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Just kidding..at least for now..Early April Fools-ish So Banshee was testing today, I figured I'd try to head down and catch a bit of it, I had nothing better to do Saturday mid afternoon. Partying doesn't start till late in the evening on Saint Patty's Day weekend right? So got down to GWL after receiving various warnings/texts from people for no apparent reason. Kings Island can only control Kings Island. Any other public place, you're free to go people. If that stopped you, I'm sorry that you missed out. So getting to the good bit here: I did a few passes on the road to see if other enthusiasts had joined in, sadly noone really showed up. The whole time I was there I only saw one car park in the drop off area, but they had their hazards on and sat there with the car doors open. I didn't care to stop and ask and next time I headed up the street they were already gone. After a bit I sat around at Great Wolf Lodge watching to see if testing would start up again, I missed the first round mid afternoon. Ryan (one of the admins here FYI if you didn't know) decided to head up and do lunch and talk about some things. We even invited you Don, you should have come. Anyways after feeling totally bloated from a huge plate of Viva Tequilla (which btw lot of ok food for the price), we got wind that testing had restarted. We headed across the street to Great Wolf Lodge again and watched it run. Man it's so cool to see the park start waking up again. Plus on top of it, it's weird seeing something you've never actually watched before, do something for the first time. It's almost like how when a dog moves their head to the side because they're inquisitive, it reminds me of that. Anyways, the thing shoots up the lift hill. One train op, this thing climbs the lift hill in about 15-17 seconds. I'm curious about how long the actual lift hill is. I'm sure there's some math kids out there will put in the Pythagorean Theorem..I am not a math kid, I'll let you do the work . Also from GWL, the whole ride is surprisingly quiet. It's not Gatekeeper/B&M sand filled track quiet, however, it's not..Loud. I will say I was a bit distant being on a hill near Great Wolf Lodge, and some bare trees in the way. However, it does have a roar. I honestly assimilate the roar/sounds of the coaster to Gatekeeper. Think of the roar-ish and some sounds it makes going through the track such as the zero g roll, and just amplify that. My biggest thing is I look at it like this. When I was at Cedar Point I could hear Mantis/Raptor anywhere in the park early in the morning for tests. I could have been at a ride in any of the three areas or just there early and you could hear either one or both a great deal away. Like when I was at Monster/Witches wheel, you always could tell when it was going. With Banshee..I really had to listen to hear it on the lift, and it was somewhat subtle except at the bottom of the first drop and all the way through the zero g. The beginning of the ride is quite fast, it flies through it. Honestly we keep referring to everything after the zero g roll as the secold half of the ride. We're kind of mislabeling it. The ride flies through this part, but because everything in the valley is huge, it actually seems like it takes a bit to get through everything down there and back to the brake run.It's odd seeing these trains on it as well by the way. Because they look to have a more agressive slant to the seats when you see them on the lift hill loop of dive loop, it's quite a different sight than what you're used to seeing a B&M invert. Right now I have quite alot of pictures that I took of the ride, most of them being burst images of what I could see of the beginning of the ride. Ryan and his friend took a few others as well. If given the go ahead to upload my media here I will come back and update this or a new post and upload all the pictures and video I have of it going through the dive loop, lift hill loop, and zero g roll. The park has requested (keyword there) that we not upload our own images. However again KI can only control KI, this is not one of those places. Secondly a request is exactly that, a request. I'm wanting to let KIC run itself as it has for years no issues and how several other enthusiast forums choose to work. I don't see any other park PR departments dictating what any enthusiast websites say, do, or regulate what the members post, far from it actually. Another point is that all of this regulation comes down on KIC, noone else was warned or asked to do what we do. For instance take a look at GOCC's page..They didn't link to the parks social media when they posted the picture of Banshee testing today, or the front of the park map, or Banshee station from a few weeks ago. It's pathetic to see KI/CF try and control us like this, it makes no sense to me. Especially considering every enthusiast would go watch and take pictures of a great new ride, including KI's enthusiast PR manager, can't lie there mate. They also need to look at this all as free marketing for the park, and one way honestly to keep everyone informed and to spread the excitement of this great new addition to the park. Lastly the park has shared two pictures of testing, then has a few webcam shots of it test, and right now I have 45 items to share with everyone. So as I wait for an answer this will be a trip report, however I will wait and see... Hope y'all enjoyed the descriptions thus far, and hopefully my gripes make a point and are relatable, give it time and we'll see what happens here on this thread. Hopefully I get to share the pictures and video with all of you here soon, I'd love for you to all see the views we got. The testing was fantastic to watch.

@KIGMGREG: First run on Bashee complete! Wow! #Banshee Taken from Greg's Twitter. http://twitter.com/KIGMGREG

We were all new once, and I don't think there are many members here who haven't committed a minor TOS violation. Heck, sometimes the mobile site makes us break TOS without knowing it by double-posting for no reason. *Not condoning TOS violations, mind you, but not every violation needs to be pointed out.

There it goes again!!! Exiting the Zero-G roll. This image can be found on Kings Island's Website

I think from several sources from the park it was said that they are waiting for expansion. I think the park was trying to correct a trend at all Cedar Fair parks of poor placement of rides. Such as Son of Beast blocking the way for Action Zone growth and at Cedar Point where Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster, although good rides, got rid of many great views and scenic locations at the park. But currently the new outlook is rides like Gatekeeper and Banshee being strategically placed on the midway for increased aesthetics and allows for expansion.

Maybe the entrance will look like the gate from the opening scene in the animation! (Wishful Thinking) Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I wonder if the entrance to the que line the mason was working on, in the photo Don posted on Twitter, is going to look like a gothic cemetery gate. Like the one pictured here: That'd be really cool. Also the tag out fences behind him resemble cemetery fencing too.

Going through the Dive Loop! This image can be found on Kings Island's Facebook page.

Caught her on what I think was her last run at the top of the lift. Kind of reminded me of the ride rendering we've looked at so often. Larger version: https://www.flickr.com/photos/120537746@N08/13174663564/player/4d7eda2462 Captured from here

To repeat a general public service announcement: All park property is currently closed to the public, including the passenger drop-off area. Being there to take pictures, to see Banshee test, or for any other reason is strictly prohibited. If you are authorized to be there (eg. as an employee), you are not authorized to share pictures taken from any off-limits area. Right now, the entire park is an off-limits area.

Drop Tower is testing!

Yes, the current Scrambler is the one that opened in 1969 at Coney, as Dave Althoff has confirmed through the serial number plate. All Eli Bridge rides have a serial number plate that end in a - followed by the year of production. In this case it is -69. I believe that I got the information on the 1957 addition from the Charles Jacques Jr. book on Coney Island. I`m not sure if that is accurate as the history section on Coney`s website does not indicate when the original Scrambler was installed in the park. So if there was a replacement Scrambler installed, I do not know why. Eli Bridge first introduced the Scrambler in 1955. Wow, 2001. I was just 16 at the time. And used to post on Coasterbuzz. I can`t remember the last time that I posted on there. I still check out their forums and news section a lot though. It is amazing how quickly time flies. I had lunch just the other day with a good friend from this site, and we were mentioning and discussing the same thing with how time flies. Its hard to believe that Diamondback is now five years old already! Time flies when you are having fun!

I doubt Diamondback will be empty. I know I still plan on riding it!

I hope Don supplies us with an offride to watch. Please? With sugar on top?

It's running again! From Kings Island Webcam.

That is an interesting question. I had always assumed that the 1969 addition was Coney's first and only. In any case, I thought that since the subject was brought up that I would post this pic. This is an original press used photograph that I own of the Scrambler operating at Coney Island the very last day of seasonal operations 1971. Some day I will scan all of the Coney/KI original photographs I've amassed over the last 15 years.

Please, don't double post! If no one has replied since you have posted and you want to add a thought, edit your post please! Catching up on this forum specifically as I haven't been on most of the day, 2 pages I scrolled through were mostly multiple posts that jumped topics. Again, please refer to the TOS. I love your enthusiasm and your thoughts, but please make sure you follow the TOS and forum etiquette. I know you are trying to help but please leave moderating for the Moderators.

I remember when Gatekeeper first started testing; All the webcams were shut off for a couple of days. Kings Island, we would like to that you for keeping the webcams on, and also keeping us updated with pictures throughout the day as well as the entire off-season. You guys have been nothing short of GREAT!

I have specifically been asked to remind you that the park has requested that everyone stay off property - including the person pickup area during the testing. Also, the park has been in he process of supplying photos and coverage to various media outlets, so they request that you don't post personal photos on here even if they're from the Great Wolf Lodge or wherever. I'm just the messenger. Ryan

Time for another GWL meet-up!

Banshee is still sleeping this morning........ .....Though, Drop Tower is far from tired...... (Image captured from Kings Island's Banshee Construction Cam)

^ A car analogy where Son of Beast is a Cadillac... never saw that coming.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/online-fun/webcams

The trains look tiny compared to the ride.

Excited to know it is testing! I sure hope it has that B&M roar like Raptor!

ITS A BIRD, ITS A PLANE....... EDIT: I believe taking and posting pictures should be allowed as long as you are NOT taking the picture/video on Kings Islands property.

I wonder, is Banshee still sleeping as she was up and down all night?

The funny thing is that whenever I actually go to click Terms of Service (TOS), I, in turn, receive a disclaimer, saying "Oops! That page can't be found."

Thanks, did the best I could sans media And glad I'm not the only one..It does seem Kinzel like the more I think about it..hopefully this won't continue..Also they want all traffic to go to them. Ok..but look here..80 times this page has been viewed by someone. 80! One hour later on a late Saturday night on a drinking holiday weekend and 80 hits to this.. They want everything on their twitter, but people here want this stuff too..Like I said, 45 just from today..Free marketing Cedar Fair..free marketing.

Many (including me) will take advantage of Banshee's newness and ride other rides while everyone else rushes to Banshee just like people did for Gatekeeper earlier in the day. However, unlike Gatekeeper, i don't think this ride will be empty at night. EDIT: I sure did guess it!

Obviously it wasn't BB1's intent to be insensitive, and you all knew what he meant. There's something to be said for trying to be as sensitive to others as possible, but it's not really a poster's responsibility to go over everything he or she posts with a fine-toothed comb, picking out and removing anything anybody ever could possibly see as "offensive." So please, get over it.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/online-fun/webcams Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Quite frankly the pictures being questioned have everything to do with the topic at hand.

I agree This site has changed so much during the years, and some of the changes are not positive ones. I don't see how Kings Island can tell us you can't post pictures to this site that were not even taken on Kings Island's property. Last I checked this is a Kings Island fan site not ran by Kings Island or even owned by Kings Island, but it is what it is.

As long as your not on private property you can take and post photos, paparazzi do the same thing with celebs. The way I see it, we (the users), are the paparazzi taking photos and bringing more media attention to the park, which last time I checked is a great thing. Not sure why the park is being so negative about photos of the park that are taken from outside the property. It's not Area 51. It's a park in the middle of a populated part of Cincinnati. Also the park does not own GWL, the park may have asked that no photos be taken from the hotel, they do not have that authority. It's the same when I took photos of Firehawk construction before it was announced, that's pubic airspace, other than government buildings or private airspace under certain conditions can legally say that any flight over or photography is prohibited.

I don't get why posting pictures you have taken legally isn't allowed. Im not going up there so it doesn't have to do with me I just don't get why they would care about those.

Please give a link and credit to where the picture came from.

I wish I could afford a GWL trip. Really need a get away. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, please keep away from all of the off-limit areas. We don't want another incident with this. Anyway, wow! I am proud to say we have a Banshee on the loose!

While looking at the webcam I thought I saw what looked like a train on the first part of the lift hill... Looks like I was right!!

Don't you dare look down upon us. *glaring up hunched over at the keyboard*

The Scrambler in operation at Kings Island opened in 1969 at Coney Island.

I think she's probably getting used to all the tossing and turning by now....

This was the first time I've ever said anything referring her to the TOS. I get the excitement and I spoke with sincerity and didn't make it a huge deal. Just pointed it out in a respectful way, as apparently PMs have been ignored and I kept it respectful. Stashua123, moderators aren't always able to catch everything. I have always assisted in sharing the TOS and suggesting it be followed. I have been here through the good and bad, while doing what I just posted without being contacted by Dane or the other moderators telling me to stop. Until they do, I will continue to post as I have since joining KIC. I feel like a lot of users here don't question when Terpy posts almost exactly what I posted (but in his interpretation) but the moment someone who is careful about what they post, users jump all over them. Dane has asked all of us in the TOS to remain respectful to each other, yet most look over that aspect. Again, I pointed out an issue for the first time with this user and kept it respectful. And again Stashua123, I respect you for telling me to leave it to the moderators, but again, I'm doing what I've been doing since before you were a member. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I just drove by Kings Island. I must say it looks very depressing at night when everything is shut off. The only ride that had lights on were Banshee and I could see some light at Delirium. I couldn't even see Diamondback. Ahh I can't wait until I see all the lights on again!

I was looking through pictures of Kings Island on Instagram and stumbled upon a fly-over picture of Banshee, taken just a few hours ago. The picture at the link below is probably one of the best Banshee pictures I have seen. Truly incredible view! pilotjustin95 on Instagram

We have guests that are more excited about our live shows than our roller coasters, that visit the park specifically for the shows. For these guests, the Cirque Imagine announcement was as exciting as the news was to others that we were building Banshee.

You should drive by Cedar Point..it's so cooky.nothing but a bunch of strobe lights in complete darkness

This circle?