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I said right after the announcement that buying 4 prototype rides wasn't the wisest decision, especially after so many problems with prototype rides like Dragster and Shoot the Rapids. I was even more shocked when they purchased 2 more the next season, with the rides experiencing quite a few problems...definitely not enough time had passed to make that call. Anyway, here we are. Personally, I think they should have shut them all down long ago with Cedar Point's major problem with the cables blowing out of the channel and getting mangled up. That looked far more severe and concerning. Why the media didn't get a hold of that but latched onto Knott's is odd, but I think the media pressure this time is part of the reason why they're all being shut down. The saddest part is that I don't think too many will be upset by the WindSeekers being down. As long as they keep them lit up, the best asset of the ride will remain.

Man, I hope Coke wins out Cedar Fair. It's the strongest, most-preferred carbonated beverage brand if you look at sales and charts. Plus, I personally like the extra-carbonated bite of Coke products, in comparison to the sweeter, flatter Pepsi products. I think the Coke Freestyle machines make a fun addition to the park as well.

I'm not sure if this is it, but at Cedar Point back in the 90s, they'd pack all 3 rooms of Disaster Transport in the air conditioning. Then, this suddenly changed one year. They only allowed a single turnstile open through all the rooms, and a big long line formed in temporary turnstiles out of the building. It was reported by many employees that they changed to this style for fire safety reasons. So, this could possibly be the same situation with Flight of Fear at Kings Island?

The Gravity Group's Timberliner Wooden Coaster Trains have shocks to smooth out the ride, and they can be retro-fitted on existing wooden coasters. Holiday World has purchased them for the Voyage; I guess we'll see how that works out next year.

I understood what you were saying, but Boo Blasters technically debuted in 2010. It was no doubt a cheap re-theme, but that's what we got, and it should have been the park's responsibility to debut the new ride with flawless functionality. I believe I read that the blasters were all repaired and re-calibrated for the grand opening, and everything was working great at first. However, here we are, a couple years later, with a poor-mediocre blaster system and deteriorating theme. Maybe KI should have invested in all new blasters with laser sight for the Boo Blasters debut. Regardless, all I'm saying is that this is a lack of maintenance at this point. I highly doubt the Ghostwood props and blasters that I touched at the end of 2011 received no maintenance from the 2008 grand opening.

Boo Blasters is actually 2 years newer than Ghostwood Estates. My visit to Kennywood was at the very end of 2011, and all blasters worked perfectly each ride. Maybe I was lucky, but the ride seemed very well maintained in general.

I agree. I miss Phantom Theater every time I'm at KI. What's even more insulting that PT was replaced by cardboard cut outs is that the system doesn't even work properly. To date, I've never had a satisfactory experience with the blasters. We've been lucky to get 2 of 3 blasters working at all on a typical visit, and then you can shoot at the targets less than 2 feet away, and they still won't register. So, most rides we just give up and take a restful spin through the cardboard jungle. I believe Sally did Kennywood's Ghostwood Estates, so why were Kennywood's blasters all working perfectly with the much easier-to-use laser sights? I know KI has made strides in upkeep and maintenance throughout the park lately, but Boo Blasters really puts a dent on Cedar Fair maintenance.

I think he's saying that the park wouldn't have 2 Arrow suspended coasters, so they would have chosen a different breed for Top Gun / Flight Deck.

First off, as a business, you charge what people will pay to maximize profits. Some people won't bat an eye at paying $4 for 1 drink, so you charge them that. Others find it absurd and will just drink free water; for these people, you offer discounts to entice them to buy drinks at a lower price. As an example, my sister rolled her eyes and became frustrated when I began searching for a coupon when buying a large pizza at a local chain. She was hungry and felt that $12.99 was a fair price and would have paid it. Having always used coupons, I found that price so high that I would have chosen a different chain. However, within a few minutes, I managed to find a coupon for that exact same pizza for $5.99. Is it fair that my sister would have been charged $7 more? Very much so -- it's only unfortunate for them that I was buying on that particular day! Secondly, I don't get your logic regarding a family of 4 buying 4 wrist bands under the current system and 2 under my system. If they're ignorant enough or have particular morals about buying 4 wrist bands under the current unlimited system, why wouldn't they still buy 4 under my system? No rules have changed under my system; only an added limit. Each person is still being banded with a drink band that they are only supposed to use on themselves. I respect Holiday World's model, and I'm glad it works for them. However, I don't see an issue with KI's current system (though it needs some tweaking). They're providing a lower gate price for those on a very tight budget (that don't purchase drinks in the park), and they risk losing them by increasing the gate price and including drinks. It's kind of like forcing everyone to buy a medium-optioned car for a higher price than base, and then eliminating the base option. There need to be different classes of access that draw in the highest number of customers. However, I wouldn't mind seeing a Cedar Fair park experiment a year by switching to Holiday World's system. I do agree that there is a perception of value added to the day that might cause increased food, game, and merchandise sales. This might offset any lost customers due to the higher gate price. Of course, with a park that draws much larger crowds than Holiday World, the lines for free drinks might be so insane on Saturdays that it becomes a negative perk that people are paying for. It's all a very delicate system with advantages and disadvantages to be weighed. The park has begun experimenting by offering these drink bands, Fun Perks, etc. as they should be doing.

But that's just the point; you're limiting the abuse. Technically, one could take their $5 20 oz wrist band right now, and resell an unlimited amount of drinks to park guests. But, if the wrist band is limited to 5 drinks, it doesn't really matter. The amount of people doing this would be a tiny percent, and at $1 each, KI is still making a healthy profit.

I think there's a perfect solution to the $5 drink wrist band abuse. A single person should not need more than 5 refills or 20 oz drinks in a day, so put 5 punch or marker marks on each wrist band, limiting each band to 5 drinks per day. That solves the problem of families or groups of friends redeeming dozens. Then, KI doesn't need to worry about losing drinks sales to abuse. People can feel free to hand off the drinks, but they're taking away from the number of drinks they might need for themselves. And it's still an incredible value at $1 per 20 oz drink...

I'm not understanding this completely; what is the catch? Do you get 1 20 oz paper cup and have to carry it around with you all day to get the unlimited refills for $5? If not, what's to prevent abuse? A family of 4 buying 1 wrist band, then hitting different stands throughout the park, handing off a new drink to each family member, etc.? I personally prefer water on a hot day, and they've succeeded in making the free ice waters annoying -- 2 sips. If you get a new cup each time that you don't have to carry around, I'd consider spending the $5 just to get large, 20 oz iced waters all day.

That Son of Beast picture is just gorgeous, Gordon.

I asked this same question about Mean Streak and Blue Streak. They are fall protection for maintenance. Apparently Ohio safety inspectors were not happy with the large gaps that maintenance workers could fall through when inspecting the track daily, etc. So, the boards were added to close the gap and add a layer of safety for maintenance workers.

Is WindSeeker running at KI after the incident with Cedar Point's? As a rider reported on Screamscape: “I was one of the unfortunate guests to be stuck on the WindSeeker. We were stuck for over 2hrs. After the ride did its normal spin at the top, a big gust of wind came through and pulled the wires that are attached to the tower away. So when the ride started to descend. the cable got stuck inbetween the spin part and began to be torn apart. Much of the covering was torn off and we watched much plastic pieces falling off. We were stuck for 2hrs at about 200ft in the air." There are several pictures of the damage: http://screamscape.com/html/cp_-_waveswinger_3.htm http://screamscape.com/html/cp_-_waveswinger_1.htm

I know, but you get my point. With the numbers of people reported on each side of the park, I think KI could easily charge separate gates. Speaking of which... I have a Platinum Pass, so the separate gates of the water parks within the chain makes no difference to me. I really wanted to visit KI's new Soak City, but I've heard that it's pretty much always ridiculously swamped with people. The friends that would be going with me hate waiting in lines and crowds. With historical crowds countered with the expansion, should Soak City still be skipped in favor of another Cedar Fair water park like Wild Water Kingdom, Michigan's Adventure, Cedar Point's Soak City, Canada's Wonderland, etc.? Basically, I'm wanting to visit a Cedar Fair water park, comparable to KI's, without excessive crowds. Any recommendations?

Isn't admission to Soak City free? Sure the locker prices are obnoxious, but if people are paying that and they're near capacity, the park seems like an intelligent business to me. Let's not forget at parks like Cedar Point, Soak City is $32.99 in addition to the $51.99 admission.

You sure this wasn't the difference between riding in different seats on the train? I didn't notice any difference with the ride this year. But, many times I've noticed the front seat is so smooth and more controlled (so it feels slower) than the abusive back seats of the train.

Yeah, you left at the perfect time. 12PM is when we started debating Fast Pass, but I said we could stick it out and ride the the low wait rides. I walked around the park for 2.5 hours and discovered there were no low wait rides (I walked by Racer, the queues were open, and they were full). Since I had a 3 hour drive to the park, it was time to hit up the Fast Lane booth. Luckily this worked like a charm and I got to ride everything I wanted, multiple times.

While the employees were nice on Sunday, May 6th, I didn't notice any great change over previous years personally. One of my encounters with employees this day was that my friend and I wanted to do water bombs on WWC. The only change machine was broken there. So, we took that very long trek back to stands, in an attempt to get just 4 quarters for a dollar. I was told, "Sorry, we are not to give change." at 2 different stands, which was annoying. I know the park makes rules like these for a reason, but here I'm going out of my way to spend money at KI, and their change machine does not work and the employees wouldn't give change nor make suggestions where I could get it. I ended up walking all the way to the Diamondback gift shop, and they hesitated but agreed to give me 4 quarters for a dollar. None of the employees were rude in anyway, but I wouldn't consider that an amazing experience. While the entrance employees trying to take our picture weren't rude in anyway, they were kind of pushy (same as previous years). It reminded me of why I no longer shop at Best Buy -- when I say no, I mean no. The food stand employees I dealt with (burrito shack and Potato Works) were strictly business, no smiling. The Fast Lane employee I dealt with was incredibly nice, and the ride crews were the same as any other year -- half jolly / fun, half strictly operations. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of great changes this year -- better food, a wonderful Beast, fresh paint on Vertigo, etc. But, while the employees are supposedly being treated much better under Ouimet, I didn't feel like this was some new amazing transformation yet. Obviously though, experiences are going to be varying daily, person-to-person. At the end of the season, it'll be a better indicator if the employees are transformed on the whole. Edit: I have to add that I've never really encountered a rude employee at KI in my many years going there, so that's maybe why I'm not seeing a big transformation. I don't think they were mean under Kinzel and nice under Ouimet; I think they're about the same judging by my first Ouimet-era visit.

Yeah, gone from the second lift also. Yes, it could have simply not been turned on for the season yet. Anyway, I just noticed that. I always thought of the lift music as Paramount's desperate attempt to incorporate some kind of theme into Beast.

No way Sunday was a 3/5. It wasn't Columbus Day weekend, but it was probably a 4/5 or 4.5/5 from my experience. It was personally the most crowded visit I've ever had at the park. Diamondback was 1.5 hours, Flight of Fear and Firehawk were over 2 hours. Adventure Express / Vortex queues were full and well onto the midway. The entrance host claimed Boo Blasters was even an hour wait. Sure the waits were low for the first hour or two the park was open, but it got progressively more packed, peaking at 3PM or so. It was so bad that I had to buy Fast Lane to save my day.

Oh, did anyone else notice that the lift music and automated announcements are gone on Beast? Part of me enjoyed just hearing the lift, and the other part of me missed them. I'm assuming that was from the Paramount era?

I rode The Beast in the 2nd row of the first car on Sunday. I was absolutely ecstatic about how smooth it was riding...night and day difference from last year. I was never in any discomfort, and I fell in love with this ride all over again. I was overly confident in how smooth and fast my first ride was, and I curiously rode it in the 3rd seat of the first car (a dreaded wheel seat). This was a big mistake for me that I paid for. The ride still rode much smoother than last year, but I was really getting thrown into the seat divider on the turns. Then, on the final helix, I was strongly bracing myself to the left to avoid hitting that seat divider on the right. I didn't win against that force, and I slammed the middle seat divider so hard that I instantly had lasting pain. I must have bruised or pulled a muscle in my chest, as I have lasting pain in my chest when I breathe in. This dampened the rest of the day, as I had lots of pain in my chest when there were any strong forces. This was the first lasting injury I've ever had from a roller coaster. So, you'd think I'd not dare ride The Beast again on Sunday after this, but I gave it one more shot considering how smooth my first ride was. I rode in the last car, 2nd row (the middle seat), and it was again, as smooth as can be with no discomfort. Moral of the story...it doesn't appear to matter where you are on the train, but just make sure to grab that middle seat of the car. There's no doubt that The Beast is riding night and day smoother than last year though.

Oh lol I thought maybe they were going to try a new significantly lower pricing strategy for drinks....like $2.50 or something for a large fountain drink. Guess not.