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^ That'd be Gator. His retelling/reposting/relinking of that story is basically a Christmas tradition around here!

We were at the gates, ready to load the next train that came in, when Don walked up to her and talked to her on the train... car 1, seat 2. Not too bad, being within 30 people of the landmark. it was cool to see .

1056. The herd from Banshee ERT (and the "Honey, let's ride that new one first!" crowd) hasn't made it elsewhere. Yet.

Don sent me this link. Coverage from her hometown: http://www.wdef.com/content/stationblogs/amy-o-meter/story/Chattanooga-Woman-is-Kings-Island-Rides-100-000/LM4yAKyCsUeF_epA8sAxbg.cspx?rss=3457

Lulz......comparing parks is nothing more than personal preference. This could go on for days For me, KI will always trump any other destination. Why? Because that little park in Mason, OH has something that can never be replicated......childhood memories.

Right, it's not like it interferes with the ride experience at all.

My buddy and I took a night ride on The Beast tonight. As we pulled into the brake run at the end, here is an excerpt from our conversation "wow, you were right, that is a great night ride, I mean... wow" "yeah, I know. Probably my all time favorite roller coaster moment" "the tunnels, man. Didnt know where we were going" etc. Not once did we talk about the big shed/haunt building.

It'll run Def Leppard mode for awhile I'd assume

Whoa, now THAT was a weird dream. Please stay with me as you read - I swear I'm not insane. I slept for at least 11 hours last night, and when that happens, I have the weirdest dreams! Last night's included me buying a framed Kings Island map that the park started selling. For some reason, I decided to take the map out of the frame, and behind it was a piece of paper that had a smiley face written on it, but at the same time spelled the letters "GCI". On the other side wrote "2015". Also behind the map was a picture of Don (ok?) and somehow, a Hebrew Bible (not kidding, I swear). I started freaking out and kept setting all of the things up and taking pictures of it and sending it to friends but nobody believed that Kings Island would be getting a Jewish-themed GCI coaster. I feel like I'm missing things from the dream, because I know there was more, but I was amazed at how I figured out what the park would be getting next year. Now watch this actually happen...

The running of the Banshee herd at opening has been one of my favorite things to watch this year.

Oddly, Cedar Fair made a big deal in its recent announcement that the new management was being installed to handle this coming transformation.

I hope there is no plan for paddle boats in the lazy river again.

The yellow kid coaster is The Great Pumpkin Coaster. At first, I thought you meant Scooby Doo!

Scrambler? Anybody?? 1. The Beast (front seat of course) 2. The Scrambler 3. The Racer 4. BLSC 5. The train 6. Bumper Cars 7. Flying Eagles 8. White Water Canyon 9. (Name?) the yellow kid coaster 10. Woodstock Express In my younger days I probably would have listed more coasters and spinny stuff but as I get older I tend to avoid things that might make me vomit or have a headache These (the rides still there) are what are in my usual ride rotation with my son.

I just was napping on the couch. I dreamed I was at KI. I was making a specific point to ride flats, and among them was a different Troika-like ride (that in the dream surprised me, because I didn't remember it but realized it was a decent substitute for SR&R), and a Tilt-a-Whirl. Then I noticed that even though it was only about a quarter after 4:00, it was dark out, and I decided to take advantage of the situation to get in a "night" ride on The Beast. After that, I was handed some sort of flyer, and I noticed writing along the edge that said I could use it as a coupon for discounts on Cirque Imagine's new show at Cedar Point. I realized it was almost time for the 5:00 show, so I headed there. When I got there, they were using the "CP version's" costumes. They seemed based on the winning designs from the most recent Project Runway show (in real life, the movie unconventional challenge), with strong usage of almost fluorescent green and black.

Well, Banshee has a full upper queue and the line extends to the entrance. I can only imagine what lines for Diamondback, The Beast and others are like.

The Diamondback splashdown kinda reminds me of the Red Sea in Exodus. I dreamt the seats on Banshee were 100% flexible rubber (like the restraint part that goes over one's torso), and we were flung around like yoyos. Fun and scary!

Actually (the other arcade), the storage room behind "Wack-a-mole" was used and you entered in front of the Break A Plate game. You entered through the door on the right when facing the game. There was a Mummy attraction and later a mummy/vampire attraction for Fearfest. You might even still see green/black paint or tape on the ground headed to the door. I haven't looked since the repaving of Coney Mall.

I would expect wait times to pick up. Diamondback is now at the soft drink machines, and Beast is at the bottom of the ramp.

Gator should make a post and have it locked for once a year where it just gets bumped to the top of the page

I'lll bet she was surprised. What a great souvenir!

The technology is fascinating for this. With proper preparation, they can create quality snow up to something like 85 degrees. This is the point where I tell you where they screwed up... Part 1: The Hours: This kind of screams "family attraction" and a darn fine one... so 1am? Really? I bet it'll be packed.. Part II: They aren't sure how much it costs. Pricing under "snow tubing" (which is where they say you can find pricing on their FB Pricing under "group rates" Yep - exact same info. So if me and 8 of my closest friends want to go, we're not invited? Or do we pay the same rate as a group of 80? The pricing structure doesn't make sense. Part III: The FAQ It's blank. --- With all that being said, I do hope that they can pull this together and have a very successful program. They can have a really fun activity there that could be very profitable for them. We'll have to have a KIC meeting there this Winter. http://www.thebeachmountain.com/

^ That's pretty clever. Glad to hear it's running again because it's my favorite flat.

Nice. I had a Beast ride about 10 years ago when the fireworks were going off (back before they shut it down during the fireworks). It was quite memorable.

At the park today, I think I saw 3-4 women with shaved heads. They all looked awesome and I wanted to high 5 each and every one of them. Got the last ride of the night on Vortex tonight. Going up the lift hill the fireworks were going off. This was a first for me and it was awesome. Never experienced being on a coaster with fireworks going on. Favorite moment had to be going through the double look to see fireworks lighting up the sky.

If I wasn't already shaven and I didn't have to work my 5th double in a row, I would have loved to do it!I have a friend who did it. She won't post a pic of her head though. Tell your friend that I think she's awesome. I wondered how many women shaved their heads. As a woman it's got to be difficult to do.

She's going to need to take another trip to use her VIP tour tickets. Or sell them on eBay I guess.

What a surprise for someone on a vacation!

Do you think Don and Mr. Scheid instinctively followed that sign when they saw it?

And what show does Cedar Point have that remotely compares to Cirque Imagine? What food that remotely compares to Reds Hall of Fame Grill? What dark ride? Flume? Wood coaster that remotely compares to Beast? What setting as idyllic as the Royal Fountain? What wienee to compare to the Eiffel Tower? What PR person to hold a candle to Mr. Helbig? Cedar Point has Magnum, Maverick, a superior Choo-Choo, a sky ride, a Ferris Wheel, and no Dick Kinzel. All pluses.

We have our 100 millionth This young lady. Congratulations!

^ Welcome to Ohio, where neither the forecasts nor the seasons seem to matter.

Since KI has given up the Winterfest ghost, the Beach is more than happy to fill the void, even building a new tubing attraction. See below: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/morning_call/2014/08/the-beach-to-create-winter-wonderland.html

Rode tonight at night. It was definitely better at night, but my buddy put it perfectly. "You cant replace a night ride on a wooden coaster that bounces you all over the place that for 4-5 minutes you have no idea where you are. " Overall enjoyed it at night, but its still the second best night ride in the park, for me.

Congrats Racer/KI/Angela. My buddy and I took our one chance on Racer today around 6ish (so probably right before you Charlie). At that time, Don and someone else were on the Red train's exit. I think they were hanging out on the Red side because they were chatting with the ride sup.

If I wasn't already shaven and I didn't have to work my 5th double in a row, I would have loved to do it! I have a friend who did it. She won't post a pic of her head though.

If she does accept them, the tax implications could be...surprising.

So it's not even a local. She's from Tennessee. Cool!

That is still totally cool, to have been there for it! Thanks for the running commentary and pic!

Congratulations to her!!!! However, she may be the 100,000,000th rider....but I've ridden Racer at least 100,000,000 times....

Mayhe Coney Mall is getting a nice makeover. SR&R, and now the Arcade?

Ugh. One of those two has incredible pacing, intense airtime and is a joy. The other is Millennium Force.

By doing that, you risk getting your personal belongings stolen exponentially moreso than by putting them in a locker. Definitely NOT recommended.

No park should ever go down the stand up route ever again. Ever.

You haven't been there in recent years, it has gotten MUCH better. Everything now is down to a science. Only downtime now is generally weather related or this years big big issue but noone could prevent that. But in the past few years it's finally had more uptime than downtime moiving people.

if I had the choice between a gig or Maverick I would go with Maverick

I'm always referring to The Bat as "Top/Flight...BAT. Yes that one."

Hey! That's not very nice...to Martha Stewart.

I finally was able to get some laps on Banshee since media day and holy cow what a ride! Today was the perfect crowd for getting in many, many laps on Banshee. The longest wait time was 5 minutes. The average length of the line was at the middle of the stairs into the station. I think the front row is the best seat. The zero-g roll actually lifts you out of your seat! I rode with my buddy up front for 4 laps and the view is spectacular. Both roll inversions have a uniqueness to them that is just awesome, especially from the front row. The back row was almost as good as the front. The forces pulling on you as you enter most inversions puts you right into your seat. The positive g's are just fantastic. I have to give KI ,CF, and B&M credit for creating such a great addition to the park. Also kudos to the crew for upping Banshee's capacity they have been kicking butt and taking names. I hope this continues years from now.

Not to mention there were fewer other rides in the park and the park had more guests per year back then... BUT, the season was shorter. Much shorter.