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What are Kings Islands Plans after Mystic Timbers?


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I've read before on here, I think it was one of Terp's posts that they can't use the land near the Little Miami River, its protected by the state.  So that could be a reason why nothing is back that far.  Don was asked this sort of question and he said they have hundreds of acres still to use, if they wanted to expand.  It would have been nice if CF bought the old camp ground area, so they could save it for future development. But it sounds like they have a lot of land so that's good!  Here's the interview, that question starts at 5:10 mark.

 

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Exactly, As long as they can place footers well they can build out coasters somewhat easily. And out past Banshee and Adventure Express is a ton of space, the only real issue with it is building a path out there, but easily do able, jsut a decent walk past attractions to get to the new area.

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I think 2018 season will be quiet actually. Maybe retheming Boo Blasters for a Peanuts expansion in the future. 

My heart always hopes for TLC on existing attractions before a new coaster. Just fresh coats of paint, updates on some theming (like in Adventure Express and The Bat), stuff like that. 

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My guess for 2018 is one or more flat rides.  We have seen new coasters, new water slides, and the one thing we seem to not be receiving is new flat rides.  The general manager of the park hinted at new rides in both 2017 and 2018, last year I believe it was during the opening for Tropical Plunge.  Since I doubt we will see back to back coasters that likely means flat rides.

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I know this is a reoccurring subject but I'm really curious to see if The Racer will be turned back around anytime soon. I feel like it's a no brainier, especially because they could turn the ride around and market it as the new attraction for the season. I never understood why Cedar Point never turned one of the Gemini's around after 4 decades. 

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8 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I know this is a reoccurring subject but I'm really curious to see if The Racer will be turned back around anytime soon. I feel like it's a no brainier, especially because they could turn the ride around and market it as the new attraction for the season. I never understood why Cedar Point never turned one of the Gemini's around after 4 decades. 

It will not turn back around, unless PTC specifically states that it is ok to run their trains backwards.  

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48 minutes ago, teenageninja said:

It will not turn back around, unless PTC specifically states that it is ok to run their trains backwards.  

Who said it has anything to do with PTC requirements? It is my understanding that CF made the decision to run them forward not PTC changing polices.

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It has been said, by Terpy and others, that the state requires them to operate the ride and trains as indicated by the company that built the ride and trains.  Apparently PTC doesn't recommend that as an option, and I'm guess will not (at least not without some sort of fee) so they both run forward now.  It probably also helps the operating cost of the ride as they can shut one side down during low crowds and not have the general public feel like they are "missing" something.  I would assume if PTC isn't willing, the park could go out and find a manufacturer that is willing and buy new trains, I'm sure that is not cheap.

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1 hour ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

Who said it has anything to do with PTC requirements? It is my understanding that CF made the decision to run them forward not PTC changing polices.

As said above, CF made the recommendation (likely due to insurance reasons) to turn recaR around, due to PTC recommending the trains not be run backwards.

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2 hours ago, medford said:

It has been said, by Terpy and others, that the state requires them to operate the ride and trains as indicated by the company that built the ride and trains.  Apparently PTC doesn't recommend that as an option, and I'm guess will not (at least not without some sort of fee) so they both run forward now.  It probably also helps the operating cost of the ride as they can shut one side down during low crowds and not have the general public feel like they are "missing" something.  I would assume if PTC isn't willing, the park could go out and find a manufacturer that is willing and buy new trains, I'm sure that is not cheap.

I remember reading on this site that this is a false rumor and Kings Island made the decision to turn it around purely on their own. I believe Kings Island responded to a Facebook comment and said so.

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2 hours ago, teenageninja said:

As said above, CF made the recommendation (likely due to insurance reasons) to turn recaR around, due to PTC recommending the trains not be run backwards.

That is incorrect, I was trying to redirect you earlier with the correct info. You can either believe the reality of the situation or not. Here is the answer from Don himself.

Quote

"Management decision is the reason both sides of The Racer operate with riders traveling in a forward-facing direction."

 

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I've had Don Helbig tell me it was a management decision, so there is the possibility they will make a different decision in the future (although there are no plans to). And that the reason why the change was made was people voting with their feet: in the years prior to the turn forward, forward Racer got more ridership. 

In my personal memory, recaR was always longer lines, but there were several years before the change where I was living in another state, so I'll have to take his word that it changed. I know they keep detailed notes of those things. 

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I don't know any of the details behind the switch, but I'm just throwing this out there: if I had a ride whose manufacturer decided that the modified way I was running their product is no longer recommended, I'd also have an executive make the "nostalgic" decision to change. Saying "the manufacturer recommends that we don't do this anymore" implies that the park was operating the ride in an unsafe manner for 30 years. I don't see why the points being argued are mutually exclusive.

Not to mention that one of the people bringing up the "PTC caused the change" point was The Interpreter, who typically was considered a reliable source around here, apparently until recently...

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9 minutes ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

I don't know any of the details behind the switch, but I'm just throwing this out there: if I had a ride whose manufacturer decided that the modified way I was running their product is no longer recommended, I'd also have an executive make the "nostalgic" decision to change. Saying "the manufacturer recommends that we don't do this anymore" implies that the park was operating the ride in an unsafe manner for 30 years. I don't see why the points being argued are mutually exclusive.

Not to mention that one of the people bringing up the "PTC caused the change" point was The Interpreter, who typically was considered a reliable source around here, apparently until recently...

What exactly happened to Terp?

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19 minutes ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

I don't know any of the details behind the switch, but I'm just throwing this out there: if I had a ride whose manufacturer decided that the modified way I was running their product is no longer recommended, I'd also have an executive make the "nostalgic" decision to change. Saying "the manufacturer recommends that we don't do this anymore" implies that the park was operating the ride in an unsafe manner for 30 years. I don't see why the points being argued are mutually exclusive.

Not to mention that one of the people bringing up the "PTC caused the change" point was The Interpreter, who typically was considered a reliable source around here, apparently until recently...

The details behind the switch are it was a management decision. Running both sides forward again was a return to how the ride operated from its opening in 1972 through spring 1982, which is where nostalgia came into play.  Something old was new again for our guests. 

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15 minutes ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

Not to mention that one of the people bringing up the "PTC caused the change" point was The Interpreter, who typically was considered a reliable source around here, apparently until recently...

Just because something Terpy mentioned that could have been taken out of context, or was misleading with how we know Terpy phrases things sometimes does not make him a less reliable source or less knowledgeable about the industry.

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23 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

Just because something Terpy mentioned that could have been taken out of context, or was misleading with how we know Terpy phrases things sometimes does not make him a less reliable source or less knowledgeable about the industry.

With all due respect to Interpreter, it does need to be clarified that he was never privy to, or a part of, Management and decision making at the park.  His statements, however leading, misleading, on point or vague were never based on official internal information.  He was a spectator just like the rest of us.  That having been said, I do find it odd that he suddenly dropped off - he devoured these boards.  I've known the *real* guy behind the Interpreter for years, and I do hope he is ok.

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I was told that his new job prevents him from posting.  What that new job is, I don't know, why it prevents him from posting, I don't know.  If that is even true, I don't know.  I don't know the man in person, but like many that have felt his absence, I hope he is alive and doing well.

as far as which side was more popular, the forward one was always more popular (if my memory is correct).  I viewed that in the sense that the backwards Racer was significantly scarier to this target audience at this point (families and young coaster riders just getting used to the thrills). If state laws, insurance policies, etc... allowed it, I would love to see the return of the backwards racer, even if it was only for a handful of days a year.  I imagine the lines would be long on those days, and if they did it on a random Wednesday or two, I imagine attendance across the park would spike a little just so people could revisit that thrill.

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It's certainly not for me to tell his whole story, but The Interpreter wasn't banned, and did not leave for health reasons, so don't let's go all conspiracy theory. 

I still hope to see him back. I also think he probably still at least reads the boards, so Hi! Still miss you every day you aren't here posting! Hope things change to let you come back soon!

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I was told that his new job prevents him from posting.  What that new job is, I don't know, why it prevents him from posting, I don't know.  If that is even true, I don't know.  I don't know the man in person, but like many that have felt his absence, I hope he is alive and doing well.

as far as which side was more popular, the forward one was always more popular (if my memory is correct).  I viewed that in the sense that the backwards Racer was significantly scarier to this target audience at this point (families and young coaster riders just getting used to the thrills). If state laws, insurance policies, etc... allowed it, I would love to see the return of the backwards racer, even if it was only for a handful of days a year.  I imagine the lines would be long on those days, and if they did it on a random Wednesday or two, I imagine attendance across the park would spike a little just so people could revisit that thrill.

 

One train forward, one train backward. Do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around!

 

(One backwards train on one side that is.)

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54 minutes ago, Shaggy said:

With all due respect to Interpreter, it does need to be clarified that he was never privy to, or a part of, Management and decision making at the park.  His statements, however leading, misleading, on point or vague were never based on official internal information.  He was a spectator just like the rest of us.  That having been said, I do find it odd that he suddenly dropped off - he devoured these boards.  I've known the *real* guy behind the Interpreter for years, and I do hope he is ok.

Thanks for that calcification Shaggy. I don't want people to think he is not knowledgeable about the park industry as a whole. I have learned a lot from him on these boards over the years. He is a well respected member and brings a lot to our community. Whatever is keeping him away, I hope he is able to return to us soon.

Back to our normal programming, I would like to see the old SOB station used for a new coast that extends behind FH and back. I might be dreaming here, but I would like to see a Maverick coaster back there!

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