Hi all! Gordon Bombay from
www.kicentral.com here. Just bringing in the latest development of my hometown park being converted from a former paramount park into a Post-paramount aquisition era Cear Fair Entertainment Company fun center. Well last year we saw the removal of most of the paramount theming in our beloved park. Being that I was born in 1986 I dont remember much of the pre-paramount years. But I do remember a lot of the Paramount years so it was interesting seeing my home park become a cedar fair joint. This year its believed that Cedar Fair is completely doing away with ALL paramount theming. Heres some interesting removal notes:
Kings Island had an electronic scrolling sign since it opened in 1972. I cant find any pictures of how it originally looked but in 1993 when Paramount took over the park it had the paramount logo and new Kings Island letters in a new font added to it. It looked like this...
In 2003 a nasty wind storm came through the area and the sign got "Tornadowned":
It was ok thought beacause out of the rubble Paramount was quick to build a new sign with a "hollywood makeover"
And soon...
When Cedar Fair completed the purchase of our fair chain of parks in mid 2006 many wondered what would be done about the paramount theming while Cedar Fair remained tight lipped during conference calls about thier handling of negotiations in regards to the Viacom/Paramount licensing. 2007 saw the removal of a lot of paramount theming. Many merchandise items were marked down and sold. But the main sign out front still said PARAMOUNT'S Kings Island all season. At the end of the season we saw the mark down of all Italian Job, Top Gun, and Tomb Raider merchandise whether it said Paramount or not. Many speculate these rides will receive new names next year that are not affiliated with paramount, and many speculated the main sign out front would change.
Well, this past tuesday....the sign went topless..
Many are speculating as to what the new sign will look like. I've heard though that Dick Kinzel is adding his own personal touches and custom design...
Oh by the way, I did not mean to be rude and not introduce myself for my first post. My name is Gordon Bombay. I am a staff photographer over at
www.kicentral.com and have worked in the amusement industry in the past. I am currently studying photography in cincinnati ohio and run the website
www.queencitydisco.com. While the above pictures are not mine, they are from other KICentral members. I was planning on making my first trip to GADV this year for the last weekend but got tied down with school (i didnt even get to go to KI one last time). I plan on making my first trip to GADV next summer along with a stop by Astroland for its final season. This website seems like it has a great community and is about a great park which i look forward to visiting and have been learning and reading about the past several months.
Edit: Upon further review of these fabulous forums I now know Astroland has been saved! (YAY!)
Topic: Kings Island sign goes topless. (Read 3771 times)