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mullimann

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  • Location
    NKY
  • Interests
    Universal Orlando, Islands of Adventure, Kings Island<br>Roller Coaster design

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  1. Maybe Comcast has some extra cash in their pockets now? But I doubt they would ever buy seasonal parks. Universal Studios was just an asset in the NBC/Universal package. While it is a profit making asset, it did put Comcast in a place that not many companies have been. Its able to directly complete with the largest entertainment company Disney on most every business level. A group of seasonal parks would just not be a good investment.
  2. Neither of Kings Islands woodies need any type of RMC treatment. If it was available it could have been an option for SOB. Would a new Hybrid be nice, yes maybe an Iron Beast. I do wonder how some of the new treatments on Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain will work out. I don't foresee any "racing" to occur after media weeks, unless the PLM blocking is set up that way, but that will require dispatching to be on pace, or people will be calling 911 from the 2nd lift waiting for the other train to catch up.
  3. It was moved in August 2006 to the Nickelodeon Suites Resort on International Drive. It can be found just outside the main entrance. Universal requested its relocation in preparation for Blue Man Group to take occupancy of sound stage 18.
  4. The paw prints were for extended queuing, as well as directing you to the rides. Some areas there were stripes on each to make a somewhat strait line of people. I remember waiting for The Beast all the way out almost to the old salt water circus. By the time we got to Rivertown Pizza I was done with being in line since I was young at the time.
  5. Those areas under the loops are not concrete, they are crushed gravel, with a 6 foot high safety fence. They are required by OSHA in all areas where the ride operation is less than 10 feet. Firehawk has the same fence/gravel areas under its loop. It allows ride ops, landscaping and media to be inside the ride area with out being injured. The only way those gates should be opened is once the maintenance tech puts his own lockout on the ride. Never trust that someone else did. People have jumped those fences to get hats, phones and glasses. That's what killed a guy in Six Flags over Georgia. There will be a blacktop roadway under certain areas of the ride, for maintenance and rescue operations. The park is required to have a lift on property that can reach the highest point of the ride. Like the instance last month at Busch Gardens Tampa, where the ride stopped. Prior to park opening most times the local fire authority will require a safety training on the ride to become familiar with the ride for rescue. The pathway near Sling Shot needed to be replaced, it was beginning to fail due to the weight of the waste collection trucks driving over it nightly. The park has slowly been replacing all blacktop surfaces with concrete based hardscapes. Concrete is stronger, and does not reflect heat mass as much as blacktop. The colored blocks on the station appear to be steel architectural panels. You see them on most any new commercial construction.
  6. I have thought for a couple years that KI does need to pull back and re-engineer the Haunt event. Some haunts have great theming and design, but others look like they just threw stuff they found into it. Board to Death this last year was a HUGE improvement over Mysteria's morphsuit madness. Many of the haunts are long worn out. New ideas, new concepts need to be changed every 3-5 years at most. I really think they need a dedicated team away from shows that handle design and building. Shows can take over for staffing after the haunt is designed and storyboarded. They do need to cut down on the number of houses, 8-9 would be just about right. so those people could be used better in other haunts or scare zones. They also REALLY need to work on light control. That is the biggest thing to ruin a scare is if you can see them before they scare you. Wolfpack, Holiday Horrors, Corn Stalkers and Slaughter House all have areas where just a higher wall, stage scrim, or even black plastic could keep light from filling into the haunt. I also like how Carowinds team made most of their facades and pieces fork lift ready. They need a shop either on or off site that these can be created, without taxing out park carpenters or show techs. If they wanted to spend the cash instead of paying rent, they could even modify the Crypt building by building a shop mezzanine where they could build and age set pieces for Haunt or even just for a stage show. Then put in a false floor at queue level for the haunt attraction below. Then you don't have stairs or lifts to deal with. And a simple freight elevator to move things up and down. You could even use the queue level as storage until its time to build out, but then that building could be totally purposed.
  7. Baynum Painting of Newport, KY is painting The Bat. They have a long term relationship with KI. I have met several of them since their old shop was just down the street from my house in Covington. They almost exclusively paint steel coasters with PPG PSX700, currently are using it on The Bat and Knott's Silver Bullet. It does have a temp requirement it must be above freezing if they use the fast drying hardener, and stay above for the cure time of almost 24 hours. Also has a required humidity to be above 40%. They have been busy this winter, since they are known as the go to guys for coasters now. They have said but they are planning more projects for Cedar Point or Kings Island later this year. I would say maybe The Beast for its birthday, but it takes 3 months to paint that, but I wonder if they are allowed to paint the support structure while the ride is in operation?
  8. Good old Breckinridge Hall, practically lived there in my old EMB days, to have them of course re-build the whole thing after I left. The campus never looked the same after the 95 Tornado all those beautiful trees gone. I was just helping my kids with Algebra, they think they will never use it. But I thought the same when I just had a fancy graphing calculator.
  9. I was jazzed to hear her back to life. Sometimes its the little things that bring that "best day of summer"
  10. Sounds like they are taking the time and money to do things right. I am sure that splash pool probably didn't need new paint, but they are doing it. Heck look at Congo Falls, I don't think they even paint the bottom of it. They are showing its the little things that count. Yeah people will be mad that coasters are gone, but the parks not going to look run down like the last few years with Six.
  11. I would guess if CA/OSHA will not sign off on operations, and the ride has now been idle for almost 1 year, CF is looking at options and relocating is a viable option. The removal could happen after the holidays, and be installed at WOF before the season. CA/OSHA have been huge sticklers lately. They have Disney on fall protection upgrades EVERYWHERE. Roofs that are grandfathered are being changed to prevent falls. Rides like Indy went down mainly for evac path fall protection, but it did allow Imagineering time to upgrade lighting and effects at the same downtime.
  12. thedevariouseffect is right, unfortunately most on ride photos policy is to block any photo that is a violation. At Cedar Fair, they use PhotoguyS but when I was at Universal Orlando, we had Colorvision, and it was a constant battle to monitor those. Some places have ability to throw just a blank background image in the preview monitors, but if the operators do not know how, the easiest is to just dump the monitors. A 2nd issue comes up now with people trying to take photos of the photo, instead of purchasing it. Some put graphic overlays, some will just blank the monitors if they see a camera. I believe Disney is working on screen technology that prevents a photo of the screen.
  13. Wildwater Kingdom is next... Maybe SeaWorld Entertainment will buy it! Seems like seperate gates are going away, the One Park, One Price may come to CP and KBF.
  14. Now you have me wishing we could get a Transformers ride now... 2017! LOL never. I was on opening crew of Spiderman at IOA.. there was 100 Million in the development but apparently there are Chinese knockoffs now. Saw one on TPR
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