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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
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!
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
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.
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.
I remember paramount carowinds here in North Carolina. Was great. Back when thunder road, Wayne’s world, top gun, days of thunder. Then boom gone. Carowinds is still awesome The fury is a great ride. We live about 35 minutes from this park and have season passes. They do a great October Halloween event as well.
I watch 4 hours of RUclips per day. I've been on RUclips ever since I've been allowed to. I'm subscribed to over 300 coaster channels. This is one of the best videos I've ever seen. If not the best. The way you explained everything about the history got me hooked. I am so disappointed that this video ended. I could've watched all night long. I said a while back that you deserved 1,000 subscribers. Now that you've passed that milestone, it's pretty safe to say that you're channel deserves 1 million subscribers. Coaster offseason for me made me watch non-coaster RUclips content mainly and now that I've been back for a few weeks, I feel bad not keeping up with your videos. You're a top 5 coaster RUclipsr _at least._ You are underappreciated only having views in the thousands because I can tell you spend so much time working on these videos. I wanna thank you because besides the views, subscribers, and all that crap (that i don't think matters entirely) you make amazing videos that make me and other enthusiasts excited about coasters and it makes us happy. Keep doing what you're doing! I'll always support your channel. 🎢🎢🎢
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.
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!"
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.
Of the Paramount Parks KI is my home park. The Paramount theming with some of the rides was pretty cool, but as you said, things got a lot better once CF put their stamp on it. I found myself singing Danger Zone in the queue for Top Gun (The current Bat) the last time I went to KI. Having gone past Kings Island the last five years or so I've been wanting to go back after being amazed by the sights of Banshee and Diamondback.
TheRobobuck someone should sing one of the Naruto themes on Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain. And travel back in time and sing “Hungry Like the Wolf” on BBW.
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
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.
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.
Oh my goodness, THANK YOU!! I had been searching for this content for weeks. Paramount’s Great America was my home park for my entire childhood. And recently learning about how the behind the scenes of theme parks work have I realized that I witnessed this entire ownership takeover and loss. I remember there was a Smurf Land that I enjoyed and then seeing it get removed to slowly make way for Nickelodeon and stunt rides like Drop Zone. My park claims to fame are being made into a Banana Split at the Nickelodeon Double Dare Stunt Show and getting stuck on Drop Zone for 30 minutes on opening day. I miss the Paramount Days, having Klingons come out for the special effects video pre show was amazing and something I did not fully appreciate then and am truly sad that I can’t go back to the park as it was then. But I cannot wait to go back and see how it has changed. Thanks for making such a great video!
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.
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. :(
This is a fantastic thorough video looking at Paramount's reign over these parks. I've been to King's Island, Carowinds and Kings Dominion and I love what Cedar Fair has done. They are all top tier parks in my opinion and they have done great with "un-paramounting" these parks, as I did truly feel like they were all very Cedar Fair.
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.
Growing up close to Kings Island I remember going there every summer as a kid for at least one visit and still try to go to this day at least once a year. I remember seeing all of the rides and areas names change as the park switched hands multiple times. My family has photos with the sign if front of the fountain from the many different stages of its life span. I always loved the Scooby-Doo ride as a kid and its always fun to see how Ceder fair has implemented the old theme into the new branding. I was always interested in the old rugrats ride. I feel like the park has always grown with me and I love seeing it continue to grow as Ceder Fair keeps updating. Although them tearing down fire hawk really broke my heart. Every time I walk into the park and I can see the tower and smell the fountain its like a pure wave of nostalgia and happiness.
The front entrance of kings island is so nostalgic to me. I was also so sad when they announced fire-hawk would close, it has always been one of my favorites. I hope they open a flying coaster again in the future.
I’ve called Kings dominion my home park for the last 40 yrs. My first coaster was the scooby do lol. I remember when they had a safari tour where u could drive your vehicle through to watch the wildlife if my memory serves correctly it would have been back behind where the 305 stands today. I have seen a lot of changes through out the parks lifespan both good and bad. If Iam being honest Iam not real happy with the park right now I may have to upgrade to a platinum pass and venture out to Carowinds and cedar point in the 2020 season. I’ve never been to either before but with the help of yours and okaycoasters videos I will know what to expect. I enjoy all your videos and keep up the good work !
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 have never been to any of these parks when they were owned by Paramount but I remember driving down Rt. 95 past Kings Dominion and seeing the big Paramount sign. Great video!
BroadwayBlueShirts I used to look away because it freaked me out as a kid for some reason. Maybe it’s the size, maybe it’s the logo, but I don’t know. I saw it for the last time (as Paramount) in 2007, and a few months afterward I went by it for the last time (as Paramount), but once again looked away and at my new DS Lite. In 2017 I went back to the east and saw it again, knowing it had changed because of photos. Later in October I filmed it at night, but my iPod ran out of battery and shut down, and the video was not saved. I saw it for the last time (as of now) in 2019 on the way to and from BGW, and since Michigan’s Adventure is my home Park, it’s unlikely that I’ll see it again for awhile.
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.
Heyo! I remember the park being called "Paramount's Carowinds" exactly one time that I visited it (I'm a NC native, yee haw for the home park). The second time I visited (these were both early childhood) everything had changed! I didn't fully understand what happened until viewing this, so thanks so much for making it!
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.
I grew up going to Kings Dominion in the summers. Scooby-Doo Ghoster Coaster was my first coaster I remember riding, and Anaconda was my first inverting coaster. It was bad enough to scare me away from most coasters until more recently, but I definitely remember riding Volcano a lot and loving it (that is, when it was open :P). Flight of Fear was also amazing. The trains unloaded at a different station from dispatch, so the empty trains rolled out of the shadows like all the people had been abducted by aliens. Loads of fun. I remember most of the Nickelodeon section. They had an awesome ride called the Space Surfer, a really tall windseeker type of ride with a sail that let you control the swing out of the vehicle. I also remember HyperSonic XLC being built and opening, and its crazy wait times! Up to three hours on the days it was actually running instead of just testing. I was always too scared to ride it (thanks Anaconda) and sort of regret never working up the courage to conquer it. On testing days there would be signs all over the park that it was not operating. As for the Bad Rides, everyone hated the Hurler, even back then. It was rough, and not that much fun to ride. You could walk on even in busy summers. The other ride everyone hated was Shockwave, a Togo stand-up coaster that was notoriously painful. A kid I knew in high school injured his nuts on it and became a legend at my school. TLDR: Many great memories of this park, but I haven't visited since around 2009. At that point we started going more often to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and now I live in Florida.
@@DoswarePictures Once I started going it all started coming back to me! I went here pretty much every summer weekend or holiday break from when I was 5 until I graduated high school. Hahaha!
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.
Only park I had the chance to make was Carowinds back in 2005. It was a group trip up there with a church group, and we had all day to hang out and have as much fun as we could. The Borg, Top Gun, the twin wooden coasters, and the stand up one were all awesome rides. Haven't been back yet, but planning to take a trip to visit a few of the parks in Virginia/Carolinas/Georgia here in 2021, it'll be interesting to see how that goes!
Carowinds was my home park growing up. It is incredible how much it has changed with Cedar Fair owning the park. From new rides, to an all over more cohesive experience. I have to admit that I was very sad to see Thunder Road removed to make room for a water park. Thanks for your great video it was great to learn more about all the parks!
Wonderland is my home park. I was a kid during the Paramount days, but even then I found Wonderland was a little run down and kind of lifeless. It was still fun, but there was nothing especially outstanding either, especially since even at that time I had been to a few American parks which were much better. However, the Cedar Fair acquisition made it feel like a different park almost immediately. It sprang to life in a way I hadn't seen, and the opening of Behemoth made me excited for the park's future. I can't wait for them to clean up some of the less desirable rides (cough Flight Deck and Time Warp) and keep watching the park grow.
Kings Dominion is definitely the middle child. Maintenance is good (unlike Six Flags), but the ride offer keeps shrinking every year without any indication of new rides in the near future. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is taking a huge lead over KD.
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!
This is just a great video about the history of these parks and how Paramount really left a lasting imprint on them. I can’t believe all we got from Lindner’s ownership was Adventure Express and Vortex. Can’t wait to see you revisit the KI again when you ride Orion.
Linder did not own the chain. Linder was owner of just Kings Island from 1987-1992, which saw Adventure Express & Top Gun (Which was already paid for). Under the years you’re referring to KECO installed several coasters including 3x Vortex’s, Anaconda, The Bat & Paid for Top Gun @ CGA.
So speaking of Vortex at Kings Island. The demolition is already on and a “fan made” 1st person perspective of a new coaster is suddenly making the rounds as a guess of what’s replacing it. I’d dismiss it but the EXACT SAME thing happened with Orion and it turned out to be dead on.
Great video. I finally got curious about how Paramount got into and out of the theme park business and was glad to find your video with a solid history. I visited Kings Island a couple of times in the mid-1990s, and I want to give credit to Paramount for landscaping. That park was really beautifully landscaped, overall. I know there were some bald spots, but there were tons of flowers pretty much everywhere else, and even a younger me appreciated the obvious effort. Maybe it was the times; Sea World Ohio was also beautifully landscaped. I do miss those days. Cedar Fair never seems to make much of an effort these days beyond asphalt, garbage cans, and a decent sign for the attraction. I do also remember the Days of Thunder motion simulator ride in the Action Theater. That was crap, pretty much. Nothing like waiting 2 hours for the big new attraction that completely underwhelms. And I'm sure it was expensive to build, with individual motion seats for every rider. I hope the kids liked it.
A sweatshirt that says Paramount Parks - Kings Dominion is one of my favorites because of the interesting history (and obviously the fact that there is no more Paramount Parks). Thank you for the video.
I had a sweatshirt from KD with the FOF logo shown in the video. Unfortunately under cedar fair KD has really gone downhill in recent years and they recently confirmed that yet another ride is being removed just today with the crypt being removed this year.
My parents met while working at Marriott's Great America in the mid 80s. The best years of my childhood were spent at Paramount's Great America. I even remember the Hanna Barbera characters that used to walk around the park (pretty sure there's a picture somewhere of me terrified while meeting Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble). Flash forward to 2020 and I never could have imagined rides like Gold Striker and Railblazer occupying my home park. I am thankful that Cedar Fair saw some potential in the park I grew up on and is continuing to invest (we have a major waterpark expansion opening this summer). Great video!
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
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.
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.
Carowinds has always been my home park. Growing up about 1 1/2 hours drive from it. We now live in my wife’s home town of York which is the SC county that Carowinds is in. We both have fond memories of Carowinds as a Paramount Park. I remember when The Borg aka...Nighthawk was built, and it was seen as the craziest thing we have ever seen!!! Although I do miss the Paramount days, probably because of the nostalgia, I’d be lying if I said they it was better under Paramount. Cedar Fair had turned our overlooked split state theme park into a major destination for coaster enthusiasts as well as updated the park very nicely! One thing I will add Nighthawk looks like a kiddy coaster ever since the repaint. It looked so much better with the Borg color scheme, and my father in law still talks about White Lightning.
Paramount’s Kings Island was my childhood. Hanna Barbera, Nickelodeon, and all the movie branding was nostalgic for me. The parking lot was divided into sections named after Hanna Barbera characters. It was sad to see Paramount sell it. But it’s still a great place for a fun time.
I'm sure you're in the minority there. I was thrilled when I heard Paramount was out and Cedar Fair was in. I knew it meant bigger and better rides would be on the way, not more garbage like Time Warp, Flight Deck, and Backlot.
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.
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
Kings Dominion is my home park. I've been countless times as a kid and even worked there in the summer of 2001, my first job. My first coaster was the Anaconda as soon as I was tall enough to ride. I loved Paramount's themes throughout the park. I experienced the switch from the Hanna Barberra theme to more Nickelodeon stuff. The Days Of Thunder ride was an indoor theater with moving seats, that took you through the scenes of the movie as if you were in the car. That was one of my favorite things as a kid being a huge fan of the movie and NASCAR. The Hurler was awesome and they had an diner in the theme of Stan Mikitas donuts and the Mirthmobile Limo from the second movie. The Hypersonic XLC was one of my favorite coasters but had so much downtime. But the launch was worth it when you got on. Volcano and the Flight of Fear were incredible and after riding these so many times by the time I got to Disney and Universal in my later teens they didn't have anything half as exciting. One of if not the best coasters I have ever ridden is the Intimidator 305. I even worked for one of those Coaster TV shows when they featured the 305 and Volcano and got to stand at the bottom of the 305's drop into the loop and experiencing it woosh by at 90 mph is one I will never forget. Or seeing the inside of Volcano from ground level. Amazing stuff.
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 CW and my dad always talks about how whenever you get in line, a voice would say "You are at Paramount's Canada's Wonderland". sounds like Six Flags
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.
Love your stuff. I follow what you post... thanks for sharing. I grew up growing to Kings Dominion and primarily attended through their Paramount years…I’m 30 years old so I was growing up when Hypersonic, Volcano, *backwards* rebel yell, etc. Personally, I was floored when I found out back in 2010 that KD would be the recipient of a Giga the third of its kind and second in the states. Now that most Giga’s are now B &M’s it is nice that we got the only other Intamin that provides a different ride from Millennium force. I am somewhat disappointed though that within the past few years we have seen Kings Dominion not receiving the same attention as Kings Island, Carowinds ( albeit we did get the RMC treatment ). Maybe it is because I want the best for my home park but I do not expect it. This isn’t saying that I don’t think KD is great nor do I think there additions are bad; however, I do not expect large record breaking additions as they have had in the past ( Volcano first of its kind, Hypersonic fastest acceleration ( I believe ?) etc.). I will say this Busch Gardens Williamsburg is going full force and I believe we are currently at a crucible for the future of KD because of this. I personally believe Cedar Fair needs to either address this competition by giving more care and attention to KD or sadly leave it even further behind… all speculation. With that said I’ll see you KD ( God willing ) in a few months!
I really love those last few videos you uploaded which are more history based and feel like a short documentary. Keep it up ! But also keep your top 10/25 lists, reviews and vlogs going, they're great also. Btw, when are you planning to re-build el toro at SFMM? We're all waiting...
Great video! I went to Great America in CA at least once a year starting in the late 70’s when it was Marriot’s. It was for sure my home park as a kid. Highlights included the Tidal Wave, which was a loop and two towers, where you went forward and backwards. Also the Wizzer, which had a spiral lift hill, although I think a couple people died on it due to a power outage. And the Demon, which was the rebrand name after they added two loops. Although it wasn’t too noticeable at the time, the newer rides just got lamer and lamer, like the grizzly which was just lame, and top gun, which was over way too fast, and vortex I barely remember. Going to magic mountain in my early 20’s was a revelation. I’ve not been back to great America for at least a dozen years.
Great America ia definitely improving. Its 4 hours from my house and I never even saw the need to go there til last year when they opened Railblazer. But I was really impressed by the park these days
@@AirtimeThrills you must be in my general northern CA area (I'm outside of Sacramento). Are there any roller coaster clubs in CA? Not many of my friends are into roller coasters, and I've been jonesing
Carowinds is my home park and I remember the Paramount days vividly. had season passes because not only did we get amazing perks like bring a friend, getting in park earlier, preferred parking, and thing like that they also had a perk for when they would hold concerts and you could get them before the general public and had its own little seating section. top gun was my first big thrill ride and was instantly hooked on it and remains one of my favorite all time rides. i havent been to carowinds in about 12 or so years now, but im waiting for the day to get back to ride fury and intimidator
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 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.
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.
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 was at Kings Dominion multiple times under the Paramount banner they had a "Days of Thunder" ride which was an indoor flat ride where the seats moved I guess back the I could consider it a home park since Hersheypark was nowhere near what it is today
fyrefyter12 I did that when I went to Kings Dominion in 2006, although Days of Thunder was long gone, and instead it was Spongebob 3D. To this day, I’ve never ridden another motion simulator. Also, the Days of Thunder attraction was the first ride in the park that was tied to NASCAR, long before i305.
@@DoswarePictures Days of Thunder actually was not terrible I have not been there in a few years we just drive the extra hour to Busch Gardens now i would like to go back though
fyrefyter12 I’ve never seen Days of Thunder or the attraction, but it was probably neat. Better than what the action theater has now. If only if they would give it a decent update to compete with Battle for Eire. Maybe do the Mass Effect attraction that CGA added in 2015 so there’s a ride that’s connected to a video game franchise now that The Crypt (Tomb Raider) is gone.
Carowinds is my home park. I did love the theming and energy during the Paramount era. I know its not really Cedar Fair's thing but Paramount did attempt to theme their newer rides. I do miss that.
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.
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
Hey Loved the video My home park was Kings Dominion remembered the Wayne's world theme and they had everything from the first movie including the drive inn restaurant. I loved it. Also I remember that they had a racing theme roller coaster for Days of Thunder. Great roller coaster also. I have to inform you that you missed one Paramount park. The Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas at the Hilton Hotel. It had the history of the show and then a walk on to the bridge of the Enterprise followed by a 3D experience into outer space that crashed into the Hilton. They also had a theme restaurant with various characters walking around. It was fun.
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.
I guess I could say Great America was my home park when I was a kid. I lived a little over an hour away so our field trips in 6-8th grade were to Paramounts Great America and Marine World ( Discovery Kingdom). I don’t remember much from either but apparently the big attractions at that time (Top Gun at GA and Kong and Boomerang at Marine World/DK are still around).
TheDereksd I remember Marine World Africa USA before it ever had rides back in 86. I first went to Marriotts Great America in 81. The good days, glad to know they never closed as many other parks have.
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.
It's great to see all the love Carowinds is getting from Cedar fair in recent years. Had they not stepped in the mid 2000s it might not even be here today. Proud to call it my home park.
I worked at Kings Island for the 2004 - 2006 seasons in the Resale/Food office. I don’t recall Paramount Parks executives ever visiting. I was excited to be hired by studio that makes Star Trek, but you wouldn’t know from working there that it was at all associated with Paramount aside from their name and logo everywhere. Most of the people in charge had been there before Paramount, so it was really just Kings Island. We rarely, if ever, discussed other parks in the chain.
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!
Fun fact, the Coney Island footage is actually home video from my family taken in 1963. My 5 year old mom makes a cameo at 1:18
Airtime Thrills you should release the whole thing.
using the same kind of camera as the Zapruder film? (since that's the same year...)
@@racingphotographer8251 haha quite possibly
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.
Ditto
Agreed
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.
Which is probably why the current bat at kings island is also a arrow
Joey Kelly 01 nope, that coaster opened a full year before Raptor at Cedar Point and was planned by the park before the Paramount buyout.
Cross Crease Hockey
I disagree. I’ll take a suspended coaster over a B&M invert. It’s unique and fun.
@@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.
Paramount’s Great America was my park growing up.
On occasion I’ll call Flight Deck Top Gun because it originally named that and it just sounds better
Flying Raider same lol
I'll never forget "Danger Zone" playing on repeat while waiting in line for hours!
Lol yeessss. Still my favorite ride there. We rode it 3 times back to back on our last trip.
That line queue was so dope and then the workers with their arm movements like a jet launch when you take off 😂😭
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.
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.
Six flags: You can’t defeat me
Cedar fair: I know, but he can.
*paramount acquirement*
hahahhahahaha
welp this comment aged
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
Oh how miss the nick days
I’d agree. Kings Dominion was the one park I think was better off with Paramount.
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
I miss how Kings Dominion used to be. Seems like it has gone down hill.
@@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.
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 .
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.
I remember Carowinds back during the Paramount days and I think it was better back then even with the addition of the new rides.
Thunder Road, Top Gun and a Scooby-Doo coaster.
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!
From what I understand the rebel yell only goes forward now. From what my 13 year old tell me, they have the coasters racing now.
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
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.
We love Airtime Thrills ❤️
TheCoasterConnoisseurs exactly.
Airtime Thrills is amazing
Thanks yall, Ill never leave you hanging more than 3 days without a new video
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.
I remember paramount carowinds here in North Carolina. Was great. Back when thunder road, Wayne’s world, top gun, days of thunder. Then boom gone. Carowinds is still awesome The fury is a great ride. We live about 35 minutes from this park and have season passes. They do a great October Halloween event as well.
Nobody ever mentions it, but I miss Days of Thunder the most 😢
I watch 4 hours of RUclips per day. I've been on RUclips ever since I've been allowed to. I'm subscribed to over 300 coaster channels. This is one of the best videos I've ever seen. If not the best. The way you explained everything about the history got me hooked. I am so disappointed that this video ended. I could've watched all night long. I said a while back that you deserved 1,000 subscribers. Now that you've passed that milestone, it's pretty safe to say that you're channel deserves 1 million subscribers. Coaster offseason for me made me watch non-coaster RUclips content mainly and now that I've been back for a few weeks, I feel bad not keeping up with your videos. You're a top 5 coaster RUclipsr _at least._ You are underappreciated only having views in the thousands because I can tell you spend so much time working on these videos. I wanna thank you because besides the views, subscribers, and all that crap (that i don't think matters entirely) you make amazing videos that make me and other enthusiasts excited about coasters and it makes us happy. Keep doing what you're doing! I'll always support your channel. 🎢🎢🎢
Wow thats some high praise man, thank you!
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.
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!"
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.
Of the Paramount Parks KI is my home park. The Paramount theming with some of the rides was pretty cool, but as you said, things got a lot better once CF put their stamp on it. I found myself singing Danger Zone in the queue for Top Gun (The current Bat) the last time I went to KI. Having gone past Kings Island the last five years or so I've been wanting to go back after being amazed by the sights of Banshee and Diamondback.
TheRobobuck someone should sing one of the Naruto themes on Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
And travel back in time and sing “Hungry Like the Wolf” on BBW.
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
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.
same here
I've got vivid memories of the four-hour wait to get on Fury 325 on opening day, lol
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.
Oh my goodness, THANK YOU!! I had been searching for this content for weeks. Paramount’s Great America was my home park for my entire childhood. And recently learning about how the behind the scenes of theme parks work have I realized that I witnessed this entire ownership takeover and loss. I remember there was a Smurf Land that I enjoyed and then seeing it get removed to slowly make way for Nickelodeon and stunt rides like Drop Zone. My park claims to fame are being made into a Banana Split at the Nickelodeon Double Dare Stunt Show and getting stuck on Drop Zone for 30 minutes on opening day. I miss the Paramount Days, having Klingons come out for the special effects video pre show was amazing and something I did not fully appreciate then and am truly sad that I can’t go back to the park as it was then. But I cannot wait to go back and see how it has changed.
Thanks for making such a great video!
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.
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. :(
This is a fantastic thorough video looking at Paramount's reign over these parks. I've been to King's Island, Carowinds and Kings Dominion and I love what Cedar Fair has done. They are all top tier parks in my opinion and they have done great with "un-paramounting" these parks, as I did truly feel like they were all very Cedar Fair.
This is a very professional video and I enjoyed it a lot, your channel is high quality.
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.
Growing up close to Kings Island I remember going there every summer as a kid for at least one visit and still try to go to this day at least once a year. I remember seeing all of the rides and areas names change as the park switched hands multiple times. My family has photos with the sign if front of the fountain from the many different stages of its life span. I always loved the Scooby-Doo ride as a kid and its always fun to see how Ceder fair has implemented the old theme into the new branding. I was always interested in the old rugrats ride. I feel like the park has always grown with me and I love seeing it continue to grow as Ceder Fair keeps updating. Although them tearing down fire hawk really broke my heart. Every time I walk into the park and I can see the tower and smell the fountain its like a pure wave of nostalgia and happiness.
The front entrance of kings island is so nostalgic to me. I was also so sad when they announced fire-hawk would close, it has always been one of my favorites. I hope they open a flying coaster again in the future.
I’ve called Kings dominion my home park for the last 40 yrs. My first coaster was the scooby do lol. I remember when they had a safari tour where u could drive your vehicle through to watch the wildlife if my memory serves correctly it would have been back behind where the 305 stands today. I have seen a lot of changes through out the parks lifespan both good and bad. If Iam being honest Iam not real happy with the park right now I may have to upgrade to a platinum pass and venture out to Carowinds and cedar point in the 2020 season. I’ve never been to either before but with the help of yours and okaycoasters videos I will know what to expect. I enjoy all your videos and keep up the good work !
T-bone wow, an OG person who’s (I assume because the drive through Safari) been to the Park Preview in 1974. Neat.
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.
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.
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.
Super awesome Video! The quality has improved so much! Keep it up!
Paramount Parks: the weirdest IP collection the amusement/theme park industry has ever seen.
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.
Such a great job with this one! Great research, and I loved the inclusion of the old park footage! Can't wait for your next video!
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 have never been to any of these parks when they were owned by Paramount but I remember driving down Rt. 95 past Kings Dominion and seeing the big Paramount sign. Great video!
BroadwayBlueShirts I used to look away because it freaked me out as a kid for some reason. Maybe it’s the size, maybe it’s the logo, but I don’t know. I saw it for the last time (as Paramount) in 2007, and a few months afterward I went by it for the last time (as Paramount), but once again looked away and at my new DS Lite.
In 2017 I went back to the east and saw it again, knowing it had changed because of photos. Later in October I filmed it at night, but my iPod ran out of battery and shut down, and the video was not saved. I saw it for the last time (as of now) in 2019 on the way to and from BGW, and since Michigan’s Adventure is my home Park, it’s unlikely that I’ll see it again for awhile.
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.
I love all the content, just wish I knew what the dang music was at 0:46 it sounds so cool
Heyo! I remember the park being called "Paramount's Carowinds" exactly one time that I visited it (I'm a NC native, yee haw for the home park). The second time I visited (these were both early childhood) everything had changed! I didn't fully understand what happened until viewing this, so thanks so much for making it!
What an entertaining and informative video! Great job, Airtime Thrills!
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.
I grew up going to Kings Dominion in the summers. Scooby-Doo Ghoster Coaster was my first coaster I remember riding, and Anaconda was my first inverting coaster. It was bad enough to scare me away from most coasters until more recently, but I definitely remember riding Volcano a lot and loving it (that is, when it was open :P). Flight of Fear was also amazing. The trains unloaded at a different station from dispatch, so the empty trains rolled out of the shadows like all the people had been abducted by aliens. Loads of fun.
I remember most of the Nickelodeon section. They had an awesome ride called the Space Surfer, a really tall windseeker type of ride with a sail that let you control the swing out of the vehicle.
I also remember HyperSonic XLC being built and opening, and its crazy wait times! Up to three hours on the days it was actually running instead of just testing. I was always too scared to ride it (thanks Anaconda) and sort of regret never working up the courage to conquer it. On testing days there would be signs all over the park that it was not operating.
As for the Bad Rides, everyone hated the Hurler, even back then. It was rough, and not that much fun to ride. You could walk on even in busy summers. The other ride everyone hated was Shockwave, a Togo stand-up coaster that was notoriously painful. A kid I knew in high school injured his nuts on it and became a legend at my school.
TLDR: Many great memories of this park, but I haven't visited since around 2009. At that point we started going more often to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and now I live in Florida.
Sorry for the double post. This comment went through twice for some reason. >:[
Wow. And I thought my comment about KD memories was long. At least you put a TLDR.
@@DoswarePictures Once I started going it all started coming back to me! I went here pretty much every summer weekend or holiday break from when I was 5 until I graduated high school. Hahaha!
Tali Grey well my comment was just one day in 2006. I wouldn’t go to KD again until September 2018. And man had the park changed.
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.
Only park I had the chance to make was Carowinds back in 2005. It was a group trip up there with a church group, and we had all day to hang out and have as much fun as we could.
The Borg, Top Gun, the twin wooden coasters, and the stand up one were all awesome rides.
Haven't been back yet, but planning to take a trip to visit a few of the parks in Virginia/Carolinas/Georgia here in 2021, it'll be interesting to see how that goes!
Carowinds was my home park growing up. It is incredible how much it has changed with Cedar Fair owning the park. From new rides, to an all over more cohesive experience. I have to admit that I was very sad to see Thunder Road removed to make room for a water park. Thanks for your great video it was great to learn more about all the parks!
Wonderland is my home park. I was a kid during the Paramount days, but even then I found Wonderland was a little run down and kind of lifeless. It was still fun, but there was nothing especially outstanding either, especially since even at that time I had been to a few American parks which were much better. However, the Cedar Fair acquisition made it feel like a different park almost immediately. It sprang to life in a way I hadn't seen, and the opening of Behemoth made me excited for the park's future. I can't wait for them to clean up some of the less desirable rides (cough Flight Deck and Time Warp) and keep watching the park grow.
Finally we needed this!! I did like the late 90s and early 00s man good times. What if they didn’t sell the parks
Kings island is my home park, remember all of it like it was yesterday! Keep up the great videos!!
Kings Dominion is definitely the middle child. Maintenance is good (unlike Six Flags), but the ride offer keeps shrinking every year without any indication of new rides in the near future. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is taking a huge lead over KD.
You do an incredible job with your videos man, keep up the good work!
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!
This is just a great video about the history of these parks and how Paramount really left a lasting imprint on them. I can’t believe all we got from Lindner’s ownership was Adventure Express and Vortex.
Can’t wait to see you revisit the KI again when you ride Orion.
Linder did not own the chain. Linder was owner of just Kings Island from 1987-1992, which saw Adventure Express & Top Gun (Which was already paid for). Under the years you’re referring to KECO installed several coasters including 3x Vortex’s, Anaconda, The Bat & Paid for Top Gun @ CGA.
So speaking of Vortex at Kings Island. The demolition is already on and a “fan made” 1st person perspective of a new coaster is suddenly making the rounds as a guess of what’s replacing it.
I’d dismiss it but the EXACT SAME thing happened with Orion and it turned out to be dead on.
You forgot about two Paramount parks: Terra Mitica, a Paramount Park in Spain as well as the proposed Paramount Park in Murcia, Spain
Great video. I finally got curious about how Paramount got into and out of the theme park business and was glad to find your video with a solid history. I visited Kings Island a couple of times in the mid-1990s, and I want to give credit to Paramount for landscaping. That park was really beautifully landscaped, overall. I know there were some bald spots, but there were tons of flowers pretty much everywhere else, and even a younger me appreciated the obvious effort. Maybe it was the times; Sea World Ohio was also beautifully landscaped. I do miss those days. Cedar Fair never seems to make much of an effort these days beyond asphalt, garbage cans, and a decent sign for the attraction. I do also remember the Days of Thunder motion simulator ride in the Action Theater. That was crap, pretty much. Nothing like waiting 2 hours for the big new attraction that completely underwhelms. And I'm sure it was expensive to build, with individual motion seats for every rider. I hope the kids liked it.
A sweatshirt that says Paramount Parks - Kings Dominion is one of my favorites because of the interesting history (and obviously the fact that there is no more Paramount Parks). Thank you for the video.
I had a sweatshirt from KD with the FOF logo shown in the video. Unfortunately under cedar fair KD has really gone downhill in recent years and they recently confirmed that yet another ride is being removed just today with the crypt being removed this year.
Loved this! Great pacing, not too long and filled with tons ot good info.👌
My parents met while working at Marriott's Great America in the mid 80s. The best years of my childhood were spent at Paramount's Great America. I even remember the Hanna Barbera characters that used to walk around the park (pretty sure there's a picture somewhere of me terrified while meeting Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble). Flash forward to 2020 and I never could have imagined rides like Gold Striker and Railblazer occupying my home park. I am thankful that Cedar Fair saw some potential in the park I grew up on and is continuing to invest (we have a major waterpark expansion opening this summer). Great video!
Best video yet! Thanks soo much for this
I worked at Kings Island 1987-1994,it was a lot of fun and I meet a lot of great people in those days
Great video. So well put together
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
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.
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.
Haha oh thats good
WHy is it so loud i went up that thing once hard to enjoy it when the recording is at 120 lol
Carowinds has always been my home park. Growing up about 1 1/2 hours drive from it. We now live in my wife’s home town of York which is the SC county that Carowinds is in. We both have fond memories of Carowinds as a Paramount Park. I remember when The Borg aka...Nighthawk was built, and it was seen as the craziest thing we have ever seen!!! Although I do miss the Paramount days, probably because of the nostalgia, I’d be lying if I said they it was better under Paramount. Cedar Fair had turned our overlooked split state theme park into a major destination for coaster enthusiasts as well as updated the park very nicely! One thing I will add Nighthawk looks like a kiddy coaster ever since the repaint. It looked so much better with the Borg color scheme, and my father in law still talks about White Lightning.
Carowinds guy here, very pleased with what Cedar Fair has done so far. I can't wait to see what's next.
You can thank Cedar Fair for giving you Fury, and you can thank Canada's Wonderland for testing the prototype (Leviathan) for you first :-)
Paramount’s Kings Island was my childhood. Hanna Barbera, Nickelodeon, and all the movie branding was nostalgic for me. The parking lot was divided into sections named after Hanna Barbera characters. It was sad to see Paramount sell it. But it’s still a great place for a fun time.
I'm sure you're in the minority there. I was thrilled when I heard Paramount was out and Cedar Fair was in. I knew it meant bigger and better rides would be on the way, not more garbage like Time Warp, Flight Deck, and Backlot.
Man your videos just keep getting more and more interesting!!!!!!
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.
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
Tyler Terry finally, someone who isn’t a KD fanboy hating on the wing coaster thing.
Kings Dominion is my home park. I've been countless times as a kid and even worked there in the summer of 2001, my first job. My first coaster was the Anaconda as soon as I was tall enough to ride. I loved Paramount's themes throughout the park. I experienced the switch from the Hanna Barberra theme to more Nickelodeon stuff. The Days Of Thunder ride was an indoor theater with moving seats, that took you through the scenes of the movie as if you were in the car. That was one of my favorite things as a kid being a huge fan of the movie and NASCAR. The Hurler was awesome and they had an diner in the theme of Stan Mikitas donuts and the Mirthmobile Limo from the second movie. The Hypersonic XLC was one of my favorite coasters but had so much downtime. But the launch was worth it when you got on. Volcano and the Flight of Fear were incredible and after riding these so many times by the time I got to Disney and Universal in my later teens they didn't have anything half as exciting. One of if not the best coasters I have ever ridden is the Intimidator 305. I even worked for one of those Coaster TV shows when they featured the 305 and Volcano and got to stand at the bottom of the 305's drop into the loop and experiencing it woosh by at 90 mph is one I will never forget. Or seeing the inside of Volcano from ground level. Amazing stuff.
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 CW and my dad always talks about how whenever you get in line, a voice would say "You are at Paramount's Canada's Wonderland". sounds like Six Flags
Kings Island was my home park growing up in the 90s and Paramount literally was by far my favorite era. I miss it terribly.
Paramount Park's biggest issue was that they did not have a park built from the ground up, so all of their IPs were kind of shoehorned in.
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.
Love your stuff. I follow what you post... thanks for sharing.
I grew up growing to Kings Dominion and primarily attended through their Paramount years…I’m 30 years old so I was growing up when Hypersonic, Volcano, *backwards* rebel yell, etc. Personally, I was floored when I found out back in 2010 that KD would be the recipient of a Giga the third of its kind and second in the states. Now that most Giga’s are now B &M’s it is nice that we got the only other Intamin that provides a different ride from Millennium force.
I am somewhat disappointed though that within the past few years we have seen Kings Dominion not receiving the same attention as Kings Island, Carowinds ( albeit we did get the RMC treatment ). Maybe it is because I want the best for my home park but I do not expect it. This isn’t saying that I don’t think KD is great nor do I think there additions are bad; however, I do not expect large record breaking additions as they have had in the past ( Volcano first of its kind, Hypersonic fastest acceleration ( I believe ?) etc.).
I will say this Busch Gardens Williamsburg is going full force and I believe we are currently at a crucible for the future of KD because of this. I personally believe Cedar Fair needs to either address this competition by giving more care and attention to KD or sadly leave it even further behind… all speculation. With that said I’ll see you KD ( God willing ) in a few months!
I really love those last few videos you uploaded which are more history based and feel like a short documentary. Keep it up ! But also keep your top 10/25 lists, reviews and vlogs going, they're great also.
Btw, when are you planning to re-build el toro at SFMM? We're all waiting...
I definitely try to mix the types of videos up. And if you look at SFMM youll see the Toro trucks doing their work near X2, theyre getting there
Been with you since 2000 subs, ur awesome
Great video! I went to Great America in CA at least once a year starting in the late 70’s when it was Marriot’s. It was for sure my home park as a kid. Highlights included the Tidal Wave, which was a loop and two towers, where you went forward and backwards. Also the Wizzer, which had a spiral lift hill, although I think a couple people died on it due to a power outage. And the Demon, which was the rebrand name after they added two loops. Although it wasn’t too noticeable at the time, the newer rides just got lamer and lamer, like the grizzly which was just lame, and top gun, which was over way too fast, and vortex I barely remember. Going to magic mountain in my early 20’s was a revelation. I’ve not been back to great America for at least a dozen years.
Great America ia definitely improving. Its 4 hours from my house and I never even saw the need to go there til last year when they opened Railblazer. But I was really impressed by the park these days
@@AirtimeThrills you must be in my general northern CA area (I'm outside of Sacramento). Are there any roller coaster clubs in CA? Not many of my friends are into roller coasters, and I've been jonesing
Carowinds is my home park and I remember the Paramount days vividly. had season passes because not only did we get amazing perks like bring a friend, getting in park earlier, preferred parking, and thing like that they also had a perk for when they would hold concerts and you could get them before the general public and had its own little seating section. top gun was my first big thrill ride and was instantly hooked on it and remains one of my favorite all time rides. i havent been to carowinds in about 12 or so years now, but im waiting for the day to get back to ride fury and intimidator
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
Your best video yet. Keep it up.
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.
Cedar Fair pretty much destroyed Kings Dominion. They have been removing more roller coasters and rides than building since they took over.
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.
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.
This is so well done! Great job!
i was at Kings Dominion multiple times under the Paramount banner they had a "Days of Thunder" ride which was an indoor flat ride where the seats moved I guess back the I could consider it a home park since Hersheypark was nowhere near what it is today
fyrefyter12 I did that when I went to Kings Dominion in 2006, although Days of Thunder was long gone, and instead it was Spongebob 3D. To this day, I’ve never ridden another motion simulator.
Also, the Days of Thunder attraction was the first ride in the park that was tied to NASCAR, long before i305.
@@DoswarePictures Days of Thunder actually was not terrible I have not been there in a few years we just drive the extra hour to Busch Gardens now i would like to go back though
fyrefyter12 I’ve never seen Days of Thunder or the attraction, but it was probably neat. Better than what the action theater has now. If only if they would give it a decent update to compete with Battle for Eire. Maybe do the Mass Effect attraction that CGA added in 2015 so there’s a ride that’s connected to a video game franchise now that The Crypt (Tomb Raider) is gone.
Carowinds is my home park. I did love the theming and energy during the Paramount era. I know its not really Cedar Fair's thing but Paramount did attempt to theme their newer rides. I do miss that.
Awh man I miss Paramount’s Kings Dominion
tyler maine so do I.
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.
tyler maine
Me too.
SAME! Rip Volcano ;-;
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
You’re one of the best if not the best coasters channel out there maybe better than coaster studios
Hey Loved the video My home park was Kings Dominion remembered the Wayne's world theme and they had everything from the first movie including the drive inn restaurant. I loved it. Also I remember that they had a racing theme roller coaster for Days of Thunder. Great roller coaster also. I have to inform you that you missed one Paramount park. The Star Trek Experience in Las Vegas at the Hilton Hotel. It had the history of the show and then a walk on to the bridge of the Enterprise followed by a 3D experience into outer space that crashed into the Hilton. They also had a theme restaurant with various characters walking around. It was fun.
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.
I guess I could say Great America was my home park when I was a kid. I lived a little over an hour away so our field trips in 6-8th grade were to Paramounts Great America and Marine World ( Discovery Kingdom). I don’t remember much from either but apparently the big attractions at that time (Top Gun at GA and Kong and Boomerang at Marine World/DK are still around).
TheDereksd I remember Marine World Africa USA before it ever had rides back in 86. I first went to Marriotts Great America in 81. The good days, glad to know they never closed as many other parks have.
Living 15 minutes away from Kings Island is amazing. Glad to call it my home park
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.
Michael Pittman if I were to add a 49rs themed coaster, it would be a 220 foot 9 inversion coaster by S&S called “Kneel Curtain”.
It's great to see all the love Carowinds is getting from Cedar fair in recent years. Had they not stepped in the mid 2000s it might not even be here today. Proud to call it my home park.
I worked at Kings Island for the 2004 - 2006 seasons in the Resale/Food office. I don’t recall Paramount Parks executives ever visiting. I was excited to be hired by studio that makes Star Trek, but you wouldn’t know from working there that it was at all associated with Paramount aside from their name and logo everywhere. Most of the people in charge had been there before Paramount, so it was really just Kings Island. We rarely, if ever, discussed other parks in the chain.
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!