The History of Paramount Parks: A Cameo in the Amusement Industry

[@AirtimeThrills]

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

[@DoswarePictures]

Airtime Thrills you should release the whole thing.

[@racingphotographer8251]

using the same kind of camera as the Zapruder film? (since that's the same year...)

[@AirtimeThrills]

@@racingphotographer8251 haha quite possibly

[@crispyorsmthnidk5314]

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.

[@Tiger-fv3nl]

I remember Carowinds back during the Paramount days and I think it was better back then even with the addition of the new rides.

[@Tiger-fv3nl]

Thunder Road, Top Gun and a Scooby-Doo coaster.

[@rwallac21]

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.

[@minoritymind]

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.

[@julialong5720]

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.

[@Orange_Laowai]

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.

[@DoswarePictures]

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.

[@Orange_Laowai]

@@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.

[@DoswarePictures]

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.

[@RMTStudios]

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.

[@vikstar804]

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.

[@jumpstartgaming4431]

Living 15 minutes away from Kings Island is amazing. Glad to call it my home park

[@coasterdaddy7123]

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.

[@Raditude]

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.

[@racingphotographer8251]

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.

[@Pappyusmc79]

Carowinds is my home park, it has made significant changes and I have been coming here since I was a child. I remember when Paramount owned it and I rode the Topgun roller coaster.

[@sassvannah7568]

Grew up going to Carowinds under the Paramount reign since I live so close. Miss it dearly, it just doesn’t feel the same.

[@EmberMcLain87]

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.

[@tractorgt]

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.

[@j.mattdoggett5710]

I am blessed to have a 'home park' at all, and it is King's Dominion. King's Dominion is where I fell in love with roller coasters and extreme rides in general. With very large gaps in time, I remember when Paramount acquired it, and then when Cedar Fair did. I was there for the beginning, largely absent for the in between, but there for the end. I am truly blessed to have the privilege to have ridden FOUR of the launch coasters that King's Dominion has had: Flight of Fear, Stunt Coaster, Hypersonic, AND Volcano. And Volcano will always hold a unique, special, beloved, and sorely missed place in my heart. These, and other unique perspectives are something I could go on and on about....

[@DoswarePictures]

J. Matt Doggett only four? Not all of them? You should go to Brazil.

[@j.mattdoggett5710]

@@DoswarePictures Um, I was referring to all four launch coasters that King's Dominion has ever had. Certainly there are many other launch coasters I haven't been able to ride yet, such as Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, Wicked Twister, Kingda Ka, and many many others, but as far as I know, King's Dominion itself has only ever had four so far

[@mt_xing]

Paramount's Carowinds was my home park growing up, and despite my nostalgic memories of waiting underneath Top Gun to try to watch my dad zip past and riding all the kiddie coasters, I think it's undeniable that Cedar Fair has done the park a world of good, turning it from a fun little local park into something actually worth making the trek down to. Afterburn is still Top Gun in my heart, though.

[@lornegilbert9734]

Canada's Wonderland was my home park during the Paramount years. The movie branding came in really quickly, and Paramount's influence popped up almost overnight. I received a snail-mail letter when it happened, and it was Paramount by my next visit. After all these years, I now make deliveries to the maintenance and merchandise departments.

[@candvand]

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.

[@AirtimeThrills]

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

[@candvand]

@@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

[@rrad8106]

I visited Carrowinds back when it was a Paramount park. Being a Trekie, I loved the branding around the grounds. Nice park; a good friend of mine still calls it her home park (and her kids have often found employment there).

[@albybaker1701]

Kings island is my home park, remember all of it like it was yesterday! Keep up the great videos!!

[@Singgreen369]

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!

[@HYDRAdude]

I visited Paramount's Great America multiple times, it was basically a six flags park. I had lots of fun.

[@NoSignal_stream]

Kings dominion was/is my home park and I grew up going there starting in the 90's, and between that and busch gardens are the reason I'm a theme park enthusiast. It was really obvious to myself and my family that the effort that paramount had been putting in between say 93-98 had really gone away by the time the 04-06 seasons came along when they were basically checked out entirely (I rode the hurler 13 times in a row, front car, without getting off one night, they just didn't care) I was really excited when Cedar Fair bought out the park because while I hadn't gotten a chance to go to cedar point (yet, i've been since) I knew it's reputation/Cedar Fairs reputation for running parks and honestly anything would have been better than paramount at that point. I can honestly say that the parks are better run, better looking, better feeling, better everything now than they were near 15 years ago when Cedar Fair bought them, it's just a better experience all around. The Food/Shows are more robust and you feel there is some thought into the rides and a plan for the future. Hope this helps, great video.

[@SusanAHubbard]

I first went to Great America in 1987. I was a few hours away, so I didnt go back until Paramount had acquired it. Top Gun will always be my favorite coaster. I loved the Days of Thunder simulation ride and being a big Trek fan, loved seeing the Klingons walking the park. It was also there I first experienced the IMAX screen. I left the state in 98, so I havent seen the new changes. I seem to remember some of the renaming already starting, because I swear that the last time I was there, Top Gun was already named Flight Deck and I was mad because I wasn't going to hear the TG soundtrack

[@DragonWorldProducts]

I remember going to Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Carowinds when they were still being operated by Paramount and remember what a blast going to these parks were.

[@racingphotographer8251]

If Paramount still had those parks you'd never have Orion, i305, or Fury respectively....

[@DragonWorldProducts]

@@racingphotographer8251 hey all I was saying was I had some good memories back then, I think I only went to Kings Island once after they were sold to the current company.

[@katherinewiykovics1602]

I went to 4/5 parks for a summer as a kid when we got season passes. Carowinds had all the Paramount movies listed on the Carolinas border like the Hollywood walk of Fame. It was really cool and dad has a video somewhere of him reading all the movies and judging them.

[@coasterphreak]

Carowinds was my home park growing up, and it's shameful how little Paramount invested in that park.

[@frechstudios3129]

Kings Dominion was our local park and we enjoyed it. I haven’t been since Paramount was dropped but I heard it’s great. We moved to Florida and been doing the big three here in Orlando.

[@stephclarke6850]

Canada's Wonderland is my home park! I went in the 2019 regular season for the first time since 2010, but I would go once per summer from about 2002-2010. I think the park has improved since then. That said, we went on a day where it rained all morning and kept the crowds away, which was great. No lines, no ride closures, just soggy feet.

[@mr.rollercoasters]

I watch 4 hours of KZbin per day. I've been on KZbin 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 KZbin 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 KZbinr _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. 🎢🎢🎢

[@AirtimeThrills]

Wow thats some high praise man, thank you!

[@AuburnFanSince2010]

Kings Dominion was number 2 when they was owned by Paramount. Now the park is number 7 under Cedar Fair. Kings Dominion is worse off.

[@BlueSnailProductions]

KD is a my home park and I totally disagree. The loss of Volcano hurt, but the park experience is so much better under CF. The park was a dump when Paramount owned it.

[@AuburnFanSince2010]

Joey Mistretta KD is my home park too. All Cedar Fair did was add giant Candy Apples, Singing Mushrooms, and a corny Clown Band. All tree of those things are lame. They expanded Planet Snoopy every year and that place can’t compete with the old Nickelodeon Central.

[@zachgibbs2456]

@@AuburnFanSince2010 Totally agree! Paramount made Volcano, Drop Zone, Flight of Fear, Spongebob 4-D, Hypersonic XLC, and Scooby-Doo's Haunted Mansion! They knew how to create thrills AND theming, not just thrills...

[@AuburnFanSince2010]

Zach Gibbs Have you been to the 4 D theater lately? They removed the motion chairs.

[@zachgibbs2456]

Russell Westbrook Fan since 2010 Wtf! And I just heard that they’re removing the Crypt this year too 😭

[@lessardo87]

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

[@Salazar26]

Wonderland is my home park. Been going there since I was a kid. I also worked there in 99 and 00 when it was under the Paramount banner. I also worked there again in 2008. I love the park.

[@TheDereksd]

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).

[@joshuaakersberrett]

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.

[@stepforwardentertainment715]

I attended Kings Island as a kid under the Taft/KECO and as a teenager under Paramount. Kings Island was my home park for most of my childhood. I almost had a chance to go to Kings Dominion due to visiting nearby Virginia Beach but a storm stopped those plans. Kinda like how your plans got muddled up during a recent Kings Dominion trip, eh? As a kid, I didn’t experience the major thrills it had, like the now gone Vortex and King Cobra, but as a teenager my horizons opened and I experienced most if not all the park had to offer. Under the Paramount banner I didn’t feel that the park had been a shadow of what it was, but it paid great respect to what it had been and tried to make strides to making it better. My only real objection, which was honestly one that was irrelevant to me by the time Paramount came in, was the eventual removal of the Hanna Barbera properties that had been there since I was a kid, replaced by the Nickelodeon property. My last time to Kings Island was over 16 years ago and unfortunately I haven’t been back since, not due to lack of want but due to age and weight. My dream and goal is to reclaim my youth as it were, lose my weight, and return to Kings Island one more time before I become too old to truly enjoy the park. Of the rides there, I personally rode The Beast (which is a personally connected ride, as it opened a mere few weeks after I was born), Vortex (RIP), Racer, Beastie (now Woodstock Express), Adventure Express, Top Gun (now The Bat), King Cobra (RIP), and my personal favorite coaster at KI is Flight of Fear (once Outer Limits: Flight of Fear). In my life, outside of Walt Disney World, I have gone to Kings Island, Cedar Point, and a lackluster experience at Kentucky Kingdom. I absolutely adore theme parks and one day I hope to return to ride. Wish me luck.

[@AdventuresWithParker]

My home park is Canada’s Wonderland. My family and I used to go once every year when it was owned by Paramount. I personally enjoyed and miss the Hannah Barbera and Nickelodeon brands, but Planet Snoopy is a good fit. Cedar Fair did do wonders for the park. You know it was bad when the Vekoma SLC had the longest lines. I’ve been a Wonderland passholder since 2008, when Cedar Fair made their first addition to the park with Behemoth (although, I wasn’t brave enough to ride it until 2012 😂). And 2020 will mark my first year as a Platinum Passholder. The only thing I don’t like about Cedar Fair is how our version of Backlot is void of any effects... I mean, there’s gotta be a way to make cool stuff happen without infringing copyright, right? As Italian Job, it was one of my favourite coasters. Now, it’s totally skippable.

[@racingphotographer8251]

I remember seeing (under their Paramount names) Top Gun, Italian Job, and Tomb Raider with 1 hour lineups or worse. Today those rides are all walk-ons. You know the rides are garbage when the GP aren't lining up for them... by comparison Vortex (which was one of the last Taft installs) still gets lineups.

[@chief1b]

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.

[@daniell1870]

Canada's Wonderland has been my home park since it was Paramount. Hell, we still call the rides by their movie reference! Top Gun, Italian Job, Tomb Raider.

[@AbsurdJANGO]

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.

[@jayparry1139]

Back in the 90's once at Canada's Wonderland I witnessed the coaster Top Gun break down...the coaster car was stuck at the very top of the 1st lift before it would turn and make it's 1st descent. And since this coaster was a hanging coaster the passengers were stranded on the lift top with their feet dangling for almost 3 hours...

[@XxskoolxX]

CA Great america is actually my home town park. I got to grow up during the paramount years at the park. I fondly remember the kiddy area with a large focus on Hanna Barbara . Then the transition to Nickelodeon. (vastly preferring the Hanna Barbara). Top-gun, invertago, demon, vortex, grizzly, and greased lightning were all great coasters to grow up on. All the coasters were great there growing up , but I remember when stealth opened up it always had problems. Stealth almost always had long lines, and then the ride would break down before you could ride it. After stealth they stopped investing into the park. I think the last thing they did was tear down steal and put in a mediocre water park. I saw my home town park decline into shambles with rides being removed never to be replaced. In 2006 that all changed when the park got sold. We started to see seasonal events, rides get better upkeep. Then recently we've seen 2 new amazing coasters gold striker and rail blazer! This year they are fixing up the water park adding some new vertical drop water slides. While I do miss some of the theme-ing back when paramounts owned the park, I'm happy to see the park on a incline rather than a decline. I hope we see the continued investment in the park, even if it does bring back the lines :P

[@pearldiver19]

I celebrated my 16th birthday at Paramount’s Kings Dominion. At the time, it had more and better roller coasters than my home park, Hershey Park. I haven’t been down there in a long time, though.

[@murdoxxed]

I remember Carowinds back when it was Paramount’s Carowinds. Granted, I was really young, but I remember the bleakness that it was up until Cedar Fair bought it and almost immediately gave us Intimidator. As a kid that was the coolest thing on earth to me. The only really sweet thing I remember was the Hannah Barbera/Nickelodeon theming in the kids’ areas and the waterpark. That was dope.

[@AbeSandyWX]

I call Kings Island my home park since I grew up in Waynesville not far from there. My brother still lives 5 minutes from Kings Island. Spent my summers at the park and rode all the rides and even Son of Beast

[@MarinaGraves]

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.

[@NorCalCoasterMedia]

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.

[@CylitheraGreywolf]

I grew up with California's Great America as my home park and saw the Paramount and Marriott era. I didn't have much to compare to beyond parks in southern California, but I enjoyed the roller coasters. The movie references made no sense to me as a clueless kid / teenager, but I do enjoy the more exciting investments from Cedar Fair like Railblazer and Goldstriker.

[@Surfacenoise1]

When I heard that Cedar Fair was taking over Wonderland, I was quite happy. The rides Paramount put in weren’t really that great. And the line for Top Gun was so long that first couple of years. They would play Danger Zone and Take My Breath Away over and over again. It would be stuck in your head all day! Ugh!

[@DoswarePictures]

Surfacenoise1 I’m guessing they played Danger Zone more in the queue than in the original movie, which was already an excessive amount.

[@racingphotographer8251]

Yeah, during the Paramount years you'd wait an hour to get on Top Gun, Tomb Raider, and Italian Job. Now those are walk-ons even without a fast lane. Shows how bad and dated those are compared to the Cedar Fair B&Ms, not even the GP want to ride them anymore!

[@Surfacenoise1]

Dosware Pictures Not nearly as much as Take My Breath Away. Seriously. Ha ha. This band had some skills... kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHa9gWVol51lodU

[@DoswarePictures]

Surfacenoise1 I saw that song in a video about misheard lyrics. One of the lines sounded like “and you were waiting there, swimming through a pile of cheese”.

[@Spank98asu]

My summer job for 3 years was at Keyhole Photo in Paramount's Carowinds. So many memories there!! Paramount definitely injected some badly needed capital investment to a lackluster park. Carowinds has always been my home park, but prior to the Paramount acquisition there were a couple years of declining upkeep and poor service standards. When I started working there, guest satisfaction was drilled into us and I do believe Carowinds could have sunk further without this new business model.

[@SiebayPlays]

I was probably only 5 when I first visited Kings Dominion under Paramount. That was around 2002. It's safe to say I don't remember anything aside from the sign on the way to the park, but seeing what it used to be, it's tons better nowadays. Now if only Cedar Fair put a bit more into KD...

[@DoswarePictures]

SiebayRoo I remember the old PKD sign. Also, I saw footage from 2002 and apparently the Blue’s Clues meet and greet attraction Meet Blue had an employee with a blue plushie. It was changed to a full mascot character once Blue’s Room was a thing, which was the case when I went there in 2006.

[@theunknown0887]

SiebayRoo cedar fair removed all of our unique launch coaster

[@DoswarePictures]

Edward Isom unless they were sabotaged by Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

[@michaezell4607]

Actually the paramount parks started off under Taft with king's island, followed a couple of years later by sister park king's dominion. Carowinds was later acquired and great America was originally developed by Marriott corporation but later acquired in the mid 80s while its sister park in Chicago was acquired by six flags.

[@Nintendad64]

I remember when King's Dominion became Paramount's King's Dominion I was so excited. Since they were a movie studio I thought they'd revamp the park to be something like Universal or Disney. It started out great but then (as pointed out in the video) Paramount or CBS just didn't really care anymore and minor things like touching up the paint on the coasters just went by the wayside. In the end I'm glad they sold to Cedar because because they seem to really care the park has a much better atmosphere. Side note, you forgot to mention the Tomb Raider ride at King's Dominion.

[@daltonwade9441]

Kings Dominion has always been my home park.

[@russ4moose]

I liked the vibe of Paramount's King's Dominion, which I visited maybe 5 times during that period. They made the park more aesthetically pleasing and added some nice attractions. Anaconda is a horrible Arrow looper, but it was a nice try. I haven't been to King's Dominion for awhile and I'd like to see how I feel about it now.

[@MrEricSir]

Grew up near Great America in California, and that park always seemed like it was about to go out of business. When Cedar Fair first took over they let the place get pretty filthy for a while. I'm surprised it bounced back.

[@racingphotographer8251]

I will say the last few years of Taft looked pretty bad at Wonderland too, like they ran out of money and it showed. The Smurf Forest in particular (despite being a newer install compared to the rest of Hanna-Barbera Land) looked old and run-down, it was so bad that area was deserted, like nobody wanted to be seen in there. Paramount came in, put a new coat of paint on everything, splashed on some stupid movie themes... then resumed with the cheap approach for over a decade...

[@FrankieP.]

I don't have too many memories of Great America (my home park) when it was a Paramount park (I'm 25 today). But comparing maps from back then and now, I wish they never got rid of our train. That's why I want to go to Chicago, so I can get my baseball fix, and get to SFGA and compare the two.

[@scottcopeland3730]

I was a season pass holder when Son of Beast broke down at Kings Island. My son and I were there that day mostly doing the water park. As we were leaving, we saw multiple ambulances right in front of us. I looked at my son and said something must have happened on Son of Beast. I could feel how poorly designed that ride was designed the two times I rode it. That said, I think Paramount did fine running the park, but I am glad they sold it when they did.

[@xenostrike]

My home park was Great America, and my favorite ride was an older one called The Demon. But generally I preferred going to GA over Disney Land or anywhere else because you never really waited more than an hour for a ride whether it be Top Gun, Days of Thunder/James Bond experience, Vertigo, Drop Zone or wandering around the Nickelodeon splat zone where everything shot water at you. Also the next closest park was Marine World... uh I guess it is now called Discovery Kingdom and I still can't think of that as just not a zoo.

[@melissalockahrt9791]

Awe California’s great America is my home park. Season pass holder lol and I must say I do miss the old themes. But the last few years they have done major improvements on their rides and additions which is nice. Plus the water park is a nice bonus. I miss stealth so much, but I was stuck on that ride for about two hours once. Luckily it was the part when you are on your back climbing up to the top before you flip. And it was night so that made it a bit easier as well. But next season we are going to try six flags discovery kingdom for our season passes. It’s been like 10 years since I’ve been because we have always just done GA. If love a video on the journey of discovery kingdom aka marine world.

[@bridgediscovery1011]

I have one word to say about this AMAZING

[@LewEl26]

Watching this makes me miss Kings Dominion even more when it was owned by Paramount.

[@DasNordlicht91]

I'd argue that the current era of Canada's Wonderland (with Behemoth, Leviathan, and Yukon Striker being added in the post-Paramount era) is the best the park's had since the Paramount years.

[@XscreamThrills]

Never got to go to a paramount park, but I always wanted to visit Paramount's King's Island to ride Beast, Son of Beast. Well I accomplished half of those goals now lol

[@Sammiehahafilms]

Kings island is my home park. It’s freaking fantastic now, but we all make plenty of jokes about the Paramount days.

[@princessscotchtape8931]

Paramount Carowinds was my park growing up. It was the ignored park, but holy shit did that have benefits. We didn't get the Nicktoons theme till around 2003-2005. Thunder Road kept it's movie tie in till Cedar Fair demolished it and I'm still salty about it. Thunder Road also had the other cars set to going backwards under Paramount. I just remember under Paramount that Carowinds felt more like a Safe, Action Park and it was always fun. When Cedar Fair bought it, it now feels very clean and professional. I still love going, but I do miss "Welcome to Paramount Carowinds"

[@deathandbananas2152]

13:45 Michigan Adventure people: Are you sure about that

[@DoswarePictures]

The Lawl is the *LAWL* Michigan’s Adventure was never owned by Paramount. BTW, Michigan’s Adventure is my home park.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I was talking about these 5 parks...some of Cedar Fairs other parks are...ermm..yeahh

[@idigcoasters]

I totally remember riding Stealth in 2000 at Paramount's GA. Still how I separate the two Great America's in my mind - Six Flags or Paramount.

[@jayambor8391]

Great America is my home park and i remembered always being scared of the spongebob 3D movie ride it had when I was younger.

[@sportsMike87]

Going to magic mountain next month! Does anyone know if they have bins for stuff or do you have to get lockers. Haven't been there in years

[@jeffc1347]

The reason Great America was ignored by Cedar Fair at first was because Dick Kinzel was planning a sale to the 49ers. Matt Ouimet saved the park when he became CEO.

[@TheAdamFinch]

Wonderland is my home park and u can definitely tell that professionalism at the park increased with the cedar fair takeover.

[@nicoleonyx9186]

Paramount King's Dominion was my park. My very first roller coaster ever was Rebel Yell and I went on the train going backwards. The Nickelodeon area had these self-sliming things and I slimed myself then proceeded to slip in the slime on the asphalt and skinned the crap out of my knee lol I loved it though!

[@edvaira6891]

A lesser known Paramount Park was actually one of the best now-defunct attractions that Las Vegas built in that weird decade plus period in the 90’s and early 2000’s when they tried to morph into a “family destination “--The $70 Million Star Trek Experience in the Las Vegas Hilton

[@timex513]

I miss the 80s version of ki. Under cedar fair its gotten better. But it's mainly non ride experience that's still needing to improve such as food, landscaping. But it could use some of the old flat rides back.

[@findernightrose]

I worked at Canada's Wonderland around 1999-2000. Was fun though everyone was way under paid. I kept going back every few years after. when Ceder took over I saw some bad changes. the food was the most notable. It turned from ok food options to limited and gross.

[@alexnewman3363]

Kings Dominion is my home park. Under Paramount it was fine but overall pretty lackluster. Now it's pretty solid, however I don't think it's to it's full potential because Busch Gardens

[@chasemartini7110]

Tomb Raider being changed to The Crypt at Kings Island was an absolute tragedy. Otherwise, Cedar Fair has been a blessing nod doubt

[@theunknown0887]

Not for Kings dominion

[@DoswarePictures]

Edward Isom at least you kept your Crypt a little while longer than Kings Island.

[@ChiefBlueScreen]

I've gotta say, Carowinds felt a lot more boring when Paramount moved out. A lot of my friends still call the rides "Top Gun", "Borg", and "Scooby Doo". They were that iconic. Maybe it was around the time Chickie's and Pete's changed that whole dining area, but even the boardwalk, the best themed section, just feels like "palm tree area" now. Gotta say the area around Copperhead is a great step in the right direction. I can see them doing something big like that to the former Wayne's world section soon.

[@DantesInferalDumpsterFire]

Best airtime you can get anywhere is going 80 on a California highway. Gotta love all those potholes/cracked roads 👌👌👌

[@oldmanartist4655]

Paramount great america is my local park. It's now sharing parking with the 49ers.

[@evanprice7967]

I miss the theming of Paramount's Carowinds, but it's a more than fair trade off for the vast investment into the park. Cedar Fair made Carowinds better than Six Flags Over Georgia. In Upstate South Carolina, every summer you either went to Six Flags or Carowinds. In the 90s, Six Flags was definitely the better overall park. The Warner Brothers theming and the better rides made it that way. Now, Six Flags Over Georgia is very run down and feels stuck in the 90s or early 2000s. Carowinds runs laps around it. Fastlane is better than Flash Pass (no stupid gadget to get and keep up with, fiddle with, etc). Carowinds has the better food selection as well, although it could still use improvement. Six Flags does have the better payment plan for their season pass. I would like to see Carowinds offer a season pass for lockers and a better parking lot, and at least one more park entrance. Minor gripes really.

[@DARTHCOHENswgoh]

I consider kings island my home park I went to paramount's kings island in 2002-2004 and I can clearly say kings island is better off today then it was back then.

[@Joecota95]

Hey Bonfante Gardens i haven’t heard that name in years, that and Great America we’re my hometown parks

[@berniev.1040]

I went to Paramont great America many times as a child in the late 80s and 90s had great times there that’s where I learned to ride more advanced roller coasters I think as time went on they let the park go and maybe the.com bubble bursting didn’t help the parks future but now they got the new 49er stadium and maybe they want to spruce up that park a little bit better

[@eaglescout1984]

I went to King's Dominion during and after the Paramount ownership. Ironically, I feel Cedar Fair has taken a few steps back by un-reversing one side of Rebel Yell (now called Racer 75 due to politics) and closing Hypersonic XLC and Volcano. I rode Volcano a couple years ago and it was easily the most popular ride. Meanwhile, the selling off of Busch Gardens to Sea World entertainment has been mostly positive and if Cedar Fair doesn't start investing in King's Dominion, they will start losing attendance to Busch Gardens.

[@garrettbrooks6576]

Personally, I think that politics should stay out of the amusement park world. Rebel Yell might be a controversial name, but it wasn't necessarily directing to Confederacy. It was mostly due to the state's heritage and the idea of racing the north and south sides. The ideology of renaming Rebel Yell at KD would also make it that Billy Idol should also rename his song. Paramount used to use his song a lot for promoting Rebel Yell, which even by then was an aged coaster. As of now, I think it deserves a repaint, and the chaser lights. A fun fact, Carowind's Thunder Road featured Gray and Blue trains for both sides, hinting the Gray Confederates and the Blue Unions

[@cookimaus1]

You had a missed opportunity to make a cotton eye joe reference in the start lol

[@chumbert5]

I know it’s not important to the main story, but you forgot to mention Australia’s Wonderland from the KECO years.

[@AirtimeThrills]

I read up on that but it was never sold to Paramount so I left it out

[@chumbert5]

Airtime Thrills ah ok, that makes sense. If the park was sold to paramount, it would probably still be open today.

[@shanelloyd6450]

Yea cedar fair is cool and all, but Tomb Raider the Ride is the most heartbreaking amusement park loss I’ve ever personally witnessed.

[@DoswarePictures]

Shane Lloyd it’s a shame. I’m not sure if it would still be here if Paramont still owned the parks because of 2018’s Tomb Raider movie being released by Warner Bros, and the Tomb Raider franchise being owned by Square Enix, but Tomb Raider was mentioned with other franchises when the newer failed parks were announced.

[@racingphotographer8251]

I don't think anybody will be heartbroken when (not if) Cedar Fair finally removes that piece of trash from Canada's Wonderland... they should sell it to that all-Zamperla park down in Alabama (OWA Park).... or maybe the OWA people were smart to say "we'll buy all your stuff, Zammy, but you can keep the damn Volare..."

[@angusng816]

Top Gun Franchise (1986-present) Box Office: $4.4 billion Wayne's World Franchise (1992-1993) Box Office: $1.9 billion Face/Off (1997) Box Office: $1.1 billion Tomb Raider Franchise (2001-present) Box Office: $2.1 billion The Italian Job (2003) Box Office: $698.6 million Nickelodeon Movies (1996-present) Box Office: $7.9 billion Star Trek Franchise (1979-present) Box Office: $8.4 billion

[@julianhudson7811]

Cedar fair is cleaning up the mess that paramount made

[@vicjaxon4474]

It made a mess, but a good one

[@DoswarePictures]

vic jaxon if Paramount still owned the Parks, we would’ve gotten rides based on mediocre Michael Bay movies and Nickelodeon shows.

[@vicjaxon4474]

@@DoswarePictures some of it was bad, some good, not saying all good, just some

[@DoswarePictures]

vic jaxon and for some reason Paramount decided to close the Kings Island Campground. At least we got Great Wolf Lodge out of it.

[@racingphotographer8251]

If Paramount still owned those parks to this day, no way Canada's Wonderland gets 3 B&M's in relatively short order, no way Carowinds gets Fury, no way King's Island gets Orion. They would continue to pick up lame flat rides and the cheapest coasters available (Backlot, Flight Deck, and Time Warp at Wonderland, ugh). Good f--king riddance to Paramount. Even Six Flags would have been an improvement over Paramount.

[@MewisMe700]

I will say Paramount did remove some great family rides at KD including the steam train and the cable cars that took you across the park, but they did give us great theming and rides. Nick was such great theming with such a variety of characters. Peanuts sucks and is such a lackluster theme and every time I go to KD is just makes me cringe. Fun fact KD still has a sewer cover in the former Waynes World section that says "property of Aurora, Illinois"

[@levipayne801]

It's a shame I was only 8 when Cedar Fair bought the parks so I never got to experience Kings under Paramount

[@triciahoward8834]

My home park is Kings Island, and I'm old enough to remember it with the Hanna Barbera characters. During Paramount's ownership it was...not great. The ambiance of the movie soundtracks was a nice touch, and there were some aesthetic additions that did the job, but aside from Tomb Raider, the rest of what they added was not great. Under CF, it's been a complete turnaround

[@americaverse700]

Maybe that's because I despised Cedar Fair, and maybe I suggest that Cedar Fair would never existed, not even including Cedar Fair. Only California's Great America, Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Island and Kings Dominion existed in Americaverse, but remained under the Paramount brand. The Coney Island was once a home to several Americaverse characters starting in 1963, and that's why everything happened there. But maybe I should asked something else which Americaverse would once been the home of California's Great America, Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Island and Kings Dominion.

[@TheTjoconnor]

worst thing to ever happen to Valleyfair, MA, Worlds of Fun, and Dorney.

[@DoswarePictures]

TheTjoconnor Paramount should buy those parks, so that the next bench added to Michigan’s Adventure can be themed to Forest Gump.

[@NorCalCoasterMedia]

@@DoswarePictures I agree with this comment

[@DoswarePictures]

CA Bay Area Thrills you’re not the first one to like that, as I said that before on an earlier video.

[@ArMartz]

CBS taking Paramount Parks with them from their initial split from Viacom and then selling them to Cedar Fair is very baffling and hypocritical, as CBS and Viacom would eventually remerger together 13/14 years later.

[@joeykelly0157]

I remember kings island when it was paramount because it’s my home park

[@pizzafroth1521]

Paramount gave out the best ride I've ever rode, then Cedar Fair destroyed it: The now defunct Tomb Raider The Ride at Kings Island. In its original form at full performance it was seriously incredible. Screw you Cedar Fair for destroying something so incredible.

[@goose6413]

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.

[@DoswarePictures]

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.

[@lakerboy16]

Ditto

[@BluesCoasters]

Agreed

[@mitchellries256]

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.

[@nathandroppedoff]

Six flags: You can’t defeat me Cedar fair: I know, but he can. *paramount acquirement*

[@Janine-jc4zw]

hahahhahahaha

[@TN-wv6ok]

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

[@DoswarePictures]

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]

Which is probably why the current bat at kings island is also a arrow

[@DoswarePictures]

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.

[@TheEpic22]

Cross Crease Hockey I disagree. I’ll take a suspended coaster over a B&M invert. It’s unique and fun.

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

@@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.