Oldiesmann

I did a little research for you. There are two hotels close to KI which offer similar amenities at a fairly reasonable rate: Comfort Suites on Kings Center Drive (right up the road from KI just past the Harley store) - everything except the microwave for around $60 a night for one person Hyatt Cincinnati-Northeast on Natorp Boulevard (half a mile north of I-71 off of Mason-Montgomery Road [1 exit south of KI]) - king bed and everything except the microwave for around $80 a night for one person Comfort Suites would probably be your best bet - it's really close to KI and it's cheaper than the Hyatt.

You forgot Come and Smell The Funnel Cakes. Cedar Point has some great food, as does Dorney Park. Cedar Point has delicious pizza back by Maverick, frozen custard, many love Midway Market...I had had delightful meals at the Boathouse...and Dorney has some excellent pizza and has in the past had excellent kosher food...while it was owned by Cedar Fair. Let us also not forget the ultra-generic "Drop Tower"...

I wear glasses because they're a lot less trouble than contacts. I've worn them on most rides (without the dorky-looking straps ) without any problems. Firehawk is about the only ride (besides the water rides) that I take my glasses off for, simply because you're facing the ground most of the time and I'm not sure how long my glasses would stay on that way.

Snuffles was great! The surprising thing is that most HB shows didn't last more than a season ot two, yet the characters are quite memorable.

Pixie and Dixie were the mice who got chased by a large orange cat known as Mr. Jinx. Quickdraw was the horse best known for yelling "El Kabong!" as he bashed a villain on the head with his guitar...

Lots of great photos! Can't wait for the 17th... On the subject of chili, I prefer Dixie Chili. Sadly, none of their three locations are close to KI, but it's really good if you're ever near nothern Kentucky.

I sincerely doubt that the new Snoopy theme will have any noticeable impact on kids' decisions about going on a particular ride. I worked in the kiddie area of KI during the final season of KI. Four of the five rides I worked at were HB themed (the other was Beastie). Not once did I hear kids complaining about not knowing who the HB characters were. The kids cared far more about the actual ride experience than the theme.

Today's questions... Decided to ask them something different this time instead of re-posting my question from yesterday... http://www.facebook.com/visitkingsisland#!/note.php?note_id=378690396948

Thanks. The 1/2 hour early entrance to Snoopy land should be fun - nothing like an excuse to rack up rides on Woodstock Express (though I much preferred it as Beastie).

I haven't really decided. I love coasters and want to ride as many as possible, but I don't know much about different designs, manufacturers, etc. I have played RCT3 some as well. I am an enthusiast of various other things - Archie Comics, storm sirens (yeah, I know... I'm weird ) and driving - I love driving around exploring areas and uncovering hidden gems in those areas.

Source? I can't imagine why they wouldn't have ERT on opening day.

My current favorite sound is Diamondback roaring through the woods. My favorite former sound is a loud bell shortly followed by the loud screams of unexpectedly drenched guests (the old slime tower thing in Nick U).

The names are going to be officially revealed today (March 10th), as was mentioned in last week's newsletter, so you may have stumbled across it early.

ERT on DB by way of PS...

Endless Summer on Ice was by far my favorite show this season (though I didn't see Don't Stop The Music! or Marty's Party). Lots of people can dress up and sing well-known songs, but not too many people can perform on ice skates, let alone do some of the things that Colleen and Josiah did:

If I could only change one thing, it would be a complete overhaul of Festhaus. Rip out the neon beer signs and country decor Get rid of Larosas and Panda Express Find out who designed and built the clock, and hire that company to come in and restore it Work out a deal to put a Hofbräuhaus franchise in there Restore the inside of the building as necessary to make it look like it did when it opened in the early 80s I'd also have to convince Mr. Kinzel and friends that this is a project worth spending their nickels on - a guest survey, and offering them a free dinner at Hofbräuhaus Newport should be enough though

I won't really miss anything either. The one feature that I used to love in Nick was removed after the 2005 season (the big green "slime" tower thing that would randomly drench unsuspecting guests who would look up wondering what the bell meant...).

Likely either Diamondback or Beast, but I'm not sure. I haven't kept track of how many times I've ridden each ride prior to this year since this is my first year having a season pass (excluding the one year we had them when I was a kid).

Although I'm not familiar with all the categories, some of those aren't really all that surprising. Lots more info available if you download the 40-page PDF of the golden ticket issue at http://www.amusementtoday.com/corndog/2009GTAissue.pdf (not recommended unless you have a fast connection).

There's also going to be a new water ride at CP called Shoot The Rapids: http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/ride...oot_the_rapids/

Sitting smack in the middle of the train (3-3) on Blue Racer gives you an incredibly smooth ride. There was an announcement for the nightly fireworks show yesterday even though the park closed at 8 There was no "the rides and attractions are now closing" spiel at the end of the night - things just shut down at 8 There were several large banners placed around the park advertising various sideshow characters (obviously related to Haunt in some way).

My sister and I happily made our first-ever trip to Stricker's Grove yesterday, and had a blast. I don't remember what order we rode things in, so I'll just post my comments on the rides. Tornado - extremely fun ride. I was a bit disappointed to find that it had seatbelts, but really enjoyed the ride - particularly the dips at the end. Teddy Bear - reminds me of FOC/Beastie. Cars are more comfortable, and there aren't any seatbelts, but the ride is much shorter. Scooters - brings back memories of the Screechin' Eagles at KI, but I couldn't remember how to snap them. Electric Rainbow - fun, but the Super Round Up at Coney is a lot more fun. Scrambler - we skipped this as we'd both ridden the one at KI numerous times. Ferris Wheel - first time either of us had been on it. Fun ride with great views of the park. Train - fun little ride that gives you a nice view of the countryside. Tilt-a-Whirl - a really fun experience as always. We got plenty dizzy both times we rode it. Tip Top - this was by far the best flat ride in the park. An extremely dizzying flat ride with no restraints (besides gravity of course). I'm not sure what was more fun - the ride itself or trying to see how fast we could spin our car. I also loved the "meal" option for the food - for $7 I got a complete meal - double cheeseburger, chips, corn on the cob and potato salad. It was also nice to see a park that not only allows you to bring your own food, but also allows you to grill it. We spent 3 1/2 hours at the park, and had a blast. We only rode Electric Rainbow once because we both liked the one at Coney better, but overall it was well worth the drive to the country. After that, we headed out to KI to renew our passes and finish off the day.

After our visit to Stricker's Grove yesterday, my sister and I both came to the same conclusion. Kings Island seriously needs a . By far one of the best flat rides I've been on (not to mention one of the most dizzying!).

I think that a Sally Corp GhostBlasters attraction is pretty likely, considering that SDatHC was a character retro-fit of the original GhostBlasters. I think we might see something related to Snoopy and the Red Baron (though I'm not sure exactly how you could turn that into a kids' ride), or possibly something related to the Great Pumpkin...

Better option would be to just save it in paint then put it on a photo-sharing site such as photobucket or imageshack and post it here so we can all see it