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Sorry for bringing back a thread that was almost dead....but this I think is worth it Pictured below is the Son of Beast station as of Today. Note the open ends (no Wolf Pack). My friend John C. took this picture while on rounds at the park. P.S. this is my 1,000th post!

I call bull---- I was just at the park, with green spiked hair, and cannot find the rides you are referring to.

April Fools?

I did capitalize "Date" after all. Thanks for playing, maybe I made a heart or 2 briefly thump faster. I hope everyone has a great April Fools/ Reds opening day! Ours is just under 26 days, hang on, smile, we're almost there.

I just happened to be on the KI webcam page just after 8o'clock this morning and the WindSeeker webcam flashed an image briefly. It was like they were testing the video feed or setting the camera. I didn't get a screen capture fast enough, but I could swear I saw 2 flat rides where the grassy area in front of BLSC used to be. I wish I could tell you what they were, but I don't know enough about them. After about 15 seconds, the camera went dark again. Then they started messing with the on screen graphics. They were cycling through things like time, temperature, Date, ride wait times, and what rides were down. I can't wait for KI to get it up and running.

You saw two flat rides in the grassy area? Was there a shadowy figure in a coat and hat, standing on a concrete platform, using an 8mm home movie camera, too?

I guess my point is, people with FLP don't get to jump onto the ride as soon as they hit the station. Some rides have queue lanes like Diamond back, and you go straight to the station. As I mentioned before, if too many FLP holders hit the line at once, not all of them get to go into the station at once. They don't seat FLP holders to the exclusion of everyone else. They alternate between the lines to ensure that the non-FLP holders get to move through the line as well. Rather than doing what Disney does (at least according to other posters) and charging everyone for the option to jump ahead in line. CF gives park goers the option. If CF does what Disney does, the price of tickets and passes will skyrocket and that in itself would probably price a lot of people out of even being able to go to the park...period. My b/f and I are by no means loaded... We plan our trips WAY in advance, and budget ourselves accordingly to be able to pay for the things like the FLP. Do we purchase FLP at Kings Island? No, it's our home park and we can go whenever. Do I purchase them when I go to Cedar Point or other out of town parks? Yes, our visits to those parks are extremely limited and we want to get as much out of our trip as we can.

Great pic! I still think it sticks out like a sore thumb but oh well.

I really hope all businesses are able to recover. Coney Island is one of my favorite places ever, for many reasons.

However, I upgraded my KI Gold Pass at Carowinds 2 years ago....it wasn't a fun process even after verifying via numerous phone calls I could do so.

You could say Beast's FLP line is "integrated" as it comes in just before the air gate lines.

You had me at first.

April fools! You had me at first.

April Fools! Nice one, Snowman.

Big ups on getting the job, enjoy the summer!

Thanks for posting how Cedar Point's works. KI's is very different operation wise mainly just because of the variations on how the different ride's physical lines were built - none of which were originally built with Fast Lane in line. Your comments point out two major points to me: 1) The way in which FL users are integrated and 2) The angry "regular" patron. Both are examples of how poorly operated and executed this "Fast Lane" system has been. Wristbands and keeping the lines together is nothing but a cheap move. I'm surprises Ouimet allowed it, let alone KI management.

I dont think most of you know how Fast Lane works. At CP, on rides that load one train at a time, you are integrated into the line at a certain point (not directly at the station)....you do not get to immediately board the ride if there are people ahead of you at the integration point. If 50 FLP holders hit that ride at once, not all of them get to jump ahead of everyone else. A certain number will be allowed through, then a certain number of non-FLP holders will be allowed in, and so on. For CP rides that load 2 trains at once, one train is for non-FLP and the other for FLP. I havent used the KI FLP, but from observation they do not integrate like CP.....but you dont jump staight on the ride either. You still have to wait behind the people that are IN the station about to get on (unless, of course, there is a lane with no one already in it). But that is just from what I have seen. I've only really ever observed it on Diamonback, Delirium, and Drop Tower. Who knows what it will be like when FLPP starts... Though, if anyone does get an FLP @ CP....you better have a thick skin and maybe a taser... Last year we ran into several mean non-FLP holders in and out of line. One guy seemed like he was on the verge of jumping into the FLP line to re-arrange my face.

Wonderful article. Don't miss the delightful comment: http://nyulocal.com/city/2013/03/28/science-rides-and-kevin-why-six-flags-great-adventure-is-a-great-adventure/

My $.02: Firehawk was added because it's a low capacity ride. Beast was added for sheer demand. It has a decent capacity, but it's one of the most popular rides in the park. Combine the two and charge extra, and you've found a way to make more money and keep people from complaining about how Fast Laners are slowing the lines down. I'm not a big fan of Fast Lane, but if you're going to offer front-of-the-line passes in this format, Fast Lane Plus is, objectively, a really clever business idea. It seems like the park is trying to sap more money from the patrons--and really, the profit opportunity is part of it--but FLP is actually doing the naysayers a favor. And yes, I have used Fast Lane before. I only had a handful of hours on a Haunt Saturday last year to hit all the coasters with friends who hadn't been to KI since the 80's/90's. It worked, and we had a great time, although we got many stank eyes along the way. I just don't like the idea of being able to jump in front of other people. That, and I think I'm the only person in the world that finds anticipating a ride while waiting in line to be part of the experience at a park. (Then again, I've been known to ride rides I'm not in love with just to see how people react to the ride, so...)

I'd like to see this one. It has a small footprint, looks cool, and is SBNO. I actualy photoshopped it onto the landscape and it would fit behind Delirium and barely takes more space than Thunder Alley did. edit link

I had the opportunity to ride TR:TR one time, when the park remained under Paramount. I really, really loved it. Obviously 5-7 spins is much too straining on a ride only meant for 3-4, but I still really loved the theming and all.I also really just miss the movie magic atmosphere; for me, CP and KI now have virtually the same atmosphere. They're wonderful parks, but I feel like if they changed just one small thing, they'd improve it drastically in terms of ambiance. I'm not sure what it would be though... *And yes, I know that CP wasn't Paramount, but I needed to make a comparison, ha ha.

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I got the job! I'll be working Front St. Pizza (LaRosa's) this season!

Clearly any thread that brings Raptorguy out is a hot topic. Frankly I don't care who pays more money to get in line in front of me. I just want KI to open the park so I can get in any coaster line! It's less than a month everyone, try to hang on and not verbally destroy each other.

Bring back on old tread. I'd take iron rattler, terrain and all.

Apparently Roller Coaster Tycoon thinks that's okay.

I can see it now: "1 ride of Flight of Fear: $5." What an awful idea at a park so large, truly awful. This would cause even greater outcry and corporate greed. Nothing compared to a Fast Lane system.

Yes, definitely give the impression you will not steal. If you walk in with pantyhose on your head and scream "hands up!", you may not get the job.

Six Flags uses the Q-Bot system, which can assign return to ride times and does use a second queue for entry.

You gotta have Hart... Oops, wrong thread.

Disney & Cedar Fair run different business models. Disney Parks cater mainly to people that make a once or twice in a lifetime visit with their young children. Trips that are often planned out and budget months, if not years in advance. Cedar Fair mainly caters to people that attend every year, often more than once a season. If you ran a Cedar Fair style upgraded flash pass at Disney, I suspect you'd get many people to factor in the upgraded fast pass into their "cost of vacation" such that the fast pass would serve little use. I visited Kings Island about once a week last year, fast pass was in effect all season long, I never noticed any fast pass user spitting on anyone as they moved to the front of the line. In fact, most of the time, there was little to no line in the fast pass line. One thing I've learned, is to never say never. I may likely never purchase a fast pass at King's Island; if the line for The Beast is too long this week for repeat rides, well there is always next week, however if I were to visit Cedar Pointe, I may consider a fast pass option to get as much bang for my buck for a park I haven't visited in about 8 years. Fast pass does more than "reward people for having extra money" it gives the park goer an option to upgrade their experience. I'm willing to BET there was more than 1 person who cut something out of their weekly budget for a couple of months in order to purchase the fast pass at King's Island for their once a year family visit. I never purchased one last year, but IIRC the cost of a fast pass was roughly the cost of a family diner out to a mid level restaurant (like a chili's or friday's or something), so that if the family of 4 cut out a trip to some local establishement once a month from march thru june, they fit the purchase of 4 fast passes into their once a year trip to King's Island at the end of the July.

I assume that by fanboys who blindly regurgitate the park's talking points you are talking about me, since I've inserted them into my posts sarcastically. So if you assume that anything and everything the park wants people to spend money on is a rip-off, do you go to the park at all then? If you don't spend one red cent inside the park because of the "nickel and dime approach" then where will the money come for more attractions later on? Yeah, I know soda shouldn't be $4 for a 20 oz drink, a slice of pizza shouldn't be $5 or whatever it is, but the inflation of the price on everything goes toward new attractions. Fast Lane and Fast Lane Plus are a little to no cost thing to do, but a way to make money for capital improvements. I shake my head so much to the people (not saying you BavarianBeatle) who complain about this and that costing so much and that the park shouldn't find different ways to make money, then they complain because the park hasn't gotten anything new in the past year or so other than Dinosaurs or small stuff. If people want to have new attractions, new restaurants, new shows, those take money. Capital Improvements take money and if "fanboys" and enthusiasts want more things for the parks they can't "boycott" purchasing things in the park. -End Rant-

I love all the people complaining. At the end of the day, you're still going to go to Kings Island and the people who purchased Fast Lane or Fast Lane Plus are going to skip ahead of you. Get over it, strap in, and enjoy the ride.

Here at my home park, Busch Gardens Tampa, we have something similar called "Quick Queue". There are two tiers. The lower tier, which cost half as much as the upper, allows you to skip the line ONCE at the major attractions. They give you a punchcard pass with a lanyard, which gets punched everytime you use it. You can use it for every ride, or to ride one over and over until your card is all punched out. Which is great because lets say one coaster is slammed,while the other has just a short wait. You get the idea. The upper tier is unlimited and cost twice as much. It was trial and error when BG started this a few years ago. People got ****ed when the operator would tell them to hold up while a QQ was sitted and they had to wait for the next train. So BG actually ROPED OFF a car just for QQ. They stayed roped off till a QQ came along...while everyone in the meantime watched this empty car make the line even longer. Now, a QQ gets to skip the major line, then "blends in" when they reach the front. Which kinda sucks, because the old way you went up the exit queue away from everyone else. Now it feels that you really are cutting in front of people...but usually its so busy, and everyone else is happy that they're at the front as well,so I really havent had a problem. I grew up near KI. I remember when The Beast served refreshments at the snack bar in line...sodas,nachos,pretzels etc. Problem was,as you're standing there waiting for your grub, the line was moving. Try to run and get your spot back..good luck. Even trying to just get back in line there at the snack bar sucked... you werent in front of that person before, but you bought an ICEE, so now you are...lol. Since I live here, I know when to go and when not to. The only time I get the unlimited upgrade is maybe for a bday present for my son, and we go marathon everything. Even with the QQ, the lines here run pretty quick. However, most of our coasters sit four wide. So thats something to consider. I can see where a pass would have a bigger effect on a park like KI with just 2 wide coasters. I dont blame tourists who get the QQ. Its the best way to experience our park in a day. BG has a great deal for locals. You pay the regular admission,which now is $90. Then you get to come back for the rest of the calendar year. Considering BG is open 365, pretty good deal. Point being,BG takes care of the locals, so I dont mind if the family from Toledo wants to shell out extra so they get to experience in a day what I get to do all year. The idea of fast pass does make me feel cheated in a way. Cheated in the sense that its been a long time coming. I wonder how many more times I couldve rode the King Cobra, or The Racers backwards, or The Beast just one more time on the 4th of July. I have great memories of KI, and all the fun I had on my favorite rides,some of the rides of which will forever be memories. I also remember waiting 2 hours in lines in the sweltering heat on a Saturday afternoon. Its nice to know I can go back and relive those memories,with the option of not reliving the long queues. I'm coming up there this summer with my son, and guess what? It's his birthday!

Guys!!!! We're getting a nice sit down restaurant, shut up and be happy!

I guess I could put this in this thread... People at my school. Hey Dylan how many times have you ridden THE Diamondback Ride thing. Me: Um 49 times. Them: Wow! Are you in like the Top 10 people to ride that?? No

During Chemistry, my teacher was teaching us how real milk is heterogeneous but store milk is homogeneous. Kid 1: What about blue milk? Mrs. Hansen: What milk? Kid 2: Kings Island Milk!