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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/18/2020 in Posts

  1. We'll wait till you're done with it. On second thought with the pandemic we shouldn't drink after everyone, plus it seems as if you've finished it off. It's not about you, it's about your fellow man you may spread it to. Guess you don't care about them either.
    7 points
  2. Hi folks! If you don't know me, I was a loooonnnggtime poster here back in the day (miss you, Terpy). I've stopped by here and there over the last few years but largely I've been out and about exploring parks far and wide! You may have seen some of my one-off articles on the history of Tomb Raider: The Ride, Son of Beast, Geauga Lake, Disaster Transport, or a few other Cedar Fair favorites. I wanted to swing by to let you know that I started an online collection of all my theme park writing in one place - PARK LORE! These are the in-depth, fully-researched, detail-packed stories of attractions from Disney, Universal, Cedar Fair, SeaWorld Parks, and beyond! It's meant to be an all-in-one place where you can start a story and "fall down the rabbit hole" (Wikipedia style ) by digging into in-depth histories of the world's most-missed Lost Legends, flopped and failed Declassified Disasters, industry-changing Modern Marvels, and never-built Possibilityland rides, lands, and parks! If you're super into theme parks, Imagineering, attraction design, ride histories, or just the themed entertainment industry, this is the site for you! I'm really trying to get this collection off the ground and get people excited about it and bookmarking it and stopping by to see what's new. If you're interested, do me a favor and swing by to check it out! You can sign up for an account to leave comments on stories (like sharing your own memories and opinions) and to get a monthly email Newsletter on what's new on the site. It would honestly mean the world to see people visit, share it with their friends, talking about it, etc. It's literally just a one person site, run by me. There are no ads or ad revenue. I just want it to be a cool place to visit and read stuff. (And if you have no idea where to start, there are recommendations on the home page). I literally got my 'start' in theme park stuff and caring about the industry at Kings Island and here on KIC (as you can tell by my post count) so sharing the park's stories really, really matters to me, and I pretty quickly learned how interconnected those stories are with things happening across the industry. No pressure whatsoever, but the site does have monthly memberships to support new writing, fresh content, special features, etc. If you join as a Gold Passholder, you unlock a hundred(!) exclusive features (which you can browse here and here), rare concept art & construction photos in every story, streamable attraction audio (hello Tomb Raider music!), plus get a real membership card and postcard set shipped to your door. If you decide to sign up as a Silver or Gold Passholder, I created a special promo code to use at check-out - "KICentral" - that will take $2 off the monthly price, making the Gold Pass just $6 a month!! And you actually recieve stuff in the mail for it!! Anyway, I hope to see you all there! I have been around here long enough to know that you guys would make good use of the comment section. But really, I hope you find it a cool place to relax, research, dig in, and learn a lot. Like I said, KIC was my start to caring about theme parks and learning from friends. Maybe Park Lore can be a secondary place for you! Haha. You can sign up for a free account or a Park Lore Pass here! See ya there!? If you read a story and love it, feel free to share recommendations in this thread.
    6 points
  3. Last year I had a terrible cough that wouldn't go away for 4 or 5 months. It was awful and that was without flu-like symptoms, such as fever. Anybody who "doesn't care" about getting a respiratory disease has to be eating paint chips.
    4 points
  4. I rode Orion this morning. I truly love this coaster. The first drop is ridiculous. What a smooth fast ride
    4 points
  5. 3 points
  6. Yes that makes sense. My only question is why does the "rattle" on some of these coasters get worse over time? For instance Fury325 was very smooth for the first few years and then started developing a rattle. Same thing with Banshee. Seems the rattle gets worse over time and they change wheels frequently. If it was the wheels then every time new wheels are put on then the ride should be exactly as smooth as it was on day 1. I don't believe this is the case. Put on all new wheels take a ride and there should be no rattle or at least it should match the ride from Day 1
    2 points
  7. We watch the gemtones at Dollywood. Spaced out and cross managed. What difference does it make standing spaced out in a crowded grocery store or out in the miserable hot sun watching a singer? It's clear they're not even close to their limited capacity numbers and they are trying to get people in with cheap tickets, a tv singer etc. Kings Island has one live show already running in the festhuas albeit very short but cute. If you're not comfortable with it you can easily avoid the area. Stop trying to guilt trip ki for doing what it is to keep doors open and keep it solvent to survive through this.
    2 points
  8. On that note, I'd say the biggest obstacle to CF ever working with Intamin again is that even if Intamin does go several years with better reliability and no major incidents, at this point there's just no real need to work with Intamin since almost every one of their products has had a substitute or equivalent made by somebody else. In the 2000s, Intamin was the only company one could turn to for a lot of things, so I think that afforded some leeway from parks who were willing to put up with the issues/risk. However, in the last ten years: - B&M now makes giga coasters - Mack now makes mega-lites, blitz coasters, and full-out 200ft + mega coasters - RMC's Topper Track has made the demand for plug n' play woodies effectively obsolete - Gerstlauer makes Infinity coasters, which could be viewed as a response to Fahrenheit (which in turn could be viewed as a response to Gerstlauer's Eurofighters) - S&S has refined their compressed air launch system to be the successor to Intamin's hydraulically-launched accelerator coasters. Also, their freespins have replaced Intamin's Zacspin as the compact 4D coaster of choice - Even Vekoma has drastically upgraded their portfolio, which now includes rides (Lech, Abyssus) that can be seen as competitors to many Intamin-like coasters. Seemingly, all the things that were exclusive or nearly exclusive to Intamin can now be purchased elsewhere, and often as more reliable and safer alternatives. That having said, I should note that isn't to say Intamin is doomed as a company by any means. They just don't have the edge they once had... To coaster sally's point I would actually agree that the "downfall of Intamin" narrative is a bit overblown. Sure, they are not as prevalent as they used to be in the US market but there are still are a LOT of major Intamin coasters going up elsewhere in the world. They're just in places that us as North American enthusiasts naturally don't have much attention invested into. And as mentioned earlier SeaWorld and Universal are still interested in Intamin. A quick glance at rcdb shows that from 2015-2020 they've averaged about 7-8 coasters per year, which is surprisingly similar to what their overall output was prior to their decline in the US market. Although Cedar Fair and Six Flags have made it clear that they've no interest anymore to work with Intamin, to Intamin's credit they seem to be doing just fine business-wise in spite of that.
    2 points
  9. I think it would be pretty safe to say that Cedar Fair just outright got fed up with Intamin, especially after the Maverick woes and then outright demolishing Shoot the Rapids. If they were still going to be Intamin customers, Copperhead Strike would probably have been Intamin instead of Mack.
    2 points
  10. I drove past the park tonight right after 10:00 PM, and it was sad seeing how empty not only the park was but the entire surrounding area. Usually there are droves of cars coming out of the park and busy streets and restaurants. Every business and restaurant was closed or dead, and it just looked sad. When August rolls around, I would actually be happy with fewer days open but longer hours on the select days they are open. Kings Island has a great nighttime vibe, and it is sad not being able to experience it. When Kings Island originally released their 2020 calendar, I remember people being very upset that they were only going to stay open until 12:00 AM instead of 1:00 AM during Haunt, but now even being open until 10:00 PM seems SO NICE!
    1 point
  11. So you are telling me it is like the King's Island "lowest Price" Promos? Only 2 days left to get lowest price of the season, only 1 day, only 12 hours... Midnight hits and its only 2 days left to get lowest price again.
    1 point
  12. That’s a great point. It’s a great venue and would be easier to guarantee distancing as the audience would be seated versus on a main walkway.
    1 point
  13. I'd still like to see any season pass for kids under 16 get a free ice cream or something. It's not like they're using the free parking unless there's a Powerwheels section I'm not seeing
    1 point
  14. KI should be giving away the free cupcake with ever meal plan purchased as an incentive to boost attendance this season instead of charging the ridiculous $1.99 price.
    1 point
  15. Reminder to cast your vote! Now it says 2 days left to vote?
    1 point
  16. I completely agree. Also, though I voted for Floorless, I wouldn't mind seeing a regular B&M sit down come to KI as there aren't a ton out there (Time Machine at the former Hard Rock Park (aka Freestyle Music Park) being the last one built).
    1 point
  17. I have been under the impression that it is the trains on Banshee that cause the rattle. When B&M designed Banshee, they opened for redesigned lighter inverted trains instead of their heavier old-school inverted trains. Since these trains are much lighter, they are not as snug against the track, and the gap between the wheels causes rattling. On Diamondback and Orion, the rattle is very slight and can be found on many other coasters of the same type, so I think those trains are fine. The trains on Banshee, however, are only featured on Banshee and on no other inverts, so this makes sense why Banshee has a rattle unlike any other B&M invert. I have always wondered what Banshee would be like if it had the old-school B&M invert trains. I think it could potentially be a lot smoother, faster with the added weight, and more forceful with the added speed. I have also wondered if B&M had originally anticipated putting their old invert trains on Banshee or that the ones they put on would run faster because they initially put a trim break in the original layout, but it was later removed because it wasn’t needed. Just look at the original animated POV, Banshee absolutely hauls through the layout!
    1 point
  18. Schlitterbahn New Braunfels - Platinum Pass valid for admission at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels after January 6, 2020. Schlitterbahn Galveston - Platinum Pass valid for admission at Schlitterbahn Galveston after January 6, 2020. https://www.cedarpoint.com/legal/season-pass-terms
    1 point
  19. I mean, if I was a 16 or 17 year old kid I would be tired of telling people this stuff too. Honestly I think security should patrol lines. Also if they’re going to give away the gate all summer they should adopt zero tolerance policy for a lot of stuff. Smoking outside of.... well, anywhere in the park, vandalism, phones out on rides, or even having to be told to wear a mask more than once.
    1 point
  20. 1 point
  21. As the rattle relates to Banshee, I just re-watched this 2016 POV: Even in this 2016 POV, you can see the camera rattles side to side on the positive g-force valleys. As I watch the POV, the frequency of the rattle is in tune with the rattle I experienced yesterday. The amplitude of the 2016 POV rattle does however appear less than I experienced yesterday. Note from the POV that in the valleys, the lengths of track between support frames are short and the support frames are also short. Based on inspection, the track structure in the valleys appears very stiff and will vibrate at a high frequency, which is desirable. Yet, it is in the valleys that the rattle occurs - like @Skibum compared to a jackhammer. So, either the foundations are bad (but as I’ve said before, I don’t believe they are) or the bogies of the trains are causing the rattle. Or is it something else?
    1 point
  22. Cedar Fair once again is the leader among companies with the mask requirement. Kudo's to them having the courage and forethought to help fight the spread! I guess people who don't want to wear masks won't be going to Kroger, Target, Sam's Club, Walgreens, Publix, Best Buy, Wal Mart, Lowes, Home Depot, CVS, Kohls, Costco, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Menards, Starbucks, Verizon, Panera Bread, etc. Where's the outcry and petition over these companies? (Crap, that means they'll have more time to sit home and post :)) Kudos' to all of the stores for doing their part during the pandemic.
    1 point
  23. I've seen many rollercoaster supports/structures move under forces induced by the trains going by-that's just the nature of the design. At amusement parks I tend to look for high force sections of rides and purposely watch static members intently to see how much motion is visible under these loads. But to attribute a rattle, which is honestly quite audible and felt on the train to these external movements doesn't make much sense to my engineering mind. The frequency differences between the two is significant. The slower moving visible motions seen external on the ride are very different than the jarring rattles on the ride. Seeing the design of the wheels around the track (basically a captivated rolling cage) and reading of others mentioning the lack of adjustments, makes me think there are clearance issues which as tolerances open up (due to wheel wear) become apparent to the riders. If you've ever followed a vehicle on the road with bad shocks you can visually see a bouncing wheel against the road surface. Shocks provide a damping force against the spring suspension, which is there to accommodate road surface imperfections and cushions what the sidewall if the rubber wheel couldn't accommodate. Long winded to say there is a lot that goes into the design of a smooth 'ride's in a vehicle. I think some manufacturers have figured this out better than others on rollercoasters.
    1 point
  24. Not a chance, Cedar Fair and Intamin show no signs of making up. It was only last year that Cedar Fair was basically publicly airing issues they had with Intamin and supply issues of parts to fix older rides. When you have Cedar Fair stating they have had parts orders take 9 months to arrive there is a problem. Its going to take a lot more then a few good rides at other parks for them to totally change their opinions. Cedar Fair places too much value on reliability, downtime, and maintenance costs. With Kings Dominion removing Volcano, and all the rumors and leaks point at Possessed at Dorney getting removed later this year, and Carowinds removing their Intamin raft ride, if anything it feels like Cedar Fair is trying to move farther away from Intamin.
    1 point
  25. That really does not answer my question...
    1 point
  26. It is amazing how this only happens when kids get together socially, but will not happen once inside a confined classroom... https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/exposed-son-man-fights-covid-191258861.html
    1 point
  27. ... and a great start at that! Welcome!
    1 point
  28. What do I think we will get? Dive. What would I love to see? Floorless. Even though I think those coasters have come and gone I believe, I think that would be a great replacement for Vortex.It could easily have 6 inversions and be a great fit for that land.
    1 point
  29. We should feel lucky that the park is open in July with daily hours even if just 11-7. I would not be surprised that in August KI will follow the lead of other CF parks (Worlds of Fun and Dorney Park) with closing of the entire park in early in the week - both WOF and Dorney are closed Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
    1 point
  30. I'm ready to volunteer to get on top of the awning over the Diamondback storage bay, as well as The Beast's final brake run, to sweep off all those hair/wrist bands. I mean, what the heck is that about? Why is it a thing? And why on earth have they been there for years and years? Its like the "gum trees" that used to be in lines. There's no purpose and its unpleasant to look at. At least with the low crowds this season, it will take the GP longer to come up with some way of ruining something in the Orion Queue.
    1 point
  31. I just want to point out that the article is (or at least was originally) filed under crime. The crime would be not losing the weight and depriving yourself of a ride on Orion.
    1 point
  32. At least INTAMIN rides to date haven't required metal detectors and lockers for pretty much anything you have on you, even prohibiting the use of cargo or jacket pockets...
    1 point
  33. I have a love hate relationship with rmc. On one hand they produce crazy exhilarating rides that wow me every time I get off. But on the other hand they hurt my thighs like crazy to the point we’re I feel like I can’t ride in the back on some. And the capacity and reliability isn’t that good. Especially the Cedar Fair ones.
    1 point
  34. Watch out, @SonofBaconator, people will throw you to the wolves like they did me when I pointed this out a couple of years ago.
    1 point
  35. They certainly have a waayyyyyyy better waterpark imho. Kk I think is starting to draw ki's attention but I don't think it's to the level of 1998 SFKK V KI.
    1 point
  36. I guess I simply don’t care about it. I’m open to getting it, whether or not I get antibodies it’s shown that the next tine you get it, the strain will be less strong. so meh. Drink the koolaid
    0 points
  37. If this can happen in Texas this can happen in your town. 85 babies test positive for COVID-19 in Nueces County https://www.kiiitv.com/article/news/local/watch-live-city-of-corpus-christi-nueces-county-officials-join-tamucc-to-provide-covid-19-updates-in-the-coastal-bend/503-55e9ab3a-9bef-496f-8bb4-8c9ec20ee3a3
    0 points
  38. Since they renovated Inter Since they renovated international Street, the daytime shows are absolutely miserable for the performers as well as the crowd. There is absolutely no shade and the sun is glaring directly on the performers and right in the face of the crowd. In general, having a live shows is not a good idea right now. As much as they are an Important part of the park. I think the Kings Island is just trying to capitalize off his Voice appearance. There are a lot of highly talented entertainers our Kings Island but never have gotten the publicity that he is getting from the park. He isn’t even a long time performer. Maybe one previous season.
    0 points
  39. Last time I checked the Cedar Fair Platinum passes didn't get you in Schlitterbahn parks.
    0 points
  40. Since some $21.99ers have been introduced into the mix, mask compliance as well as social distancing was at its worst so far this season. In FOF there was a family that was so close to my party that it would have been rude even without the pandemic. They also had their masks pulled down below their chins. An employee saw them several times and didn’t say anything. Later in the station they still had their masks down and were sitting on the handrails. The driver said on the loud speaker to not sit on the handrail, but said nothing of the masks, which was disappointing. Let’s hope this was isolated incident.
    0 points
  41. What’s wrong with everyone getting it? Let it spread
    0 points
  42. Wanted to try mack. I am sure they found out it wasn't worth the money. Macks are more expensive than Intaride. Besides intaride is outselling basically everyone globally besides vekoma. Universal is hitching their wagon to intaride like CP did....
    0 points
  43. Dennis Spiegel said one big mistake with KD was not naming it Kings Island. Suppose they had named it Kings Island instead of Kings Dominion. What would you expect to have changed at both Kings Island parks if this had happened?
    0 points
  44. Having ridden Orion a few more times, the ride really is the best in the world, in my opinion. It’s neat that the ride is built 287 feet tall on top of a berm, so that the ride towers over everything else. In fact I think the vertical distance between the top of Orion and the lowest part of Kings Island is larger than the respective values for Fury 325. That being said, the ride is intense in the pull-out sections of the drop. I feel the wave turn is neat as it provides some floater airtime with lateral g forces. The reverse treble clef has a good pop of air with stronger airtime. The speed hill is intense, and the camelback hill is absolutely insane. To put it into perspective, the fifth hill of Orion is as tall as the second hill of SFOG’s Goliath. The helix is intense, and the final off axis airtime element before the brakes is intense. The ride is a world class addition to a world class park!
    0 points
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