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KI: An Alternate View


The Interpreter
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Terpy, that is an amazing article! Thanks for posting it!

 

I'm 46, and I can still thoroughly enjoy the The Beast, Banshee, Bat, Diamondback and BLSC with all the thrill of when I was a teen so many few minutes ago. I cannot stop the cruel march of time, but as it becomes more and more precious, I try to live in the now as much as possible. AE, Vortex and Racer always cause day-ending problems for me, so I've retired from those legendary bada$$es, and I literally mourned that (I actually cried when I realized that it was time to let those longtime 'friends' go.) Sigh. What can you do? C'est la Vie.  B)

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"For starters, there are the lines. Long lines. Seemingly never-ending lines. Lines that remind me of waiting to pay my taxes until the last possible day and standing there, zombie-like, at city hall, hoping that by the time I get to the front, I’ve remembered all of my paperwork.


The lines themselves are bad enough, but the worst part is the people you get trapped in line next to, which is a total roll of the dice. There is always a chance you could get stuck in line next to someone who is, to use a technical term, a total moron. You just never know when you are going to be fortunate enough to spend the better part of an afternoon standing next to someone who talks about inane things, invades your personal space, doesn’t practice good hygiene or — if you are lucky enough — some combination of all three.


There are generally people you would not associate with during the course of your daily life, but since you both have a burning desire to ride “The Beast,” you are thrown in with them for a few hours and forced to endure all of their foibles.


Then, if you are lucky enough to survive your time in line, you actually get to ride a roller coaster. This is a regular barrel of laughs because, in some sort of technological marvel, all roller coasters now being built are much smaller than roller coasters used to be. Even the roller coasters that were built 40 years ago when the park opened are smaller than they used to be."


 


There is no possible way I could have said this any better myself, especially on a PG forum.  Absolutely spot-on, as to why I have chosen to take the exit path that I have.  The rides themselves, I still Love and can still handle the physical demands and exertion, but what is quoted here.... not so much.


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Some of this is true for me. I have a horrific bruise from Maver-ache as I now affectionately call it. (Super cool ride, I can totally see why people love it, but it is not for me.)

I'm only 25 and I'm already getting too run down for some of the high speeds and tight turns and g forces. Thus I may go back to being picky about which coasters I ride.

As far as people in line, the majority of my experiences in Cedar Fair parks have been positive.

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That makes me sad that his favorite part was eating pizza. Even when I spent my days exclusively in Planet Snoopy, my favorite part was seeing how much fun the little ones were having. But, I also can be quite sentimental.

I've been wondering if people stop enjoying rides simply because they get older or because they don't visit as frequently as they did as a child.

As an example, I've noticed that my tolerance for spinning rides has gotten better in the last few years. I would say that is because I have to ride with the two little ones. I still don't like them and can't ride Scambler and Monster back to back, but I can now get through a cycle of Monster without too much misery.

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We go to Kings Island often, about once a week, middle of the week for a few hours of family fun in the evening.  Grab some dinner, hit some rides, maybe catch a show..  When I was a kid, I remember once riding King Cobra on a very uncrowded day, 11 times in a row.  It gave me a little headache, but nothing too terrible, before moving on to something else.  I used to ride Vortex 3-4 times in a day, if possible.  I couldn't imagine doing either ride more than once (assuming of course that King Cobra was still around), but that doesn't mean I enjoy my time any less.  I've cherished every new ride my now 7 year old son has ridden with me.  From Woodstock Express as a 2 year old, to FAAC, White Water Canyon, and Congo falls around his 4th, The Beat, Vortex, Racers, etc.. when he turned 5 a couple of years ago and Banshee at the start of this season.  We are both eagerly looking forward to that extra inch he needs to get on Diamondback.  Even better, I get to repeat the cycle again with my daughter, not yet tall enough for Woodstock Express, but hands up all the way around on The Great Pumpkin Coaster and learning to laugh when we yell "Bad Dog Snoopy" when he sprays at the end of Log Flume.  I pray and hope that our child due later this year will enjoy the same experiences in due time.

 

While aging has certainly taken its tole on my ability to ride rides, I've found that proper pacing works charms, combine the season pass and close proximity and there is no feel to rush anything.  We made a rare Sunday visit to KI yesterday, and despite surprisingly short lines, I left perfectly content having limited myself to the Log Flume, Boo Blasters, standing in the longest line of the day trying to get water, The Beast and Adventure Express.  The enjoyment is far less about the thrills that the rides offer me, its much more about taking in the magic and enjoyment I feel thru my children's eyes.  I'd be hard pressed to decide which I enjoy more, two laps on The Great Pumpkin Coaster with my daughter, or a lap on Banshee with my son (we are often joined by his 70+ year old grandmother, to add to the story).  Heck, as much as I hate getting soaking wet at KI, I'll subject myself to White Water Canyon a handful of times a year since my son adores it so much.  Its the memories we have created that make the day, far better than any individual ride and a million times better than the pizza.

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Idunno, the whole thing seems like the author no longer fits on rides because he gained some weight and wishes rides were built to accommodate his grown/growing girth and he has a forum to express his woes...

 

As someone who's experienced the same 'shrinking' of rides (I've put on close to 100lbs since I was a teen), I don't get it. I don't expect the world to provide things that fit my current body type. If I want to experience those things that I can't because of my dietary and activity choices, then I need to make different choices.

 

Of course, it's possible the article as a whole is a bad satire...

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Rides like Racer and Beast HAVE definitely shrunk since the Seventies. They did not debut with seat dividers and hard polyurethane foam inserts, nor with individually ratcheting orange restraints (which sit lower than in any other park I've visited).

The Supermen: The Rides at Six Flags and Ride of Steel at Darien have had great decreases in the size of bodies they can accommodate.

It's reality, not satire.

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I remember a few years ago, I made just a few trips yearly to KI after living "out west" and a long absence from the park.  The Racer seats are painful, but I still ride.  Vortex was actually LESS painful than I remember.

 

I love the coasters, but I also enjoy crowd watching.

 

On a side note, my parents and sister went to the park three years ago.  My dad, who was 77 at the time, rode The Racer.   He enjoyed it.  I was happy for him.  Fast forward to now and they can't go unless I rent a wheelchair and push both of them around (after about 2 hours walking around the park).  They are still doing good, but age is taking its' toll and extended walking is a challenge.  This teaches me to take every opportunity to enjoy such things as a park while I can.

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I find it odd I can easily and comfortably fit on older rides like Gemini, Blue Streak, with absolutely no problem, but Raptor and Wicked Twister are a no-go, and Gatekeeper only in the modified seats. It really is as if they are making them smaller and smaller as time goes by. But some of that probably has to do with the shape of the seats. They now seem to mold only to a very specific body type.

 

Also, remember not all guests of larger size are that way because of "dietary and activity choices". Maybe that is the case for many people, but not everyone. Exceptionally tall riders, riders with thyroid conditions that can't lose weight, etc. And a lot of it has to do with proportions too.

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Yeah, I remember the rides before those dividers and with the old school bars they used to have.

 

What made me suspect possible satire is the mention of the lines and the people. I've not stood in lines as long as he mentions since The Beast line went almost to the Tower. And the people aren't exclusive to a park, I brace myself for those folks every time I leave my home.

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Steph88 - I have issues with Wicked Twister too - Drop Tower is another one! A few more rides are issues in the fall because of coats or hoodies. Some rides with OTS don't take into consideration women's upper bodies. Some adjustment once I've click down the harness helps to click it down more....but I always feel slightly awkward and inappropriate. :/

Body proportions really do impact people's ability to fit in a seat or secure a seatbelt. I always struggle with TTD and Millenium Force because of the location of the seat belt. Stupid hips.

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Since the pizza is barely LaRosa's, and the park staffs the LaRosa's anyway, why not just drop the LaRosa's brand name and just call them "Rivertown Pizza" and "International Street" pizza, respectively; implying a Kings Island original pizza.

 

Ha, would you really want to admit that pizza is your own? I'm surprised Larosa's does.

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The industry still designs most rides around a 170 pound 5' 10" male.

 

I always knew the industry designed coasters to fit me specifically like if I was going to get a tux fitted. I always knew they ranked me as the standard of coaster comfort.  

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