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I seriously whipped that video together via cell phone and uploaded it unedited immediately. I think LoraX actually recorded it for me. It was on my own personal YouTube channel since that was the default for the upload. This company has shared it, plugged it, and now there's even an article about it. It was seriously just intended to demo it for you guys since they didn't come until the last weekend and some of you wouldn't have been able to see them until this year. Social media....

You should feel honored. Or ripped off. Or both.

http://www.wlwt.com/news/escape-the-room-challenge-coming-to-west-chester/31242196 As some of you may or may not know, I am involved in this project serving as the social media manager. I would find it very helpful if you could follow us through the various social media outlets: LIKE us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Follow us on Tumblr Subscribe to our YouTube Channel Here are the two back story videos for the two rooms that will open in March. Enjoy! Escape The Mob Esmeralda's Curse Please let me know if you have any questions.

I feel neither of those just... confused...

Elevator buttons. Restraints. Lap bars. Door handles. Gas pump handles. Such is life.

Nice to see that the new interactive maps are getting some attention! Digital Signage Today : New interactive map aims to make Kings Island visits more fun .....O' Suhr

Video promotion for the newly refreshed and renovated Hotel Breakers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdJyXI-DIMk&feature=youtu.be

I hope they update their app with that sort of map and wait time data. Who am I kidding, I'd just like them to update the calendar in the app to this year (and not 2013)

I had a job like that once. Fortunately I got out in time. Else, I'd still be in Atlanta. Oh, the horror. Truthful Terp Cross Threadin'.

It's insane how much effort I have to put in to tell if it is a real picture or animation in some of those shots.

For those interested or going soon, a few updates worth noting: 1. Due to changes in Florida law, all arcades resort-wide will be closing by Monday, Feb. 16. The changes deal with redemption based games and basically require a lot more oversight than they currently have, Disney isn't interested in throwing resources at a small money maker, so they're shutting them down. 2. Starting this week, you may now skip the check in desk at your Disney resort. Simply set up your Magicband ahead of time at home (w charging privileges, etc.) and set up texting alerts. The hotel will text you a room number when your room is ready and you can then use your Magicband to enter. A few resorts are being added each week, but every resort will be doing this by 3/1/15. 3. June 30, 2015 is the last day for the Richard Petty racing stuff at the WDW Speedway. The park is removing the track to create more parking for the MK, since those lots and the TTC ones fill up fast, esp. on busy days. A couple of other backstage buildings are being removed this summer as well. The removals are related to the creation of a new northern gate to the Mouse which will be located just north of the MK. The new road would take you around the backstage areas, before curving around near the Floridian and Poly before emptying into the new MK lots. Progress!

Ahhh reliving memories through the creation of a trip report. This is something I have always taken great joy in doing, but it seems over the years I have done less and less. Lack of time, Apathy or maybe nobody around here cares anymore. I'm not sure the reasons I have not done as many as I once did, but a magical trip to Disney at Christmas seemed like the perfect opportunity to wax poetic once again. 2014 saw La Familia RailRider add member #4. Yes we were blessed with daughter number 2 in August and it made perfect sense that our first real family vacation be to Disney World at Christmas. Visiting the World for the Christmas season is something we have been wanting to do and the trip provided so many new magical moments. Especially seeing Little Miss RailRider share her love and enthusiasm of Disney with her Sister and her Grandparents. What a neat moment to behold. Please take the next few minutes and enjoy our journey.

I like how both Gatekeeper and Fury interact with the front gate, just in very different ways. Also, carrying through the hexagon shape and colors throughout the ride experience is nice. That is a great touch that I'm looking forward to seeing in person.

@CarowindsPark on Twitter : "The #Fury325 sign should arrive soon, until then - consider these leaked pics an early V-Day present! #FuryFever" Photos : Carowinds via Twitter "The bridge of #Fury325 is coming together nicely. If you listen closely, u can already hear the screams! #FuryFever" Photo : Carowinds via Twitter

A typo, or a clue to the next escape room? Just a typo.

Ryan is famous now. Can I have your autograph? lol

Will there be live performers in the room? Unfortunately I can not answer questions about the content of the rooms. That's part of the surprise! I'm sword to secrecy. I wouldn't want both the Mob AND Madame Rosa after me, would I???? Will there be more than one customer in the room or will there be multiple identical rooms? Because with an hour time limit, there's going to be a real wait if it's one person at a time. As of this writing, both Esmeralda's Curse and Escape the Mob are designed for 10 people per block. You can purchase as few as 1 and as many as 10 tickets for each time block, but if your group consists of less than 10 you may be paired with other people you don't know. The game lasts for 60 minutes, but please allot 90 minutes because if you lose they will walk you through the clues and show you what went wrong. We encourage you to purchase your tickets in advance and arrive 15 minutes early. If you purchase tickets in advance you should not have to wait more than the 15 minutes. You may purchase walk up tickets, but they are subject to availability. Any ideas on pricing? The retail price of the experience is $28 per player. There will be specials and discounts, including group discounts. www.escapetheroomchallenge.com

Yeah, is was on here so you usually saw it here on KIC.

CP Food Blog just posted an article about gluten free options to be available on the Kings Island 2015 dining plan: http://cpfoodblog.com/kings-island-gluten-free-dining-plans/ I wasn't sure from the article whether Coney Potato Works was included in dining along with Festhaus, because it currently isn't as per the official KI site. I asked on Facebook, and they said "The preliminary lists shows both as being offered on the dining plans." So that's pretty exciting!

An Introduction to Magic For many Disney World is a once in a lifetime trip, that will hopefully create memories that will last a life time. These special moments and interactions throughout Disney are what I like to refer to as Magic. I was introduced to Magic by a fellow KIC'er and esteemed all things Disney expert (Avatar). When planning a trip I try to incorporate enough time and opportunities for those unique magical one in a lifetime moments. The amazing thing with Disney is that there are so many opportunities to create Magic and sometimes it is by total surprise. This trip was extremely special because we were taking Baby RailRider on her first real vacation and the Grandparents were experiencing Disney through the eyes of a child for the first time. Oh yeah and we went at Christmas as well. The details: Bay Lake Tower was our home for the week (Walking Distance to the Magic Kingdom) We had free dinning that we upgraded to Deluxe. All 4 parks will be visited along with their Christmas Festivities. We start every trip with Dinner our first night at California Grill, High atop the Contemporary Resort, amazing views of the Kingdom and the best seat for Holiday Wishes Fireworks. Not to mention this is the best meal at Disney by far. Did I mention best seat around for Wishes Fireworks? We were treated to Holiday Wishes and Disney goes all out. We would be visiting the parks over the next few days Rather than share a chronological trip report, I am just going to share some favorite moments. Yes I broke down and bought everyone matching Diseny Shirts with our last names on them. Actually its a brand that makes headwear that we share last names with. Awesome! Too early in the morning for BabyRailRider, she will be awake later. The Disney Photopass now the Memory Maker is worth the purchase price. You get shots that you wouldn't have otherwise and the onride photos that I will share later are just awesome along with the video Something in this picture is no longer around? Oh what Characters you will meet... Coming Soon

Increased bookings on decreased room count? That's not likely, but then that's not what they're looking for. It seems more like Ouimet wants to maximize the profit per room.

Huh? More like higher effective rates and yet increased guest satisfaction. Mr. Kinzel is well and truly gone.

INTAMIN? Well, while based on the designer and manufacturer I assume the ride will be thrilling and intense, and probably much smoother than what it would have been as an S&S, reliability of both the coaster and Drop Tower likely won't be very good, especially since this is a first of its kind prototype based on INTAMIN's recent track record. I Expect lots of breakdowns in the early years. I also now really don't expect one of these at a Cedar Fair park, at least so long as Matt Ouimet is in charge.

It's not officially for sale though. The page simply says they've "parked" the domain, meaning they've linked it to their GoDaddy hosting account but don't actually have a website associated with it. If you click the link to buy it, you get taken to a page for a "domain agent" service - you pay $70 to have them try to negotiate the sale of the domain for you.

Hand sanitizer anyone? Especially after hundreds of hands have touched those screens....

And so it shall....... The world's tallest roller coaster, coming to Orlando's Skyplex in 2017, will be manufactured by the one and only, INTAMIN. Just announced today, the world's tallest drop ride, SkyFall, at a height of 450 feet, will be located on the inside of the tower and face the outside toward SkyScraper, this ride will also be manufactured by INTAMIN. Also, as a side note, apparently S&S has NO involvement what-so-ever with this project, for those of you worried about a painful ride experience..... All of this and more can be found Here

Construction crews are moving at a very fast pace on the new front entrance area! (Live Still-Image captured from the Carowinds New Gate Construction Cam) @mikefehnel on Twitter : "I wonder where these are going?" (Photo : Michael Fehnel / Carowinds GM via Twitter) "Here is a pic of the design element located under the bridge of #FURY325." (Photos : Michael Fehnel / Carowinds GM via Twitter)

Here's the direct link to the video. It's weird that SOB is like mirrored or something. The coaster is called Zero Gravity Gulch lol

I actually have inside info this time. My sister married into the Entertrainment Junction family so I found out at Christmas. We all laughed because the idea sounded silly to us. But apparently, it's a real thing.

Yes. Incredibly. The guy calling the shots on this is an absolute perfectionist. You're going to love it.

I think I have have seen that video before

This looks really interesting...and scary. I really want to do this. Are the rooms going to be themed pretty well?

Since the information is out, here's the website: http://escapetheroomchallenge.com/

Good stuff; thanks for sharing! I'm totally loving that Blood Drums is playing in the background!

http://www.funnyordi...trick-warburton This a very funny parody video.SOB is altered and The Beast now goes through Canada.

Loved it when I first saw it, loved it again! Thanks for sharing!

IMO, last year such a seat on The Racer was rougher than 6-3 on The Beast. I can believe this. Last year, my one ride on Racer was far rougher than usual, and very bumpy. Beast on the other hand gave some of the smoothest rides I've ever gotten on it- whoever did that retrack did a great job on it, and KI should probably have them head over and do Racer too. If they can get Racer running consistently the way it was on my ride in May 2012 (very smooth and full of airtime) it's popularity will start to go up again. But if isn't cared for, it'll get rough and eventually few if any will be riding it and that will force the park to remove or RMC it. I hope that doesn't happen, as when it's running well, Racer is a solid coaster and a historic one to boot.

some of us are...

It looks like they were testing earlier today. A friend of mine who was dropping off paperwork to the park, saw a train on the launch track. Not sure if it did a full launch test today or partial launch. Also, I confirmed with Holiday World via Twitter that the control booth would be above the track like at Cedar Point on the roller coaster, Gatekeeper.

For future reference, and for those without Flash, the live construction cam feed has been replaced with this still image: (from Holiday World's Thunderbird Construction Cam) Sounds like they're testing!

What policy?

This is just.... come on man!

Since we get the choice, it's a convenience for me if I'm in a hurry. Now, if only I could get a drink deal without having to carry that miserable plastic cup around the park!

The Racer is iconic, as others have mentioned. I really don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. Though I will say a coat of paint would make me feel better about its future. The worst thing I could see happening would be RMC treatment. Call me nostalgic, but, it's not the same coaster redone. I know some of the younger, and a few older, people here would argue that it would be a better ride. I disagree, the SIX treatment of old woodies is a travesty. History is an important part of our enthusiast community. Would the Coney Island Cyclone be the same with steel track? How about Jack Rabbit?

Well sorry to reopen this topic but i Thought id make a list of all the remnants since it hasnt really been done all the way fully. 1. Son of Beast's Station along with its chain lift mechanism. also the original trains are behind Dinosaurs Alive if you ride the back seat of the Red racer (i think) and look youll see them. Also the newer trains were used for haunt last year the Blue ones but they took off the Son of Beast sticker not sure if y'all saw them or not. 2. The lights from Wild County Safari are directly under Congo Falls. 3. There are several Footers from the original Bat under Vortex and right next to the Station. Also the matience doors have two holes in them obviously to incorporate The Bat's suspened track. Along with The Bat's Station (except it was Orange not Blue.) and the stairs leading up the first lift hill on Vortex are from The Bat. 4. Going back to Son of Beast the queue line is still there and also whats left of the Track sticks out of the Station. 5. The original Enchanted Voyage entrance is still there. Its next to The Great Pumpkin Coaster Its the big mural of Snoopy or the Pumpkin Patch. Its doors are there and its used for Carnevil during Haunt. 6. Flight Commaders Queue is still there and I think is used for KillMart (correct me if Im wrong) 7. Phantom Theater's entire queue line is present along with the Maestro's Balcony and Spooky faces that I think were supposed to be Maestro are in the Hallway. They've got boards on them and glowing red eyes and are all from Phantom Theater. (My Profile Picture) is one of them. who looks like Maestro. Also Kings Island has about all of the Animatronics and the Phantom Theater Mouse is used in Board to Death. Along with the Boiler Room furnace in Slaughterhouse Reloded towards the end of that maze. And I think theres a few Phantom Theater things in Madame Fatales Cavern of Terror. 8. There may be a Few King Cobra Footers present behind Slingshot next to Banshee but they may have been removed although they were quite small and out of the way of Banshee's footers. Also King Cobra's Chain along with other parts of it might be in Flight of Fear. Althought the trains from King Cobra were moved back in 2008 to Kings Dominion to be used as spare parts for Shockwave. A clone of King Cobra down in Virginia. Those trains used to be in Flight of Fear but now i Think they are next to Volcano The Blast Coaster from what Ive read. 9. The Paramount's Kings Island trams are clearly visible from the Top of the Eiffel Tower. 10. Der Spinning Keggers have to Flag poles next to Viking Fury. 11. Sky Ride's Footer now has a tree in it but is still next to Adventure Express and behind the restaurant that used to be Bubba Gumps. I forget its present name but I think its Hanks Burrito Shack. 12. Top Gun's Stars are still there. If you turn around when you first step out of The Bat's entrance tunnel/Old Son of Beast tunnel you will see them. 13. SkyLab's queue line is now a prize storage room facility. 14. Tomb Raider The Ride's photo booth is still next to the same buidling that once housed it Madame Fatales Cavern of Terror. 15. The go cars from Thunder Alley are visible from Firehawk's queue line and lift hill. 16. A majority of the Scooby doo and the Haunted Castle Props and Cardboard cutouts are used on Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. 17. The track from Phantom Theater is still there but the actuation of the Cars switched. But its still the same track from Phantom. 18. Also I have no idea what happened to the Phantom Theater Cars maybe someone can help me on this they used to be on display at the Bandstand before Blood Drum's became a hit. 19. Not really a remnant but the sign for Invertigo along with the actual Station is still colored to represent the Face/Off days. 20. Many of the Wild County Safari buildings remain except you have no way of accessing them. Along with the Trams from the Safari are at Jungle Jims down the road. 21. Cars from the Jetson's Ride were also on display next to the Eiffel Tower and next to the Son of Beast trains. 22. The Crypt's seats are stored inside Flight of Fear and The Bat Demon is used for Haunt. 23. And does anybody know if there are any Screamin' Demon remnants? Ive never found any. 24. Also Im fairly sure the old Flight of Fear cars are stored inside Flight of Fear and there are some also behind Banshee. Behind Son of Beast's old Rosebowl Double Helix, near the Station of Son of Beast now. 25. The Flying Dutchman's launch pad is now the entrance to The Adventure Express. 26. I cant think of anyting else except for througout the park there are various things that still say Paramount's Kings Island on them like the Trams and other things if you look hard enough. 27. Well I hope you enjoy this list and hope you go find some of the Remnants or maybe learn about ones you didnt know about. Thanks for reading.

^Not knocking you but why does the track's proximity to the tower make or break this ride design for you?

It looks like it will be a single attraction in the plaza, so I don't expect super long lines. Probably will cost $15 to ride...kind of like an attraction in Vegas.

Hotel Breakers Remodel Extensive, Beyond Refreshment New photos documenting the extensive interior demolition, renovation, rebuild, and restoration of Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point: https://www.cedarpoint.com/blog-article/online-fun/Hotel-Breakers-Progress Note photos of interior stripped down to framing bare bones and new space layout underway. For a good follow-up article please see: http://www.morningjournal.com/general-news/20141030/hotel-breakers-entrance-demolished-as-cedar-point-plans-renovations This article reports the rotunda will be preserved to its original glory, will restore guest rooms to the rotunda, re imaged front entrance, refrigerators, LCD terminals, new and refreshed walk-in beach style pool with hot tubs and water play areas, the lobby, reception, and rotunda areas will be restored to near original look while guest and public rooms will be realigned and receive new fixtures and furniture. All of this seems to be well beyond the originally announced "hotel refreshment" program. Having considered, in this forum, the costs per room Cedar Fair likely planned to expend the scope of the project comes as no surprise. See my post above (comment 13) from November 7, 2012.

Great Wolf Resorts was the worlds largest operator of indoor water park hotels. Great Wolf was primarily a development company, then the economy went south, they were transitioning into an operating company. They achieved long strides and were about to turn the profitability corner. The wolf arrived at the door. In the guises of a little enterprise called Apollo. The hammered out a tender offer merger agreement calling for the payment of $5.00 per share. They also needed the holders of rather exotic mortgage debt instruments to agree to change in control provisions to debt covenants. Like the deal agreed to by former management at Cedar Fair, Great Wolf's management and board lapped up the milk and licked their chops at the prospect of lucrative management contracts and golden parachutes. Shareholders, much like Little Red Riding Hood, recognizing a great wolf when the saw one, balked at the deal. The shareholders demanded more. Mortgage debt holders wisely refused to surrender protective covenants. The deal day approached to find hardly any shares had been tendered, and frighteningly, zero mortgage debt had agreed to drop change in control restrictions. Mean while Little Red Riding Hood--the shareholders in our tale--agitated for the deal to be aborted if adequate consideration was not offered for shares. A competitive bidding of sorts broke out with Apollo consistently raising the consideration to best the new suitor. The shares took off and Apollo finally won the company with a cash price of $7.85 per share. One of the largest price increases ever in a tender offer merger. Little Red Riding Hood was left to ponder if it was all just silly coincidence two of Richard Kinzel's children had played significant roles at Great Wolf Resorts. So yes, Great Wolf Resorts is on the market, one way or another, as the Interpreter has alluded. It is simply a question of price. Would the new Cedar Fair board, which from all observation takes it's oversight role very seriously, and new FUN management team pay an extravagant premium for the Great Wolf Resort at Kings Island? Not likely given current debt loads, this quarters unexpected revenue miss, and a healthy increase announced to the dividend. Purchase the property at a fire-sale price? No doubt FUN would like to, but less likely Apollo would consider a distress asset sale. However, never say never. The CEO hinted at the possibility of acquisitions in the not to distant future (think two to three years after the balance sheet is cleaned up a bit and the debt due in 2014 has been restructured at lower rates) of attractive assets offering good returns on investment. One clear lesson from our little morality tale; the Wolves (investment firms) are having a harder time leading the Sheep (shareholders) to slaughter. Leland Wykoff

That was so wrong, but so funny! What's funny is (besides the video), Patrick Warburton tells the safety concerns on Soarin at Disney World! (at least he did 4 years ago....)