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^ I believe comparing FL cost to healthcare cost is the definition of apples & oranges. The FL issue is one everyone faces everyday. Who can afford what. It's not geared to the rich, and those who use it are not necessarily rich. Some will justify it, others will turn a blind eye to it, and some will despise it. When it comes to money, there will be hurt feelings (often unintentional), as well as jealousy. My wife & I work full time, have 2 kids peeking into the teenage years, and work OT to live the lifestyle we want. We do not get FL as we have had season passes to both CP & KI for 13 years now- and we live 6 hours from KI. Even though it is a great distance, it is still not worth it for us as we have been on every ride countless times. Instead of resenting those using FL, I'm happy for them. They are using their money for what they believe is worth it. I am also happy that I have the time to spare to wait longer in line. I have also not noticed a drastic increase in wait time since FL has been implemented. Now when SFWoA was around, my family purchased the FP because: we were there for 1 day, it only cost $10, and we did not make a visit since SF took over. It made sense to do it. Like Gordon mentioned: it's new to KI. It tastes bad now, in time most will accept it & shrug their shoulders because- a bad day at the park is still better than a good day at work.

Sorry, I disagree with you on that. Phew - glad we just cleared up that Gator is not a very little person

The price charged for something does not make it "right"...just look at our health care system. P.S. You may say that you mean no disrespect, but that is exactly how most of the statements towards windshawne in this topic come off.

Jim Cramer's voice makes me want to drink poison.

Man, I hope Coke wins out Cedar Fair. It's the strongest, most-preferred carbonated beverage brand if you look at sales and charts. Plus, I personally like the extra-carbonated bite of Coke products, in comparison to the sweeter, flatter Pepsi products. I think the Coke Freestyle machines make a fun addition to the park as well.

So visible- I'm surprised aliens have not blown it up yet. Okay. One more time...

Please don't write any novels anytime soon.

i still find myself calling Boo Blasters, Enchanted Voyage... and great pumpkin coaster, the Enchanted Voyage line queue

(note absence of news...)

The very sneaky Dip'n dots guy is known to have inside information that nobody (including the park itself) is given. Watch your back around them, you never know what to expect.

Sorry, I disagree with you on that.

I got that there was a towel, some chairs, an argument, and that there was a crowd. Were the people mean to you?

Would you like a side of popped blood vessels with that?

I'm soooo tempted to oblige....

So visible- I'm surprised aliens have not blown it up yet.

SON. OF. BACONATOR!!! The world's tallest, fastest, only looping...bacon cheeseburger? Sorry, I could NOT resist...

New sponsors!!

I thought Kings Island was famous for the overabundance of giant HUSS rides.

you have Crypt wrong in your signature That is a matter of opinion...lol.

The Racer and Beast. The Beast takes up too much land that could be used for other important things and The Racer is just an eyesore. If you didn't notice by now I'm trolling you. We all know that The Beast and Racer are amazing coasters and that the park should tear down that pile of wood in AZ.

Mantis. That is my least favorite ride in anypark. Just not fun and painful. I just dont like standup coasters.

Since everyone's been sharing their SOB memories, I though I'd share a few of mine and I'm in a writing mood so pardon this novel. I also thought I'd share a few photographs I came across. I remember the day they announced Son of Beast. I had come home from school and my dad was home from work early. Our family had been going to Kings Island regularly with passes since 1996/1997 and I had just gotten brave enough the year before to start riding the "real" rides. I remember him booting up the old dial up Netscape internet to show me the old Cincinnati.com articles, waiting with anticipation as each small image loaded of the ride's model. I remember vividly the wooden loop and how it looked on the model. I remember all the news outlets misreporting it as the world's FIRST wooden looping roller coaster. There was a book I checked out from the school library frequently that proved otherwise. When the ride finally opened, I was 11. I didn't get to ride it in its early days of one train operation before it closed down for awhile. When it did reopen, both trains were running and my uncle and I waited two hours. I remember the queueing very vividly. We were in a temporary line outside the entrance for awhile, I remember my uncle making fun of my shoes as we watched Top Gun nearby. I remember getting incredibly nervous as we waited on the ramps up to the ride station and saw the water dummies below. Never did I think while waiting for that ride that day that I'd ever work at the park let alone in the maintenance shop that worked on SOB or ever walk its rails, I was just thinking about how intimidating that hill looked. I even remember how the ride smelled and still smelled in its last operating season... all that wood. We boarded the train and the first thing I noticed was the awkward placement of the on-ride photo. Then the loud lift, the speed and view in the dip. The slow down at the first drop crest and then WHAM! You were flying. I immediately picked up on how the double helix rose bowl was a homage to the original Beast and then that loop... I made sure to look left and see the Eifel tower spin like in all the media videos. Then there was more speed and boom you were back. I was psyched. It was by far my favorite coaster. ...granted I was really thin, 11 years old and a little bit over four feet tall. My uncle on the other hand hated it and immediately complained of how rough and unenjoyable the experience was. I begged my dad to ride it again with me since my uncle declined. Another two hour wait and then I got to experience it all over again and loved it just as much. My dad hated it and never rode it again. As the years went by and I got taller and bigger I realized how painful and miserable of an experience the ride was. I stopped riding it at age 13. In 2006 the ride opened a few weeks after the regular park and a few people hinted on KIC that it would be much smoother. My friend and I actually ditched school a few periods early and headed up to the park when we heard from Boddah1994 that it was set to reopen that day. We got there and noticed they had removed the last car and that the ride was now a 5 car operation per train. We anticipated it greatly, there was a short line and we hopped in the back seat. If there was an improvement in the ride experience, we missed it cause it was still rough as hell. I didn't ride it again until after it reopened in 2007. While the first drop was great and the new trains offered more leg room... the Rose Bowl was still punishing and completely ruined any hope of the ride being good. I never much cared for it and by this time I worked at the park a lot, so I hardly ever visited in my off time. The last time I ever rode the ride was in 2008 while at the park to photograph some of the Knievel set up. Still didn't care for the ride. I have lots more experiences and cool stories about how special that ride was to me, but Ill save those for another day. Not that anyone asked, but in my humble opinion - the ride is done. I'm sure you could do something incredible with the Rocky Mountain treatment, but even if you did... EVERY news article and piece of media would include "the ride USED to be Son of Beast which was known for x y z (x y z not being good things). Browntggr brings up the best and most logical point. They haven't torn it down because it's not a threat, not falling down and not hurting anything. When they need to get rid of it... they will or they'll do it when they're ready to put something else there. And as someone who is familiar with that ride from many perspectives... you can't see anything from the midway or Adventure Express to be able to convulsively say you see it falling apart. Just throwing that out there. As for the photographs I mentioned earlier. I remembered seeing these a few years ago, but couldn't find the website. Apparently this website has been down since sometime in 2010 and even before that it reaked of early 2000's web development and hadn't been updated in some time. It is (err was) the website for Roller Coaster Corporation of America. I accessed these photos via the Way Back Machine. All of the following photographs are ©Roller Coaster Corporation of America. - Work on the loop towards the end of construction. - Aerial view towards the end of construction in 2000. Note that you can still see a lot of the landscaping for the former Wild Animal Habitat. - A train being lifted onto the track. - Work on the final brake run.* *A rumor I had always heard, but have no idea if it's true is that the brake run was initially designed to hold two trains in waiting in addition to one in the station for a three train operation. I also heard that the ride's station was supposed to be an exit station and that the area of straight track immediately exiting the station was going to be a loading station to allow for a four train operation. Obviously, the ride opened with one train and only ever ran two so who knows. - Not sure what section of track that is, but check out that extreme banking. Too bad you were too busy praying for the ride to be over to ever notice the cool element. - Construction workers. I bet these guys have a cool story. - No idea who any of these guys are, but I believe that the date reads February 17, 1999. Maybe checking out the area for where a future attraction would go? - Draw your own conclusions. - Land clearing, note Adventure Express on the right. - Construction as the sun sets. - A train on its way to the station. Note the all red color scheme that eventually was changed to Red/Yellow. - View from the block brakes while the ride was still under construction. - Not sure why the flag was raised here since I don't believe this is where they "topped off" and completed construction. - The media day in May 1999. - Mock up of the trains. Note how much more spacious/better they look compared to how they turned out. And last, but not least: - The station. Like, I said these are not my photos. They are ©Roller Coaster Corporation of America. If you want to see their old site, you can access it via the Way Back Machine here: http://web.archive.o...//www.rcca.com/ A man I once worked for, who taught me a lot, once pointed to that ride and said "To me, that thing is iconic of Kings Island." For me, it is as well. Even though I never cared much for the ride, it's symbolic of my favorite years in the park I spent with my family and for a lot of other things, but that's all another story for another day.

Do you want a cookie?

I also know how to use punctuation.

It isn't here now.

i just want to say during the 2011 post of rides to come i said Cedar Point was getting a new coaster in 2013 and no one believed me and i know the person who is designing it.

This is a dumpster fire.

Well, I didn't originally post in this topic so I'll just lost what I have done so far. Visited Discovery Cove, Sea World, Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios in February. (First time I have ever been to Discovery Cove and IoA) Visited Holiday World for the first time ever in June. Have been to Cedar Point and Kings Island a total of 10 times, so far, including a VIP tour at KI. And finally on August 13th, Coasterfanatic2012 and I will be taking a road trip to Canada's Wonderland and will be stopping at Niagra Falls on the way home. And then of course many more trips to Cp and KI for Halloweekends/Haunt.

Well, since my last post in this topic back in February, Mrs. Gator surprised me a few months ago and said "Let's go to Kennywood this year." So I hadn't originally planned on any new (to me) parks, but now we'll be getting a few new credits there next month. And GatorGirl has gotten 13 new coasters this year, bringing her count up to 29 (so far). Ask her what her favorite ride is, and she'll tell you "The Beast at night!" Yeah, I'm a proud papa!

Terpy, you're driving me crazy with the legal disclaimers on your posts.

Coke and Pepsi? They all taste the same to me.

Didn't Coke make Surge? Gosh I'd love to have some of that again!

I'm not sure why someone with a fake leg couldn't ride a coaster, unless it has something to do with safety issues? Are they concerned that maybe the fake leg would fly off during the ride? If so, why not just remove it? I can't see not being able to ride a coaster just because you're handicapped.

Bittersweet definition: both pleasant and painful or regretful... You observed the results someone else doing something at some time to someone elses stuff? I'm so confused.

Travel Channel? No. Perhaps Discovery or History channel, but not the Travel Channel.What would the opening be: "Travel Channel presents a ride that no longer exists!"

While the one in diapers doo-doos?

Why would you get rid of Kings Islands best Air Time!! With no lapbar,restraint,seatbelt,are you kidding me!

https://www.facebook...isitkingsisland Do you want these people answering trivia questions? Absolutely! More chances for people like us to win! LOL

^I think it's just the fact that it's something completely new, not to the industry, but to the park. You also need to keep in mind the demographic KI attracts compared to a major operation like a Disney or Busch. Generally people vacationing in Florida have a lot more discretionary income than a blue collar Midwestern family spending one day at a Kings Island.

U mad bro? Be glad you can at least go to the park. I know friends that can't afford to go to the park once. Geesh, KI won't miss your business. Of course they won't. Life goes on. When you're on your own, you will understand.

and a partridge family.... ba dum dum tssssssssssssssssssssss

I'm sure many agree that it packs quite a punch for the size and audience that it entertains.

I like every opinion on here. Even the iso-critical meta-opinions seem rooted in a sort of 'tough love,' rather than impersonal harshness towards our new contributors. There's an underlying sense of friendly humor inherent in a lot of the "critical" posts, so don't take them personally.

Actually, people need to stop being so emotionally attached to their opinion.If you are too sensitive, and can't handle someone disagreeing with you, an internet forum probably is not the place for you.

It gets worse im afraid, thier is only half of a UFO!

You Know, I have a hunch that this kid might prefer Boomerang Bay over Soak City.

Ding! Ding! Ding! End of round one. Please retire to your respective corners. Thank you. (Multiple exclamation points are okay if separated by words, especially onomatopoeic ones.) If I were to go to another thread, I'd say I'd want an NFL-themed Tilt-a-Whirl, with the cars painted like local-market teams, the platform painted like turf (or covered with artificial turf), a large "football" in the center, and stadium theming curving around the outside. Maybe some Chris Bermanisms piped in with crowd noises over some loudspeakers for some appropriate ambiance. Call it "Red Zone Fumble" or something like that.

Just like it wouldn't kill you to use the search feature or use proper spelling/ grammar.If you come off not putting effort or respect into your posts, we will treat you the same. A little effort goes a long way. -Just trying to help.

It's hard to believe that it's been six years to the day since the 2006 accident. Time passes quickly.

I think that an Intamin coaster would do well at KI. We don't have one yet, and Cedar Point's Maverick seems to fit the idea in my head. Something terrain hugging, with many twists, turns, and PLENTY OF AIRTIME! It doesn't have to be record-breaking, but I think KI needs a fast, fun, high-capacity ride, and Intamin seems to do well with those.