KIBOB

I understand and support using technology to enhance the guest experience, but this cacophony of companies implies that visiting a park will be yet another opportunity for these giants to harvest your personal data for their own gain. A park should be a place to escape the BS of everyday life (including being constantly data mined). .....and I'm a software architect!

I'm still in shock over this, but will be cautiously optimistic. I actually moved from the Cincinnati area to Oregon last year, so KI has become a once, maybe twice a year thing when I visit family, so I certainly will be following the forums for any changes. One of the things that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned yet is that Jeff Siebert (and not entirely sure, but I'm guessing a few other alumni) will now be under the same employment umbrella as those at KI.

They could move Surf Dog and Tiki Twirl next to each other and have racing Disk'Os. Or place a low point of one under the high point of another... Disk'O dueling dragons, better yet, Dueling Disk'Os!

Doesn’t S&S still make Arrow parts? EDIT: https://www.s-s.com/ride-services-and-parts/arrow-rides

When it comes to the Arrow coasters, I don't think you can compare Bat/Iron Dragon with Vortex. I think we need to look at the facts (with physics!) While there are many examples of OLD Arrow coasters still around, some of the rides built within the last 40 years have met the end of their service life. The huge Arrow mega loopers (Vortex, GASM, etc...) were forceful rides that reused Arrow's off the shelf components, originally designed for the smaller coasters. In theory, the increase in forces over the superstructure can logarithmically impact the life of the ride. I'd like to think of it like dogs. The largest breeds tend to not live as long as smaller breeds due to additional wear and tear on the body throughout the duration of the dog's lifetime, especially given all domestic dogs have a common ancestor. If you look at rides like Iron Dragon and The Bat, they utilize a completely different style of track, with better transitions, and cars that swing out further reducing the forces (a lesson learned from the original Bat). Also, look at Tennessee Tornado. I expect that ride will be around for a while as it heavily modified Arrow's original track design.

Other parks may be opening the event earlier in order to generate more revenue to account for longer COVID related closures. Even if the bulk of the traffic won't come in until after Thanksgiving, it is still something. There could be a balancing act between the parks based on various variables in the market. Also, keep in mind, Canada does not have the same Thanksgiving holiday that we do, so the winter season can, in a more culturally acceptable way, begin sooner.

This is one of the things that I did not really like about the Scheid/early CF ownership years. While areas of the park were revamped with new ride additions, often it felt half a**ed. Rivertown getting a refresh but losing its charm, Festhaus getting de-contented, Coney Mall getting pavers but losing signage, and Action Zone becoming an even more confusing amalgamation of themes. I mean, they repainted Delirium to remove the "checkered flag" patterns, but didn't even touch Drop Tower. The last few years have been a huge step forward. Under Mike Koontz, the park has focused heavily on atmosphere. The International Street revamp was complete and well done, Festhaus has been (mostly) restored, and Area 72 is mind blowing in its attention to detail. I hope we see further revamps of areas within the park, and I see Action Zone as an area that really needs work. I really like the idea that has been posted here numerous times of a "Dark Forest" retheme. For a regional park like KI, it would theoretically be a cheap re-skin too. Almost all the current rides would fit right in, with some paint schemes receiving modification (removal of checkered flag accents from Drop Tower). Just plant/relocate a LOT more trees, add some spooky signage, and there you have it.

I am sooo excited to see/experience this! From what I can tell, they hit it out of the park with the themeing. I love that this ride has a preshow, and that it has a nice tie-in to FoF. As much as I love Mystic Timbers, I always felt the ride should have had a preshow. Unless you were at media day, you don't really know the storyline. The camera feeds were a nice touch, but I wished it had more.

Definitely got me there. I should've said "in a way that lines up with current evidence". Certainly not the worst way to handle this situation, but definitely not the best!

The situation is being handled in the best way possible in association with scientific research and analysis being done. There is still a lot we don't know, but I have faith in wold-wide scientific institutions to find the right answers. Not everything that risks a disruption of normal American life is a conspiracy, hoax, or government plot.

Ireland is not exactly tropical, but I like the idea!

I don't really expect many parks to be spun off in the short term. The entire industry is facing this pandemic, and while some companies are doing much better than others, I can see the need for conserving cash far outweighing the prospects of acquisitions, at least for the next year or two. So, it isn't really a question of "if company A sells a park", but rather "can companies B - F afford to buy a park?"

DeltaFlyer beat me to it.

It appears to be indicating that special precautions need to be taken if a evacuation is necessary and the last car stopped forward of that line. I'm guessing that is near the point of no return as the train begins to crest.