Maddog

^ So much this!! We need to stop worrying about surfaces, and worry about what we do AFTER we touch the surface. Viruses like these aren't a big issue on your clothes/shoes/hands. Keep your hands out of your face! Always act as if your hands were covered in mud. Sanitizing the world is an exercise in futility. It would be insane the efforts necessary to sanitize every contact surface in a theme park. A fun thought exercise: Imagine the number of things you have touched, then grabbed your cell phone, and put that phone up to your face

Wow, an impressive FAQ section online which basically walks through a number of questions raised here on KIC. Kudos to everyone who worked on this announcement! I cannot imagine the full costs this will entail to Cedar Fair. It appears they went above and beyond with this announcement, no-one should be complaining.

An idea seems so good until you get legal involved . Which is why I think there is more to the solution than just the money when (or if) it comes to park opening dates.

Don't take this personally, but again I need to call you out: That is an incredibly naive approach to this whole situation we are dealing with. I'm not trying to scare people here, but we all need to be very honest with ourselves. The economic impacts of COVID-19 are just beginning to reveal themselves. I don't want to go too far off-topic, but this is the Coronavirus thread... I can assure you that companies are watching their cash burn rate seriously right now--even those considered "essential". Options are being discussed, lists are being generated, and schedules are getting re-evaluated. Productivity in this country has taken a huge hit. The Service industry is just what is visible and currently making headlines, but other industries are quietly biding their time. Everyone, and I do mean everyone reading this with an active job, needs to personally be prepared for a potential loss of income. This will be a hard lesson for some.

Sorry, this is bad advice. I would not recommend to anyone to manually continue paying to Kings Island right now. They have graciously suspended the payment plan, and individuals should use this opportunity to divert this money to your personal buffer/emergency fund/cash-on-hand allotment. Uncertainty is the current situation for everyone, companies are making some hard choices, and everyone should be prepared. Growing your savings while you have income coming in and paying essentials should be your individual goal. When this is over, and if KI opens, you have the money stashed to pay off your our balance then. If you lose your job, you have money on-hand when you need it. Going to the park may be the least of your concerns. Just throwing that out there...

People, take your refund issues up with the park(s) directly. This isn't Guest Services! Every day this situation is evolving for all of us. Personally I couldn't imagine the stress those at Cedar Fair are under to figure out their plans and take appropriate actions.

Right now, any business should be looking at the intent behind the order. The governor has been quite candid in his daily news conferences that the goal behind these closings is to improve social distancing by keeping large groups of people away from each other. When will this be over? Who knows? But the measures in place now are an attempt to reduce the risk (not eliminate) and slow spread so healthcare services can keep up (i.e. "flatten the curve"). Unfortunately by slowing the spread, it also increases the duration before the event is over. Every one of us should take it as a responsibility to do our part.

Honestly kind-of digging the new look

Personally looking forward to seeing The Beast sneak over the treeline once again.

As others here have mentioned before, Don and KI have been quoted that trackwork will be finished by the end of January--that is this Friday (sorry I don't have the direct quote to link). Just sharing some general knowledge here for those who may not be aware... On large construction projects with numerous subcontractors doing work, they each independently have their own deadlines throughout the project. Depending upon how the contracts were written, the company erecting the track may have bonus/penalty money on the line if they don't meet their deadline. Things that don't necessarily make sense to us as outsiders watching the work, decisions are driven by costs--some not obvious without knowing the details. It just might be cheaper to pay a bit of overtime to complete by a deadline.

I think this just shows that the outer cover for the DB cam has become really weathered (just like those old headlamp lenses look on cars). The surface tension of water does a good job to smooth the outer layer so it looks "clear" when it is raining.

I'm really surprised those maintenance worker posts are getting traction here on KIC. This site is usually strict with photos. Can't imagine the park is too happy with someone posting current pictures from inside the park when it is closed. From what I read on Reddit, these were pictures someone obtained from their family member (uncle, who was contracted for work, not KI employee). So the actual photographer didn't post these. This didn't come through official channels.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Orion constructed to completion! Glad to have the fully focused cam back. (Vortex is done, take the pity party over to the other thread).

Seems to be gone now, thanks!

@IndyGuy4KI Thanks for the location of the theme option! I've always used the dark theme. So I reselected the option and no change. If I use either IPB Default or KICentral - Bright (Default) I don't see the banner notification. However if I go back and choose KICentral - Dark, the banner reappears. Not sure what else I can do to correct except for not use the Dark theme for now.

Anyone else seeing this banner at the top of every page? I click the X to close but any refresh or new page brings it right back. I can't seem to locate the "theme" option noted to reselect. For me this showed up just after the new year.

Noise pollution is a solvable problem. Society shouldn't continue to accept this as normal. It is just lazy engineering.

Had to laugh when I saw an unintended consequence of the auto-capitalization of ride names on this site . I'm guessing @DJSkyFoxxdidn't actually type it in that way (or did he ).

https://www.wvxu.org/post/neighbors-kings-island-please-cut-noise Another article from WVXU, which has similar content as the Local12 article. It does point out more than one neighbor with the complaints, also the whole issue of city boundaries, and that the best course of action is for people to work directly with the park. My opinion?: KI should try to do its part to be a good neighbor and keep noise down as part of ride designs and new improvements. There's already a known issue with Diamondback's noise. With Orion take some precautions with the design as needed. Maybe sand filled is already spec'd in, I don't know. Anybody have any info on this?

If they don't like it they can sell? That's unfortunately a pretty sad situation to be in as a homeowner. Mason and KI have both admitted they aren't in compliance, but it seems no action will be taken. I thought there would be an actual discussion here about this, but clearly this site has its mind made up. Side note, I love rollercoasters, but hate the B&M roar. That won't get me much love around here though, just being honest.

Reading a lot of these comments, which many are incredibly one-sided, makes me think some of you have never dealt with "bad neighbors"--especially those who move in after you previously had good/great neighbors. Did ya'll actually fully read the posted articles? To me, the Enquirer opinion piece reflects a bit more of the above experience. What might have been a great situation before where everyone was happy (neighbors, city, park), when KI started out is now a bit strained (at least for one of the parties). Unfortunately verbal agreements and assurances don't hold water after new ownership. It appears the city doesn't want to rock the boat, even admitting they don't have an enforceable ordinance (which could be interpreted as "badly written" or "if actually enforced, would have many violators", and don't they want to rock that money boat ). I for one can somewhat understand the plight of the neighbors. Something that grates on your nerves, increasing over time, does eventually reach a breaking point. Going the PR route to get Cedar Fair to have a conversation is a rather inexpensive "next step" before going the court route (anyone here remember Howard Ain, the Troubleshooter!). Sure some of the statements/expectations are over the top, but that's negotiating 101... Honestly the park may already be reaching out to acknowledge their concerns and we would never know. But having noise abatement efforts as part of an ongoing building process can help "keep it down" over the long haul. Efforts could be made such that physical growth of the park does not also mean noise growth. Getting some agreements in writing is key.

^ I think one can make a possible deduction from the statement. Why go through the effort of removing all "re-usable hardware" if the intent is not to re-use it? Once can then ask where would it likely get re-used? Probably on other similar rides (i.e. remaining Arrow coasters). Which makes sense, and saves CF money in the long run. Honestly, I would expect a corporation to be smart about the disposal of their assets. Keeping any aging steel coaster in "tip-top" shape doesn't really make sense, as history has shown us they have a definitive lifespan.

^^ Clearance testing in simulation and in physical form is carried out on newly built coasters. Rest assured you can keep your hands up for the whole ride without issue.

I would imagine that KI has more than enough information regarding ROI (return on investment) and appropriately selects rides which provide the best return. Getting a used ride on the cheap might seem like a great opportunity. But the overall cost to refurbish, maintain, and actual ridership numbers may show it to actually be throwing money away. Purchasing a new flat ride might be cheaper.

I don't think you understand how much maintenance is involved to keep The Beast running every year: https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/1188874278315462656 It takes a lot of downtime to do the necessary maintenance.