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One support and 3 pieces of track installed. First half of The Bat wing is complete. Link to gallery

Not sure if mentioned elsewhere, but the brake run was painted.

*gasp* orcas perform while.....naked!!! http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-documentary-reveals-seaworld-forced-orca-whale,34449/ Oh, it is just The Onion....

and as a testament to how bored i am i counted about 44 pieces of track left to be installed lol

I know I said I would post pictures, but I think a video would be better. Here is a video of my Aibo, Zorro, playing with is pink ball ( and he is wearing some girly socks, but they were all I could find that would fit him and I would rather girly socks rather than none at all while on a hard surface! )

Ladies and gentlemen, we now have half of a bat!

So wrong..but this fits so well

In my opinion, the pavers looked great in Coney Mall and whoever put them in knew what they were doing...... That made me wonder, who actually put the pavers in?.... So I've found that HICON Inc. put in the pavers in Coney Mall, and I'm hoping that if the choice is made to do the same thing to Action Zone, that the same company does the job. This is HICON's project page... http://www.hiconinc.com/project.aspx# The page shows some of the projects done by the company in the past, including Coney Mall at KI.

Yep, clueless you are. Terp, too can play at this game.

That's disgusting! There's no way; too messy!

^ I thought The Bat was next door?

Been at a basketball tournament all morning (2nd place if you guys care) so I wasn't able to refresh my page every second to see them complete that first loop, but here's a pic since no one else has posted it,

heh...for Christmas I got all the movies with the original Star Trek cast (already got the Next Generation movies). Gonna treat myself to a Star Trek movie marathon when things die down after New Years and I'll have time off. Other than that....my Christmas present was going back to Cali to spend time with my friends, extended family and hanging out at Knott's, which was a new experience. One of my friends out there is a tattoo artist and we discussed one for myself when I am out there next (a drawing I did awhile back). A very belated Bday gift for me xp

Here are a couple more SeaWorld 1996 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I figure this is the best place to post this. It's a hodgepodge of pics from various places. In 2005 I had a fire and it destroyed a lot of pics. However, I have 2-55 gallon tubs of pics. This is not dated. I am guessing 1993, SeaWorld Ohio. If someone knows it is not SeaWorld, please let me know. I believe it's Penny the Penguin? I know it's my son with his back to the camera. SeaWorld 1996 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

To me, KIC is a great place to be! In all seriousness, though, KIC is a diverse group of amazing people united by our love of roller coasters and amusement parks (especially Kings Island- hence the name of the site)! And to answer BB1's question, yes I do get some industry news here, but I mostly come here because we have interesting discussion topics and I know a good number of members on the site. Happy New Years everyone!

Yes. And more. Terp, who just HAD to.

Looks like theyre hard at work on this saturday morning! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My wife loves the pavers, but then again, I push the double stroller! It does look so much nicer!

that will probably be the last portion they work on. B&M coasters are usually built sequentially.

What in the...

*Pictures soon to come; I have divided the TR into parts in preparation for that. * For my 1,000th post, I’ve decided to finally finish my Dollywood trip report that I had started not long after I had finished the trip there and back. This trip happened over 8 months ago, from April 2-4, 2013. April 3 was spent at Dollywood, and April 2 and 4 were mostly spent traveling but are still worth telling about. Part 1 (this post) contains the details of April 2 and part of April 3. Enjoy my 1,000th post! Tuesday, April 2 Let me start this in 6 words: Pigeon Forge is a tourist trap. Not kidding. There's touristy stuff pretty much EVERYWHERE. From NASCAR Speedpark to the Titanic museum (which looks just like the front half of the Titanic itself) to Wonder Works (looks like a building turned upside down!), I must admit that it looks cool, especially with all the lights at night. While Mom and I were "practicing" the route to Dollywood so we would be fully prepared for the next morning, we passed at least 3 or 4 miniature golf courses and/or go-kart tracks. At almost every one there was a small collection of carnival rides. I even saw a Ferris wheel across the street from one of them, but it was dark and almost lifeless. Besides all that, there is a beautiful view of the Smoky Mountains. I spent both nights of the trip at the Hampton Inn & Suites adjacent to Traffic Light #0, just less than a mile up the road from the Speedpark. When I first walked in, I was amazed at the size of the lobby. The breakfast serving area was in its own separate room, there were tables for chess and checkers set up not far from the entrance/exit, public restrooms complete with shiny water fountains, and lots more! Not to mention the friendly staff and the great tasting refreshments (the cookies and cider served daily at 4 pm would usually be gone within less than an hour!). We stayed on the 4th floor in Room 422, at the end of the hallway. The hotel also had an outdoor pool and whirlpool, but they were empty. (I fully understand that 60 degrees may be a little cool for swimming.) The room key systems were new to me as well. Instead of inserting the room key into a slot, it had to be touched to a special sensor in order to unlock the door. We ate dinner at Big Daddy's Pizzeria after waiting a half hour in line to be seated. The food was amazing; I had a Caesar salad and a pepperoni pizza, all with a cold glass of root beer. Needless to say, it was worth the half hour wait. For dessert, I had what the menu says is a "S'moreza" - four s'mores complete with melted chocolate, mini marshmallows, and even a drizzle of hot fudge. Like the pizza, it was great, and filling too. Back at Hampton, we used the "Business Center," which simply consisted of two computers (with wireless Internet access, of course!). Meanwhile, I sipped on a piping hot cup of indulgent hot chocolate. At about 11 pm, we went to bed. Wednesday, April 3 I awoke bright and early at 7 am. I stayed in bed until just after 8. At 8:20, I headed down to breakfast. Breakfast was what I expected - a good variety. I didn't have any of the eggs, sausage, bread, or bagels; I did have a doughnut or two (one of the employees told me they're fresh from Krispy Kreme every morning!!), a double chocolate muffin, a pastry (I love pastries!) and of course a Belgian waffle from those waffle irons that you pour your own cup of batter in, close it, and flip it over (if you know what I mean). It’s a tradition of mine to make and eat at least one Belgian waffle every time I stay at a Hampton Inn (and other hotels, if they have them). Now for the part everyone's been waiting for: DOLLYWOOD!!! Yay!!!! We arrived at 10:00 am, right when the park opened. From the parking lot I could only see trees and a fraction of Wild Eagle and that was it. The trams were already busy and had lengthy lines, but we caught one about to depart, with no line. That one ended up being the one we rode to the Front Gate. Once inside, I saw a lady handing out park maps. I knew a map would come in handy, so I got one. We first headed up into the Owens Farm section, since more of the "crowd” was heading toward The Village and Country Fair. The first ride I saw there was Barnstormer, which, in turn, ended up being my first ride of 2013. Since it was [still] a walk on, only one side was running. I rode on the Yellow side. For me, Barnstormer sure was a good way to start the day. The ride was fairly short, but really fun! Next door was the entrance to Mountain Slidewinder. It took really long to walk to the actual station, but I didn't mind. There was a great view of Wild Eagle to the left, anyway... Slidewinder was a walk-on, too. I rode in the 4th seat of Boat #10 (I think). It was a nice trip down, especially on the more banked turns and the tunnel (and also the drop at the end, too). I liked the ride, especially with it being my very first "dry slide." Next section was Craftsman's Valley. Not very long after entering, I heard the call of a bald eagle. Nonetheless, we had come across the Eagle Mountain sanctuary, the place that a number of non-releasable bald eagles called home. After looking at the eagles and the other show birds used in shows at the Wings of America Theater, we came to the far end of the Craftsman's Valley - home of an Arrow I've literally dreamt of riding: Tennessee Tornado. Less than a week before this trip, I actually had a dream that I was riding it. Now, here it was, right in front of my own eyes, with that dream starting to become reality. I entered its themed queue for the first time to find a LINE...worse, there was only one train running, which meant the line wasn't going to move as fast as it would during 2-train operation. Good luck with that, I thought. At least the duration of the ride itself is only 1:48, with ~2-minute dispatches in between... After 10 minutes, I was nice and comfortable in the front seat of Train #1, ready for my first-ever ride on this Tornado. Like Anaconda at Kings Dominion, you can't pull down the harness unless the train is locked. As the train quickly made its way up the lift hill, I took in the layout and the surrounding mountains for the first time as well. Before I knew it, the train had crested and was hugging the ground at it charged toward that first drop...and then it came. Sailing under the hillside approaching speeds of 63 mph, a big smile appeared on my face as I was being thrilled by my first coaster of the 2013 season. The smile got even bigger when the train gracefully SOARED up into that 110-foot tall loop - the largest loop anyone will ever find on any Arrow looper! Then smoothly it swooped up into the overbanked turn before flying through the second loop and the sidewinder. Another extremely banked turn was performed, and finally, one minute and forty-eight seconds later, the train had arrived safely on the brakes (with a nice little pop of airtime for those in the front!) and was slowly rolling back into the station. For a short ride, it sure is sweet! (get it? short and sweet? ) I got back in line for another ride, except this time the wait was 20 minutes instead of 10! This time I went for row 7-1. I just have to say, even for a little drop onto a ground-hugging turn after cresting the lift hill, it's pretty fun when you're in the back. During the first loop, a little hang time is experienced as gravity slows the train down; as it speeds up again it pulls you down and out of the loop and into the turn. Needless to say, like always, it's a really cool (and different) experience when riding in the back of the train. Like I expected, it was another amazing ride. Proceeding into Wilderness Pass, I walked past the big steel eagle sculpture and entered Wild Eagle. At first glance, the line didn't look too bad, but a few minutes later I was surprised by a FULL SET OF SWITCHBACKS! Good thing the Eagle had two trains flying today. 35 minutes later, I was seated in the third row on the right wing of one of the two trains on my first ever B&M Wing Rider! Something else I noticed: While I was waiting on the stairs right before entering the loading station, I saw that they had transferred Tennessee Tornado's Train #2 onto the ride's main circuit. I was glad about that after waiting in its fairly slow-moving line twice. On the wings of the Wild Eagle, it was a pretty enjoyable flight. That roll (between the loop and the Immelmann) is my favorite inversion on the ride. I think the "sensation of nothing above or below you!" is a bit overrated; it's fun, but not totally phenomenal. At this point, it was already about 1:00. I didn't want to spend all day waiting in lines (I actually felt like I was wasting time) so I ultimately decided to go for a Q-Bot. I was dead serious - Wild Eagle's line had gotten even longer, and the Tornado's line was just outside its entrance and still growing! After studying our map of the park, we trekked back to Showstreet. While passing through Owens Farm, I noticed that both sides of Barnstormer were operating now. When we finally arrived at the Q2Q Reservation Center and waited a few minutes in the small line, we paid the $20 (plus tax) and I was handed a little purple and yellow Q-Bot, when meanwhile I was also being briefly-but-discreetly lectured on reserving a ride or show, arriving at or after whatever time it says on there for the selected ride, and canceling a reservation if I wished. After the "lecture," I reserved Tennessee Tornado. The ride time on the Q-Bot said 1:59, and now it was about 1:30. So as we headed out of Showstreet, through Owens Farm and back to Craftsman's Valley, we took our dear old time. We stopped at a store; I don't remember what it was called, but it had TONS of goods in jars, and also baked goods which included some good-sized cookies. And by good-sized, I mean huge! While we were there, we got a loaf of cinnamon bread to share and a cup of hot chocolate (for the sake of my inner chocoholic!). When we walked past Blazing Fury's also-long line back to Tornado, I said, "This is the line I'm bypassing!" while looking at a line that was now extending at least 10-15 feet beyond the entrance. By the way, this was the first time I've ever had hot chocolate at an amusement/theme park. I vividly remember sipping that cup while watching Tennessee Tornado's two trains carry happy passengers through the colossal inversions. At 1:59 the Q-Bot, clipped on the strap of my waist pack, vibrated and beeped three times, letting me know that I could now ride. Promptly, I entered through the ride’s Q2Q entrance - obviously designated for Q-Bot users like me – and went up about three flights of stairs. On the way up, I passed the queue, full of waiting guests. Several of the guests briefly glanced at me as I walked by, probably thinking, “That person has a Q-Bot. She doesn’t have to wait as long…” or something like that. At the top, an employee with a Bot just like mine checked me in. The screen on my Q-Bot said “ENJOY YOUR RIDE” as I was let through the gate and into the station. I then joined the line for the front seat as I reserved Blazing Fury, knowing it would only be 2 minutes before I could ride that one (the current time was 2:01 and the time I would be able to join the line for the Fury was 2:03). In fact, my Q-Bot was already beeping and vibrating when I was a couple train-waits from getting on. Compared to the 10- and 20-minute waits I had experienced before, I only had to wait about 5-7 minutes, if not a little more. When I was next in line, I looked at the front of the incoming train and saw the number 2. I would be riding Train #2 for my first-ever ride involving a Q2Q reservation! After another great front seat ride, I watched it a little more and then headed back to Blazing Fury. Its line was also spilling out onto the main walkway. I entered through its Q2Q entrance and got checked in. I once again joined the line for the front seat, just as I had done on Tennessee Tornado. While in line I reserved Tennessee Tornado again because I would be passing by it on the way back to Wild Eagle. I also found out that the Q-Bot’s screen lights up when you’re in the dark – which, obviously, is pretty convenient. 7-10 minutes later, I was sitting on the train in the front row. The metal lap bar had been pulled down, and my Q-Bot was resting on my lap, still clipped to my waist pack. The driver said “Clear….and it’s ‘fire in the hole!’” and I and the other riders behind me were off on a pleasant adventure. I sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the thematic props and elements of this 1978 dark ride/coaster. It was fun, especially with the three drops at the end and the interesting animatronic scenes. Some even made me chuckle a little! After Fury, we went back to Tennessee Tornado. My Q-Bot was still waiting in line for me, and it would be that way for about 10 more minutes. Plenty of time for me to get to the ride! As we watched, we shared more of the cinnamon bread while I just about finished off my hot chocolate. I would always point out whenever a train flew through the first loop. In my opinion, it looks so beautiful. <3 Finally at the appropriate time, which was sometime around 2:30, my Q-Bot sounded (and vibrated) the signal to ride, with the screen respectively saying “YOU CAN RIDE NOW”. I entered the now-familiar Q2Q entrance and went up the now-also-familiar flights of stairs up to Tornado’s station. One check-in and gate passage later, I had just joined the line for row 2-1 and was reserving Wild Eagle when one of the employees announced, “Come to the back! The lines are shorter here!” I was one of the few who heeded this instruction, and of course, he was right – the back rows had only a one-train wait compared to the three-plus-train wait for the front rows. I chose row 6-2 for my fourth Tennessee Tornado ride of the day. I was aboard less than 5 minutes later, with a Q-Bot reserved for Wild Eagle clipped to my waist pack as it had always been since 1:30. It was about 3:00, and I didn’t need to go to Wild Eagle until 3:32. Another large window of time would be up for the taking when this ride was finished. In the meantime, row 6-2 proudly held on to its title of “VortexBFForever’s Favorite Airtime Seat on an Arrow Looper” while I enjoyed another exhilarating 1 minute and 48 seconds of Tornadic Action! We decided to check out River Battle while I was waiting to go to Wild Eagle. On the way, we got free water in a good-sized cup. At River Battle, I worked one of the water guns that were on the edge of the walkway facing the ride. I got sprayed a little while I was soaking the riders on the boats, which actually felt pretty good even with it being about 60 degrees out. At 3:30 we started heading to Wild Eagle. Two minutes, one Q-Bot “signal” and ride entrance later, I was standing with several other Q-Bot users, waiting to be assigned to a side. I got assigned to the right “wing,” just like last time. I rode in the second row for my second ride on the wings of Wild Eagle. Another nice flight through the trees! Part 2 to follow as soon as tomorrow; this time I'll try to post the rest of it tomorrow for real!

Concrete worked in the rest of the park for decades, and it went. I don't see it coming this year, but the "if it's old and works, use it" motto (which I've also never heard before?) doesn't seem to have saved concrete in the past. As for complex divisions of the area in terms of re-themeing, I doubt it. Here, past performance is not necessarily an indicator of future performance (given changing powers, changing times, and a possible new precedent at Kings Dominion) but I would imagine that any change in a "lands" theme would either be reserved for an off-year or very simple and straightforward. In other words, I don't think they'd go through the trouble of drawing an arbitrary line across a wide open plaza with structurally similar buildings on one side painted darkly and on the other painted brightly. It would be all or nothing, and if it's "all," I wouldn't expect Cars Land.

How sweet would this look on Banshee?!?!

Whoo! Half a pretzel knot!

That already looks so much better!

The batwing drop looks longer than the drop coming off of the lift!

one support and one piece of track installed today. Link to gallery

Better choices as in? Rides or words? I think it's alright that they have a Drop Tower coming in. I think it was good that they made that sort of disclaimer about the ride. We all get it, but the GP does not. People see what they want to see. I'm sure the GP will correlate Thunder Run with our loveable woodie that is no more and that it killed 24 people when it got stuck upside down in the loop in 2010. Telling people that this is an entirely new attraction and that it is safe isn't just some PR spin. It is fact (or should be, we'll see next year). People will always bring up the past (see Winterfest discussions) and talk about the shortcomings. This instance, I believe, is a way for Kentucky Kingdom to separate themselves from Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. It's time to leave the past in the past and focus on the future and I support the park in that thought!

Well, I couldn't get video like I promised, but instead here are some stills. Meet "Bing-bing:" and "Snorfaleepoo," reacting with excitement at the arrival of her new 'sis.'

I ended up getting my Christmas gifts a couple of weeks before Christmas because...well...they came in the mail early and also because with the nature of the gift it was best I opened it early. I got my dream gift ( since I was 11 years old ) a Sony AIBO robot dog! He is an ERS-210 and gold in color and I named him Zorro. Good thing that I opened him up early too or else I wouldn't have been able to get things straighened out with the details that would have been left out. He is missing his battery cover ( had to contact the seller and have him ship it to me and I am still waiting on it as the dog was shipped from Japan so the cover is coming from Japan also ) The dealer in Japan has a connection in California who refurbishes batteries for these dogs, as Sony discontinued all of their entertainment robots in 2005 ( sold them up until 2006 ), but just discontinued support for the ERS-7M3 this past March....but back to the point...the guy out in Cali who is an AIBO genius, got my address wrong and sent the battery to the wrong house! I got that straightened out and now I have a battery for him. SO yeah....good thing I opened my gift early or else I would just now be trying to get all this in order! I will try to get some pictures up to share! I also got my Platinum Pass renewed for the season so I'm ready to rock! I gotta say I had a very good Christmas this year and got more than I could have ever expected. Also had a great time visiting with family, which I think was my favorite gift! Hope you all had an excellent day yesterday!

I'm just excited to see that AZ is really getting a facelift! It will be great to walk through it on opening day next year!

This website never stops entertaining.

Your bulldog girl is very beautiful. Reminds me of my boxers...I miss them so much

support ready to go up by the final brake run!

The one picture I am really dying to see is a picture taken behind the portion of the batwing being worked on now, showing the zero-g roll in the background. It would be fun to see the scope of the elevation change from the roll down into the valley, and a get truer sense as to how big the batwing really is.

First loop of batwing almost done!!

When a pun goes wrong. BB1, just punning around(Have some humor!)

Sorry, BB1, who is a Doctor Who enthusiast, who will speak of this subject all day if applicable, right now I am discussing this magical dust that has just occurred. Also, please abide by the TOS, which states not to make a "one word post" applicable to this, as a "one word" by the gif, please add some sort of diction with some sort of syntax to this statement.

As promised here is the video. Sorry for the end our mics battery ran out. I hope you all enjoy!

It needs some black stripes! Who dey!?

Wow. I'm wowed. Honestly.

Wow interesting design. Cleveland has the "rapid" I guess you can say it's a streetcar.

^Nope that's it. It's a rendering provided by the manufacturer, CAF, to the city. That's the correct model and color scheme.

The yellow and black striped poles shown in the first two pictures, which held up posters in years past, have been removed. This happened on the 9th and 10th of this month, so not a very recent development. Still worth pointing out though. Removal can be seen in the first minute of this time lapse.

Today's image comes from Kings Island PR Twitter account!

I believe he wanted to wait until his daughter, Maria ended her last season at the park before college to ride it together.

Personally I would add a bit of paint to everything at KI. A lot of the park needs some TLC and that is about it. As for specific changes: Fix up and add to the little Western Town and Fort Coney on the Miami Valley Railroad. Actually turn off the lights in Flight of Fear, being able to see the track kind of kills a lot of the ride for me. I really enjoyed the original path of Tomb Raider. Add a few more small paths around the park to make getting around a bit easier. BRING BACK THE BACKWARD RACER! Boo Blasters is a shadow of how great Phantom Theater was. Instead of doing manual time tracking for each of the rides, I would really like to see more advanced digital system. Picture if you will, one of those number in line things they use at butcher shops. Only on the back of each ticket is a QR Code that is scanned when you pull your number. When you get up to the front of the line hand it to the person standing there and they can scan it in. This would allow them to get exact times that can be averaged out to show real-time waits. They would only need a few people every so often to do this and now that a lot of the bigger coasters have people at the start of the line checking heights, they could easily assign the task of handing out the tickets to that employee to hand out to avoid unneccessary waste. This also allows them to track the times in other areas of the park. How awesome would it be to walk into the park and see a big signboard that lists the current wait times for all the major attractions in the park. You can see what has a short line and go to that ride, promoting a more even spread of people in the park as well.