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The future use for both buildings will continue to be what they are now as a Haunt attraction.

Over three weeks later from the actual Closing Day, I FINALLY start writing the PTR… Here are some pictures of The Beach Waterpark (or should I say, “The Beach at Adventure Landing.”) that I took while whisking past on I-71 south, heading for Exit 25. I arrived at Kings Island at around 3:50- a full 2 hours and 20 minutes after the planned “Tower Drinks meetup.” It was cloudy, and I was sure that the temperature was hanging out in the upper 40s, although the forecasted high was 52. Once I entered the park for the last day of the 2012 season, I immediately proceeded left into Action Zone, where I found my first ride of the day, Delirium. After one cycle length of waiting, I got assigned to Seat #36, just three seats down from the seat that I rode in on 9/05/2010 (seat #39). At this time my hands were FREEZING, and every attempt of mine to warm them was in vain. I had my hands in my pockets for almost the whole ride as cold wind blew in my face. It actually felt pretty good, maybe even almost as good as when I rode WindSeeker during that drizzle on Labor Day. Invertigo came next. Invertigo had a station wait. It was a one cycle wait for the backwards-first row in the 1st car (a.k.a. Row 2). I was expecting a similar experience as that of my ride on August 13, and I got that same experience - along with chilly October winds. I did it without holding on to the handles on the harness, since I just thought it was nice, smooth, and forceful. It’s the thing about inverted coasters that Invertigo had practically taught me to really love. I rode again, on the end row that went forwards first (a.k.a. Row 1), the same seat that I sat in when I rode Invertigo for the very first time on 6/04/11. Loved the forces, especially while going backwards through the inversions!! After the fun on Invertigo, I went to my first Arrow of the day: Flight Deck. Once the station came into view, I knew I would be able to do some rerides because the station was virtually empty (other than the ops). There was a teeny tiny line for the first few rows so I made a beeline for the very back. Little did I know that the train I was about to board had KICers on it! As I stepped aboard (I never caught the train number! AAAAAAHHH!) into row 7-2, I suddenly heard someone say something that sounded like, “OHIOCOLTS!!” I immediately thought, “Hmmm. That sounded like ‘ohiocolts.’ I wonder if any KICers are lurking around here. I really hope so.” The train was locked, I pulled down and buckled my harness, and then: “Are you going to ride Sling Shot with me?” I looked at the exit, and three KICers —ohiocolts, malem and Beastie1980—were standing there. We had a short but plentiful conversation, including the fact that I am VortexBFForever from KIC as well as Beastie1980 trying Vortex again and liking it now. As the train left, malem said he and the others in the small group would be waiting for me at the exit when I arrived back- and now I was off on the first of two consecutive flights. I put my hands up like I normally did now as I was whipped through the turns and the soon-to-be-gone near miss with Son of Beast. When I arrived back, I stepped off, but I didn’t head for the exit, and then I said these words exactly: “I have a sudden and inexplicable urge to reride!” and then got back on the train, into row 7-1 this time. When the train had locked and I had secured my harness, I looked up and saw ohiocolts, malem and Beastie1980 scrambling to get into the seats that still had open harnesses, which were a few cars up in front of me. The train departed with all four of us aboard that time, and I enjoyed another flight through the trees, over the stream, and past Son of Beast. On the maiden voyage back to Action Zone, I mentioned that it DID take longer to walk to Flight Deck than to ride an actual cycle on it, although I already knew it was true. We also found out that ohiocolts had reached Level 4 on FunPerks. I asked malem if one of the nametags he printed had my name on it. He said no and gave me a blank nametag to write my KIC name on instead, along with a blue marker to write it with. Believe it or not, my hands were so cold that I had to work hard to write each and every letter in “VortexBFForever” on that nametag. It wasn’t in my best handwriting, but I did it. We met up with ohiocolts’ mom, (DiamondAceExpress) who had been sitting by FD’s entrance while we were riding. We headed to Sling Shot. Apparently ohiocolts was the one with the free ride voucher, so I had to pay $10 for myself to ride. It took me almost a whole minute for my cold hands to fork each of the $10 out of my wallet. They were just so cold! After I FINALLY got my ticket, I joined ohiocolts in line, with my hands (and my ticket) in my pocket. Two full Sling Shot cycles later, it was finally our turn. We were both excited, as this was the very first Sling Shot ride for both of us, so neither of us knew what the ride was like yet. My mom took a video of the whole cycle. http://img211.images...ahbhjizwmih.mp4 Apparently during the cycle (unbeknownst to me) ohiocolts’ nametag flew off!! But mine stayed on… We were immediately told that by the others as we exited the ride. Beastie1980 had played a game somewhere and had won this gray and white stuffed puppy dog. We found jcgoble3 as well, and we had another informative conversation. I found out that Don had surprised the KICers with a behind the scenes tour of The Beast, and I had missed it. I was really bummed about that. I wanted to ride Adventure Express (less talking, more riding…). Beastie1980 and I agreed to ride it together so we went ahead of the group. I think the number of the train we caught was #2. We rode in one of my personal favorite seats – row 1-3. I really enjoy the lateral forces on this thing, especially on those hairpin turns. I really enjoyed the tunnels as well, especially the last one. We both did the “tiki dance” or at least Beastie1980 did. I was doing a combination of the dance and having my arms straight up, so I looked like I was trying to do the backstroke while sitting upright in a coaster train. When we arrived back, there literally was NO ONE waiting in the station at all!! I literally screamed, “Look! There’s no one in the station!!” What it also meant: there was no one waiting for the front seat either!! So both of us pulled up our lap bars and unbuckled our seatbelts, and headed for the front row. This was actually my very first front seat ride, ever, on AE! I got even more excited when I looked back and saw that the four other KICers had boarded behind us. The result: a KIC-only train! We were calling it the “KIC Train.” The train departed, but this time, I was the only one having my hands up for the whole ride. I kept looking back to see if anyone else did, but alas, I was the only one. Oh well. At least we still had fun! The Racer was right next door, so it won out as our next ride. I rode in 5-2, the second-to-last row, on the Red side (of course, it was the only side running) in Train #1. Was whipped over the first hill, and playfully bouncing (it seemed like it ) up and down the hills, around the turn, and on the way back, I waved and said hello to The Beast, Vortex, WindSeeker and even the entrance to Dinosaurs Alive!! When we got back to the station, I was having so much fun that I couldn’t even believe it was Closing Day! As we were exiting, Beastie1980 asked if I wanted to ride Vortex, and I immediately replied with an enthusiastic “Yes!” (Of course it’s a no-brainer that I always say yes to riding Vortex!). We went ahead of the group again while quickly walking down to the end of the Coney Mall midway, anxious about riding Vortex. We talked about Row 5-1 and how smooth it is, and I having no problem in riding in any row on the train. Upon our entry to Vortex’s queue, we suddenly got very excited at the sight of a very very short line present in the station (and yes, my hands were still FREEZING!) and ran up the stairs, over the bridge, down the stairs on the other side, and into the loading station. She and I chose Row 1-2 for our first Vortex ride of the afternoon, since I wanted to ride in the first car. I immediately mentioned to her how Row 1-2 was practically the bumpiest row on the train, but it didn’t wreak havoc on any of us during the ride. We had a lot of fun. My mom took pics of us before Train #2 (yes, we ended up on my favorite train! ) left. It was weird: in one of the pics Beastie1980 would be smiling at the camera, and in the other pic I would be smiling at the camera. This also was the case on Diamondback. After our ride in Row 1-2 we re-rode in one of my favorite airtime rows: Row 6-2. Again the ride was great. When the train exited the second corkscrew and had made that sudden directional change toward the batwing, I suddenly heard the riders around me (including Beastie1980) saying “Ow.” I was confuzzled – nothing hurt for me! – but then again, I’ve been riding on Vortex on every KI trip for 2 ½ seasons straight, so I’d learned what to experience, when to experience what, and how to experience it - as if it were a natural instinct. (I’m practically “immune” to headbanging, I’m sure! ) When Train #2 was back in the station, I faced a tough decision: I could either go with Beastie1980 to Flight of Fear right at this moment, or I could re-ride one more time and THEN join Beastie1980 en route to Flight to Fear. I gave in to re-riding; I mean, Train #2 was right in front of me, with Row 2-1 (another favorite) open – as if it were actually beckoning to me, “Come on, just ride one more time, and then you can go to Flight of Fear!” So I took the re-ride in 2-1 as a single rider and then continued on with Beastie1980 to Flight of Fear. I wanted to ride Firehawk as well, but she told me she hated it, so we only did FoF. When we arrived inside FoF’s building, we were greeted with a pleasant surprise of a short line! Eagerly rushing through the pre-show area and the (half) saucer, we joined the line which almost extended into the saucer – the shortest line for Flight of Fear I’ve ever seen! If I’m not mistaken (it’s been almost 4 weeks!) I think we rode in either Row 1-1 or Row 1-2. Loved the launch like always, along with the inversions and how forceful that left corkscrew at the end is! Another good thing is that my hands FINALLY warmed up!! I made sure to keep them in my pockets for as much as possible while we were back outside. After our FoF ride, there was only about 30 minutes left of the 2012 season, so we headed straight to Diamondback. We got the Red Train and rode in Row 13. On the way up the lift hill, I knew that this was to be my last Diamondback ride of the season. The train crested, and we were off. Floater airtime is always something to love, especially while sailing over every single hill. During the splashdown, I looked back and gazed at all the water flying up into the air. It was amazing. I decided to head right back to Vortex for the last ride of the season, while Beastie1980 stayed at Diamondback. As I began my last journey back to Coney Mall, people were flooding into Diamondback’s line. I looked at my watch and it said 6:55! I started to speedwalk as I walked past Diamondback’s drop and The Beast’s entrance. By the time I passed Shake, Rattle & Roll I had sped up to a jog and I started to sprint once I entered the queue line. By that time it was 6:57. I was hoping to squeeze two cycles in, but as it turns out, I got only one. By the time I had boarded Train #2 in the front seat, it was 6:58. As #2 climbed the lift hill for my last ride of the season, I watched the chasing lights and repeated a statement I had said when I rode Vortex for the very first time: “At least those lights are going faster than me.” I also looked at the rest of the park below, lit up in the night. At the top, I spread my arms and took in all the cycle had to offer, including the fact that it was after dark, just like my very first ride was. When I arrived at the final brake run, I knew it was too late for another cycle, since they were sending Train #1 out empty. I looked at my watch, which said 7:00. I felt like saying, “Just one more ride! Pwease?” but I knew it would do no good since the park had already closed. I clung to my harness as #2 glided into the station. I was reluctant to get out, but of course I had to so I slowly pushed my harness up, stepped off the train, and ceremoniously pushed the harness back down. Meanwhile, two ops had started pushing the other open harnesses down, so basically I helped them. I gave Train #2 one last hug, and then I finally exited the station for the last time until 2013 – when I would be 14 and Vortex would be 26. The link below goes to a part of a soundtrack from Happy Feet 2 called “Tappin’ to Freedom,” in which that part kind of seemed to narrate the moments when I said bye to Vortex for the season (except for that small opera part at 4:20 during the song). I made the link so the video would start playing at 3:40 and go to the end. I lingered around in Vortex’s vicinity for a few more minutes. I found out that the train behind mine, which was Train #3, carried two passengers, who turned out to be the last Vortex riders of the season (I hope they realized that…) and I was on the SECOND TO LAST train of the season! Hey, at least I was one of Train #2’s last passengers for the season. Since the camera I was using had been used a whole lot of the day, it took no-flash pictures at a really slow shutter speed, although it took pics at a normal speed if the flash was on. Thus, a lot of the following pics are a bit blurry. (you can sort of tell which ones had the flash used and which ones didn’t.) +Delirium: 1 YTD: 3 Overall: 10 +Invertigo: 2 YTD: 3 Overall: 7 +Flight Deck: 2 YTD: 11 Overall: 17 +Sling Shot: 1 +Adventure Express: 2 YTD: 9 Overall: 17 +Racer: 1 YTD: 4 Overall: 7 +Vortex: 4 YTD: 60 Overall: 135 +Flight of Fear: 1 YTD: 3 Overall: 9 +Diamondback: 1 YTD: 11 Overall: 71

Past or Present? Past- 1. Boo Boo's Baggage Claim 2. The Crypt Did I really just rank The Crypt in second place? Present- 1. Shake Rattle & Roll

This is one time a double post makes sense. You should change the letter color on one response blue, and the other red.

Shake, Rattle & Roll, for sure. Not nauseating like Monster but not as simple as Scrambler. I love it!

I usually remain pretty quiet on this site, but I felt obliged to reply to your post. Nothing personal, but you try to pass off a lot of your "opinions" as fact (especially posts on legal matters) and I think it's misleading no matter how many times you state the word "opinion." Just my two cents. - Just because we've seen one thing happen in the past doesn't mean history is always bound to repeat itself, especially within the amusement industry. You're talking about apples and oranges. The Vortex in many ways "filled The Bat's shoes" so to speak. Arrow designed both rides, after the first Arrow coaster there really didn't meet expectations. Given that they designed both, it doesn't surprise me at all that they retrofitted the old station or that Vortex's lift utilized the space of The Bat's first lift. However, just because the SOB station is remaining doesn't confirm for fact that the station would be used in a new design. - Also, Arrow built both rides. No one's touched Roller Coaster Corporation of America in years (did they even exist after PKI sued them and finished the ride on their own?). - No, it wouldn't make sense. It made somewhat sense in The Bat/Vortex designs given that they were the same manufacturer and designer (Ron Toomer). However, here you're assuming a lot of things. Mainly... 1) A new coaster is in fact coming. 2) That new coaster will be wooden. 3) A new wooden coaster will utilize a similar track, brake and station component structure built to the same specs as the SOB/RCCA design. Given that RCCA isn't really in the game anymore and no other manufacturer builds to that gauge, I'd find that highly unlikely. 4) The park loves that station so much they'd design an entire new ride around it. The station itself is a cheaply built, low cost structure. I doubt any manufacturer would build an entire ride around such an unglamorous structure that has no connotation to the park's past or history. The building is insignificant. - Again, assuming that a new coaster would be built to the same specs (it won't), and that a new coaster is in fact coming (possibly, but not confirmed). - Although Don posted after you, he confirmed that The Crypt building will continue to be used for a haunted house. Given that the building was designed specifically to house and operate a HUSS Giant Top Spin (which you will never see in that building again), I doubt it has any "future use" other than the one Don confirmed. The park's stated "future use" has always been for use as a haunted house. - See above comments as to why that's most likely not possible. Again: I doubt the park (or anyone for that matter) would go with RCCA if they even still exist and you're assuming that a new coaster has to be wood. - What advantage is there? None. Why would you build an entirely new ride design around an unremarkable former ride station? Retrofitting that station to include any manufacturer would be more of a headache than it's worth. - What makes the land so valuable? There's plenty of room to use for "future expansion." And the park has made it pretty clear that Halloween Haunt in recent years has become a valuable part of their operation. The station's use as a haunted house adds to the value of an incredibly profitable and popular event. It's current use is better than when it was abandoned and in the future I'd bet many nickels that it's better used as a haunted house than a new ride station. TL:DR Despite KI ORIG EMP's "opinion" that the ride station for SOB must be re-used, the obvious (and Mr. Helbig's post) states otherwise.

^Flood him with likes!!! xD Happy 100th post KingsIslandPR!

Yeah now that SOB is gone, I feel like they should build another wooden roller coaster to replace it. It just looks too empty without that big lift hill standing there. Anybody else agree that it looks empty?

Great trip report VortexBFForever! It was a great day. And thanks for riding Sling Shot with me!

(joining in really late on the conversation) The Bat station had queues, a station floor and a transfer track. It was also very aesthetically pleasing. It was also compatible with other Arrow track. Son of Beast's station, on the other hand, was basically the opposite (save for the station platform). I guess what I'm trying to say is this: The Bat station had more to offer than Son of Beast's, hence the repurposing and preservation of the building.

There was no name calling or flaming. I don't see how it was rude or defensive. People's opinions and ideas differ, and if you can't handle some one disagreeing with you then you probably shouldn't express your opinion in the first place. People disagreeing with each other isn't "pointless drama" or "entertainment."

I am about to invite the wrath of Jerome Silberman...my gut tells me that "he" is an alias for another poster here on the board. The majority of Jerome's 26 posts (so far) are negative. (You would think a member of a park fan site might have something nice to say about the park instead of just critiszing other member's posts.) I am guessing "he" does not want "his" other name to be connected with these type of comments and saves them for Jerome to post. I might be wrong about this...but one thing is painfully obvious, "Jerome" has an axe to grind with KI-ORIG-EMP. (Where's Avatar when we need him?!)

The scrambler

Designs have not been done on paper for many years now.

Zephyr. Some people say it stinks, but it is one of my favorite rides.

KI ORIG EMP, for some reason your text has come up in an incredibly small Times New Roman font. I enlarged it here. Again, I'm not saying you're not allowed to have an opinion. I'm saying what you've predicted is unlikely. Sure, it's your opinion, but it's an unlikely possibility. Read into "my message" please. Again, not saying there's anything wrong with having an opinion. You submitted your opinion for discussion, I discussed it. I can have an opinion that the earth is flat, doesn't mean that the earth really is. Your opinion is that they'll re-use the station, I submitted an opinion that such a design is incredibly unlikely. Please read my posts. I never accused anyone of telling you their designs, I was questioning you when you said this: I was asking how you knew NOTHING had been designed yet? Correct, you are no different and any other KIC user who posts something has given other users the opportunity to discuss their post. Which is what I'm doing here.

Read my original post instead of ignoring it. Logic would dictate that there's no good reasoning for building an attraction to specifically suit that station or build an attraction specifically around it. How do you know nothing's been designed yet? You like to point out time and time again how they don't tell line employees things. If they're designing something, I doubt they're going to let the Pet Care Shop in on their plans.

At least manual mode is better then " Drop Tower mode". 1 ride per costumer.

It will remain standing to be used for one of Kings Island's most popular haunts, Wolf Pack. Howl.

They just don't want to fish it out. They are just hoping it eventually rots and sinks.

Because I would just love to pay $500 to fly there to see a mound of litter in the sea.

Today I got around to opening my Son of Beast bolt & piece of track. (I was busy yesterday.) I would like to thank the park for not only deciding to sell pieces of the ride, but for putting so much effort into it. I could not be more impressed with the piece of track, the photos that have been posted do not do it justice. As I sit here looking at it I can only think that this is certainly not a "money grab" by the park...it is obviously a labor of love from one coaster fanatic to another. Thanks again to everyone at the park that made these items possible.

Lots of enthusiasum. Thanks, looked like a good time!

I wasn't comparing the tragedies or anything like that. I was responding to the "they will have to remove it" comment. They don't have to do anything if they don't want to. I apologize if it sounded insensitive. It was not meant to.

My first roller coaster was The Shooting Star at Coney Island in 1967. My sister just came home from basic training in the army and we went down to Coney to have fun.

Discussions tend to work best without people being needlessly rude or needlessly defensive. A little bit of respect can go a long way. This isn't a posting on Twitter or face book. The objective of a discussion thread is to have a civil conversation, not to create pointless drama for the sake of entertainment.

Wow Beastie1980 Not loving your opinion toward my coaster. Well, well I don't like wood stock express( beastie ).

Either way, this is the most interesting conversation on this website for a long time. I don't see a problem with it.

Gosh, under rated rides. Let's see well obviously Delirium, Drop Tower, and no sure this is a flat but Thunder Alley rocks. Left Left Left Left

An awesome read. Almost as much fun as being there! Thanks!

I was asking how you knew NOTHING had been designed yet? Don has stated that planning for the cleared land will begin after Son of Beast is removed. Management at Cedar Fair likes riding coasters, too. I'm sure options for this plot of land, among others, get a lot of thought on a continuous basis. I agree 100%. When you post to a forum, you're inviting others to engage in civil debate and discussion. This may include disagreements and rebuttals. If your opinion about Kings Island is contrary to what the park's PR manager has announced numerous times, expect to be called out. I've certainly made misstatements here, and I'm grateful to anyone who calls me out on it. What follows those words usually is personal. Could we please keep this debate civil? Also, sarcasm gets old quickly.

And then the site operator will only run one side.

First there was the Dippin' Dots guy, bankrupt albeit. Now we have The Pet Shop Boys?

Don has stated that the SOB station will remain and continue to be used for Wolf Pack in the future.

I listen to my ipod....

And what city are those stations based out of? Dayton stations are not Cincinnati stations, which are not Indianapolis stations, which are not Louisville stations, which are... you get the point. It would also be helpful to indicate what type of music each one plays for those of us not from your area. I listen to 99.1 FM in Dayton, a popular country music station. Other than that, I don't change stations unless I'm traveling or unless I'm tuning in to the Bengals game on 700 AM.

What about seamstresses?

He has spoken.

Thought this was pretty crazy. Props to TOPGUN1993 for the bottom photo!

http://www.foxnews.c...ist-attraction/

You know what's more annoying than the crop of somewhat uninspired threads that have popped up lately (not including this one)? The cynicism/trolling from the "cool" kids. There, I've had my grumpy post for this off-season. Carry on!

^ He wasn't being serious.

Thought.....You saying Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.....Maybe have a dark ride through the dino era, only funny and light, unlike Disney's Dino ride, which is so jerky, you can't see anything.

The Triceratops-themed Timberliner? That's terribly terrific! Talking theoretically, though, think they'll try to take that time-tested theme to the top? (This totally ties to the topic title today, too!) Thanks! ...Thoughts, Terpy? -Tb, Truly tasting the tea this Thanksgiving...

Considering that this is November, you have a pretty long wait. Pay attention to meet-ups that are being discussed, and show up to one. Threads about them are in the "meet ups" forum: http://www.KICentral...ntral-meet-ups/ . The bigger meet-ups, like this one, will have lots of replies. Read the thread for details on how to find the others, and reply to let everyone know you're coming. Do be on time at any designated meeting location, or you might miss the group. Lots of people missed us on closing day.

That is a lead car to a roller coaster train, they are called timberliners.

Kings Island November 20th 2012

Oh, man, your estimate was spot-on!

Haha, that was me!! Nice face into the camera, Crypt! We had too much fun that day, can't wait to do it again! You guys are all slowly, and painfully rubbing this all in my face. xD

November 8th 2012