Gordon Bombay

No. They'd never do such a thing. BTW, wanna go to Geauga Lake this weekend?

Thanks for checking it out!

Wow. I was literally planning a trip there this Spring... I've been checking every day to see when they'd announce their calendar. To see this today really hurts.

Thank you! Sorry about the bad link, moving too fast this morning.

"When the sun finally does go down, even on this dreary Winter Saturday, it will fall on car dealerships and industrial vistas rather than behind the wooden supports of roller coasters or the glimmering water of a lake." LINK: The Story of Chester Park

In addition to what @TombRaiderFTW noted, keep in mind too that the "movements" of TRTR were also a bit different than that of a traditional top spin. Again, I'm not an engineer, but the lava pit scene was a good example: rather than swinging, the gondola was locked and slowly moved downwards over the the theming as opposed to having momentum. If you ever stood in The Beast queue and heard the loud screech coming from the ride... that was energy being released. It was quite a bit different from other top spins, even the one that eventually premiered at PKD. As for symptoms of the theming... even before Paramount was gone, the theming had been degrading.

Haha, thanks. It was more so... lots of coffee this morning and typing quickly while waiting in line for more. Thanks for this post, @TombRaiderFTW. Ironically, I never touched again after 2009 despite being around until its removal. I totally forgot about the Inception score! I'm no engineer by any means, but this was always my impression too. Like, it was so big and required so much energy to do anything. When the ride would have an issue and break down, it performed normally and went about its proper "homing" procedures as intended... but the earth shattering sound and the shaking of the building made it seems as if the world was ending. I was never able to experience Volcano, but was its theme and design on par with Tomb Raider? Also, I just realized... that ride wasn't themed to the movie "Volcano?"

I'll never forget the first time that guests got to experience the 2009 version. It's important to note that even before Cedar Fair emerged on the scene: Tomb Raider was a shell of its former self. The ride, like many highly themed Paramount attractions, did not have its theme maintained. Not sure if this was due to a lack of resources or poor design (there was lots of blame going around), but the "totally themed, highly immersive, thrilling dark ride attraction" it was in 2002 did not fully exist in 2007. Many of the effects were gone, didn't work, etc. The best example was the spinning light that lined up with the door that you could eventually see struggle to spin. Still, I guess enough worked. The 2008 ride cycle was at least fun, then came 2009. The "boring ferris wheel" program was.... wow. It was bad. The queue itself looked ok, but the animatronic bat looked like a cheap thing bought at Party City. Shout out to the employees who did their best... warning guests about loose articles, trying to make things fun, even at one time resorting to Jungle Cruise-esque comedy routines in the pre-show to try and liven things up. That very first cycle: "Welcome back Crypt riders, how was your ride!?" Nothing but a chorus of boos and jeers. Every guest walking out of the exit was annoyed they had waited. That ride went from being one of the most popular with a line every night to having single digit riders by 9:15 PM. The only good part of that was if you worked it... you were heading home (or to the bar) at a reasonable hour. So, so, so, so bad. That generic wind howling... the empty box... the concrete floor covered in dirt... the skeletal remains of the "lava pit." And in the end, even with that mellowed out, boring cycle: the ride STILL didn't work properly.

@TombraiderTy Excellent finds and what's even more interesting... both signs happen to have different eras of "temporarily closed" signage as well.

Does anyone know why Kings Dominion's had a modified layout compared to KI and CW's? Was it built specifically to fit that space?

Thanks for posting this!

Such a great photograph. Any chance you have more to share? Specifically, any shots of queue line? I completely blank on what that was like

Just a joke. ;-) ACE used to have an...interesting...reputation. I'm sure it's better now.

Sorry for your loss.

Went in 2008. Some photos and trip report here: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2019/12/camden-park-may-18-2008.html Camden's a classic, little park. If anything, it's worth a visit because places like it are quickly disappearing.

Ah, but dive coasters are reliable, have high capacity, and feature many marketable gimmicks. Plus, Cedar Point has a hole punch card where if you build three, the fourth is free.

I.... love this.

I disagree with this. 2010, 2012, and 2013 Reds seasons were exciting. FC Cincinnati won best in the USL for 2018, was admitted to MLS, and generally is still incredibly popular. The Cyclones have won several cups and continue to be successful, etc. Even if they're bad on the field/pitch/ice, that's not important (although it can be helpful), many of these institutions are beloved by families, especially kids. When I was 8, a Cyclones player signed my youth hockey jersey. It didn't matter to me what position the 1997 Cyclones were in, who that player was, or that his team played in a minor league. I think with the park and sports partnerships it just comes down to what's convenient and mutually beneficial (Reds visit ever year, this Cyclones bobble head thing). That kind of stuff will continue to happen off and on. EDIT to say: On the Reds Hall of Fame Grill, that's a perfect example. It holds appeal to both locals and outside visitors just based on its unique content. It was an attraction unto itself. Does the park benefit by having it? Certainly. Are they losing anything by not having it? Doubtful.

Frankly, everything’s gone down hill since The Great Baldini.

Agreed. Running that close to the ground has a bit of a kick to it.

You get the same press as Fury, for half the cost and half the coaster.

Get on it, @Dane. I know you're rolling in that t-shirt money.

...thank you, but.... did you book the KIC winter monorail banquet yet? ;-)

Thank you and I wish the same. I know @Dane is living in a mansion off of that KIC ad revenue, buy us a monorail event, Dane!

Hey folks, Back in the day I wrote a story about Kings Island's old monorail for this website. Last year, I revisited that story and did an update for 2018 on my own website. Now, I'm back with one more update for you, written for Cincinnati Refined. The former KI monorail housed at Jungle Jim's had had its station/transfer table re-purposed. The former maintenance bay is now a bourbon bar and the former transfer tracks are event space. Two nights a week, the bar is open to the public, while the entire facility is mainly used as customizable/rentable facilities. Before you go off to ride the train, though, know this: it still only runs for special events. Groups booking events have the option of adding a monorail ride to their package depending on their event or set up (hint, hint KICentral off season event ;-) ). There are some links and updated photographs below. - Updated story for Cincinnati Refined, Dec. 29, 2019 - Queen City Discovery, Dec. 2018 - Kings Island Central, 2008