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The era of "record-breaking" is more or less over. Cedar Fair still likes to give it a go ("The first face-to-face seating inverted coaster in the Midwest..." Someone break out the streamers!) but the industry has shifted. The new push in Cedar Fair parks and around the country is for "best day" experiences, unique opportunities (for dining, shopping, etc) and things that the family can do together (see Gemini midway, Dinosaurs Alive, WindSeeker [despite its unfortunate marketing], Guardian, etc). Saying something is the tallest and fastest is great, and it certainly draws in a huge number of a certain demographic. Problem is, it alienates just as many. My mom, little cousin, and grandma don't want to ride Top Thrill Dragster, but WindSeeker, Dinosaurs Alive, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Guardian would bring them to a park. I think in the industry as a whole, we've seen a shift away from "400 FEET TALL" and "100 MILES PER HOUR" and "10 INVERSIONS" to seeing moderately-sized rides that do something unique. The draw for Verbolten isn't its speed or height. Same for Guardian. Same for Gringotts. Big coasters will always be the lifeblood of amusement parks, but the way they're presented is changing. To plug my own agenda for a moment, I recently wrote an article called 'Less Is More: 6 Incredible Coasters that DON'T Break Records.' Similarly, I used Theme Park Tourist's 23,000 ride ratings and the automatic rankings they create to write 'The Top 15 Coasters - As Voted By You,' which is overwhelmingly populated by mid-sized family rides that appeal to everyone instead of just thrillseekers. I think, under Ouimet's lead, Cedar Fair is seeing that that's the way to go.

Those people should be smacked too. The lack of spanking these days is why so many kids are a*****es. Or as a graphic that goes around Facebook occasionally puts it: "I was spanked as a kid. As a result I now suffer from a psychological condition known as 'Respect for Others'."

Includes rare Thunderbolt Express footage: So much has changed...

Guests in line ain't spending more money.

Disneyland. As I said months ago. Disneyland. Florida's a mess. I cannot and will not plan my theme park adventures months in advance. Florida is for Universal, BGT and maybe SeaWorld Orlando. California is where my Disney nickels will go. And they start this foolishness there, I'll be done with that, too. I am not amused.

So I finally got around to making this trip report. Our friend who works at the park once again was able to get us free tickets so we (my parents and I) were very thankful. We decided on this day, Thursday the 10th, since the weather looked decent. It wasn't supposed to be too hot and it was supposed to rain/storm in the morning so we hoped this might hold off some of the crowds like in previous years. We sure were right! It ended up being a perfect day. We arrived at the park a little after opening and headed straight for El Toro. No line at all. I wanted to ride in the back and got right on within a few minutes. It was such a perfect way to start the day, and the coaster was just as crazy intense as I remembered it. There really is no other coaster like it (as far as I've experienced) when it comes to its intensity. It literally leaves you breathless and speechless. I wanted to go on it again, so this time we rode in the front. I definitely like the back a lot better. In the front, there are only a few "OMG!!!" airtime moments, unlike the back where it's like this constantly. Plus the first drop was disappointing. Yes, it's fun just hanging over the crest but you don't get the insane negative Gs like you do in the back. Still fun though. Next it was finally time to try out Zumanjaro! Thankfully it had opened the week before, so I was very excited to ride it. It seemed amazing and I knew I would love it. First off, I love how you can hear the people screaming while you're still pretty far away from it. This section of the park is relatively quiet so you can hear the screaming coming from the ride really well. It adds to the excitement as you make the long trek back to the ride entrance. I do hope the park adds more to this area, since right now there's just Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro, as well as a kids water/spray park thing. For having to walk such a long way to get to either of these 2 rides, it's too bad there isn't more to do. Yet. So finally we made it to the entrance. Then you have to keep on walking a ways until you reach the covered queue area. It was sad walking along where Rolling Thunder used to be. I'm still mad they took it out, especially since it wasn't even immediately replaced with anything. Anyway, in total we waited between 1 to 1 1/2 hours to ride, but it was worth it. There was one girl who passed out in line ahead of us, so that was pretty scary. Even though it wasn't too hot, she just probably wasn't drinking water. I was really impressed with how quickly the park took action. Within several minutes, the park's ambulance/EMT was at the scene. Thankfully the girl was alright but they took her away, probably just to be safe and to let her rest and have her get some water. The park did an amazing job being quick to the scene. It was such a pain how Zumanjaro and Kingda Ka can't run at the same time, since that means lines for both rides would be lengthened substantially. These already poor capacity rides would have even worse capacity. But there's nothing that can be done about it, so you just have to be patient. Kingda Ka runs 2 trains and then Zumanjaro completes a cycle. Repeat. Eventually it was our turn to ride. An employee divides people to go into 3 separate little waiting areas, one for each of the 3 ride cars. We got assigned to the far car (if you're looking at the front of Kingda Ka, the car farthest to the right). And it worked out that I was able to get the far outer end seat! The seats and restraints are very comfortable. Unlike some other Drop Towers, the seats don't tilt forward slightly, although I sort of wish they did. That adds to the thrill. But the restraints give you a lot of freedom and comfort. You start by slowly lifting up out of the load area. You continue on up, gradually increasing height. It was so funny listening to all the others rides. People really start to freak out the higher the ride goes and it's so funny to hear. The suspense keeps building as you climb higher and higher, an amazing view unfolding in front of you. You can see the entire park, as well as the beautiful forests that surround the park. It truly is breathtaking. I also thought it was cool looking to my left and seeing the green track of Kingda Ka. It is very cool being attached to the coaster. Then as you start to reach the top, the ride cars slow down a lot. So much that it feels like you have completely stopped unless you look to your side and see that you are still moving slightly up in relation to the coaster track. This is the point when everyone really freaks out, since by now everyone know we have almost stopped. Unlike the S&S Drop Towers, you don't fall/click into place. You just come to a gentle stop and hang there, waiting. The suspense is amazing, since you are so high up and have time to realize that in a few seconds, you're going to come plummeting back down to the ground. Suddenly your stomach lifts up into your throat as the cars are released and plummet down. You experience true weightlessness and it is such an incredible feeling. Now here is what is so cool about this ride. You continue to gain speed as you descend the tower, and the brakes don't slow you until you are precariously close to the ground. Just when you feel you can't get possibly faster and you're going to crash into the Earth at 90 miles per hour, you are pushed into your seat as the brakes smoothly glide you to a crawl to lower you back into the station. This ride is a pure adrenaline rush and I'd wait hours and hours for it. I think it would be a cool idea if that ride had on-ride video cameras that you could purchase the video, or at least a regular camera. But oh well. The ride experience itself is amazing. I had hoped to ride Kingda Ka next, but unfortunately it was down. So we were starting to get hungry and decided to get something in the food court just outside of the entrance to the Golden Kingdom. We got chicken tenders, fries, and shakes. It felt good to sit down and relax for a little before moving on. Before riding something too crazy yet, we decided to try the Parachute Training Center. We hadn't gone on it before and I wanted to try it. Only waited a few minutes, but my mom and I had to split up since there's a weight limit on the ride, and the 2 of us together exceeded it. It was a nice view from the top but it's such a short ride. Relaxing, though. Plus our ride op was fun. She was happy and gave everyone high fives before they rode. To continue on with the gentler rides, we went to the Big Wheel. The line was pretty slow and we ended up waiting 20-30 minutes for it. But it was nice having a long ride on it to enjoy the view of the park. Following this, I really wanted to try the Dark Knight Coaster. I had never been on it and wanted to experience it. I had heard mixed review about it so I was curious about trying it out for myself. We only waited about 5 minutes outside before going inside for the pre-show. I really enjoyed how it started, and it set up the atmosphere and theme. Why can't Cedar Fair have something as simple as this????? Then for the actual ride itself, I was really impressed. I love indoor coasters, and I'll be honest: I'm jealous Great Adventure has 2. Granted I never liked Disaster Transport at Cedar Point, but since it's my home park, at least it was unique. Indoor coasters are so cool since they can surprise you with twists and hills and are unique to the other rides. Even though the Dark Knight Coaster isn't heavily themed, what it does have is pretty cool. Plus I'm a huge fan of Wild Mouse coasters. Every park should have one (*cough cough* Cedar Point). When we got back into the station, the group from the next pre show hadn't entered yet so instead of running empty trains, the ride ops offered for us to stay on to ride again. So of course we did! It was just as fun the 2nd time and it was awesome to be able to do that. If you get lucky and are able to ride again before the next group enters the station, do it. Next it was time to try Batman: The Ride. I had never been on this coaster either. I know it's a generic clone like some other Six Flags rides but I've heard it's pretty intense and has been described like Raptor in 30 seconds. After waiting 5/10 minutes for the front row, I could see why. It may be short and compact, but it sure does pack a punch. It was fun and pretty intense, and I enjoyed it. I wanted to ride Nitro next, and after a half hour wait we were in the front row. However, while waiting in line under the stairs going up to the station, somebody spit and thankfully most of it missed me, but a little bit landed on my head. I quickly looked up and saw someone pull their head back. That was frustrating. But I love this ride, and the view and experience from the front is great. My favorite part is either the first drop or the 2nd element of the ride, the hill that banks sharply at the top and dives down to the left. There's also a smaller one right before the helix. I love the sensation you get, since it is a combination of laterals and airtime. Then 20 minutes later we were back on it, this time in the back row. I love the airtime you get in the back, especially the first drop. Plus Nitro doesn't have the rattle that so many never B&Ms have, even Diamondback. It's such a smooth coaster. From here we were going to take the cable cars over to Bizarro, but they were down. We walked over and only waited about 5 minutes for the front. This ride was a little bumpier than I remembered but it was still fun. I like floorless coasters and this is a great one. Thankfully I saw that Kingda Ka was running, so we decided to head to it. After the long walk, we made it and it was open! We waited about a half hour and then we were on it in the front row. It definitely rattles more and is rougher than Dragster, plus I hate the OTSRs and how secluded it is. Dragster is still way better, but KK is a fun coaster. Even though it's only 8 mph faster than Dragster, it does feel more intense. It was around 9 pm and was getting dark, so my mom and I decided to quickly head over to El Toro. I wish we could just cut through, since it's a pain walking all the way around to get to it. We waited about 15 minutes and rode in the back. This was my first night ride on El Toro and it was AMAZING. In the day this coaster is incredible. At night (and especially in the back), it's pure insanity. It was 9:30 and we hurried all the way back around to Zumanjaro. So much walking! I had planned all along for us to end the night with this ride, since I knew the view from the top would be awesome at night. So we got in line and only waited about 20 minutes before we were once again waiting to get on the far car. We were going to be on the next ride cycle when the ride went down. The ride ops announced it was down and the people who had just boarded got back off. Some of them came back in line and others decided to leave. I was so disappointed, since I had waited so long to be able to get a night ride on this ride. We decided to wait and hope that it was just a quick fix. After about 15 minutes, they ran 2 tests of it. Then they opened it back up! People got back on it, but we were still in line. Then just as they got checked and the ride was about to start...it went down again. This time I was even more upset since I really didn't think it would ever reopen, especially since it was already after close. But I could tell the staff didn't just want to close the ride and make everyone still in line leave. They kept working on it, and after another 15 minutes they did 2 more tests. Some people in line in front of us had left so if the ride repoened, we would get on it next. So after the test runs, they let us board. We got seated, our restraints were checked, and we were given the clear to go. Then...were started our ascent! The ride worked! It was finally time to get my night ride on Zumanjaro. The climb at night was even freakier than during the day, and it was so cool. The experience is like nothing else. Then you plummet toward the Earth, and all you can see is darkness and the sensation of freefall and speed. The feeling is out of this world, and you don't regain your sanity until you feel the magnetic brakes slow you down. As we exited the ride, I couldn't stop talking about it all the way back to our car. We had an amazing day at the park. Lines weren't bad at all and the weather was great. Six Flags does annoy me with its advertising all throughout the park (especially giant banners in lines, ads covering coaster cars, and a massive "Jersey Boys" banner spread across El Toro's hill). But the coasters and rides at this park are so much fun. Already I'm excited about returning next year!

So, not many pics and all this time around I had more important things on my agenda. But great long trip to the Point..one day and a few extra hours here and there, sweet deal. Friday: So left and hit the road taking the correct route anyone in the Dayton area should take . Got to the park at about 2230 exactly, one and a half hours to spare. The park at this hour was surprisingly very dead, I mean, it seemed like a mid week day in May. We went to Maggie which was down weather temporarily. We decided to go hit up Corkscrew which was still running one train in light rain. This was one of the major highlights in my trip. The current crew actually is busting ass now, and working so cohesively, it's beautiful. Then ontop of it after sticking around talking about Corkscrew and whatnot, I asked if I could pop the pedals on their empty train after it parked. They fully obliged and I got to pop a full train of pedals and blew the crew away, as I still moved faster than they did...Still got it in me years later. I miss doing the Arrow dance, and it's amazing to see that perfect muscle memory still kick in. Next up, Wicked Twister towards the back, fun ride, got on once and got a reride with empty station. Once off of that fantastic little Impulse coaster we headed to Gatekeeper. Neat little back of the train ride on left side. It rode pretty good, the first inversion is still one of the best starts to a coaster IMO, the rest of the ride is ok, but the start is a fantastic one. Went back afterwards to check out Maggie, which was running again. Ended up getting three beautiful trimless night time rides on it, and got Jonathan to realize how amazing the ejector seat was. But beautiful rides, even got an overspeed which is always ALWAYS a fantastic ride. At that point we decided to get into line for Dragster for a last ride and go for dead weight, we got one ride in, and dead weight was called but we weren't needed, ah well, still got one ride as a walk on. Left the park and headed back up to Port Clinton for the night. Saturday: Woke up and headed to the point after sleeping like a baby. Headed to the point and parked in Gemini Lot and waited at the resort gate. Got into the park and headed for John McCain. Got flipped on my back a few times, was a great ride in the back row, which is the best seat . Got off of there, hit the trail and took a look at Millie. The line was a bit long unfortunately by that point and wasn't sure if they suffered yet from two train op that plagued the rest of the day. We decided to leave the line and come back to it on Sunday's ERT or come back later. We left there and headed around the park to get the Eagles in at the end of the ERT. Almost made it there by ERT's end, but the day started. Stood at attention and saluted again with plenty of passerbys..a few noticed and stopped, thankfully. Still boils my blood like no other. Got in line for Eagles and got a good ride in on them, we both got a few small snaps thanks to a nice gust of wind from the approaching storm. Right after getting out of there we headed to Gemini and got our special when lit ride on it. However it did start raining at the lift hill crest. That sucked getting a Mike Tyson tattoo first thing in the morning. At this point realizing the storm wasn't going anywhere we decided to go get lunch at Chickies & Petes. Good sandwich, fries and a beer. The place was packed considering the storm and everyone rushing for shelter/lunch but we were served in reasonable time and no issues with service unlike other people I've known. It's a good addition to the park, not the best food offered, but not the worst either. After the rain died down we tried to scout open rides. We ended up going on Power Tower's Space Shot, quick fun ride and never disappoints. Left there and headed back to Skyhawk which is running again already. The ride is running in Def Leppard mode right now, the sweep that had the cable incident is still not completely fixed or running. The crew was probably the best crew at the park this visit. Even with what happened and a cut in half capacity they busted ass like no other to get people off and on to keep the ride running as much as they safely can. Excellent work for a very stellar ride. Still not much up and running yet, we walked around and observed some things and went into some shops. We eventually made our way to the front of the park for Jon's Corn Dog request (hand dipped, always great) and went outside the front gate to watch Gatekeeper and eat. I headed back in to grab Pinks. Scotty dog, BBQ, Onion Rings, fat dog..good day. While in line for Raptor to digest food we saw a tweetup was iminent. We left the ride and waited for a location. As soon as the tweet dropped I thought it was Corkscrew, when I saw some enthusiasts running the other way towards Millie, and decided to follow them, which proved both of us wrong (should have went with my gut feeling). We ended up high tailing it back to Power Tower (I don't believe it had the longest line, it had all legs running and a two hour wait, Corkscrew one train op is three hour full queue) and won the tweetup. We were hoping for the FL+ that was mentioned but got there too late, but did score two of the 2014 coins, which is more than acceptable. After relaxing after quite a bit of cardio (which we calculated to sprinting a half mile, no wonder my legs were shot). From there we hit up Cedar Downs, always fun, Blue Streak in the last car ending with a great sound of whirring upstops, and the unique Kiddy Kingdom Carousel full of all sorts of unique animals. From there the train was next as it's only running one engine and closes early. One full trip around to observe Boneville and observe the R..er Mantis repaint that has had no new updates since the inital report. After getting off of the train we headed through the Trail and looked at a few stores at some new things, especially the Tavern in the back of the park serving better quality beers & wines. I even got Jon to try an ale that he ended up enjoying, success! I tried the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which was pretty tasty and a great bouquet of hops. He didn't enjoy it as much, but no issues there. We sat down watched the ladies stick glass into Mordor making neat little souvenirs. Once done there we did the most dreadful thing ever..ride Mean Streak. The ride isn't that bad, but it is bad. The beginning doesn't shuffle as much, which is a huge improvement the park has maintained, but the trim brake kills the ride. Major shuffling post MCBR to the point of pain..oh and bugs during the nighttime do bite as well, quite stingy. Not a terrible ride, but not enjoyable. However it is pulling a 30 minute line, so it has riders and can't justify tearing something down that is filling trains unlike an indoor coaster we once knew. If the ride just gets much needed TLC and IMO, keep it a traditional woodie, just take the track off, reprofile it into something that works, is enjoyable and doesn't rip itself apart. It's a great looking ride, probably my favorite night time picture, and has a unique and fun twister layout, just it doesn't work in it's current state for me. Look at the exceptional coaster in the front of the park. It's TLC made it run better than it has in YEARS. The same can me done for the big old Dinn in the back. Once out of there, one quick Corkscrew ride to enjoy the very back car and it's hidden bunny hop surprise of airtime and thrills and of we went to Luminosity. As I've said elsewhere, the show is FANTASTIC. To those who say, oh the park doesn't fit the demographic of the show...Well possibly, however I disagree a bit. The demographic attending the CP show goes even as far as families as well, there's something for everyone. What I wish ti see however is the live music at KI. I'm sorry but poorly done karaoke tracks with distorted and drowned out lackluster vocals need to leave KI. CP hires all in house talent for Luminosity and it shows. The black male and female in the show can SING. The woman singing Katy Perry's roar..Just..blew me away, Bring her or someone like her to KI, give us all live e music, some smoke, lights, and exceptional music. Why can't the park do this? Seriously, watch this..it's the current program for Luminosity..beautiful show. Ending the park with the same music for the same fireworks everyday is starting to get old, I don't even watch the fireworks anymore. Then ontop of it, after it's over, the announcement and atmosphere is pretty much, ok day is over, get out, go home, bye. When Luminosity goes at the end of the day in the park, the party continues even after operations have suspended which is fantastic! Good music, great performers, great instruments, amazing set and show. Then to finish with a freaking awesome DJ rave style party. What I would do to have it replicated here or at least bring something that exciting, fresh, and enjoyable to a closer park. After that we hit up the Eagles for probably the best ride of the night. Subsequent snaps, and one "chain reaction" snap. I've never seen this happen in my life ever. It took a bit to get them sideways but as soon as Jon got his sideways and his first hard good snap, it kept losing tension and snapping repeatedly, it did it four times in a row, and one jolt made mine snap at the same time as soon as mine was loose. Quite an impressive and fun ride, it's confirmed that you can snap this set of Larsons. We both agreed that if we never get KI's set back, let Carowinds keep ours as they are running successfully there, and give us a new set like this, they run great! Also at the end of the fireworks ride, we noticed that CP's fireworks show used the same music and setup for fireworks as KI..Weird to hear that here at CP, and was somewhat..meh..Originality people, stop making cookie cutter stuff! Afterwards it was off to Troika for one ride as we no longer have Shake Rattle & Roll for some time and it's TBD status. I doubt seeing it up and running the rest of the season, but to arrive next season ready to go. So if you feel the urge for a ride, go up north. Once out of there, it was time to grab Cheese on a Stick and head home for the night. Sunday: No rides, just purchased Cheese on a Stick and gauged a few rides we missed like Raptor and Millie. The lines for Sunday were much larger that morning and after being sore and tired we figured it was best to head home.... We did however, do one last thing. The legend lives on...

Shake Rattle and Roll 'd up on out of here.

Looking through the thread I feel like some of these are completely made up...some of them just make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

No matter when an event might be scheduled there are going to be conflicts, whether it's an event at another park, a coaster club conference. charity riding event, or park operating hours (difficult to offer ERT on days the park closes at midnight).

This year, Cedar Point opened on the 10th. Being so far north (and in the chilly waters of Lake Erie), Cedar Point tends to open comfortably into May (compared to Kings Island's April opening). Just to be safe, you might want to plan to do it the weekend after your birthday (May 9, 10 2015). Opening day will be announced early in the spring, too, so you should have time to shift the plans as needed. Happy birthday! ... well, in nine months.

I remember when HoliWood Nights and Coastermania ended up on the same day. People were upset that they had to choose. Hash tag first world problems.

Chrome plating would be nice! No, no PhotoShop... not enough time. Just use your "immmmaginaaaaationnnn!"

Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense. That said, some of these do sound fishy.

I agree, some of these do seem made up. Maybe I just don't listen to people around me enough because I've learned to zone out "the noise". lol

For future reference.....I would advise against such actions. Some people don't take to kindly of physical discipline, especially in a public setting. The plight of America.

It appears SeaWorld is on what Jeff Seibert referred to (during the CBS years) as a "cheap and cheerful" phase. Grunge carnival? At beautiful BGW? Really? Sad. Busch Gardens Williamsburg cuts, indeed. Sigh.

My girlfriend and I went to Holiday World yesterday for part of our anniversary celebration. She had never been, so we were very excited to go! It was a beautiful weather day in southern Indiana. Here are some notes and photos from our trip! The Voyage is still my #1 coaster anywhere. Especially in the back seat. Wow! Wildebeest > Mammoth We ate at the Kringle Kafe and the Plymouth Rock Cafe. Both were fairly priced and had pretty decent food. It was nice to enjoy an actual LAZY river. I missed those. Last time I was at Holiday World, I was met at the gate by Pat Koch. Its a shame she isn't around any longer. The GOCC discount ticket was very nice. And free drinks, suncreen, WIFI, etc... Saving money is always a plus! There was a lot of buzz around the Thunderbird sign, which I will have a picture of below. Many people were calling their friends and telling them all about the sign they were reading, and taking pictures to send to their friends. And the new orange track looks very crisp! I am excited for this ride! Gobbler Getaway blows BBOBH out of the water. I love that ride. I said it yesterday, but the drive on I-64 from Louisville to the park is beautiful. Winding through Indiana's fields and forests is truly a wonderful sight this time of year. Especially with the sun at our back on the way home. Wow! My girlfriend is not a big fan of wooden coasters, so her favorite ride in the park was Wildebeest. What she loved about the park was the attention to detail. The little things like everything being part of a theme, the overall cleanliness, and an obvious attention to keeping the decor looking fresh really blew her away! I really enjoyed this trip, and I can't wait to get back next year for Thunderbird. Holiday World is one of those parks that will always put a smile on your face, no matter what! One of the best! Here are some photos from our trip! Welcome to Santa Claus, Indiana! Potentially the coolest grandma in the world. Here is the Thunderbird sign in the Thanksgiving section of the park. Felt a little artsy with the sun shining on the nativity scene. Overall, it was a fantastic trip to a fantastic park. Despite the 8 hour drive round trip, we had a great day! I am blessed to have spent it with such a wonderful friend Thanks for reading. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post below! Merry Christmas!

Is a 300-foot stand up possible? Sure. Is it likely? Probably not. An inverted stratacoaster? Dueling 4th dimension coasters? A suspended wooden coaster over 100 feet? Its feasibility (n. the state or degree of being easily or conveniently done) would be based upon two things: A park / chain's asking for it A manufacturer's willingness / ability to make it I don't think a standing giga-coaster would make it past condition #1. Even if it did, condition #2 might be a sticking point. Few would've guessed that the year 2000 would've seen a wooden hyper-coaster though... But there was a 1, and then a 2... sort of...

Insiders say that it's been internally confirmed as coming to Disneyland. Give it a year or two, at least. That said, whatever the devil they go for there, it's going to look VERY different. Planning two months in advance? Psh, the annual passholder crowd there won't plan a day in advance. They visit casually, after work, a few times a week. Limited to one park per day with your Fastpass+ reservations? Forget it. Wearing rubber wristbands to work since you're going to Disneyland for dinner on the way home? Good luck. Choosing one "tier 1" attraction and two "tier 2" attractions in a park bursting with E-tickets? Never. Gateless entryways? Yeah, try that on the absurd 24 Hour Parties or New Years Eve where the Esplanade between parks is surging with thousands of people, all stuffed and waiting for the all-clear to let a dozen more folks in. Perks are best for folks staying in Disneyland Resort Hotels? Just try it, with a vast majority of visitors coming from Southern California. Personally, I believe / imagine / hope that Disneyland's crowds would adamantly reject this from the get-go, and that it would be shot down and DOA. And we're not talking about a petition with a few hundred signatures. We're talking about complete and utter revolt, on the ground. Lines to City Hall wrapping to the 5, refusal to use MagicBands, etc. Disneyland annual pass-holders are infamous for threatening to never visit the park again if x, y, or z happens. With MyMagic+, I believe they'd mean it.

I should clarify; I could absolutely believe that there are posters who occasionally exaggerate, embellish and flat out lie on here. I just hope this wouldn't be the topic for it, lol.

GYK, that was a great article. I totally agree with you. Maverick, as of my last CP trip, is my favorite roller coaster. Second is Gatekeeper. Millennium Force is...third. I didn't get to ride TTD, but still, the smallest of the major roller coasters is the best, IMO.

Just called Park Information - the current policy is that gold pass holders can purchase a guest ticket at the window for $37.99 and that will enable the guest to participate in ERT. Discounted tickets purchased outside the park or online are not eligible for this.

That is a misconception that hitting your kids instantly puts them in line and makes them so great and respectful of others. I was never spanked and I am a normal functioning member of society with a full time job and no criminal history. My child has never been spanked and she is very well behaved, especially opposed to the kids I see with parents running after them smacking them on the rear end all through Kings Island. If that is how you choose to keep your child in line, so be it, it is not my place to decide how someone parent's their children and I don't expect someone to tell me I am raising my child incorrectly because they do it differently. But to bring this conversation back on topic, I enjoy listening to some kids discuss their favorite rides, like saying that Surf Dog, Woodstock Express, etc is the best ride in the park. I just always think, "If y'all think that's the best ride in the park, just wait til a couple years". And no, not putting down those rides, Woodstock Express is still close to my top 10 of rides at any park I've visited just because of my own personal history with it.

Agree completely...... Just stating the facts.

You missed out. It was my favorite trip of the 2014 operating season thus far, which is saying a lot.

Plus if they're close (by date) then those from out of town can do both. But yeah, big event are at the beginning and end of the season for the reasons mentioned above.

Any stand up I have been on has been uncomfortable for me. I just don't enjoy them. I remember someone saying that building codes would prevent KI from building a strata, so what's the tallest KI can even go with a coaster. Obviously a giga is possible considering there are already attractions in the park over 300' but how much higher than that can they go.?

See Splash Adventure's Facebook, more specifically this picture (and others): https://www.facebook.com/SplashAdventureWaterpark/photos/pb.78871446304.-2207520000.1407045554./10152200405761305/?type=3&theater Not to say she still isn't at Holiday World, because I certainly don't know for sure. But from the looks of it, Pat, Dan, and Natalie have all moved to Alabama.

Equalizer? Dick Kinzel's banished. (And even Sonny Boy. Can Resale Son-In-Law be far behind?) Pat Koch? Ibidem. ...uh... Pass the Thunderbird...I need a swig.

You guys have already stolen our Flying Eagles and now you want to steal our Troika also? Get out of here.

What do you mean the coupon I got at Wendy's doesn't work to use as an admission ticket?

The ones that sound fishy to me all come from the same user, which is not you. jcgoble3, not saying anything else

I went through the same situation (few posts back). After thinking about how Gold Pass ERT admission is administered, and never seeing any entrance without a Gold card flashed to the officers, I became hesitant of the GR answer from a person that didn't even know what ERT was. Note that I realized only a flash of the card is needed. Either the park doesn't know.....or don't care.

I think you're being optimistic. If The Beast was that close to a landmark ride you'd better believe that you'd already know and it.

Disney's begun to sort of renege on Fastpass+. For one thing, popular attractions sell out months in advance. Without good ole day-of legacy paper Fastpass, your only choice to ride Soarin' is to wait two, three, four hours, unless you were one of the lucky ones to choose it as your single tier 1 attraction 60 days in advance. Beginning just a few days ago, there is no standby line for Soarin'. If you come to the attraction without a Fastpass+ reservation, you're given – wait for it – a paper ticket with a return time. Still in testing, this "Standby+" (not Disney's name for it) is confusing the heck out of everyone, including Cast Members, as guests who want to wait in line... can't. It's not an option. Either you made your reservation a few months ago, OR you can come back in a few hours for a "moderate" wait (hovering around 40 minutes). Old Fastpass used to pulse folks through the Fastpass queue. Now, both lines for the ride are metered, Fastpass+ and "Standby+," so Disney theoretically provides space only for the ride's hourly capacity. So far, the last return tickets for the day end at 6:00 or 7:00. After that, the ride reverts to stand-by. http://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20140731/19768/3-questions-raised-walt-disney-worlds-new-queue-system?page=0,0 Good. Now try to explain that to throngs of Brazilian tourists. Having fun yet?

Even if there is a height restriction, if they dig down X feet, they can go X feet higher than otherwise. See also Alton Towers. Then the attraction won't stand up so high. Of course, it adds cost. Lots of cost.

B&M inverted coaster construction slowed down because most parks that need capacity of +/-1000 riders per hour and can afford one already have one.

Based on the Ride Record Book and my calculations... The Beast will hit ride 50,000,000 soon. (Starting the season at 48,882,975. Ride needs 1,117,025 riders to hit 50 million. Last year gave 1,533,201 rides. If the exact number of rides are happening this year, that would be ~73% of the way through the season. Maybe next Sunday?)

Probably far more importantly, Blackstone has diluted the shares, greatly reduced its own exposure and bled out large amounts of cash to recoup its own investment. That's what private equity does. Just imagine if Dick Kinzel had gotten by with his plan to make the unitholders sell Cedar Fair to Apollo, while retaining a huge chunk and a golden parachute for himself, his kin and his kindred.

Funny how people are saying "Stand ups are out of date","nobody wants them" . Have we forgotten the new invert (I mean the coaster style that hasn't been built in years because they were not popular) Banshee???? I would love to see a Giga stand up coaster!

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.

I don't know why but this sign out front today made me laugh.

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

Agreed. I don't forsee KI going down the route with a stand-up coaster anytime soon, if ever. Last new B&M installation of a stand-up was Georgia Scorcher at SFoG in 1999. All others since then have been ones relocated within the Six Flags chain which I've both ridden at their new parks, Apocalypse at SFAm (former Iron Wolf at SFGAm) and Green Lantern at NJFTP (former Chang at SFKK). I never got to ride King Cobra when it was at Kings Island, but I did ride Shockwave at Kings Dominion earlier in the month. Safe to say I prefer B&M stand-ups more than TOGO. Stand-Up coasters are still offered by B&M per their website so it could happen, but given the amount of installs I wouldn't hold my breath. Giga...I would love for Kings Island to have one of these. Millennium Force and Intimidator 305 are both in my Top 5, with a slight preference to I-305. I would love for KI to have something identical to Intamin's latter installation, but I'm pretty sure that Cedar Fair and Intamin have already burned bridges permanently- Shoot the Rapids is a good example of why. I haven't been on Leviathan so I'm not sure if it delivers airtime in spades like Diamondback but given my experiences with B&M I would be satisfied with a giga made by them. I wouldn't mind an Intamin Blitz Coaster (Maverick) but again for reasons specified above, I don't think it will ever happen.

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

I see a Stratacoaster like I see a boat. I'd never buy one, but it's great that my buddy has one. I do really enjoy TTD. I wish we could get one at KI without the downtime.

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

At Cedar Point on Friday and the guy next to me in line for Millennium Force tried to convince me of several things. 1: The name of the ride was Millennial Force. 2. "Millennial" Force has a bunch of loops in it. 3. It IS the tallest and fastest coaster in the world. 4. There was a fourth train but it "blew up" so they only have three now. After 20 minutes of waiting i couldn't take it anymore and the guy wouldn't be quiet so i got out of line. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

read the comment! I hope that isn't true [emoji16]