Oldiesmann

The playground should be a big hit. The one at Carowinds is great and my nieces loved it when we were there a couple years ago

I didn't realize that restriction was some arbitrary rule that they made. I assumed it was based on height. Hopefully KI won't resort to such antics.

The coaster of the same name at Canada's Wonderland was made by a different company (ART Engineering out of Germany) so I don't think that one comes into play here, since the height requirements are usually set by the manufacturer rather than the park.

I did a little research on that because I was curious as well. I looked at two of the Vekoma Family Boomerang coasters listed on RCDB - Raik at Phantasialand in Germany and Boomerang at Energylandia in Poland (which is the exact same model as the one we're getting). The minimum height for both is 1 meter/100cm (a little over 39 inches) and anyone under 1.2m/120cm (a little over 47 inches) has to ride with an adult, but there is no height limit. That leads me to believe that KI's will have a minimum height of 40 inches with anyone under 48 having to ride with an adult.

Another teaser video posted yesterday. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=285974624014434 And some other teaser signs. https://www.facebook.com/brad.bonshak.5/posts/pfbid0VQJZj6PeEzkEBPpUoDQyjFMycrwXfFscty6Z89vrmEtnuAsdpiq3BBhrky5bzaPml

According to this article, it brings in about $80 million, which could expand quite a bit when the tournament goes to two weeks in a couple of years. https://www.daytondailynews.com/community/mason-state-propose-millions-of-dollars-to-keep-professional-tennis-tournament/YB6E36QCKNF43OA57DYHWYOSAE/

It'll be interesting to see if this actually goes live given the feedback after the apparent leak. It's an interesting concept but leads to more confusion, especially among the general public.

I've never been to any of the Fun Spot parks, but the only one I could really see purchasing them is Herschend. They've got lots of experience in various entertainment/tourist things (4 amusement parks and water parks, 3 aquariums, some dinner shows and the Harlem Globetrotters) and would likely do a good job managing a few smaller parks/entertainment centers as well.

This is the second person I know who's suddenly left KI with little explanation in the past couple of weeks (the other was a ride supervisor whom many of you probably know). KI won't be the same without Don.

While I feel sorry for the people who got stuck, I really wish the media would stop calling it a roller coaster. Larson Loops are powered flat rides. I've been on a couple of them.

I've seen that as well. Looks like Fury is going to be closed for quite a while. It's a good thing everything is bolted together now instead of welded, but it'll still take a bit for Clermont Steel to manufacture a new support and get it shipped to the park. Hopefully B&M will cover the cost.

Coney actually did do a ride tickets thing up until the mid to late 2000s (2008 or 2009 maybe?), where you could purchase individual tickets or an all-day rides band. That sort of thing could still work out for them if done properly - even though such a concept is pretty foreign to most amusement park guests these days (except for those living in/around Elysburg, PA...)

That was my guess as well, since it was a direct link to the part of their online store where you can claim it rather than instructions on how to get there from said store.

I've been hearing/seeing great things about the new Firehouse BBQ restaurant at KD. It also looks like their version of Grain and Grill is far better than the one at KI as well. I haven't been to KD since 2019 though so I have yet to try it.

I wasn't aware they even had Reubens in Festhaus, though I'm never on that side of the building (if I'm in there it's because I want Panda - I can get pizza or burgers elsewhere without having to stand in such long slow-moving lines), but I'll definitely have to check that out next weekend.

I definitely want to make it up there at some point but have no idea when. It's only a seven and a half hour drive for me (about the same drive time as to other parks I've been to) and I also want to see Niagara Falls while I'm on that side of the border, but I keep finding other trips to take (going back to PA next summer for Dorney's new coaster and KD's 50th is in 2025, so maybe in 2026?)

Mason has committed $15 million in incentives to keep the tournament here. A state representative from Lebanon also added money to the house's version of the state budget bill but it remains to be seen whether that will actually make it to the final budget. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/05/mason-commits-15-million-to-keeping-western-southern-open-in-ohio/70289020007/

Here's the inside of the card

Citybeat says the pickleball courts at Coney will be $20 an hour to rent. The Cincinnati Pickleball Club website meanwhile says you can go to nearby Lunken Playfield and rent a court for two hours at a rate of $5 per person. A group of four could go there and pay the same price and get the court for twice as long. I will admit that the "soccer billiards" thing sounds somewhat fun, but not something I'd go there to do. I sincerely doubt the street curling will draw much interest at all. I do have to wonder what they were thinking with that. I also find it funny that absolutely none of this information is on their website or Facebook page at all.

https://amusementtoday.com/2023/05/five-star-parks-attractions-acquires-award‐winning-scene75-entertainment/ This is the same company that owns Malibu Jack's (Ashland, Lexington and Louisville in Kentucky as well as Lafayette, Indiana) among others, so they definitely know their FECs.

Another article about it that popped up as a sponsored post for me on Facebook: https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-business/ripken-baseball-acquires-sports-force-parks-sandusky

Removing the rides was definitely a bad business decision in my opinion. I know they likely lost out on a lot of money from company picnics because of it. The company my brother-in-law used to work for was reportedly looking for somewhere else to hold their picnic after the rides were removed, though I believe the pandemic got in the way of that anyway. Coney used to be a place the entire family could enjoy regardless of whether you liked the pool. Now if you don't want to swim there's really not much point in going out there - there are numerous mini golf places in the area and several of the county parks have paddle boats. I haven't been back since they removed the rides except when I went to a concert at Riverbend last year (and that was just driving through to get to the parking lot).

Mailbu Jack's is opening a new location at White Oaks Mall in Springfield, IL: https://www.sj-r.com/story/news/local/2023/04/14/bergners-space-at-white-oaks-to-be-filled-by-indoor-theme-park/70116560007/ Malibu Jack's has four other locations - three in Kentucky (Ashland, Lexington and Louisville) and one in Indiana (Lafayette). The company was purchased by Five Star Parks & Attractions last year. See https://www.malibujacks.net for more info.

The incident in Action Zone was weird. Like others here I have heard various stories about what actually happened, but the entire area was evacuated fairly quickly. We were in Chicken Shack when it happened and several people from security and (presumably) park police went running towards Congo Falls, which was quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter the rest of the area was evacuated and the Coasters gift shop and Chicken Shack closed. We were initially told we could stay in Chicken Shack if we already ordered food, otherwise we had to get out. A short time later a supervisor (not sure what his position was - I'm assuming an area manager of some sort) came in and told us we all had to leave and could come back later to get our food even if we had already ordered it. They quickly dispersed anyone standing around outside of Festhaus as well. 5-10 minutes later an announcement came over the PA saying that Action Zone was now reopened and they apologized for the inconvenience. We returned to Chicken Shack and were able to get our food without any problems.

Looking forward to trying new food options. I've heard good things about Grain & Grill at KD, but haven't experienced it yet. I will miss having a place to enjoy cheese coneys in the AC but that's prime real estate in KI and you definitely want that to be a signature restaurant rather than a duplicate of something you can find elsewhere in the park (and even 10 minutes outside the park since there's one right up the road from KI). I won't miss Subway at all - they have good food (I'm particularly fond of their Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich), but I never ate there (too many other good choices and a limited menu compared to a standalone store).