Leaderboard

Sorry. I refuse to blindly praise people who aren’t doing their jobs. Like I said, some - not all - fall under these categories. Now people are getting injured. Great job. Sorry, I critique. I’m praise when praise needs to be given, I claim foul when foul should be claimed. I’m an observer, not a fanboi like some.

I disagree with one part of your statement. An adult should never yell at a worker simply because they are upset at something so minor in the grand scheme of things. An adult should act like an adult, especially with an impressionable child right beside them.

Egads! You are probably talking about me! And I see people who are lots older than me and I hope I still spry enough at their age to still ride roller coasters!

This is why you follow the rules as a guest. Also, this is why it shouldn’t be play time on the mic as an operator. You have a responsibility to prevent things like this and you can’t have everyone in the station tuning you out. http://m.nbc12.com/story/38419337/woman-injured-by-flying-cell-phone-on-roller-coaster

Besides the coasters at Dorney, the whip is a lot of fun. It's a classic Mangels version and is somewhat rare. Thunder Creek Mountain is also a different type of log flume that is built on a hill. A lot of people seem to like Demon Drop, especially if they have memories of riding it at Cedar Point (I'm not a fan because of how painful some parts of the ride are). There is also the Zephyr train from the 1930's that saved the park from closing during the Great Depression that is unlike most amusement park trains.

My father (72) went with us to SFSTL Wednesday and first ride got Batman. He was done, poor guy. It was hot and muggy and we all ended up leaving after a couple of hours. The park was dead as everyone was at the waterpark.

Well I think I may be one of the people you are talking about, I'm 48, have gray hair but you can't tell because I color it. Some of my friends my age just don't even care to ride anymore, me I want to go often. We have 15 visits in this year at KI and 3 at CP. If we lived near KI we would be there daily. I only like to marathon certain rides...MT, DB and beast. Only one I can't do back to back anymore is Banshee. I pray that I will be able to ride coasters for a long time to come.

Doesn't surprise me. And we know why.

IMO the only rides that are agressive is all RMC's and most Intamins in the states.

If they offered a season pass plan... Im the first to admit I bring more stuff with me than I should. I have a 5 year old and a 1 year old.... For one trip here is my go to in my bag: 2-3 diapers plus wipes (more in the care as needed) Apple Sauce packets, small bite size snacks, crackers, pretzels Sunscreen Kid cup Extra socks Kids make you carry things you wouldnt think you need to.

@malem I hope I'm still riding coasters when I'm a lot older! I occasionally see middle-aged/older adults ride Vortex and WindSeeker. I always think, "I hope I'm still into coasters when I'm their age!" As for rides in one day, I know on some days I've gotten at least 20 rides total in a 4ish-hour visit. As for individual rides, those who know me well know I have ridden Vortex as many as 18 times in one day (October 14, 2012, and October 20, 2017) and I'm planning to ride at least 20 times in one day this year! And yes, my head is/will be okay, as it has been ever since I first rode Vortex almost eight years ago.

People's tastes change with time, and marathon riding from open to close certainly isn't for everyone. Personally, I've found myself riding even more as I get older. The presence of gray hair at coaster events gives me hope that I'll be able to continue marathoning coasters for a very long time to come.

Any chance they will have some Rivertown Freestyle ERT?

I, too, have found that as I get older*, I take fewer rides and more time simply enjoying the atmosphere, and my days at the park are often shorter as a result. Rarely do I show up before gates open and stay until closing anymore. In fact, having short/non-existent lines burns me out even faster than standing in 15- to 30-minute lines. *I was 23 years old when I first got a KI season pass in 2010, and am 31 years old now. So this can happen at a younger age than some might expect. It's not exclusive to Kings Island; I did far fewer rides at Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom two weeks ago than I did on past visits as well.

Six Flags Great Adventure bans all loose articles on El Toro and Kingda Ka, even if they're in a zippered pocket. There are no metal detectors, but guests with a phone out in line or in the station will be kicked out of line. As annoying as this policy is for enthusiasts who know to use zipper pockets, I'm beginning to support it on rides with extreme changes in speed/direction. Having my phone in line isn't worth risking someone else knocking my eye out with their phone. Each coaster at Kentucky Kingdom has a large sign explaining that phones can't be out while riding. Security there doesn't mess around, and guests seem to take the rules very seriously as a result. I witnessed one very unhappy group being escorted off park grounds when I was at KK two weeks ago.

Kings Island does a number of Gold and Platinum passholder events throughout the season. They're updated on the park's website and social media channels. We usually post about them on the forum and the KIC Twitter & Facebook pages as well. To participate, just show your gold or platinum pass at the event. The ride events remaining this season are: Thu, July 5: Exclusive Soak City night rides Thu, July 13: Banshee/Drop Tower/Blackout night ERT Wed, August 1: Exclusive Soak City night rides Thu, August 2: Racer/Delirium/Scrambler night ERT

And how many times do we hear a ride op over the speaker say "if you are sitting on a handrail please get down". They have to repeat several times because nobody pays attention.

I got into an altercation with an idiot at SFGAM recently over a camera in use on a ride. He rode Goliath directly in front of me, while attempting to video the entire ride with his hands stretched in the air. Because he was an idiot... he couldn't control his arms... so they flailed backwards into my face the entire ride. I spent the entire time dodging the possibility of him letting go and my getting hit with his cell. I cant tell you anything about the ride except that I had this dummy being negligent the entire time. He had pulled the cell out and begun filming BEFORE we left the station... I even yelled for him to put it away going up the lift - but he "couldnt" hear me due to the loud lift I guess. (Oh brother) Ride ops clearly saw it and turned a blind eye. When we hit the final brakes, I grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt and tugged it as hard as I could to get his attention. I then had to parent the punk... who of course called me every name in the book, on why what he did was moronic. When we reached the station, I promptly told the ride ops, who did nothing - literally NOTHING. My opinion is, it is because of their age and attitude, they either dont care - or are too afraid to deal with the rule breakers. Now, if I (who avoids conflict, and is about as non-confrontational as they come) was able to get that agitated, its a wonder more parks dont often have more altercations far worse. Ambivalence to the safety of others is a plague affecting parks. And it needs addressed or more accidents of this type will continue to occur.

No one said it was either the ride ops’ faults or that spieling was directly correlated. If you read my original post, you will see that I implied that the safety of the guests is shared: the ride ops give the rules and the guests must comply. The only way that spieling comes into play is the fact that everyone in the station is using everything in their being to tune out what’s said over the mics when they treat being on the mic as play time. So what if they did tell them to put their phone away (I don’t believe for a second that it was secured) and they honestly didn’t hear them because they were conditioned to tune out what’s being said? It’s simply a theory.

Ride operators can't check for unsecured articles in everyone's pockets. I have seen no indication that the crew did anything wrong in this incident. I fail to see how the fact that one of the operators happened to be spieling on the mic has anything to do with this whatsoever.

I think ride ops need to do a better job of reminding guests about loose articles instead of joking around over the PA system like what @BoddaH1994 says. The guest with the phone is the one at fault but if the ride associates were joking and messing around, the blame could be shifted to the park.

I'd like to see this, but only if they go with the transferable lockers that many places are going with... Pay one fee for the day, then just move your locker from ride to ride as needed...

^that's one of the things I really like about Chef Nate. I've seen him many times drop into a restaurant to check on things, and immediately jump in to help serving food to keep the line moving. He recognizes the importance of "all hands on deck."