mplebanon

I heard they're thinking about tipping the Eiffel Tower over and retheming it "2012".

I hear they are going to tear down SOB and retheme to Snoopy. I also heard we might get a Ferris Wheel and a Screamin' Swing. Last time I was at BB, I heard "Boys of Summer" like 5 times by Don Henley. I think I "heard" it reading this board. LOL.

You may be right, but on YouTube, the poster states it's from 1972.

Here's a YouTube video showing alot of stuff some people may not have seen before in terms of rides.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Flight Deck removed in the next 5 seasons and a more thrilling ride installed. After all, it is the thrill part of the park down there.

Personally, I think you went a bit overboard filing a formal complaint. Making you new sandwiches would satisfy 99% of customers. It was an honest mistake.

I was really hoping Florence Henderson would show up and make out with Barry Williams.

As you said. I hope they don't forget to honor The Beast, amid all the hype about Diamondback. The Beast, still today, is one of the greatest rollercoasters of all time.

You can see the old Skyride at about the 2:30 mark of this video.

My kids were really upset when the flying eagles were removed. They loved that ride. Stupid stupid move by KI. Really dumb. Should have relocated them. Another idiotic move by KI management which continues to amaze me with their stupidity.

I agree with you, but after visiting Cedar Point this past week.........I would also love an upgrade of White Water Canyon. Thunder Canyon at CP has 4 waterfalls in it, but no geysers. WWC has the geysers, but no waterfalls. TC has better theming, but I still think WWC is better because it is longer and has the geysers, but could be awesome with some added waterfalls located where the boats would be forced into them by the flow of water. That would be my first suggestion. WWC is my favorite ride at KI. I love rollercoasters, but I love more the thought of getting on WWC with family and friends and watching people get soaked including myself. It truly is an adventure, especially when you get to the geysers/cannons and people are shooting at you. It's a total blast to see who gets the most soaked. At TC, I watched our entire boat, except my one daughter got spared, get soaked......different people on the boat got soaked by different waterfalls......it was a hoot. Floating down the river wondering which way the boat was going to turn and who was going to end up in the waterfalls made for some good excitement. Wish KI had them. But still love the cannons. Not sure where they would put a new water ride. I wish the waterpark had some "in the dark" slides like CP. Those were the best. You really are in pitch black darkness.

I have often thought of that idea. KI definitely needs some cross-park transportation to save people's legs. We rode the skyride at Cedar Point when we were leaving because our legs were tired and we wanted to rest our feet. Don't underestimate these old classic rides. They still have value.

Because relocating isnt free. It requires a considerable amount of work to disassamble a ride, ship and reassamble a ride at a new, prepped location. King Cobra was already in BAD shape. Why would another park want a 20 year old piece of crap. Dont get me wrong, I love King Cobra as much as the next guy, probably more, but I can understand the parks position. KCKC, come on really? Honestly, from the parks perspective, do we really need two 30+ year old log flumes right next to each other? Besides, when Tomb Raider opened, nobody had regrets about the removal of KCKC. Again, I love KCKC as much as the next guy and probably more, but it wasn't THAT great. The park is constantly trying to upgrade. Yea they want to hold onto some nostalgia but some things have to be cut, decisions have to be made. The park cant hold onto an old stinky water ride that you do NOT get wet on, for a select few that would rather have it than the current state of Tomb Raider. People only miss it because it's gone; what I mean is, if it was still here, people would not go around saying: Man I'm so glad the park still has this ride. People complain about rides like Top Gun, Adventure Express, etc. but as soon as the park replaces them, people will complain and say the park had no reason to do so. Fast Tracks? Seriously? People miss those? These slides burned the **** out of your back. I think the only reason the park kept them around so long is because occasionally a womans top would fly off. Antique cars- no comment... The park is constantly upgrading. The park is not trying to appeal to us individual enthusiasts. One day out of the year on KIC day the park is catering to us, ever other day of the year, they're trying to appeal to the average familys that dont even notice when a ride is replaced. Do you know how much more money the park makes off of those familys than the do off of you? I know how to save money at KI; honestly, I'm probably the last kind of guest KI wants because I rarely buy merchandise, rarely buy more than one or two slices of pizza, always get free water, never play games, and never pay to get in. Why in the hell would the park want to please me. The park wants familys of 4+ who buy 2 complete meals every time they go, everyone has to get a souviner, everyone plays games to get 10 cent plush toys, etc. etc. etc. The park makes more money off of one family of four in one visit than they do off of me in 10 visits. Honestly, why did they remove the antique cars? Because the average guest didn't even notice. And to boot, they dont even notice that half the effects dont work on IJ. All they see now is a flashy launching coaster that the kids that are too afraid to ride The Vortex are willing to ride. Why remove antique cars, because all they see is a big swinging thing, and a flashy Sling Shot ride. Why replace KCKC, because there is still a log flume next door, and when it works, the average guest enjoys tomb raider. Why replace fastracks, because now a family of 4 can race, have fun, and not burn up their backs. Lots of money is spent to please this demographic of patron. You think the park is having Robbie Kineval jump for amusement park enthusiasts? As though the park is expecting 70,000 Acers on May 24th? No way! The park wants to give average money spending familys a reason to come to the park and spend $$$. And if that means giving people hope to see robbie kineval get extremely hurt, so be it! My cousins/aunts/uncles come in from out of town about once a year and go to the park. For ~6-8 of them, with maybe a couple free tickets, and some to pay for, between admission, food, games, merch, etc., they spend $300-400 EASY, probably more. They come every year and barely even notice the changes. They NEVER complain about ride replacements. At most they say: "didnt the park have antique cars? Oh well, lets get in line for Italian Job." I havn't spent $400 at the park in the last 2 years, including employee meals! Steve, no offense but you work at the park, the park isn't making money off of you; why would they care about pleasing you. No ride replacement is ever a downgrade in the parks eyes. If it was then they wouldn't do it. You cant promote KCKC after 30 years but you can promote Tomb Raider; you cant promote fast tracks but you can promote collangata(?) racers; you cant promote King Cobra but you can promote the hell out of Delerium; you cant promote antique cars but you can promote the Italian Job; and that is what brings people to the park. Also with the rising price of gas, it probably would not have been long before the park replaced the antique cars anyway. The park does not remove/replace rides to spite patrons, they do it to please them. If you're not pleased, then honestly, you're probably not worth pleasing. Progress is progress. Out with the old, in with the new; it's the american way. Bottom line: To the average american guest, for the money they pay to enjoy the park, they want new flashy, swingy, launchy, top spinny, racing, rides, not old slow, rusty, stinky watery, gas guzzely, back burny, rides. I'm sorry to be so blunt, and I'm sorry if I offend anyone, I'm just trying to make a point. I understand your reasoning about KI catering to out of town tourists rather than season pass holders because the out of towners spend more money. But I disagree about the value of older rides. If it is purely about not being able to get parts, then I guess I understand.................but on a recent trip to Cedar Point, my pre-teenage daughters rode alot of the classic old rides because they were available. They even mentioned they wish KI had some of them. They even mentioned that they would rather ride "The Wildcat" than "The Beastie" and wished KI had one. My kids love Shake, Rattle, and Roll. They were really upset when the planes were taken out for the basketball challenge. They always ride the swings (is it called Der Dutchman?)......they love those. My point is..........don't discount those old classic rides. Some company should go in business and re-establish those rides and make parts for them. They could probably make a killing. For example, if some rollercoaster company came out with a new improved "Bavarian Beetle", maybe a little taller and more exciting, and contracted with some other company to continue making part for it, I think it would fly. Same with some of these other older rides. Go in business making classic rides instead of constantly coming up with new thrill rides. Not everyone likes thrill rides. Some people like classic rides. Just my $.02 cents.

I actually rode the Bavarian Beetle way back when. I guess I was thinking "The Mouse" from the Rollercoaster Tycoon game.

Outdated to me is when a thrill ride no longer provides a thrill. For instance, Screamin Demon was torn down because better rides were established that incorporated a loop in them. Why would someone want to ride something to just sent you back and forth through a loop after riding better rides? Cedar Point's "Corkscrew" has come up against the same problem. It just doesn't thrill anymore. When my kids get off a ride and say it was boring, I think the ride is no longer thrilling anyone. Same with "Mean Streak". On the flip side, some old rollercoasters still provide the thrill of "airtime" and "speed", such as "The Racer" or "The Blue Streak". I know it's subjective, but I think you can take a poll to determine how much a ride still thrills. For instance, "Disaster Transport" was still fun for me and my kids, even though it is probably not very innovative anymore. We still had fun because it was in the dark and curved around alot. Again, subjective, but I hope you get what I mean. Some rides can be old but still provide a thrill with hills and speed. Others had one or two innovative ideas about them that just don't cut it by comparison anymore, such as "The Corkscrew" or "Mean Streak". I guess I"m getting repetitious, but I don't know how to get my point across.

Absolutely impressed by your photos. Great job. Can't agree enough about Mean Streak. Boringest coaster I've ever ridden. Blue Streak was far better and half the size.

Keep in mind I had my 11 and 13 year old daughter's, therefore some of the extreme rides were out of the question, but the lines were long also. We got there and rode the Raptor first. Awesome ride. Beats anything KI has in that style of coaster. Very impressed. We rode Maverick next. Most intense and fun coaster I've ever ridden that didn't have a big hill involved. I can't explain it and I wasn't ready for what I experienced. I thought it was going to be more basic than it was, but it was awesome and creative. Waited for 1 hr to ride it and when we got off, the line had increased to about 2.5 hours. Worth the wait! My girls loved it! We rode Mean Streak next, large wooden rollercoaster that will bore you to tears. Not sure why Cedar Point keeps this coaster, but it is a snorer. It's slow as molasses and has not airtime whatsoever. Tear it down, please. Next we rode the Mine Ride (Adventure Express) and then Gemini (double steel coaster that looks like a wooden coaster). Gemini is fun and has two headchopper effects. Not great, but fun enough. At this point, my eggs from breakfast were coming back up (actually started after Maverick). But I'm a 43 year old guy with bad heartburn (I live on Zantac 150), so I'm entitled to feel crummy. My kids rode Magnum and loved it. I would have ridden but was sick. Wish I would have. They then rode Corkscrew and said it should be torn down for being outdated and boring. We rode Iron Dragon which is better themed and has more character than Top Gun, in my opinion. Quick line, too. We wanted to ride the Mantis, but the line was 1.5 hours. We wanted to ride Millenium Force but the line was 2 hours. Heard from a few riders that Millenium Force has a bug problem and you should keep your mouth shut when riding or you'll eat them. Apparently the park has no idea why it attracts bugs. That's what I was told, whether true or not. Kids were intimidated by Top Thrill Dragster........but still an event to watch. Nearly everyone stops to watch it go. We rode Disaster Transport, the in the dark coaster. Nothing special, but still kinda fun. Almost outdated. My 13 year old rode Demon Drop and got sick. Too funny. We were there 9 hours. Rode The Wildcat. My kids wish KI had one of these. They said it was a fun little ride for not being a big coaster. I always wish KI would bring one back. I think they used to have one called the Mouse. We finished up on Thunder Canyon. Better themed than White Water Canyon, but TC has not geysers, which stunk. But they do have 4 waterfalls, which made it VERY INTERESTING. I got soaked by one of them. If TC had geysers, it would be better than WWC. If WWC had 3 or 4 waterfalls, it would be the best. I like features on both of them. I would give Cedar Point an "A" and give KI a "D" if grading. Cedar Point has that throwback feel of old time parks mixed with all the new stuff. The theming is far better and it has alot more character. Going to Cedar Point only made me disappointed in what we have here in Cincinnati. We hit Soak City too. Overall, I liked their slides better, but KI's waterpark (can't think of the name) does have the funnel, surfboarding, and a much bigger waver pool. I would give the edge to Soak City on slides, especially the "in the dark" slides. But overall, KI's waterpark has more diversity to offer in types of water rides. Also, if you have kids, we stayed at Castaway Bay, an indoor waterpark resort (associated with Cedar Point). My kids had a blast. I highly recommend it. And on our way home, we stopped by an African Safari in Port Clinton (between Sandusky and Toledo). It was pretty cool. You drove through it and got to feed everything from Deer and Antelope, to Moose's, Buffalo, Giraffes, and Zebras.........Alpaca's, Llama's, etc. Fun for the kids. I gotta go clean my car. The animals actually stick their heads in your vehicle. That's my report.

I was at KI the day King Cobra partially derailed. I don't remember there being serious injuries, and certainly not a death. Strangely enough, I was also there the night the 2 people died in separate instances on Flight Commander and in the pond behind the Shrimp Shack. Strang that I was there on these several days. I was also in line for The Bat once (next to get on) when the train pulled out of the station started up the hill, and came rolling back down quickly. The emergency brakes caught it at the bottom, but alot of people got whiplash and some other minor injuries. Needless to say, I got out of line and didn't wait around to see if they were going to continue. LOL. I guess I'm bad luck.

That's it! They are going to splash people with oil!

If I have to listen to that repeated track of music over and over, I will not be going back to the waterpark anytime soon. Ridiculous. I think I could almost name every song because I heard them all like 3 times. Michelle Branch/Santana (not sure of song) Summer of '69 Hot Fun in the Summertime The Girls on the Beach The Heat is On Boys of Summer and I could go on and on and on........... Play some different music......PLEASE!

Anyone notice how slow the dodgem' cars are this year? Did someone get hurt and they slowed them down? Also, I could barely get my head and shoulder through the strap. The strap had my arm pulled back so far I had to drive one handed. I was disappointed.

Well here's my take. As a 42 year old father of 2 girls, ages 10 and 12, who have ridden pretty much every extreme ride in the park including Drop Zone and Firehawk..........and who've also attended FF the past 3 seasons.............we will not be purchasing any additional charges for waterparks, FF, or whatever. It's getting ridiculous with the price of food. We used to spend alot of money on food, but this year we told our girls that we'll have one meal, preferably a LaRosa's pizza and that's it. We now make them drink from drinking fountains if they get thirsty and avoid all the little extra snacks and things. I have always felt that if the games were more reasonably priced, we would play more. Heck, to pay 5 bucks for 2 tries at a game is just plain stupid business. If they were $1 a try, you'd probably get addicted and spend more.

If KI did make you pay separately for Boomerang Bay, I will say right now that me and my kids would buy a Beach pass over a Boomerang pass.

I'm a 42 year old dad who wishes they'd bring back some of the original rides like The Mouse, The Rotor, The Bayern Curve and a few other rides. I think what the park is missing is more rides in general. They concentrate so much on roller coasters (which I love), that sometimes you wish there were just some simple basic flat rides to hop on from time to time. My kids loved the plane ride they tore out to install the three point shooting game.........and there have been other rides that get nixed here and there from time to time. As for new rides, I wish there were a way to spice up WhiteWater Canyon. It's my favorite ride in terms of family fun. They installed new cannons, but you still really can hardly hit anyone with them. Who decides these things?