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Ok Ok here's a picture of Wilford Brimley.

So fanofFirehawk arrived at the park about 10-15 minutes before opening. By the time we were at the gate, it was about five minutes till rope drop. The first ride we went on was Banshee, and all I can say is, "WOW!" I honestly liked everything about this ride. Other than the restraints. The vest pushed into my collar bone. I could feel the restraint getting tighter at the bottom of the drop. Now, onto the actual ride experience. To start this off, I really liked the queue. I really liked the theming and the graves (especially the O'terpy one! ) and I thought that they were a nice touch. The station was nice, not exactly something special. We were assigned to row 5. I really liked that first drop, I enjoyed that twist. The dive loop is cool, it provides a nice view of Action Zone. The loop isn't anything special, but it was cool how it went around the lift hill. My favorite part of the ride was the zero-g roll. I really liked that drop down into the valley. My second favorite element of Banshee was the inline twist. (Incase you can't tell, I like twists ) The ride crews were doing quite nice today, usually it was one in the station, one on the lift, and one on the brake run. Favorite part! If only I had pressed the camera button quicker… Honestly, I'll have to ride Banshee some more before I can give it a rating… maybe ride it in some other rows! If only we hadn't been assigned to Row 5 both times... Cliché picture! After Banshee we rode Diamondback. Great ride as usual, rode it on the inside seats on the second to last car. After Diamondback we rode KI&MVRR. Fine ride, provides great views of Diamondback. What a view! After Diamondback, we rode Congo. Not too wet in the back row in the splash, but the fountains got us soaked. Then we headed over to WindSeeker. First time on that ride, quite fun. I really enjoyed the view. However, it did make my nice wet feet from Congo Falls even colder . Then, we headed out into the parking lot for lunch. After lunch, we rode Boo Blasters on Boo Hill and got a score of 800 something. My sister claims to have gotten 1,600 but I don't believe her . Then, we rode WindSeeker again and then Banshee one more time. We were assigned to row 5 again. After Banshee, we rode Delirium. Better ride than I remember it being. We then headed over towards X-Base and rode Firehawk. Fun ride, enjoyed it. After Firehawk we headed over to Diamondback for our final ride of the day. Good ride as usual, we rode it on the inside seats in the back car. Nice airtime! Banshee x2 Diamondback x2 WindSeeker x2 Firehawk x1 Congo Falls x1 KI&MVRR x1 Boo Blaster on Boo Hill x1 Delirium x1 Hope you enjoyed the PTR! Thanks for reading!

Fair or Not, Kentucky Kingdom had to know they would be under a media magnifying glass once they opened. With the previous history of the park and how it shut down, plus the deals that were cut to open the new park. There are many in Louisville counting on the parks failure and Im not so sure the fair board isn't one of them.

Of the ride running? Or did you mean from today?

I got my first ever ride this morning during ERT. As I was sitting at the top of the tower with my heart beating out of my chest, I realized I not only hadn't ever ridden it before, I never even watched it run before. So I had absolutely no idea how long it would be before the drop, if there was any sort of warning, or anything. Definitely makes it more terrifying, especially when you are already thinking "I hope the cables they replaced are OK." I really enjoyed it though. I rode it later in the day, and while I don't think it was quite worth an hour wait, it gave me a second favorite thing about the ride: the nearly subsonic sound it makes as it hits the brakes, as heard when you're below it. Otherworldly.

Adventure Land opened up their mini WindSeeker today called "Storm Rider" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzBrtgDiJj0

With the cost of a one day ticket at $96, I'm sure a "free" locker is included in that cost.

^Its going to drop RIGHT NOW!

We were able to check into Hotel Breakers at 11:15am. Probably could have earlier, but figures we'd ride for a couple hours, let the huuuuge crowd at registration dissipate. Worked out great. In spite of some online reviews, this renovated Bon Air room is just fine. Nice view of Magnum and TTD our the window.

To jump back to this, you're probably remembering a very famous flub in advertising that cost Universal a lot. In 1999, Universal Studios Islands of Adventure opened next to the original Universal Studios Florida to create the new Universal Studios Escape. Probably you can spot the issue. Islands of Adventure was incorrectly and unintentionally marketed in a way that made it seem like an addition to the original Universal Studios Florida, and the new moniker - Universal Studios Escape - hardly cleared anything up. But remember that before this time, adding a second gated park and transforming a park into what we'd now easily identify as a "multi-park resort" wasn't the norm. Besides Walt Disney World, few had done it. There was no formula. Universal sort of "discovered" it. After staggeringly low attendance and mass confusion in the public, the second park was officially renamed Universal's Islands of Adventure and the entire two-park complex became Universal Orlando Resort. Obviously it set a helpful precedent for future resorts, though. In 2001, Disneyland Park added Disney's California Adventure and became the Disneyland Resort; Tokyo Disneyland added Tokyo DisneySea and became Tokyo Disney Resort; etc. Without Universal taking the brunt of that "school of hard knocks" discovery, 2001 might've seen Disneyland California Adventure at Disneyland Escape.

Neco played the following parts: (with as little detail as possible to avoid spoilers) He was in the intro along with act 1. He was replaced by the current "Neco" doing essentially the same gig. He had a big part in the seesaw act. That was where he got hurt, from a botched landing. Now, it's mainly the tall guy with long hair. Same gig with the rope lady. He did the giant ring act, which is now performed by the ultra-limber lady. He was NOT in the trampoline scene, as the new "Neco" is not as well He was in the finale, but I don't think he juggled. The white/black dressed guy juggled, but I can't remember which clown worked with him. They haven't done it since Neco 1 got hurt. It really wasn't an entire scene, it was just something that happened in the backround while Trevor (bike guy) went out into the audience. Some changes, still a great show.

I haven't met anyone from the site being new to it but everyone seems very knowledgeable about all things Kings Island and I love gaining their knowledge. It makes me wish I lived at least an hour or so closer to the park. Also those ribs posted by jcgoble3 have made me extremely hungry because they look delicious.

I'm not sure which part they replaced. The word on the street was that it was part of the motor, but it's also apparent that the cables were installed yesterday too. Regardless, I'm sure that they either used Intamin parts, or parts that Intamin recommended. You have to remember that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of parts to each ride that were not manufactured by the ride maker.

Row 8 right hand seat is the best on the entire coaster. Not sure why people like the front so much. The front of inverted coasters are so boring. The last row on B&M inverted coasters is where it is at.

1. This was Sandusky's fault, not the point. 2. The park was working with Dusky to make sure it was working, and I'm sure this was a 24hr operation. Think, every toilet, fountain, sink, ice machine, etc. all had to be flushed and checked for quality 3. Safety prevails I made phone calls too, they did not ever state at least to me the park would be open Sun. They directly stated they were going to try and open as early as possible and to keep calling back to check for updates Who assured you that, I doubt the park actually said "Yes we will be open Sunday" How do you think I feel, I used two days of leave (takes me a month to accrue) left Saturday afternoon after the announcement but still had to pay for an off site hotel in Port Clinton through Sunday, and also disappointed I couldn't enjoy my home park all weekend. This was a completely unforseen circumstance that the park literally had no control over, nor could you pin this on at all, Dusky had the failure not the park. The park isn't going to open a water treatment facility. If that's the case they'll install a power grid to fuel their power hungry rides too right, because that 2003 blackout and a few small power losses since warrant that. Might as well start the CPCG (Cedar Point Coast Guard) to protect His Majesty, Mr Ouimet on sovereign ground.

KIC Coasting for Kids. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A Tweet from KI's GM/VP reports that Drop Tower has reopened.

http://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20140609/18440/11-infamously-flubbed-and-failed-attractions?page=0,0 A list of the 11 biggest attraction flubs and failures. Wouldn't ya know it, two Kings Island rides make the list. Can you guess which 2?

IMO Universal has the best locker system. Finger prints and it's free for the duration of the wait for that particular ride. I think that system is incredibly convenient and amazing.

Sorry to hear about this. Hope you retrieve everything. I would also ask your carrier to search for the ping to locate the phones, then notify authorities. Now, I believe these lockers should be fingerprint activated, rather than code activated....can't steal or duplicate a finger print.

Considering the two "flubbs" from King's Island lasted longer or just as long as the others, I don't see this being negative at all. It only shows that they are dedicated to there customers, and they will put forth every effort to provide a safe and enjoyable park. There are parks that have had much worse flubbs than any of these, you just don't hear about them because the parks are not very popular.

Made it to CP this weekend for what was supposed to be a nice half day visit on our way to Columbus. We got to the park around 20 min. prior to early entry time. For some reason they were diverting parking over to the employee parking area (hint 1). We got in for the early ride times and headed straight over to Gate Keeper. No lines, but the person on the train before us had gotten ill so the ride ops were cleaning that up. They tried for about 10 min. to get the water hose going to no avail (hint 2). They got the car cleaned up, and sent out empty to air dry, and we got on they next car. This being our first time on Gate Keeper, that was an excellent ride, front seat on the outside rocks! Headed from Gate Keeper over to Raptor. Again no lines. This used to be one of my favorite coasters, so we rode a couple times. Headed from there to one of my daughters favorites, Millenium Force. There was about a 15 min. wait for this ride, so we opted just to ride once for the day. On the way back to the midway we were able to catch a quick ride on Mantis and Iron Dragon, no wait on either one. We got back to the midway shortly after park opening to meet up with my wife and do some easy rides with her. Decided to get on the Antique Cars, but they had just emptied the line and were parking the cars??? Ok, no problem, we'll hit the restroom real quick and head toward the back of the park. Both the women's and men's restrooms were closed?!?!? We looked around and all the rides were in the process of shutting down. Shortly they announced over the PA system that the park was closing. We couldn't understand the announcement where we were at, but we decided to just follow the crowed. Once we got to the front of the park, we could understand the announcement that they had a water main break and "would not be able to open for the day". This was not that big of deal for us since we were only planning about a 4-5 hr visit anyway, but understandably there were A LOT of irritated people waiting in a huge line for the customer service building. Got back to the car and in line to leave. This was a huge mess. Morning traffic still trying to come into the park, and everybody that was already there trying to leave. Thankfully as soon as we were able to get across the causeway, I knew a few back ways of getting around Sandusky. To show part of the scope of this closure, we stopped for gas somewhere around Bucyrus, OH, and there was a family there complaining about the Cedar Point closure. Then we went out for dinner in Columbus, and it seemed like half the dining area was talking about their day trying to go to the park! Hopefully the park does something for the people who were taking their summer vacation this weekend, and had to either cancel their vacation completely, reschedule, or spend extra money to stay a couple extra days at a non CP hotel.

I see what you did there.

My head is suffering from those seven Banshee rides in a row. Worth it though! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fun article. I feel sorry for those who never got to experience the original Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter. That is one ride I would LOVE to see duplicated at Kings Island. Maybe that big brown box could house something similar some day.

<a href="http://s362.photobucket.com/user/x241/media/imagejpg1-2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo63/x241/imagejpg1-2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo imagejpg1-2.jpg"/></a> notice where the wheels run along, a boxed steel track.

Do not take a knife..I got dinged for that before, fell off my belt, opened it up, wiped it clean, closed it and put it back on the clip, someone flipped out & called security. I got searched, I explained to them and they understood but it's a big no go in the park unfortunately. Can't tell you how many times my EMT knife has been handy in field..so many accidents over this window I used it for.

Not to stray too far off topic, buit if you believe he is going to be a threat to you or if he makes unwanted advances, please tell any park employee to call park security. The park takes all matters of security very seriously.

I found it odd that while I was in Southern MI this past wknd, I saw multiple TV ads for Cedar Point, but none for MA. The TV stations were out of Grand Rapids. To Terpy's point above if the revenue doesn't come into that park on the level of the other ones in the chain, one can't expect Cedar Fair to invest too heavily into it. Of course, it would be nice for CF to spend some ad $ promoting its only Michigan park. I was prob about 60-70 min tops from MA from where I was staying.

Or not. This is being done to save money. I still think the parks want to market these coasters as wood. Therefore, they claim its wood.

New act being added to Cirque Imagine here soon, that will be exciting to see.

The walls around London in USF and around Hogsmeade station in IOA are down. http://behindthethrills.com/2014/06/walls-come-down-around-diagon-alley-at-universal-orlando-as-harry-potter-gets-closer/ After participating in mock service last week, all I can say is that guests are going to be blown away with Diagon Alley. As incredible as Hogsmeade is, Diagon takes things to an entirely different level that even New Fantasyland doesn't do. It will be easy for guests to spend hours exploring....there are a lot of hidden gems that have not been announced nor can be seen from any pictures that are out there. :-) And Hogwarts Express is simply wonderful....

Finally! Just went through The Bat's queue and they had themed, alternative, music!

Part 5: Everything that is not a ride. Food - Kennywood's food service has a tough competitor, their own picnic groves. As the park allows outside food and beverage to be brought in, and have a plethera of peaceful and serene pavilions, they must provide food that is both tasty and affordable. There is a wide variety of options on top of the standard park fare, including my favorite of the hot sausage at the pagoda. At Parkside Cafe, one can get full dinners in a cafeteria style operation. The newest addition to the park will be Johnny Rockets, whenever it gets done. However for most park guest, there is a must have item and they will wait in the longest line through out the park for it. I am talking about Patato Patch Fries, the parks famous fresh cut fries and yes they are delicous. The following they have though is beyond me, i dont get waiting half an hour for fries. The Pagoda, home of my favorite Kennywood food, Hot Sausage. Landscaping and pathway system - The park is beautifuly landscaped with flowers, lawns, big trees that give shade and manicured hedges to near perfection. Winding pathways adorned with statues, fountains and even a windmill can cause one to forget they are in an amusement park. The park like design does make getting from point A to point B rather dificult sometimes as there are few straight midways, but it is what helps kennywood keep it's old fasioned charm. The one bad aspect of the paths is they are all black asphalt, so it can get toasty in non shaded areas. George Washingtom statue looks to be in a public park and not an amusement park. One of the fountains at Kennywood, this one reminds me of the old CP one. Architecture - Kennywood has kept up many of it's old buildings, and keeping them appearing as they did when first built. However, in the 60's-80's in atempt to modernize, buildings were built modern looking with the Gran Prix area a good example of this. Then came a return to nostalgia with more effort put into making the buildings fit into the traditional historic amusement park feel. The Lost Kennywood area is an example of this, built in 1995 yet designed to appear like a turn of the century Luna Park. Lagoon Area building, at night a screen is unrolled for the night show. Lost Kennywood fountain and gift shop building Live E - Not a strong point of Kennywood, but the Kennyville band is decent. The night show is lower scale vesion of CP's old Laser show, however they dont skimp on the fire effects. Operations - For a smaller park, they do well in station times and excell in safety. Spieling is done in short auto spiels, only clear is said by the ops over a microphone. Some rides open later than others, and others close earlier then the rest of the park. Also rides cut thier lines when they feel the last person in line would get on at closing, which can be 30 minutes or more before close. Cleanliness - Kennywood is quite clean, my only complaint are the areas and roofs around phantoms queue. Atmosphere - Kennywood maintains it's old fashioned laid back charm, with the up tempo thrills and faster operations of todays amusement parks. It is at night when the park really comes alive! With colorful ride lights, neon signs and globe bulbs, they achieve the night time ambiance CP is trying to capture on it'ss main midway. Closing Time - This is the greatest mystery in the amusement buisness, even at 8pm the four employees at guest relations didn't know. The standard is 10pm but can be either later or earlier depending on crowd and weather conditons. Leaving - Torture, the parking lot is chaotic as no one directs, then trafic gets backed up as hundreds of cars try to navigate the one lane of egress to the highway. Final notes - I highly recomend Kennywood, I always have a good time and many experinces can only be experienced there. I hope I have convinced some of you to juorney to West Mifflin, it is closer then you think, just follow the arrow! Me with the parks mascots, Kenny Kangaroo and the Arrow. P.S. I will answer any question you may have about the park!

I got a seat facing Banshee right after sunset. You get an amazing view of Banshee from the top. I wish there was a way that I could legally take a picture from up there.

Sounds like it was a great trip. In and out in about an hour? No lines? Refunded admission? Ho ho ho!

Heres a video i made with Drop Tower being fixed in it!

An "act of God" cannot be helped. (nor can an act of the City of Sandusky Water Department) However - isn't it ironic that a place surrounded by water had to close because there was no water? Reminds me of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner....Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink!

JUNE 8 2014 the D R O P T O W E R Report. Only ended up actually riding Banshee, The Bat, and Diamondback.

Associates really shouldn't be telling any guest what is up with a ride. It makes for misleading information most of the time.

If they do that for everybody, what good would it do? Fast Lane for all...no one in the regular line. Tee hee.

Do not miss the Flying Scooters. And pay a lot of attention to the front gate area. Terp, not known for spilling beans, in this or the last century.

Man, so many Intamin, YoungStud would be proud. Such Young, many Intamin, Doge Impression wow.

Year-by-Year Coasting for Kids at Kings Island fundraising results: 2010 - $2,083 2011 - $7,358 2012 - $13,591 2013 - $13,577 2014 - $16,700 (currently)

I've told my wife, I will probably die on a coaster. I see myself 70 years old and still riding. Sent from a signal coming out of the Vega system.

Son of Beast would also like to say "Hi", as would Hades 360 and all those vintage looping woodies from before the Great Depression in the 1930's.

Another one from yesterday evening. EDIT: Is it me or is it impossible to take a bad photo of this spectacular ride? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lol. I only had my phone with me down there, typing anything long winded is a major pain on it. There are cheap options at BGT, however, one of them is NOT the Smokehouse. The drinks are full strength and way cheaper than KI, to boot. As for Gwazi, that ride was terrible. Almost missed it because it was down, just stood up to walk away and we heard the Gates Open command. I rode it last and had a terrible headache due to not eating a proper breakfast. This ride nearly killed me, lol. Not surprised that one side is already shut down and there are rumors of the rides upcoming demise. It just does not fit in with the rest of the rides in the park.

Sandusky's main source of water IS Lake Erie:http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/finance/water-sewer-info.htm Aside from that, CP could prepare for this type of catastrophe by spending millions upon millions to build their own water treatment plant only to never need the system. Crap happens. Any business owner cannot plan for everything or they would end up bankrupt. Believing they should/ could is the definition of hindsight.

I had a blast at my first CoasterMania! Got in plenty of rides on Magnum, Millennium Force, and Maverick especially (a good portion of them being front-row night rides!). Also rode Gemini, WT, Raptor, Gatekeeper, Mine Ride, Antique Cars, Blue Streak, Mean Streak, Power Tower, Shoot the Rapids, Sky Ride, Skyhawk throughout the course of the day. Took lots of great photos also. This is one is just scratching the surface: A special thanks to Cedar Point and management for putting on this wonderful event each year. Everything from the gourmet lunch, to the free merchandise (all things they did not HAVE to do for us), I thank them very much for.