Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/18/2019 in Posts

  1. Happy Orion Monday everyone! Here's a few beautiful pics of Orion with the sun poking through the clouds! Had to share!
    9 points
  2. Their most recent marketing was buy a 2018 season pass and get 2019 for free. Same offer as most of Cedar Fair, just marketed the other way around. The Beach was very clear that they had a very successful Holiday Fest in 2005 with how Winterfest was blundered. All it did was draw attention to theme park Christmas events. All really was was a ploy to market season passes. The Beach has a million coulda-woulda-shoulda scenarios that you can discuss all day for the Beach being successful. It comes down to several umbrella issues: -Customer service, as @Outdoor Man states, they’ve had some leadership members that were both PR and HR nightmares. If you look at the reviews of the location you will see nothing but negative reviews about one specific person who was at the helm for several years. -Employee issues, see also the statement above. Staffing there is very difficult. Lifeguards make a killing compared to their peers in the industry. This is because the job is tough and often boring. Both KI and GWL pay their guards very well for this reason and still have staffing issues. The Beach paid just over minimum wage. I visited in the middle of summer and they could only open 3 rides at a time because they just didn’t have a staff. That doesn’t even include the revolving door that was all of the management positions. Again, see the above bullet point. -Facility issues, things like an overload of leaves in the pools, decks that should have been replaced years ago, “real sand” that was years old, packed down, and rock hard. Often pumps would go bad and they’d run 2 or 3 slides off of one pump when they should each have their own. That’s why people are getting stuck on some slides, including at the top of the iconic Cliff. -Stooged off opportunities. When the park reopened they had to make several desperate calls to get members of the media to come out for its media day. Why? They FORGOT TO MAIL OUT THE INVITES. You can’t make this stuff up. They also were unsuccessful in garnering the correct media attention for Beach Mountain. Their former PR, a woman named Nancy, did several live hits out of Dayton. She just didn’t have the contacts to do the same in Cincinnati. No one’s coming to your water park from Dayton. -Broken promises - The park’s first GM of the Adventure Holdings era was a man named Ralph Valardo. Good guy to have around. Well connected. He went on every news station and talked about their two new attractions for 2014: a Soarin’ Eagle Zip Line and a mat racing slide. The zip line opened in 2014 (an up charge, no less) and they seemingly forgot about the mat racer until late into the 2015 season when it finally opened. -Marketing - I’m not going to sit here and write a hindsight marketing plan for them, but it’s pretty telling when the average person in Cincinnati doesn’t know that The Beach had reopened years ago.
    6 points
  3. The park just released the WF map. Along with a great Blog post about WF food offerings. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2018/november/food-guide-to-winterfest-2019-at-kings-island
    4 points
  4. Ill update the color thing tonight for the second hill. If i forget my lovely assistant @Kodistict usually gives me a nice reminder lol
    3 points
  5. Good morning everyone! Hope all had a good weekend! I can see work starting to pick up at a faster pace with some "decent" weather this week. Wednesday seems to maybe be a wash out though.
    3 points
  6. The spine on the gigas are a lot thicker so they can run the chain return inside of track.
    3 points
  7. I believe I read on here earlier that the chain actually runs inside the spine on the newer models. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
    3 points
  8. They are bringing more supports to the second hill.
    2 points
  9. I am going to say they will finish construction with the other cranes they have on site.
    2 points
  10. Probably the land with the most needed upgrade is Oktoberfest. However, I hope Kings Island is focusing on that area soon with the return of the clock.
    2 points
  11. The older I get, the more I value the theming. And yes, I'll blame Paramount for the wholesale de-theming. I-street is still awesome, and I'd say coney mall has held up well. Rivertown could use some sprucing up-and Octoberfest definitely needs an infusion.
    2 points
  12. I am excited for the new Area 72
    2 points
  13. It looks like Zeus might be getting ready to be moved. He's folding down. Someone just took the basket to the top of the lift hill like an elevator, and got off up there.
    2 points
  14. It won’t be sideways airtime in the vein of an RMC wave turn, where you experience lateral airtime, but rather floating vertically while your body is sideways. The trailer for the ride does a better job of showing the maneuver than the POV. Go to the 43 second mark.
    2 points
  15. Great pictures as always from Ohio Valley Coasters. It looks like we are about here on the "wave" turn judging by supports and banking: Photo Credit: Kings Island
    2 points
  16. After seeing the actual webcam pic, I looked at the webcam thread and saw it was closed. I'm actually happier about the webcams being back then I thought I'd be lol Also, Winterfest starts in less than a week (though my brain is still in Haunt mode; I had a blast this year!)!
    2 points
  17. Looks like with the inclusion of the construction site on the map, that probably is why Flight of Fear is closed this year. Also, I cannot wait for Winterfest!
    1 point
  18. I love that the put construction trucks on the map lol Also, what is the "Holday Sing-Along" (in Rivertown Wonderland)? Is that new? Also-also, Subway is open; yeet!
    1 point
  19. Hard to compare. They have two other water parks in Jacksonville which I understand do rather well. Everything else is an FEC of one sort or another so it would be an apples to oranges comparison. The Beach is their biggest property.
    1 point
  20. That's what I thought. I figure they will just use Zeus since we was just moved today.
    1 point
  21. Will they be using the bottom half of zeus for other construction? There is another cable running off of that bottom half and I think I saw some of those cranes working on fury after the first lift. Here is the start of the cable running off the second half: Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpLtyji2M9c
    1 point
  22. I just would love if they could move the slingshot, bring back the original facades, add some new flats, and maybe a new roller coaster too.
    1 point
  23. YES! Get the original Bier Garten and German restaurant back. Along with the return of Oktoberfest flat rides and the removal of Sling Shot. Sling Shot does't really fit well with Oktoberfest. They could (possibly) re-theme Adventure Express into a German themed roller coaster (Bavarian Beetle?).
    1 point
  24. I just want Oktoberfest to get Der Spinnen Keggers & have hanks be removed and have the original facade back.
    1 point
  25. Here are the dates: April 24, May 1, 8, 13-15, and 22. Nice to see there are only 2 non-Friday education days for the season!
    1 point
  26. Rivertown was spruced up in 2017, but yes I think some more upgrades would be nice, but not too necessary right now. I think the back end of Coney is next for more upgrades due to the removal of Vortex.
    1 point
  27. Are you sure? I think they're both still there, but the angle of the sun is just making them hard to see.
    1 point
  28. I agree they should think about timing the shows a little better so if someone is coming for the shows they have travel time before a different show starts. Do you think they time the shows at the same time deliberately to encourage people to visit Winterfest multiple times? I agree and wish on Saturdays and Sundays they opened earlier for daytime activities especially for the ice skating and rides when it is a little warmer than the nighttime.
    1 point
  29. I feel like that is more for noise reasons than a style choice. People live closer to the north side of the park than the south, and people scream on first drops.
    1 point
  30. With Vortex being removed and Orion's addition, KI's skyline will now mostly have their coaster lifts heading in the same direction, which is south. I have to say IMO, this doesn't look that good. It's almost like they keep designing their coasters so the lifts are easily viewed from 71. I think the skyline would look better if the lifts were facing in different directions. Hopefully with whatever replaces Vortex, the lift will approach a different direction.
    1 point
  31. THIS! Also, would it help for FOF’s launch to be revamped, like what happened with Pskye Underground (flywheel launch was replaced with a more modern system), or would the trains just need some reworking? I would love to see FOF yet some TLC, especially in light of Orion opening up next year. It’s a cool ride, but it is aggressively rough at times (and I don’t mean the good kind of aggressive, like Maverick or Rougarou).
    1 point
  32. I keep forgetting that after the uphill spiral at the end there's a "head chopper" run right under that tiny space at the bottom of the drop! Looking at the webcam images seems pretty tight right in there! Super cool.
    1 point
  33. I can't wait to ride this! If you look at povs of leviathan and I305 which pretty much go the same speed, are way faster than the simulation. I am also really excited for this first bank seeing how fast I305 goes through it's first airtime hill which is only 20 feet shorter than Orion's first bank.
    1 point
  34. I got up bright and early and headed to the sale this morning. Souvenir hunters, former employees and amusement park aficionados were all over the place. As my favorite game in the arcade was Skee-Ball, I gladly forked over $100 for a piece of Coney history. Now I have to figure out what to do with it. A smaller sign with the old Coney logo was only $20. DSCN9619 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr DSCN9620 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Here were some of the other items on offer. Most of the signs were snapped up quickly, but the remainders will likely be found on Facebook Marketplace pretty soon. It was a little odd to see some of the games that I used to work on with a price tag on them. They were asking $7,500 for the water race game - not so sure about that given it didn't usually work 100% correctly. DSCN9609 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr DSCN9607 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr DSCN9605 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr DSCN9600 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr DSCN9597 by Harvestman Man, on Flickr And finally, some daylight photos of the current ride deconstruction process. I was surprised to see that virtually nothing remains from the Pepsi Python. Sadly I couldn't get photos of all the rides as there was a security guard on patrol. Coney Island - Wipe Out by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Top Spin by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Tilt-a-Whirl by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Tempest by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Rock-O-Planes by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Python site (2) by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Pipeline Plunge site by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Flying Bobs (2) by Harvestman Man, on Flickr Coney Island - Flying Aces site by Harvestman Man, on Flickr
    1 point
  35. Wow yeah those pictures are awesome. That wave turn/overbanked turn looks great already. That second picture is the best.
    1 point
  36. Only 6 days until WinterFest!!
    1 point
  37. That station looks really cool! Also, the webcam is back?
    1 point
  38. Looks like they're working on the handrailing on the stairs. The station roof also seems to be done now!
    1 point
  39. One more panel and the roof is completed. Also couldn't imagine standing at the top of the lift hill. Balls of steel vengeance.
    1 point
  40. There has been a lot of yelling, and arguing lately, myself included. I thought I would take a "time out", and look back at some of my older pictures. it was cool looking at how things used to be. Rides that are no longer around, and a big time new coaster that was quite a production when it was built! Nice and shiny. So everyone take a few minutes, enjoy, and remember that we all have a good time at the park, so there is no reason to yell about stuff outside of the park. 1990 1991 1993 Yep, I was young and stupid once too!!! LOL
    1 point
  41. Is it possible this will outshine almost all the gigas as far as ride experience? I think people were under-rating this coaster based on stats and blueprints. Love how that first drop is so steep and goes all the way to the ground only to blast into an amazing second hill.
    1 point
  42. They're signaling Batman. Joking aside, it may be them just lighting up the area. It's already gone.
    1 point
  43. I wonder if they ran a full train down whats done of track how far the train would fly once it derails. #RCT3 that boi
    1 point
  44. Yikes that page has a lot of errors... take most of that with a grain of salt. Regarding Boat Tag, it was added in 1992 (per an April 10, 1992 article in The Cincinnati Enquirer), but it was not included in the 1992 park guide. It was however included in the 1993-1995 park guides, but not the 1996. So it could be reasonable to assume Boat Tag was at the park 1992 through 1995, or four seasons. Edit - In terms of photo, probably but not what you had in mind, but here's Boat Tag (center) in a 1993 aerial, courtesy Ohio Department of Transportation.
    1 point
  45. Recently re-discovered this ride with my kids hitting 48'' this year. Gotta say I love the setting and the ride itself. It's unique and great for kids and that first sequence is pretty intense if it's your first ride of the day. I hope it hangs around for a while. All that said, that terrain back there would be perfect for a Beast-like RMC if they wanted to re-purpose the station.
    1 point
  46. Alright, it has obviously been a very long time since this topic has been discussed! Does anyone have any more information, stories, or pictures of the Boat Tag attraction while it was at Kings Island? This page shows it opening in 1994. Anyone know what year it cosed? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_Kings_Island_attractions
    1 point
  47. Taken from Reddit. The trains saying goodbye before they go wherever they’re going.
    1 point
  48. Honestly, I feel exactly the same way about Son of Beast. When it was operating, there were a handful of enthusiasts on here who liked elements of it, but almost no one was out here declaring it their favorite coaster. Then it went SBNO for 3 years and all of these fans and people who were obsessed with the idea of The Beast "family" started popping out of the woodwork. Which, like, is fine--y'all do you--but I find myself wondering often if they actually rode the thing or just thought it looked cool and really liked the name and marketing. (Source.)
    1 point
  49. 1 point
  50. There's a few others out there. Like... 1972, from an eBay auction by user "Momthrewitaway" (hence the watermark) 1972, from CheezOnAStick. You can see all the lighted archways and ornamental decorations along the track. 1972 (opening day, in fact), from holzsc.com. 1973, posted here on KIC by KIfan73 1973, another from holzsc.com. 1974, from KIC's own photo gallery. 1975, also from the photo gallery. 1977, from flickr user jade_41171. Date unknown, courtesy KIExtreme.com One of the more common Bavarian Beetle pictures. I think this was used in a View-Master set you could buy at the park. I think the large sign and accompanying decorations were added in 1976 or 1977. Something different... a picture taken while riding Bavarian Beetle. Notice all the lights. Source unknown, but date is sometime between 1972 1973 through 1974 (Hayley's Comet is still in its original location). And bonus picture... you can see the ride, still called Galaxi, in the background. There's a few other rides in the shot that also found their way to the new park... Sky Ride, Rotor, and the log flume.
    1 point
This leaderboard is set to New York/GMT-04:00
×
×
  • Create New...