Of Paramount value

By Mitch Rily

For many families, the warm summer months are a great opportunity to visit one (if not more) of the thousands of amusement parks that dot our planet. As active parents and vacation planners try to decide which of the many parks will be the family’s destination, the overall value of the park is bound to play a role. One might even say it’s Paramount.

For our Premiering issue here at InPark Magazine, we spent some time talking with the Public Relations folks at Paramount’s Great America and Paramount’s Kings Island as they re-branded and re-themed their water park attractions. In this new issue, we’ve decided to revisit these parks, along with their sister locations, and recognize the value of a Paramount park experience. Many large amusement parks these days have found a great deal of success in building water parks adjacent to the home of their popular roller coasters and thrill rides. Two parks means two options on how a family can spend their day, right? Unfortunately for the family, it also means a choice on how they can spend their money, because two parks usually means two admissions. Not so at the Paramount parks.

Each of Paramount’s five major amusement parks across North America is fully equipped with its very own water park inside the amusement park grounds. In addition, every one of them is completely free with admission, so every park guest can soar through the air or swim under water in the same visit. Many of the water rides have even been designed for park guests who didn’t remember to pack their bathing suits but don’t want to miss out on a good splash.

With thrill rides ranging from mild to massive, movie and television memories coming to life throughout the park, and now water slides and splash pools, Paramount parks make the most of a family’s valuable time together. Here’s a quick tour of the five parks, their spotlight attractions, and their watery wonderlands.

Paramount’s Great America

Located on the south end of the San Francisco Bay area, Great America is Paramount’s sole park on the west coast. Moderate California temperatures are ideal for a visit to the newly-expanded Crocodile Dundee’s Boomerang Bay Beach Club. Adventurous souls will enjoy all five of the Beach Club’s water slides, while those laid-back visitors can stretch out by the Boomerang Lagoon or float along the Castaway Creek lazy river. Parents may even wish to spend a few more dollars to rent a place of their own for the day at the DASANI Cabana village.

Thrill seekers are bound to find themselves soaring on the new Delirium, the first spinning pendulum ride in North America, or riding face-to-face through twists and loops, traveling both forward and backwards through Invertigo. And be careful what you volunteer for at the Nickelodeon Theater, or you may find yourself covered in green slime.

Paramount’s Kings Dominion

Believe it or not, just south of the U.S. capital and in the heart of the state of Virginia, amusement park enthusiasts can ride an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or at least Paramount’s Kings Dominion’s replica of the famous European landmark. From the 275-foot-high viewing platform, visitors can watch cars rocket up and over Hypersonic XLC, America’s first compressed-air launch coaster, or see  fellow a d v e n tu r e r s get put to the test  on  the Lara Croft inspired Tomb Raider: Firefall. And if being shot out of the top of Volcano, The Blast Coaster, gets families too heated up, then there are 19 acres of water park awaiting them right around the corner.

Kings Dominion is also home to a WaterWorks water park, filled with rides and slides for the whole family. Parents may find it hard to pull their youngest visitors away from Lil’ Barefoot Beach or the Surf City Splash House, huge water-filled fun built with the little ones in mind. Added to the nine waterslides, the wave pool, and the lazy river, it’s quite easy to spend a day soaking up rays and sprays.

SLIDESHOW

Paramount’s Carowinds

Located right on the border of North and South Carolina, Paramount’s Carowinds gives guests the opportunity to cross state lines by foot, by coaster, or even by inner tube. This park is home to the only roller coaster in the world to be themed after Star Trek, the BORG Assimilator, where voyagers learn that resistance to fun is futile.

For those families who want to travel under the sea without having to dry off afterwards, a visit to Bikini Bottom is in store on the SpongeBob Square-Pants 3D movie motion ride.

For a more down-to-earth experience, visitors to WaterWorks can hurtle down any one of the four slides from atop Pipeline Peak or get rocked in the Big Wave Bay wave pool. With 13 acres of slides and pools to splash through, everyone is bound to get at least a little wet.

Paramount’s Kings Island

Moving north and further inland, families will find Paramount’s Kings Island outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Here, fans of classic roller coasters are in for a treat when they get to ride The Beast, the world’s longest wooden roller coaster, and Son of Beast, the world’s only looping wooden roller coaster. Younger visitors will love running rampant with the Rugrats, going wild with the Wild Thornberrys, or sniffing out mystery with Scooby Doo.

Sporting over 50 exciting water attractions at Crocodile Dundee’s Boomerang Bay Water Park Resort, Kings Island stands out with two unique temptations for brave blokes and sheilas. Families may find themselves going head to head at Coolangatta Racer, where four slides make racing to the bottom an exciting challenge, or going head over heels at Surfer’s Paradise, the only attraction anywhere in the Midwest where surfing the waves becomes a reality.

Paramount Canada’s Wonderland

The final stop on this Paramount tour finds families minutes north of Toronto at Paramount Canada’s Wonderland. Splash Works lays claim to Canada’s largest outdoor wave pool, Whitewater Bay, as well as the exciting Barracuda Blaster, where sliders are launched around the vertical insides of a spiraling bowl before landing splash-first in the park’s lazy river. As with all four of the other Paramount water parks, the large bucket at the top of the aquatic playhouse is not just for decoration, it’s for drenching.

Movie fans can climb aboard Mini Coopers on the Italian Job Stunt Track coaster, soar through the skies on Top Gun jet coaster, or trek through mystery and mayhem with Lara Croft on Tomb Raider: The Ride. In addition, the School of Rock Live concert puts the fun and flair of rock and roll up on stage for music aficionados to grade and gawk at. Whether swinging, spinning, flying, or falling, visitors will find that Canada’s Wonderland lives up to its name.

Thanks to Paramount parks, family members looking to relax can lounge poolside while the more daring go zooming along on the newest and fastest coasters and rides. Parents and kids alike have a great place to cool off during those scorching summer days. Season pass holders and multi-day visitors may find themselves spending one entire day in their bathing suits. However families decide to spend their day at the park, Paramount has made it possible to enjoy two parks for the price of one. With the thrills of an amusement park, the chills of a water park, and the sights and sounds of memorable movies all packed into one place, Paramount is giving a whole new meaning to the term family value.

More information and online ticketing for all of the Paramount parks is available online at www.paramountparks.com.

GM’s Speak Out: How Does Your Park Provide Great Value?

[PGA] is California’s only theme park with a water park inside for one admission price. The combination of two-parks-in-one provides value by enabling guests to experience our more than 50 rides and attractions along with 11 acres of water park fun during the same visit.

Rod Rankin, General Manager Paramount’s Great America

Paramount’s Kings Dominion is committed to providing fun, excitement and memorable experiences for our guests. We provide one-of-a-kind experiences, from family fun to ultimate thrills, and strive to exceed the expectations of each and every guest.

Richard A. Zimmerman, General Manager Paramount’s Kings Dominion

The best value for our guests is our Platinum Season Pass. It provides a tremendous number of perks and benefits not available to other guests.

Bob White, General Manager Paramount’s Carowinds

PKI provides excellent value to its guests in a variety of ways. For one regular admission, guests enjoy…the thrills and excitement of rides like The Beast and ITALIAN JOB: Stunt Track AND the relaxation of chair-side waiter service and the Great Barrier Reef wave pool…all in a day’s visit.

Craig Ross, General Manager Paramount’s Kings Island

[We] endeavour to launch each season with a variety of entertainment options that meet the interests of all of our guests…through strategic event programming and careful attraction and ride selections. Creature comforts are also a top priority, as well as terrific dining options.

Dale Kaetzel, General Manager Paramount Canada’s Wonderland