malem

Owls, scarecrows... such threats could cause a bird to take a Flight of Fear.

Got to trust that it will be fun. Shouldn't be too hard, considering that KICentral events have 100% positive reviews. (Maybe 99.7% if YoungStud ever shows up.)

Slingshot. Something about entering/exiting while attached to cables at maximum tension freaks me out, though someone could probably convince me to ride it with them anyway. As for Cedar Point, I won't ride Mine Ride (no room for my knees) or Thunder Canyon (I can think of better ways to get drenched in Lake Erie water).

It's a bug in the site, triggered by his signature. It should be fixed in the general case. A thread also lets everyone know what's going on, so people aren't left to wonder why text is randomly appearing bold.

I'll definitely try to be there! September 8 was previously listed as a private event (closed to the public) on KI's calendar. It's now listed as a public operating day. Did KICentral have a hand in that scheduling, by any chance? Just randomly noting: this date is after meteorological summer ends. And for that matter, a reception following an 8:00pm September park close is not during the day.

Browntggr: your signature is causing all of the text on posts following yours to be bold. Specifically, this bit of broken SGML preceding "YoungDud"'s quote is at fault: <strong class='bbc'><span style='color: #FF0000'<p> ... </div> You have unclosed and invalid tags, nested deep enough that IPB isn't correcting them. Until that IPB bug is corrected, you'll need to correct your signature.

I never said that the family driving past KI to go to CP does so because of Millennium Force or Top Thrill Dragster. In fact, they specifically mentioned loving both Mean Streak and Mantis. The family from England said that they were there for TTD, because it's the "biggest coaster". They weren't aware of Kingda Ka. I suspect it was the reputation of Cedar Point, specifically as a great park where the roller coasters are built bigger, that attracted them to Ohio. Such market awareness existed before MF or TTD. Major advances in the industry and the growing popularity of the Internet made the early 2000s a great time to break records again. Those rides were big news well beyond Ohio, and they certainly renewed and expanded Cedar Point's brand. Which was already huge. As long as they continue to innovate and stay relevant, it's is certain to remain huge. Whether or not they reclaim the record for tallest coaster. (The strategy for establishing a brand is often very different from the best strategy for maintaining and growing a brand. Current management understands this well.) Where would Cedar Point be without Intamin? Probably somewhere near where they are now, still at the top of their industry. </rant> EDIT: Brown, you have broken HTML in your signature, near your Young*ud quote, causing the entire page following any of your posts to be bold. IPB isn't fixing it because you have too many nested tags.

^ I don't know if Diamondback shakes more in back than elsewhere. Any shaking there isn't enough to bother me. Gatekeeper's rattling was most noticeable in back, similar to the feeling on Raptor.

I didn't notice any discomfort from the restraints last Tuesday. In May, they become tight enough on my collarbone to be uncomfortable, but not enough to keep me from enjoying the ride. I don't know if the difference was from the way I was riding or from adjustments to the restraint. As I mentioned in another thread, the head rattling seemed worse than before. Granted, it was practically brand new the first day I rode it. It's definitely an enjoyable ride, but it's not one I could ride repeatedly.

^ If HTML is off, you can use either rich editing or manual "bb code" tags. Try clicking this button: To insert a quote with manual tags, do: [quote] This is a quote [/quote]

^ Uncheck "Enable HTML" at the bottom, then try again. Alternatively, you could keep HTML enabled and use manual tags to style your text. (You'd want to use <span> and/or <div> tags with style attributes.)

^ Have fun, and drive safely tonight!

Never ride Diamondback with Gator. By the way, nearly everyone who walks the midway by Diamondback's splashdown gets that stuff on them. As Terp said, there's no intended body contact with the water. It might be chlorinated, but I highly doubt alkilinity is maintained. Even when there is intended contact, treatment standards are much lower when water interaction is limited. (i.e. flume rides, White Water Canyon)

Lengthy estimated waits turn away many, even if the actual line is short. I often tell the ride entrance host if the wait is much shorter than the posted time, and it usually gets fixed right away. I'm sure they're glad to get the feedback. At CP, at rides without hosts, I've even fixed it myself on occasion. By the way, a grossly overestimated queue can be a good opportunity to ride multiple times.

There's a new $20 bring-a-friend coupon in today's Kings Island newsletter, valid through July 31. It will probably work even if you used your FunPerks $10/$20 bring-a-friend coupon, as it's a different offer with a different barcode. This deal wasn't offered last year, and the park previously tweeted that there were no more bring-a-friend days scheduled this year. Perhaps they want to get July attendance up, after an extremely wet start to the month?

^ retailmenot says to use promo code pink for cheaper online tickets, with $5 going to Susan G. Komen. Looking at the FAQ on the SIX website: The online store is Accesso, the same vendor Cedar Fair uses, so it won't work without Flash. (It might not work even with it.)

You can always use Google Maps.

I visited Cedar Point today, hoping the chance of rain and lingering monsoon would keep crowds down. They were indeed low for a CP summer day, but frequent maintenance downtime at Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force, and Maverick kept queues unpredictable. The weather ended up being great - mid-80s and humid, cooling to mid-70s after two 30-minute evening storms. As for rides, the front seat of Maverick is definitely worth waiting a few extra trains for. The best part is that you're not staring at oversized restraints the whole time. Also, Gatekeeper rattles my head more than it did in May, especially in back. I saw one show, "On Broadway". It's a welcome change from musical revues, but it's still a musical revue. The cast is great and the props are above-average. My only complaint was that it runs a bit long for what it is. Going solo, I met some interesting groups of three from faraway places. I rode TTD with a family from England who came over specifically to ride that ride; they loved it. Another family drives past both Kings Island and Holiday World when they go to Cedar Point, but they've visited neither. I might have convinced them to give those parks a try too. Finally, I got reminded that Sandusky->Columbus really isn't a pleasant drive at 10:30pm. Even more so when it's storming, there are flood warnings, and high water is covering parts of the roadway.

Good luck finding such pizza anywhere, unless you make it yourself. They have to use something to mask the flavor of tomato paste. Is LaRosa's pizza significantly sweeter than that of other chains? They don't list sugar on their nutrition information page, but the sugar in their jarred sauce seems to be about average. (I've never actually tasted anything from LaRosa's.)

Most of my recent trips have been spur-of-the-moment and alone, though I usually end up meeting others in line. When I tried it the first time, I was surprised at how many other single riders ventured to the park. When accompanying family, for free parking/bring-a-friend, they didn't want to do anything more thrilling than the log flume. I suppose jcgoble3 would have had me buy them skycoaster tickets. I've run into members from this site every time I've visited KI this year, albeit two of the trips were specifically for meet-ups/events. Having a T-shirt that reads "KICentral" helps. For the best chance of success, post in the meet-ups forum in advance, or attend an already-planned meet-up.

secondson has told us how he feels, for better or for worse. Let's not call him a drama queen or a hypocrite. No one likes to feel like they're being picked on, whether the feeling is justified or not. By our responses, I think we've justified it. Yes, this site is all for fun, and no one should be taking it personally. For some members, especially those new to our ways, that's easier said than done. Sorry. I have a lot of respect for you, but comments like that one are uncalled for. If we're going to criticize, can we keep it civil?

So much for a busy holiday weekend at KI. I think you're forgetting one.

There was a really cool Tweetup prize today: (via Twitter)

Does overplaying a score weaken its impact? Somehow, I feel like we've spoiled a small part of the ride's mystique.

Google Play includes both Lost soundtracks and a search-by-sound feature, I had a snippet of the ride's audio, and this thread made me sufficiently curious. EDIT: Actually, Jayblazer's more recent post, as noted above, made me curious. I knew I had seen this asked before, so search brought me here. I get similar threads mixed up.