bschwegman

agreed. but i do think when you pop over that large airtime hill, your going to be staring down the coney midway at least.

said goodbye to this icon tonight.

I am devastated about the news, its such an iconic coaster for the park and has been such an integral part of it history. I just rode it this past Sunday and told a friend i was optimistic it would get a paint job in the off season and that it needed an ACE landmark recognition. And while i am going to try and be optimistic about what will replace it someday... i don't buy for a second that it had reached its end of service. I honestly believe it could of been rehabbed and saved... but clearly the park wants to allot money elsewhere. That's a poor decision in my view.

i get the UK joke in this... and its going to more like a world class legacy your going to have to endure for a lifeitme...

i'm surprised no one is talking about Invertigo being removed? its seems rather redundant now that Banshee is around.

ended up having a great preview night. drove thru the parking entrance around 3:20... (no issues with traffic aside the normal 71 stop'n'go coming from downtown.) my friend needed to process his new pass (new to the area and his first visit to KI as well) but luckily the worker who was tending to that line, said my friend could just scan his barcode at the gate, and he would just have to get it processed before his second visit.. (avoided that long wait!) and was inside waiting by the fountain shortly before 4pm when they opened the whole park (also avoided the crowds heading back to Mystic Timbers early.) rode the first train of the season on The Bat with the first riders walking on. Banshee maybe a 10min wait, walked on Adventure Express and Racer. the coney section was fairly empty around 5pm.... maybe 20mins for FOF and 15mins for Firehawk. walked on Vortex... and then was met by a wave of people upon entering Rivertown... 45 mins for Diamondback was fine. the one hiccup was food/bev ... lines for anything food or drink related were already insane at this point tho we did manage to get a couple beers after standing at the bar at the reds grill for about 25mins... but our idea of relaxing and having a couple beers while we waited for nightfall was an anxiety filled joke trying to get a bartenders attention and we were surround by frustrated people trying to do the same. (it was like RTC level of angry peeps when you don't have enough food and drink stalls..haha) so we relaxed instead by checking out Mystic Timbers from the eiffle tour (and realized just how quickly the entire park had filled up...) waited 1hr for a front seat night ride on The Beast. and at 9:15 we got in line for Mystic Timbers and just after midnight got onboard. exited thru a empty park and empty parking lot. good karma or well played, I'm not sure.. but we both had a blast!

i would establish better landscaping and build a Mack coaster i assume.

so with it basically confirmed that Shake Rattle and Roll is being refurbished and will be reinstalled in 2015.. i suspect we will be getting another flat ride such as this added to the back section of Coney Mall (hopefully in the old Flight Commander spot) http://www.hussrides.com/giant-rides/jump2.html ... just a speclative hunch.

would love to see the crypt building removed... and a mack water coaster installed.

i'd do anything for a classic schwarzkopf ride!! there is still space and hope for a Bayern Kurve in the old skylab space in front of AE... hmm.

i have say my intial thought at first was the Backlot Stunt Coaster... its just an eyesore. would love to see a maverick style coaster or something that could blend in with the geography and much needed improved landscaping there at the centerpiece of the park. but after reading though here, it does seem congo falls is out of place the most. and i wish people would leave adverture express alone. just respect it for what it is, a mine train coaster and a great mild family ride. its a specific genre of coaster thats about as classic as the modern amusement park itself. besides, there is plenty of space for expanding to the same area behind Banshee as hightlighted on here from the Xbase area. which also brings up the point, i wouldnt mind seeing Firehawk being removed, perhaps a better B&M flying coaster could go where congo falls is currently... certainly would make that area an aviation themed area for coasters. and ohio is the birthplace of aviation... could all even work in a haunted ohio theme as well. anyway, just my random thoughts on the matter.

are the rails on The Vortex not orange??

i lived in chicago during that time... and i will tell you, Superman was planned for the WIzzer location at SFGA.. but once coaster folk learned they were scrapping a classic Schwarzkopf coaster, the community started petitions against it.. and they ended up scrapping shockwave instead simply because they needed a place to implant the new coaster. and The Vortex is special... sure, it was amoung the first chapter of many mega looping arrows that followed.. but its still a major attraction. and as long as they can maintain it... i'm certain it will remain.