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I said I'd be back after the "Giga Speculation Thread" It seems like RMC is a likely candidate for one of our next BIG coasters down the road. Our last 200ft wooden, however, didn't do so well. Thoughts? I'll give my opinions later on once this thread picks up.

I am one of those seasonal jobs that is affected by this decision (though my direct report boss still says he wants me back next year, though not sure in what capacity since I was a rides manager?). I still have a very bad feeling. Almost a kicked in the gut feeling. Coney was my first job and I loved going into work there. It was more than just a job, it was my passion. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and had hoped to take my two young kids there for years to come. It definitely had its niche market. Yes, weekdays were not super busy, but the crowds still would show up for Balloon glow, and group picnics. The person that started the petition is Mark Bailey, who is a former rides operator and fellow rides manager at Coney. He also has a background in architecture like me. I was concerned at the beginning of the season when the weekday rides hours were reduced and Round Up was removed. I hope that they have a vision and that their plan is successful. I respectfully disagree with the direction they are going in. I think lack of investment on the rides side hurt badly. The last new attractions that were added were Top Spin and Fender Bender in 2015.

The Flying Bobs, Musik Express and Trabant (still there?), and Super Round Up come to mind as high enough capacity. Also 2 (3?) of them were ride models previously at KI.

I'm very aware of how these cranes operate. I have two uncles who are both certified to run every type of crane there are. What I stated above were exactly what both of them said.

Ok this is the best I could do with what the lift could look like from the tower. This is definetly not accurate since I couldn't really see the base of lift footer on here since it is behind a tree and it is hard to see some footers on the webcam, but here is my best shot.

Orion will definitely look taller than Diamondback.

If you look quick enough. :-P

That track or whatever is sitting on the ground by the transfer table has been sitting there for a while. Also @CedarIslander the ET stands 314 feet tall where the highest point guests can go is 275'.

I hate to lose the park, but I cannot claim I will miss it. I have heard a rumor that they make more money on parking then actually operating the park, much of that being people going to Riverbend. I suspect the corporate outings will move on to other local parks, but that could be good news for Strickers Grove.

i hope so! pretty boring webcam day yesterday haha. Other then supports being delivered.

^Kong's Island a close second though - great place, very underrated.

All in less than the 25 minutes since you posted that. Warp speed my man.

This is definitely sad news to say the least. I grew up on the east side of town and still live there, so Coney Island is relatively close and a lot of people that I know go down there not only for Sunlite Pool but also for the dry park as well. Feedback I've seen on social media with those I know personally, so far, is nothing but disappointment. I wish the park nothing but the absolute best in their endeavors and hope that they have calculated this risk and analyzed their decision as much as possible. I am wondering, however, if the tendency and susceptibility for Coney Island to flood played part in this decision. I cannot imagine that flood insurance for that piece of property is reasonable by any means. If Kings Island/Cedar Fair doesn't step in to purchase the rides, I hope at least Stricker's Grove makes an attempt to do so.

This is very sad news. I thought Coney had it's niche in the market, that being a smaller park perfect for families. I can't say whether this was the case or if the park did not position itself well enough to make money serving that demographic. There's one less amusement park in the Cincinnati area. In just 20 years we've went from three amusement parks and a picnic park, to one large amusement park and a picnic park. A significant piece of Cincinnati history will be no more. As far as the future of Coney, I don't buy the pitch of "a world class swim and play facility." I don't want to see the Sunlite Pool, close but I don't know if it makes it. Despite what they say, I don't know if enough people will drive to Coney for a pool and a few extras. There are local aquatic centers and YMCA's for that. I think the rides side was what made their pool a choice for many over these types of places. I have some good memories of Coney Island especially when I went there for a Boy Scout event in the early 2000s. I really hate to see it go. I hadn't planned on it, but I'll definitely be making a visit to say goodbye.

I think that's way too tall for the skyline. Remember that's it's way, way back in the back of the park.

Here is my best shot of what it could look like walking up to the park with Orion's lift hill. This pic was taken by my father on Passholder preview night 2017!

I am sad for all of the workers at Coney. I am hopeful that KI will try to buy and keep as many of the rides so that they will still be able to be ridden locally.

It appears they are about to hoist the track piece that's been on the ground for the last couple of days into its spot. But then again, we thought that yesterday too. LOL Edit: I guess it's not happening today. It appears they're all leaving for the day. Although I guess I thought they always retracted the booms on the cranes when they leave for the day, and they haven't yet. Who knows.

Shared on social Media: https://www.facebook.com/visitkingsisland/photos/a.226729858367/10158669646453368/?type=3&theater

The track on the ground definitely appears to be wrapped in something.

And the Eiffel Tower also sits at a higher elevation than where Orion will sit. The top of the Eiffel Tower will still be noticeably taller than Orion's lift hill.

I think this is just poor decision making across the board. Someone doesn’t know how to really analyze data. You fudge the data to say what you want or actually take it at face value for the information it provides. They also stated that the deep end of the pool is the least used. Does that have anything to do with them removing the diving boards and putting in a separate pool for just those? They can’t build a waterpark in an instant. If they think they can they are already fooling themselves. I’m guessing they’ll be belly-up in 1-2 years, because this isn’t going to help the bottom line.

So I just realized that Orion is close enough to be the only roller coaster in KI with a view of the Little Miami. I think you SHOULD be able to see it from the top of the lift hill, right?

It's a beautiful morning at KI! Perfect conditions for some track placement!!

Words cannot adequately describe how I feel right now. I have spent over half of my life working at Coney in the rides department. It was my first job. I enjoyed going into work everyday there. Yes, I did get paid for going in, but I have a full time architecture job, and this was my side hustle. I truly enjoyed working there, and helping to create memories for people riding the rides. I made quite a few friends over the years working there, many of them have reached out to me today. My hope is that those in charge know what they are doing and that the park will continue to thrive in the future. Today was also made worse by the fact that my aunt also passed away in Arizona today. Not a great day, to say the least.

Did you really watch all three hours?

I have heard that the Firehawk track pieces were either donated or sold to a nature preserve.

I have inherited my great-grandfather's steamboat possessions. His name was Captain William Eakins and was a 4th generation steamer from Dayton, Kentucky. He worked for the Coney Island Company for several years until 1920. I attached a few photos from his album as well as a letter from when he retired. I started scanning the album and letters, and have uploaded them to here: https://imgur.com/a/EjWNO I have been looking to find somewhere in Cincinnati where I can do furthger research as there does not seem to be a whole lot of info about the first Island Queen (and the sister ships, Morning Star and Island Princess) and the crew members. My mom was working with him on a biography before he passed away, but it was never finished. I would love to be able to finish it and get it published, but would also like to try to find more info about these images as well as information not mentioned in this lot. Unfortunately, my mother passed away about 3 years ago and my uncle passed away about 6 years ago. There's only a few members of the family left alive and I would love to be able to get his story told.

They don’t usually retract cranes at the end of the day. They are designed to hold the pressure even when the crane is off. If you come in the next day and the boom has retracted or dropped, you know there is a problem already. The only times they put stuff down is when high winds or severe storms could be coming through. The bigger the crane, the more it takes to get the boom up and down. Straight out horizontal is the most stress and bend you can get in a crane. Aerial fire trucks are essentially built the same way as cranes, just designed for people.

They are still there. If they leave that white crane wouldn't still be up. They lower the boom when they are done for the day. Unless its holding something in place.

haha dont worry it looks better than mine xD

I hope it goes up tomorrow. And I hope we will see more supports going up.

Yeah, this is almost exactly the same position they were in yesterday, and I thought for sure they were gonna hoist a track piece into place... so who knows.

Just drove past csf and there are only about 9 pieces of track visible at the plant, that counts the 4 pieces on the two trailers

^ Orion's lift hill should be approximately 3.25X the height of The Racer's lift hills. According to Wikipedia (I know, I know), Flight of Fear's main building is 110 feet tall, so Orion should appear 2.6 times taller than it. This is probably pretty close.

I don't think so. I think we only have the one piece of track installed so far. White crane is bringing pieces of transfer / station floor and metal up. No track work at this time.

Is there one piece of track installed in the maintenance shed closest to the crane?? Wish they'd put a cam on FOF's roof

How much taller? Will Diamondback look taller?

The games you can play, when it comes to terrain and how things look. This reminds me of downtown Cincinnati. Great American Tower is actually taller than Carew Tower. The difference is, it sits at a much lower level than the Carew Tower does, so it looks shorter.

For some reason I missed the Flying Bobs - I could see that type of ride fitting nicely at Kings Island. It doesn't appear the park currently has a Musik Express though (did they previously?), and the Trabant and Super Round Up were unfortunately removed a few years ago. And just 2 were previous models at Kings Island - Halley's Comet was a Round Up and Wheel of Fortune was a Trabant.

It looks like the yellow crane is for lifting off track and supports as they are delivered. Based upon where it is sitting, would be perfect to back up a semi, remove the pieces and send the semi on its way. I expect we will see 3-4 cranes operating at once before this is all said and done. Watching them erect a giant crane, probably with a huge jib will be fun to watch. There can’t be many that are mobile and can get above that 300 foot mark. If you can keep the Fury fans from voting, we should be fine...

I am wondering what the yellow crane is doing. Its up but not near anything lol Maybe waiting for more supports to be delivered. White crane picking up track right now it seems

All joking aside... I would like to add quite a few of Coney's flat rides to Kings Island. Yes, the capacity would be bad, but if you add several of them, it spreads out the crowds a bit.

It has been laying on the ground next to the crane for a couple days now. Looks like it will connect transfer track section to the piece already up.

Dear CoasterRZ, My heart goes out to you. I lost my mom right before the season opened up. My sister still carries her pass. My mom and dad met at a big band concert at Moonlight Gardens. She was a season pass member since they started selling season passes. My thoughts and prayers for you and your family. pilotank

I’m really sorry for you @CoastersRZ and any other fans of Coney Island. I’ve personally never been to the park but I understand very well how emotionally connected people get to parks, a lot of people’s happiest memories happen at theme parks. At least you have all the great memories.

So I judge popularity by how much Sweetmaize Kettle Korn we sell at the old Ticket Booth. This year was a record breaking year, which included Balloon Glow, Kroger's, Tri-Health and Christ Hospital this past summer to name just a few. I believe all the corporate picnics will be lost. I have always been a proponent to expand the rides at Coney. There's more than one million people who live in the 275 beltway south of I-74. More than enough to support an updated amusement park. Coney just took two steps backward to 1972. I can see it now being sold to the Gaming Industry. Sad day for Historical Coney Island. pilotank

We’d be about due for a Planet Snoopy upgrade regardless in 2021, so that’s not out of the realm of possibility. I doubt adding a ride or two would pull it ahead of of Dollywood that quickly, but making waves may help in the long term.

Kings Island just tweeted about Shipwrecked (new scare zone): I can't wait to see it.

I love how that list includes "Feed My Frankenstein" by Alice Cooper, "The Addams Groove" by MC Hammer, and "Pet Sematary" by The Ramones, a bit of a throwback to the Paramount days.