Voicetek

Exactly what I was thinking. The thing that's always confused me is how they determine exactly which one of those individual riders is the millionth. Thanks for the info!

I always wondered how they know exactly who the 1 millionth rider is on these rides. Do they literally keep track of every single person who rides, or is it more of an estimated guess? Was this person really the millionth person to sit down on a Mystic Timbers train? Maybe someone can explain how this works, cause I've always been curious.

While I don't hate this idea, I just don't see KI implementing something like this because it would require them to add a new system(s) to track the new bands and different tiers. Regardless of if it's a kiosk where you scan your band and it tracks your times, or if it's as simple as a hand scanner that a ride-op scans, at even the most basic options, it would still require KI to install some type of timer/tracking system. What incentive is there for them to spend money on reinventing something that's already in place and already making them a ton of money? It costs them pennies to hand out little paper wrist bands at $60+ a pop. It's basically like printing their own money and they don't have to change a thing. If KI was going to implement some kind of wristband tracking system, I'd like to see them install something like the TapuTapu system that Universal has at their Volcano Bay. It would be interesting to see Cedar Fair install something like this where you could walk up to the ride you want to ride, tap your band to the kiosk, add yourself to the virtual queue, then walk away. Although this would be a great system for guests to utilize, it would be a huge investment for Cedar Fair - then this goes back to my original statement, what incentive is there for them to spend money on this? At this point, none. I think currently, Cedar Fair is happy enough to hand out little paper wristbands and let the guests line up in a separate entrance regardless of how long the waits become.

^Yes, this is kind of what I expected too. When I saw the saw blades hanging on the wall, I kept watching them waiting for them to start spinning. I was actually kind of expecting the Tree Monster to be inhabiting the shed. I didn't expect it to be as sophisticated an animatronic as what Disney has, but I figured it could be done on a lower level of some sort. I also wanted to see vines moving around, like he was completely overrunning the shed. Also, I kind of wish there was a little bit of artificial fog or something to give the shed a creepy ambiance. I think that would add another layer to it.

I never thought the shed would be on par with anything Disney offers in their attractions. That being said, it was still a let down for me. One thing I despise more than anything are screen projections on a ride. To me it just feels like a cop out because you were too cheap or too lazy to install physical effects. Now granted, the shed does have SOME physical effects. However, to me projected animations (poor animations, mind you, that are poorly rendered), just feel a bit cheesy. One good thing about the projections, though, is that they can change them. I do find it interesting that there are different endings with different creatures. I'll be interested to see if they continue to update those through the years or swap them out for other animations during different events (ie: Haunt, etc). And yes, right now Mystic Timbers is 13 years newer than Backlot Stunt Coaster so, as we would expect, all the effects still work. I'm wondering though, what will the shed look like a decade from now? Will all the projections still work? Will the physical effects still work? Hopefully the ending won't turn into something where we just roll in, hear some music playing and then roll out without any effects and without any projections. Since we do have theming and effects inside the shed, I really hope KI stays on top of them and keeps them all running. Looking at KI's track record though, I'm a little concerned (see Adventure Express, Boo Blasters, Backlot Stunt Coaster). Only time will tell I guess. Right now we can just enjoy what we've got. Even those that don't enjoy the ending, or who were disappointed in it can still enjoy the coaster. I don't ride Mystic Timbers for the shed ending, I ride it for the amazing coaster it is.

While out with my 14 yr old niece recently, she asked me if I knew that "The Vortex was sinking." I quickly informed her that that was just a rumor and that it's been going around for years. Not sure where this rumor started and how it keeps getting spread around.

^Totally agree with the actors' voices being bad on Mystic Timbers. They're horrible! Especially the guy doing the whole spiel as you climb the first lift. "Go back home to your video games..." Oh boy! This guy sounds like some teenager trying really hard to sound threatening. They really needed someone with a deeper, more intimidating voice. This whole spiel just sounds ridiculous and cheesy. The first time I heard it, it made me cringe. Everything else about the ride is great, so it's kind of a shame that the first lift has such a horrible voice track.

Just wondering, if no cars made after 1972 are allowed in the parking lot for retro night, how are guests supposed to get to the park?

Having an Antique Car attraction that follows the current path of Dinosaurs Alive and having one that sits where Flight Commander used to sit are two different ideas. One could possibly work, the other is just way out of the question. Too bad KI doesn't have rights to Hanna-Barbara anymore, cause you could merge a car ride with Dinosaurs Alive, have the cars shaped like Flintstone cars, and you could drive through Bedrock. I personally wouldn't mind driving a car through the woods and seeing Dinosaurs. That might actually be sort of neat.

Not quite sure how anyone thinks an Antique Car ride of any size could possibly fit on the old Flight Commander spot. How big a spot do you think that is? The only type of Antique Car ride that could sit on that spot would be the kind of ride that sits outside of grocery stores where you put a quarter in so you can move up and down a few times. A full-fledged Antique Car attraction could never fit in such a small space.

I hope it doesn't get replaced, but I do wish it would get refurbished. I'd like to see all the effects working again like they did when it was new.

^ I believe that the Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal had a spinning platform. Although I've never heard of such and occurrence happening at KI, could that be the flume you're talking about?

I'm excited to see EPCOT get some love. As much as I didn't really agree with the whole "Maelstrom to Frozen" refurb, I don't really mind the announcement of the other IPs coming to the park. Ratatouille in the France pavilion sounds like a good idea to me, and I don't necessarily mind Guardians of the Galaxy taking over the Universe of Energy. However, one thing that was missing from the announcement is the fate of Figment and his Journey into Imagination ride. Though not a fan of this current version, I'd hate to see Figment get removed completely as he's become somewhat of an unofficial mascot for EPCOT and also one of my favorite Disney Park characters. Although there have been some rumors, nothing was confirmed or denied. One of the rumors currently floating around is that Journey into Imagination will get completely redone and characters from Inside Out will be added and they, with Figment, will take guests on a journey (through the mind?). Like I said, nothing was confirmed, but I think this could be an interesting makeover for the Imagination Pavilion and could potentially breathe new life into this 'almost dead' attraction.

I'm still shocked this happened. I read the report and saw the video and it kind of ruined the rest of my night last night. So sad for everyone involved and I can't even imagine witnessing/being a part of something like this. This is one of the reasons why I don't get on rides at carnivals, fairs, or festivals. I just don't trust them. And not to judge, but most of the time the people running them don't really look too professional. I hope the investigations reveal some answers and that they can remedy the glitch in this particular ride so it never happens again. Also, hopefully stricter regulations will be put into place for these types of rides. It would be nice to never hear of a similar tragedy on a carnival ride ever again. Prayers for all involved.

This ride was quite something. I rode it several times, each ride scaring the heck out of me, and each ride beating me up pretty bad. It was crazy! It was like riding an out of control train. The thing took off down the hill and from then on it was a wild ride til the end. There was not one time riding it that I didn't come off sore. I tried to like it, I really did, but it just hurt too much lol. If not for the pain, it would've been a great ride. At some point I decided to quit riding it on my visits to the park because as good as it was, it wasn't worth getting beat up over. When they created this ride, they really did create a "beast" but it was a beast they couldn't tame regardless of how hard they tried.

^This is very true.

^I said 3 that were non-coaster, non-spinning flat. I've got family members that won't go on any type of coaster no matter how small or anything with a drop. This would include Adventure Express and even Congo Falls. Also, I tend to get motion sickness on anything that spins, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. That would rule out flats such as Scrambler, Monster, and similar others. That being said, I did forget about a couple. So basically the attractions that are non-coaster and non-spinning that could potentially accommodate the whole family would be Boo Blasters, White Water Canyon, K.I. & Miami Valley Railroad, Eiffel Tower, and maybe the Carousel. Dodgems would be fine too I suppose. That still doesn't leave a whole lot of attractions that would accommodate lots of different family members.

One thing, I think, that KI is lacking are rides that the entire family can ride together. While visiting the past Friday night, I realized that the only rides that could be ridden together as a family were Boo Blasters, White Water Canyon, and the train (if you count the train as a "ride"). However, if you're not in the mood to get soaked, then that immediately eliminates White Water Canyon. All the coasters are out because there might be someone too old or too young to ride, or they just don't like coasters at all. I know my mom won't get on any coaster, not even the smallest one in the park. Most the flat rides spin, so anyone in the family who gets motion sick (including people like me) would not be able to ride any of those. So what is left? Boo Blasters. Wow, what a "high-quality" family ride...yippee! What I'd like to see are more rides that could be ridden altogether as a family. This would, of course, include more dark rides - or at least one more. Not sure what other types of rides this would include, but if you think about it, most the rides at KI would require family members of different ages and interests to split up. I'd like to see some new rides installed to fix this problem.

My wife and I decided to ride out to KI for a few hours Friday night. Great decision! Although it was rather humid, the lines were non-existent. Mystic Timbers had about a 10 minute wait all evening, so we took advantage of that and rode it a couple times while we were there. We FINALLY got to experience Mystic Timbers at night with our first true night ride. We got to ride it a month or two ago at dusk, but it wasn't quite dark yet. However, this time it was completely dark and it was amazing! I still think The Beast is my favorite night ride, but Mystic Timbers is right up there with it. The way the track twists and turns is so much more unexpected at night since you can't really see the track all that well - it makes it even more exciting! Let's talk about the shed - about 98% of the time we ride we get the "Bats" ending. Does it seem that they play that ending the most, or do we have just really sucky luck? The other 2% we've gotten the snakes. We've never ever seen the Tree ending. We even went one weekday afternoon and decided to ride it over and over to try to catch the different endings. However we had no luck. Just a bunch of bats over and over with the occasional snake. We're hoping to catch the tree ending at some point this season. I guess we'll keep trying! Mystic Timbers is a great coaster though. I love how fast and smooth it is, and the way it tosses you around is fantastic. I also love the interaction with White Water Canyon and the smell of the water as you get further back into the woods. All in all it's just a great experience!

^True. I just think it feels a little too crowded back there. Perhaps my original description of "disaster" was a little overkill. I just feel like things get a little too cramped back there and could have been laid out a little better maybe.

WindSeeker's placement is a disaster! Not sure what they'd do back there, it's already a mess. I wish they would've put more thought into where they should place that thing. Even if they wanted to do something with the old Action Theater building, I'm not sure how they'd get guests back there easily.

You can get Kings Island's famous blue ice cream at a place called the Whipty-Do which isn't but 5-10 minutes from Kings Island. My wife and I have been out there a few times the past couple of summers and have gotten their blue ice cream. You can get a large serving of it in a waffle cone for less than what you'd pay at the park for a regular size cone. It tastes exactly the same, we can't tell any difference at all. From what I understand, they get it from the same supplier KI does. So if you've got a craving for the blue ice cream, but can't get to the park, this is definitely a great back up option.

This is one of the reasons why we don't eat in the park. Food prices are absolutely ridiculous and I refuse to give into that kind of robbery. If we're going to be at the park longer than just a few hours, I will gladly leave and come back rather than to drop $20 on low-quality junk. If people would take a stand and quit buying food, and more importantly food plans, you'd see the park remedy the situation so fast it will make your head spin. Like someone said on here in the past, the park already has your money in advance for the food you're going to eat (food plan purchases), so what's motivating them to step up their game? If people are buying this food regularly, then why put forth extra effort to change things? The only way change will happen is if the park feels pressure to do so. Pressure usually comes in the form of lack of profits. As long as people are willing to spend $20 on chicken crap, we probably won't see a change. Remember, as consumers we vote with our wallets. What are you voting for?

Yes. This exactly. I agree 100%. One thing to add, there is a difference between being funny/witty, and just being annoying. It takes absolutely no thought at all to say something like, "Thanks for riding Vortex at Cedar Point" when you are actually riding another ride at King Island. Misnaming the ride AND the park is just immature and pointless. It's not funny. Can you imagine if you were at Disney World getting off of Small World or 'Pirates' and you heard the ride OP say something like, "I hope you enjoyed your ride on Transformers here at Universal Studios." Talk about throwing you for a loop! The thing is though, you'd never hear that because, one, it's pointless, and two, I'm sure they'd be given a swift talking to if their boss heard them say that, and lastly, I feel like they respect their attractions too much to pull that kind of immature ridiculousness. Now for those of us who visit weekly or even daily, this probably isn't a big deal. We know the names of the attractions so well that we know the ride ops are just (trying) to joke around. However, imagine you're that guest who's never visited the park before and isn't familiar with any of the attractions or their names. Now imagine you're riding, what you thought was, Banshee and then you come back to the station and hear a ride up say something like "How was your ride on Flight of Fear?" Not only would you be confused, but you might even leave thinking you had the name of the attraction wrong all along. My point is that it's just not necessary. I don't care so much that we've got teenagers on mics, but give us something else besides fake names and immature ramblings. Get creative. Come up with a fun way to give us interesting facts about THAT attraction as well as new ways to relay to us the safety info that we need to hear.

Kinda like the time I heard "Let it Go" inside the queue for Boo Blasters. I kind of wish KI would decide whether they want custom theming, or music videos on flat screens. However, having both of them at the same time can be quite jarring.