Shaggy

I cant speak to the Timberwolf statement, but I can tell you that when I interviewed Mr. Koontz for ACE, he confirmed a couple locations in the park were spec'd for the coaster that eventually became Orion. Here's what he said: “We looked at a number of different designs and had discussions with Walter (Bolliger) at B&M about the different possibilities.” “We looked at the opportunities throughout the park, and they produced designs for different areas.” He also said “It would have been a lot easier if we had built this coaster in the parking lot. “ He then alluded to the perimeter of the park being one of the areas spec'd in early proposals. I think the important thing to remember is Orion's installation at KI was kind of a perfect storm. Several things aligned (a couple ironic and timely) to help make the decisions for where it was built and what it became. However, just with many other rides - it originated as several initial ideas & proposals for various areas in the park. Back to the topic at hand... 2023.... I stand by my belief that we will see a themed area re-hab. I suspect at least part of Planet Snoopy might be on the bill for a re-do. I noted this past season that the back half of it was in an obvious state of transition and vacancy. Plus, I would suspect KI might want that "Best Kids Area" moniker back... If memory serves me, back when they expanded HB Land in '98, they didn't announce it until late in the season (August/Fall.) Also, (P)KI didn't announce the Nick Central expansion until January 2001.

I have one of the ultra-rare opening day bronze coins from the 1972 grand opening of KI in my personal collection. So I am very glad to see that they are offering one for the 50th!

Well, I'm sure there's lots more coming...

Of particular note, CP hosted a portion of ACE Coaster Con this summer - just prior to the ballets being cast. I believe a large number of ACE members are voters. That speaks volumes. The Marketing/PR Team sets a tone - and often drives the perception of a park. Warranted or not, there's a distinct tone of negativity toward enthusiasts coming out of CP. I will say that I know a lot of people are VERY "put off" by a particular CP spokesperson. There's been a great deal of buzz among the enthusiast community about it. That having been said, I'm sure the next time CP has a major install they'll call out the enthusiast troops to help drum it up. And they'll no doubt climb the charts again - the Golden Ticket Awards are very fickle that way.

CP has installed a wooden wall around TTD. Rumor is they are beginning the process of removing the Grandstand.

“As you know it…” ”Re-imagined…” I was fortunate to join the elusive “rollback” club about 5 or 6 years ago. Once I had that experience, I moved on. A fun ride, but it is time for change. It had a good run.

My bad - you are absolutely correct

I hope Jess Naderman will eventually (someday) fill a lead position at KI. She and I started on Beast crew together in 1999.... now she's the Director of Operations at Dorney. (Following stints as the Dir of Ops at Valleyfair, Asst GM at Schlitterbaun etc ) She's a gem, and going places. Id love for her to come full circle.

The next two are up today…. Viking Fury and Winterfest ‘82. They seem to be following the KI timeline with the pin releases.

Sounds similar to the SOB accident - ledgers breaking. I hope all those injured recover!

Glad you had a good time! I really enjoy this park. I first went as a part of an 8-day/10-park trip back around 2001 when Superman was still new. I FLIPPED over it and it easily took my top steel spot where it has remained ever since. I re-rode it as recently as July 2018, and it still remains at the top. The park is very Six Flags at this point. But it still have several charming pieces/holdovers from its heyday as Riverside... the carousel and Thunderbolt are maintained very well and are the two most charming rides in the park. Here's a pic from my first visit in 2001... It sure is a beauty...

I love the throwback to the old Swarzkopf! Kudos to them!

My predictions... CoW - Area re-theme with flat ride package WOF - Hybrid CP -Pavillion with family coaster & flats KI & CW - Planet Snoopy makeovers/expansions

Don't waste your punctuation.

Actually, the new pins are for The Demon and Lion Country Safari.. The other pins produced prior were for Wild Animal Habitat and The Screamin Demon. Remember, (Screamin) Demon had 2 logos - "Screamin" was dropped in 1983 to better align its name with the other coasters. Lion Country Safari was the name that pre-dated Wild Animal Habitat from 1974-1976. Its a subtle - but noteworthy difference. I'm glad someone in merch is being savvy and knows the history/difference.

Good Lord KI is killing my wallet this season! The merch is simply the best its been in 30 years... Now they need to sell maquettes of the Phantom Theater characters. Those would blow my mind...

The price of gas... plain and simple. Less people traveling.

I want KI to implement it. I witnessed a situation with a large group of “teens” when I was at KI on a Sat night about a month ago… let’s just say it was like watching a storm brew… then all heck broke loose. Thank God security and Mason police were quick to act - but it was literally terrifying to watch. I may be saying too much, but there’s something odd going on in general. Places like parks and malls etc are the new targets of trouble-makers of a certain dynamic. Until drastic measures are taken to ensure that they cannot attend in groups/congregate, they will keep trying to lay claim/ownership as part of their turf war.

Puppet Tree. Beastie. Screamin Demon. Guilliver's. Zodiac. WWC. KCKC. Eagles. Fascination Parlor.

FYI - If you haven't taken the time to walk through, do so. At some point they'll probably close it in order to prep for Haunt and WF. I hope they keep/bring back the signage next season... obviously the pavers will stay.

Im glad someone else remembers the "snakes"... essentially garden hoses gone crazy. That was always a funny part to me.

I have not. I'd like to - its been way too long. I believe Shockwave has nearly faced the wrecking ball a few times, but managed to survive. I too worry because at some point cost outweighs worth.

SDL is highly HIGHLY underrated IMO. A Schwarzkopf gem. I haven't been to Hershey for nearly 20 years (I was supposed to go to the ACE Con there last year - but concerns over Covid deterred that), so I hope they are maintaining it well. I'm a sucker for those original Schwarzkopf full-circuit loopers - my top 10 steel also includes Mindbender at SFOG and Shockwave at SFOT.

There was once a long-standing rumor that the park was considering "flipping" the main entrance to the back-side. It never came to be, of course, but the idea was you'd enter in the Midway America area and the current entrance area would become the back end of the park. Obviously things worked out for the best - they eventually got a much improved/expanded entrance area and were able to acquire the old golf course area - hence Candymonium. But back in the day, the park grew to a point that the original entrance area was a terrible bottleneck. Fun fact - Hersheypark originally had an Intamin Double-arm ferris wheel right inside the original main entrance. It was just like Kings Island's Zodiac but Hershey's Giant wheel predated the KI one by a few years. When KI expanded Coney Mall, they used pictures of Hershey's Giant Wheel for promotional purposes. (you can tell because the Hershey wheel had the unique pinwheel logo in the center of each wheel.) I first went to Hersheypark in 1984. The park was only about 1/3 the size that it is now. The Comet still used its original trains and had hand-brakes. I also seem to recall that it might have had a 2-point unload/load process where you exited the train in the curved part of the station - then a ride op sent the train forward where it loaded. The Superdooperlooper was the "big" coaster in the park (there were only 3 then.) I was obsessed with the SuperDooperLooper - and must have ridden it a dozen times that first visit. I still love that coaster and it holds a special place for me.