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Stumbled across this on YouTube earlier. Don't know if it's been posted here before, but it's still awesome. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj02zD0dJLs

Here's a picture of the state the park is in as it stands now:

Photo #52 - I found out like last month that one of my teachers was Supervisor at King Cobra.

Found this in my photo archives from the mid to late 80's and thought I would share.

If you do get the job, refrain from posting on here often.

While that may be true, and the Koch's have done well at HW, can they rehab an entire park for 20 million this time next year? That number seems awfully small.

That state, I trust, would be Kentucky?

Ever gotten stuck on a ride during your break?

How old is the Coney Island Cyclone? Jack Rabbit at Kennywood? Even the Camden Park Big Dipper? Terpy, just notin'

Anxious to hear about the lineup.

I was contacted about 3 days after I applied which was 3 weeks ago, got an interview a week later and then hired a week after that. Im such a happy panda now lol.

I for one, actually hope that it is priced closer to the $45-$50 dollar range. I think that finding the price point that makes this a value for families but also keeps the riff-raff out may prove to be a challenge the first year. I have faith in the Koch family...but I have to say if this was practically anyone else I would have next to no hope of this working out.

As I've said on here numerous times in the past, one of my two worst park experiences was KK back in 1998. During the winter of '09-'10, I decided I was willing to give the park another try, since it was a different owner than when I visited (I went right before Six Flags took over). I even had SFKK's opening day marked on my calendar. But then came the announcment that it was not going to reopen that year. Now that the Kochs will be running it, I am definitely ready to go again. I have faith in their abilities given how well they've done with HW, but I am still wary of the financial situation they may be putting themselves in. Only time will tell, but I sincerely hope this does not prove to be a huge mistake on their part. I think a lot will have to do with pricing. SFKK was notorious for it's low admission/season pass prices, which from a lot of sources allowed for the park to be overrun by not-so-desireable guests (which certainly contirbuted to my experience in '98). Hopefully we will see an increase in price (while still keeping it a good value for what they have to offer) in order to weed out some of the teen hoodlums that I encountered and have heard others speak of as well.

This brought a tear to my eye.

One of my favorites too^ Photo #53 - And your all B!tchin about Invertigo's paint jk

Unless you work Monday - Friday, then going on a Saturday would not be a waste of time.

Cheap? The show elements and price of the attraction were far from cheap I bet. What were HUSS' suggestions? obviously not cheap, didn't paramount pay over $20 million for the entire ride. what i meant was the cheaper route. i've read on here multiple times that for starters, they didn't want to pay the extra for the ride to be weather proof, which basically led to the demise of many of the show elements (mainly the water ones.). i also read on here that paramount went against huss' recommendations on which type of braking system to use, they went with the cheaper one that failed often and caused significant downtime around once a season. Well if you heard it on here it must be true! Since you seem to be an expert, can you please elaborate on the way in which the ride was supposed to be braked compared to how it was actually braked? This is BS. Let me lay it out for you. For KI's purposes, the HUSS design was flawed from the beginning. Not because HUSS's design was bad, it was bad for what KI wanted it to do. Topspins are supposed to be free moving and operate within a wide window of acceptable movement; almost to the point where as long as it homes at the end, the ride is fine. When KI decided the ride needed to sync with a show within a tiny margin error, the weight was simply too much to control. Ever notice how when you watch a normal topspin, they rarely come to a complete stop during the cycle? The ride suffers significantly more fatigue when its expected the be braked 100% (ie, abrupt full stop at the ice field, post topspin, pre lava pit, etc). Add the fact that the ride is twice the size and you're going to have problems. It's like trying to stop a freight train on a dime. The braking was simple. The gondola used a large locomotive brake disc on each side (this is the orange circle inside the arm in TheKlockster's photo) with 11 brake calipers around it (11 at the end; the number of calipers was slowy increased in an attempt to brake more, if I recally correctly it originally only had 8 calipers each arm). The arms were braked by running the 3 motors on each side backward (relative to the instantaneous direction of motion). When the kinetic energy from the ride fought the motors, the motors became generators, turning the excess kinetic energy into electrical energy. This electrical energy was then fed into the giant bank of variable resistors behind the building, and the energy was converted to heat. Because these variable resistors are essentially switches actuating at high frequency, when this huge amount of energy was channeled into them, the actuation could actually be heard. This is the loud screech that could be heard behind Tomb Raider during the cycle. The arms and gondola were loaded with encoders, and if the positioning wasn't correct for a given rung in the logic, the ride faulted. In addition the excessive size and simple fact that it was a prototype often meant that if something did not fall into place exactly as it should, things would break (most often the arm motors while trying to overcompensate.) Arm motors were very expensive and difficult to acquire. The removal rows and closing off seats obviously expresses the idea that the reduction of mass would reduce the kinetic energy and decrease the load on the motors. In the end it still wasn't enough and all the changes to the ride significantly reduced the popularity. Now the simple fact is that the land is worth more as storage or a future attraction, than as a big box to burn money in.

I believe we will see more events in the park like a concert series or more promotional entrainment events such as the jump and walks before we see a return to Winterfest. I say this because Dec winter in Ohio is a gamble at best. The attendance figures say season pass sales up gate is down, so they still need to market more for the day guest and add incentive to give season pass folks a reason to return often throughout the season. Just me on this part, not sure how opening a park earlier everyday for season Pass guest will help raise revenue besides hoping to sell more passes. I mean there is not a lot open in the mornings to spend money on. Unless they offer better fresh food options or morning only discounts to pass holders during that time, otherwise then it is limited to pass sales and hope they stick around later in the day. Honestly when KI offers more special events it entices me to come more often and heck I even plan the visits instead of going on a whim. Let me add this as well; Like every year I look forward to the start of a new season and what Kings Island has to offer old and new. This upcoming season has me particularly excited to get back to the park as many of the new additions (the little detailed things) is what I have been wishing for for a long time. Fresher food choices, new entertainment choices and finally some love to a water park I strayed away from. I have focused on some personal things this winter and honestly feel it has been my most productive off season in a long time but that has gave me a chance to get KI off my mind for a bit so now it is like I have a clean slat to come back to. I swear I am more excited about this years season than I can remember. looking forward to a bright new season ahead.

I don't think anyone's walked up to the front entrance and turned around because the colors of Invertigo weren't welcoming. I'm more disappointed that Boddah1994 claims this is from under the black hat yet doesn't update his blog of the same name.

wow- tried to find anything (besides the building in the background) as a remnant.... nothing.

Wow, all those driving attractions, and now they're all gone. It must have been all the rage in the early 70s. Given that I'm partial to those types of attractions, I'd pick 1974 all day long. Thanks again!

2011, without a doubt. Not only is Surf Dog my wifes favorite ride, it is also one of mine. We've had alot of fun riding Surf Dog with our son. (My older daughter won't ride it as she doesn't like much anything more intense than Boo Blasters! )