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I give the park huge credit in operating it as a racing coaster. Both sides are open every day and they dispatch the two trains together. Unlike American Eagle at Six Flags GA that they refuse to race because they haven’t maintained the structure. I was just saying do you racing on racer isn’t very even because of the lift hill and far turn around. Racers cousin at Kings Dominion Is the perfect racing roller coaster. A couple years ago they put a computer synchronize lift Hill on the coaster. As Long as the trains are dispatched within about 20 seconds of each other, they always leave the top of the lift hill at the same time. The chain lift speeds adjust to accomplish that.

I enjoy all the rides in Action Zone, but I agree, the theming is pretty much non-existent at this point. Back in the day when Congo Falls was relatively new, and King Cobra still stood, it kinda had a jungle theme. And that was pretty cool. But it's mostly a concrete jungle today.

They let riders into the Orion line until 10pm last night. I suspect the person you heard it from is mistaking that they shut it down early for the fireworks for shutting the line down early...

I never understood why double-posts were so violating in the first place. Let it go. I remain surprised how many people do not like BLSC though. My whole family enjoys it, and has for many years. Is it the best thrill-ride ever? Certainly not, but it's an in-between ride with a launch. Something the whole family could potentially enjoy. But I guess they don't? We like it, so there's that...lol.

Their last post was Thursday and acknowledged it. Nothing wrong with that.

The real steam train whistle that can be heard throughout the park.

Are they still playing that God awful Luke Bryan type pop country 5 song loop all over the left side of the park? They must not want to pay ascap fees this year.

For me at least ERT is the least important part of the weekend. I like listening to the speakers, and having a chance to ask them questions. Meeting up and speaking with other enthusiasts, discussing rumors is always more fun in person. Opportunities to get access to locations and experiences I typically cannot access. Sure I love riding the coasters with little wait, but more than anything I want something unique I cannot get any other day of the season. Kings Island is my home park, but even when I visit events at other parks this typically holds true. I like the schedule this year and how it has an emphasis on the rest of the day. My biggest wish for the event would be for us to access other areas of the park which the general public never sees. But then I am also one of those people who enjoys Winter chill out more then Coastermania. Getting access to maintenance, warehouses, costuming, etc, and talking with the staff is always interesting. I would love to see an off season open house event sometime in the future.

For the majority of the attendees, Coasterstock is not about ERT. It's a weekend celebration, a big "Family Reunion" for many. A chance to unite or reunite with other like-minded people. Oh, sure, there's ERT. But it's far from the most important part of the event for many of those who return to participate in the event year after year. And the event was created to be that way. You keep going on and on about Adventure Express not being part of the ERT lineup. As noted earlier in this thread, it is not located within the footprint of where other rides are located during the ERT sessions. However, you will be able to get in several rides on Adventure Express immediately following each of the morning ERT sessions during the first hour is open and you can get in a couple of night rides before the park closes as well.

All sitdown non-looping B&Ms fall under B&M's "Hyper Coaster" model, regardless of height or drop height. If you go to Fury's and Leviathan's RCDB pages, you'll notice they are listed under "Hyper Coaster" as well, along with ones that are under 200 ft in both height and drop such as Goliath at La Ronde to name one example. That having said, the tired giga classification debate is as simple as this. If one doesn't consider Orion a giga then fine, but Apollo's Chariot and Phantom's Revenge would not be hypers if the logic was to follow.

That is good to hear!

^ On BLSC that is where I am. I actually enjoy the coaster for what it is. Yes I would have much preferred that Les Taxis and Flying Eagles stayed where they were. The ride would have been great in Action Zone as that area needed another family attraction but at this point the ride has been there 17 seasons at this point. As far as the area that needs the most help it is Action Zone. It needs a complete retheme and some additional family flats.

I heard that The Beast closed its line early yesterday. Can anyone confirm this? I really hope The Beast and Orion don’t start closing their lines early before 10:00 PM. I hope they still let people get in line up until close and ride after the fireworks.

Missing Phantom Theater's soundtrack.

The sound yes. The ride not so much

^Yes, although it might be up to 6 songs now

I think there actually used to be one more final drop right where the entrance to what is now Area 72 is. They removed it to make way for the entrance to Flight of Fear in 1996. To me, I think it races pretty well. Just as long as it doesn't get to the point where it's like what I've heard about Twisted Colossus at Magic Mountain. I hope the park doesn't have RMC do what they did with Colossus at Magic Mountain where they combine the two tracks into one single continuous track.

It’s a good ride but flawed. The re tracking has made it ride great. Racing coasters bare rare and we are lucky to have one. But it doesn’t race well. One lift hill runs slightly faster and one of the turnaround trim brakes slows the train more than the other. The wierd Y design after the third hill is also odd. You lose view of the other train. And then there’s the long flat run at then end where the final drop was removed. Not perfect but still a treasure for the park. Even on busy days the lines are short because of 4 trains. Thank goodness CF is renovating it instead of what they did to Thunder Road. They didn’t paint the new track this year. Will it end up ugly and gray as they replace wood?

This year, I've been to KI 5 times and CP 3. CP is amazing and features an extreme collection of coasters. Although CP is the holy grail of CF, it has a price tag. In contrast, I agree that KI is more relaxed and would add KI is more accessible to visitors. I managed a front-row night ride on Orion last September, it was awesome. If you return to KI for a night ride on Orion, it is definitely worth the drive. While you're at the park, a night ride on The Beast is also a must. Nothing compares to it...

From what I saw, most of the food stands close at 10:00 PM today. I also noticed many of those Coca-Cola stands that sell pretzels open for the first time, and Rivertown Funnel Cakes was open. Staffing seems to have definitely improved, and I am glad we are now open until 10:00 PM again!

The Train Photo Opportunity and Q&A was done this way so attendees can come and go at their leisure, have an opportunity to capture better photos, have more of conversation with the engineers and conductors, and just overall to make it a better experience for those interested in the story behind our steam trains. Having the Banshee backstage photo opportunity during the ERT session allows attendees to come and go at their leisure and offered us the chance to fit in two additional activities after the park opened, starting with the chance for everyone to ride the Grand Carousel together and to offer a book signing with Evan Ponstingle, author of Kings Island: A Ride Through Time. Now you may not care about a ride on the Grand Carousel, but for many of the attendees it's something they're going to enjoy doing together as a group. I'm the one who thought Flight of Fear ERT at night was a great idea. It's located next to Orion, near The Racer and falls within the footprint of where the night time ERT rides are located, which is Coney Mall, Area 72 and Rivertown. There are two different experiences being offered on Flight of Fear. One night it's lights on, the next night it's lights off. Where is the tour of the spaghetti bowl and Haunt maze walkthroughs? While things are getting back to normal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we're not there yet with being able to have a group of this size together in an indoor facility. In developing the itinerary for this event, it's always done with what the majority of the attendees would enjoy in mind.

Coasterstock 2021 Itinerary Day 1: Friday, July 9 8:30 a.m. Parking Tolls Open 9 a.m. -10 a.m. Complimentary Donuts 9 a.m. -10:30 a.m. ERT Mystic Timbers, Great Pumpkin Coaster 9 a.m. -11 a.m. E.RT Diamondback, Flying Ace Aerial Chase 10 a.m. -11 a.m. K.I. & Miami Valley Railroad Photo Opportunity, Q&A 11 a.m. K.I. & Miami Valley Railroad First Ride 11:45 a.m. Chicken Dance Festhaus Plaza 12:30 p.m. -2 p.m. Kings Island-opoly Tournament 2:30 p.m. Group Photo at Eiffel Tower 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. The Beast & Diamondback Behind The Scenes Photo and Video Opportunity 5::30 p.m. -7 p.m. Dinner in Picnic Grove 7:30 p.m. -8:30 p.m. Guest Speakers/Q&A International Showplace Theatre 10 p.m. -10:30 p.m. ERT Grand Carousel, Dodgem 10:30 p.m. -12 a.m. ERT Orion, The Racer Flight of Fear (Lights On), The Beast, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Kings Mills Antique Autos Day 2: Saturday, July 10 8:30 a.m. Parking Tolls Open 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. ERT Banshee 9 a.m. -11 a.m. ERT The Bat 9:30 a.m. -10 a.m. Banshee Behind The Scenes Photo and Video Opportunity 10 a.m. -11 a.m. ERT Delirium, Drop Tower, Invertigo 11:15 a.m. Celebrate Grand Carousel’s 95th Anniversary By Taking a Spin 12:30 p.m. -2 p.m. Kings Island-opoly Championship 1 p.m. -3 p.m. Kings Island: A Ride Through Time Book Signing with author Evan Ponstingle 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Orion & The Racer Behind The Scenes Photo and Video Opportunity 5:30 p.m. -7 p.m. Dinner in the Picnic Grove 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Guest Speakers/Q&A International Showplace Theatre 8:30 p.m. - Coasterstock 2021 Award Winners Showplace Theatre 10 p.m. -11 p.m. ERT Shake, Rattle & Roll, Zephyr 10:30 p.m. -12 a.m. ERT Orion, The Beast, Mystic Timbers, Flight of Fear (Lights Off) https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2021/june/coasterstock-2021-itinerary-is-coasterstacked

Come on @gforce1994. Every time the park moves dirt, puts up a flag, mows the grass, or marks a tree for removal you jump right to a coaster. Let's expand our possibilities and include all ideas. That is what makes a discussion like this fun.

The dispatch bells on all the wood coasters. I really miss those. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The placement would be curious if they are needed soil core sample locations. Orion’s maintenance track, station, and queue are all in the way. Unless they are testing to determine the soil bearing pressure to relocate one or some of the maintenance buildings located at the Front of Area 72 to free up room there for a new flat ride.

It could be an elevated flat ride, something that would require a foundation that had to handle high stress . I highly doubt a new coaster. or maybe for a new train bridge to allow the train to go around the park??? That would be nice.

I think it certainly has benefits and downfalls. The fact that much of the ride has been modernized kind of kills the nostalgic feel of the ride. It’s not like The Jackrabbit at Kennywood, which is like stepping back in time. Also, years of wear causes “just another rough old coaster” feel for those who don’t care about its history. With that being said, I think the track work has really given the ride a second life. You can actually feel the airtime without that feeling that the train “crashes” at the bottom of the hill. I’ve said all along that The Racer will be painted its old colors for the 50th. That’s my personal prediction. That may create a whole new appreciation for the ride.

I understand why people would say The Beast. It does not have all the bells and whistles of new rides. The layout if not for the woods is a little boring. But if you lived thru the opening back in 1979, it was a marvel for it's time and just stuck in the enthusiast mindset to this day. Just think if Orion had opened in 1999 . . or some date 20-30 years ago. It would still be regarded as one of the best coasters ever built. But since it was built last year and number 7 (I think) of GIGAs built in the US. Most people regard it as a lesser of the GIGA's. Some argue it isn't a GIGA at all. It's just all perspective. For example, if the same BAT was built today most people would not give it much thought after riding a rickety coaster barely getting over 100ft tall. But back in the 80's it was the reason you went to KI and waited in line for 4+ hours. FYI . . I love The Beast and still see it thru my 12 yr old eyes. The best ride ever . . to my perspective.

Acknowledge a double post is in fact a double post and all is fine, got it. Something to consider adding to the TOS as it doesn’t currently have that exception.

Yes it counts as a double post, because it is a double post. Have you heard an edit button? They work really well.