OhioChris

A photo of the area...

I realize I'm gonna be way off topic, but I first read this thread while at work and therefore couldn't get to my pictures on my laptop at home, lol. All the talk of the Timberwolf Amphitheater reminded me I had a couple old photos my dad took back in 1982, when the Beach Boys were there in concert. The most memorable part of that particular trip (besides being able to hear the Beach Boys from International Street)? The group of 3 or 4 guys in line ahead of us for The Beast with about 3 buckets each attached to their belts. These buckets were from the Bucket o' Beer you could purchase once upon a time in Kings Island. You got a metal bucket filled with beer. I would guess they were between 16 and 24 ounces maybe, I was 10 at the time so my ability to guess liquid volume was not well developed and memories tend to be distorted. Anyway, these guys were definitely showing signs of drinking 3 Buckets o' Beer each and singing Barbara Ann at the tops of their lungs while in line for The Beast. Quite entertaining, we were all having a good laugh. So I mentioned pictures, didn't I? Below is a picture, taken from the Eiffel Tower, of Timberwolf, full to bursting with Beach Boys fans. Note the Festhaus, under construction at the time, and the top of the Viking Fury, brand new that year (oh, the chants of "Less filling!" versus "Tastes Great!" lol). You can also see the (Screamin') Demon and the monorail. Below it is a picture taken opening day this year, so you can see how much that area changed in 30 years. (In my opinion way too much cement there now.) Enjoy! 1982 2012

None scare me, either, but they are a lot of fun. ToT was one of the best, I really enjoyed it. I think Tombstone Terrortory was much better when it was based on the headless horseman, but that's just my humble opinion. The first year my oldest went to Halloween Haunt (then, FearFest) we did Headless Hollow, and it was a very chilly night. The fog was so thick back on the WWC paths that you literally could not see your hand in front of your face. Awesome. A quick rundown on my take of the mazes: (I won't try to rate the scare factor because to me they all have zero scare factor, lol) CarnEvil: Love the blacklight effects, and clowns can be creepy as he||. Club Blood: Despite the scantily-clad girls, an extremely annoying maze. Probably because I was never into the "club scene." Cornstalkers: This once-a-scarezone has had several locations, with Tower Gardens its home for the past few years. The many tombstones allow for plenty of hiding places for scarers. (Side note: my best experience in this one was the 19-20 year old boy who was dressed like a thug screaming at everything and hiding behind his girlfriend, lol) Cut Throat Cove: I love pirates, so this is one I enjoy each year. One of the least "scary" in my opinion. Holiday Horror: I LOVED the small scarezone this started as in Coney Maul, the full maze is kinda fun, with the Easter bunny being my favorite part. Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror: Brand new, will probably be the first one I hit this year to see how they utilized the Crypt's former home. Massacre Manor: Meh. Mysteria: The closest thing to my all-time favorite maze, the long-gone Hysteria. I love the strobes, chain link, plastic sheeting, and fog. Love the feeling of a mental institution taken over by the patients... Slaughter House: Gore is not scary. But if you love gore, you'll love this. Tombstone Terrortory: See above. One of the more fun mazes, though. Urgent Scare: it was a decent enough maze, nothing to scream home about. And finally, Wolf Pack: I liked the various wolves, and using the SoB station made it kinda fun. Yeah, so that's my take. Agree or disagree, we all have our opinions, lol. My advice? Just go, and HAVE FUN! Oh, and try to have at least one person who gets scared easily. Tell some of the people in costume the easily-scared person's name and the haunt members will freak them out by calling them by name, lol.

Bring back KCKC! lol

No. It was to be removed. Loud public outcry transferred that fate to KCKC instead. Terp, I may be wrong, but wasn't it closed for its transformation to Wild Thornberry's River Adventure? I remember it being closed, but never thought it was supposed to be permanent... KCKC was removed specifically for Lara Cro... I mean The Cry... I mean that big empty box. :-) --Chris, who isn't 100% sure...

Quick note: I can almost guarantee Ouimet did not take the reins less than a year ago and say, "I want a coaster for next year!" Coaster planning takes TIME. Also, Kinzel stated before he left there would be big news for 2013. So no, Ouimet is not starting the "coaster wars" back up, nor is he straying one bit from HIS vision of being more family friendly. This is most definetly the old regime's handiwork. Just sayin' I personally enjoyed both DT and SS, but honestly, love the sound of opening up the view of the lake and the new coaster flying over the entrance. I think it'll be a fun addition. I wouldn't be surprised to see more family-friendly additions in future years to make up for the loss of WC, DT and SS. Only time will tell...

I'm going to sound like a grumpy old man for this, lol. I, being a father with kids who at one time or another were a little freaked out to try a new ride, really really dislike childish people who do this. You have no idea the amount of coaxing and reassuring it sometimes takes to get a youngster onto a ride (especially a dark ride) just to have all that calm, hard work completely undone because some idiot the next car back decides to "be funny" and scream like hell. Luckily, my youngest isn't afraid of anything, lol. Oh, and yeah, I was one of those stupid, inconsiderate kids that did that before, so I understand why people think it's funny, but it's extremely inconsiderate to other guests with small children on the ride. Time and children really do change a person. If I could, I'd go back and punch myself in the mouth for doing it, lol.

We went opening day, and I felt the same intangible change in the atmosphere in the park. From the guy in the Ticket Information booth who was able to solve my season pass problem quickly and with a smile, to the front gate associates who were smiling, laughing, and giving my 3-year-old daughter high-fives. Even saw some officials at the front gate and they were very friendly and helpful. All employees we ran across were smiling, in great spirits and the nasty cold weather didn't seem to dampen a single person's spirits. We ate in Festhaus, got got a Gold Pass pizza deal, watched the first performance of British Invasion, which went so well you'd never have known it was their very first performance in front of a crowd. We passed by Hank's to poke our head in to see what it was, I commented it was like Chipotle's and a pair of officials (whom I did not see at first) just inside the door said, "Exactly, same concept!" We then talked to them a few moments, they asked if we wanted to eat, we declined since we had just eaten. They encouraged us to come back. I haven't yet had a ride on The Beast, but reading all the comments so far, I cannot wait to hop on it! I knew when CF bought the parks things would improve, but it really took fresh blood at the top to get things really moving. I am thrilled to have Mr. Ouimet at the head of our family, and hope things stay this good or get even better!

I love that they are getting much more involved with their fans. Chances are enthusiasts are most likely to follow them, and they are probably aware of this. So in my opinion they are kind of giving us a little nod, saying, "We know you're out there, and we appreciate you, so here's some information you might like that the general public won't always find out about as quickly." Maybe I am WAY off on this, but to me this is what it kinda feels like. I realize anyone can follow them (and I bet Facebook is where the most non-enthusiasts follow them), but I still feel it's probably us KI junkies that follow them the most. I follow Greg, Don and the Facebook page. Don't wanna miss out on anything exciting! lol

That barrel roll (or corkscrew, whichever you want to call it) looks intense! Would be fun, if they could do it safely. And the full-size tester was just like The Bat, the track is not banked in the turns, so that must have been an early prototype. The lack of track banking is what caused all the wear and tear on the ride, but I heard the turns were wild because the cars would swing so much. I wish I hadn't been such a chicken as a kid and had gotten on The Bat! LOL EDIT: Duh me! The video even says it is a prototype. I'm really with it today, lol.

I have to say, the area in front of the gates does look much more appealing without those ugly metal detectors. And, though this is usually a minor inconvenience, I loved not beeing restricted to exiting to one side or one narrow spot in middle of the detectors, lol. OhioChris - who doesn't like to take more steps than necessary,

Looks good! But look to the left. Nickelodeon and Scooby? Hmmmmm.... https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150970649838368&set=a.226729858367.174830.155893938367&type=1&theater

I've had passes for the past 6 or 7 seasons, and I also live about an hour and a half away. This summer I'll be taking my younger son (11) and my little girl (3), though plan to go a day or two for just me, lol. Middle of the week (Tues, Weds, Thurs) are usualy slowest times since familes tend to take vacation days on Mondays and Fridays in order to just have a long weekend. Best time to hit the big rides? Usually around lunch and dinner times, since people stop to eat around those times. I hope to meet some KIC folks this summer!

That probably was The Bat

I've been each opening day for the past 4 or 5 years. It's usually crowded, unless the weather is truly nasty. Lines in genral are ok, the more popular rides being longer. I personally love the idea of ERT in Planet Snoopy since my 3-year-old is already a KI enthusiast. Maybe this year we can ride Woodstock's Whirlybirds, lol. Last year every time we tried to ride it the line was too long (but almost ANY line is too long for a 2-year-old) so maybe if we can grab the ERT on it, she can finally ride it. So I'll be in PS most of the day opening day, stop by and say, "Hi!" LOL

My daughter turned 3 in February. I already got her a pass because she might pass for two, but it'd be pushing it. I was really hoping to squeeze one more year in free for her, lol. But she'll break the 40-inch mark soon, so I don't mind too much getting her a pass, since she'll be able to ride some more rides. :-)

TTD-120-240 and Diamondbacker - I am glad to hear there are some teens out there that care about being respectful. If only more were like you two! Oldiesman - those frivolous lawsuits really "grind my gears", so to speak. If I were the judge sitting on one of those, I'd say, "I'm sorry you're too stupid to watch out for yourself, but that doesn't mean (insert company here) should pay you anything at all for you getting injured while you were blatantly being an idiot." LOL (I know it's not that simple, but this is a fantasy here) Medford and thatbandguy - I'll start training her today! lol... Also, I cannot wait to see her face on Viking Fury. One of her favorite things is to have her older cousins swing her around and toss her into the air, so she should love the airtime.

Agreed! Blah! (I would have simply "liked" your post, but alas, I have reached my limit today. I shall have to remember I am only able to like a few things a day. This will make work and my classes go so much easier...)

standbyme - Great post! I have apparently I have "...reached (my) quota of positive votes for the day." Otherwise, I'd have "liked" it, and Terp's post, too! The train deserves much more respect than it gets. I remember riding it as a kid and I do remember the Indians, the canon fire and splashes, and the village in much better repair than now. Even an animatronic beaver felling a fake tree! I think since the Paddlewheel Excursions are gone from the park up north, maybe they could bring some of the theming here. I wouldn't mind if our train ride turned into the tongue-in-cheek, bad-joke-fest the Paddlewheels were. At least it would be something! :-)

People used to actually care about other people's property and wouldn't destroy it. I don't know what's happened, but I was raised to repect the property of others. This is especially true of public places, like Kings Island. I don't carve my name into anything, I leave the scenery alone, and I use the trash cans. I am also raising my kids to respect the property of others. It's something more parents should do...

I agree, Terp! Believe me, if I could slow down my little girl's growing up, I would! She's 3, and pushing 40 inches tall. She is so excited to go to Kings Island! We will be there opening day. I'd love to be able to slow down time while we're there so I could watch her enjoy herself for even longer. I prefer the slow lane.. you can enjoy life more in it.

I'm not sure if I've posted anything in this thread, but wanted to say thank you for all the great pics! I've been enjoying them a great deal. :-)

Yes, they are. I work in the library at the college I attend. People will walk up to the circulation desk (where I sit) and ask me if we have a copy machine. I point out they walked right by it on their way to ask me and then they'll walk to it, look at it for about half a second, and ask, "How do you use it?" Really? You've never seen a copier before? If people are so lazy as to not even TRY to work a copier, they certainly are lazy enough not to do about 30 seconds worth of web research, lol.

Got them! Now I need a ViewMaster, lol...

What I don't understand is if they want to sell the passholders of the Beach on the all-new Soak City, why not give them a free day when Soak City will actually be open? The passholders have 2 days to use the pass with Soak City Open... I understand they are likely trying to (a) bring in guests during a slower time to boost attendance and ( really hoping to get some converts and sell a bunch more season passes, but give them more time to try out the waterpark...