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Photo #25 - The Bat

For your listening pleasure, I have uploaded some videos that I made with the music from a vinyl record featuring Kings Island's very own Wurlitzer #157 Carousel Organ. You may recognize this as the organ that currently sits (but does not operate) upon the Grand Carousel near the Eiffel Tower. As of writing this, the videos are not quite uploaded yet, so you may have to wait 15-20 minutes before they will become available. But at any rate, you may find the videos here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qkj4F8fnLE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGO7D9rNPcc

I'm pretty sure the Drum show was in the way more than the water tower.

Abusing woman heroes should not be tolerated. They should be celebrated.

Photo #24 - Phantom Theater

Thank you! I love carousels with working organs, and hate that KI's does not work/was removed and we now get pre-recorded music. I've seen these recordings for sale before, but have never come up with a way to justify to Mrs. Gator the expense of buying them.... because you know I couldn't buy just one, I would need the complete set! Of course, there's the saying "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission!"

The same thing happens on all the other Cedar Fair sites. Thrills Connect!

I drove past the park today, and from KI Drive the only remaining part of the water tower were the 4 legs.

*insert ubiquitous Interpreter post about breaking things*

I have heard a lot of park guests talk about Outer Hanks as their favorite food joint in the park. I'd love to see a photo of it in the wintertime! I wonder how it looks right now!

I don't really have a preference as to what side, as long as I'm in the middle seat of a car I'm fine. I was a little concerned about being a little banged up riding the blue side last year, but as can be seen in pretty much all the pictures in those videos, I was in the 2nd to last seat of the train for most of the day and I felt fine after 96 laps, covering 62 miles. I'm torn between KI & CP too. I love doing it at KI, I love Racer, it's my home park so there's a sense of loyalty, they treated us well and I would love to do it there again. But on the other hand Magnum and Gemini would be a great time too, CP's a great park, and I don't get up there as many times as I do KI so it would be a nice change of scenery. "Hmmm... what to do?" indeed!

I want those posters, heck, i want the whole thing as a poster. How I miss that theater so, with maestros beautiful song, alas it is gone.

What if they just meant they want Raging Bull to be moved here?<br /><br />

I truly feel terrible for Pat Koch. This is a truly sad ending for such a wonderful family and family park. It's clear that money is more important than family to at least part of this family, and the courts end up having to value relationships. I don't think peaceful resolution is coming any time soon. It has to be awkward to work close to the family, too. This whole situation is sad.

I would like to see a underground walkthrough cave themed like Raiders Of The Lost Arc, and just as challenging as in the movie. Except at the end instead of a golden statue there is a Dip n Dots cart and instead of Dip n Dots your handed a secret voucher with a list of the next 5 years of new attractions. Just kidding, i would really like to see Action Zone expanded and somehow connect to X-Base and several more rides and a record braking B&M.

^Unless there's several of us that decide to coast up that way... Thankfully we still have a while to decide!

^Every time I hear or see the name Gatekeeper, the word Keymaster pops into my head, and I suspect it always will. Who you gonna call?

Here's a website with cd's for sale of it. http://www.bandorganmusic.com/machines/mqueen.htm Some of them feature other organs as well, but the "Come to the Fair" and "More from the Queen of Kings Island Vols. 1, 2 & 3" are exclusively the Wurlitzer 157 of Kings Island fame.

Anyone want to take a crack at interpreting Terpy's use of the word "plane" instead of "plain"? Calling KIC's aerial photographer...

"The off-season exists only for guests." My favorite line of Don's in the Q&A. P.S. Thanks malem for compiling all of the questions!

Sounds familiar.

That last question is purely a budgeting issue. A big cost with any amusement park is the seasonal labor force required to operate the rides. Budgets are always scrutinized. Is the added cost worth the benefits that the park is gaining in added income? It is especially difficult with the fact that Ohio`s minimum wage went up from $7.70 to $7.85 effective January 1st of this year. That means most of the front line workers are going to get paid more. That money has to come from somewhere, if the park doesn`t raise admission prices or other in park prices to compensate, then the added cost will have a material impact on their bottom line. In other words, they will make less money for profits if they don`t bring in more guests or raise prices to compensate. Back when I started working at Coney in 2002, I was paid $5.25 an hour, which is a lot less than the $7.85 new hires are now paid. But back then, they also had a bonus program which resulted in me essentially making $6.25 at the end of the season, which definitely would help with retention of employees through the end of the season. Last year, the rides department hired about 150 employees at Coney. We were down to about half that amount because of colleges starting back up and people getting fired or quit by the end of the season! And yes, I will be returning to Coney this summer as a rides manager again, marking my twelfth season working at the park!

Thanks for the answers, Don! I'm archiving the questions and answers here, since old tweets can be hard to find. (Even harder when people delete their questions, which at least 2 people have already done.) Q. Why did you retire from riding The Racer? (ohiocolts) A. Love the ride! First roller coaster I rode. Will ride again at some point. Q. Can you share any teasers about new shows, new food, or other additions this season? (myself) A. Ed Alonzo will be back with a new show. New Peanuts show, legends of rock type show in Festhaus and live band on the Bandstand. A2. Some more Soak City enhancements, lots of special events being planned. Q. when are you guys making an new roller coaster ? (@noahharsh1) A. Down the road. Q. how many park maps are distributed throughout the year? And how could one obtain old park maps? (@rollercoastinRO) A. Literally thousands but not as many as before with the launch of the mobile app. Old maps hard to come by. Q. Do bigger people have any issues fitting on the Diamondback or Skyhawk? I've had issues with coasters at Cedar Point before. (@UnderZenith) A. It depends on how ones body is proportioned. It varies from ride to ride. Q. when will details of Coasting for Kids 2013 be finalized? (@jporta2) A. Mid February to early March. A lot involved in putting the event on at all Cedar Fair parks. Q. What is favorite ride of all time, past or present? (@tismeansbeans) A. Favorite is The Racer. First roller coaster I ever rode. Q. any ride improvements this off season? What do you count as hidden gems at KI. How come there are trim brakes on The Beast?TY (stashua123) A. Work is done on all rides during the off-season. Racer has has had work done bottom of first drop and other places. A2. Brakes have been in place on The Beast in the same spots where the trims are since the ride opened. Just different type. Q. What is the "hot stuff" being cooked up in the marketing dept? (@Nathan90210) A. Working on series of special events that our guests will be excited about. Q. what's going on right now during the off season? (@KDFreak925) A. The off-season exists only for guests. Beehive of activity at the park in all depts. Rides get stripped down and rebuilt. Q. What is your favorite snack to eat while in the park? (ohiocolts) A. Fresh-cut thick fries in Rivertown. Q. What was ever done with the crate that sat by Son of Beast's entrance? (@TheSpeedDemon__) A. Dismantled. Q. If anything new is coming for 2014, when will we see teasers and signs for it? (coastergeek101) A. Sometimes late summer, sometimes winter like Dinosaurs Alive!, and sometimes like WindSeeker not at all. Q. If we were trying to think of a random meaningless number between 300 and 309, what number would that be? (‏@gahannaman) A. 308 Q. Any chance of The Racer running backwards again in the future? I miss it (@SteveSnowmn) A. No plans to run one side backwards again, at least for the foreseeable future. Q. will a winterfest ever come back? (@lynchc20) A. No plans to bring the event back at this time. Q. what is new in dinosaur adventure? (@the_chop) A. There will be some additions for 2013. Details will be announced in the spring. Q. how early do rides usually start testing before opening day? (@elizwal01) A. Depends on the ride but some 4-6 weeks before the park opens. Q. Will any consideration be given to increasing early ride time back to 1 hour? (@ssskellogg) A. Early rides for Gold and Platinum passholders will be 30 minutes before park opening as they were previously prior to last year.

Photo #22 This is when Coney had it!

The road on the far left is the access road that was between the lift hill and the hills after the drop out of the station To the right of the road on the far right was where the first drop and loop were. The dirt at the bottom of the photo is were the helix after the loop used to be. Cant wait to see this area maybe 5 years from now.

I recently remember complains about the name Gatekeeper, and I thought that was the most appropriate name for that coaster!

For those curious, wanna see a really upset orca? Meet Kalia, the daughter of the matriarch in San Diego having a full blown temper tantrum. When they start tail slapping (often a display to others around them that they are frustrated) and making those calls, all pod mates and trainers try to get out of the way (I must say I wish I had her stamina) As I said...can't force them to do anything they don't want to do, they usually really good at letting you know as seen here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL8fZXLA1Gs

Special events has got my attention- thanks.

To best hide a secret, display it, in plane site.

I just had an overwhelming rush of joy as I love Wurlitzer band organs. Thank you so much for uploading this, there isn't enough like buttons to show my appreciation.

Maybe it is just a diversion... Tired of that word yet? I know I am.

Oh how I miss this ride. Simple but fun.

When they were let in... I was down at Carowinds this past year with my Platinum Pass. Visited on a busy Saturday, and was told my pass didn`t work at the admissions gate. Spent thirty plus minutes dealing with guest relations who told me there was a problem with my pass and that I`d have to check with Kings Island to get it fixed. Turns out it was a glitch on Carowinds end, but I was NOT amused, to say the least.

Must mean they are resurrecting Son of Beast behind closed doors underground and don't want us to see.

I wouldn't mind a western theme. We could call Flight Deck Maverick.

As somebody who has had the privilege to work backstage for not only Spirit Song but numerous other concerts with these same bands headlining, if you have never went, or haven't been in a while, I STRONGLY recommend checking it out this year. Though I've never seen Newsboys live, I've heard nothing but great things about their concerts and their great energy on stage. TobyMac stole the night away last season with his amazing concert and I'm sure this year will be just as great, plus he will be coming fresh out of Winter Jam a couple months prior so it is definitely going to be fun to watch I can't say enough about the production that Skillet puts on for each and every concert as they are always top notch, plus there may even be a chance they will be rolling out a new production and set this touring season but we will have to wait and see. Just a guess I have seen Tenth Avenue North, Matthew West, We As Human, RED, and Newsong previously in concert at Winter Jam and all had amazing sets. My church had the privilege of hosting Building 429 in concert back in August and words can't describe how great that concert turned out! That whole band and crew, just like all the others listed, are some of the greatest people you will ever meet, when it looks like they thrive off of crowd energy, it's because they really do because they care so much about their audiences. All other bands, besides Petra, I have heard great things about all of their productions though I have never seen them live. Like I said I strongly recommend checking it out this season after seeing this artist lineup. Spirit Song has become the highlight of the past two summers for me and it is something I always look forward to every year so if there is ever a year to go, this season is definitely one of them, and I know each and every band member and crew member, as well as everybody at KI would greatly appreciate seeing a packed house all three days!

The second day is especially going to be incredible. Tobymac and City Harmonic know how to do a concert, though each do them their own way, in my experience.

I've only visited Hanks a couple of times. I've had a bite of the food, it was good. The main thing I like about Hanks is the atmosphere it does give. There is nothing like sitting on the "deck," having a bite to eat, feeding the fish and just relaxing. The atmosphere is great. I personally think it's a hidden jewel for the park.

My brother got a diversion. Kept him out of prison.

I think the walk back to Flight Deck only seems as long as it is (about two minutes from midway to station with a quick stride) because there's really nothing to look at during the walk, so all you notice is putting one foot in front of the other. So here's an idea I just had: Now that SOB is out of the way, take out half to two-thirds of the queue and exit for Flight Deck and extend the AZ midway back that way. Then put in several rides along the new stretch of midway (I'm thinking small flats here like Flying Eagles, a Tilt-A-Whirl, etc.). A major coaster to replace SOB (if they go that route) could have it's entrance/exit back here also, or up where Thunder Alley used to be. You could also put a food or snack stand back here as well. Now the walk back to Flight Deck probably won't seem as long because you can stop and look at the flats, grab a thimble-sized cup of ice water, maybe be distracted when a train on the brand-spanking-new record-breaking coaster that replaced SOB (yeah, right ) roars overhead, and by the time you reach what's left of the Flight Deck queue, you've barely noticed the length of the walk. This would also have benefit of simplifying the queues for Club Blood, Wolf Pack, and Flight Deck during Haunt, as it would no longer be necessary to reconfigure the FD exit to serve as the entrance for all three. Anybody else like this, or am I missing something obvious (other than cost) as to why this wouldn't work?

I love hanging out at outer hanks, its such a nice place to rest and relax. Its one of my favorite locations in the park and I look forward to hanging out there for years to come.

Well, the building has already lost most of its traces to German theming. Even the Festhaus has lost most of its theming. Only the exterior facade at the entrance shows any real resemblance to German architectural motifs. As Interpreter has stated, Oktoberfest as an area at Kings Island is all but dead. Which is sad, given the Cincinnati areas rich German immigrant heritage.

So little remains of Oktoberfest, it may as well be redesignated as something else.

Photo #21 - Front Gate Parking Trams

Mexico has coasts. I hear they serve Mexican food there.

I have ridden roller coasters for over 40 years. Unless a "vibration" creates a danger to the passengers, there is no need to "fix" it. In the 70's and 80's people rode The Racer and The Beast in their original form, wound up with visible bruises, and said, "That was awesome!"

That is encouraging news for the park reopening. They still have a lot of work to do before the park greets any paying customers though.

Better than starting yet another random topic.