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HandsUp

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Everything posted by HandsUp

  1. I'm not at the park terribly often, but whenever I am Banshee tends to be a walk on. I know it has a massive capacity, but I wonder if it is hitting the marks ridership wise. While not incredibly rough, I cannot ride it consecutive times even though I absolutely love it. The last thing I want is for KI to get dinged for an aversion to thrill rides and not be awarded new ones. Do any insiders know if ridership has been where it 'should' be?
  2. HandsUp

    Vortex

    Neither agree or disagree because I don't know. Personally I have a lot of memories tied to Vortex and would be sad to see it go in theory. In practice, it's very rough and I rarely ride it anymore.
  3. May have been something, but I know there was a stand where the machines are-right before the height check. IIRC there was a minor uproar when they stopped selling beer there, which was before my beer days. They also used to blast music pretty loud. I imagine The Beast line once was a rather social/festive atmosphere with beer and music as opposed to everyone staring at their phones or at TVs. ::shakes old man fist at the world::
  4. Just remove Vortex and build a ground up in its place
  5. Loved that concession stand. I owe my love of ICEEs to it. Get an ICEE there and take it straight to your head while waiting in line.
  6. Totally agree-The whole area around MT is awesome now. My dream is of a reach to the sky coaster that also uses the terrain/woods
  7. I loved SoB, you just had to really brace yourself. If you thought of it as riding a mechanical bull it was great. Still-It was a once (at most) a visit proposition. I will always be bitter towards the Paramount era because it seemed that they stripped away many of my early childhood memories while at the same time failing to deliver truly awesome big thrill rides. This was also the advent of in-queue TVs and the programming was trite and repetitive (give me music/music videos all day). The Italian Job coaster to me sums up that era. Heavy on theming and ancillary elements, pedestrian in terms of coaster thrills. Poor handling of the opening.
  8. For keeping the landscaping throughout the park gorgeous and enjoyable. I appreciate the level of care needed to make the park look so great and there is nothing better than healthy vibrant living landscaping.
  9. Indeed. They aren't hosting PGA tourneys that's for sure. I'm not sure what the other courses are like in Dublin, but the area around KI has several other VERY nice/exclusive courses within residential areas. Almost seems like other developers picked up on the idea but made them even more out of the way and attractive. Interesting how the ATP tennis tourney has really taken off even though the whole KI area never caught on as a multi-faceted resort destination. If nothing else, the course is well-maintained, fairly popular, and allow locals (like myself) a bit of that resort experience. On Father's Day, I teed off 1st thing in the AM and by lunchtime was meeting up with my wife and kids at the park.
  10. My buddy's daughter works @ Coney BBQ so is at the park a lot and saw some engineer-looking guys over there a week or 2 ago. Don't want to read too much into it and it is 2nd hand-But still
  11. Apparently there's been some important looking people checking out Vortex's site. I'd hoped it would be for a giga that would span Vortex/Dinosaurs Alive, but Vortex and Beast are close to each other too..
  12. I am honestly not sure. When I look on the map, there seems to be extra holes that are not played. Some is amid the housing, and some is not-but the houses all look to be relatively new. At the very least, I know that #18 is how it always was--picturesque par 5 with water guarding the green.
  13. Grizzly is still great and FWIW, I think the golf center still makes the area a cohesive entertainment area of sorts. Every time I've played there has been accompanied by a trip to the park.
  14. At the time it was a total bummer for me personally. It was like they stripped away the KI of my youth and filled it with movie promos. Seemed like a lot of fluff with little substance. I loved 'The Grind' parties though and in retrospect Tomb Raider was very cool--At the time all I wanted was a big steel coaster.
  15. I get the point but I could ride GateKeeper, Valravn, Top Thrill, and Millie almost nonstop-at least the 1st 3
  16. Yeah, it's all about expectations vs. reality....The reality is not bad, but when you're expecting another drop it's pretty lame. I'm all for the Bavarian re-theming though.
  17. Ha--Didn't know about those. The Icees are the one thing I'm a total sucker for so it was lousy to wait in the SC Subway line and be denied the offer....Can kinda understand that but then the actual Icee buffet at the Tower didn't honor it either. Oh well, 1st world problems
  18. Left the kids with my mom and the wife and I headed up early in the AM for my 1st CP visit in 9 years. Rain and t-storms were horrific and cast doubt on the whole day. Stopped for a proper breakfast in Lima and rain subsided after that. Loved taking all the back roads up there. Stopped at Wal-Mart for ponchos and before you knew it we were crossing the causeway with the sun shining. The employee passes we got from a KI associate worked and we were in (albeit a little late). Pleasantly surprised by the walk-on at GateKeeper so we went for the front. First winged experience for me and did not disappoint. Seeing the oncoming track at the top, it was hard to discern where we were headed-really odd feeling for sure. So smooth and floaty with the unique sensation of nothing below you. the forecast looked like more rain, so we headed to Valravn next. After waiting for ~15-20 min. the rain started and they shut it down while we were on the steps (doh!). Knowing it would be down for a bit, we sought some dryness-very glad that we had brought our ponchos. Made our way to Frontier Town and the Last Chance Saloon. While the BBQ place was packed, we had no trouble grabbing a few beers and a bag of peanuts to ride out the storm. So happy to have a dry, comfortable bar room to chill and sip our lagers. Peeked into the show room to see the stage setup. Looked pretty quaint and cozy. I've always felt CP to be high on rides, and lower on ambiance and 'chill' spots, but this trip reminded me of their great use of space and ability to create a comfortable feel. As the rain slowed, we figured we may as well queue up for Steel Vengeance. The structure is amazing to behold and everyone cheered as they started sending through the empty trains. Once there were full trains, it was nuts to see how the structure gives-great illustration of what wood can do. The wait would have been less if my fanny pack (I'm here to NOT lose my stuff, NOT to look cool) wasn't prohibited, but oh well. After I got a locker it was roughly 1.5 hrs. Chatted up a guy from KY there with his younger siblings-Guy was very nice and a hardcore coaster junkie. Finally got on and was put in the 2nd last car. The whole sensation of a massive lap bar/leg harness made me feel totally secure but also free to move. Hard to put into words the ride itself. The 1st drop is as intense as any and whatever you call that reversed bank out of the 1st hill made me feel like a cartoon character where my upper body is being pulled up and left while the car (and my lower body) is being hurled down and to the right. The sections in the structure were insane. The smoothness, speed, air time and general ridiculousness made me laugh like a maniac the entire ride. There is nothing that compares in my coaster experience-next level stuff. My wife claims it to be her new all time favorite. After that we figured we'd hit Maverick since we were there. Slight delay as they added 2 trains, but still worth it. Once again, such a unique coaster and just as intense as I remember it from 9 years ago. Extra wait on Maverick made for a late meal but we found the BBQ at the smokehouse to be pretty good. Also amazed that they had Brew Dog's Elvis Juice on tap-did not expect a quality Ohio brew, but that was nice. Of course that stuff is radically overpriced, but it we knew that going in. Made our way through the woods of Frontier Town towards Millennium Force. Once again it struck me how nice that area is-trees grow a lot in nearly a decade. Nearly to the station in Millie and they had to close for unknown mechanical reasons. Since the line was short to begin with, I didn't feel bad bailing-but it was weird walking through the exit without that awesome post-ride buzz. Luckily we were able to basically walk on Valravn. It was everything I'd hoped for and freaked my wife out big time when it stopped at the top. I assumed she knew, but wasn't going to mention it. She was massively scared and though it was broken. She lived-but didn't ride it again! Took a break and I ran out to the car for some Advil reinforcements (knew I was forgetting something). By this time Millie was running and we got on pretty quick. I've thought this for years, but this may be my favorite coaster ever. The setting, the speed, the smoothness. It's incredibly intense without any of the negatives. It is just so good and never gets old. I REALLY hope KI get's an Intamin giga soon--there is really nothing like it. After that, Top Thrill Dragster was finally running so I wanted to get one in on that. My wife declined as that thing freaks her out (she did the eagles). Had to wait about 45 min. but once again, there is nothing like TTD. Just sheer insanity. It occurred to me then that of all the great coasters I've ridden, TTD, Maverick, Millennium Force, and Steel Vengeance are the 4 that really take you to another dimension of speed and space. They are of a higher order. (And why KI needs an Intamin Giga!) After meeting back up with my wife, we decided to head back towards Steel Vengeance but not before the Magnum. Once again, a slight wait to take a train off, but it was not bad at all. Made my mind wander to back when they put this in (long before I ever visited CP) and what a big deal it was. The thing looks tiny by today's standards, and is pretty rough these days. But the way it swings out towards the lake is still awesome. We then hopped on Cedar Creek Mine Ride just for kicks and I realized that there is a lot to be said for a long, sprawling mine ride even without any big drops. We got back in line for SV and this time I took more note of the mythology/theming of the story-pretty cool and intricate. I love theming and it's awesome when they can work in a coherent narrative. Much better than that Squeelers coaster they're putting in at Kennywood lol. Along those same lines, I liked the 'Battle for CP' game/ap that they are promoting. While I didn't do the actual ap, I loved the depictions of all the major rides as characters of some sort with their own personas and emblems. Each one really personified that coaster IMO-Very cool. It was basically dark for our 2nd SV ride and what can I say-It was still amazing. Hands up the whole time, ended up in the same car-The mist memorable rides of our trip. After that go-round, my wife was pretty much done, but I still wanted to check out the Iron Dragon VR. The idea seemed cool, and I'd never done anything like it. Initially decided to wait 45 minutes (sans wife) but once in line I decided against it. If it sucked, I'd feel like I wasted time that could have been spent on known quantities. So instead I busted out another night run on Millie (amazing) and also got on the front of Rougorou. I liked the Mantis when I 1st rode it in '97, but it had been bumpy and rough since. The new seats were much better and the ride was much improved with a few minor headbangers. Met back up with my wife and she indulged me in one last ride on Valravn. This time I got the center of the front row which really was amazing. Just hanging there staring straight down a wall of track-Very unique and thrilling. As we headed out, I remembered back how this was one of my wife and I's 1st trips as a couple so many years ago and how we'll love bringing our kids up there once they're big enough (our 6 year old would ride everything now if he could). In less than an hour, we were at a free hotel (points) in Avon, OH watching the British Open. Very blessed that the rain held off for most of the day and gave us a refreshing adult day at a truly amazing park.
  19. Beast, Banshee, Diamondback, Drop Tower, Mystic Timbers....Invertigo and Firehawk do nothing for me and get me rattled, FoF is cool if line is short. If people are with me and want to explore I'll ride whatever though.
  20. Just went to CP and realized that the only coasters I've ever ridden that are of an entirely different order (Millie, TTD, Maverick, Steel Vengeance) all live at CP. KI seriously needs a giga that uses the area of Dinosaurs Alive and Vortex.
  21. Always seemed like that grassy area near the DB, across from the flower clockwould be a great spot for a flat or small coaster like a wild mouse
  22. Didn't read whole thread, but I've always felt that CP has better rides, but KI is a better park
  23. Let's be honest-Amusement parks attract ALL kinds of people-even uncouth rude people with poor hygiene. This is even a joke/stereotype among many. Unless they're doing something really bad/unsafe, you just need to roll with it. The older I get, the more I appreciate a park's use of space and the way they create atmosphere and sense of place. Gift shops, sitting areas, restaurants, ride queues can all add to the atmosphere or they can just perform their stated purpose. Typically the more 'stuff' that is fit into a space, the bigger, more vibrant, and better established it seems. Those shops create a vibe of activity with cool stuff to look at. So when you empty it out and plop a few arcade games, it's maybe not 'trashy' but 'sad and underused'
  24. Very Nice. Heading up on Friday and I haven't been there since '09. Very much looking forward to GateKeeper, Valrvn, and Steel Vengeance....and idea what to expect line-time wise for those 3 on a Friday?
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