Review: Luminosity (2012)

Hopefully, if a new stage goes in Action Zone, the whole area gets a huge face lift. All of King's Island's areas are pretty well themed, but Action Zone seems like the trashiest area of the amusement park. Paramount really screwed up on that area.

I haven't seen the Luminosity show in full, but the area in general feels very cramped. It was like the park made the stage 1.5X the size it should have been. The Celebration Plaza area at night looked awesome; but during the day, the area looks very incomplete. The area is an improvement over what we had before, but the lighting and effects equipment everywhere looks almost as bad as a huge screen.

As others have said, I do wish there was a way to make that area more aesthetically pleasing during the daytime. It looks fantastic at night, but not all that attractive while it's not in use. Not that there's much that can be done about it now. I suppose it's still way more attractive than that big ugly screen.

Agreed it's not particularly attractive during the day, but my observation on Friday night was that there's plenty of room for the crowd that's interested enough to see the show. The thing I didn't anticipate was all of the campers on the tables by the new food stand, which is not a particularly great angle for the show.

Saw it for the first time Saturday night and was really impressed actually. After all the negative stuff I read, I was much surprised how good it was.

Sure, some singers could have been better and all that... But that aside, the show was fantastic. The energy was great and the large crowd enjoyed it.

The party afterward was even better, though. Was so fun to just walk around and watch people go crazy.

Here is a 3-minute video I took that night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxO8pyOUvTE

^Great review and I liked your analogy with Cheese on a Stick! Oh, and by the way, you can make a smiley face by using a colon and then parenthesis.

^ use the parenthesis over the "0"

Sophia Cruiseferro said:
How do I make him happy?

Captain Hawkeye said:
^ use the parenthesis over the "0"

That is not the answer that I would give;)

semi-colon followed by the right parenthesis

Finally having a chance to sit down and post my review, so here it goes.

The good
This is exactly what Cedar Point has needed for many, many years. A high-energy, crowd-pleasing, all-around fun end to a day at the park. It almost makes me throw up a little when I think about how awful the old show was by comparison. They hit a home run with the concept here.

The lighting and stage set up is completely out of this world. I drove around Perimeter Road the night I arrived and could hear the music outside the gates (and see the lights beaming into the sky). If that doesn't draw your attention, I don't know what will. Amazing.

The "circus" performers. What a cool way to accent certain songs. I especially enjoyed the silk rope performers. I understand this act changes depending on the night.

The dance party at the end. Yes yes yes. WIN. Never have I ever seen people stick around for any reason other than to ride an ERT session. The DJ was great, the music was on point, it was perfect.

The bad:
I have no idea what's up with the audio, but it was completely, utterly horrible all three times I saw it. Never consistent, never adjusted. I don't care if "it's a different person running the board," it's unacceptable. There were times I couldn't hear the singers. There were times the music was too quiet. There were times when the singers got cut off completely. Unacceptable! Being an audio geek, this drove me nuts. FAIL on the audio.

The drummers. Not knocking the drummers themselves, but they add nothing to the show. In fact, I found them distracting. I think using them the entire show was a mistake.

The singers (other than the black woman). Between the lead girl's awkward arm movements and the lead guy who couldn't sing, I was disappointed. I honestly wanted the black woman to sing the whole show. And I think others here noticed the same thing. She's way too good to be second to the crazy, angry arm girl.

The stage is too wide. When I say this, I mean the area itself. I almost completely missed the platform performances on the pods because they were soooo far away. I'm sure others missed them too. If you're up against the stage and in the center, you would miss them.

The theme. There was a theme? Why bother? Just make it a night time party. Seriously.

The ending. The singers now bow, but the transition between the singers and the DJ is still awkward. You don't know if you should leave or stay. Can someone please get on the mic and tell the crowd to stick around? Or introduce the DJ without him lip syncing some mumbo-jumbo? He deserves more than that.

Overall:
Kudos to CP for taking a risk here. Although it has tweaks to be made, it's solid. I look forward to polished versions in the future.

Oh, and get a new audio guy. :)

Guide_Wheel said:
I have no idea what's up with the audio, but it was completely, utterly horrible all three times I saw it.

As I have already said numerous times on here, the audio is mixed from behind glass. Being an audio guy, I don't need to explain to you why this is wrong.

The audio from Luminosity is, IMO, some of the best I've ever heard to come out of the park. But, then again, I'm not an audio geek like some of ya'll.
Still love to catch a little bit of the show every time I visit.

Guide_Wheel said:
I honestly wanted the black woman to sing the whole show. And I think others here noticed the same thing. She's way too good to be second to the crazy, angry arm girl.

It's funny you say that, because I think the girl I saw on the preview night (see here) was easily the best of the lot. And I kinda like angry arm girl. :)

I got nothing else to do at the moment so I'll give my own little review.

I also thought the black woman was the best vocally. When she was on stage she demanded attention from everyone and got it. She was amazing. The other girl with the vest, mini leather skirt, and knee high boots was pretty good also. There was one girl, however, that was just way too into and tried to over-do it. (I'm thinking it is the same angry arm girl you are talking about) Her weird movements and facial expressions were awkward to watch.

I thought the fireworks and flame throwers were great and well timed.

The props were quite frankly, the worst part of the show. I saw a lot of people just look around at each other and say "What the hell?"

I agree that the New York part of the show was random and not needed; even though I love JayZ.

99er said:

Guide_Wheel said:
I have no idea what's up with the audio, but it was completely, utterly horrible all three times I saw it.

As I have already said numerous times on here, the audio is mixed from behind glass. Being an audio guy, I don't need to explain to you why this is wrong.

And again, there's no excuse for CP not knowing how to mix audio. I've heard them mix bad audio in the Garter as well. And that's wide open.

They should be mixing below the booth (at the very least).

They (Live E) know how to mix audio and they are doing what they can with what they have. Which is an inclosed building that does not allow the actual sound to hit the mixer. But you have those who control the money to thank for how the mixing is done, not Live Entertainment.

The space that Garter occupies is a joke when it comes to audio. Even the Audio Engineer they bring in agrees that there isn't anything you can do in there to help it without basically tearing down the building and starting new.

And the black women a few of you are talking about is Kendra. She was a grab from Sea World Orlando where she was a singer in their Christmas show this past winter. Very good indeed!

Don't the windows on those booths open?

Nope, they're solid and fixed position. The only thing in those booths that open are the doors, which face away from the stage.

Having watched the show numerous times, I agree with almost every poster and want to add my comments. The costumes are a sad misfortune that seems a "must have to burden" for the performers. I think the crowd is a little intimidated by the overproduction of the show and always seems a little unsure how to respond until he DJ comes out. That is when the people kinda lighten up a little and start enjoying the music and the night. I hope CP takes note of that. It was intended to be a party atmosphere and if that is the ultimate goal, lighten up on the theatrics and focus on the music.

djDaemon said:
Don't the windows on those booths open?

Can't one of the singers just belt out the same loud, high note that always breaks the windows in the movies and commercials?

At the very least, Ouimet could invest in a hammer for the maintenance crew. :)