jdawg1998

This guy's living in the future -- 12 rides featuring Hollywood magic? Err, well I guess, he's objectively in the past -- 14 years in the past -- but you get what I mean.

Random question, and don't mean to derail the discussion, but -- Does anyone have a history of how CSF became B&M's choice to produce their track? It seems entirely odd to me that a company from Switzerland would pinpoint some plant in the middle of Clermont County, Ohio.

Well, alright...I will try not to start that up again. Move on...

I have not kept up-to-date with this at all, so I apologize if this has been mentioned. Per that recreation posted up there ^ from the blueprints, this coaster looks real short...only one airtime hill before the turnaround? And then honestly, not that much after? It seems even shorter than Diamondback.

The labels could be Kings Island related, like from smallest coaster to largest or something. That could be interesting.

I was combing through the fountain war on the I-Street improvements discussion board for the last 20 minutes. I had a lot to say but decided to keep quiet. But this?! Oh no! The sole reason I ever get Panda Express, at least at Kings Island, is for its chow mein. AGHHGHGH! I am about to start an entire thread for this issue alone.

Guys, I hate topics like this. It starts making me sad. I am still very young - only 21 - but it's amazing to me that I have been on this site for, I believe ten years, then ended up working at Kings Island. I have so many stories to tell. I miss my crew, hearing FunTV every hour of every day, and working from 9am-11pm! Why does nostalgia hurt so bad?! For any prospective KI employee here (specifically in rides): don't pass up the amazing opportunity to be an associate. Kings Island was the best job I've ever had - even including real marketing internships I have been a part of. There is truly nothing like it! Well, that was cheesy enough to make a whole pizza...

Favorite story as an employee in rides at Adventure Express: a few years ago, on a very stormy day, the ride closed down for maybe 2-3 hours or so. One group of friends hung out in the queue, waiting out the storm. My entire crew ended up playing games with them, getting to know everything about them, and giving them tips and tricks on how to make their visit to Kings Island the best possible. They all took selfies with us and posted about us on all their social media. They came back a few times over the next 2 years, and every time they did, they remembered us - or, who was remaining. I have a lot of stories like that, ranging from kids marathoning the ride at 9:00pm to some guests asking me all about the ride and trivia. Then, I have stories about stupid guests, like the time I chased someone around the lockout fence as he attempted to retrieve his hat from the ride area... But I don't want to be negative.

Agreed! I divvy my YouTube time up between vloggers and theme park videos. Some great YouTubers in the theme park world include RobPlays, Defunctland, and Bright Sun Films. But this one is definitely very unique.

Sneaking into a Forgotten Disney World Ride (Epcot - Horizons) I highly recommend watching this video. It is 25 minutes long, but very much worth the time. The mini-documentary takes footage from two massive fans of Epcot's former Horizons attraction and their adventures sneaking off the ride to take a closer look at the sets full of animatronic and props. I watch a lot of YouTube videos and I must say, I have never been so entranced by one like this before. Not only is it exciting, but it is also emotional and invokes an extreme sense of nostalgia - even for me, who was not even born during the operation of Horizons. Disclaimer: I am, and the video is not, glorifying taking potentially dangerous action in walking around an operating theme park attraction; please take the story for what it is, and enjoy the ride.

Yep. This is definitely the return of the Antique Cars. The one teaser where it says "mom even let me drive a car" makes it a no-brainer.

Is it normal for KI to have a very major announcement on such short notice? To me it seems like this could easily be a small renovation/upgrade. Unless they are just trying to downplay it themselves so we can be wow'd even more when it's official.

I just want to put my two cents about speculation in here: I have been a coaster enthusiast and member here since 2011. I love coasters and theme parks, do not get me wrong. But this is just a "speculation" thread, and I understand the concern with wanting sources and not just hearing what the Dippin' Dots guy has to say, but really - this is just speculation on a roller coaster. It's not some political discussion over some FBI investigation or spreading information about how some shares of a stock are going to plummet leading us to some KIC insider trading. Not trying to be a mod in any way, but my point is: I honestly think it's quite fun to hear what everyone has to say. At this point, we know very little, and I think as long as we aren't intentionally misleading each other and telling everyone we know what's been said in this thread so far, we are all good. Just have fun with it. I am very excited to see whatever KI has up its sleeve, if anything at all. Intriguing times ahead!

1. I really don't believe it's trespassing to use a parking lot for a hotel for 10 minutes and 2. I am an employee there. Alas, you are correct that it seems somewhat boring over there. When I first saw it I thought it was something different.

Not a problem - I was planning on doing it from the parking lot, or the end of the road. There's a large chain-link fence that closes it off.

Over by Great Wolf behind employee parking there are a ton of construction vehicles and land clearing. I can try and get some pictures if anyone is interested. Unless, as you said @Codyfryguy, that is just for the employee dorms. Could be cool to see up close anyways.

Pepsi Python

No. There are plenty of family attractions in Ohio that people are able to do for a day. Zoos, museums, down here in Cincinnati and Dayton there's Scene75, sporting events, outdoor activities...I find it highly unlikely many families will begin to choose this overly hyped, and in my opinion, most likely underwhelming entertainment center that seems to be an oversized, as I mentioned before, Scene75. Kings Island and Cedar Point are still the go-to destinations for major trips around the area. This will be a mere blip on the radar, in which a parent will wake up one day and think "Hey, let's all go to Planet Oasis". I may be pretty scathing on this development, but I really don't think it's going to be all that. Edit: I am also getting annoyed by news headlines describing it as "an amusement park four times the size of Disneyland". It is not an amusement park. And it is no way anywhere in relation to Disneyland. Coney Island is more like Disneyland than this will be.

Does someone care to explain to me exactly what I'm looking at here? How is this a teaser for something?

Wait...what? I worked at the Banshee store for my first year at Kings Island way back in 2014. If this is true, it greatly saddens me. You're saying the entire gift shop is nonexistent? What about the ride photo?

Coasters get stuck places all the time. Not to make that a bad thing - it's just a normal part of operations. Really nothing to worry about.

Reading through this thread is making me sad. This is my first summer not working @ KI in ride operations since I started in 2015. I really do miss it. I would always come check this thread to see if I somehow made it...alas, I never did. :'-(

Height checking is always one of the worst struggles of being a ride operator. Height checking across the park is very inconsistent. It really all depends on how the crew works on each ride. As some as said previously, some rides don't even have a greeter. This leaves the separator - already in charge of ensuring the trains are being filled among other issues like unruly guests (sitting on railings, etc.) and checking Fast Lane wristbands - having yet another responsibility. Once children get past the separator, it is all up to those on the floor to check heights. The driver and ops on the floor are all told they too have responsibility for height checking, mostly through a quick eye scan. It is assumed separator/greeter did their jobs, but if something looks off, it is their job to take the child off and recheck. That is when things can get messy. Sometimes, these kids were checked by separator/greeter incorrectly and end up being too short. That leads to freaking out over "well, he was fine over there!" Sometimes, as was also mentioned before, it is found that the child had been on plenty of rides earlier in the day but is actually too short. This does not even add in the fact that kids might be checked at the height checking stations, and that adds yet another layer to the possibilities of a mistake. At the end of the day, I do believe guests have the right to "yell" if any of that^ above happens. If your kid is too short right from the get-go, and an op catches that for the first ride of the day, guests have no right to be upset. But if there were multiple mistakes made throughout the day, I understand the frustration. Height checking definitely needs to be more consistent across the board. Sorry. I could vent about this for hours.

Technically, my house is 1.5 miles from Kings Island. I can see it from my bedroom window, watch the fireworks every night in the summer, and hang out on my back deck while listening to the peaceful noises of trains swooping down the roller coaster track accompanied by the sound of screaming - and sometimes, depending on the wind, ride operator spieling can be heard. Unfortunately, due to my position across the Little Miami River, it still takes about 10-15 minutes to get to Kings Island. It is very strange to see how close it yes, yet road-wise, it is about 5.5 miles. Always have found that interesting!

This all looks great! Though Coney may not be able to afford massive, big-budget attractions, it is nice to see smaller changes that continue to improve the park. The PBS Kids Backyard sounds really neat. And Python is going to look awesome! It just makes me happy to see a smaller sized park make these kinds of improvements. Really cool.