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RWildman424

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Everything posted by RWildman424

  1. Thanks for the reply. That really sucks for all of us that were enjoying the mystery. Hopefully the thread is just getting cleaned up a bit and will be back up with relevant info only.
  2. I haven't posted in probably 2 or 3 years, but I can't let this one go. If they truly were stacking all 3 trains every single cycle. That is roughly 24 trains per hour. Assuming the station to brakes is 2.5 minutes. 60 minutes divided by 2.5 per train is 24 trains. 24 trains times 32 riders is 768 rph. That's just embarrassing. Back in 2009 and 2010, if we weren't hitting a minimum of 1,000 rph, we heard about it. 1,200 was my personal minimum before I started getting upset. If you are complaining about 1 train in the station and 1 in the waiting brakes, then that's almost an inevitability. Even during power hours where we would get close to 50 trains per hour, that second train would stack occasionally. All this being said, I've only been to the park twice this year. I personally didn't notice it being ridiculously slow. I feel no need to place any blame on the ride ops. I know what it's like. Especially on weekends. I have seen a lack of hustle on some rides, but they aren't gonna be running power hours all day everyday. It can be exhausting and if not done properly can be extremely unsafe. There's my 2 cents. Now back to the land of lurking.
  3. If you look right outside Drop Tower, you might find an associate you recognize. The faces are all blurred, but I'm there. I'm glad you posted this. I stopped checking for updates since its been over a year since these photos were taken.
  4. What's the point in having a lift when handicapped people use the exit just like every other ride in the park? Always wondered that one. It's been there since before I can remember.
  5. Isn't it the same camera that was used for DB? Maybe that particular camera is allergic to testing...
  6. It might not take long, but I assume testing does take time, and say they do get the seats installed and on within 30 minutes tomorrow, I still dont believe they can just fire her up and start testing. I think were going to have to hold off to ride WindSeeker. The only thing that has me guessing is why the park hasn't announced whether it will be closed or open Saturday, baffles me. As for the Media Day speculations, I was listening to an old In The Loop Podcast last night at work and I was listening to one live from the Skyhawk media day at CP. I believe that if Skyhawk got a media day for CP, then WindSeeker should get one for Kings Island, being a first of it's kind attraction and seeing as it is giant on a swing scale. Just curious, why not? When the contractor signs off on the ride being completed, what else is there to do other than just fire her up?
  7. Interesting. I guess we shall just wait and see what part of the ride he was talking about and what part of SSS he was talking about. (Its only 4 more days) I actually hope the tower gets the LED flood lights like the back side of the Eiffel Tower. (which was added for SSS) That combined with the flashy ride carriage would be amazing. If the tower was covered in twinkling lights, that may be a little too much IMO.
  8. If they use the same LED's as used on the Eiffel Tower, the white WindSeeker will look absolutely beautiful. I think I remember seeing the steel assembly for those lights laying on the ground a week or so ago. I had no idea what they were then, but now it all makes sense!
  9. I can't wait to see this thing in person spinning around 301' in the air. I wonder if there will also be lights on the tower itself? That would make it twice as mind blowing!
  10. The lights are being tested on the webcam. Its bright!!! This thing is gonna be amazing!!! It has lot of patterns and thats on a webcam that updates every 30 seconds. I can't wait to see this thing at night!!
  11. I didn't read the caption on it. I just assumed it was another random cloths store in an amusement park. That could be interesting. I wonder how much it will be per game.
  12. There are some amazing pictures here. You may have to get through all the dino pics to get to the WindSeeker pics, but they are awesome.
  13. If you are able to get to the park sometime this week to process your pass, that would be your best bet. Processing lines are horrible opening day. I would imagine the pass processing place will be open early, but I don't know that for a fact. I would call the park for a definitive answer. EDIT: You get your picture taken during processing and your physical pass. You can't do it online.
  14. ^^Why are you so obssesed with whats wrong with the construction? Just because nothing is happening on the webcam doesn't mean something is wrong or they messed something up. They are probably running the last electric wires through the ride. Once that is done they will throw on the last few seats and test the thing. I don't see why everyone is assuming they are so far behind. I would be surprised if its not open on Saturday barring some major problem found in testing.
  15. It looks to me like they are running the wiring for the seats. I assume the seats will be computer controlled to lock and unlock in between cycles. Possibly some lighting under the seats?
  16. I think they are moving along just fine. You have to remember that there is a lot of electrical work involved with any ride. I assume they have been working on that the past week or two. There are probably other projects that need to be completed that we can not see through the webcams. If you check out the webcams now, it looks like they have lifted the ride carriage support off the ground. I assume this means that they have already strung the cables and are now ready for the chair ring assembly.
  17. My roommates were friends that came with me from Indy. Just a curious question, where are you working in the park this year?
  18. I still don't know much about the area. It was right off the Cin-Day and I-75 exit. EDIT: Just looked at a map. Yeah, it was that place.
  19. I'm from Indianapolis and this season will be my 3rd in the park. Last year I lived in the Highland's Apartments. Its about a 15 minute drive down Tylersville if you know where that is. I never had any problems with it. It was clean, safe, and offered month to month leases. I won't be living there again only because I'm living with other friends this year. I would recommend it. You do need at least one roommate though. It was one of the cheapest we could find in the area and it was still around $610 a month. Definitely not affordable alone off a Kings Island pay check. I don't know of many other people that live more than an hour away. Whenever people hear that I'm from Indy they freak out. I guess that means we can assume that most are local.
  20. So what exactly more dangerous? Taking a elevator to the top of a 301 foot tall tower or climbing up 230 feet in the air on Diamondback? (which employees CAN do if an evacuation is needed) If Kings Island were to ever make a op work in the top of the tower you can rest assured they would make it safe as possible. Cedar Fair has done a great job in making sure employees follow ALL safety rules and guidlines, they train them very well. Like you said, the only reason a Ride op is on Diamondback's lift is for evacuations or technical problems where the train stops on the lift. And even then, the ride is shut down before the ride op steps on the lift. I am one of the lucky few who have been on DB's lift. Yes, there is a harness, but it will never be as safe as standing on the ground. Same for riding an elevator up a 301' tower. It's a very last resort. Your words also prove my point. Bold in the quote, safe as possible 301' in the air will never be as safe as on the ground watching a monitor. Edited for grammar.
  21. I assume the ride car will be built around the base of the tower. It will probably need to be disassembled every winter for off season maintenance. I doubt they would bring a crane in to lift it on and off the top of the ride every year. That would be a large design flaw IMO.
  22. Unnecessary risk? Im not saying there will be one because I really have no clue, but how do you know if it's unnecessary? WindSeeker operates differently then Drop Tower, Drop Tower uses cables while WindSeeker does not. A totally different system. It is really nothing like Drop Tower except in looks. If a teenager is trained properly then I don't know why it's really a concern (Maybe limit the age to 18? for liability issues?), and why does it matter that the Eiffel Tower is an observation deck?, IF WindSeeker did in fact have a control both at the top then it would work almost the same. An elevator would take you up, you would get out, and walk to your area. At least, thats the only logical way for it to work. When is the ride op going to ride the elevator to the top? They sure aren't going to do it during the rides operation. Will they shut down the ride for 15 minutes every hour for rotations? And, how do you know the ride isn't using cables? Has the park announced how the ride vehicle is going to be lifted? I haven't heard anything about that. Its an unnecessary risk because there is nothing a position on top of the tower will do that a well placed camera or two wont take care of. It doesn't matter how much you train someone to do a specific job, 301' is more dangerous than terra firma. I'm not claiming I know anything about the operation of WindSeeker. I do know that the idea is simply horrible and I would be shocked if there actually is someone up there on opening day. And then I would pick up a shift at WindSeeker asap because that would be freakin sweet.
  23. Simply put, it is an unnecessary risk. If there were a reason for a ride op to be up there, KI would also have someone on top of Drop Tower. It would be nice to have someone up there to check on riders during the cycle (cameras, dropping stuff, etc) but its not worth the risk of placing a teenager on top of a 301' tower. You can put as many safety systems as you want up there, but the risk would still outweigh the reward. For the people that stilll think that the Eiffel Tower is the same as WindSeeker, I'll say it again, The Eiffel Tower is an observation tower meant to take guests and ride ops up and down in an elevator. (from an operations stand point. ) WindSeeker is a thrill ride meant to take guests up in their own individual seat. If they want a ride op up with the riders, they should just assign them a seat on the ride.
  24. ^All valid points. None of which I have any disagreements with. My mind is stuck in ride operations mode at the moment. As far as ride operations go, its an observation tower.
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