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I think the link he intended was http://lebeauleblog.com/2013/03/20/kings-island-and-the-wintertime-blues/ ^ Did you enjoy our "early spring"? (To be fair, he didn't have the option to predict 8 more weeks of winter.)

Every year, I write a few Kings Island trip reports on my blog. But this year, I am setting out to do more regular coverage of some of the smaller aspects of the park that give it personality. Rather than post a new link every time I post an article, I am just going to post updates to this one thread in case anyone is interested in reading along. To start things off, I posted a little piece today about my usual winter-time blues. As always, that got me looking at pictures of KI here and on-line. And then I realized I had a few unposted pictures saved on my phone. What better way to beat the back a dreary winter day than reliving a little family fun in the sun at Kings Island. Kings Island and the Wintertime Blues Enjoy!

For those who don't know, I'm a huge fan of Archie comics. I've been reading them since I was a kid, and have been collecting them and running an Archie fan forum for about 7 years now. Anyway, one of the members of my site posted this earlier: This appeared in an Archie comic from 1971 - the final year for the famous park. It sort of makes sense given that Archie is based in the NYC area and appeals to both families and kids, but at the same time, it seems overcrowding was one of the main things that lead to the park's eventual closure, so I'm not sure why someone thought this was a good idea. Still an interesting bit of nostalgia either way.

And, congratulations on your new job. A park job can be an opportunity you will treasure forever. Terp, who will forever be in debt to the greatest people pleasing industry in all the world.

Welcome to KICentral! This is a public forum not affiliated with Kings Island or Cedar Fair. If you want any kind of answer from someone representing the park, you need to contact the appropriate person/department instead of posting in this forum. (Probably HR in your case.) With the notable exception of Don, employees that do post here are representing themselves, not the park. I'm sure Kings Island has specific guidelines about posting to public websites, which you should probably become aware of.

A cluttered park often has a cluttered map. Terp, pointin' out stuff.

About time. I wonder how long it will take other parks to do the same thing. http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/policy-499963-children-age.html

Supposedly the old policy had been that children aged 8 and above were allowed in the park without a guardian. That, to me, is ridiculous. An eight, nine, ten-year-old alone in the park, dropped off for the day? No thank you. Not in this day and age. Even a roving gang of twelve or thirteen-year-olds can be an issue...

Off to an auspicious start I see! <slaps forehead> Link is corrected. Thanks for the heads-up! I am questioning Punxsutawney Phil's credentials this year. Thanks for providing the correct link to the article. I'll cut the little critter a little slack. I just keep telling myself that warm weather and Kings Island are right around the corner!

Worse, I remember seeing the actual ad contemporaneously with its publication. Oh how I wish I could have made it to Palisades Park, to Riverview, White Swan, Clyffside Park, West Virginia State Fair Park, Euclid Beach...the list goes on and on...

Ah, the benefits of having your own personal government...

I would like to see it go backwards again...

Your " Kings Island and the Wintertime Blues" link loops back to here....I feel like I'm in a Vortex!

But you do sit down inside the car. It's certainly not open air...though I completely agree about the ride experience. I LOVE PR. There is no "s" anywhere in The Racer. Personal pet peeve - had to throw that in.

I read that on FB last night. I know I can't be the only one that was annoyed by all the "turn The Racer backwards again!" comments on there.

Another musical revue.... Once upon a time shows at Kings Island had story lines and not just song, song, song (more accurately song snippet, song snippet, song snippet).

Wow, I hadn't thought about Archie for years. I used to read those comics all the time as a kid! My mom would buy me a double digest every time we went to Krogers.

Thats OK!

Yes you did! My iPod took me directly to this page and I didn't even think to check the previous page, thinking SonofBaconador's post was the first unread. Sorry!

Contact the park or shoot them an email. S.O.B. who likes to point out the obvious

A. How do you know groundhogs are stupid? They know when to play possum! B. What about weatherwomen? Terp, believer in meteorological equality.

I hope Racer gets painted too.... White, red, and blue like it used to be.

Do you happen to work at the park? How the? Ladies And Gentlemen. The art. Of trolling.

^ I was thinking Groundhog Day myself. (that stupid little rodent that predicts weather just like a real weatherman..)

It always looked cluttered because its not angled how our map is. Also we don't cram in all our rides like KD does.

I have not been to Kings Island to partake in the rides since 2006, but was last at the park October 28th of 2012, my last day of work there. I have not been able to ride due to spinal cord issues that had required two surgeries. I hope to take in rides that are safe for me this summer.

How the?

Thanks. That same plug in was apparently causing the site to be very slow to respond at times, as well. Things are MUCH better now.

That's what is is, I installed a cache plugin to help save server usage over the weekend that catches content to display it quicker and be easier on the server. I have just uninstalled it as I too use the front page to scan for new posts.

Not a peep from the usually vivacious Mr. Hart the entire month of March...so far.

I was on the left hand side of the train, I touched the tips of my fingers on The Beast's tunnel. I thought that I broke a finger or two. I am 6'4" and have a long reach. Btw: it stung for 20-30 mins. I guess that I was lucky.

Hi Don, please please PLEASE tell me that the wall in the middle of the station that was removed last year is still going to be GONE. Without that wall, it was very easy to actually 'race' your friends; by that, I mean that we'd walk into the station together. My son and I would go to the blue side. My friend and his son would go to the red side, and we could easily see where we each needed to ride in order to "race". I mean, it is The Racer, and that makes the ride so much more fun...

Everyone, we're off to Gator's house!!!

The new concept is great - though changing the name is an unneeded complication. "Downtown Disney" says exactly what it is, the newly named districts could still fit nicely under that umbrella. "Disney Springs" is so vague, so attached-to-nothing, it could easily be a new water park, a spa, a resort...

King Island's Facebook page recently posted that guests will notice "a lot" of work done on The Racer. I'm excited to see this! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151769759028368&set=a.226729858367.174830.155893938367&type=1&theater

That is, most certainly, a step in the right direction.

What caught my attention is "live band." Hopefully this carries over to most of the other live shows in the park.

I want those to come back! I'd actually watch the shows if they had a plot!

They needed those on the Carnival Triumph.

I certainly would like that.I hope the burrito shack stays in place, but some Cincinnati Goetta nearby would be grand, too. Especially with CM Beer.

Now if they would also add an authentic German brass band playing some German music as you dine on brats, sauerkraut and German potato salad, it would be heaven for a German/American like myself! It would bring back the days of old when it was how it used to be when the park first opened.

Oh my gosh, they're actually doing something related to theme of Oktoberfest. I do like this new Cedar Fair...

Okay, so I like the thought of a path between x base crossing under Adventure Express more rides back there to X BASE.

^Agreed. I'd like a connecting pathway between Action Zone and X-Base, like many on here.

Excellent trip report! I think both you and the crew miscounted, as I counted exactly 50 laps before lunch. I'm fairly certain of that because my method of counting (the lap function on my wristwatch's stopwatch) has built-in error checking, in that if I look down and see an abnormally high lap time when there wasn't an unusual delay, then I know I missed one. Anyway, I'm glad you had fun, and I hope to see you back at CFK next year!

Can't wait to see the videos. It was great to meet you and hang out. I had a great time as well. I am working on a video, I hope to finish it tomorrow. I am also writing something up for the GOCC magazine as well.