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Along the same lines as the pic posted above and statements thereafter, here is a shot of the Mall area as The Bat was being constructed:

Matt really is a good guy, and good for Cedar Fair. Last summer, at Cedar Point, I was walking down the midway with a couple friends. One of my friends spotted a guy eating fries at a nearby stand and made a joke saying he looked like Matt Ouimet. Jokingly, I yelled his names a couple times and noticed that every time I did he looked up, then I realized that was actually Matt Ouimet. It was cool to talk with him, and he was kind enough to grab a group photo. It really is refreshing seeing a CEO of such a large company walking the park by himself (he honestly looked like an average guest), and checking out the park as it actually is. Cedar Fair's days are bright!

My wife's boss watched him give a speech. Made the comment about how companies can be like hippos. Big and powerful but with tiny ears. Meaning that you are not listneing to your employees or customers. He said the goal is that you need to listen to your employees and customers.

Your girlfriend is going to be TICKED!

Here we go with the "Let's blame Cedar Fair for closing Geauga Lake" comments again. I'm getting pretty annoyed reading that every time the media interviews Mr. Ouimet. He had nothing to do with the park's closure, that was under Kinzel's watch to begin with.

Some friends and I rented an airplane and took flight almost two-and-a-half years ago, snapping pictures of Kings Island, Coney Island, Cincinnati, and The Beach waterpark from a couple thousand feet up. The original plan for these photographs never came to fruition, leaving them to just sit on my computer since October 2009. I recently shared the ones from The Beach (HERE), and decided I may as well upload the rest. Keep in mind that the pictures are far from professional and many were taken through an airplane window with zoom features on. They are, however, pretty unique angles and perspectives on the park. Please don't post elsewhere or use publicly without my permission. Our date of flight (October 21, 2009) was perfect - leaves were still on the trees, it was very clear out, and the park hadn't closed for the year just yet. Nickelodeon Universe, not long before it underwent its transformation to Planet Snoopy. A mixture of a few different areas. Note how high Flight Deck's hill is in comparison to the rest of the ride. One of the park's "boneyards". You can also see it from the Eiffel Tower with a keen eye (or good zoom). Most of the stuff pictured was cleared the following year. Just a few things to note from the above picture, left to right... Phantom Theater cars, target from Action Zone sign, Tomb Raider: The Ride display, Action Theater marquee, picnic grove playground, and much, much more. Rivertown and Nickelodeon Universe with a bit of Coney Mall and International Street. Picnic Grove, during Howl-O-Fest. There was the Twisted Tales maze, a haybale maze, Tractor Town, Foam Pit, midway games, and more. Almost all of Diamondback. X-Base (prior to the radio tower's removal the following year, although you can hardly see it in the picture) A different view of Diamondback A nearly-complete overview of the park. It's pretty impressive how big it all is. I have additional photos of the park, alongside ones from Coney Island and Cincinnati, if anyone is interested in seeing.

Also posted in the FUN continues thread. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQqAIoADAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cleveland.com%2Fbusiness%2Findex.ssf%2F2013%2F02%2Fcedar_fair_entertainment_cos_new_chief_executive_officer_matt_ouimet_believes_inspiring_guests_and_employees_is_good_for_the_bottom_line.html&ei=kgMqUZC0D-fg0gG9lYCYBQ&usg=AFQjCNGvzbZVDDXwP7SMuJquIa-TIrojQw Excellent interview with Matt Ouimet. At least a couple of minor errors (last year Luminousity was Powered by Pepsi, for example). Don't miss the comments.

Mrs. Gator and GatorGirl don't seem to have fundraising pages when I click on Team KIC. Is that a glitch, or did you forget something? It's not a glitch. GatorGirl, being only 8 years old, doesn't have an email account of her own, so I was planning to use mine for both of us. But when I went to set up her page and entered my email address for her account, it logged me into my page and wouldn't let me set her up. I sent an email for help to First Giving but never received a response, so I just used an email account that Mrs. Gator has that we haven't checked regularly lately. GatorGirl's page is now up as of today, but Mrs. Gator needs to set hers up still.

I believe this is the first time since a night show debuted in 1995 that it will have a day off. As for the DJ's, it is any music that is suitable for a family atmosphere, generally in the rock, pop, country or techno genres. EDIT 12:40am : I am disapointed that there isn't a show with a logical plot and isn't a bunch of songs thrown together.

Accesso provides Internet based ticketing solutions and apps to Cedar Fair. FLASH: I've never thought they do all that great a job of it. I also love the low maturity content rating!

Hey, guys, just want to say thanks for the replies. It looks as if Cedar Point might be the park we're going to go to. The only drawback is that we would have to go during the week in July or August because my paid vacation starts at the end of June. Now I could go to Six Flags Great America by myself in May on a weekend after I get off work. Hmmm...

Having been down there and talked to several locals when I wrote an article on it. Worked at another nearby amusement park that picked up a lot of former SFKK clientele who frequently discussed the accident or erroneously believed that the accident was the cause for it closing. Also, numerous article comments, enthusiast message boards and the "fans" of KK who post on facebook. As for where else in Louisville is there to go? ...Holiday World. Also, Ark Park seems to have more definite planning that Ed Hart's "word." Thank you.

Trains are ready to be shipped and delivered! http://www.cedarpoint.com/Gatekeeper/news/Gatekeeper-blog/blog-article/First-Look-at-New-Gatekeeper-Trains

You people are killing me with this Great America talk... I got a pass for there this past Christmas, the wait is slowly killing me!

I, too, enjoyed that. Of course they should have just rolled out the red carpet for her. I hope her credit card never gets stolen, she'd have to learn the other side of identity theft. I loved that comment too, especially after having worked Admissions at KI for 10 years. I cannot tell you how many times I had to call Security for people using someone else's pass. The pictures are taken for a reason!

I'd have to say 3 of my friends who have passes and we normally go together. I do have to say that on late night rides on The Beast it can be fun to get to know people and ride with strangers.

SFGA does have one of my fav. wooden coasters Viper. Very underrated.

Just registered for team KIC! So excited!

Great article. You can tell that Ouimet is a great fit for this job. The comments are great as well. My favorite is the rambling "I'll never go back to Cedar Point again" complaint from someone who found out exactly what happens when you try to enter the park with another person's season pass.

Nice article. I hope to meet Mr. Q. someday.

Thanks Depatment47! I love learning about how the park looked and operated before I was around

A return of the 'tiques would be nice. One of the many things I'd like to see return to the park.

No intention of hijacking the thread, but just some information on Flight Commander and the accident... Flight Commander was the country's fourth Intamin Flight Trainer when it opened in Coney Mall on the former spot of Zodiac in April of 1990. It was part of $4.5-million in expansions that year ($2-million for just it) and it simulated flying a jet. Riders used a small joystick to raise, lower, and flip their ride capsules at a height of up to 62-feet. The attraction was designed by Steven Van Velson of Zurich, Switzerland. The minute-and-a-half ride had twenty two-person ride vehicles. The pods were equipped with a padded u-shaped harness and hip bar, the harness including a double spring-loaded dog-and-ratchet system, while the lap bar had three different backup features. The harness was not initially planned, but only added after it was discovered lateral forces would be experienced on the ride. Additional safety features included a crew of five operators who could emergency stop the ride at any point, vehicles that returned to an upright position after only a few seconds of being inverted, and returning to an upright position prior to the ride returning to the loading position. The ride had a minimum height requirement of 48-inches and was inspected twice daily, with these inspections lasting up to three hours. The attraction was also inspected by Ohio Agriculture Department on April 12, 1990, two days prior to its debut. On June 9, 1991, at approximately 9:45pm, an intoxicated 32-year-old Candy Taylor from Toledo, Ohio boarded the ride. She was visiting the park with two friends, and the trio planned on finishing their day at Flight Commander. The Taylor's two friends boarded the attraction and rode while she finished her beer. She boarded the next cycle, one of the last ones of the night. Taylor was in capsule number four. During the ride's fifth revolution, she slipped out from underneath the harness. She grabbed onto the restraint with her right hand, but was still flung from the ride, landing in nearby shrubbery. The ride was immediately stopped and the park's paramedics were quickly called. A doctor visiting the park with her family performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Taylor until paramedics arrived, which took approximately 30 minutes (they were preoccupied with a separate accident in Oktoberfest). She was eventually airlifted to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, where she was declared dead an hour after the accident. The ride and surrounding area was closed off the following day, and similar rides at Great America, Knott's Berry Farm, and Kings Dominion all voluntarily shut-down. Representatives of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Warren County Sheriff's Department, and Ohio Department of Agriculture all arrived at the park for inspections of the attraction, and the ride's creator, Steven Van Velson, arrived in Cincinnati on June 11. The park requested that both employees and guests who had witnessed the accident call a toll free number to be interviewed. Over 50 witnesses from both accidents were interviewed. The park also offered assistance to employees suffering from distress. On June 12, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced plans to investigate. It was operated for the first time since the accident that day. Afterwards, capsule four was removed and disassembled for investigation. Additional capsules were also removed and disassembled the following day. They were all stored in a room on Kings Island property. The investigation lasted six weeks before the cause of the accident was determined. The lack of a seat divider, the woman riding alone, and the adjacent restraint being left unlocked were all factors that resulted in the woman's death. Taylor had a blood alcohol level at 0.30 percent when thrown from the ride, which also played a role. Modifications made before the ride reopened the following year included the addition of a seat divider, a lengthened lap bar, a relocated joystick, and an inoperable joystick if both restraints were left unlocked. The ride reopened on April 11 of 1992. That December, the Taylor's family and Kings Island agreed to a settlement of $336,500. In February of 1993, the family sued Intamin Inc. for $8.8-million. The park restricted alcohol sales to only the International Restaurant and Picnic Grove in 1993, although the park said the June 9, 1991 accident did not affect this decision. This restriction has since been lifted. The ride last operated in 1995 before being dismantled. In the years since, attractions that have taken the same spot are Launch Pad, EuroBobbles, and now the Dinosaurs Alive! party pavilion. The attraction's former queue structure still exist and is currently used for storage. Other features of the ride, including blue lights placed around the platform, also remain.

I used to enjoy riding all the rides with my girlfriend, but this season I'm looking forward to riding with my fiance

I just joined today. First time caller, long time listener..haha I don't know why I waited until now because I've been coming to this site for a couple years.

When going by myself I enjoy riding with other KIC'ers and strangers. It is always fun to ride with someone when it is their first time to the park and/or the ride you are getting on. You get to experience that new thrill with them! I also love the ones who have just gotten enough nerve to ride that big ride, love it, and kick themselves for not getting on it sooner!

They're still there. Scroll down to the bottom of the page below the "Related Stories" section. Humm, Sorry about the misinformation, my internet filter was blocking it from being seen!

"SF only made it away with Chang. They wanted more. Brought in cranes and trucks. The Fair Board put an end to that with getting a permanent injunction against SF when they broke their lease, and had Metro Police at the park waiting for SF to show back up. Needless to say the cranes and trucks left and never came back. The bankruptcy settlement for SF and the state clearly shows SF being let out of their lease, and the state getting all remaining rides, and all the property SF owned around KK as belonging to the state." Six Flags also removed Road Runner. Of course if were not talking rides, SF also removed all theming elements, games and supplies. The park was stripped and what was left were the things SF found to be of "non importance."

I really liked Viper a lot when I visited, but I've heard that it's really a hit or miss sometimes. I also totally forgot about Whizzer. Such a wonderful classic coaster!

Oh my god. They have a broadway themed show. This may possibly be the greatest show I'll ever see at a Cedar Fair park. Might be the second greatest.

Welcome SupremoSteveo!

Keeping track of all of these Matt's are going to start get confusing.

They have Franklin!

All we can hope is all the values, and success will continue to shape Holiday World as a world class park!

Luminosity is powered by North Coaster Container...

New interview with Matt! http://silivingmag.com/building-on-a-legacy-holiday-worlds-new-president-and-ceo/

It's refreshing that some commenters acknowledge Q's role in bringing aboard new, innovative management and stopping the Apollo buyout.

Thanks for the video, I didn't know it was snapping. I always called it "Driving my cousin crazy".

^The pathway was added in 1975, alongside Troika (Shake, Rattle, and Roll) and Zodiac.

^PHOTOSHOP WIZARD! And that's just gross.

All sined up and ready for some colorful fun amongst friends. I enjoy new experences at my home park creating wonderful memories.

Safety investigation demonstrating the inadequate design:

Well you are 5'11" - same height as my dad and he's 210. He fits on every ride perfectly. If you were say, 5'4" it would be a different story... well im 6-2 270 some rides i can ride some i cant i think Kings Island should redo all there rides so us big ppl should be able ride they better But what if they redid all the rides and excluded little people (5'2" 100 lbs.)? That would be like my saying to retrofit all the rides with big huge comfort soft pillows so I don't get buffeted. That would be an expensive wish, and besides, I literally get more bang for the buck than bigger people with every ride.

Not being rude, but I remember you attacking some KIC members in the past over simple stuff..... S.O.B. is just trying to be fair Attacking? Not quite. Someone was continually using others' photos without permission or proper attribution, I pointed that out to them. Pretty different from a new user unknowingly adding an apostrophe to a name and being ridiculed by other members. In response to BlackLabelRules, as no one seems to have responded to your inquiry, I'd say your best bet of building to your collection would be to just buy them directly from the park. I've seen lighters from Kings Island on eBay here-and-there, but not too frequently.

Not being rude, but I remember you attacking some KIC members in the past over simple stuff..... S.O.B. is just trying to be fair

A new member politely asks a question... And you all respond by attacking him or complaining about a small spelling error? Great way to welcome people to the site guys.

Juries decide facts in most trials. People like you...and me. If you get called to jury duty, please don't try to dodge it. The system needs YOU. Terp. The preceding was a public service announcement, and one Terp cares deeply about. Thank you.

Thanks for the comments - I really do appreciate them Here's the final updating, showcasing some Cincinnati, Coney Island, and a couple other things. Like before, please don't post elsewhere or use publicly without my permission. So here's some buildings. If I actually spent time in Cincinnati, I could probably tell you what some of them are... Paul Brown Stadium Great American Ballpark Construction on the Banks - how far has it come in the two-and-a-half years since? Random tidbit - I got a unicycle for Christmas and one of my goals is to ride across the Purple People Bridge on it before summer ends. Just so ya know. City skyline as we flew away. Robbie, the next few photos are dedicated to you Sunlight Pool - haven't visited here in roughly a decade The Twister, the park's new-for-2009 slide. It replaced the Zoom Flume. Riverbend Bumper boats, swinging ship, and what-not Couple more flat rides, nestled in the trees We visited Cincinnati and Coney Island before Kings Island, so this shot was on the way up. I just enjoyed the repetition here. Kings Powder Company The former Jack Nicklaus Golf Center, now the Golf Center at Kings Island. Finally, the Lindner Family Tennis Center across from the park. I hope you've enjoyed the photos and I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to share them. And once again, thanks for all the comments

Thanks for the comment, and I'm glad I can share them. I tried to make the watermark discreet and took inspiration from the stamp you put on your pictures Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it. Here's a second batch of photos. I have a third batch (plus Cincy/Coney pictures) I can share, but only if there's interest. One of my favorite pictures, solely because it captured the complete water park. Rivertown. I noticed that I took a lot of Diamodback photos, most-likely because the coaster was still new. One of Racer's trains was parked on the lift, for whatever reason. The picture's blurry, but it's interesting to see Son of Beast's trains sitting motionless on the ground. Based off the recent Ghost Hunters episode shot at Kings Island, the cars haven't moved since this photo was taken. Another one of my favorite photos from the flight. And you thought Drop Tower and WindSeeker were high up? Full overview of The Beast Like before, please don't post elsewhere or use publicly without my permission.