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I personally think the front seat of the Grand Carousel is the best.

I-71 will be closed in both directions at the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge (mile marker 34, in Warren County) on Sunday, June 1, 2014 (tomorrow) from 5:00am through as late as 10:00am. Those approaching Kings Island from the north may need to take an alternate route. The best way to get to the park will be via the posted detour. Those familiar with the area could continue on OH-48 past I-71 to Mason Rd. http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D08/Newsreleases/Pages/I-71-detour-scheduled-for-Sunday,-June-1.aspx

A friend of mine just gave me this awesome gift...I have never seen or heard of these before. It's really well made, like a real dollar bill. Anyone know the story on these?

I love Diamondback. See what I did there?

Remember to please capitalize the names of Kings Island's rides and attractions. Why not try as many seats as you can? Many have their own preferences, they may not be yours. Many enjoy the very front or the very back on most coasters.

^ If you're not getting a soft drink, subtract ~$4 from the combo price. Showing your gold or platinum season pass would save you another 10%. Or get it all season for $72 or $84 up front.

As many of you have heard, Kings Island's VP of maintenance and construction, Russ Flatt, is retiring, with Banshee being the last project that he worked on. Kings Island on Facebook: "Today we celebrated and honored our VP of maintenance, Russ Flatt, who is retiring after spending 50 years in the amusement park industry." Photo / Caption : Don Helbig / Kings Island via Facebook

But I doubt they will. Say what you will, but The Disney Organization knows (correctly or not) that its people, ways and culture are vastly superior to others...in fact I truly believe it thinks it has no real competition in the parks world. Such high and mighty thinking has in the past greatly contributed to the fall of once mighty companies as IBM, KMart, Sears, RKO, RCA, Philco, General Tire, and perhaps most of all General Motors.

I saw Cirque Imagine today with my son. He normally can't hold still but he loved this. It's a fantastic show and a perfect fit for the park.

When I first saw the thread, at first glance the title read "Beat seats"....I'm tired, it was a long morning at work....need a nap. o_o

I have never been to Coney. I should probably rectify that this summer.

^...and you might feel like you're 33 when you're done riding it.

Some consider Surf Dog to be a coaster, while others often do not. RCDB (which is by no means the be-all and end-all) does not consider it to be one. I think its status (and perhaps that of powered coasters in general) is up for... interpretation. A task that I understand you excel at.

^ I would add CompuServe to that list as well...I remember having a "discussion" with a CompuServe programmer in a bar near their HQ in the mid-90s who was convinced no one could ever do "online stuff" as well as them!

My friend and I are doing CFK next Sunday and we spent a good amount of rides on Racer trying to find the best seat and to prepare ourselves for the event. Racer is still just as much fun as it was when I was a kid! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good, because that means shorter lines for me. jcgoble3, who loves Mission: Space so much that it is tied for his favorite attraction at WDW with Star Tours

Null vote, only because I haven't ridden Berserker or any other swinging ship that goes upside down. That said, given the reputation that Berserker gets around here, I'm surprised it has 30% of the vote so far.

My last visit was not actually entirely special. My NEXT visit is the one I'm hoping will be the most memorable visit of the season (perhaps even moreso than Media Day). I am excluding Coasting for Kids in that listing, because that event is so awesome and special that it's unfair to compare anything else to it.

Part Four Sorry, the Cardinals No Longer Play at the Fairgrounds After dinner we went to the Giant Wheel, which Tom and Jeff and not done yet. A group of teenage boys got in line behind us, bouncing their basketballs. Since the Giant Wheel is bulit on a slope, the platform for the queue is a metal "mesh", so the bouncing resonated quite loudly. All I could think of was "Terpy would not like this!" The ride op asked them to stop bouncing their basketballs, and they did for a while. They started again, and when I looked over, the ride op had one of the basketballs in her hand. She told them they could get it back after the ride. One boy, apparently the one who has his ball confiscated, said "I don't care, I can just win another one." As we were in line, I looked up and saw what I thought would make an interesting picture from my angle. Unfortunately I had already put my good camera in the car, so all I had was my phone, hence the difference in picture quality. The basketballs started bouncing again, and I noticed a Security guard had entered the ride area. He kindly escorted the boys out of line after they repeatedly refused to follow the ride op's instructions to stop their dribbling. We only had time for one more ride and since Tom and Jeff hadn't done the 5D Cinema yet, that's where we went. In the pre-show room, the ride op did his spiel and had to apologize to the people in row 3 that their pre-show screen was turned off by a guest who thought it would be funny to turn it off. To turn it back on apparently requires a "reboot," which he said Maintenance decided against because the park wasn't open for very much longer. Since we were in row 1, we were right next to the ride op. As the pre-show was starting, Tom asked him if he was sick of it yet. He admitted that he was getting there, but said he had made up a dance for the song that plays during the video. As we exited the theater, Tom said that he would like to congratulate Ed Hart if we saw him. We made our way towards the front gate, amidst lots of bouncing basketballs. Just as we were getting close to the exit, we saw Ed to our left on his phone. We waited until he was done, and Tom & Jeff went up to congratulate him on a job well done. I hung back because I didn't feel right meeting him while I was wearing a t-shirt sporting the logo of one of their closest competitors' newest attraction. Tom said that Ed seemed nice and appreciated the sentiments. Inside the front gate, quite a few teens were socailizing. They weren't causing any problems that I could see, but we did have to weave our way through them. We said our goodbyes. Tom and Jeff were going back the next day, with Tom to take videos for Coaster Crew then. I had another two hour drive ahead of me, which thankfully was uneventful. I've always kind of liked the drive between Cincinnati & Louisville. Epilogue They Did the Impossible! Kentucky Kingdom did the impossible... they won me over! This visit was much, much better than my only other time there. It was nowhere near the nightmare/circus/fiasco that I had expected it to be. The associates were friendly and the crowds, for the most part, behaved themselves. Whenever there was a problem, Security or management was there and took care of the situation swiftly. Sure, there are spots here and there that need to be worked on, but it was opening day so I was more forgiving than I would be if the park had been open for a while. I noticed that the families were mostly there for the waterpark. There's just something about that region and their waterparks... Holiday World's main draw is the waterpark too! Hopefully Security and management keep up the good work with any problems (aka unruly teenagers) that might occur. That was one of the main problems with our last visit, and from what I hear from others that was the one thing that bothered a lot of people in the past. I hope that as the word gets out about the park being strict, problem children will learn that they can't get away with what was once acceptable under previous ownership and possibly choose not to behave that way or choose not to even come to the park. I think the price was maybe a little steep for what they had to offer in the dry park alone, but add in the waterpark and it's a good deal. But you know what... I'm perfectly fine with that. I know that Six Flags' extremely low price points for the park led to the park being a babysitter of sorts in the past, and hopefully these higher prices will keep out more of the riff-raff (wow, I'm starting to sound like a grumpy old man!). I'd rather have a good time at a higher price than a miserable experience at a lower price. I'm actually looking forward to going back next year! But Terpy, be warned... you may want to bring earplugs for the basketballs!

Part Three Is That My Patty? There was quite a line at Swampwater Jack's, but I was forgiving because it was opening day. We got up to the counter and they were out of what I wanted, the grilled Cajun chicken sandwich (so proud of myself in being good and not going for the pizza, burger or fried chicken, although they all looked good!). A girl behind the counter asked me what I needed and I told her. She found out for me that they were on the grill now. Tom & Jeff got their food, paid and sat down while I waited... and waited... and waited. In the meantime I watched their operation. Lots of people were ordering chili cheese fries, which had to be ordered at the counter, and then the kitchen was asked to make them. This caused a lot of the backlog in the line, so I'm sure they'll find a way to fix that. Finally my chicken was ready. I got in line for the registers and only the one on the right was working; the one on the left had been working just a few minutes before but was having computer issues and was being worked on by a supervisor. After about five minutes, I started to eat my fries (cold fries are one of my least favorite things) and then my chicken sandwich. The chicken was a little dry so I decided to save that until I could put something on it. The register on the right went down just as the left one started working. A manager came in and worked on the right one, but then in it's first transaction back online the left started having problems again. There were three people ahead of me in line and all four of us were gathered around the register counter. After a while, the manager told us to just go ahead through without paying. This was a nice gesture that I greatly appreciated after waiting so long. I put Heinz hot sauce on my sandwich from the pump dispenser, got to the table, took a bite and my mouth was on fire! I said to Tom and Jeff, "I need to remember to taste the hot sauce before I dump it on next time!" I put some mayo on it to cool it down, which helped a great deal.

Part Two Line Jumping is Not a Sporting Event at Thunder Run The end of the line at Thunder Run was near the sign that said it was an hour wait. The beginning of the queue is wide, then it rounds a corner to go into 3 switchback queues. As we were nearing the corner, a group of four teens cut in front of us to join their friends, who were four groups ahead of us. The guy two groups behind them spoke up and told them to go the end of the line. The teens in the original group told him that their friends had gotten in line with them at the beginning, which we all knew wasn't true because we had all gotten there around the same time and nobody had left. The guy started raising his voice and swearing at the teens, dropping the F-bomb along the way. That's when one of the girls who had cut started in on him. "You need to watch your mouth, you're talking to somebody younger than you. Sh**..." The arguing continued, with both of them raising their voices, and her adding more colorful language "You need to watch your f***in' mouth, I don't need your sh**". We spotted a member of management on the exit ramp from the ride, which was almost directly overhead. I yelled up to him "We have line jumpers down here!" He asked who they were and I pointed them out. The manager had to yell over their arguing to be heard, he told them to leave the line and they did. After they left, our group and the group behind us laughed about the irony of Miss Line Jumper telling the guy to watch his mouth while dropping F- and S-bombs herself. You know how most switchback queues have a swinging gate or chain that can be used to adjust the lines according to crowd size? KK uses chains, but we noticed a few of these were missing at the park. When we got to the end of the third switchback to make our way up the stairs to the station, a group of teens came through the spot that was missing a chain, which would allow them to miss going through two lanes of the queue. I said, "Excuse me, the line goes that way, not this way!" The first teen said, "Who are you talking to?" and I said "You guys." He said, "I don't care, you can get in front of me." I quickly blocked their way and the rest of my group and the group behind us kept close behind me. The teen then said to his friends, "The next person to say something to me better be ready to suck my ****." As we were going up the stairs, a security guard was coming down them from the station. As he passed I said, "You better put a chain down there in the line because you have people going through that and line jumping." He asked who did, but since I didn't make eye contact with the group and kept my head down while talking to them, I couldn't point them out with certainty. I had an idea of who it was, but didn't want to be wrong. Security said that he would need to know who it was before he could do anything. I said "All I'm saying is there needs to be a chain there, something to keep in mind for the future." I looked back down the stairs a few seconds later, and the security guard was escorting a group out of the line. I guess other people behind me had pointed them out, and they were the ones I had suspected. I rode 2nd to last seat, and it was running great with some nice little pops of airtime! We then headed over to the front of the park and rode Tin Lizzies. The ride op had to give a long spiel explaining the rules as each car was loaded. I asked her "Are you tired of saying all that yet?" She smiled and said "I am, and I'm here for a few more hours!" I said, "And just think, it's only opening day!" We went over to Lightning Run, and I tried the test seat (which, according to reports, hadn't been there during the ACE event the week before). The light didn't light up when I tried. Tom pushed down on the second seat to see how far it had to go before it lit and he said there was about an inch difference between my lap bar and the other one. Close... We were getting hungry, so we agreed on Swampwater Jack's. I had been in there before to look at the menu, and they had some good choices.

Viking Fury is an enjoyable ride that the whole family will love. Berzerker is all the fun of an asthma attack combined with a claustrophobic's worst nightmare and wrapped in a ride cycle that feels like it's never going to end. Berzerker is the definition of cruel and unusual punishment and has probably been considered for use at Guantanamo Bay. It brings me joy to imagine my enemies riding Berzerker. I chose Viking Fury.

Prologue June 1998 In early June 1998, a group of about seven Admissions associates and one person from the Information Systems department from Paramount's Kings Island ventured two hours south to visit Kentucky Kingdom and enjoy the park, anticipating a ride on their new coaster, Twisted Sisters, and everything else the park had to offer. Little did they know it would be one of the worst park experiences they would ever have. We carpooled down, and the day started off well enough. We rode Hellavator, Thunder Run, T2, and Vampire. We didn't find out until we were at the park that Twisted Sisters had not opened for the season yet, which was disappointing because we were really looking forward to it. But overall, we had fun until Chang. When we got to Chang, the only access to the station was by stairs. There were no ramps or elevators, so my friend Brian, who is in a wheelchair, couldn't get up there. The rest of us waited in line and when we got to the station, we asked the ride op about how our friend could get up there. I will never forget his exact words: "Well, if he's in a wheelchair he shouldn't be riding anything." I asked "Excuse me, what did you say?" in disbelief. He said "Yeah, if he's in a wheelchair he shouldn't be riding anything at all." Now you've got to know Brian. A skiing accident when he was in high school broke his neck. Yes, he uses a wheelchair, but he can walk short distances as long as he's holding on to something. He is very active; he still skis, waterskis, goes boating, and has played wheelchair rugby on the international level. He just missed making the US Paralympic Rugby Team (which is profiled in the excellent documentary Murderball). He has ridden every ride at Kings Island, including King Cobra after his accident. So when the ride op said this to us, we were shocked. Needless to say, Brian was less than pleased when we reported back to him. When we decided to ride again, Brian figured he would take that time to get gas in his car, so he and another friend left the parking lot, filled up, and when he tried to use his receipt to re-enter the parking lot like at Kings Island, he was told he would have to pay again. After arguing with the parking lot attendant, he relented and shelled out the money again. It wasn't until years later, through this site, that I found out the park didn't control the parking lot. During the afternoon, a bad storm blew in. There was no notification over the park's PA system about it like we were used to at KI. We sought shelter in the one and only indoor restaurant. We ordered pizza and one person in our party ordered a beer. The food service worker told him "You're going to have to come back here and pour it yourself." Huh? He asked why, and was told that they didn't have anyone working at the time who was old enough to serve beer. He asked to speak with a supervisor, and after a ten minute wait one appeared and was able to serve him a beer. Things got crazy as the storm raged on outside. The place was packed, and there were lots of unruly teens in the restaurant. One of the food service workers knew some of the teens, grabbed the microphone that was on the counter near the register and started yelling at her friends "GIMME BACK MY PEN! YOU STOLE MY PEN! I WANT MY PEN BACK!" over and over. Then two groups of teens decided that they didn't like each other, or somebody looked at someone the wrong way, and they started throwing trays at each other. We narrowly missed being hit, but one innocent mom near us was not so lucky and was hit in the head. One of our party ran to the counter and asked the worker to call Security and First Aid. When the two First Aid workers showed up to check on the woman, we told them they needed to get Security in there too to calm the crowd. They told us that they were also Security, but they couldn't do anything because there were too many people and only two of them. By that time, the storm had cleared and we made our way to Guest Relations. We told them everything that had happened and demanded a full refund. The woman there said all the could do for us was a voucher for free pizza and beer. We told her that wasn't acceptable since we had already just eaten. She then said they could offer us tickets to come back another day. We told her that also wouldn't work, because there was no way that we would ever be coming back. She went in the back, and about five minutes later said she could give us our money back if we left the park at that time. We said that was absolutely fine with us! It was many, many years before I even considered giving them a second chance. After hearing from other enthusiasts that it was a decent park (and some even going as far as saying it was their favorite park!), I decided during the '09-'10 off-season that I was going to go to opening day 2010. I even put the date on my calendar. But then, it was announced that Six Flags was not going to open the park, and I considered it dead.

Let's go down the list: Diamondback: Front two rows or back row. Two different experiences, both awesome. Banshee: Front Left or back right for the first drop. I really like the zero-g roll from row 3 as well. Beast and Racer: Any row that is in the middle of a CAR - where you are on the TRAIN is immaterial. Basically, take any number that is a multiple of three and then subtract one. Those are the row numbers you want. On Racer, the third row has stellar airtime, but the ride WILL be rough in that seat. Firehawk: Doesn't really matter and seating is typically assigned. Vortex: Front row for the best view, first row of the fifth car for the smoothest ride. Invertigo: Front/Back for a great view on the lift hills. Closer to the middle for the most consistent ride throughout. Adventure Express: Any row, any time, any day. The coaster is surprisingly awesome for its size. Especially when the tunnel theming is working. The Bat: The experience is pretty similar all over, so I like the front for the view. Flight of Fear: You get some interesting hangtime near the front after the MCBR. You don't in the back. Even numbered rows are roomier if you happen to be tall or large. Backlot: The train is very short, so the experience doesn't change a whole lot based on where you sit. That should cover everything that isn't in Planet Snoopy. I'm not familiar enough with those to tell you which row is best.

Front row, and, back row. Two vastly different riding experiences, both phenominal in their own way. Give both a shot, see what you prefer.

Not me!

Yes. Someone remembers.

What better way to go out with a bang than Banshee!

Generally on coasters, front seat gives you the thrill of the view (and all kinds of wind in your face), and the back car (any of the seats) gives you the thrill of uncontrollable speed. Those traditionally have been my seats of choice, but if like to change it up, too. I've found for various reasons on some coasters I prefer other locations. On The Beast, I discovered recently I get more beat up in the middle of the train (it is popularly assumed to beat you up more in the back car) due to the amount of getting thrown sideways. I'm proud of my Beast bruises (I've really got a collection going too) so I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing. It depends a lot on whether you like woodies or not. Getting older, I have found the rear of The Racer train is getting too much for me. It's too bouncy and out of control and made my back hurt. It may, however, be exactly what you're looking for, I loved it when I was younger. I don't think it makes a lot of difference which track you ride now, since they don't run one backward anymore. They haven't been running both sides yet any of the times I've visited this year so I can't say for sure. I actually prefer to ride Diamondback in the middle of the train (anywhere from row 7-10 on the platform, so cars four and five), because the airtime is absolutely gorgeous at the crests of hills in those seats. You sort of "miss out" on the floating due to being restrained by or pulled by the rest of the train (depending if you're seated in front or back) if you sit elsewhere. It is an entirely different ride depending on where you sit, but I love them all for different reasons. I agree that the best thing to do is to try each ride in different places to see which appeals to you the most. If I hadn't changed things up with Diamondback, I'd have missed out on what has turned out to be my favorite seats in the park.

I'm honestly torn. My appetite fluctuates severely. Some days I can't have enough food and some days I don't want to even eat. Hah. But I may do the Big Meal on Saturday and get a snack to see how that goes. For Monday depending on how it worked Saturday I may get the all day deal. Thanks for your input!

There is only one ride at KI that you need to ride in the very front at least once and that's Flight of Fear. In my opinion thats the only coaster at KI that truly gives you a different experience when it comes to seating.

If you plan to dine at least 10 times (2 times on each of 5 visits) at participating locations this season, you will definitely save money with the all-season plan. I have used mine on 6 visits, so it has already saved me money. If you plan to dine at least 4 times in one day at participating locations, the all-day plan would save you money. I personally can't imagine eating that much participating food, but some people have much bigger appetites than I do. If you want to spend that much on food in one day, my recommendation would be to dine at the Reds Hall of Fame Grille and pay cash for a snack. This would probably be cheaper than the all-day plan and would give you much more flexibility. Keep in mind that some locations do not accept the dining plans - including Reds Hall of Fame Grille, Subway, Panda Express, and Chick-Fil-A. Also note that gold/platinum passholders save 10% on cash prices at many food/merchandise locations in the park. As Terp said, the all-season plans are only valid at the park where they are purchased.

Each park offers its own dining plan. The Platinum Pass doesn't change that. The plan is good only at the park where purchased.

I would also recommend both parks if you can. Neither is very expensive and both have great things to offer.

Thanks for the Heads Up. Would have made for a fun drive not knowing about it tomorrow. The detour makes it almost the same drive time to CP. Decisions, decisions.

That's a big Negative. Remember Girrafica/Pilgrims Plunge?

Friday May 30 2014 So I got off the metro at the park and ride area, and walked to the Soak City entrance. In Soak City, I went and changed into swim trunks and put my stuff on a beach chair. Then, i went and hung out in Breakers Bay for a while. Then, i went and stood in line for Mondo Monsoon for about 30 minutes. It was below my expectations. But it would have been more fun if they made the platform higher and made the tubes go all the way around the top of the funnel. So then i headed over to Graeters and got a black raspberry chip ice cream. (my favorite) and went to Tidal Wave bay. TWB was more fun than Breakers Bay. So i stayed there for about 20 minutes and then went back and changed back into my clothes and headed to the train. I got on the train, and set down my bag and my souvenir cup. Then, someone heavy got on, and it rocked the car just enough to tip my souvenir cup over and it fell into the bushes on the other side of the train. Then, i had to wait for the train to leave so that an employee could go over to the other side to get it. Then, i went and got a drink. (Mello Yellow) After that i walked back past the picnic grove and through Planet Snoopy to Diamondback. Diamondback was down, so i waited in the line that was forming outside the queue. So then Diamondback went back up as soon as i got in line, and i waited about 25 minutes to ride in 8-1-2. Then i walked over to the Jukebox Diner and got a Sprite peach. (My favorite soda!) After that i rode WindSeeker, and then walked through the Arcade on my way to Banshee. In the arcade, ohiocolts ran up and grabbed me from behind and scared me. I almost dropped my Sprite! Then I looked back and the rest of the KIC group was there. (malem, ohiocolts, jcgolbe3, and someone who i cant remember his name right now) So with the group, we went and rode Racer. (10 minute wait) Then Adventure Express. (5 minute wait) Then The Bat (3 minute wait) Then of course, Banshee. (20 minute wait) After Banshee, the guy who i cant remember his name had to leave right then so i had to run to the lockers by AE and get his cup and my bag out. Then, we got a fireworks ride on Adventure Express, and then the group split up and I left.

I think Disney Imagineering really needs to take a critical look at their creative project development process and possibly learn a few things from Universal. The "Jaws" attraction gave its last ride at USF on January 2, 2012, and now just 2.5 years later Universal is (almost) ready to open what is arguably the most advanced and interactive theme park experience EVER (not to mention--opened Transformers & Springfield during that same span!) I love Disney...always have & always will--but they have to be seriously considering their whole project management process when looking at what their biggest competitor is doing a few miles down I-4. As far as that goes, I'd even go as far to say Disney could pick up a few project management methods from the "inferior" seasonals--SF & CF.

Then that's me. I'm 12.

^ Intamin's relationship Mayflower? Not a Chance.

Make no mistake about it, safety was paramount, as it is now.

I hear that a certain INTAMIN attraction in Indiana has taken a bit of a plunge recently, as well. We may not need to worry though. INTAMIN's relationship with that park Mayflower still, even with past difficulties.

"Other" for the same reason as Magenta Lizard and Ride On_17.

When/If you go to Stricker's make sure to make it known on here that you're going! Stricker's is even closer to my house than Kings Island, and I would happily come by after work to join anyone on this site who wants to go on one of the days they're open.

You must have missed this one then. Photo courtesy of RCDB. Also, whenever someone has brought up Intamin's reliability record, I have yet to hear someone try to defend them for it. Just sayin'.

Each roller coaster brings each own unique experience which brings me to a point I make quite often when folks ask me what type of coaster is my favorite..... I don't really have a favorite "type" of roller coaster, I enjoy all the different experiences that all the types of coasters offer. To me, it's not necessarily about the coaster type, but the experience that you have on the coaster.

Epcot is hardly being addressed if the new paint scheme on Innoventions is their answer. The park is monstrously outdated in many ways. The way the pendulum of time has swung, it would be passable if the architecture of the park was rooted in the '60s or '70s. Unfortunately, the park reeks of the '80s, which has not come around to being fashionable yet and might never. Just consider the pavilions: Innoventions is a dead spot. Has been for a long time. Universe of Energy still has it's early-90s retrofit of Bill Nye and sitcom-era Ellen. Wonders of Life is closed. Mission: Space is not exactly a fan favorite, especially for the money it cost and what it replaced. Imagination pavilion is still showing Captain EO and contains a universally-despised dark ride. The Land and Seas are passable at this point in time, and certainly Test Track is still one of the resort's biggest draws. Many years ago, Epcot was to have undergone a "Project: Gemini" that would have transformed the entire Future World land into a version of what was - at the time - envisioned for California's WestCOT. Rather than the harsh, concrete, metallic, "Republican future" that it still today resembles, Future World would've been recreated as a land of fountains, trees, gardens, organic rocks, golds, coppers, winding paths, jungles, and towers. The entire north half of the park would've been not just re-decorated, but re-branded (think Disney California Adventure, which turned its entire story from a modern spoof to a reverent, idealized look... Same here... it was an entire identity shift!) Over at the Studios, don't expect a larger Star Wars presence for at least a while. To put it into some perspective, PANDORA - The World of Avatar was announced in 2011, and will open in 2017. IF a fully-realized Star Wars land does somehow get the green light from the infamously budget-conscious resort, I wouldn't expect it until 2020 at the earliest. Much would also hinge on Disneyland getting a Star Wars makeover for its Tomorrowland (since Walt Disney World would undoubtedly share the budget for any attractions developed therein) and that rumor appears to be slowly fading... As it is, I believe that Hollywood Studios will get some additional Star Wars presence, but no giant, much-needed E-ticket attracition. Probably a Yoda meet-and-greet and a Cantina restaurant. Again, that's a park that really needs an ENTIRE identity shift. In the past two years, Universal Studios Florida has been a great example, ditching the "showbuilding" / "we're a working movie studio" theme in favor of themed lands. Universal Studios Hollywood is doing the same. The era of the "studio" park is over, and Hollywood Studios needs to catch up. It happened at Disney California Adventure, where as part of the park's re-build, the "Hollywood Pictures Backlot" area became the 1940s "Hollywoodland" complete with electric trolley, new facades, new attractions, reverent music, street performers, etc. As for Marvel at the Studios? Nope. Marvel - in a financially unstable moment 15 years ago - provided Universal Orlando with exclusive use of certain heroes and intellectual properties within X miles of Universal's resort. Disney owning Marvel doesn't undo that contract, so unless Universal decides to break the contract or Disney decides to charge astronomically when that contract's renegotiation comes to the table, Walt Disney World will not have Marvel super heroes except in very specific and limited ways. That's why Californian and Hong Kong parks are adding meet-and-greets, walkthrough, and attractions while Walt Disney World does virtually nothing but stock hero merchandise. At Animal Kingdom, Pandora is CERTAINLY a huge investment (though recent word of mouth is that it, too, is being downsized to opening with only one attraction, not two) but fans have been lukewarm at best about it, and there are many who believe that it was a mistake. To the untrained eye (and maybe to some trained ones) it appears that Disney freaked out when the Wizarding World showed it would be a lasting success and simply gobbled up the biggest "other" franchise they could find. In 2011, that was Avatar. Obviously in hindsight we can see that Avatar didn't exactly remain in the public consciousness. It's not a film that's transcended into pop culture. As a matter of fact, it's sort of... disappeared. Granted, two sequels are on the way, but did this film deserve an entire land at Animal Kingdom, and will it bring the people flooding in? We shall see in three more years. Meanwhile, Universal opens its second Wizarding World, Transformers, Despicable Me, a renewed Spider-Man, a Simpsons land, a brand new CityWalk, and supposedly a massive King Kong E-ticket and land all in the course of 30 months. Yep.

"Intafail" as you called it produces the most thrilling rides and regularly has their rides rated very high. Id rather Intamin push the envelope and have some downtime than for a park to put in a mediocre ride that's a people eater.

Part One Resurrection of a Park When it was announced that Ed Hart was reopening the park and I read about his plans, I had serious doubts. I immediately said "I have to go to that opening day!" I wanted to see how a park that had been closed for four years, loved by some and reviled by others, would handle the mass numbers of people that were sure to attend. I predicted it would be a fiasco and I wanted to see it all first-hand. I left my house at 7:45 on Saturday morning. After getting breakfast and coffee, I was on the road by 8:00. I made excellent time and it took me almost exactly two hours to get to the park. Once I got to the parking lot, it was a little confusing where I needed to go. There were no signs and no one directing traffic. I ended up following other cars over to the Expo Center, and saw the parking for the park to the left. I got a really close spot, and was at the gate at 10:15. There were already lines of people waiting to get in. I immediately saw my friend Tom and his friend Jeff, so I joined them. Lines at the gate. We discussed our plans for the day. They were going to Lightning Run first, while I planned to walk around and take pictures and video before taking my camera back out to the car. I just had to document the occasion. We agreed to meet up later. The gates opened up at 11:00, and we were in after a very short wait. The sign inside the gate. I stood inside the gate, and one thing I noticed right off The Bat was that there were lots of families coming in. This boded well since last time our visit was spoiled in part by unruly teens. King Louie was there to welcome everyone back. I headed to the left and one of the first rides I came to was Fearfall. After what happened with the park's previous drop ride, I wasn't the only one questioning the decision to put in a new one due to the general public's perception (in fact, later in the day I heard someone say "I'm not riding Hellevator!" and then someone trying to correct them). This ride looked fun. As soon as it reached the top, it dropped. No time to wait for Sammy Hagar to sing the words "Right now!" before the drop. I didn't ride it just then, saving it for later. Fearfall I continued on and came to the flying scooters, Professor John's Flying Machines. There was no line, and so I got right on. They're a decent set of scooters. I couldn't get it to snap, but I got some very nice height on them. The scooters were located right next to... I had heard stories from ACEr friends who had been there the week before that it was a tight fit with the unique restraints, so I wasn't even going to bother trying. But the ride looked like a lot of fun with its compact layout. Waiting to drop... ...and there they go! Looks like a fun turn. Lightning's coming! Next I came to the kiddie section of the park. Being a musician, I just had to get a picture of the little carousel, especially the tuba since that's my main instrument! Ride the tuba. As I wandered on, it was evident that there was still a little Six Flags left in the park. The Movie Store, which looks like Six Flags theming I had seen before. Sadly, Enterprise wasn't running. I love those things. I guess I'll just have to wait until Kennywood. The 5D Cinema I rode the 5D cinema, which was showing Rio. I didn't really care for the movie when we rented it, but as an action theater atraction it worked pretty well. I took a spin on Himalaya, where the ride op told me that he liked my shirt (I was wearing my black Banshee shirt). Next was the Bumper Cars. I didn't ride them after seeing how slow they are. I posted to Facebook "I will never complain about the slowness of KI's bumper cars after seeing KK's. The kiddie cars in Planet Snoopy are faster." And yes, I'm am serious about that! They were not the old fashioned kind with the pole up the back, and I wonder if this was part of the issue. There were also too many of them for that small space; they kept getting jammed up in a big group. This happened both times I stopped to watch them. Realizing that I had made a complete circle around the front section of the park, I made my way over the bridge and onto the Giant Wheel. Under the Wheel They paired me with a couple since I was by myself, and I got some good views of the park. Lightning Run from the Wheel Thunder Run from the Wheel Deep Water Dive from the Wheel T2 from the Wheel Right at the exit of Giant Wheel, I saw something that struck me as funny. At Kings Island, smokers get a lush garden next to the tower to stink up. At Kentucky Kingdom, they get something similar. May I present Wheel Gardens, a virtual smoker's paradise with ample seating and plenty of shade. Or not. Smokers' Paradise, or Wheel Gardens I didn't bring my swim trunks because I'm too heavy to be a single rider on several of the waterpark attractions, but I like waterparks and thought I'd walk around to see the place. This name sounds oddly familiar... Aruba Tuba at KK, not to be confused with Aruba Tuba at KI. I found someplace for devarious to hang out! Hurricane Bay Bar Waikiki Wipeout Family Wave Lagoon Wave Runner and Deep Water Dive Plummet Summit Giant Wheel When did I step into Universal Studios? It's Jaws Jr! Next up was something I had been anticipating for a long time. A flight on... I approached the ride, and it was much smaller than I remember it. Maybe it was because I was a little boy riding it at Kings Island, so the size difference between me and it was greater then. They also painted the shoes different colors. They were all orange when it was at KI. It was a fun relaxing ride, and it was great to feel that familiar thud when the shoes were lowered to the ground. A boy said to his mom while we were exiting "That was a weird ride... Can we do it again?" It was hot, so I found a shaded table to call Mrs. Gator and look at the videos & pictures I had taken. I spotted Tom and Jeff across the way getting pizza and waved them over. I told them about my day and they told me about their's. When I showed them the video of the Bumper Cars, they just had to see that for themselves. We headed over and they were in disbelief at how slow they were. After another ride on Himalaya, I took the camera out to the car then we headed over to Fearfall. After about a 20 minute wait, we were on. What a fun ride! We then rode Breakdance, a Scrambler-like ride where the individual cars spin too, which was a lot of fun as well. I hadn't ridden any coasters yet, so it was off to Thunder Run.

5/28/14 So... where to begin.... hmmmmm.... So my friend Colin and I walked into the front gate. (ill try to keep this one short) It was the best day ever. The end. Haha not. So we walked to the front gate and went to Banshee's lockers. I put in my stuff. Then we rode Banshee and Delirium and Adventure Express and Colin rode Flight of Fear and i rode Vortex and WindSeeker and then we met up and went and rode Backlot Stunt Coaster and then Diamondback and then he rode Boo Blasters on Boo Hill while I went to Banshee's Lockers and on my way, in Lotsapalooza, i found this: A shirt that says that Mean Streak is actually The Beast. Good grief! So then we found out that lockers dont unlock when you run out of time and you have to give them more money. We felt sorry for all of thoes people that leave all their money inside the locker XD. So then, we went and rode Banshee a couple more times. Then we went up Coney Mall and hit Racer and all the flat rides. We also rode FOF, and it literally felt like a wheel came off the ride while we were on it. Car 1. So after the flats and FOF, we went through Dinosaurs Alive. It was fun. It was also my first time. It really dosent feel like youre in an amusement park back there. So then we rode WindSeeker and then Vortex, and then The Beast, and then went back to Action Zone to watch Cirque Imagine. It was GREAT! Then, we rode Banshee a few more times and then went home. I will post my video about it later after I upload it. The real end.