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If a ride is renamed, years from now you can say you rode the King James Version. Terp, running for the narthex.

Once you have a kid i'll take your comments on this seriously.

The 100,000,000th Racer rider should get to ride with Don.

"What kind of person would try to start a fight in the parking lot after a great day at the park?" A person incapable of having a great day in the park, or anywhere, because their ego needs too much attention.

So buy Fast Lane!

There would be a lot of unhappy guests if we cut the line to make that arrangement, and rightfully so.

If you ride The Racer backwards, wouldn't that technically take a ride off your count? Doesn't it work that way?

It's easy to think this is a "fail" or a joke, but imagine if it were you. This gentleman shouldn't have had his hand outside of the boat. Yep. I'm sure he agrees. But if he absentmindedly was holding onto the edge of the boat or something, that's hardly something idiotic and "facepalm" worthy. This isn't one of those people who was "asking for it." At least, not that we know. I doubt it's funny to him and his family... Seriously guys. If it were one of us... And don't say it wouldn't be, because we don't know that the guy was doing something outrageous.

The Racer will give its 100-millionth ride this season, Diamondback will give its 10-millionth, and there is a chance The Beast could give its 50-millionth.

It's pretty sad if a name change would keep someone from riding a ride.

Dunno about the whole Helbig vs Norris deal, I mean Norris has the man beard that Bald Eagles nest in. Helbig has quite the baby face as per grooming guidelines But if you want a good one Don Helbig was bitten by a Diamondback, and after three long excruciating days, the snake died You're welcome

Fair enough, but TR:TR and Delirium were the first of their kind, prototypes. They were part of HUSS's then focus on "giant" rides. The Breakdance is one of the most established flat rides there is, (largely in Europe). Shake Rattle and Roll is a HUSS. They are capable of making a reliable, quality rides just maybe not giant ones. Yes, I know SR&R is down right now, but that is definitely not the norm.I doubt HUSS is using Dollywood as a reference these days.... They had room to build Delirium elsewhere. And look at the other TOGO Stand-Ups. Room is not the only factor, though. For instance, in the late 90's, Paramount planned to put Drop Zone in Coney Mall, and even put up a tease sign. Then they did foundation investigations. The location was deemed not suitable, the ride was delayed, and showed up in Action Zone years later. Situating rides in real parks involves many other factors than just plopping them down where there's room. Take the interesting story of why the Flying Eagles departed Kings Island. Moving highly talented general managers can also involve moving their treasured goods as well, including company goods.

Yesterday I went to the 4H Fair at Stricker's Grove. It was my 7th time I believe visiting this small park, one that everyone needs to check out. We drove 4 hours round trip for a park that was only open for 4.5 hours yesterday, but it's worth it. During the 4H fair, crowds are a lot smaller then normal. There were many times that the current ride cycle would only stop once someone else got in line. We rode the train one time, with literally only the conductor and the other ride op on the train. A few changes I noticed: Gone are the old push and hold faucets in the bathroom (at least in the men's.) They have finally been replaced with a standard faucet. I know it's small, but I really hated the old ones. TipTop had most of it's lights on the outside of the ride replaced. Last year only a handful of them were working, so it was really nice to see almost all of them on. Tilt-a-Whirl also had most of it's lights replaced on the outside of the ride. The Swing Ship has a sign next to the height chart that says "New for 2015". This sign has read "New in 2014" and "New in 2013" in years past... I believe the carousel had received new lights. I'm not 100% positive on this, but I don't remember it looking that nice. Tornado had a lot of primer on it at various points, and quite a few gallons of paint of primer below the ride. Stricker's Tilt-a-Whirl had often been one of those rides where you just get stuck on the outside of the ride, and you can't go anywhere. While we had a few rides like that, majority of them we spun around quite a few times. Same thing with their Scrambler. In the past it was so slow. While it's not nearly as fast as Kings Island, I thought it was perfect. Just fast enough to really move you to the side of the car, but slow enough that a second passenger didn't hurt. It seemed like a new ride to me. While the ride was down all day, Electric Rainbow received a new coat of paint (it's now orange and yellow). While the rides opened at 5:30, Tornado didn't start until 6:00. They were working on something with the train, and one of their test cycles ended up getting stuck on the final turn around. We were one of the first riders when it opened, and it just ran so slow. Even in the back, the drop that it's famous for was really non existent. As the night went on, the ride definitely picked up the pace, but it still seemed slower then in the past. Now, my only petty complaint. The drinking fountain still wasn't working (it was down when I visited in October last year), and they were charging $.25 for small or $.50 for a large cup of water. I guess I could see why they would charge if the water fountain was working, but with the water fountain out, I felt like it should have been free. Here's a link to a few pictures that I took during my trip: http://imgur.com/a/hIqgA#0

I think he has about 99,987,990 or so to go. GO DON GO!

Geez, I sure didn't have my wits with me last night... I think I was trying to ask about the 100 millionth Racer rider. If both sides are in operation, would the count alternate between sides? Blue and red first rows, followed by blue and red second rows...ending with the last rows? So, for instance if the count needed 4 riders to reach the magic number, does Red/unload side/front-row get the pick? And the 5th rider is Blue/unload side/second-row? Or maybe whichever side wins the race starts the count and numbers 1-30 are on the winning side? We have a plan in place as guests approach the station the day of the milestone ride so we'll know exactly who the 100-millionth rider on The Racer is.

There's some element of the responsibility question here. If this happened at Disneyland, the ride would probably be closed until the contact point in question was covered. But again, we don't know that this guy was doing the equivalent of "standing up in the boat" (that is to say: something obviously and outright dumb). Perhaps when the boat tipped to fall down, he simply gripped the edge of the boat. In the mind of a non-enthusiast, doing so probably doesn't count as "not keeping your hands and arms inside the boat at all times." Not to mention it might've been instinct, not a deliberate thought of "Oh, I'll go ahead and place my hand on the outside of the boat now." Now, maybe he WAS reaching into the water or doing something stupid. I don't know. Do you? Until we do, let's just not make fun of the situation, like this guy is an idiot or something. If you went to the park with, say, your father, and he gripped the side of the boat and lost his fingertips, you likely wouldn't "facepalm." Rider error? Yep. But it's a terrible and horrific accident that will impact this man for the rest of his life, not a "well, he clearly deserved it!" scenario. Is responsibility on the rider? Sure. But c'mon. The sense of superiority and the eye rolls are uncalled for.

They've already announced that they're doing it... Just be glad that it's not becoming the Cedar Point & King James Railroad.

Name the recycle bin of plastic bottles after him, for it is a choking hazard.

Don't have a split per color because each side used to have both colors but more than 70 percent of my 12,001 rides on The Racer have come on what is now the blue side. Rode Blue on Tuesday and lost.

I don't know, as much as I do love new technologies, there's just something about animatronic figures that just bring a certain type of feel to a dark ride. Can you imagine Pirates of the Caribbean at Disney if you floated through while looking at screens projecting 3D pirates and ships? Although it looks neat, it's just not the same. There's just something about having the real, physical figures there that adds a certain element. It might be nice to mix the two though. I think we do need some animatronics, but some scenes could benefit from the 3D screens and such. I think a hybrid ride would be an interesting concept.

I think I can count on my hands the number of times I've seen the red side win this season. I went on the red side of Rebel Yell at Kings Dominion and the blue side still won. Went over and got on the blue side and got evacuated!

I'm really excited for this, actually. I couldn't care less about LeBron or the NBA, but I love watching the marketing team at Cedar Point work.

Some would say that you make your own breaks or your own luck...

I am so sorry happened. It's a bear to replace the stolen cards, I know. The Security are truly sympathetic, aren't they? I might recommend getting back to the park, even if it's just a few hours, to get over the shakes of being robbed. It sounds strange but helps. Thanks... Security actually looked up my banks phone # and let me call them while we were filling out the report so I could cancel the card and see if anyone tried using it in the park. Thankfully no charges were made and my new card will be here in in 2 days, so it wasn't too much of an ordeal. We actually went back into the park after I got my phone and rode a few rides while waiting on my spare key to show up.

July 8 Carowinds. It was a very hot and humid day when we arrived. It seemed to cool somewhat quickly. This park is a nice park. It's like Dorney and not necessarily a destination park, but it's a good park. By the time we arrived here I have to admit I was exhausted. Dee and Rick headed home on Sunday. I wish they could have came along for the full trip. Maybe next time! Melissa needed 3 coasters to reach 100. Her 100th coaster was Intimidator. Intimidator was Zach's 200th coaster a couple years ago. I have to say I like Intimidator better than Diamondback. Hurler at Carowinds is much smoother than Hurler at Kings Dominion. I hang my head in shame because I did not ride Flying Eagles. Zach said he pointed them out and I apparently ignored him. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you have never visited Strickers Grove its a absolute gem of a park, hope they continue to prosper, recreate, and have a vision for the future. There roasted corn is off the hook too, incredible. The rides are great.

Yeah, splitting into smaller groups is smart. Inherently you'll have someone who needs to use the bathroom, another who wants a drink, another who needs a locker, etc, and it'll be hard to get things accomplished.

Today was a list of firsts for me, I saw high school kids unable to understand the word "FastLane" and not understand why they were being turned away due to not having bracelets, saw another group of kids not understand Fastlane, and decided to break into the line upon coming halfway back from being turned away. Two security guards stopped people smoking in line. As we were leaving, we were at a full stop at the end of the parking lane. A pair of couples walked in front. The two men accused us of of trying to hit them, and that they were going to beat us senseless for laughing about it. We were stopped, and we weren't laughing, I just couldn't believe they were real in their intentions. They positioned themselves badly, for we drove right by them as they continued their threats. I feel bad for the girls that were with them- the women were stuck with that anger as we puttered away. I know security can't be all places at all times, and I hope these jokers didn't pull this stunt with a family, but perhaps better lighting and/or clearly marked cameras in the parking lot might be a good idea. With this, I have the question, "What kind of person would try to start a fight in the parking lot after a great day at the park?"

I think Don should be the 100,000,000 rider on The Racer.

Ten days ahead of Diamondback...I really hope you all hit 2 million this year as Banshee is an amazing ride.

Teenagers hold no monopoly on bad behavior.

^ Why not do both? Drink it, then keep the empty can as the souvenir.

I really cannot wait to return to this park. It has such an excellent variety of rides. Avalanche was a great ride. I do wish they had a Jamaican flag. It's a fun bobsled ride. The Crypt is a fun top spin. I miss our former ride so much. I did not get to hear them sing. Unfortunately I will have to add pics later of Katie's 100 coaster. I have them on my camera and haven't uploaded them yet. Thank you Chris for talking to Logan (ride op on I 305). I told Logan I had my 100th ride the night before and this is my daughters 100th and he knew about it. She did not get an announcement, but he knew about it. I bought the girls white tshirts to decorate in honor of their 100th coaster. Melissa Katie I can go on and on about Kings Dominion. However this would be very lengthy. I will finish KD with we had to evac Rebel Yell after an over 30 minute wait and had about a 15 minute delay in Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. Most of us had never had an evac or stranded on a ride more than a few minutes and it happened twice. I will do BBOBH Reviews at some point between the parks (Katie loves BBOBH). A few more random KD pics. Dee cracks me up. The ride op is a good sport. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Coca-Cola was on hand at Kings Island today where patrons could personalize a 6oz Coke can for themselves and a friend for free! They stayed until 6:00p today and said they'd be back at noon tomorrow (probably until 6:00 again). I do not know if the promotion will continue past tomorrow (7/11/14) or not. I honored Coke with gracing two cans with the names of your friendly neighborhood KIC admins. Discuss this on social media using the hash tag #ShareACoke.

From Kings Island's Facebook page... Grant Pedersen of Lexington, Ky scored the one millionth ride on our new record-breaking Banshee roller coaster this evening. He was awarded a Banshee gift package that included a poster, picture frame, T-shirt, glass cube, coffee mug, tote bag, commemorative limited edition pin set, and a large sign proclaiming him as the coaster's one millionth rider. Congratulations Grant!

I am so sorry happened. It's a bear to replace the stolen cards, I know.The Security are truly sympathetic, aren't they? I might recommend getting back to the park, even if it's just a few hours, to get over the shakes of being robbed. It sounds strange but helps. Thanks... Security actually looked up my banks phone # and let me call them while we were filling out the report so I could cancel the card and see if anyone tried using it in the park. Thankfully no charges were made and my new card will be here in in 2 days, so it wasn't too much of an ordeal. We actually went back into the park after I got my phone and rode a few rides while waiting on my spare key to show up. Super! I was told they do go through the trash, too. Justin case your bag was hurriedly dumped. Getting back onto some rides helped me remember that even though it happens at the park, the park didn't do this, some unsympathetic, greedy person did. The park did does all they can to help.

Why don't they just put his name on the trash cans......

Im betting in the his free time, Don greases the wheels up a bit more on the Blue side. Then always bets a Skyline 3 way on which one will win.... In my mind, Don is becoming the Chuck Norris of Kings Island...

Notice that they quoted a fan-based website/blog.

Final trip stop - a surprise for Melissa. Hendricks Motorsports Museum and garages. These are free things you can do if you are in the area. Growing up in Indy, we've had racing around us all the time. I don't follow racing or follow anyone specific for Indy Car or NASCAR. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm a Louisville local, and because I'm an "enthusiast" friends/coworkers always feel necessary to bestow their experiences/opinions/reactions about parks on me. In regards of KK... nothing I've heard has been extremely negative, but nothing glowing either... as I expected. Comments include: Waterpark is great Lightning Run is lots of fun Not enough to do "Rough" clientele Observations of at least two workers walking off the job Slow loading on the coasters Oddly enough, the very day the park made the news with the "Attendance is through the roof!" press release, I had two friends that were at the park. They said it was fairly empty. Not sure who to believe. LOL KK is, as I expected, going to suffer the same fate as SFKK. Business was drummed up by lots of media attention... but those that are attending are walking away with a "meh" reaction. As far as the incident with the Speedo guy... that whole situation was concocted by his seeking attention. Although Europeans find such attire acceptable and commonplace, in the the US it's not. That's not judgment on my part, rather, fact. When you wear a skimpy bathing suit you draw attention... and you know it. The "victim" in this case wore it out to be looked at. When the cops approached him, it was no doubt based on complaints, and they handled it poorly and called him inappropriate names. I doubt the victim was standing idly by with doe eyes through the whole situation. The mere fact that this made the news feed, with a "sexed up' picture of the fellow on the beach, proves there was an agenda behind it. Someone wanted attention, of all sorts, and they got it. Remember, it's all about press... KK has a long haul... a long rough haul. I'm neither rooting against it, or for it at this point. Selfishly, I wish it would stay open and attendance shrink so I can go back and marathon on Lightning Run in future seasons. That coaster, IMO, is the redeeming thing about this whole re-opening. Who knew?! Shaggy

I am hoping we can go this year to Stricker's Grove. I have heard it's a great park to visit. Sounds like you really like the park. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I seem to remember Troika being down for quite some time at Cedar Point a couple of seasons ago. These rides are aging, and some repairs and extensive maintenance can be expected. A disturbing thought? That new HUSS? That's probably the parts supplier now. Just as modern hardware is often not as durable or overengineered as older hardware...

Guest who seem to not notice the thousands of trash cans on the midway and just leave, drop or throw garbage where ever they feel.

He knows what we like, doesn't he? The new indoor ride mentioned in the article sounds like a blast.

^ I second that. Who better to ride with than the guy whose been on it 12,000 times and counting. Well deserving for Don to take part in that ride. For the 50 millionth ride on The Beast it would also be fitting if Carl Eichelman was in attendance and participated.

"I'm not a role model... Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids." -Charles Barkley

The Racer will give its 100-millionth ride this season, Diamondback will give its 10-millionth, and there is a chance The Beast could give its 50-millionth. Don- how is Banshee set to stack up this year against Diamondback in terms of riders? I believe Diamondback got it's millionth in 2009 but thought it was closer to two mil? Diamondback finished its first year at 1.8 million riders. It gave its 1-millionth ride July 20, 2009.

My daughter and I were at KI yesterday and while we were riding White Water Canyon, my bag was stolen from the storage shelves. Lost my cash, my driver's liceanse, my debit card, our gold passes and my car key, so I was stranded there with no money, no phone (it was locked in my car), and no way home. I just wanted to put it out here that I dealt with 4 different people from Security and they were all wonderful. They sent someone to walk us back to the security office, they took a report, walked us through also filing a report with Lost & Found and through getting our Gold Passes reissued. Then they sent someone to our car to wait with us until someone could come with tools to get my car unlocked so I could get my phone out and call someone to go to my house and get my spare key and bring it to me. I don't have much hope for getting my stuff back, but everyone I dealt with went out of their way to be nice and polite and they repeatedly apologized that it happened. It made me feel better at least.

We returned the following morning and meet up with my friend Cathy, her daughter Kris and her grandchildren Em and Callie. I have "known" Cathy online for years. She has shown extraordinary amounts of kindness to us over the years. I so appreciate her making the trek to meet in person. I had the privilege of taking Em on her first coaster, Great Pumpkin Coaster. She loved it. Cathy and her family went to the water park. We really aren't water park people so we went back to riding rides. (More on that as time allows.) As I have been going through pics, I found some that at least make me laugh. They pretty much sum up our trips to parks. My daughter is crazy. Andrew willingly said he would have his picture taken with a Charlie Brown statue unlike Zach who refused. Andrew is standing like nothing is going on. Katie is trying to drag Zach to get his pic taken with Charlie Brown and Melissa is right behind (it's not a zombie). Andrew is still stand like nothing is going on. Katie in the background trying to play Tug of War with Zach. Both Katie and Melissa attack. Followed by Em running in to help. This pretty much sums up any park experience so far this season and probably why OhioColts is leery of any more trips to Kings Island with our group. More about Kings Dominion to come. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk