Leaderboard

Strap a cheetah to its back. (Sorry, that's from a commercial)

I thought I typed the URL wrong at first....

First time poster. Long time browser. I am a big guy too. Last year I bought my family season passes. I was only able to ride on very few rides. Surprisingly I was able to fit on some of the rides in Planet Snoopy better than the "adult" rides. I really had some hard times because my oldest son was wanting to ride rides, and as a family my wife would have to always ride with our youngest and I couldnt fit to ride with him. The last day of the season last year, I went to almost every ride in the park that I had been "shamed" from and forced myself into the Walk of Shame again just to see how close I was. Since then I have been working on trimming down as much as I can. I hope by April 27 I will be able to ride some of the things that I used to be able to ride. Its been a difficult journey but since then I have lost about 40 pounds, I still hope to lose a lot more,

I'm not going to get my hopes up for this.

My best piece of advice: Don't go on opening weekend. Seriously. I've made that mistake in the past. The extremely short off-season means they aren't exactly prepared for full opening. Expect late openings on everything (it was after noon before a single one of the coasters opened, many didn't open until 3 pm), one train operation on every coaster, and a few may not even open at all. When we made that mistake in 2010, Goliath, Superman, Mind Bender, Batman, and Georgia Scorcher all had over an hour (sometimes hour and a half plus) wait all day (a relative term as they were only open for a few hours) despite a fairly small crowd because of one train operation. Great American Scream Machine wasn't open, and I don't believe Ninja was either. We spent most of the day riding flats and Georgia Cyclone. For the first two hours we were there, we could only ride the train because it was the only thing open. I've heard the two years since then haven't been exactly peachy either. We also had problems with our season passes scanning for parking and admission (we'd processed the prior year), only a handful of food stands were open with long lines, and just generally seemed like everything was in chaos. I'd recommend that you wait a few weeks for them to get it together.

Not only do we have to wear harnesses and be attached to a cable for fall protection, so do the guests if we were to evacuate from the lift. We wear full body harnesses (as seen in my avatar - which was taken at the top of Eagle's lift) but the guests would wear simple belt-style harnesses that just go around their waist.

Cough Cough. Pretty Please...

I'm not getting my hope up "Barq's Red Cream Soda now available at more food stands!" lol

From personal observation, the two largest impacts of a coaster's speed without significant modification are weather conditions and train weight. Compare the run time of a coaster on a cold morning with an empty train to that of a cool (not cold) night when it has been running full trains all day and is carrying a full load of passengers ... you will get a cycle time of several seconds shorter. A very fast way to see this difference is on Tennessee Tornado. On cold days with empty trains, it will actually be running so slow that it loses quite a bit of it's centrifugal (sp?) force in the spyro loop. You will hear it "fall" on to the upstop wheels a little past halfway through - it makes a pretty amusing groan as it does so. If it's been running all day with full trains and is nice and warmed up, it will clear the spyro loop without ever touching the upstops. The cycle time will vary by 4-5 seconds throughout the season, dependent on running conditions. On The Beast, you can judge the speed difference in the train by how far up lift #2 it catches the chain. On cold mornings with empty trains, the front car of the train will not reach the first evacuation staircase before it catches. Under optimal wood coaster conditions (at the end of the day, full train, cool, rainy - Haunt is perfect for this), it will catch with as many as 3 cars above that staircase.

From a physics standpoint: 1. A heavier train will be slowed less quickly by air drag than a light one, but it will experience more friction from the track. There's a balance somewhere in the middle that I'd bet is considered in train design. There's also aerodynamic considerations that can affect the drag, too. 1a. The number of riders in a train will affect the speed similarly. Empty trains likely run more slowly than full trains. 2. The more forceful the ride is, the quicker friction will slow it down. This includes positive, negative, and lateral G's. 3. The more pure airtime the ride has (meaning exactly 0G's in any direction--not negative G's like on El Toro, which fall under #2) the less friction from the track. 4. The smoother the track (i.e., the less variance in the track gauge), the faster the ride will go. I don't completely understand why that is (something to do with vibrations and natural damping?), but 's a side-by-side comparison from the Coney Island Cyclone's recent rehab for proof.5. The fewer trim brakes, the faster the ride will go. (You're welcome, dare-to-fly.) 6. If the track and train axles are properly lubricated, the ride will run faster. Too little, and there's increased friction. I don't know if roller coaster grease is like oil in a car, but if there's too much in your car, it will foam and fail to work properly. Since it's grease and not oil I'd guess there probably can't be too much, but that's a complete guess. I'm sure there's more to it, but those are the parts I'd guess primarily affect it.

I think the most intriguing defunct park is Six Flags New Orleans. Seeing those pictures of the entire park flooded, the abandoned wasteland it is now is kind of creepy but interesting at the same time. http://vimeo.com/55529158

Gee whiz. I consider myself a big Kings Island fan, but for some reason I guessed Adventure Express...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>RT @<a href="https://twitter.com/kigmgreg">kigmgreg</a>: It is new to the park, it is red, what could it be???Stayed tuned!</p>— Kings Island (@KingsIslandPR) <a href="https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/309111516987289600">March 6, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> What could it be!? EDIT: The twitter imbeding doesn't work... Here is what it says: RT @KIGMGREG: It is new to the park, it is red, what could it be??? Stayed tuned!

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/gallery/3418596

New blood for Haunt this year!

Well, hello Son of Diamondback.

OK, I'll bite and be the first to say it, because you know someone will eventually: Maybe a red B&M giga for 2014????? Probably not, but only time will tell!

Don't forget the former KI alternative - Americana/LeSourdesville Lake. While most of the park is gone, it still holds great memories for my husband and I. My very first roller coaster was Little Dipper when I was 4 years old, and he grew up riding Screechin' Eagle. I unfortunately never rode the Eagle, as I never went to the park after I started riding coasters since I didn't know it was open in 2002 until after it had closed again. Other than Americana, the only completely defunct park I've visited is Libertyland in Memphis, TN, original home of Zippin Pippin. I visited there in June 2005 and was able to ride the original Zippin Pippin in it's last months of operation. I also got the Arrow corkscrew, Revolution, which is in pieces in Pennsylvania still.

more banked turns. You would lose the lateral Gs but you could hold more speed into the turns and would require less braking...

If, like me, anyone was thinking about a certain definition of the word diversion…there's more than one…which can greatly change any ideas you took away from this thread: NOUN: The act or an instance of diverting or turning aside; deviation. Something that distracts the mind and relaxes or entertains. A maneuver that draws the attention of an opponent away from a planned point of action, especially as part of military strategy.

Brakes: Who needs them?

Here's the full article: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20130304/SUB1/303049984&template=printart

Haha, it wasn't you...but for being you! Thanks! Thanks to VortexBFForver for telling me where to look!

That last shot of The Vortex and BLSC cars...is it just me or does it look like the BLSC cars got some love this off-season, getting rid of those awful opaque head and tail "lights"?

Great little peek at behind the scenes! Makes me want to see an in depth documentary about the offseason process.

Heres the direct link: http://www.thelistshow.tv/the-list/localist/cincinnati-localist/kings-island-maintenance-crews-will-spend-all-winter-season-repairing-and-servicing-park-rides

http://www.cedarpoint.com/blog-article/online-fun/Everything-Old-Is-New-Again I am overjoyed with excitement right now.

I was on Google the other day and I decided to search "defunct amusement parks". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_amusement_parks It was sad to see that so many parks have failed to prosper, but it was interesting to see all the different parks all over the world. I've read about half of the parks in America and I'm trying to finish be the end of this week. The three most interesting to read about, to me, are Six Flags AstroWorld, Kentucky Kingdom, and Geauga Lake. Just something to do in your free time.

Tyler was moved over to Castaway Bay. Tony left for a TV job in Milwaukee, but has now returned.

Georgia, peachy, I see what you did there

Best trip report I have read in awhile.

^I'm not sure how you couldn't. haha I actually really like it. It's going to take some getting used to, but it looks nice.

A behind-the-scenes look at the offseason work done on Kings Island's rides and attractions will be featured tonight on "The List" at 7:00pm on WCPO (Channel 9). You can also catch the show online at www.thelistshow.tv.

I have seen the lights on in the tunnel a couple of times and it really does kind of make it lose it mysterious aura. I wish they would turn out the light that is on in I believe either the center or hanging off the tunnel wall and lighting the area in the final helix. Just make that pitch black dark would be fine with me.

^ This! With utmost respect to Holiday World's reputation, the nicest park employees I've ever met have been at DW. My family, who mostly doesn't care one way or another about theme parks, even noticed how nice the park staff there is when we visited last March. I'm just bummed I still haven't made it to the chicken restaurant. Basically, the best trip advice for Dollywood is to definitely make sure you visit Dollywood.

yea Hank, I misread your original post. I agree with you if the money is not there, then the park is not an option. However, when I was trying to rub 2 pennies together to make a dime, I scored park tix from giving blood. Wife and I made a vacation out of that. Probably was not good to go the next day to the park, being down a pint of blood... Good luck hank, Ill say a prayer for you and yours.

I just watched it online. It's nice to see my favorite ride as part of a TV show again. (ever since Insane Coaster Wars, to say the least!)

Judging by last year I think it is still possible to have a fun day at the park without purchasing Fast Lane. Does it take a little more planning? Perhaps. But most of us posting here know when to go to avoid the biggest crowds and what order to get to rides to make the most out of our days. Is Fast Lane fair? No. But it isn't meant to be. It is meant to milk more money out of those that are willing to pay for the service. As has been mentioned above it is an increasingly common practice in multiple industries. I am more than content to avoid the busiest of days and enjoy KI and MA without Fast Lane (though I did indulge at CP last year and will again this year) and let those that splurge pay for the improvements that we have seen the past couple of seasons.

A very wise decision. Cedar Point's gain, and how.

Great trip report! I love all your photos, especially the last Cheetah Hunt picture. I anxiously await your Seaworld installment. Do you know the reason why Gwazi Tiger is closed? It was closed when I visited last December, too.

There have been several periods where maintenance has been very annoying about leaving the lights on. If memory serves, some of them were put on a timer at some point while I worked there in 2011, but I don't remember for sure which ones. I'm thinking it was the helix lights. I hate it when they leave the ones in the graveyard tunnel on.

It depends on what you're looking at in terms of impact. The highest impact on the industry would be The Racer, as it is given credit for re-igniting interest in wooden coasters and also starting the coaster wars. At the park level, definitely The Beast, because it became the park's signature attraction (and still is). Without looking at the percent of increase in attendance, I'd also say The Beast increased the park attendance the most over the years too.

Just to add a little something, though not much, here's a picture of me and my big brother at Kings Island when we were little. I think I'm about 3 years old here (maybe 4, I'm on the left). We later discovered that my brother was deathly afraid of heights which explains the concerned look on his face. I, on the other hand, was ready to fly.

Here is a scan of my KI promo brochure that was handed out during Coney Islands closing season of 71. I always get a kick out of the early logo design

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:

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.

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

Hoping to steer back to the original happy discussion originally on this thread... So hey, place sure looks different 41 years later, doesn't it?