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PTR Sunday Aug 23


Tomkatt7
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We wanted to do the KIC event, but we couldn't.So we decided to hit the park today, along with my nephew who hasn't ever been to park, well, not sense he was a wee little one. He wanted to try riding the coasters, he watched a bunch of POV's on Youtube, and thought he was ready.

He wasn't.

He did try though, so I give it up to him for that. We got him on 2 coasters today, maybe next time we can get him on another, and end up turning him in to a "Ride Warrior"? Who knows.

We got to the park very early, and what was waiting on us at the gate? You got it.

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We took the Keyhole Photo, and ran back for The Racer. We thought it would be a good first coaster. He has seen it before, but never ridden it, and he wanted to give it a shot.

I had a plan, I was going to ride with him, in the middle cars of every train, just to get him used to the "feel" of a coaster.

I had no idea though, that we would walk on to The Racer, and be the ONLY ONES there. We were the first riders of the day. I forgot about helping him, and jumped straight in to the first car!. Well, my wife was thinking better, so she took care of him. His first ride was described by him to be, "Super Fun, Super Scary, and I'm done riding"!

We came off of that, decided to go watch Delirium run for awhile.

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They wanted to try it out, but alas, the test seats were as far as they got!

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We went over to take a spin on Back Lot, and I was surprised to see that, after a discussion on the boards, the water has been cleaned on the splash down area of Back Lot. Can we still call it that even though it doesn't splash anymore?

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My daughter likes to ride, and this "taking it easy" stuff didn't suit her. So, her and my wife decided to do a lap on Diamond Back. Got a picture of them, riding row 14, coming over the small hills.

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We left there, and headed towards Flight Deck. Took a turn on that, waiting for the front car.

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By that time, we decided to break for lunch. The park seemed VERY crowded today. We are used to visiting on week days, and this Sunday stuff wasn't working for us. Long lines, lots of people, but at least it was cool out, and no rain.

After a brief trip to Wendy's, we came back to the park, and accidentally parked in the "Gold Pass" lot. It really was an accident that we ended up there, but I didn't figure out where we were until we were already in there, so I just pulled all the way to the rear, and parked where there was no one else. I don't think I was taking a spot away from anyone. There were empty spots around when I parked, and when we left, so I was OK with it.

Back in the park, it was time for my lap on Diamondback.

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We walked around a bit more, I stopped in to one of my favorite places at the park, took a picture just prove to you all that some people do actually use these spots! LOL

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We ended up doing a lot of walking, My nephew wasn't grooving on the coasters at all. He rode Adventure Express after lunch as well, he did enjoy that one.

A few side notes. We stayed from about 9 to 6 today, Got to see the Cincinnati Bear Cats Football team. The entire train on my Diamondback ride was full of the players. Witnessed a total of 2 people smoking outside of the designated area, and ZERO line jumps. We were blown away by the fact that there were three times as many people at the park today than when we went on a weekday, but we saw many, many more line jumpers on our weekday visit. Maybe the line jumping punks were afraid one of those big football players would snatch them up for jumping? who knows? It was a nice thing to not have to see though.

I couldn't leave the park with out a ride on The Beast.

So in closing, here are a few shots of me and Katie on it, plus a couple of other random pictures.

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Thanks for reading,

Had a really good time today, the place was just a bit crowded for my taste.

One more thing,

We noticed a really foul smell today at the park. Mostly when walking down Coney Mall towards Vortex, and again while in the station for The Beast. It smelled like raw sewage. Very nasty.

Is this something that happens from time to time at the park? Or was it something new?

I have never noticed it before in my other trips, but I know a lot of people here go a lot more often than we do.

Thanks again.

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I also went today, went early the park got a bit crowded around 1pm ish, but finally seen down home country that was great!!! show, rode some rides, and still love avatar...

Has anyone noticed that ki is got a lot of stuff on sale scooby, nick, a 75percent off store, flinstones yes flinstones, they must have had stuff buried in warehouses!!! So Cedar Fair is clearing it out!!!

good for us

i'm sure bad for them!!!

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Nice trip report. I also went to the park today and I didn't think it was too crowded. I had been on a few weekdays earlier in the season and I found it less crowded today. I only didn't get to ride FH and FOF, which had waits of 60 minutes and 45 minutes respectively. Everything else had a wait less than (or about) 30 minutes. I also saw the UC football teams and got a poster and my shirt signed by many of the players. Glad you had fun. The weather was perfect. :)

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Great to see you had a great time again. Tell your nephew to buy a Blue Devils shirt, it will give him the confidence to ride any coaster at any park. If he is a true DCI fan, he will know what I am talking about.

He knows the Blue Devils very well. Talks about them a lot.

His high school has/had a very good marching band.

They got to go to Phoenix last year, took second place in their competition, and first place in the parade. (Fiesta Bowl).

On top of that, their band has marched in Macy's TG Day Parade, Orlando, for the Queen of England, and I think they did Clintons inauguration as well.

After all of that, plus lots of other stuff that I'm sure I'm missing, the district's tax levy failed this year, and they cut out ALL extra activities. No football, basketball, band,prom, homecoming...nothing. High schoolers don't even get bussing now. That was one of the reasons we went today. He was talking about wanting to go, but wouldn't have time, because of his band practices. It got cancelled, so we figured we could take him to the Island, and help him forget about all of it, even if it's just for a few hours.

:(

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Great to see you had a great time again. Tell your nephew to buy a Blue Devils shirt, it will give him the confidence to ride any coaster at any park. If he is a true DCI fan, he will know what I am talking about.

Haha, +1 for Monroe.

Great trip report Tomkatt. That's quality family time, for sure. Maybe next time your nephew will get some more coasters under his belt. ;)

Also, all those extra curricular activities getting cut is a travesty. That's a real shame to see many of these kids' loves get taken away.

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^^That is an impressive roll call on his part, I hope that the lack of music in school does not deter him from continuing. Tell him to keep his spirits up. I also wanted to thank you for posting your trips, they always bring back great memories for me with my father. We as a community on here, often forget what this park is really about, and that is family. It doesn't matter if it is 2 or 10 people together, or even if they are related or not, as long as we all have a good time. Very therapeutic if you ask me, or my daughter who is very disappointed we did not get one last week day trip in before she started school. She is looking forward to haunt though.

Only +1/2 iChase, the Blue Devils may have 13 DCI championships, but Phantom can hold there own with 2 DCI championships. (One of them was a tie, but I think they got ripped off.)

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Monroe... Don't you dare tell that poor kid to get a BD shirt when he clearly needs to get one from Carolina Crown (my alma mater)!

Based on your description of his band, it sounds like he attends Grove City, and if that is the case, he is a part of a fantastic program that due to an unsupportive community, lost all its funding for extracurriculars this year. What an absolute shame :-\ Football and Band at GCHS were quite the spectacle on Friday nights for sure.

I was on the staff the year they went to London for the New Year's day parade... what an incredible treat!

In any event - no Blue Devils... only Crown ;)

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^^That is an impressive roll call on his part, I hope that the lack of music in school does not deter him from continuing. Tell him to keep his spirits up. I also wanted to thank you for posting your trips, they always bring back great memories for me with my father. We as a community on here, often forget what this park is really about, and that is family. It doesn't matter if it is 2 or 10 people together, or even if they are related or not, as long as we all have a good time. Very therapeutic if you ask me, or my daughter who is very disappointed we did not get one last week day trip in before she started school. She is looking forward to haunt though.

Thanks, Very nice of you to say that.

I gotta wonder now though, is there some sort of "musical dispute" between you and Chase? I am refering to the score keeping.

My nephew is a snare player, we live in Columbus so he loves the Buckeyes (just like 90% of us), but he does not want to march there.

He said he does not like to carry his drum on his hip like they do. He wants to go to OU, (his mom says no way to that!) or Cincinnati. It was right up his alley to see all the bearcats in the park today. hopefully, he can figure out something to keep his music going. He really is very good, but I guess we all say that about our own kids don't we!!! LOL

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I've always wondered when Crown was finally going to have the chops to blow into the top 3 and apparently this was the year, and very deserving at that. I have often wondered when the good ole' boys (Cavies, Cadets and BD) would finally be challenged by some of the younger groups building momentum. 2010 promises to be another great year...

Tomkatt... I dont blame your nephew for not wanting to march at OSU, they are exceptionally old school and traditional. But its what they do and it works. College band never held a candle to Corps or HS band for that matter to me. Ohio is fortunate to have both Glassmen (cough cough), and Bluecoats. In addition, most corps have audition camps somewhere in the Ohio/Indiana area - he should consider it. Drum Corps is an experience second to none! Although, if he ever utters the words "cascades or pioneer"... Kidnap him until auditions are over ;)

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Monroe... Don't you dare tell that poor kid to get a BD shirt when he clearly needs to get one from Carolina Crown (my alma mater)!

Based on your description of his band, it sounds like he attends Grove City, and if that is the case, he is a part of a fantastic program that due to an unsupportive community, lost all its funding for extracurriculars this year. What an absolute shame :-\ Football and Band at GCHS were quite the spectacle on Friday nights for sure.

I was on the staff the year they went to London for the New Year's day parade... what an incredible treat!

In any event - no Blue Devils... only Crown ;)

Yes, Grove City is his school.

Just a small little point to make, without getting into a "political discussion"

I don't think Grove City failed to support the school. As you point out, the Football games were quite the site to see. It was a district wide vote, that covered a total of 4 high schools, Grove City only being one of them. The final vote tally was something like 13 thousand for, 14 thousand against. I think the actual total of difference was around 800 votes.

I know a lot of parents were heavily involved in trying to pass it, and put in long hours. On the other side, there was some fierce opposition to it as well. It was a very brutal fight, and the worst part is, the kids got played as pawns in their game, and are the ones really paying the price.

I'm gonna shut up about it now, I get too worked up when I start thinking about it! :wacko:

I will ask him about Crown though, I'm sure he knows who they are.

I can't tell you how big of a kick he going to get out of this though. When I tell him that my trip report turned in to a marching band discussion because of his shirt!

The guy running the football pass game at the park talked to him about it as well, when he saw the shirt.

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^^^No dispute at all, just a little DCI banter. UC is a very good school, especially if he can get into CCM (Only if he is very serious about the music) Another thing he might want to try is a drum corps like Phantom or one of the smaller ones close to home. Either way he goes, I do wish him all the luck.

(A quick little tip on the band thing: if he is a true drum corps fan, he will not like you calling it a marching band. It's kind of like the people say the darndest things thread, some one from the outside will not get it. So when you tell him, make sure you say drum corps and not band, he will love you forever then. The littlest things are always the biggest deal aren't they?)

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Thanks, he isn't sure what to do yet. He is still hopeful that it will get worked out.

He wants to study music in college, but isn't sure it will work without having band in high school.

I know his parents are prepared to move out of the district if it isn't solved by next school year.

He has lost one year already, and you only get 4 to begin with, so there isn't much time!

Now, all this DCI stuff...it isn't really band, right?

Just drum corps?

I have no idea what the difference is, but I do hear him talking about it. ALL THE TIME!!! LOL

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^^^No dispute at all, just a little DCI banter. UC is a very good school, especially if he can get into CCM (Only if he is very serious about the music) Another thing he might want to try is a drum corps like Phantom or one of the smaller ones close to home. Either way he goes, I do wish him all the luck.

(A quick little tip on the band thing: if he is a true drum corps fan, he will not like you calling it a marching band. It's kind of like the people say the darndest things thread, some one from the outside will not get it. So when you tell him, make sure you say drum corps and not band, he will love you forever then. The littlest things are always the biggest deal aren't they?)

Point taken!!!

LOL thanks for the advice. I will never utter the "B" word again!!

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Great pics.

I can jump in on the band/corps talk too.

I played snare in West Carrollton back in the 90's. We had an okay band, but our drum line was great. I always thought Grove City had a great program and was one of the bands/lines I had to see at competitions or when we'd go to State in Columbus.

I went to Ohio State out of High School and went to orientation for their band, but didn't go to try-outs because it's totally different than what I'd experienced in HS and wasn't what I really wanted to do. I liked preforming and with their band it's more about just keeping with tradition and playing Hang on Sloopy all the time. It's great to watch and see the tradition continue, but if your nephew wants to go on performing and trying new and inventive aspects of marching then the Corps should be where he goes.

Sadly, after HS I didn't go to try out for any Corps but I followed them religiously and always loved the Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment. Regiment's New World show is still one of my favorites.

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That has been his number one concern right now.

How is he going to be able to compete for a spot on a drum corp, if he can't even practice in his band in HS?

He is still practicing at home on his own, and his parents say they will move him to a different school next year if they have too.

The sad part is, all the other parents will do the same for their kids, and we will have to witness the death of a very long and proud tradition in Grove City. Once it's gone and parents move away, who will pick it back up?

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Great PTR Tomkatt7. Sounds like you all had a great time and yes, the weather could not have been any more perfect than what it was.

I was actually at the park, scheduled to work until 6 but got off at 3 due to overstaffing. So I went in and started what would be a great day but sad day as well as I went to see the final 4 shows of County Line. Had a great time watching but was sad after the final show ended.

Good luck to your nephew with the band situation, I can imagine it's probably hard to not be able to participate in something like that because it got cut. Hope everything works out and he still has a great time in band like he always has.

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Thanks for all the comments. They were nice to read.

I had dinner with my nephew tonight, and we talked some more about Drum Corps.

He says he would love to try out after high school, providing band gets going again, and he can keep his chops.

His Drum Corp of choice?

Blue Coats

I just thought it was funny that his Phantom shirt started this whole discussion, and when we met him tonight:

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Only a teenager would go in to a nice restaurant with his own drink from McDonalds!

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Great PTR Tom, really enjoyed this photo:

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Love the flag they have flying at The Beast!

Thanks, I like the flag too, but truthfully the reason I picked this photo was the background.

I like the edges having the two big steel coasters, and the middle having The Beast train with the trees (woods), behind it.

Sums up KI to me!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I came from a high school where the marching band is almost non-existent and the music ed division has been gone for a few years now. I have had absolutely NO theory, history, or anything like that and I am currently a freshman in Music Education at Ohio University and it really isn't that bad. I also just came back from an audtion for the Marching 110 but didn't quite make it. There were very few spots and tons of new freshman...so...what can you do? BUT, the point I'm trying to make here is that even though he hasn't had band for a while being a music major isn't really that bad.

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