probably just some borg sound clips from the show. Something about assimilating or something? Anyway, freaked me OUT. Oh, and bonus fact: before that happened and my dad had to explain what the Borg were to me to help me rationalize the fear away (yeah I was that sort of kid), I used to think of that ride as the Xbox Coaster because of the color scheme
TOP GUN TOP GUN TOP GUN. To this day I still call Afterburn "Top Gun" because it was one of my first truly intense coasters and I first rode it back in the Paramount days. I confuse the heck out of most people when I call it that though. Sometimes it even takes my dad a second to get what I mean, but he's gone to the Cedar Fair version of the park three times as many times as I have (he takes each of my siblings and me on individual trips once a summer) so maybe the others calling it Afterburn has made him forget faster. But I don't! Especially because almost nothing about the colors or anything changed when it was rebranded, compared to stuff like Nighthawk and a lot of the stuff in the Nickelodeon areas.
"Don't forget your bags and belongings, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your stay at Paramount's Carowinds!" I might not have the wording perfect, but the exact cadence and tone of that soundbite is burned into my memory
I 100% get what you mean when you saw Cedar Fair made a big difference. Intimidator and Fury 325? I mean, COME ON, those were life-changing. Honestly, for me, it all happened at a perfect time. I was young enough to enjoy the fun theming of Paramount and get some nostalgia out of a different version of the park, then by the time I was old enough to start looking for some bigger rides, here comes Cedar Fair!
Oh also the Scooby-Doo ride? My "first coaster," at least according to how I defined coaster as a kid. Interestingly, that's one that I remember going through TWO rebrands; Scooby-Doo became Fairly Odd Parents, which became the Snoopy thing it is today. I do remember a few other rides with Hanna Barbera references now that I think of it; some of them I still think of in that way, despite the removed branding. I must have been REALLY young when that first rebrand happened though... but I do remember it pretty vividly. Then again, I think I always forget that I remember two rebrands because my young brain merged the memories of both rebrands together, so maybe I don't remember it as well as I think XD
This is gonna be good! I’ve always wanted to know more about this chain Great video! Glad I got to learn more about the chain as I never got to experience one of their parks
I have a ton of respect for you with all the work that you put into this video, as well as all your others. Excellent job as always! I have no experience with any of these parks until these last 2 years, but it was interesting to learn about the history.
Been going to Kings Dominion since the late 80s. Was always a great place to visit. The lack of attention to the coasters over the last 10 years has been kind of depressing as most of the older ones are showing there age and becoming to rough a ride to enjoy.
i remember going to kings island as a kid, loving the nickelodeon themed kids section then when i went back when i was 14, it was planet snoopy and was like "um what the heck"
cbjgirl23 I remember all of the Nickelodeon stuff as a kid, mostly things tied to Nick Jr, such as the Dora show and the Meet Blue attraction, which also has a replica of the famous thinking chair. I also encountered Spongebob and Patrick, Diego, and Little Bill, long before the show became controversial due to Bill Cosby. Yeah, I’m into Nick Jr nostalgia, even building a collection of DVDs and VHS tapes.
I have been going to Kings Dominion since I was a kid. The Scooby Doo ride was my first roller coaster. I was really sad when all the branding changed and hated Ceder Fair for it. But then I moved to Illinois. And I went to Cedar Point twice. And I really like that park. Millennium Force is one of my favorite rides. The view over the lake is majestic and the ride isn't half bad either. That and Volcano are probably my favorite roller coasters. But I digress, now back in Maryland again, I want to give Kings Dominion another chance.
Sadly the Volcano has been shut down. I miss the old Kings Dominion with the themed rides, everything seems so generic now. These days I much prefer going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
When I heard that Cedar Fair was taking over Wonderland, I was quite happy. The rides Paramount put in weren’t really that great. And the line for Top Gun was so long that first couple of years. They would play Danger Zone and Take My Breath Away over and over again. It would be stuck in your head all day! Ugh!
Yeah, during the Paramount years you'd wait an hour to get on Top Gun, Tomb Raider, and Italian Job. Now those are walk-ons even without a fast lane. Shows how bad and dated those are compared to the Cedar Fair B&Ms, not even the GP want to ride them anymore!
Dosware Pictures Not nearly as much as Take My Breath Away. Seriously. Ha ha. This band had some skills... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jEZP22b82ks.html
Surfacenoise1 I saw that song in a video about misheard lyrics. One of the lines sounded like “and you were waiting there, swimming through a pile of cheese”.
Kings Island can be seen from my backyard and I drive by it on my way to work now. I am nostalgic for the Hannah Barbara theming and it’s sad that kids today don’t even know who those characters are today. I worked at the park when it was owned by Paramount. They were very professional on how the park was ran. Uniforms for employees were much better than under Cedar Point in my opinion. The music that played through the park was much better as it was movie soundtrack tunes. Snoopy theming of the children’s park seems very dated and “cheap” today. Your video was very entertaining. You could also include the addition of water parks to various parks as well. But good job!
Kings Island is my home park. I remember sending them emails begging them to fix Son of Beast when I was only 10 years old. Last time I ever rode it was in 2008 only a few weeks before it was closed and eventually dismantled. I was heartbroken Paramount was 1000x better than Cedar Fair’s approach, but it is because it was much more kid friendly and my views are extremely biased as I was a kid. They used to have the Nickelodeon mascots walking around everywhere, even outside the kids area and in front of the Racer. It was a happier atmosphere compared to the thrill seeking atmosphere it has today. The dynamic of the park changed when Diamondback was added. Everyone was really upset when Paramount was removed from KI, and when Firehawk was introduced it was still in the general thrill that was known to the park. But when Diamondback was added, suddenly everyone wanted more thrilling rides like it and everyone didn’t seem to mind that the mascots and fun atmosphere was missing Now as a 21 year old, I have to say that I’m happy about the switch. It’s made me an adrenaline junkie and realize a part of me that I wouldn’t otherwise have known until much later in life. Paramount ran the park a lot better, especially in terms of staffing and cleanliness, but Cedar Fair has taken the park to new levels that it wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise. One of the most popular sorely missed things is the rail car (?) or bus that used to take people at the entrance to their cars. Other than that single feature and the cleanliness and staff (which are mostly rude and bitchy), I think everyone is content and/or happy with the change in ownership The major thing I gripe on is the ride upkeep. The green paint from its time at GL was visible for about 4 years before Firehawk was removed, Diamondback seats have duct tape on them and chunks of foam missing and sweat marks (this may have gotten fixed in the last season cuz this is the first year I haven’t gone to KI at least once), Diamondback colors are extremely faded, the Beast cars have patched painting that look awful, Backlot Stunt Coaster has mold and discoloration everywhere from where the water was, Congo Falls has rust and discolored trains, Flight of Fear has broken lights in the launch, the Racer is never running 2 trains because it’s so rough that they shut at least one side down constantly due to guest injury (bruises/red marks/headaches) and complaints, etc. I could go on forever. The Bat, Invertigo, and Banshee are literally the only rides that don’t look like shit Edit: The Bat doesn’t look like shit, but the brake station at the end is unsafe. So much so that the ride is shut down every so often to due to complaints/fear. The entire thing wobbles because it’s so high up and on small pillars of concrete. I remember when I first saw it I started freaking out and asked the operators if it was safe. They said they never noticed it but would report it to their supervisors because it was scary. The ride was shut down for the next 3 weeks and sporadically operated for the rest of the 2016 season. Apparently it’s shut down a lot now because it’s getting worse and more people are getting concerned. Legit looks like it’s gonna snap sometimes. It’ll probably be removed for a front gate aesthetic coaster to make use of the land back there in the next 5 or 10 years tho, or that’s my theory anyways
I totally agree with you. I'm 31 and KI is my home park so I grew up in the heart of paramount. The bat (Top Gun at the time) was my first "big coaster" in 1993. Everything about the park back then was like Disney. Had all of the Nickelodeon characters, a great deal of entertainment, it was my childhood. I was so sad when cedar fair took over, but it was ultimately for the better. Paramount did indeed add some questionable rides looking back on it as an adult, but man, my days used to be so fulfilled. Especially heading into my teenage years when we had Vortex, Tomb Raider, Top Gun, The beast, etc. I used to stay at KI from open to close everytime I go. Now, I stay for about 4-5 hours and I'm content. Lol
SF Onoitsbroko I agree, I only spend ~5 hours there now. The atmosphere was very much like Disney. Maybe it’s cause I’m so used to those rides but the park is just missing something. The rides and thrills are there, but the atmosphere will never be like how it was. And I think that’s why I can’t stay all day anymore. Or maybe I just grew up/been there too much. My first big kid ride was Son of Beast. My sister said that there was a kiddie ride in the middle of it. I was only 7 so I didn’t know better. When I saw the lift hill I was freaking out, and when I saw the loop I was crying so hard. It wasn’t until I got off the ride that I realized it was a lot of fun and went to marathon it for the next 2 hours and got 11 more rides. When it got shut down temporarily the next year, that was the last time I ever rode it until my very last ride in 2008 before it was gone for good. I’ll always miss it, probably better in my memories but it’s still my all time favorite ride
@@cryptic4762 Son of beast honestly gets a ridiculous amount of hate. The ride itself did indeed have major flaws but definitely not the worst coaster I've been on like people made it out to be. I just wish RMC existed before Banshee was installed. I couldn't even fathom what they could had done with that structure. I love Banshee don't get me wrong, but an RMC son of beast, oh my god. Lol!
@@Onoitsbroko Banshee is my 4th least favorite coaster of all time. Regardless to say, I'm not happy about SoB's replacement RMC has been in business for awhile. They did actually work on SoB but only for track work to reduce the roughness
I remember Backlot being Italian job and had the effects at wonderland but sadly they got removed and now it literally launches you straight into the tunnel without a second thought
Vortex Luigi Rosalina 55 I remember when Italian Job first opened at Kings Dominion in 2006, although I had no idea what The Italian Job is. To this day, I’ve never seen the movie.
My home park underneath the Paramount area with Kings Dominion, Cedar Fair has added some great additions to the park but yet they are taking many things such as volcano in the crypt. But with the wing coaster things are looking up in my opinion
I only went to Kings Island once when I was about 7. The only memory I have of it was being royally annoyed that I wasn't tall enough to ride Beast and Son if Beast. I haven't been back since (because Holiday World is a much closer park and it's much more affordable.) But now that I know that Cedar fair owns Kings Island I might have to do some investigating, especially if they make coasters as crazy as the ones at Cedar point.
Certainly funny that as a coaster enthusiast myself, and having Kings island as my home park, I never cared the least about the movie theming and was happy to see ki get back more traditional names and themes for their rides after Paramount.
Paramount's (CA) Great America was a place I visited often (Christian Music Youth nights). One trip that stands out in my memory was the last time I was there. A Romulan was walking and talking with a Klingon. A friend who, spoke Klingon, hassled the Klingon. The Klingon and the Romulan tried some BS about a new treaty to which we responded, "Khitomer." the scurried off quick because we knew more about their characters than they did. We crossed our chests with our arms and turned our back to them calling him a "Patak". We just laughed for a while. yes I knew the park pretty well. "The Yankee Clipper" and :Logger's Run" were favorite rides of mine. most people liked "The Tidal Wave" or "The Edge" as faves.
I have so many memories of my teen years at Paramount's Great America. Top Gun with the soundtrack from the movie playing the whole time you were in line and the Days of Thunder simulator ride, great stuff.
Kings Dominion was my home park. I remember it being my favorite place in the world as a kid. I conquered my fear of roller coasters in that park starting small with Scooby Doo and eventually working my way up to Anaconda and Shock wave and eventually Flight of Fear which is one of my favorite coasters of all time. KD will always have a special place in my heart.
My favorite thing about Paramount was the Paramount on Ice. I was a regular attendee at Carowinds. The Paramount on Ice show made use of some of Paramount's most famous movies and music. It was wonderful. Nobody else could do something like that because they would have to buy the rights to the movies and music. Too expensive. I liked the rides too but if they were renamed as Cedar Fair did, that wouldn't matter to me very much. Note - Someone posted the Paramount on Ice show here - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-atlvGdCAQUo.html
I visited Kings Dominion in 1996, 1997, and 1998 when it was Paramount's Kings Dominion. My first coaster I ever rode on was Outer Limits Flight of Fear at KD in 1996 when it opened.
2:53 had me laughing, I work at Carowinds and I had to ride skytower just under 300 times in the 2019 season and you almost completely word for word quoted our spiel.
Kings island was my home park. Although I cannot say paramount did an amazing job. I was grateful to get new coasters. It was forever between the vortex and top gun. You didnt mention days of thunder. Which was eventually rebranded as action theater with a james bond film. It was a lot of fun. Especially in the original days of thunder days.
My home park was Great America, and my favorite ride was an older one called The Demon. But generally I preferred going to GA over Disney Land or anywhere else because you never really waited more than an hour for a ride whether it be Top Gun, Days of Thunder/James Bond experience, Vertigo, Drop Zone or wandering around the Nickelodeon splat zone where everything shot water at you. Also the next closest park was Marine World... uh I guess it is now called Discovery Kingdom and I still can't think of that as just not a zoo.
I first went to Great America when it was still under the Marriott Flag. It was really a great park for the late 70's. Went several times. Then started going when I moved to Santa Clara in 2000. It really had gone downhill. It was obvious that Paramount wasn't doing much there. After Cedar Fair took control they left it alone for a long time as well, but it seems they've started paying more attention to the park.
King's Island is my home park Even though Paramount brought some good. Cedar fair has grown it into a destination park. I wouldn't mind an in depth review of these parks to discuss the rise and fall of individual rides within them.
My home park is Canada’s Wonderland. My family and I used to go once every year when it was owned by Paramount. I personally enjoyed and miss the Hannah Barbera and Nickelodeon brands, but Planet Snoopy is a good fit. Cedar Fair did do wonders for the park. You know it was bad when the Vekoma SLC had the longest lines. I’ve been a Wonderland passholder since 2008, when Cedar Fair made their first addition to the park with Behemoth (although, I wasn’t brave enough to ride it until 2012 😂). And 2020 will mark my first year as a Platinum Passholder. The only thing I don’t like about Cedar Fair is how our version of Backlot is void of any effects... I mean, there’s gotta be a way to make cool stuff happen without infringing copyright, right? As Italian Job, it was one of my favourite coasters. Now, it’s totally skippable.
I remember seeing (under their Paramount names) Top Gun, Italian Job, and Tomb Raider with 1 hour lineups or worse. Today those rides are all walk-ons. You know the rides are garbage when the GP aren't lining up for them... by comparison Vortex (which was one of the last Taft installs) still gets lineups.
always proud to call kings dominion my home park. got my coaster journey start there, and looking forward to going back there this may for my 33rd birthday weekend.
This video is awesome! Thanks for doing it. I live in Santa Clara, and good ole CGA has been my home park for life. The first couple years of Paramount taking over the park was really exciting... frequent new and exciting movie-themed rides... large movie posters & signs all over the park... the filming of "Beverly Hills Cops 3" at the park in which a lot of us Santa Clara residents got to go be extras...etc. When Cedar Fair took over, I feel like they did improve the opps and cleaned the park up at first, but kind of neglected this park for awhile like you said in terms of adding new life into it. Looks like that has come to an end though, as CF is now pumping money into CGA every year and I am loving it.
i consider SFDK my home park BUT i went to great america when it was a paramount park a few times as a kid. kind of bummed out i didn't get to go on some of those thrill coasters when they were themed, but i was a big nickelodeon kid so all those nick properties were my thing. i haven't been in years so i can't really talk on how different it is under cedar fair, but i know a lot of folks who will gladly travel the extra time to go there rather than SFDK. can't blame em when of the big coasters at SFDK one of them is kong, noted cervical spine destroyer, and one is that harley quinn skyline disaster that's never open. vertical velocity is on the way out. i'd be interested to see the attendance stats for those two parks.
vertical velocity is not headed out for a while. They just gave it a new DC theme and repaint along with newly replaced LIM sections. Plus, it's the park's gatekeeper.
My home park is Canada's wonderland I've been there since 2003 during the paramount days it was a blast I loved the nickelodeon characters and hanna barbera land was fun great memories
If Paramount still owned those parks to this day, no way Canada's Wonderland gets 3 B&M's in relatively short order, no way Carowinds gets Fury, no way King's Island gets Orion. They would continue to pick up lame flat rides and the cheapest coasters available (Backlot, Flight Deck, and Time Warp at Wonderland, ugh). Good f--king riddance to Paramount. Even Six Flags would have been an improvement over Paramount.
Wow I never knew Kings island had such a big impact.. Loved going as a kid my grandparents bought all my family and aunts and uncles and cousins season passes every year.. I remember being not old enough to ride any of the bigger rides but looking at the vortex or king cobra and the beast.. and remember being in like I can't wait to ride those.. and I remember riding in the Son-Of-Beast the first time and remember that I actually really liked it even though it was rough... So many awesome memories.. great video
I agree that Paramount misused the branding, but part of me kinda liked it. I went to King's Dominion a few times as a kid and loved riding things like the Scooby Doo dark ride (I know it's not Paramount), the Nickelodeon areas, and the SpongeBob 4D show. I went back in 2010 not knowing of the buyout and the park seemed way more empty than it used to be. I give Cedar Fair credit as some of the rides were completely changed and creatively rethemed, like Scooby Doo turning into a new haunted house ride or the indoor launch coaster turning into an area 51 ride. But many of the others just felt bland, like they were obviously built to be something bigger. Things may be different now as that was ten years ago, but I'm always gonna miss some of those original rides.
Your stuff has gotten CRAZY good. I too love the old Paramount parks even though I only started getting into coasters a couple years ago, and this video shows a lot of why those parks are still magical. This should be used as a case study for the entire amusement industry.
This is a great video. Great America is my home park. Of all the owners CGA has had Paramount was the worst. There were more coasters closed or relocated when they owned it. And it really was the red headed step child of the chain. The only notable things they did for the park were... 1. Adding to 2 B&M coasters but were too cheap to build stations for them. 2. Gave the park some publicity by filming 2 movies here (Beverly Hills Cop 3 and Getting Even with Dad) and shots of Top Gun were used for an Excedrin commercial. Other than that this park was so neglected it isn't even funny. Before Cedar Fair bought this park I would rather drive down to SoCal to ride the coasters but thankfully things are looking up for CGA. Next year the park is going to get a new hyper coaster, hopefully it's a MACK. Keep up the good work! I enjoy watching your vids.
@Theodoros Maheras Nah. B&M is a great manufacturer but all of their hypers have pretty much the same layout. MACK would incorporate inversions (see DC Rivals in Australia or the Flash in China). Plus CGA already has 2 B&Ms, some variety would be better.
Haven't been to great america in a couple years but it's technically my home park along with Discovery Kingdom which I visit way more often. I remember paramounts great america as being cool I guess and I remember top gun really well but I was like 10 years old the last time I went to great america under paramount.
