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KI and KK are the only parks I made it to this year. KK's operations are much different than KI, but I have to say that the Thunder Run crew never disappoints, except that one time a few years ago where they were trying to "sell" rerides. At KI, I cannot say that one crew stood out above another because they all delivered a great experience each visit and each ride. All the coasters I rode had ops who had a sense of humor but a sense of urgency. They were very accommodating to my seat requests. I would imagine that this physically demanding job, combined with the weather, and a sometimes entitled guest base would make for challenging days, but I never saw that implied or expressed.

Perhaps Son of Beast can get some track work next.

I wonder if I am just less sensitive to it or if my size helps keep me in tighter... I've only ridden it five or six times and only within the last year (so no early-days to compare it to) but it feels smoother than an old school inverter and I always have an amazing ride.

Welcome back to another week in our Off Season Poll Series! Due to some time commitments, I wasn't able to do last week's poll but we are right back on track! 2022 has been an amazing year to get on some of your favorite coasters. Some of us were able to just get to some parks, others various parks around the US. With that being said, the rides are what we come for, but it's the ride crew who keeps the coasters/attractions we know and love operating. Many sadly forget this, in the midst of going to the park, getting on the ride, it's the people who check your restraint, who give the all clear who makes it all work. This week's poll is to highlight your favorite ride crew from 2022, share how they exceeded expectations and how they got to #1 status! I was able to get out to 20 parks this year, from big parks like Cedar Point and Islands of Adventure, to smaller parks like Holiday World and Fun Spot Kissimmee. I used to work in the themepark industry, meeting various friends and colleagues that I still talk to who are still in the field. I have always been one to really analyze my whole experience whenever I go to the parks, ride crew operations being a major factor. There is one crew that I can say without a doubt always met, or exceeded my expectations in my 10 visits alone this year (including last night): Velocicoaster. Velocicoaster's ride crew has always been engaging, helpful, and accommodating whenever I get to the park. I understand that preferred seating is never guaranteed, however every time that I went to Velocicoaster they always got me in my favorite seat and were just generally helpful in trying to make a closer seat adjustment if need be. Who was your favorite ride crew for 2022?

https://www.kingsdominion.com/blog/2022/the-rebirth-of-the-grizzly---part-2 Still no confirmation from the park on the people behind the refurbishment

I went to Kentucky Kingdom and Kings Island this past season a few times. At KK they rarely ever use a ride mic to give a spiel or announce anything. I only heard a mic at Kentucky Flyers but it was rather disappointing. It's crazy how much the baseline interaction over the microphone to guests can liven up a ride platform. For my favorite crew though, it'd be between Beast, Diamondback, and Racer. I love the fun "trash-talk" blue/red racer ops give to the other side sometimes and the overall hyping "We're too fast for blue that we gotta wait on them AGAIN!" etc. I found nearly all ops would make jokes about other rides "Enjoy your ride on Orion!" when on Diamondback or something.

I would have to say The Bat crew. The last time I rode (last Saturday of Haunt), the crew was really haulin' and had a good pace going. Not only that, but they are amusing on the mic when dispatching the train. That being said, the biggest reason was that they helped me retrieve my Gold Pass one night after the Berlin concert. It was really cool to be back in the woods after park close and they did a good job helping me. Also, I want to add that it's amazing that The Bat was back up so quickly (after a few weeks as opposed to the rest of the season) after the accident earlier this year; The Bat is one of my favorite coasters at the park and I was nervous about its future. And as we all know, it was up and running (eventually with both trains) within a month or two.

The turnarounds have been re-tracked recently, but I still hope they get repainted if the new sections also get repainted. It doesn’t make perfect sense that Kings Island would repaint the turnarounds after initially neglecting them, but I am hopeful anyways.

I agree with both opinions of TombraiderFTW & Shaggy about the latest batch…there is no justice that The Crypt ends up with a pin…I mean really, the parking lot trams were WAY more beloved and it doesn’t appear they will be getting a pin. And as for the Delirium one, I love the ride and was hoping for (finally) a nice pin of the ride…but it is basically a bigger version of the one from years ago…Delirium deserved better.

I bought both pins, of course - I will complete the entire collection no matter. I figured they'd go the Crypt route rather than TR:TR. I know firsthand the "hoops" they have to jump through with the Paramount licenses (more about that at a later time.) I was actually hoping for more with the Delirium pin. I had expectations akin to the Viking Fury pin with a swinging gondola. A little disappointed that there's no articulation. I've really enjoyed this series - overall very happy with all the pin releases. Its also been fun guessing, then finding out each week what the new releases are. (Although the cost of S&H for each release is ridiculously astronomical.)

...Okay, I don't want to be a whiner, but I really had my hopes up that the TRTR pin would get the Top Gun treatment to avoid Paramount naming. The Crypt was not the same experience as Tomb Raider. I think many would argue that The Crypt was not a positive experience. I realize there was a lot of copyright to navigate with TRTR in particular, but surely there was another option than to make a pin representing that ride's worst version of itself? (Purely in jest, I have to imagine this is what it would feel like for Son of Beast fans if their pin had just been a picture of the track that replaced the loop!) Heck, even the back of the card the pin is attached to has a picture of the ride as Tomb Raider! Even a pin of something as abstract as one of the queue lanterns, one of the bowls with fire in the antechamber, or a depiction of the cave front with "2002" underneath it in the TRTR sign font would be a little more compelling for me. I mean, I'll probably still buy it since even Crypt merch has never been common... but I'm a little miffed. I was holding out on buying any pins to avoid that dastardly shipping charge until the TRTR pin became available. My hopes were admittedly up. Oh well. Such is life.

I got to say hats off to the Orion crew! Every time I asked to sit in the front they would always say yes and open it up just for me to sit there! So thank you Orion crew! Also they did an amazing job on operations this year. They were sending a train up the lift when the previous train was on the final banked hill!

Weren’t the unpainted turn arounds rebuilt in recent years? It seems the lack of paint there was budget motivated IMO as it is not a highly visible area. I agree about painting the new track. If they don’t, this years paint job was wasted dollars.

So while looking at google maps and trying to think of a replacement for Vortex, I came up with this concept: transforming the back of Coney Mall into a 50's themed section, similar to Jukebox Junction at Dollywood. There are already a couple of attractions back here that have a vintage aesthetic/name: Shake, Rattle & Roll, Antique Autos, and Jukebox Diner. I think expanding upon those attractions to make it a fully-fleshed out land similar to Adventure Port would really enhance the area. It would also allow for Backlot to be rethemed. It could retain its car chase theme, but with aesthetic upgrades and a name change to match the new area. The centerpiece attraction would be the replacement coaster for Vortex, tentatively titled "Demon Rod". This would be a launch coaster that would pay homage to Demon, but with a hot-rod theme. Essentially, it's themed to a classic car that is possessed. The layout is designed to have nine inversions, which would give it the record for the most inversions on any launch coaster. One of them would be an in-line roll station fly-by.

Watch Beverly Hills Cop III and it will really make you scared of the chains.

I rode Zodiac when I was a kid myself. It was a neat ride and I was also unnerved by the chains holding you. In all fairness, the rides like that I always found more terrifying than any coaster. The Skyline also was a nervous experience for me. I don't enjoy the hanging feeling.