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KI's 2014 coaster:

I learned to photobucket! A few more aerials from earlier. Thanks Jayblazer for posting my first shots.

After waking up at two in the afternoon I decided to spend my one day off at work. I got to Busch Gardens around three and immediately went to Verbolten. It was the only ride I had not been on in the park and I was very ready to ride. Very rarely do I ride a new coaster and not know the layout before hand, but this was one of the ones I knew nothing about. I knew there was drop track and a homage to Big Bad Wolf with the final drop, but that was it. The ride was nice. I would compare it to the Mummy at Universal Studios. It was smoother than Mummy, but not as good as far as special effects go. Even though I was expecting the drop track, it still got me. I loved it. Overall, I would say the ride was decent, but not great. After Vbolt, I took a spin on Alpengiest which is trimmed to death. If it wasn't trimmed so badly, it would probably bump Raptor from my number one coaster. It was pretty rough in some spots, too. After Alpengiest I went and talked to my coworkers in the in park offices, and we ate what was left of my birthday cake from the day before. We then rode Griffon together which was fun as always. Even though it is short and repetitive, I still like the ride. Not what I want at Kings Island, but I do like it. After Griffon I left my coworkers and took the skyride to Apollo's Chariot and took two rides on that. I rode in the very back and then the very front. The back is amazing and way better than Diamondback, but the front is boring. Extremely boring. The park closed at 8 today so that is all I got done. I will return tomorrow, but for work (which is actually 100 times better than being in the park as a guest!).

Holy Quote chain Batman!

Trying to decipher the type of coaster based on track sitting out is about as pointless as trying to guess the manufacturer based on the footings.

Wow! Mr. Kinzel retires so Mr. Quimet orders new uniforms for the female ride ops. Cedar Fair = FUN.

But they do jump on the TTD talk....... Many have lied in this thread...... I'll be here all week folks!

And the KIC girls reading this thread just sit in an awkward silence.....

Here is what I have found out in the 3 days I went missing: Everyone talks a lot. I like a lot of things. New stuff has showed up . Old Stuff has showed up. Sarcasm is still at an all time high. Tusk - once again, being observant.

I'm sure its mentioned in here somewhere- but with the pictures taken of coaster track in the east side of Cincy... just to make sure no one is trespassing for the sake of a enthusiast blog, right? maybe there was permission given, maybe it's a public lot, maybe this has already been discussed. Either way, this thread is giving me the impression that we seem to have a lot of time on our hands.

Did Diamondback get inversions this year? THE_BEASTmaster, who just had to. That all depends if your restraint is loose or tight!

Simply put, I think that the best deodorant from the stench that was SOB is a record breaking coaster in it's place. The folks in charge now know what they are doing, unlike previous ownership/administrations. They have plenty of land. They have plenty of cash. They have a coaster manufacturer that is well equipped to build anything that the customer wants. They have plenty of bad publicity to put in the rear view mirror. They are going to build what they are going to build...but I don't think for a second it will be anything small, short, or insignificant. Too much is at stake. The plans are done, folks. Perhaps, as with any building job, an unforseen tweak here or there... Just a matter of digging, pouring, and putting it together at this point.

First photo...

I think I will not return to my internship next year, and will apply to be ride attendant for this.

For people new to KIC: (or anyone who wants to read it) I've seen a lot of new faces on KIC here recently so I thought i would put this together. If you are getting upset with the replies your getting to what you've been saying. Don't worry. The community just kind of gives everyone a hard time that is new to the forum. You must earn the communities trust, it's not that hard here is a couple things that will help get you going. 1. Don't say anything like you know what's going in for 2014, unless you have a true source and can prove it then go right ahead. (No i'm not trying to come across mean either) 2.Put a little time into your posts before you post them, we have a few grammar police that just might go banana's on you. Make sure most/everything you type that needs capitalized, is. 3. It might take a few months for the community to know who you are and ounce that happens, they tend to be a lot nicer and you will get more likes and such. 4. Don't start a "war" with another KIC member. 5. most importantly, have fun! Be yourself! Get to know your fellow KIC members, they may seem mean or scary (cough Terpy cough ) but their all a nice bunch of people! Any questions about stuff don't be scared to talk to another KIC member, were glad to help! In other news, when was track being brought in for DB?

I heard two coasters that was meant for Kentucky Kingdom where put into World of Adventure. Xflight/Firehawk may have been one of them But I've heard Dominator was custom made to be at the front of the park in the year 2000. It was going to take the place of the vampire and the squid waterslide, but Six Flags went cheap and put in Road Runner in 2000 and Sky Coaster later in 2001. You heard wrong. XFlight/Firehawk was originally designed for Kings Island (with another slated for install at KD.) Paramount passed on the coasters due to issues with the prototype Stealth in California. The two Flying Dutchmans were then contracted for installation at two competing Six Flags parks - Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and Six Flags America. Neither was ever slated for installation at KK. Dominator was designed specifically for SFO as part of the park's complete mainstream overhaul. It was not designed for KK, or ever planned for installation there. The area you mention at KK as being the planned location has an overall height restriction. KK's former tall rides (Chang, the SkyCoaster, the front spike of Greezed Lightning and the former lifts of Vampire) all were placed so they fit in the narrow parcel of land that allowed a 100'+ height variance. Many peope didn't realize it, but the tallest ride points at SFKK were in direct line with each other. One little known fact is that SF had proposed a Intamin Superman Impulse coaster to be placed in that parcel at the front of KK. However SFKK was underperforming so bad that the company scratched the plans and installed Greezed Lightning instead figuring it to be a cheaper alternative. However the coaster was a maintenance nightmare - mostly due to it's age - and essentially cost more than the Impulse would have. The park held a privately invited PR/Media event to premier the "NEW" coaster. However, the coaster didn't operate and the park supplemented rides on Hellivator (which a few years later generated it's own media event.) Greezed Lightning didn't even make test runs that night and the park sent everyone packing. It was an utter and complete embarassment of an event - typical for SFKK. On the opposite end of the park, there's a lower height variance - around 85 feet. Twisted Twins/Sisters was designed so they stood 80 feet, giving clearance for raised hands.

A Beast ride op on Monday said, "I have a joke - it's not my joke - so don't take offense." "How do you know the toothbrush was invented in Kentucky? Because if it was invented anywhere else, it'd be called a teethbrush!" That was horrible...

^Like I haven't heard that one a million times...

Actually you couldn't care less, right?

Kentucky Kingdom's future is not looking bright right now...as I look at it, is there anything there that would justify a 1.5 hour car ride from central Indiana to Louisville to visit it? What do they have, even if the re-open all of it? -A good wooden coaster that has been cloned a few times -A dueling CCI wooden coaster that has been SBNO for several years and is likely in horrible shape. Needs serious work. -A Vekoma SLC...blah, and these are uber common. -Typical flat rides you can find in most parks...no thanks, both Kings Island and Holiday World have these, and they have far better coaster collections to boot (and in KI's case, much larger flats that can compete with roller coasters as well, such as Drop Tower or Delirium!). -A medium sized water park...if I want a water park, I go to Santa Claus, Indiana, for their giant waterpark with TWO water coasters several massive water slides...KK can't compete here. Even KI's Soak City looks to have more to do. Kentucky Kingdom, from this perspective, does not look to appealing...and this is even considering if they got it all to re-open, which now seems very unlikely. They would have to add something huge (not likely if they are struggling to re-open the park) or charge a dirt cheap price of around $20-$25 per ticket just to get me to even consider driving down there...granted, the nearby market would probably eat it up somewhat, but what's the point for anyone else? And how is this park supposed to make money and survive without a bigger market... KK's main problem is, they have to go toe-to-toe with a huge regional park (Kings Island) and a beloved family park with 3 world-class wooden coasters and the baddest waterpark outside of Texas (Holiday World)...and do so with a limited selection of attractions that would not be signature rides at either KI or Holiday World...Ed Hart claims he wants to build a $15,000,000+ steel coaster for the park...where is that money going to come from, if they seem to be struggling just to get everything else working? And even if they do, what's to say it would irk Kings Island...one theory I heard about why Six Flags didn't invest too much into SFKK was because Kings Island made the massive Action Zone expansion in 1999/2000 with FACE/OFF, Drop Zone, and Son of Beast and it scared Six Flags to death (hehe, SOB should not have scared them in hindsight ) that whatever they added to SFKK, KI would match and beat...and the fair board would limit their additions, making KI's job easier. So they instead invested heavily in Worlds of Adventure...and went-head-2-head with Cedar Point instead, which had just added Millennium Force and was soon to build Wicked Twister and Top Thrill Dragster. (Makes me think though...could X-Flight, aka now Firehawk, have originally been intended for SFKK instead of Geauga Lake/later Kings Island?) Now, this is just a rumor I heard, but it does make SOME sense...save the "LET'S FIGHT Cedar Point INSTEAD!" part, unless 1990's and early 2000's Six Flags was really THAT dumb...granted it could also have just been Six Flags had too many parks, and could not add to all of them, so they were picking & choosing and KK got jipped. I'll be clear- I would love to see KK re-open, and thrive. This would not only give me another good option for a nearby amusement park, but it would force Kings Island and Holiday World to build new stuff and work hard to stay competitive. But I seriously doubt it will happen now, I'd say I'm even 80%+ sure...my guess is when the deadline comes around, Hart will sadly reveal the truth, and KK will sell off all its old rides that still have any value (Kings Island could use the Flying Dutchman and Ferris Wheel if this happens, and could also pick up Deluge, their water coaster, for Soak City...all 3 would be welcome additions) and the park will be demolished for a shopping mall or something. Not what I want to happen to any park, but I'm being realistic, it probably will for this one... Sorry for how long this post was. I just had a lot of stuff to say about the KK situation...thanks if you read the whole thing.

I feel as though my sarcasm was overlooked. Perhaps....but you never know on the other side of the pewter.

Or someone might steel them? no pun intended? or should i say that was punintended?

^Finally somebody else besides me wants a Floorless!

Did Diamondback get inversions this year? THE_BEASTmaster, who just had to.

Kentucky. Ohio. West Virginia. Tennessee. Indiana. Mississippi. Arkansas. Georgia. Alabama. To some extent, it's an Appalachia thing. Offensive stereotypes get old. I hate it when a so-called joke or slam starts out with a warning not to be offended or, worse, with "With all due respect..." If it starts out with a warning\apology, it's probably not appropriate period.

Every time I've been to Cedar Point, more specifically in line for Wicked Twister and Magnum for some reason, I get people pointing out and insisting that Lake Erie is really the ocean.

Just to clear the air, B&M's spine on the track indeed changes sizes depending on the forces being exerted on it. Don't believe me? Look at the spine on Gatekeeper in the station and compare it to the spine on the first drop

Umm...just saying, the clearing behind FOF not related to SOB...pretty sure that's a maintenance road. (Checks Google Maps, which has pre-SOB demolition images)...yep. A 7,000+ foot long coaster sat in that spot...just saying.

...which "lead" me back to this topic, which has become something of an epic read!

Today marks one month until the end of Hart's extended walk-away period. Seeing that it's been more than a month since we've seen any signs of life at all from Hart, I'd say that the project is on its deathbed and barely surviving on life support. He has to decide if he wants to stay onboard or abandon ship. If this falls through, it's a loss for the community of Louisville and Lexington. When I was at KI on Saturday, I saw so many people wearing Louisville Cardinals or Kentucky Wildcats gear. Now, this doesn't mean all of those people are traveling from Kentucky, but what an inconvenience to travel two hours to the closest amusement park. In its heyday, KK was almost competing with KI for guests. KK was never KI at any point in its lifetime, but a park with high-caliber rides and a good waterpark passed for entertainment in that market. When the Hellevator incident happened, though, the park's stature made a rapid decline, eventually leading to SIX's ride removal and departure from the land. The Project is a very long shot. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what June 27 brings us.

Mmm...look at those... ...restraints. I wish Kings Island had a ride with those. This is getting weird now.

As a former journalist. If you cant show your sources, then it cant be believed. Covering your source, for legal reasons is one thing. But that usually does not carry any weight. When a source is named, then its believable. Plus a source that leaks info is either not a good source or is trying to gain something. I do not want to get my source fired. I think that is a good reason to not disclose. I have tried to stay out of this, but I can no longer hold my tongue. Let's be a little clearer: The Terms of Service require that when posting any information claiming to be from a inside source, you must include the name of the source. Period. There is presumably a specific reason for this requirement. You have stated the information, now please name the source as required by the TOS or retract the information so we can move on. Otherwise, I may ask the moderators to take action.[/rant]

As a former journalist. If you cant show your sources, then it cant be believed. Covering your source, for legal reasons is one thing. But that usually does not carry any weight. When a source is named, then its believable. Plus a source that leaks info is either not a good source or is trying to gain something. I do not want to get my source fired. I think that is a good reason to not disclose.Then he shouldn't have told you in the first place. It was irresponsible for him to tell you and it is irresponsible for you to be leaking the information onto the Internet.

My experience with ride-ops at both parks is night and day. Kings Island's seem to have a far better attitude than CPs and I could give several examples but I will give two. I had my skin pinched really bad by a ride-op on Raptor and he was in such a hurry he didn't say sorry or nothing and just kept on his busy way, and yes he knew he hurt me pretty good! My last ride on DB it was a bit chilly out and my seat was soaked from a previous rider, I asked the ride-op if he had a towel or anything because I was wearing jeans and he immediately jumped in my seat and dried it off with his clothes! I'm sure that young man has a bright future and I know I will always remember him doing that for me (I was shocked and said thank you twice)! I know everyone has good and bad days but over all I love the way my family is treated by KI ride-ops.

Lowes and Home Depot don't even try...in my experience. WalMart must, as food is sold therein.

*mutters something about the difference between being punched in the head and being punched in the head with boxing gloves on* I'm not really getting my hopes up with Kentucky Kingdom. I think Terp's probably hit the nail on the head, although I think the fact that things are happening at the park is a good sign. The lack of communication is telling, but I'm thrown off by the fact that work is being done at all in the park. Time will tell, I guess.

"British ones always break records". Really? That's why an American coaster is still the longest wooden coaster in the world, and an American coaster was the first to have 6 inversions...

I don't care what the roller coaster is at Kings Island as long as it is fun and thrilling.

Although much of what McSalsa has said is spot-on, Thunder Run was truly a world class wooden coaster. It was hobbled by one train operation, and its unused transfer track was even removed. Twisted Sisters aka Twisted Twins were excellent rides. They are in very poor condition. Chang was and is far superior to Mantis. It's also now in New Jersey. During this assessment time, which Hart & Co. asked be extended, it is apt to be discovered that repair and rehabilitation costs have been greatly understimated. If that is not the case, why did they even ask for an extension? And why have we not heard more?

59 pages into this thread, thought it was time for a recap of known facts/statements as they tend to get lost in the shuffle: KI has demolished Son of Beast, while selling off some of the parts as memorablia. What happened to the rest of it, we're not sure. KI has demolished the go kart track. KI has cleared a lot of land, extending back beyond SOB's footprint. KI has installed security fences around an area of construction Footers have been installed in the spot previously occupied by the go Kart track. Photos show additional work extending beyond this area. Mr. O has stated that B & M has been hired to construct another coaster for their chain. Mr. O has stated that no other parks in his chain will be getting a winged coaster next season. Track supports and track itself has been spotted and photographed at the Batavia plant that often makes parkts for B&M coasters. No other parks in the CF chain have reports of major construction activity at this point? (I question because I don't recall seeing any claims of construction activity, but could have missed a report, so please shout me down if I'm wrong on that regard)

I feel as though my sarcasm was overlooked.

I think I will not return to my internship next year, and will apply to be ride attendant for this. Ride ops it is. Do you wanna be my restraint checker buddy? All clear.

Darn out of popcorn, can you guys put a hold on this conversation for 10 min while I make a new batch?

One more thing we can rule out is Kings Island adding a wooden roller coaster that tops out at a height over 200 ft..... But they'd never do anything like that anyway.....

So what your saying is there are neurotic people with no life on here with nothing better to do then whine and complain? What he is saying is respect of other posters is needed. As a former journalist. If you cant show your sources, then it cant be believed. Covering your source, for legal reasons is one thing. But that usually does not carry any weight. When a source is named, then its believable. Plus a source that leaks info is either not a good source or is trying to gain something. I do not want to get my source fired. I think that is a good reason to not disclose. If you don't want to get your source fired, the answer is simple: Don't post anything that you can't provide a source for. If your source could get fired for your disclosure of "information" then you shouldn't post the "inside information" or any information that you may know. Unfortunately, if you can't disclose who your source is, you have 0 credibility on any "inside info" that you post here.

I remembered reading something about this before...they pretty much say that the stickers will not tell us anything: http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2008/12/scott-carol-present.html "We did have to change the bar code stickers because some coaster enthusiasts started taking pictures of them and posting them on the internet before the park had made their announcement. No more identifying information is on the bar codes"

I can only think of 1, and that would be KC. Which one was repainted? Runaway Reptar had green on it... Sorry wasn't thinking Planet Snoopy/Nick. LOL Heck - I still think Hanna-Barbera Land! (or as my children used to call it, after not listening very closely, Hannah Montana Land)

Alright! As promised to GingerKid, here are my pics of the construction I took today at the park. Please Enjoy the View! DBI

I worked at The Beast in the late 90's and we said "a full train is a cool train" all the time...and it probably started before my time there.

Have you taken a spin on Leviathan or Intimidator 305, Big Sexy? Both have been home runs in their respective parks, and both are far from "forceless" and a "waste of money."