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I expect SOB to lose a fight with a bulldozer this off season.

^ If the other WS operate, and another has the same issue in the next few days, imagine the type of press CF will endure. With any luck, the KBF WS is an isolated incident, but given the trend for the 2012 season, it is difficult to imagine.

Time to let Sam out to play!!!!

Is that the Dice man up there? Little miss muffet...sat on her tuffet....OH!

I just got done watching an episod of Seinfeld, and at the end jerry says somthing like this to the comedian audeince " Kid laws are so much better than adult laws. Kids can just call things. One kid can say 'hey I call the front seat', then another kid says 'but I want it!'. But I CALLED it, says the first kid. And then the other kid justs shutsup, he doesn't have anything to say." Just a conicidence, I guess

^ Get wet & be happy a big statue of Jesus is not close?

Great question and outstanding answers from Medford and Monroe. This is why I come to KICentral.com

I agree. It was worth the drive up there. Jack Hannah, keep up the good work!

It wouldn't be very fresh if you brought it up here. Dollywood's food should really stay in Dollywood. I like seeing these new food options that are local eats, and just the higher quality that we have been starting to get.

You'll beee back! (evil laughter)

Orange County Register reports state closes WindSeeker at Knotts. Video and more information concerning the recent failures are also covered. An excellent article worth the read: http://www.ocregister.com/news/ride-372262-knott-down.html

My wonderful denizens of the theater, do me proud.

^Glad to hear you're not full of yourself or anything.

I love it! I remember calling it that they would start on the Rose bowl first and sure enough they are doing just that. I'm So Awesome!

As much as I hate to see them have to remove it, I am as much excited about the next couple years.

I thought Disney took the Abominable Snowman down a while ago...?

True. I wouldn't want him to go all Jack Frost on me.

Oh he's serious all right. There was once a member named the abominable snow man, well needless to say he tried to steal one of Snowmans lines...and you know... I don't think anyone knows exactly where he went...Some say he got bored of the forums, others said he used Internet Explorer instead of Chrome, I however think....well... I don't wanna say cause I don't know wanna get on his bad side...but uh... it is getting kinda colder out isn't it? Perfect weather for...a snowman.... or something....

Do you have any idea the hours I sit in my basement, eating Cheetos, trying to write something that's entertaining to read? If you scan back over my past posts you'll clearly see that the hours to funny ratio isn't very good. Now you want to steal my itty bitty thunder crack, huh? Just kidding...Welcome to KIC!! Revenge is a dish best served cold!!!

Come to think of it, last year at Haunt in the Festhaus. There were these guys that were a good bit shorter than most people. They dressed really funny too. They'd get in something called a ring(which was odd 'cause it was a square) and proceed to beat the livin' snot out of each other with garbage can lids and office equipment to a point where they'd actually bleed a little bit. Security would just stand there and watch! It was almost like KI wanted them to do this. Weird stuff.

"How strange! I'm getting rained on, and there are no clouds to be seen..." - Knott's Maintenance Staff

This may interest some of you who are into conceptual stages of art production - namely Kings Island rides/attractions. I am good friends with one of KI's early employees who was a concept designer/sculptor. I met this individual from tracking down some of his other early work when he was employed with Kenner toys here in Cincinnati. This is the guy who sculpted the original Boba Fett action figure, for those of you who are into Star Wars While at Kings Island he sculpted nearly every fiberglass relief (3d character, sign, etc) in the park from the early 70's until KECO took over in the early 80's. He has told me several stories of what it was like working on projects big and small in the park. Some concepts were scrapped very early on, while others made it further and few were put into full production. I have always been most interested in The Bat ride and remember only seeing it as a child. At the time it was standing, but not operating. When he mentioned having worked on the design phase of the ride, I naturally asked if he had anything left over and he said only a few pieces have survived, but yes. He explained his work on the ride in an interview I conducted with him as follows: "I was told that we were getting a newer kind of coaster that would be very unique. There wasn't much detail given about the specifics of the ride, but we knew it was going to be different since Kings Island decided to go the route of unique coasters after the success of The Beast. The original concept for the park was that it would compete head on with Disney, but coasters seemed to be the new wave, so thats the market they played to. The first idea management had was that the new suspended coaster would be space themed. So they had me draw up a few sketches with moon surfaces and a queue line leading into a space station dome. I loved creating waterfalls, so naturally I added that in to the design. The entire surface was to be sculpted out of polystyrene and then covered in fiberglass. It would've been a massive undertaking, but we had already done this with the revamp of the Rub-A-Dub ride, so we knew we could do it. A week or so later I was given an order to begin creating a haunted house type station that would serve as the loading dock for the new ride. So out went the space ride idea and now we are working on some kind of haunted house themed coaster. I was told that they were now going with a bat theme and would need some sketches reflecting this concept. It was soon after that I was asked to sculpt up a large bat head to be attached on the front of the coaster trains. I love that thing! The haunted house loading station was to be decorated with pictures of "bat people" and a vampire maquette so I came up with a few ideas that were somewhat crude in nature, but would be refined once approved. Those concepts were unfortunately not approved since the theme was strong enough as it was. It was a job like any other...you are told what you were going to work on and the art department did everything they could to get it approved. Ideas would sit around for months and then all of a sudden management would approve the idea and want it completed and in the park yesterday! The ideas were already in place, my job was to simply refine the idea and give us a heading on what we were working on and how it would be accomplished, but ultimately management had the final say on what we could and could not do. The best projects were the ones where they would tell us to just be creative and come up with something! But I thought The Bat was a great theme and it's a shame the ride had so many problems" and lastly, his "artists proof" that was the first pulled from the mold and airbrushed for management approval... All of these items were rescued from certain destruction as KECO was taking over. They saw no value in the items and auctioned off the majority that remained. I'd love to one day showcase these items for the general public to view...if the park would ever ask me ~Josh

I couldn't find a topic about this so here goes: Just got back from KI (9/21/2012). Tonight was not packed. Madame Fatale's was FANTASTIC!!! The level and depth of the theme was very well done. I'm not giving anything away so don't ask. Nightmare Alley was kind of weak(maybe first night kinks), unless you're scared of eyeballs in trees, then beware. Loved Freak Street. Fog and Lasers and Freaks oh my!! Carnevil was the usual dose of 3D fun. I love walking through the tunnel without holding onto the rail. Holiday Horror was same as last year, not too scary but well themed with some good effects. Didn't see the drummers, but the stage looks great, and really happy to not see any midget wrestlers. International street had some great scareactors all over. The dancing Michael Jackson scareactor was a terrific dancer. Walked on many rides, had a great time. Saw some lightning in the distance, so we came home. What are your thoughts on Haunt this year?

Just got back from KI. Madame Fatale's was FANTASTIC!!! The level and depth of the theme was very well done. I'm not giving anything away so don't ask. Nightmare Alley was kind of weak, unless you're scared of eyeballs in trees, then beware.

Just stupid. Glad to hear they won't put the tiger down though.

Well I know one tiger that wont go hungry tonight and I know one man that's never going to get his leg back.

But it was a nice looking kitty cat and I just wanted to pet it and tell it I am not going to harm it. Tony Tiger saw lunch coming but you can't blame the cat. No doubt he will have lawyers contact him and he will sue.

It depends. If the manufacturer decides to recommend closure of the rides while an investigation continues, at minimum the Kings Island and Cedar Point versions will close. In the past, serious incidents have caused all similar rides nationwide to close. Note that OSHA has jurisdiction over worker and workplace safety. Their involvement is....interesting.

I'd explore combining self-contained, immersive flight-simulator technologies with an enclosed capsule-car, that runs a different, random theme with each different car/ride, etc., carried on a steel coaster that has lots of drops, banks and loops. I'd have like 9 different programs, so it becomes 9 different coasters in one. I'm sure there are a few challenges, but it would be cool. -Each theme would match different audio/visual stimuli with the actual, physical path and forces of the ride. I imagine one being a space flight adventure, another being a classic cartoon, etc...

DAAAANG. Thats a bit graphic... No actually its hilarious

I think he was at Kings Island a few years back, he had a bit of ice pinned inside him, at least he was near a hospital!

There was dis cousin of mine....name of Frosty......he was a jolly, happy soul....til he stole one of my jokes......now, he ain't so jolly or happy no more. You don't wanna know what happened to his corncob pipe either. That's all I'm sayin'.

I meet most of the employees in my job at the park and I gotta say...the blood drummers are some of my new favorite people! They were so polite and funny...cant wait to see them in the park tonight!

I think it was a 50/50 shot of being right. Lift hill or rose bowl.

The removal of SOB isn't gonna be free. I wouldn't expect any major ride announcement for Kings Island next month. As for the article, it had me in tears from laughter. The weather this summer was agreeable? It was the hottest summer on record, lol. Gas prices weren't too high? What planet is he on?

I do. And then it's next year.

Who said anything about driving?

This is the best I could get. I was in a hurry.

In my opinion, the more Cincinnati fare they offer - the better. At one point, the food served at amusement parks was an attraction in itself. It seems that in the 90's many chains of the regional/seasonal variety switched from unique offerings to general fast food options. I don't feel that the LaRosa's and Skyline at Kings Island does those actual companies justice, but in recent years there seems to be more of a push to integrate the local culture at the park. I love the Moerlin Bier Garten. Servatti will hopefully be nice too.

Servatti does serve pretzels, so putting it in the corner pretzel place by the Festhaus would work well. The Cinn-a-bon location feels like it would be too small if they were serving sandwhiches as well, unless all those sandwhiches were pre-packaged. Plus Servatti has German roots, establishing itself in Cincinnati from a German immigrant who learned his trait at the foot of his father who was a pastry chef/baker with cafes in Germany. Really, if it went anywhere else, I think I'd be a bit dissapointed. Really looking forward to this addition, I only hope they accept funperks as I see myself stopping there regularly next season. A bunch of Graeter stores sell baked goods, even donuts, yet the one in KI sells ice cream only. I'd imagine whatever this Servatti's sells, it won't compete any more directly w/ cinn-a-bon than any other food vendor in the park. Cinn-a-bon is pretty limited, certainly Servatti's will be able to offer something of a different flavor. I appreciate how the park has (and continues) to provide a local flavor to the park. I'm not the biggest LaRossa's fan, and think the brand at KI is even worse, but it has local roots. Same with Skyline & Graeters. Now that Servatti's is going to be there, what else can they add? Montgomery Inn seems like it should be on the hit list (and would fill the muc needed sit down restaurant need w/n the park). Could you put in a Jeff Ruby inspired restaurant? Probably doesn't fit in the family style park, and would probably be above the desired price range for the typical family visiting the park for the day, but could a limited menu work? I can almost taste the Carlos & Johnny's Mac 'n Cheese. Perhaps a steak sandwhich. I wonder if a Buffalo Wings & Rings sports style bar/restaurant could work in the park.

I hope inversions aren't a new trend in woodne coasters. I just dont think they belong there and it ruins the feeling of the ride.

Mmmmmmm.... ^^^^^ Reuben - I'm up for that!

What did the green wire say to the black and white wire to get them to stop arguing?

Hey guys, great news! We got a deal on MORE WindSeekers!

I'm not convinced that is going to happen. In 10 years, the kids who were 10 when Potter first came out will be 25 and starting families of their own. They'll remember their memories of Potter as a child and want to share the memories of reading the books or watching the movies together w/ their own kids. They'll want to share the experience of an Orlando vacation with them, and Harry Potter will remain a destination. Some stories live with us a long time. It was like 30 years b/w when Roald Dahl wrote James and the Giant Peach and when it was released on film. Charlie and Chocolate Factory has similar shelf life. CS Lewis' works, Judy Blume's works, etc..all have similar shelf life. They had books that were enourmously popular with people when they were kids, that were then reread to their own children 20+ years later, who in turn passed it along to their own children. Harry Potter is likely one of those stories, stories that young parents look forward to reading to their children when they're old enough, movies they hope to watch together; they're stories that will not only be shared w/ their own children, but likely their grandchildren some day. Harry Potter will remain viable for much longer than 10 more years, much, much longer.

OH YEAH! and once I saw these two short dudes fighting in the middle of festhaus, and kicking people and punching people. I wonder what they were fighting about.... Dang. I didn't see the above post. YOU GUYS BEAT ME TO IT. lol

I don't even want to know. Didn't like it then, glad it's gone now...

A few loose bolts on any structure/ machine sounds dramatic, but is not that unusual due to the constant vibration. SoB had SEVERE vibration that not only caused loose bolts, but numerous issues, including contributing to the support failure that resulted in guest injuries.It should be understood- loose bolts will not cause a structure to sway. They are engineered to sway. If there was no "give" in a structure, it would fall down like a house of cards. Even the Empire State building "gives" about 1.5 inches. The antenna on top of the CN Tower will sway 3.5'. I was referring to the fact that the over-swaying of the structure was the cause of the loose bolts. I realized coaster structures need to sway, but no coaster should sway enough to cause the ride to literally come apart. There has to be SOME sort of standard which SOB obviously didn't follow. One thing I was told on The Beast tour from Don was the reason structures like Texas Giant, Mean Streak and SOB become rough. Those curves taken at altitudes topping 100 ft are things a wooden structure isn't made to really withstand long term. There's tremendous forces from a multi-ton train going at 60+ mph on curves that high. Its something John Allen believed in his design techniques. Notice on his rides, high curves are taken at slower speeds. Also, the 2nd tallest hills on his ride have small curves that bleed momentum leading up to them, also to reduce stress on the higher structures (like the humps you see on Racer). Look at how Voyage has needed all that re-tracking these past few years, and its less than 10 years old (not that its a bad ride, just that the structures might be flawed a tad with high altitude curves taken at high speeds). Simply put, wood coasters aren't made to do things steel coasters can do when it comes to curved drops or ascensions. GCI's seem to get away from it as most are only 100 ft tall or so, or have structures that don't go beyond those heights. I would even guess the Intamin pre-fab woodies like El Toro with the high curves it has might suffer eventually, though we have yet to see that since most still ride very well currently (I haven't heard anyone having a bad ride on one lately). Add in the fact that RCCA' structures seem like they were randomly piling wood and the corner cutting Paramount did, and you get the disaster that was Son of Beast.

Ah, Vortex, and Firehawk....I remember riding Vortex the first time, it was with my friend, and she had rod it a lot of times and was in total shock I had never rode it, and I told her the story about how our friend wouldn't ride the last time I was there and that my group didn't wanna leave him there alone. Boy, oh boy, Firehawk, I rode it with my cousin and two strangers, my picture was just......let's not go there, but the first time I rode it, I held on for dear life after I felt my body hit the front of the restraints on the turn over, but now I just ride like Superman!

If a B&M Wingrider cost $30 bucks, I'd build one in my backyard! The only problem is I don't have that kind of land.