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EDIT Had to remove the video from youtube due to Copyright issue. Will have back up as soon as I get it resolved. Thanks, Tb

Keymaster! Opening spring 2014!!!

Well, today was the beginning of my weekend in Sandusky with Zach (TTD-120-420). Media day was incredible. Things ran smoothly, the press conference was amazing to listen to, and it was a beautiful day. Oh, and Gatekeeper, Here are my thoughts on Cedar Point's newest addition: First off, I would like to rescind any qualms or concerns I had about this ride. I was very questioning all throughout construction and what not, and I would like to take a minute to say that I feel like a fool for that. This ride is incredible. We rode it 17 times today, in nearly every seat on the train. In terms of which side I prefer, the right is better. The wing-over with everything falling out from under you is miraculous, and there seem to be more exciting moments on that side. The best rides were in the front row, but the back isn't too bad either. In terms of the actual ride and layout, this ride is a menace. It is violent yet smooth. The valleys have incredible G-Forces (I even started to grey out, and I never do that). The keyhole is unreal. The second zero-g-roll is slow, but that makes it much better. This ride, if it were at KI, would be the best ride in the park. Overall, this ride is something that everybody needs to experience. This ride is beautiful as well. The colors, the lights, and everything else you could imagine were miraculous. The train's eyes were lit up, and even the photo booth and gift shop had a beautiful mural on the walls. The B&M roar we all know was nearly nonexistent, which helps at the front gate. The lakeside view only makes it that much better. Gatekeeper Plaza looked really good today, and the keyholes were incredible to look at in the dark. Once the grass grows, this will be incredible to ride. Another thing that really impressed me, was that there were no bins for bags and stuff in the morning, but they were installed by the afternoon. Talk about efficiency! Also, this ride is the most photogenic that I have ever seen; even more so than Vortex. I don't believe you can take a bad picture of Gatekeeper. There were only a few negatives about the ride itself. The biggest, in my opinion, was that the shoulder harnesses really tightened throughout the ride. It got to the point where it was almost painful. Also, the camelback airtime hills didn't really deliver any airtime, unless you sat in the very back row. Ultimately, this is not a ride I could marathon, because it is rather violent for a B&M. It shakes and jerks quite a bit and the G-Forces are intense. These are the only negative things I can find about this ride. The new front entrance is incredible, day or night. The buildings look nice, and the keyholes massive. The new flat screens looked good today as well. Unfortunately, the seagulls have already begun their attack on the new ride and entrance. Oh, and riding a ride at sunrise is way cooler than riding at sunset. And Trent Richardson, running back for the Browns, was on a train with us! Later on in the day they opened up Raptor and Millennium Force for us as well, which was great of them. I can't say enough about the friendliness of the employees, from Mr. Ouimet himself to the young lady serving us our food. I was impressed. And free lunch and breakfast was nice as well. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I believe Zach will post some pictures on here later tonight! Thanks for reading- stay tuned for the rest of the weekend!

I'm guess nobody here got the Ghostbusters reference. "Gatekeeper" & "Keymaster"

Dis. A. Gree

Yes, and it's nice to be healing - which means no coasters this year.....but wait until next year when that new giant B&M double-winged, pink polka-dot, steel with wood support coaster opens at KI. I'm gonna be first in line! (might even plead my case to Mr. Q., telling him it's been 3 years since coasters for me because of surgery, so would he please let me ride it before the park officially opens?)

Assume Mr O isn't trying to "throw off the scent" and a new B & M is indeed coming to a CF park, I think you're statement moves beyond speculation. Connect the dots: tear down SOB, clear a bunch of additional land, install footers,footers appear to indicate a coaster, more specifically a steel coaster, B & M has been hired, there are no reported signs of coaster construction going on at any of their other parks. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, tastes like a duck, it must be a duck. It would be wise to leave room that B & M could be hired for the next project beyond whatever is going on at KI right now, but in his short tenure, Mr O seems to be a straight shooter, not one to mislead w/ his statements, and he obviously knows that the construction at KI has been noticed.

The Cedar Creek Minetrain has VERY small trains.

For the last time. THIS is a parking lot coaster. Gatekeeper is NOT.

I can think of a B&M train that is three rows and very wide.

I have not ridden any other wing coasters, but Zach told me that it was much better than Wild Eagle, which he has ridden. And yes, this ride will kick your butt if you mess with it

Banshee - B&M's new flat ride. It's a large Trabant with the Schwabinchen Lady replaced and the Banshee Lady put in her place. Wouldn't that be a let-down!

early reviews from pointbuzz.com users: http://pointbuzz.com/Forums/Thread/29431.aspx

I like the diversion.

Very cool video TB! Can't wait for Episode II!

Some folks were asking about height restrictions in Mason/Deerfield Township. I'm not sure if anyone has brought up the fact that there is a 747ft tall radio tower (700 WLW) just a few miles from the park. I can't imagine Kings Island putting something in that tall, but I also know that Deerfield Twp doesn't currently have height restrictions listed in its zoning laws for the construction of some buildings. Nothing in that area is really tall besides rides at KI and the WLW tower. Not really sure about any FAA restrictions in the area.

Oh, the financing is all there. Mr. Hart has assured us again and again. They asked for a 60 day extension because...because...well, just because. Just in case, you know.

And some of us, right now, don't even have that option. Leave restriction due to an unexpected very high priority project. It's nice to be needed, though.

Really? Give him a break, he's a newbie.

There's no way I can wait till October,I got to figure a date really soon to ride Gatekeeper, I got an itch and its gonna need a scratch! I thought it was funny somebody complained about the harness and Mr.O told him to put on some weight (bulk up!)

I don't think he'll have to worry about Wildcat. It was removed before last year's opening day. Blue Streak may be a bit tight.

Beast at Night, In the Summer, After Rain, In the Front seat is the Absolute Best Ride Ive ever had!! I do Love Diamondback though...

I would say Son of Beast because when that ride first opened it was so what's the word today's teens use a lot....EPIC. But since I can't I will say The Beast... at night and The Cincinnati Rattlesnake err...Diamondback. ( Note: I have listened to people at the KI and I actually heard some older people say I wanna ride that Cincinnati Rattlesnake.LOL)

the diversion was the best part. also kudo's on the VTR; those dont happen often. i loved how you rolled with it.

As far as I can tell, there are no other reports of new footers outside of Kings Island. As to be expected, there are rumors at a lot of parks about possible rides/coasters, but we seem to be the only park with visible evidence...

So, how's the ride? Any early reviews?

Nice Video! Ready for part 2!

I would only call it significant if footers have been added outside TA's old lot. Then I will start thinking about maybe a coaster. There are already footers being poured outside Thunder Alley's old area.... Really? Been at KI every day since it opened? I have yet to see that? Must be blind is me!

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

That was awesome. "I guess he is a Christopher Knight Fan"...< legit LOL'd here

While we only have a few amount of footings to go by and I'm certain more will be set/placed at time goes on, one thing has potentially irked me about the "transfer track" set: If it were to be a Beemer coaster, shouldn't the transfer track/storage building be much longer than a mere three rows of footings? Diamondback's is at least 7-8 rows deep. We might be talking about a coaster that only seats, at the maximum, 16 people per train, rather than the standard Beemer 32. And the way it currently (as of 5/5) looks, it reminds me more of what Verbolten at Busch Gardens' storage building/transfer track looks like:

For Saturday morning‽ I looked at the webcams and people can't be seen due to the dark sky, but the place is lit up including the Gatekeeper towers.

For what it's worth. Awhile ago Screamscape was reporting that Knott's was getting a Giga and then it got delayed. The final rumor was a Leviathon type B&M. Perhaps when a decision was made to remove SOB, KI got bumped up in priority for the next big thing. Of course, Knott's got a new area and that could be the reason for the delay but, a contract for a coaster may have been made and the location changed to KI. Just thinking.

Six Flags licensing agreement is for DC Comics characters (Batman, Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, etc.). Iron Man is a Marvel property, one I can't imagine Disney letting them use.

Iced scream cake?

Me too. I love going into the helix with the faint light shining through the wooden boards, they kind of looks like strobe lights. The screams just ice the cake.

and some of us will have a frosty adult beverage for you when you can join us.Hopefully not in line--though they do that in Florida.Crypt, running away into the woods..

Some of us don't have a choice but to visit parks on the weekends. I just make the best of it, it's better than not going at all.

Medford is right, as far as I can understand. Children get a kick out of saying "Hello!" to us, because I'm sure they all take English as a second language from a young age. That said, only about 20% of people we interact with speak in English. That's not to say they don't know it, but they speak in Japanese very quickly almost like a repetitive speil. They're very good at signing things, and they're entirely friendly and accessible and understanding. Some people are excited to try out their English and say "Two? Six please!" and gesture toward the row. We've noticed that males tend to be even better - they're the ones who go out of their way to say "Hello" as kids and pre-teens, and the male employees say "Would you like the set or just sandwich?" when you order, etc. The Japanese use yen, and right now is a great time to visit. For years and years and years, Y10,000 would get you about $86. For whatever reason, Y10,000 has fallen and will now get you almost exactly $100. That actually makes math really, really simple. A full meal (usually with a drink) is usually Y900 (or $9.00). Because of that great conversion rate, everything is cheaper than it would be in America. Park tickets are really surprisingly inexpensive, but the format is very very structured. They come in 1, 2, 3, and 4 day passes. If you get a 1 or 2 day park, you pre-select which park to visit each day. If you get a 3 day ticket, then you pre-select Disneyland on day 1 and DisneySea Day 2, then you can park hop on day three. Same with a four day ticket, which I have. Four days is Y16,000, or $160. A 4-day parkhopper at Disneyland in California is probably up to $260 by now, that's really a steal. It takes a long time to get used to the denominations. I have a Y10,000 bill. Y1,000 ($10) is the smallest bill, so you have a coin for Y500 ($5) that's easy to confuse with the Y50 yen coin (which is 50 cents). It just takes a while to adjust. We did do everything a la carte. There are Fastpasses for almost everything here, and even on mild days like yesterday, they are all always sold out by the end of the day. Luckily, the massive crowds waiting outside RUSH in first thing and get a Fastpass for one of the park's two or three signature rides, then are locked out of getting another for a few hours. Even when that waiting period is over, they usually get one for the OTHER signature ride that they hadn't previously gotten, so the return times for other rides usually hover at about an hour from present. There's a great presence of Japanese language too, usually just written smaller in themed elements. In "useful" places like guide maps, bathrooms, and menus, Japanese is prominent. I've heard that the owners of the resort, the Oriental Land Company, were adamant that they wanted to build a Western park and bring American style and spirit to Tokyo. The resort had two shows about Japanese history over time, but neither lasted. People seemed to want to be immersed in a different place that was authentic. I don't know - to me, if I were on a ride that was "set" in South America, I'd still want the signs to be in English and I'd be irked if it was SO realistic that the signs were in Spanish, but I don't know... Also, its in a region of the world with many, many, many languages converging. All dialects of Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin, Korean, Cantonese, etc. Shows are entirely in Japanese with captioning in any of those above languages provided by little handheld translators. Half the time, employees bring them to you without asking because they're incredible. Honestly it's kind of a nonissue because sometimes it's fun to just watch the shows and understand what's going on without them.

I hope you're not planning to ride many rides if you come Saturday. Music in the Parks will be held that day plus the regular Saturday crowds and fair weather it's going to be packed to say the least. That's why I said "I plan on going just to take some pictures."

Of course ... and the "bone chilling screams" are from the people getting splinters trying to hang on. The marketing practically writes itself. A dueling, wooden trained, steel tracked, winged strata.

^ I don't think that anyone has mentioned the fact that the fence is made of wood. Therefore, we have a wooden coaster coming. Wooden....dueling...wing coaster.

But the fun isn't in the height alone. Yes, the first drop of The Beast is magnificent, but riding the terrain is a big part of the ride for me. There are at least five fear zones on The Beast for me. How many people have taken a first timer on The Beast and have them crap themselves in panic at the Helix? They all think they are going to sail off the side. The runaway feeling of The Beast is the kicker, the drop is just one part of the thrill.

^ I offered to pay in smurf berries, but it ain't happening.

That was just under 20 years ago. They just filed for the name, why wouldn't they use it? Kings Island had a coaster named "Demon" a long time ago. How is that ok, but not Banshee? My thoughts exactly...what is so bad about Banshee compared to other names that have been used?

That's how I found this place. I was looking for possible speculation, and I definitely found it.

True, the only facts right now are what we can see, but there are still some logical deductions that can be made. 1. Whatever it is, I would argue that a main goal will be to remove any and all memory of SOB, and the nightmare it became. Two conclusions can be drawn from this. First, it will be a major install, meaning, something large...something that is not a wild mouse. In other words, a big coaster. Second, it will not be wood, for obvious reasons. 2. Construction has started really early. The only logical conclusion to be reached from this is "big". So with those two points, the first just being logical inference, and the second a fact, we come to the same conclusion: big coaster. (most likely steel). 3. It is a fact that Banshee has been resurrected, and with the "evil phenom" writing, we just may have a name. This is the weakest of the bunch, though, IMO. 4. Cedar Fair has been in love with B & M lately, and nothing erases a history of maintence nightmares like a B & M. Hence, Gatekeeper. Intamin burned a lot of bridges lately with Cedar Point's series of unfrotuante events, the latest being the disappointing STR. 5. Kings Island is the only "flagship-esque" park in the entire chain that does not have a giga coaster. 6. B & M recently started building gigas. And so, we come to the only logical conclusion: B & M giga named Banshee. See how easy that is?

Parking. Lot. Coaster.

https://www.cedarpoint.com/plan-a-visit/park-map The new map featuring Gatekeeper is now up.

Ah, good to see Cedar Fair is still in the habit of constructing useless shade structures over their queue lines.