Leaderboard

After Mantis, I rode the ride that was my first gigacoaster—Millennium Force, where the future is riding on it. Last year, the wait for the Force was an hour. This time it was a sixth of that—only 10 minutes! I rode the Red Train in row 5-1, near the back. I greatly savored the airtime on the 300-foot drop! But as the train swooped up into the first overbanked turn, I started to gray out. I guess the lack of consistence in my drinking of water was starting to take its toll. The greying lasted for about 5-10 seconds; I could tell this was a symptom of dehydration. I tested myself by asking, “Where am I?” Opening my eyes, I saw the blue track and gray supports whizzing around me as the train wound its way through the course. I immediately responded, “Hey! I’m on the Millennium Force!” I felt well again, so I got even more happy as I greatly continued to savor the moments of the train going over the many more hills, through the last tunnels, and the last overbanked turn. A very interesting ride, indeed. As soon as I got off, I located the nearest water fountain and replenished myself with as many gulps of nice, cool water as I could drink in one sitting. Now that I was sufficiently hydrated again, I could continue on my annual journey through the Cedar Point amusement park. The next ride, with a delicate design, beautiful paintings and all, was Wave Swinger. I don’t remember exactly what color seat I rode in, but this cycle was interesting. First, all the other riders were either at or below my age, and second, we were all on one half of the ride! So one half of the seats on the whole ride were empty, while the other riders and I filled up the other half. It was interesting “having Wave Swinger all to ourselves.” As I walked closer to Cedar Creek Mine Ride (which I unfortunately bypassed) and Maverick, I saw more and more of the Western/Frontier style theming. I got to Maverick’s entrance, only to find out the ride had just gone down with a technical delay. In fact, it had been off and on all day since the park opened at noon. Ten minutes later, they started running empty test trains. It was cool to see the ride transition through the inversions very intricately and smoothly. I guess that’s an Intamin ride’s definition of “elegant.” 5 minutes after, they started letting riders on, but a few minutes later more empty trains were run and then the ride was down again. By this time, it had been 20 minutes since Maverick went down. The line that was forming outside the entrance had grown quite a bit, and I wanted to ride Maverick really bad, so there was no way I was forfeiting my spot! Finally, 5 minutes later, they ran more test trains; eventually, riders were let on again--and the ride was back up! We were let into the queue. The total elapsed time had been 30 minutes. I was greeted with a station wait of another 5 minutes. I ended up in row 1-2 on the bronze-colored train. In this pic I am in the seat on the left side of the train: Maverick is a really fun ride. Definitely one of my favorite looping coasters. The transitions to, from, and through the various inversions and elements were performed very smoothly and swiftly. The negative Gs were abundant on the 95-degree drop and airtime hill, and the 70 mph acceleration in the launch tunnel was nice. I wanted to ride again but the line had grown at such a ridiculous rate that it was just outside the ride entrance! I decided to move on. My mom had bought some potato fries with ketchup while I was riding Maverick, so we enjoyed this nice hot snack together. Then I noticed….Gemini. I hadn’t gotten around to it yet, and it was already the time that we had initially agreed on to leave the park for the 3 and a half hour drive home. But she still let me ride Gemini! Only the red side was running. practically because of fewer people being at the park, which made for a very short line, even with just one side open (Of course, Gemini is a high capacity ride.). Red Train #1 was waiting for me when I boarded in row 2-1. The station was so empty, in fact, that two of the five cars had been blocked off, leaving the first two and the last cars on the train open to those who wanted to ride. Therefore, the trains were running at at just-less-than-two-thirds capacity, or sometimes even less than that. Anyway, the ride was great. Since I had lowered my expectations of it due to when I greatly overestimated the outcome of the ride experience on the previous CP trip in 2011, I wasn’t expecting very much. But this ride sure packed a punch. The drops and the hills were pretty fun, along with the straightaway and the upward helix at the end. When the train arrived back, barely anyone was waiting for a seat in the last car. I headed back to row 5-1, which had no one waiting for it, and did a re-ride. I got a little airtime on the drops, especially the first one, which I really enjoyed. I decided to try the very back, row 5-3. I got my wish, as there was no one waiting for 5-3 when the train got back to the station. When I had buckled the seatbelt and pulled the lap bar down for the third time, I realized I had the entire last car to myself, let alone THE WHOLE BACK PART OF THE TRAIN!! During the ride several of the riders in the front glanced back at me, also realizing that I was the only one in the back of this particular Gemini train! I got a bit more airtime (and a bit more bumpiness ), making for a one-of-a-kind back seat ride. Upon re-entering the station, I finished my (mini)marathon back in row 5-1. This time I had a few more fellow riders riding in the last car along with me. Fun ride like the last three were! I wanted to ride Magnum again, but it was too late. We had to leave soon, since I had school the next day. Now I have to wait till 2013. Part 6 is on its way! (with a whole lotta photos! )

^I'm in your boat. I spent a lot of money and had about ten visits, but never reached level two. For those of you about to ask why didn't I call and ask, I didn't care enough.

They wanted to reopen Coney as a none competitor to Kings Island. He knew the park well having worked there from 1952 through the park's closing on Labor Day, September 6, 1971. Ed remained at Coney until his retirement.

Workman was a PITA to work with. Also, he felt a personal beef with anyone who he felt screwed him over in the past. (I have my sources on this). I can see that part of the unraveling of the initial workings with Ed Hart. I can see Workman still being upset that Ed sold the park when it was at its pinnacle, and then Six Flags submarined it. One would think that since Hart has done it once, he can probably do it again, but I doubt he will ever sell it again. When Hart owned it the first time, land was an interesting issue. Part of it was owned by the state, and the other part was owned by him, purchased parcels at a time for expansion room. (Now even most of the empty lots, all with Phillips Ln addresses belong to the state.) When Hart sold it, the land owned by him became property belonging to Six Flags. When Six Flags walked away and broke their contract the bankruptcy judge allowed it, but gave all the land and remaining rides to the state. Part of SFs contract with the state said any improvements, rides, fixtures, etc, to the land belonged to the state when Six Flags leaves. The other issue with that area has to deal with height restrictions being in such close proximity to the airport. The glide path prevents building beyond a certain height in certain parcels of the park. I can't see why anyone would want to own the land. Owning the land means having to pay property taxes. If the land already belongs to the state, then property taxes are not going to be paid on it. You are going to make your money off admission, sales, upcharges, etc. You are going to pay a tourism tax, but you aren't going to pay property taxes. The other thing is, expansion space is limited. Why would you want to own that? Its not like KI where there is still a rediculous amount of space to grow. Eventually if the park reopens, expansions will push it to the borders being KFEC & Circle of Champions drive on the NE side, and the Watterson Expwy to the South, and Crittenden drive to the West. There is probably enough space for the park to see a 25-33% expansion of the current space but that is about it. Maybe 45-50% tops, if you bought up some of the junk that abuts the park to the West. You can't cross Crittenden because there are a number of trucking distribution centers that aren't going to leave. Using parking lots could be an option, but the state fair is still held for 2 weeks every year, and every spot around there and more are filled when it is in town.

Finally, it came time to cap off my annual trip to the Point by doing my tradition of riding Sky Ride back to the area near the park entrance and riding the Midway Carousel. According to the picture above (taken while I was next in line) I rode Sky Ride in a purple car--Car #32. I took a few pics of the park from above, including the one right above this sentence. After touching back down onto solid ground (hey, it kinda rhymes!) I proceeded to the last CP ride I’d ride before 2013: the Midway Carousel. If I’m not mistaken, this particular carousel has a working band organ, which is pretty nice.I thought there was a working organ, but those recorded tracks sure fooled me! When I exited the gates and walked out into the parking lot, I was surprised to see a Revolution 3 Triathlon running race still going (It was also going on in the morning!). On the way to CP this morning I saw that not only part of the course was in Sandusky, but also up and down the causeway and through Cedar Point’s parking lot. After crossing the course, I grabbed my last skyline shots, knowing I would never see Space Spiral in person ever again. As the car drove away from the Point, I looked back at the whole park, Space Spiral and all, while going down the causeway back to Sandusky, then heading south. Once the park disappeared from view, I whispered to my self, “Goodbye, Space Spiral. Hope you have fun in the big amusement park in the sky! Also, bye to Cedar Point. I’ll be back next year, in 2013, to ride Gatekeeper and of course, all my other favorites…” Raptor: 1 maXair:1 Wicked Twister: 1 Overall: 2 WindSeeker: 1 Overall: 2 Power Tower: 1 (Drop) Overall: 2 (Drop: 1; Shot: 1) Corkscrew: 3 Overall: 5 Magnum XL-200: 4 Overall: 6 Top Thrill Dragster: 2 Overall: 3 Iron Dragon: 4 Overall: 5 Mantis: 1 Overall: 2 Millennium Force: 1 Overall: 2 Wave Swinger: 1 Maverick: 1 Gemini: 4 Overall: 5 Sky Ride: 1 Overall: 2 Midway Carousel: 1 Overall: 2

Wouldn't it be something though, if from the ashes of SoB a new Stratocoaster emerged?!!!! Bring it!

It didn't exist for me. I shop at KI, but funperk wise, I was personna non grata. Honestly, it wasn't worth the hassle of what the rewards were to be petty over points. I didn't know which restuarants were excluded, what goods were included, and it wasn't worth my time nor an employee's time to find out if I 'won' a free drink. I'm not going to sit and peruse over my reciepts in the park and worry about saving a buck. I'm certainly not going to harangue a cashier in a store about points.

It's nice to hear that The Zephyr is included in someone else's list of "favorite rides"!

No one will open KK and expand unless they can own the land. Why would anyone deal with the fair board?

Their best album!

I'll be at KI tomorrow (Sunday) so I'll have the Eiffel Tower on my mental list of rides to ride so I can get some pics of what's left of SoB. edit: I got some pictures! Now all I have to do is import and then upload them... edit #2: The pics are now up!

I'm jealous of the people that go often enough to actually accumulate a worthwhile amount of points.

Posted without comment: http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/stake-our-2013-season

Below is a Trip Report from my trip to KI this past Saturday, October 20th. I went with a lady I work with, her daughters, and their friends. We're teachers, so this group almost felt like a field trip...lol. Most of my friends have quit going to KI, unless they take their kids (I'm 34). This group is always up for a trip at least once a year. We decided to go early and enjoy the day, plus stay through Halloween Haunt. Ahhh...what a great sight! Exiting off of I-71, and the Tower and Drop Zone are in view! What a beautiful day. Is this really October 20th?? The lines weren't bad at all. We're walking in at about 2:30. We also got a great parking spot in the Gold Lot. We got lucky, as two people were leaving their parking spot. Already lots of decorations can be seen. I loved the old Trams with the skeletons in them. What a cruel joke it would be when we would be heading to our car later at 12:45 am!! What great theming as you come into the park. It really sets the mood. We were all deciding what to do at this point. I suggested Firehawk, but when we arrived everyone thought the line was too long, and didn't want to stay. I would have estimated it at an hour. However, a few hours later, the gentleman working the entry gate said 2.5-3 hours, as they were only running one train. Unfortunately, my friends didn't get to experience Firehawk this trip. Too bad! At this point, I suggested the Zephyr. We actually all got on it, and it was actually pretty fun. After that, we hit recaR, Top Gun (45 minute wait), and Shake, Rattle 'n Roll (always a blast). At this point, we split up a bit, and some of us went to The Beast. After countless rides, The Beast never disappoints. There is nothing like it. These are just some random pics I took. The park was really nice to look at today, especially with the fall foliage. We enjoyed a beautful afternoon, but before you knew it, the fog machines were doing their thing! Got lunch at Festhaus, and got the big bonus of getting to see the last 10 minutes of the Buckeyes beating Michigan State. What a great day! You gotta love the feeling when the fog is flowing, and the music starts playing. By this time, it is dark, and I'm amazed at how warm it still is. The "big tall monster" is pretty cool to see in person. I imagine that if I was a kid, I would have been scared to death. However, I caught "it" posing for pics with kids all evening. Cool. I had decided before I went into the park that I wanted a new sweatshirt, so as the evening cooled off, I made my way into a few shops until I found a black "Halloween Haunt" hoodie in the store that is directly to your right as you enter the park. We started off HH with CornStalkers. I've never been really big on the haunted attractions, so I thought this was the line to it!! LOL. It was fun, and I always jump when somebody surprises me. We followed this up with Tombstone Terror-Tory. At this point the crowds are becoming massive, and the line for this was back to LaRosa's in RT. Strange as it sounds, I enjoy the crowds. I just think it adds to the atmosphere. Lots of action going on. I wouldn't think this during it, but I ended up really enjoying Tombstone Terror-Tory. I was just giggling about how the train stops, and how you have to walk through the woods. Great visuals. It was like being IN a horror movie. The fog so thick that you can't see where you're going, and the little girl: "Thats my daddy hanging over there". LOL...gotta love it. Once again, they made me jump a lot! We followed this with "The WorkSite". I thought this was clever, too, and the "cop" at the beginning cracked me up. The girl at the end (with the big sledehammer thing) followed one of our party clear until the Tower: "you think its over? Its not over!!". I told her "great job!!"...LOL We were all thirsty and found a cart with Lemonade on it. We all donated $3.75 apiece, and headed to the Paramount Theatre. We watched all but about 5 minutes of the "Great Baldini". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The guy cracked me up, but, in a way, I almost felt sorry for him. Great Theming!! We all attempted to get into the line for Club Blood, but we decided not to wait, as the line seemed to go on forever. The rest of my group headed for "Death Row", but I decided to go ahead and wait inline for SOB. After about 50 minutes of waiting (at 11:40) I got into my seat. It was neat heading out in the pitch dark. The climb at night was awesome, and I love the drop. This is where things got BAD. I rode this ride several times with the loop, and pretty much swore it off. I rode it once this summer (post-loop), and the "jack-hammering" effect only got me in a couple sections. However, I don't know if it was because of the cold, or what, but halfway through the ride, I wanted off. I took a beating that was way past enjoyable. The Beast's beating is still "fun" for me. This was absolutely miserable. I was transferring as much weight to my feet as possible, but I still took a pounding. I may try it again this spring, but at this point I'm not sure. By 12:45 we headed out the gates to begin our 75 minute drive home. Overall, I had a blast. There really wasn't much to complain about for me. I can't wait to go back in the spring, and I'll just have to see what the charge for HH is next year. I decided against buying a 2008 pass (I've had one the last two seasons). I have found that having a pass is almost like "pressure" of having to go. Its not that I haven't enjoyed my visits. I'd just prefer to buy tickets for the times when some friends are already going, or something like that. I wish I lived closer; I would go all the time. Anyway, the rest of my group had fun, as well. My friend that I worked with said something interesting to me. I read these forums a lot, but its interesting to hear sometimes what the "general public" thinks. She said that this wasn't nearly as good as FearFest used to be. Now, I don't believe for a second that this year's HH could have been "worse" than FearFests of past years. The only thing I thought of is that I hope people aren't tiring of it. From the crowds I saw, I don't think its the case, and I hope its not. I do think it will be interesting next year to see what they charge for it.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/rYDuNq-a5b4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen> This seemed oddly appropriate.

I only ever got two instant rewards, and they didn't seem random to me. I got one on the purchase that leveled me up to two stars and one on the purchase that leveled me up to three stars. (I never reached four stars.) As for the survey itself, the first time I tried to submit my answers, I received an error message saying, "Your information appears to be spam." The second attempt at submitting worked.

I came THIS close to being there Friday. They say they will rebuild it.

Good program, rewards the folks who visit the park often and spend $$. Just the past weekend, I ended up with $95 in coupons, merchandise vouchers, and Beagle Bucks, all of which will be used tomorrow. Biggest problem I see is that they really do need to get the employees that are in charge of redeeming some of the coupons up to speed. Sheer buffoonery. All in all, nice to get a little return on the money and time spent this summer.

More money than the Kochs were able to secure prudently, apparently. More than Mr. Hart could get without the taxpayers of Kentucky guaranteeing the loan last time around. Why should the taxpayers in Pike County, Trigg County and the rest of the state be forced to risk their tax dolllars on a twice failed amusement park in Jefferson County when there isn't enough money to pay state employees without using mandatory furloughs, Medicaid is underfunded and on and on? For that matter, why should Mr. Hart or anyone else be allowed to run a state subsidized amusement park while Beech Bend, Holiday World and Kings Island must compete against them? If Kentucky Kingdom were such a wonderful business proposition, it wouldn't be in the situation it is today. Arguably, the smartest and best operators in all the world have had opportunity after opportunity to at least look at the place during the formal viewing process. Other than the Premier organization and Mr. Hart, they didn't even take the time to snoop. The former, whose principals used to run Six Flags, says it did not bid. Mr. Hart may not have made a responsive bid. It speaks volumes that the Fair Board is NOT being allowed to evaluate the proposals or make the decision. The Finance Cabinet will be far more concerned with the economic merits from the state's standpoint. As for $25 million, I highly doubt that would be even a drop in the bucket toward what is needed to properly repair, restore and renovate even a sizeable portion of that park. Again, why did the Fair Board drop Mr. Hart? Why did the Kochs walk? See particularly the last paragraph of this article: http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Ky-kingdom--175004401.html

Clint Eastwood does to random furniture!

Interesting. The fair board has no say in the matter now. I wonder how that will change things. Specifically, will dealing directly with the state be easier or more difficult than dealing with the fair board? Only time will tell.

What's wrong with a cowboy snarling? Heaven knows the real life ones do. At least the ones I've met in Texas and Oklahoma do!

There's also a few King Cobra footings you can somewhat see from the Eiffel Tower, and definitely see from Bing maps:

No kind of about it. Stealing is stealing no matter how big or small or however you wanna twist it! Im not perfect either,im just sayn.......

That's kind of dishonest.

^ Start with the area KC used to occupy.

I'm not sure why, but when I saw the numerous pictures of the snapped wood, sitting on the footings like tree stumps, a wave of sadness washed over me. Something about it seems heartbreaking to me, even if I know not why. Perhaps it is a good thing the park did not release any Crypt demolition pictures.

Really? I thought it was in the process of being demolished.....

Really? Were all of King Cobra's? No. Were The Bat's? No. Were Steel Phantom's? No. Were Laser Loops? No. Will ALL of Son of Beast's be? That remains to be seen.

Just bought my pass for next year, and will enjoy my free day on the 28th.

First hill, rose bowl, helix are still there. Still a long way to go.

But your mother-in-law will certainly criticize the TV over the front door.....

Happy Belated Birthday. Thanks for sharing your trip with us (and for loving Firehawk!)

A Space Spiral tribute: