BoddaH1994

The latest episode features a frank discussion with Taylor Bybee of Coaster Studios. We walk about his career as a coaster YouTuber and what it took to get there. https://linktr.ee/attractions_group

That Skylab one tho….

Also, there was some restructuring and some people who leaned too heavily on BAF deals (in my opinion) are now gone. Also also, the demand has never been higher, so BAF wasn’t terribly necessary.

To be fair, I feel like your implication is that the issues listed had something to do with incompetence or malfeasance (although I do not know if that’s your intention, but it reads that way.) That’s likely not the case. Look at the holistic situation: you had the relatively small decor team trying to simultaneously take down 50th stuff, plus do the massive feats of setting up Haunt and Tricks and Treats. I can tell you that these people work long, hard hours to get the changeover done. They do a great job. Some things are out of the control of the park. For example, I remember someone having to rush two flame heads up to the park from the Reds smoke stacks (yes - that’s what those are) because there are only so many to go around. They barely got it installed in time for the opening ceremony. If they hadn’t, it would have been an understandable situation but the park may have looked unprepared if two of the totems didn’t work. Plus, there’s third party stuff. Ever wonder why the 50th cartouche is still on the tower during Haunt? Doesn’t that look out of place? The company hired to take it down couldn’t make it out in time for opening day of Haunt. Is that the park’s fault? Does that make the park unprepared? What about the labor? No one wants to work. It’s hard enough to get and maintain Haunt actors, how is this year any different, if not far far worse? On a side note, anyone who thinks that Haunt’s budget was slashed (no pun intended) from last year is out of their minds. Have you not seen the two new shows? Love them or hate them, they’ve spent more on shows this year than they have in a while. The cost of those is far more than any maze. Also, I’m going to go out on a limb and say I’m glad a lot of the fog is gone. How did we have it as long as we did with the crowds… and types of crowds that Haunt attracts. A lot of the set pieces and scenery for Haunt is really creative and cool. You can’t see it with the fog. I know I’m probably unique in that though, but that’s okay.

Never tried the cupcakes. The Bundt cakes were excellent. The cookies are always great. The brownies always looked great but were dry. May have been the same problem. That wasn’t mine. That was my friend’s. He said he liked it, and he finished the drink, but didn’t exactly rave about it all night. I think he said it had the candy corn syrup in it. I suppose whether you’d like it or not really hinges on how you feel about candy corn.

Some of the “treats” variety. The Bundt cakes with the worms and graves are my new favorite Sweet Spot items of all time.

I’m going to go against the grain a bit. I think Haunt, as an overall product, is very good this year. I think the things they do have are good; however, I do agree that in a perfect world there would be more of it. There is a fine line between decorating the park for Haunt and throwing a bunch of trash in the park and calling it Haunt decor. It was trashy for from Haunt’s inception up into 2012ish. Around then they cut it down way too far. Now I think they hit a good balance. Kings Island’s decor team really is exceptional. Hotel St. Michelle was something I have been really excited about. I went there first on Friday. The outside looked really cool! The inside? Not so much. They had the house lights on, so you could see the ceiling clearly. It really ruined the illusion of the hallway scene especially. I did it again later that night. There were more actors, but the lights were still on. Finally, I did it Saturday night and there were actors and the lights were off. I really enjoyed it! I loved how each of the hotel rooms had a “tragedy.” I guess my main critique is that the maze just abruptly ends. It needs some sort of “wow moment” to round out the maze, if I still think it was a very worthy replacement to Urgent Scare. I’m going to hold off on my review of Terror Rising. I understand there are elements of the show that are not yet completed. What I did see, from afar, was good. I liked how there were dancers and a band rather than the “beat on stuff” show that we’ve had for over a decade. Nyte Walkers was interesting. Ever since Hot Blooded and Dead Awakening, there have been some hard shoes to fill. Skeleton Crew and Haunted Homecoming, in my opinion, failed to fill those shoes. This one is different. It has stunts, but doesn’t lean on them too much, it has dancing, but it doesn’t go too long. It tells a story, which I think is very important for Haunt shows. Some of the music is questionable, to say the least, but I feel like the energy is incredible in the show. I feel like the show needs more of a book end to the story. I also feel like, while the ending is cool, it needs more of a climax. Regardless, I feel like this show is the first show that’s been a worthy replacement for the two aforementioned shows.

Not to play Devil’s Advocate, but wouldn’t a “no bag” policy be less confusing than the current policy? A girl ahead of me had one of those tiny Fanny packs and it was too big. She used it for her phone clearly. When security turned her away she went from laughing thinking that they were joking to a straight face of absolute disbelief.

Where was Blue Ash Chili? That’s news to me!

Congrats to everyone involved! https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2021/september/kings-island-voted-top-halloween-theme-park-event-in-national-poll

Not exactly. Riptide Racer is about 300’ south of Snake River. The tower for Snake River is still there. The new owner wanted to turn that into a bird watching tower for some reason.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/winterfest/tickets I think the funniest thing is that Mrs Claus’ Cookie Decorating is $22.99 now. I think it was $12 the first year. Don’t get me wrong, between the size of the cookings, the decorations, the actors, the experience, etc, I think $22.99 is a very fair price. It just shows that they didn’t know what they had at the time. If you haven’t done this yet, it’s really fun! Igloos are on sale, including New Years Eve. If you want to do that, buy it now. That’s the first night to sell out. No word on a Winterfest buffet. That may come with the announcement, plus presale is a “sometimes” thing with the IR. Also, no word on the NYE event in the IR. If they do it this year, I recommend it. It’s a bit pricy, but it’s one of my favorite events of the year.

None of the slides will be sold off. The only one that's not far beyond end-of-life is that horrible Arihant racing slide that they added in 2015. That will likely be moved to a different property. Everything else is 35 years old and hasn't been earnestly maintained the past three years. There may be some pumps and office equipment and maybe some landscaping stuff that could be salvaged. Snake River Falls was legit. You probably thought it was a dream because it was a live version of a fever dream. Hinkel Schueller created the slide and added onto it regularly. It was part water slide, part lazy river, and part rapids ride. It was closed in 2009 because for "rehab" aka it was leaking water like a sift. They planned to rehab it, but then went bankrupt. It was SBNO for several years and was ultimately turn out in late 2015. As a reminder, The Beach still has employees who are there every day. They also have a robust camera system. Mason PD has standing instructions to arrest trespassers, which happens often. Trust me, you'll want to remember it the way it was rather than the way it is.

He’s making bold claims. Remember that Adventure Holdings still has a 99 year lease on the property. I’m sure there is an option to buy out the lease, but he hasn’t. Last time I spoke with the owner of The Beach was about a year ago and he was 100% confident that he was going to reopen it. Don’t get me wrong, the chances, even then, were unlikely, but it goes to show that he’s not specifically looking to get rid of the property. I don’t want to give anyone false hope. I don’t think it will reopen. But Madden essentially bought an apartment complex and is talking about tearing it down, but has a tenant with a 99 year lease who is not looking to move. Of course, every man has his price.

There is more to this story. Pat Madden owns the property now. Adventure Holdings still owns the business. They still pay for the lease. Whether or not it reopens may or may not be a decision that has the new owner’s involvement. The future of The Beach, as a water park, is likely grim, but this article is likely not exposing the final nail in the coffin. It is worth noting that Mr Madden has bought several properties down Waterpaek Dr in Mason.

I didn’t want to start a new thread because I thought it might lead to confusion, but I want to share something that’s semi-related to this. I got a new phone over the weekend, so often apps think they’re opening for the first time. When I opened the KI app, one of the banner ads was, “save time and order online.” I clicked on it and it just had a static screen saying the next pickup time was at 3:45 at Hank’s. I couldn’t click off of the screen, so I had to force close the app. Once I reopened it, all indications were gone. I do not believe that this is an indication that mobile ordering is coming soon. Probably just a place holder. Obviously many other parks have been able to successfully implement it, including within the family, but KI has yet to give it an old college try.

It’s is more expensive, but there were also some logistical reasons why some of the floats were built the way they were. Kern sold those chassis to Cedar Fair, as they were earmarked for a different project. They probably just got what they had.

It has a driver in the cake.

1. That was a park decision that he had nothing to do with 2. If you have questions, please direct them at the twitter @attractions_grp

Tweet us with any questions @attractions_grp

That float was the “Grand Marshal” of Mason’s Heritage Day parade this weekend. I

“But they’re going to open it next year.” -Everyone (‘92-‘22)

…after raising the price.

So so so well-deserved this year!!!!!

Ever wonder what goes into a ride announcement? Listen here —> https://bit.ly/3BrT8V5