Delirium_Guy

Your right SoB is themed a lil tiny bit better and a lil bit more fun. you crazy? do you have the headless horseman's schoolhouse? the bell? they are typically willing to ring it upon request... I think SOB's structure is stunning to look at especially off at a distance. Thats about as far as it goes. Legends theming is definitely superior.....seeing as how Son of Beast has virtually nothing! Please don't hit me with the fact that they have those hideous lime green "bio hazard" trash cans either :-) - Todd

This I have a right to bash on about Cedar Point. I experience their "saftey" and it's not good at all. When you have 4 bar checkers on a ride you just "think" it would be safe, but not really. If anything this park sucks at saftey. I hear all these stories about this or that person didn't have thier seatbelt, on and noone noticed it until, the whole station is screaming at their associates. Then they notice and be assholes about it. And on a lighter note: WHO DEY! WHO DEY! Yeah, Cedar Point isn't safe.....thats why they have such an extensive list of mishaps and accidents under their belt. Sheesh. As many times as I've been to the Point in the last 10 years, I have *never* experienced anything of the such that you just listed. I'm not saying that it hasn't happened, I'm sure it has, but I'm sure a lot of what you heard are simply just stories. Just for the record, the very same thing you mentioned about Cedar Point HAS happened to me at PKI before. So it is going to happen everywhere. Cedar Fair is just as concerned about guest safety as Paramount is and I think they have a pretty good track record to prove just that. Also, props to Browntggrr on the excellent post, finally something with some thought. SO WHAT? Cedar Point is building a Giant Frisbee, I believe there were TWO built in 2004....so whats the problem? Its not like it was going to be exclusive to PKI. Secondly, as Browntggrr mentioned, Cedar Point in NO way even mentioned those extra three feet of height. So no record touting there. Finally, as if any of this will matter. Some people just naturally want to hate ANY park or ride outside of PKI. Come on people, get out a little more. - Todd, who thinks PKI is a great park but also recognizes that there are others just as good!

Ahhh, this debate surfaces once again. I happen to fall in the group of people who think The Beast is far from a top tier coaster. Before you start to flame away, I've ridden over 100 wood coasters in this country so, I've had my share of experiences to compare. I certainly respect The Beast for what it is and the impact that it had on the industry, but there are many other rides out there that out perform it. As it operates today, its nothing more than an overgrown mine train. If it weren't for the helix, I'm not sure there would be too many redeeming qualities the ride could offer me. Even night rides do little for my experience on Beast, as I find the course to be fairly well lit. Overall, I find the ride to be a snoozer. Everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinion. For those of you that haven't ridden any wood coasters outside of Kings Island, or OHIO for that matter....I encourage you to try to get out and experience some other rides! I agree with most on here, the wood coasters at HW are FAR ABOVE anything the wood coasters at PKI have to offer. I'm sorry, I don't like having to defensively ride my coasters. I agree with AZ Kinda Guy, you should be able to sit down and enjoy a coaster ANYWHERE......without having to worry about getting the crap beat out of you. Yes, I'm well aware thats part of the charm of a wood coaster, in fact thats what I like about them, but no ride should ride the way that Son of Beast or Beast do. The one thing that annoys me when reading these kind of threads are the people who think that records automatically equal GREATEST RIDE EVER! Son of Beast may be the tallest, fastest, blah blah blah......but it also ranks around 80 on my list of wood coasters. Bigger does not equal better. Its been proven time and time again. Again, there are a few perfect examples in Indiana......Raven and Cornball come immediately to mind. The Beast will always be a sentimental favorite for some and thats perfectly OK. Please dont harp on those of us who strongly disagree though, especially if you haven't ridden anything OUTSIDE of Kings Island! How can some of you sit here and say that these other rides suck if you've never ridden them? Oh well, to each their own. Oh, as a random comment to something that someone else asked earlier. You are no alone. I've ridden Ghostride, its a fantastic ride.....definitely one of CCI's best! - Todd

Then may I ask who would...(or will)...build it? When I saw the concept for the Addams Family, I immediately thought of the Gerstlauer Eurofighter. It is a small ride, single cars....basically a wild mouse on steroids (which is pretty much what I consider IJ) and features a 97 degree first drop. I dont think a B&M Dive Machine was even a remote possibility for this. I hear the new Gerstlauer rides that opened at Worlds of Fun and Mall of America are quite fun though! Either way PKI went, we were going to end up with a small steel family coaster. - Todd

Is that the TOGO ride that they made the POV for? Those people were screaming in pain! lol Yup, thats the TOGO ride. Yikes! The Twist-n-Dive element is pretty sweet, unfortunately there is more to the ride after that. Its pretty darn rough, though I gotta say I think I give Viper at Great Adventure the slight nod for the roughness....holy cow! BTW, if in Vegas, I highly recommend going to the Adventure Dome at Circus Circus. Personally, I really enjoyed Canyon Blaster, it was a lot of fun and ran very smoothly! - Todd, Big Shot and High Roller were closed due to wind :-(

I think Boomerang Bay, besides being overly hyped as always, turned out pretty good! The new additions were much needed and really did enhance the experience. I surely spent A LOT of days over there. I would still like to see the older slides get some much needed TLC though, mostly just some new coats of paint to bring them up to par with the slides added. It was like going into two seperate worlds....bright, colorful new additions then you walked to the back where the old, faded slides were. Just my thoughts... - Todd

You are right, its all about the money! Its sad, but true. No, people are NOT blowing the removal of this ride out of proportion. As I stated in a previous post, not everyone had the same appreciation for the Eagles that some of us do. Sunday night was incredibly sad. For me, it wasn't necessarily the fact that the ride is leaving. Yes, I'm beyond angry about its removal......especially considering its history and the ample room that Kings Island has to expand. I also understand that it was mostly a corporate decision, therefore its hard to fault the park. I know there were some upset folks from PKI as well. What really hit home with me Sunday night were the memories that I had made on that ride just this past season alone. It was just assumed that I'd be seeing my friends at the Eagles.....darn near everynight after I got off work. To say the least, the Eagles had A LOT of sentimental value to me and many others. For what it is worth, I still love Kings Island as a whole. It will always hold a special place in my heart as I have grown up with the Park for the past 23 years. With that said, I agree with a comment that I read on another message board. PKI is losing its charm. The things that once made it stand out from all the others are slowly being removed one by one. The Antique Car site was beautiful, peaceful, one of my favorite areas in any park, anywhere. Whats left of that? Nothing. No trees, more still to be cleared. Its sad. I can hardly wait until next weekend to see what was once the location of the eagles. What is to become of the walkway between the Eagles and Beast? That nice, curvy, brick wall that lines the pathway, is it to come out also? I realized Sunday night that, of course, I will still visit PKI. As often as I did this summer, no way. I'm sure the Italian Job will be a nice addition, another worthy family attraction that fits the current trend of PKI. Its just sad that TWO great attractions had to be removed for it. You guys keep saying that PKI has to expand and attract people, I haven't seen much expansion in the last 10 years....only replacing. Oh well, like someone said, the mighty dollar always wins at the corporate parks. All the more reason that I will continue to visit places like Knoebels and support the smaller, family ran parks all that I can. Its always a real wake up call to visit one of those parks. The experience can't be rivaled in any big themer that I've ever been to. I gotta give props though to PKI's marketing team. Despite the recent events, they always go above and beyond. Sunday nights goodbye event for the Eagles was special and MOST appreciative. Many thanks for giving us the opportunity for the final rides on a ride that WILL be missed by many people. - Todd, who still knows PKI is a wonderful place.....just falling victim to the powers that be at corporate

Ya know, I got a call from a certain someone on this board last Friday before myself and coasterdime headed up to Knoebels. How incredibly depressing all this is. I realize that this decision has been mostly corporate and some people at PKI are upset about the removal. Still, its completely and totally one of the worse things I've seen from the Park in a long time. PKI has, perhaps, the worse flat ride collection of any park I've ever been to. Keep in mind, I've been to darn near every major theme park in this country now, so I have plenty to base that opinion on. I give them MAJOR kudos though, Delirium and Tomb Raider were FANTASTIC additions and a GREAT start at finally building that collection back up. Now here we are talking about the removal of not ONE, but TWO non coaster attractions. Two attractions that I feel added a lot to the Park's atmosphere. I've read posts on this board, as well as PKIUnlimited, from different people talking about how NO ONE will remember the Eagles and that NO ONE cares about them. I don't think anything could be further from the truth. Since the announcement, I've talked to several friends of mine about the news. No one can really believe it. The Flying Eagles have a history with Kings Island. They will be missed, contrary to the opinion of some on here. The Park will just not be the same next year for me. I certainly don't go for the coasters, as I feel the collection is mediocre at best. None of PKI's rides come even close to topping my personal favorites. The Eagles were the star of the Park for me. This past season was fantastic on them. I have made many new friends there this year, a few of which are truly starting to become some of my closest friends. Just doesn't seem to be a lot left for me. I have always been a fan of PKI and truly love the Park. Its had its ups and downs, but overall always seemed to do so many things right. Now, I gotta question the direction that Paramount seems to be going. I have never been overly excited about Italian Job, this recent decision will certainly hurt in welcoming it with open arms. I think it will be another great family addition to the Park. From my perspective, its an oversized wild mouse. No real big drops, fast and tight turns, with a launch. It'll be fun, but like the other coasters at PKI mediocre at best. Lets all pray that the thematic elements work on a consistent basis, as it seems a large portion of this new ride is based on just that. Italian Job sure isn't worth losing the two rides that we have now. For those who are ok with the changes, thats fine. Not everyone has the same opinion nor shares the same respect for the ride that others do. However, please be respectful enough to those of us who DO appreciate the ride for what it is and are truly saddened by the loss of ANOTHER classic KI ride. -- Todd, who realized at Knoebels this weekend that PKI truly DID have the best set of Scooters ANYWHERE

Well, lets see, I'm half a mile from the park......about 30 seconds? :-) Sounds about right. - Todd, can hear the whistle on Jackaroo Landing from his balcony

I'll second that! I went down last week to take a spin. Its an amazing ride......and beautiful to look at. The way it is nestled between the hills allows for some absolutely CRAZY changes in direction. It offers some crazy combinations of laterals and air, the speed throughout the second half of the ride is unbelievable, not to mention the station fly through is just cool :-) I HIGHLY recommend that you guys take a trip to Dollywood this season if possible, they have a winner on their hands! - Todd -

Hahaha, so true that they aren't smooth. Ya know, I can handle head banging. I used to LOVE Steel Phantom (RIP) at Kennywood....and darn did that thing slam ya around. However, Arrow rides with me are just like Son of Beast.......I don't like to have to defensively ride a coaster to enjoy it. I want to enjoy it in any seat, any condition, any day. Imagine the intensity that Vortex has WITHOUT the complimentary head bashing? :-) With that said, too bad the "new" Arrow came about a bit too late in the game to really get their feet wet with rides like Tennessee Tornado. - Todd - who really does appreciate Arrow's contribution to the industry

I guess from a pure manufacturing stand point, I give the nod to B&M. Simply put, they offer the best in quality. Well engineered rides, smooth riding experiences, minimal downtown time all equal a great investment by a park. From a ride experience, Intamin ALL the way. Nothing can top Superman at Six Flags New England for me, it really is the most amazing ride experience out there! I like the fact that they do try a lot of innovative ideas and seem to continue to roll out unique rides each time. As for Arrow.....I give them plenty of credit for the things they accomplished. Charles mentioned the attractions at Disneyland, Magnum XL 200, the first corkscrew coaster. Just a pity that most of the rides no longer offer a comfortable ride experience with those god awful transitions. I'll give 'em credit though, Tennessee Tornado is a VAST improvement over anything they've done, granted its not really the same company as in the past. Still, its a great ride.......very smooth! - Todd

Nothing new about this debate, but here goes.... PKI is perhaps one of my favorite parks, anywhere, PERIOD. Its not just "home park syndrome" that influences this opinion for me, it is experience.....there are only a handful of major parks left in the USA that I haven't been to yet. I think it has been said before that PKI is a well rounded Park. They truly do have a great balance of attractions, especially now that rides like Tomb Raider and Delirium are here. Cedar Point offers a completely different experience as far as I'm concerned. They have a fairly typical assortment of flat rides, nothing really sets it apart. OK, they have 16 coasters. Everyone always focuses on the quantity.....I prefer to look at quality. For me, there are only about 3 of those coasters that I would consider top tier. Millennium Force, Raptor, and Magnum. Dragster was fun, but quite honestly I found it to be somewhat dull. So the 4 rides I just mentioned definitely are above anything KI offers. The other 12 coasters? I feel they are on about the same level as PKI's, with some of PKI's definitely taking the upperhand. While Cedar Point certainly has an impressive skyline, most of the coasters are average or below average if ya really look at the big picture. PKI has a few great coasters, with the rest being average as far as I'm concerned. I think my perspective is this.....whats REALLY the difference? I think it was Charles that made the comment about being lucky to live in Ohio. I gotta agree, we've got some fantastic coasters here, go enjoy them all instead of whining here about PKI's lack of a 300 foot coaster. Oh, btw, someone posted that Dragster's problems had been corrected and that the ride was operating properly. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I understand its been down more than up so far this season.....complete with lots of roll backs and other fun issues. - Todd, who's #1 coaster isn't even in Ohio......Superman @ Six Flags New England anyone?

I don't believe it ever goes fully upside down. Check out these sites for more info. http://www.hussrides.com/33GiantJump2.htm http://www.pgathrills.com/attractions_rides.jsp (they call it Delirium) PGA's Delirium is not a Jump 2, its a KMG Afterburner I believe. I haven't ridden the Jump 2 at Wonderland, but I've ridden the regular version at Six Flags Great Adventure. I love the ride. Its fairly intense, but at the same time it kinda has some jerky motions that can be somewhat painful. From what I've heard about Sledge Hammer at Wonderland, its similiar to the other Giant rides from Huss. Much larger, not nearly as intense. I haven't read any glowing reviews of Sledge Hammer, I'm curious to head up and try it for myself this summer. BTW, Jump does not go upside down at any point - Todd

Just curious if anyone is heading to the Park on Easter Sunday? Seeing as how I won't be getting home from Orlando until late on Saturday, Sunday is going to be my first chance to hit the Park! I'll be flying solo, so if anyone wants to catch a few rides, I'm game. - Todd, missing his first opening day in years to go see Mickey Mouse :-)

The article said they wanted to build the property along SR. 741........NOT Kings Island Drive. Reading that, the Kings Island campground isn't going anywhere. Unless the article printed an error or something. Regardless, what a great idea and something that I think will be a hit around here! - Todd

I haven't noticed anything else posted, except the pictures from Feb. 10th......but A LOT has been happening in Boomerang Bay since then. The Tazmanian Typhoon funnel is nearly complete, with nearly all the panels in place except for the top section. As I was driving out to work this morning, I noticed a crane now over in the area near the Coolangatta Racers.....so I think we may see vertical construction begin very soon on those. Still no signs of vertical construction on the structure which will hold up the slide portion of Taz. Just thought I'd post a quick update. - Todd

Actually, the picture that you are referring to only shows the FIRST car. Which has always been RED. So thats correct. However, if you look at the aerial shot on Thrill Ride, you can see the colors fade on the train. Check out the train on lift two, take a look at the last car. There are pictures in some books that I have that do show the old colors. When the ride ran 4 bench cars, the paint scheme did fade from the lead car back. Check out this picture from a 1979-1980 picture book: http://pkiconnect.tripod.com/1979_Page_Sixteen.htm You can't tell me THAT picture is faded, because clearly nothing else in the picture has any type of color variation. - Todd

Flight Commander wasn't fast. All of the cars were raised 60 feet, according to Park literature, and then began to rotate around the tower. Once you were at the highest point, you were then able to control the motion of your car. You could make it climb, have it dive back down, or flip it upside down. I think I'm one of the few who actually liked the ride. I was totally pumped up when I went to PGA about 4 years ago, they still had their version. It rode very differently from what I remember of Flight Commander. I think the ability to manuever the car had been toned down somewhat. Of course, now that I think about it, I believe Flight Commander also had some changes following the death. I'm surprised the ride lasted as long as it did after she came out. Sad as it may have been, the girl was heavily intoxicated. Being so lose and relaxed, she apparently slid to the side of the car when she tried to spin it upside down. Someone else had posted something about how the loading platform was setup on our ride. I thought that was the neatest feature about it. Basically, the queue ended up running under the ride and a set of stairs brought you up to the loading platform. At that point, you were under the ride itself. Pretty cool and probably better for capacity. They could assign people to their car and already have them waiting to load while the ride was in motion. Man I wish I would have taken some pictures back then! I can't seem to find ANY pictures of Flight Commander in my collection, the only thing I have is a folder with the logo on the front of it. If anyone would happen to stumble across some, post a link or something here! It was a cool concept for a ride, too bad it was so short lived. - Todd

Today was a great day in the Park. While I didn't do too much riding today, I was mostly just hanging out with some friends, it was a nice day to be at the Park. I picked up a map on the way out, there is an advertisement for FearFest and one of its new attractions called Rt. 666. Could they possibly be turning the Antique Cars into a haunted attraction this year? Sounds like a neat idea to me. - Todd

There was a message posted on one of the boards requesting riders for both shoots, so it was as simple as emailing a response. Jeff picked out Allen to do the narration. I was just standing there talking to Allen and they ended up placing me beside him, then interviewing me later on. It was odd, I normally don't make noise on rides...I'm just kinda quiet. For the video shoot, I HAD to make some noise, hehe. - Todd, gotta love Delirium!

Hehehe, guess I'll be appreciating how young I look when I'm 30 years old. Chef, I'm actually 22 :-) Moving on, I thought they did a great job with the Delirium segment. They definitely had some interesting camera angles. Its nice to see PKI get some spotlight, very much deserved! - Todd

Whats even more amazing than hearing the screaming girls all the way back at Tomb Raider? I could hear them screaming, as well as the concert itself, from my apartment balcony! I forgot the Park was open until 10PM, so when the fireworks started going off I was surprise. I sat on my balcony watching them, then I noticed all the music. It was definitely a little wierd :-) - Todd

Nights of Fire went on pretty much as scheduled. I had never been before, so this was my first time. Very happy it didn't get canceled, though I thought for sure it was. It really was looking bad out, but all it did was rain for about 30 minutes. Then they fired it up a little after 10. It was impressive, but I think a few things may not have been functioning properly due to the weather. Even still, the show was awesome! I'm looking forward to next years already, I'll be able to sit on my balcony and watch them - Todd

Son of Beast not long enough to run three trains? That isn't true at all. 7000 feet of track is far from being a short ride. I have a couple thoughts as to why running three trains never materialized. 1. Ridership: 1st season was tough, it was late summer before a second train was able to be added. After it was, a lengthy line for Sonny just didn't happen that often. I was there at least 2-3 times a week, so I was able to do a lot of observing. I think it is pretty well known that Son of Beast didn't quite make the impact expected. 2. Maintanance: If capacity is very efficient with 2 trains, why put more wear and tear on the track by placing a third train on? Honestly, I see no reason for running three trains on the ride, I can't tell y ou the last time I've actually waited more than 20 minutes for it. I think its perfectly fine the way it is.. On a side note, I think I had my best ever ride on it about a week ago. Fairly smooth and running fast, best I've *ever* seen the second half run! Job well done by PKI on keeping Sonny running well! - Delirium Guy