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Could search be of service? http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25649-for-those-of-us-who-visit-cp-check-this-out/page__pid__464976#entry464976 http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25650-cedar-point-to-remove-disaster-transport-space-spiral-for-bm-wing/page__pid__465634__st__60#entry465634

At Holiday World, I don't have to lug around a plastic cup to get refills. Just sayin'.

Well I didn't ride in the event this year (man I hope I can next year as it looks like so much fun), but was able to stop by The Racer and take some photos including a couple from along The Racer track - special thanks to KingsIslandPR for allowing me to tag along as he escorted a member of the media back for some pictures. I offer these up to any participant in the event for use as desired including for PTR's here on KIC if you like (please feel free to edit as you'd like, I've literally just uploaded the images, except for those I've included below). Full album can be seen on my photobucket account: http://s766.photobucket.com/albums/xx309/KIfan1980/Coasting%20%20for%20Kids%20at%20KI/ For fun, I've included a few pictures below - enjoy:

When I was a young kid, and we moved from the relative serenity of my birthplace, Mason, Ohio, to the loud, urban maelstrom of suburban Detroit, I suffered from homesickness and often expressed my desire to return to my home by drawing the Eiffel Tower on everything...Etch-A-Sketch, drawing paper, making it out of wood blocks and Legos (obsessed much?) I was like the people in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" with their [although implanted] fixation on Devil's Tower, Wyoming. Teachers and social workers picked up on this, and tried to talk me into accepting that I might not return for many years. I kept believing, though and, through circumstances in my parents' lives, finally moved back to Mason in 1980 with much peace and jubilation. First stop: Kings Island, where I got to go up into the tower for the first time in a long while. I can't explain how special that was, but to a kid it's pretty neat. I never visit the park without at least a stop at Tower Drinks. The tower, as well as the whole park, is a landmark of happiness in my otherwise stormy young life.

What is Kings Island to me? A lot of things; my first ride on Son of Beast (as it was my first looping coaster), putting my hands up on The Racer, riding other classic coasters like Flight of Fear, Vortex, and The Beast, great thrill rides like Drop Tower and Xtreme Skyflyer, the smell of hot pavement and grease on The Racer's track, and lots of fun! EDIT: Oh yeah, can't forget the 3-day awesomeness that is Sprit Song, had so many great times seeing such great bands like Skillet, Family Force 5 and Newsboys rocking out!

^ I love me some Racer, but any third row was jackhammering the bejeezus out of me today, particularly on the first drop. Towards the middle of the afternoon, I learned how to lean forward to negate a lot of it, but it was pretty nasty in the third rows. Any other row was great, as usual! Which, of course, brings me to say my bit about the event, though I don't have enough to write a trip report: it was awesome. I got to meet standbyme, XGatorHead, Avatar, jlopez, jcgoble3, and Fire-Beast-OF FEAR, all of whom were incredibly nice! (I feel like I'm forgetting someone... If I met you today and didn't mention you just now, do know I was glad to meet you, too. Unlike certain Gators who were nice enough to remind me that they didn't have to be up at 5:30 to attend, I didn't run on a lot of sleep today, so my memory's exceptionally bad. ) I got about 62 rides in. When you read about Coasting for Kids events, you hear several people saying they got close to 100 rides, so anything not close to that can sound underwhelming, but... holy cow. There's apparently a technique for pacing yourself so you can hit big numbers, and it definitely doesn't involve riding in the first or last cars like I did for a lot of the event, haha. I didn't know The Racer could take it out of you, but I'm pooped. (I ended up leaving about an hour and a half earlier than I'd intended--I didn't make use enough of the water KI nicely provided, so I was feeling pretty yucky as the afternoon went on.) The Racer crew was pretty cool and energetic, too, and the GKTW lunch presentation was very nice. There were two families that had participated and volunteered, respectively, at the Give Kids the World Village in Orlando, and both had interesting and heartfelt testimonies. It was very nicely done. Thanks to GKTW and KI for putting this together! If you're considering attending CfK next year, stop considering and do it! I hesitated for 2011 and let it pass by, but I wish I'd done it now. It's for a fantastic cause, and it's really entertaining to marathon Racer with a train full of people doing the Hokey Pokey or Chicken Dance, pretending to be asleep*, or singing "We Are The Champions" by Queen as the train pulls into the station. I highly recommend it. I know I'll be back next year if I'm able! *Can I just say that this was hilarious? Seriously, the entire train was "asleep." That couldn't have been better if we'd rehearsed!

If you are trying to break the habit, start by taking away the signature, & start calling it Soak City.

Like KIfan1980 said, running 3 trains is possible. I heard Vekoma's flying dutchman trains were intended to recline on the lift and sit back up on the break run. From what I understood, this put a lot of wear and tear on the GAU motors and the hydraulics. I know Batwing at Six flags America reclined on the lift in the early 2000's. Not sure if this was done on X-flight at Geauga. Without reclining the trains on the lift and lifting them back up on the brake run, the 3rd train would sit on the last block before the station even longer.

What waterpark? The Beach? How did you get in there?

^ and I can get some Mtn Dew in me.

Really? How much is parking at Holiday World? And how much is Pepsi at Kings Island?

I'd get the details back onto the BLSC "Mini's," but I'd completely re-theme the ugly, urban LA dock theming with something more 'Autobahn' (faux mountains, trees, etc.); The Grand Carousel band organ would be restored to its original glory; The Clock above Festhaus would be restored; Ambient music would be theme-specific; I'd park a flying scooter ride on Zodiac's footprint(!); Eiffel Tower would get a good sand blasting and fresh coat of paint (looking a little 2004-ish these days ).... DB's splashdown would have some dynamic lighting effects at night (but that's not really necessary, because it always looks darn impressive!)

What's in a name when its 90 degree outside? All I can say is that water feels good!!!

Welp, looks like we gotta rebuild Racer.

I cannot wait for SS 2012!

Not picking on you, but I find it funny that people blame autocorrect - that only comes into play if you type something wrong to begin with. Want to blame something, blame the smartphone keypad! Edit - thanks gator.

BB1, it's always good to have members stating their concerns for the park but you are sounding like a one-year-old child IN EVERY POST. I was very upset that the park tore out antique cars for Italian Job, and even today if I ran the place I would bring antique cars as my first move, but I got over it and had a fun time riding BLSC. And it's just the water park.

I don't think she made it up. I do think she meant she gets into the parks and has free parking, just like a gold pass. Most park employees don't like talking about employee discounts. Friends want to use them, which can get the employee fired. Easier to just say "I get gold pass benefits, just like you."

2012. That which is now will soon not be. That which isn't yet will be. Some will be elated, others sad. Such is life. Time passages. Diversion. Amusement and diversion. And that's enough about that. For now. Thrills connect. Go big.

Took this in 2008:

^Cool story, bro.

There's two big flaws in people's logic in this thread. 1) The obsession over theming. I think it has been made pretty clear that this is not Cedar Fair's forte, aim or overall goal. We are talking about a seasonal amusement park chain. Cedar Fair's parks, while different, overall do not target the same market that the year-round, immersive larger corporate parks attract. See a certain CEO's theory on how the "great recession" was going to make people visit their regional parks more and the tourism based parks less. While Cedar Fair doesn't release attendance numbers, the Disney's and Universal's were happy to and didn't seem to experience any significant drop offs. Don't misunderstand me, I certainly understand people's respect and desire to see highly themed rides especially when most of us can remember a time when the park was owned by a company who sought out such projects. I rode Tomb Raider: The Ride its opening day. Fantastic experience. Did it hold up? No. I don't need to beat that dead horse, but it has been made pretty clear that a regional, seasonal park isn't the best place for such an expensive attraction. Not to mention, people keep ignoring the facts that you don't have to be some industry insider with a crystal ball to know. I keep seeing Cedar Fair vilified in this thread for the current state of The Crypt, but does anyone remember when the ride was still Tomb Raider? How many seasons in a row did it close down pre-maturely before the rest of the park closed? And when it was open, how many times do you remember standing in line only to have the ride close down? It DIDN'T WORK WELL as Tomb Raider: The Ride. They tried something else then abruptly after one season and a few months into the next made it a dumbed down ferris wheel. It didn't work well then and now we have the current Crypt. It's not going back to Tomb Raider or anything more intense than what it currently is. Get over it. 2) That somehow we have to have a certain number of flats. We're not in a competition with Cedar Point. This isn't Roller Coaster Tycoon where we need to build up a "Thrill Rating of 600 or more" in order to pass the level. Posting a few pictures of other top spins with few riders is not an accurate way to judge the ridership of those attractions with pictures taken out of context. Just as saying (and I'm paraphrasing) "I've seen mostly full cycles on The Crypt" or "People ALWAYS RODE Son of Beast" are not accurate ways to judge those rides popularity based on your visits and limited perception. CoastersRZ made the best point - the park is going to make the best business interest that is cost-effective to them. If they believe enough people ride the ride compared to how much it's costing them - they'll keep it. If they look at their data which none of us have and decide otherwise, they'll remove it. And if they do, who cares? It's never going to be as great as it was or much better than it is now. And if they keep it, then those who do enjoy riding it can keep on enjoying it and you may see another attraction take its place.