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Pretty cool how you can look at some updated satellite images showing Orion’s construction:https://zoom.earth/#view=39.341068,-84.261654,17.5z

Unpopular opinion? SOB had a boring layout. The drop and the loop were great, everything else was filler. The rose bowl was one of the main attractions of the ride and cause for the most issues. It was supposed to be a bigger and better version of Beast's helix but failed miserably. I don't think there's much RMC could have done with the rose bowl to make it better other than completely tearing it down and have the ride go a different direction at the top of the second hill. Or leave the rose bowl alone and just shore it up, keeping the same layout. I'll take Banshee with the hope of a ground up RMC someday any day. With that being said, if we had gotten Iron SOB, some sort of barrel roll at the top of the second hill would have been epic and could have changed my mind on the whole subject.

Great suggestions so far! We'll try to get at least some of them implemented. You can already use the search box with terms like Action Zone, Coaster, Defunct, 1972, or Construction. The next iteration of the photos page will have taxonomy tools to help with discovering galleries and photos. The challenge with the previous system of categorization was that many albums logically belong in several places, Firehawk Construction for instance. Any suggestions for how to improve the sort, search and discovery features are most welcome. A thumbnails view is a great idea. We'll look into adding one, probably with a button to switch back and forth. The titles, captions and dates were all moved over to the new system. We're not currently showing the upload date, but we can add that. Right now, you can see the upload dates by looking at the picture URL (right click->view background image). Right now, the search box only looks through data on galleries, not in individual pictures. This will be fixed soon so that searching for an individual contributor's name or an individual picture's title brings up the right results. Crowdsourcing search terms is a great idea. We control the code for the new gallery, so we can add features as they are needed. You can still see the old photo gallery at https://kicentral.com/photosold/ , which will be preserved for the foreseeable future. Links to the old gallery (eg. https://kicentral.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=41&pid=146#top_display_media) should be redirected automatically to the same place in the new gallery with a much cleaner URL. Allowing comments and/or photo description editing for people logged into the forums is definitely something we can do if there is demand for it.

Using sod everywhere would be pretty expensive- they'd probably use it in the areas near the station and hydroseed the rest.

Well, I posted this, and then it refreshed to the next page and I saw someone got it!!!!! Way to go, Ty. The guess at the new restrooms between Rivertown and Antique Autos was VERY close! Yes, they were put up mid season in 1972. But before they broke ground on that building, they found that they had to rush an expansion on the women's side of the restroom between Rivertown and HB land. If you look at the pic I posted at the beginning of 1972 and the one from October 1972, you will see an extra cube on the back of it next to the small flume. The men probably didn't even notice. And of course, the city limits of Rivertown have moved south, so that building is no longer in Rivertown. Also notice that during one of the weekends in April before we opened full time, they added the red theme color to the blacktop walkways! You can see some of HB Land's green in the arbor and near the back of the restroom.

A mile? That would be bears. Not a bad idea to use bears for rule enforcement as well. They could even be used to hunt down those pesky drone pilots some are all concerned about.

I smelled that from a mile away

https://kicentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Episode-9-Being-a-Ride-Operator.mp3 Don`t forget that you can get this podcast on iTunes, and on Spotify! Be sure to subscripe to not miss an episode! Show notes: Join Robbie (CoastersRZ) and Brad (IndyGuy4KI) as they are joined by Nick (Daretofly). In this episode we discuss the ins and outs of being a ride operator. We provide some tips for someone looking for their first job, as well as some of our favorite stories from our years of being ride operators. We hope you enjoy this episode! Watch for Episode 10 to come out soon! As always, if you have any ideas for future episodes, please let me know!

It was drained around 2007

It's a scare actor's job to scare you. If you don't want them to try to scare you, buy a no boo necklace.

I wish we could see some new photos of Orion. I’m hoping grass has started to grow with all this rain. I can’t wait to see how much better it looks with some greenery!

RIP Screechin' Eagle. The best stand-up in Ohio.

LeSourdsville Lake

Is that the former Kings Island Inn location?

It actually stopped in the MCBR every morning when you are running start ups as well.

They could but they sure don't have a history of enforcing rules other than phones out on rides or sidewalk chalk. The best jobs I have ever had, and also the most successful for me and the companies as a whole, were extremely strict when making sure people followed the rules and held them accountable across the board. If you were tardy because of a car accident and it was your last chance, they let you go. Why have policies or rules at all if some can get away with breaking or bending them and others can’t. This isn’t just a problem for theme parks, but any business.

After wanting to revamp and clean up our gallery pages for over a year, the KIC admin spent months sorting through over 350 galleries. After months of getting all the galleries more organized and tagged, KICentral has a new gallery page for KIC members, Kings Island enthusiasts, and Kings Island historians to enjoy. https://kicentral.com/photos/ You will find rides can be searched by the name of the gallery, the name of the ride, ride manufacturer, year, and the area of the park. We also now have a photo submission page to submit your own photos that you may have that would benefit our galleries. If KIC decides to use your photos that were submitted, we will watermark them and add them into our galleries and possibly on social media at some point. https://kicentral.com/kic-photo-submission/ Here is a photo of the old Antique Autos that was submitted by Josh Kellerman a few months back. These are the cool types of photos we would love to see submitted for our galleries! The KIC admin hope you enjoy the new gallery pages and if you see any errors please don't hesitate to let us know. Some of you are more up on the history of the park than us admins.

If there's not an optometry themed house for Haunt 20/20, I will be very upset.

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I hadn’t checked out the official Kings Island blog in a couple weeks so I thought I’d catch up. They have a downloadable coloring book. This image has me deeply confounded. I can’t tell if it is unintentional irony or a marketing department with an extremely dark and dry, but kind of brilliant sense of humor. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/april/download-the-kings-island-coloring-book Would the admins approve some sort of coloring contest? Would anyone else want to participate? I think the coloring book is really cool overall and appreciate the free activity from the park.

They have been trying it out But in all seriousness, sunglasses stay on, so I think a mask with a strap that goes all the way around a head will be secure. But just like some sunglasses fly off, I am sure some loose fitting masks will come off as well.

As the coloring book was distributed digitally, I think digital coloring or traditional coloring would both be fair game in a theoretical contest. It could even be two separate contests. One for digital coloring and the other for traditional. As for cheating, It’s not a contest yet so no rules have been established. I was just trying out some graphics programs I haven’t touched in a while, and Procreate is about the best and most complex digital art application for iOS. At least out of all the ones I have tried. Where’s your coloring page? Lol

So if one wants to read what is in the Governor's order and interpolate what that could mean for an amusement park, the big item is the requirement for an establishment to operate at under 50% capacity, plus comply with PPE for employees and social distancing measures for guests. Now who knows when and if the Governor will allow amusement parks to open, but if he does and doesn't lower the 50% capacity requirement, then based on numbers above, KI is pretty much in the clear to open at that point and not restrict attendance during the summer. They will certainly be under 50% between people not coming out for their own fear of crowds, Soak City probably wouldn't open, and company outings and daily admissions probably seeing a decline. The big question will be come Haunt time...in all likelihood the covid will be back in full force by that time, so it may be a moot point regarding Haunt and capping it's attendance as they may be forced to be closed regardless. So the two big questions are when does the Governor allow it and can KI adhere to the PPE for employees requirement and keep guests in compliance with social distancing requirements? And of course, even if they get 25,000 at the park, the experience will be different and we should all expect longer "waits" for rides to deal with social distancing. At this point, capping capacity isn't going to be the issue for KI, it will be compliance with the PPE and social distancing requirements. Certainly makes their decision a little easier to justify opening than the projections and analysis a month ago...

Magic Kingdom hit capacity on NYE last year and they had to turn guests away.

Ive learned that William Reece - the director of Kings Islands Wild Animal Habitat from 1977-1992 passed away today. Mr Reece joined KI after the management agreement with Lion Country Safari was discontinued. He led the entire Wildlife team for 15 years - much to the enjoyment of millions. After (P) KI removed they Wild Animal Habitat, many of the animals were transferred to “The Wilds” in central Ohio where Mr Reece transitioned to Executive Director for the rest of his career. I know that he returned to KI With his family last season to pay a visit to his old workplace which he loved dearly. For those of us that were able to experience the Wild Animal Habitat attractions at KI, this is a sad day. Thank you Mr Reece - RIP.

The science is showing outdoor gatherings are far more safe than indoor events. I think once it gets hot here in the midwest you're going to see things change. FL,GA, and TX are already getting hot so it makes sense they are ahead of the game.

Probably not here in Ohio though. DeWine doesn't seem to be in a rush to open up the economy like Florida and Georgia and Texas are. I think it'll be interesting to watch those states when they reopen to see what happens to determine what we should do.

If I remember correctly this is what they did with Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and Banshee.

Got the official notice today. For the first time in over 40 years American Coaster Enthusiasts Coaster Con will opt to hold a “virtual” Con. No traveling, no physical parks, no physical rides, rather virtual meetings and special online coaster “events.” Con is always a highlight of my summer. I was really excited for this years, but I guess good things come to those that wait. Sigh

That's great to hear! Now I'm really excited, lmao. I'm familiar with the park's disability options as I've been with a cane/wheelchair for about a year now, but I haven't seen haunt with it just yet so my inner pessimist was like "Nah, you'll have to walk it bro." I so hope the Haunt is open this year, even in the main season isn't. Haunt is by far my favorite time to go, I love all the halloween themeing!

Real talk, if Haunt is even open this year, I really hope for HalloTween again. I might be an adult, but I'm also a huge baby and I've never been through a haunted house before. The toned-down experience I think would be a good thing to get my feet wet. (On a side note, are the haunts wheelchair-accessible? If not, I guess this is all a moot point, heh.) Also the jokes in this thread are absolutely killer, had a hearty chuckle! The optometrist one and the Urgent Scare jokes are 10/10,

Can we go pack to wondering when the Webcam will be back up???

The lake got covered?

Didn’t see this one coming. Dogs are being trained to sniff out coronavirus cases https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/04/29/coronavirus-detection-dogs/

I was looking around the map and wow

But that is what the fee-based charging stations are for, sponsored by holovis

I agree a bit. Enjoyed the ride but always felt the layout was weak. Liked the premier and first drop and loop. Outside of that it was just a few helixes back to back

Yet KI allows masks for kids under 13, which is ironic because we have been told by many on this forum that this is an age demographic that doesn't get the covid

Hindsight is always 20/20, so I think that will be the Haunt 2021 attraction

I get the chance to drive by the park at least once a day and I haven’t seen anyone up on the lift. The only lights on in the park(ridewise) since the stay at home order was put in place is the Eiffel Tower and Congo Falls. What we do know is that the maintenance lights have been installed along the lift and brake run. From my own images of the lift from the drop off and what has been shown of the lift via drone footage I would feel safe in saying there is a blue LED strip on the upper hand rail, the white bar I though might have been a light strip on the middle bar is the safety strap rail and the jury is still out on if there is a lighting element of some kind along the lower hand rail. We have still not seen lighting on, at or near the base of the supports that would suggest the lighting that was alluded to by a screenshot of the webcam by Collin earlier in the thread. That’s my speculation for now, I guess we will know when we finally see it lit.

The Demon (Location: Action Zone between The Bat and Banshee) The Demon reigned supreme, striking fear in the hearts of many park guests for years. Then in 1979, a force of nature arrived in the form of a Beast who sought to take the land from the Demon's reign. The Demon fought The Beast for eight long years until 1987 when it was defeated and sucked into a Vortex. Knowing that a retaliation was inevitable, The Beast sent his son to guard the area where the Demon once stood. Retaliation came many years later in 2012 when a creature in the form of a Banshee descended upon the park and killed the Son of Beast with an ear piercing scream. With the Son of Beast gone, the Banshee could finally resurrect her long deceased brother- the Demon. Now bigger and stronger than ever before, the Demon is back with a vengeance.