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This is a photo that was sent to me by a long-time Kings Island employee. It is a circa 1978 photo his mother standing in front of one of The Beast's tunnels. The Beast made its debut on a rainy Friday, the 13th in 1979 and still stands as the world's longest wooden roller coaster.

I took the weather suggestion to heart and asked my dog what the weather was like today. She went outside dry and came back in wet. I can share her forecasts as time allows. Her future forecasts are a little "ruff" to be too accurate, however, she's always right on target as far as current weather. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would love to see that picture. Being so long ago I have very few memories of my trip to Opryland.Scan it and upload it to photobucket or some other host. I think I figured it out. This was probably around 1985-86. I'm the short little guy in the front.

I use a weather rock. Rock wet-rain, rock dry- sunny, rock gone - windy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

She's just upset that when her son asked if she wanted to see the new roller coaster up close, she thought she'd be riding it. Or angry that he has her on a construction site when she got dressed up to spend the day with him.

Great photo! However, you mean 1979, not 1972, unless Beast somehow debuted 6 years before that construction photo was taken

Yes, if they'll bring back deep-fried cheese on a stick

I hope weather dog is not gone due to windy conditions. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

^Dude they were (except the tos post) just trying to joke around with you. None of us meant to be insulting or anything. We all joke around alot, especially Terp

When I was a 1st Year Apprentice Electrician, the Journeyman I was working with told me "Kid (Ive always looked young for my age and He thought I was 18 or 19), take your last feeling out to the parking lot and put it back in your car, this is the real World." My Commandant in the Police Academy 2 years prior to that said the same thing, in a less PC manner. Moral.... if you cant handle it as a 13-15 year old, you are in for a ROUGH life as an Adult in the Adult World.

*Insert Kansas and Toto reference here*

Going through Dinosaurs Alive! and imagining that they REALLY ARE ALIVE; and having a little house finch hop from between the bushes and scare the crap out of me.

Be aware your travel times are way too optimistic. On I-95, it's very rare there aren't delays for construction, traffic, etc. As an example, I live 17 miles from Six Flags America, all but two of it the Beltway. It's typically a 45 minute trip each way. Planning on speeding? Don't. The Carolinas are rigid enforcers, as is Georgia, Maryland, etc. I'll spare you my DC camera enforcement sermon.

Last year, the Reds Grille was doing the same on the first Friday in May. The bartender told me that there were no alcohol sales allowed until after 5pm because of the education days and all of the kids in the park. It would therefore seem reasonable to assume that when education days end, so will the no alcohol before 5pm rule. (Though when you ass-u-me, you make an... )

With the opening of Falcons Fury, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, and HP and the Escape from Gringott's...I expect Florida to be issuing it's own Fastpass just to get into the state this summer.

Can't wait to meet and greet TheBeast1116 on the 28th.....should be FUN!!

In this case, the "dude" is a dudette. And she's threatened to leave before. Then comes back. Again. Go. Or stay. But the melodrama? Terp, who has never understood people who announce their leaving unless it's due to impending demise, etc.

Well, I just went yesterday, so here are some highlights from that trip: -Nearly everything was a walk-on, and nothing was more than a 2-3 train wait MAXIMUM. Wow. Kings Island becomes so much more fun when the crowds are like this! -Banshee was as epic after a 5 minute wait as it was after 4 1/2 hour one...I'd rather wait 5 minutes though please. -Diamondback was running amazingly well. Very smooth for the most part, and with the best airtime I think I may have ever had EVER on anything outside of my Wildebeest Solo. -The Beast was very fun, even though it didn't quite seem to be running full blast for a section of the ride (Brake shed through middle tunnel- the turns after the tunnel picked up the pace and had nice laterals). But the rest of the ride was awesome. -I won Boo Blasters with a score of 660 versus my sister and her friend. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! -Getting BLASTED on White Water Canyon by the cannons. Can you say "Soaked"? -The chicken from both The Chicken Shack & some place in Rivertown (I don't know where my sister's friend's dad got it) was incredibly tasty. Those are just some highlights from my awesome day. BTW, if you're interested here is a link to the full trip report: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/29451-mcsalsas-coaster-adventures-the-uncrowded-island-may-13th-2014/#entry616101

I still think its incredibly smooth. But to each his own I guess.

I wanted to mention something after reading the posts from TheBeast1116. If you (anyone on this forum, not singling out TheBeast1116) are a minor looking to meet up, please make sure you tell your parents. If they are not comfortable with you meeting people from online please be obedient. Your folks love you and want you to be safe. I am an adult. Even when my daughter and I did the first meet up, I let someone know we were meeting up with people from this forum. It's just necessary to be safe. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It was a metaphor

I just don't understand the sudden oversight here. Absolutely proper names should be capitalized and information should be accurate more than it's inaccurate, but what major amusement park doesn't have an unofficial dedicated fan site or discussion board or community? And of the ones that come immediately to mind, ours here at KICentral.com/forums is absolutely among the best moderated, most positive, pro-park, open discussion communities out there. This is not an outrageous garbage dump of accusations and anti-park / anti-Cedar-Fair nonsense. Altogether, this is wonderful and positive community that shares a common love and appreciation and respect for Kings Island and its direction under Cedar Fair. It's odd that "the park" even has a presence here in the form of DonKIPR. That's not typically the case - at least publicly - on the limitless other discussion boards out there. Look at Theme Park Review, which runs rampant with speculation, rumor, and downright negativity. The owner of that site is infamously rude - sometimes even offensive - and posts his questionable comments and opinions right alongside exclusive interviews and ERT photo reports, associating his particular brand of annoying-crazy with the site's exclusive content provided by parks! And yet, guess who's at Banshee media day? Look, too, at MiceChat, a community focused solely on Disney Parks (Disney being one of the most valiant defenders of intellectual property in the world today) where speculation and rumor are off the charts, every day, constantly. The site specializes in "leaks" and inside information from anonymous sources. Certainly there is no official "DisneyParksPR" account posting vaguely-threatening comments and sometimes being downright off-putting to the community there. (EDIT: Imagine "DisneyParksPR" commenting: "Not sure where you got all this inaccurate information but this site sure has a lot of it..." It's sort of laughable to imagine. Sort of like "Wow this is a pretty fun site. Too bad... Hope nothing happens to it.") There was a time when fans of Kings Island were celebrated for their enthusiasm and interaction. There was quite another time when they were seemingly ignored. The presence of an official "PR" account in this community seemed a shift toward the "old way," but now it's actually become off-putting. Does Kings Island have every right to view these boards and even participate on them? Sure, why not? And if something here falls out of alignment with their legal expectations, I should expect the site administrators to be contacted. But the downright dismissive tone is becoming tiresome... We're not the enemy, or some horrible vitriol-spewing Facebook fans. We're not even a "bad" fan community, as far as fan communities go. I'm glad for the park's presence here and I understand the account owner's obligation to defend the product he represents, but at this point it's like... we as a community are not harmful. We are not tarnishing Kings Island or Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. It's just frustrating to feel like we're being moderated by a multi-million dollar company when we're just fans having fun, being optimistic, and speculating together. It first occurred to me in a personal way two years ago when the park tweeted "What would you like to see added to the park map for 2012?" I said "TREES!" The "park" responded "It's a map of attractions, not of individual trees." Like, is that professional? Is it kind? I understand that as the most aggressive consumers of the product, we can be annoying. But c'mon. In what universe would Disney respond to a fan that way on Twitter? Universal? SeaWorld Parks? Six Flags? (EDIT: By the way, trees were added. Or... bushes. Either way, The Beast no longer looks like it's sitting in a field, making the map a much more accurate representation of the ride, thank you very much!) And that tone appears to be mirrored here, again representing the park as a sort of "big brother" whose presence here is only to scold us or keep us in line and remind us that we're in thin ice all day every day. Very odd. Not very welcoming. Not very FUN. Don't get me wrong: We're lucky that the park we love has become an active presence on this site. We're lucky that rather than ignoring us, news gets posted here and we're invited to participate in exclusive events at the park we all love. We're lucky that, in general, it seems Kings Island's management views this community as the positive, helpful, enthusiastic, and beneficial community it is. But the oversight... the sort of vaguely dismissive treatment... it's not exactly precedent, and that's my point.

I'm much more excited about a Rampage cooked up in Alabama. But then, I'm funny that way.

You should have bumped my thread about the event Anyway......I was excited for tomorrow, now I'm really excited.

Riding the Flight of Fear was very fun on Monday! The ride operator will say a different phrase every time they send a train out of the station, depending on a number 1-100. The first one I heard was LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAAAIN!" which made me laugh way too much. Also inside, it was not as dark as usual which was exciting. My whole visit on the 12th was pretty fun. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/29425-vermillionloves-trip-reports-feel-free-to-post-also/?p=615846

Have a fun visit to KI! (By the way, people here can sometimes be humorous or sarcastic in their responses. This doesn't mean that anyone was making fun of you.)

^Wow Voicetek, trying not to leave a "one word" post

September 2015? Yea the crowds will be smaller by then Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope they take absolutely all the time they need to ensure safe operation. I really wouldn't want to go thud on my vacation.

My cousin always says, "don't go away angry, just go away." Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

After the ride would be the best time to wash your hands or grab the Purell, anyway. Many people touch the ride restraints, some decide to spit, and a few lose their lunch. Those with personal space issues must have been very uncomfortable outside the front gate on Opening Day, just after they started letting people in.

While I've never been accused of invading someone's person space in line, there is one thing that I have been trying to stop doing. Without thinking or looking I will grab the Speed-Rail. Most of the time its fine, nothing happens. Occasionally though there is that awkward moment when I touch the hand of someone who is also grabbing the rail. Then we make eye contact and in that split second we are both thinking the same thing, "Was that an accident that I should ignore or do I need to run screaming to a security guard?" The latter has yet to happen. After I determine it was just an accident, I will then try to gauge the personal hygiene of the person whom I just attempted to hold hands with. "Can I wait until after the ride to use the restroom and wash my hands or do I need to run screaming to the nearest Purell dispenser?" (In my mind the option of running and screaming is always there somewhere.) A worse situation is when I have my hand on the Speed-Rail and someone on the other side backs into it. Even though we both know it was an accident, there is never a time when touching a strangers butt isn't awkward.

I am having a love affair with Diamondback. It was a walk-on or practically a walk-on during my two visits through the day. I rode six times in the morning and only once in the afternoon because I wanted to go to the Cosi science and explosions show. Just to mix things up from my tradition of front seat or rear car on every roller coaster, I decided to try dead center of Diamondback's train. Oh my! The beautiful air I was getting at the top of each hill, I loved it! I think I prefer 5-1 or 2, but 5-3 and 4 are acceptable as well.

^ Love the picture, great memories

This isn't a Gold/Platinum Pass perk but I really like the idea of the flash drives they are doing now for ride photos. You can utilize your pass discount to purchase the flash drive for around $20 (if I remember right) and then each picture after that will be $5.49 with your discount. We never bought pictures because one they are too pricy and two they usually ended up getting messed up. The flash drive and discount has solved the problem. Plus once on the drive they are yours to do with as you wish. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

darn that's old school. People didn't smile in photos, they wanted to be all stoic.

Or visit with someone who has a Platinum Pass when visiting other Cedar Fair parks....right Gator? Free parking for us at Wonderland!

Not trying to backseat mod here, but since you're a newer member here on KIC please keep in mind that one word responses are NOT acceptable per the Terms of Service. The TOS can be viewed here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/4128-terms-of-service/ Welcome to KIC!

Did that not add to the excitement? Like being pushed down a hill in a Meijer shopping cart, when you rode Son of Beast you knew anything could happen!!

That's under discussion here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/29254-holiday-world-2014-park-map/

If you could care less, then you do care some...

I have a dog.

The 23rd? May as well ask your dog. Seriously.

Yeah I never demanded answers. I just said I've never understood the secrecy about rides that are down and that I would think it would be easier for them to be upfront with information instead of getting frustrated with misinformation. I also don't think its a big deal for people to question why something is down as we are all fans and interested.

I don't think anyone has said that it's wrong to question (or even to speculate about) what's wrong with Drop Tower. (Just avoid posting information that is false.) What gets really old are the comments criticizing people like Don for not volunteering specific information. Kings Island doesn't have to be interactive with this site at all. I sometimes wonder why they continue to do so when they get mostly backlash and criticism from us. Regarding Drop Tower, I imagine that they prefer that the media focus be on Banshee and the rest of the Action Zone attractions that are open already. After all, they just opened the biggest investment in park history. I'm sure that KI wants Drop Tower open just as much as we* do. *excluding Duncan and Lindzey

Being a part of this site and/buying a park ticket/season pass doesn't entitle us to any information. Rides go down from time to time. It happens.

Interesting. So do you take this approach with with every product you buy into? "Sir, the burger you want is not available even though Its on the menu. No I will not tell you why. Have a nice day though" Actually, I have had something similar happen to me at a resturant and I did not feel I was owed an explaination. "'X item' is not available, would you like something else?" Knowing why, or throwing a fit about it, wouldn't make it anymore available to me. Same goes for Drop Tower. Knowing why it isn't operating isn't going to make it start operating any sooner.

It bugs me when people call out other people for doing their jobs. We are not owed any information about when the ride is going to open. Maybe its down, maybe there is no crew, maybe Mason has said no rides with 90 degree drops. Who cares. The ride is not up right now. If that bugs you then, honestly, get over it. For everyone else who gets bugged about what has to be said on here and how it has to be said, get over it. Seriously grow up. No one cares about your complaining and all you do is potentially ruin some of the perks this site has built with KI. There once was a time, where Don answered questions we posted to him. Not because he had to but because he wanted to. If you want to complain and make up stories please go visit kiextreme. Im sure you can get some people to drink your crazy over there... On a more on topic statement. Never been a huge fan of rides like Drop Tower. Something about the heights and just sitting there. I think I may have only ridden the ride less than a handful of times...

It hasn't been.

The ride has been open this year. Thousands of guests have ridden it since Opening Day. A lot of inaccurate information about the park has been posted on this site this year.