glennpc

I remember riding The Beast during it's first season in the park - 1979. I was 16 that summer. One cool feature was that the pond extended around the mouth of the tunnel at the bottom of the first drop. From a distance, the train appeared to dive into the pond. Seeing the water coming up at you from the front car of the train was quite a rush, too. I think someone said one reason they drained the pond was because it was stagnant and got nasty in hot weather. While that was true, I think it was also because they discovered that wooden structures and standing water don't mix.

Park web-cams wouldn't be able to help me decide whether or not to visit. I live two hours away, so I leave home before the park opens. The weather can also change quite a bit in the two hours I'm on the road. I have to rely on weather service predictions for the day. For people who live closer and have a season pass they already have your money... Once you're in the park, if you have a smart phone with web access then multiple web-cam views could help you decide which ride to go for next.

I think International Street as one of the views would be cool...

I wonder if the web-cam could be moved to a slightly different position on the tower so that it has a clear view of more of the park?

The Diamondback web-cam currently cycles through at least half-a-dozen different angles - all of DB. Now that the new ride excitement of DB's inaugural season is over, (the DB blog hasn't been updated in five months), I'd like to see something different. I think they should keep the wide shot of DB, (pictured below), and re-align the rest of the angles to point at different areas of the park. What does everyone else think? What would you like to see on the web-cam? . .

This photo is from the Diamondback web-cam on May 3, 2010. In the lower left corner there appears to be several new pairs of concrete footers that weren't there last fall. Does anybody know what they are going to be used for? . .

[sarcasm mode on] How about naming the new coaster... "Son of Beast's Revenge" [sarcasm mode off]

I haven't been to the park yet this year, but in the past I've learned that a major factor in how crowded it will be is the weather. It's almost always less crowded Monday thru Thursday, and if there has been rain/storms in the days leading up to your visit and a chance of rain on the day you are going then that seems to keep the crowds down. A few years ago we went on a Thursday in June were there had been scattered thunderstorms all week. It was so un-crowded that we didn't have to wait for any of the coasters - even The Beast or Flight of Fear. -Glenn

I never said The Beast wasn't exhilirating. It's been my all time favorite coaster ever since the first time I rode it in the summer of 1979. But it is one violent ride. (It's supposed to be - it's The Beast.) The way the cars jump and hop around like they're about to fly off the tracks and the way it throws you around - that's what gets the adrenaline going and makes it so thrilling. Darn right it's a classic woody! I just remember SoB being a little bit smoother. I assumed it was because it was newer and hadn't "aged" as much as The Beast. I guess I just have weird perceptions when it comes to coasters.

I've seen a lot of comments about how uncomfortable the ride was on SoB, but I don't remember it that way. I wonder how much the structure shifted after the last time I rode it in June 2004. (SoB was closed for repairs the day I was there in 2005, and in 2006 I was there after the accident.) To me, SoB was much less violent that The Beast.

6 total years, with probably only 4 years that the ride was actually running makes a tradition? Sorry, I didn't mean to start a controversy. I was just whining about SoB. I agree that it would be a huge mistake to stop the fireworks, and I don't believe CF will pull the plug on them. I saw the loop as a "tradition" in the sense that it was the feature that made SoB world famous. It was even mentioned on an episode of CSI, one of the most popular shows on television right now. The "tallest" and "fastest" records are fleeting, but who would ever have the stones to try and beat the loop? I think SoB is a great coaster, but without the loop it has nothing to set it above all the other big wooden coasters around the country.

Then and now - on the observation deck of the tower. Best place in the park to watch them from. We go up about 20 minutes before they start so we can get a spot right up against the cage with no one in front of us. My most memorable time was June 16, 2004. It was still early in the season, it was a weekday, (Wednesday), and there had been scattered thunderstorms in the area all week so attendance was light. As it got dark we could see very frequent flashes of lightning lighting up the clouds to the east of the park. The storm was far enough away that they didn't close the tower and you couldn't hear any thunder. We watched the fireworks from the tower against a surreal backdrop of silent lightning. I count it on the short list of the most awesome things I have ever seen.

So was the loop on SoB...

I'm gonna show my ignorance with this question... Is the parking lot considered part of the 364 acres that is developed? If not, then there's very little land left, because the parking lot has gotta be almost as big as the park itself. Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere in one of KI's history timelines that they originally started out with something like 1500 acres, and then sold off about half of it just a few years after the park openned. Does anyone know if that's true? If it is, where was that land in relationship to the current park boundaries?

You're absolutely right. But once KI openned... BTW... The old log flume ride from Coney, (which now has a Nick theme), is actually one of my girlfriend and my favorite rides. And we're both 44. Is it actually official that X-Flight is coming to KI? Even though the idea of hand-me-downs makes me nervous, the way so many here are excited about it, I will definitely be in line to give X-Flight a try.

I definitely agree. I just hope KI doesn't end up being treated like CP's little brother - always being made to walk one step behind, (so to speak).

Thank you for the encouragement. I guess I'll downgrade my "skeptical" to "nervous." I know Cedar Fair is a great company, and I'm sure they wouldn't have purchased the five Paramont parks if they didn't believe it could take them to the next level of world class entertainment. I'm just nervous about how KI's proximity to CP might affect their decision making when it comes to adding new attractions to the park. I say that because I live in central Ohio, roughly half way between KI and CP. I know a lot of people who decide which park to go to each summer based on which one just put in a major new attraction. Last year many of them went to KI because of IJST. Next year it will be CP because of Maverick. If CFE keeps it going back and forth like that, then KI should do just fine. I just wish they had given Winterfest one more chance. If anything can be considered an event for the whole family Winterfest is it. I know they more or less fell on their face last year, but look how it got people interested in alternate forms of Christmas entertainment. Even The Beach got over a 50% increase in attendance for their Christmas event. Since they hadn't done Winterfest for 13 years it was basically a new event, and many new events have problems their first time or two. If they could have examined their mistakes and made the appropriate changes then I think they could have turned it around this year.

Hi guys. I joined a few months ago, but this is the first time I've gotten up the courage to actually post a reply. I have a few thoughts on this subject. Please keep in mind that I honestly don't intend to offend anyone, so please don't flame me if you don't like my views. If Maverick cost $21 million, then how much of a thrill ride could you possibly get for $10 million? Now here's where I may offend some of you... I've been reading the posts from everyone excited about X-Flight allegedly being moved to Kings Island and, quite frankly, the thought of it gives me a pit in the bottom of my stomach. It scares the heck out of me. Why? Because never in its history has KI taken in a second hand ride from another park. I'm sure X-Flight is a great ride, but once KI starts down the road of taking had-me-downs instead of inovating new rides then... I don't even want to think about the consequences to the future of the park. You see, the thing that's got me scared is that I'm still skeptical about CFE ownership really being a good thing for Kings Island. The reason is KI's proximity to Cedar Point. CP is, after all, the jewel in the CFE crown. The other four Paramont parks CFE bought are far enough away that they don't directly compete with CP. But KI is close enough that they have always been in competition for attendance and those coveted Golden Ticket awards. From a marketing standpoint, I really don't believe CFE will ever put anything in at KI that could draw attention away from CP. I'm sure they will keep KI clean and well maintained. They will periodically put in new flat rides and even minor thrill rides on the scale of IJST. They may even revamp sections of the park like Paramont did with Nick Universe. But I don't believe you'll ever see another mega-coaster, (on the scale of Beast, SoB or Vortex), as long as CFE owns the park. I'm already wondering if cancelling Winterfest and the removal of the loop on SoB is just the beginning...