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I had my interview at the park today and I am happy to say that I am one of the newest employees at Kings Island!! I have waited for this day since I was a little girl, and now it's official. I will be working in Dinosaur's Alive and I can't wait to get started!

Music is such a simple element that can make a world of difference. Cedar Fair was bad about it. Real bad. Remember when The Crypt opened with techno music? Eventually, it was replaced by jungle animal noises, which was a (narrow) step up. That was about when WindSeeker opened and they seemed to suddenly realize that music licensing is simpler than other types. WindSeeker is VERY musical, and we got simple but effective music added to Delirium, Drop Zone, Invertigo... WindSeeker had Harry Potter and Star Wars scores, and The Crypt got the music from Inception, which was really great. Backlot played smooth Michael Buble songs that totally fit the "spy" aesthetic. It was just a big boost to atmosphere and style. Seems that that, too, has fallen by the wayside. I'm not saying that Diamondback needs to play songs that reference snakes or anything, but why SHOULDN'T Banshee play atmospheric Irish music, or Diamondback play Western songs like Maverick does (er... apparently, used to ). Maybe blame FunTV? I was SHOCKED that they actually added flatscreen TVs in Boo Blasters' queue playing "Rude" by Magic. I mean, shocked. Is nothing sacred? The park existed for decades without the songs of four-years-ago playing in the queues. Is it more fun for the masses? I mean, maybe narrowly. But c'mon. When waiting for an experience like Boo Blasters or Banshee or Diamondback, at least try. Different music for different themed areas. Music creates atmosphere. Walking through Islands of Adventure, the music is on par with the physical theming. What fun is walking through Jurassic Park without its score playing? What's exotic about Lost Continent without its music? The Wizarding World's big emotional punch is the score from the films playing. At Kings Island, you get "California Gurls" from the early Ohio settlement to the Irish moors. And then there's International Street...

I will make this just a quick little trip report so I can get back to my school work. I have procrastinated long enough today already. ------------ I was lucky enough to win one of the auction seats for Thunderbird. I was on the first train, right wing, row 4. The morning we got there was very cold. We had to be at the park by 6:15 am for check-in. The auction riders were taken back first to Thunderbird before the rest of the group left the main gate. We were seated almost immediately in the nice and cold train and we waited for launch. I spent the day at Holiday World, with my mom. She loves wing riders and Holiday World so it made sense she was my guest today. Once the rest of the group made their way back to the plaza, you could hear a speech being given out in the plaza before we were launched. I couldn't make out anything that was said so if anyone here was there and not in station and knows what was said, feel free to let us know. Launch time was precisely 6:50 am. You could hear the countdown start outside and work its way into the building. 5...4...3...2...1... "It's Launch Time!" We proceeded into the staging area amidst a dense fog and thunderstorm effects. We waited several seconds in the fog while it thundered around us. Then at the loudest crack of thunder, the train was whisked away. Through the fog, down the launch track, and into the Immelman. You truly were upside down before you knew it. The ride never let up. The vertical loop, horseshoe turns, zero g-roll, and fly throughs were amazing. The finish reminded me of Banshee so much but Thunderbird crawls through it slower and is drawn out, creating some crazy hangtime. It was overall a fantastic addition to Holiday World! After our first flight we were able to warm ourselves up with breakfast: egg and cheese sandwiches on a buttered biscuit, strawberries and blueberries, cinnamon rolls, orange juice, and several other items. Ride time on Thunderbird, Voyage, and Crows Nest went until noon, so about 5 hours. Plenty of time to relax and enjoy the day. We were lucky enough to spend a little time on the other woodies when they were open, which ended up being only about 45 minutes. Raven still kicks some serious butt and Legend packs a punch with those lateral G's. The Legend is still my mom's favorite wooden coaster. Just goes to show you why we build so many different types of roller coasters, we all have different tastes. She didn't really say it but Thunderbird might be her favorite steel one now just based on her reactions to the ride. We were treated to lunch around noon. They served pulled pork sandwiches and country fried steak, the new menu at the new food stand by Thunderbird (forgot the name). It was all delicious. The Thunderbird Ice Cream was very different and not something everyone will like. It's vanilla ice cream with caramel and pecans. The funky thing about the ice cream though is that the pecans are fire roasted, making them spicy. I do encourage you to try it at least once. It was a very long day at the park and we didn't even stay for the last bit of ride time on Thunderbird or get dinner. We had been in the park for roughly 9 hours and had already ridden Thunderbird 14 times so we had plenty of laps. I was reminded why I love this little park in my home state. Can't wait to return later this summer! As always, thanks for reading!

Especially today, dark rides have a hundred thousand different forms. I think Kings Island should get a SCOOP based dark ride like Spider-Man. In the same vein as Busch Gardens' SCOOP ride, DarKastle, they'd doubtlessly need to farm out the creative process, animation design and storytelling of the ride (I shudder to think what Cedar Fair would create in-house with just the technology to work off of). But those rides can be family rides and thrill rides and are much more accessible than they were 15 years ago financially. That said, I expect that a SCOOP ride is exactly what Knott's Voyage is going to be. But with interactivity and without physical sets integrated in, it loses most of its wow factor. Alternatively, a dark ride / coaster hybrid budgeted for a regional park (i.e. Verbolten or Thirteen) would be a welcome family addition. Truthfully, even a classic dark ride like (a more well-done) Boo Blasters, Phantom Theater, or Enchanted Voyage. But that seems entirely unlikely. The SCOOP and coaster can be marketed like crazy, but Cedar Fair's people would take one look at a classic dark ride and go, "We can't market this!" Realistically, we're not going to get an IP-based dark ride or something on par with Revenge of the Mummy. But if we can get ANYTHING without lasers, I'll be ecstatic.

I don't think putting a coaster over the front gate makes any sense either, knowing all of the existing infrastructure around there, it would be a difficult decision what to remove. International Street is special with the fountain, putting a coaster in would detract from the theme. It ain't broke. so don't fix it. Anyone see the rebuilt Shake Rattle and Roll with all of it's LED glory, holy cow. I really like it. Reminds me of what Cedar Point did with the Gemini midway last year. Hope to meet some of you at CoasterStock soon. So looking forward to The Beast behind the scenes. Hard to see but my avatar is a pic of us holding the origianal Banshee sign model from the Cedar Point print and model shop near MeanStreak.

First, I've not stayed in Mason in more than 30 years. Second, I intensely do NOT recommend the Red Roof Inn in Blue Ash. The inn itself is now run by a franchisee. The area, and the inn, doesn't feel as safe as it once did. I last stayed there about four years ago. I would never stay there again. Let's just say it's best if all the things you left in a room are still there on your return. Better still if, in the event they are not, the response isn't "Oh, well, that's what your homeowner's insurance is for. File a claim with them. Stuff like that happens." (I didn't. And it was taken care of, NO thanks to the franchisee. So, NO THANKS to that franchisee. Now or ever. For me. After my complaint to corporate, a large box arrived at my abode. With my stuff. Really?)

From the Gold Pass Benefit Site:

News has become, to most media outlets, a profit center. The less spent producing it, the more money to be made--to a point. The oldtime network news types would turn in their graves at the state of the Fourth Estate today. Well, some of them would. See also Yellow Journalism. Things are more like they are now than they were when I got here.

On a similar note, and I'll try to get this from being too depressing.. My grandfather was essentially moved into an assisted living facility due to a stroke. He had lived on his own for who knows how many years in the same apartment. The management was given notice that he'd be out by the end of the month. Before that time was up, they decided to show off the unit to at least one prospective tenant and, in the process of entering the unit, some of his belongings disappeared. Only after repeated complaints and attempts to get the media involved did said belongings mysteriously reappear. Integrity? Ethics? Maturity? These concepts and more fail many people.

Wow. That's crazy! I'm glad you got your stuff back. Could have been worse I suppose. It's been awhile, but I've stayed at some nice, clean, cheap Red Roofs before. Too bad that one is not up to par.

Arrow is a registered trademark. As such, it is always capitalized. And, at last report, the back car of Flight of Fear is OPEN for your riding enjoyment.

Vortex: 7-1. All day every day. I really don't get the 5-1 hype. 7-1 is every bit as smooth if not moreso, and is infinitely more thrilling because of the airtime on the first drop. Beast: Second to last row in the train, or either of the first two rows. Racer: 1-3. It comes with some... turbulence... but the airtime is incredible. Same is true of Maggie at Cedar Point (Though the worst seat on Maggie is better than the best seat on any other coaster except Vortex) Flight of Fear: The very back seat. OH WAIT Invertigo: If I must ride it, I'll stay near the middle. Diamondback: It's almost thrilling if I sit in 8-2. Almost. Banshee: Front row for the view, back row for the thrills Adventure Express: Second row of the train Backlot: Near the back. Or better yet, the driver's seat of my real car, which has more comfortable seats and restraints, accelerates from 0-35 faster, and has working on-board audio and LFE... The Bat: Front seat. All day, every day. By FAR the best seat on this one. Firehawk: doesn't matter, but I far prefer it at night when there is rarely a line.

I can assure you that Kingda Ka at 128 in pouring rain hurts like he$@&"!

I rode Dragster at night a few years back and ended up with a nice long cut across my forehead via mayfly at 120 mph.

For me, the best seat in the park is the very back seat(s) on Diamondback. Being pulled over the top by the rest of the train on that first hill is amazing! Then push your hands back on the splash-down to get cooled down.

I suspect fast food standards.

Is supper quick for fast food standards or fine dining?

Glad you are a new part of the team. Hiring decisions are supper quick once you get the interview call. DA seems like a great place to work.

What type Kings Island should get, or will get? It seems pretty certain it'll be from Triotech since Cedar Fair has partnered with them for the Amusement Dark initiative thing. Their products are priced well, one can imagine, for regional parks like Cedar Fair's and offer "budget" versions of well-known ride systems. So far, Guardian at Wonderland is Voyage to the Iron Reef at Knott's isn't open yet, but it will probably be Given those two examples and pending any others, Kings Island would likely get an interactive indoor dark ride that's mostly (if not entirely) screens and may or may not include a very short roller coaster section. Boo Blasters' building seems more fitting than The Crypt's unless they make a very compact ride split between two levels. Or worse, a very SHORT ride on one level with the rest of that tall building standing for no reason. Of course, a new building could be constructed, too. At Cedar Point, could be a new building or the remains of one of the park's lost dark rides.

From The Chicken Shack patio on Sunday, I pulled 2.87 down and 3 up. For free public WiFi, its perfectly fine!

CONGRATULATIONS! Terp--if only other employers made hiring decisions so quickly!

I try not to boddah anybody. Oh, sure.

I have no idea what you're referencing, but I laughed anyway.

Ugh. Whatever misguided soul wrote that page is most likely a magma cum laude graduate of the PR school of stilted, overly excited yet intensely boring school of puffery writing. I love this industry. I really do. Yet that page turns my stomach. Dick Konebels effective, it is not. Blech.

And this is one of two reasons why I'm not in the field of my degree. I do believe that there is still good journalism out there. It is just harder to find in the world where station/network owners are focused on the profit and not the message.

They're killing me with it. I don't want to skip it, but Coasterstock is already going to wear me out.

On the flip-side, for those of us farther out, this gives something to do Friday evening before heading to the hotel.

There's no way I could do this and still have the energy to make it through Coasterstock.

Congratulations. I knew you'd get it.

I see a "Flying Ace Aerial Chase", but that's not the ride mentioned in the newscast...

Obligatory LMGTFY link Obligatory park map link (see E10)

Here's my two cents... The Beast and The Racer: the middle row of each car is the smoothest as you are not in a wheel seat. I prefer front row on night rides. Diamondback: Row 2, either seat Banshee: 8-4 is my go-to seat on Banshee, honorable mention for 1-4. Vortex: 5-1 is a good ride. The first drop in 7-1 still takes me by surprise each time I ride it. The Bat: 7-1 is my go-to seat. Flight of Fear: Front row, every time Backlot Stunt Coaster, Invertigo, Firehawk: The red Ford Focus in the parking lot.

In my opinion the backseats on any coaster provide the most thrill, therefor are the best seats on a coaster.

In the past they would randomly hand a guest a card at the entrance and ask them to give it to an attendant at the platform to give them an accurate time. Im guessing that the chip in the Magic Band is used now.

Dr. Seuss did insecticide commercials before he did kid's books? I learn something new every day.

Yes, I realize I'm late on this but here's my Trip Report from Opening Day! I get to the park around 10:30 and get my Gold Pass processed. I enter the park around 10:45 and purchase Fast Lane. Before I take a ride on anything I decided to take a stroll around the park and just let it sink in that I'm finally back at Kings Island! So after my stroll I looked to take my first ride of 2015 on Diamondback, however, it was closed for the time being. So my first ride of 2015 was The Beast. After that I go back to Diamondback and it has opened back up. I get at least 2 rides on there before I move on to Banshee. After two more rides on Banshee, it was time to fill up my tummy! I go to Chicken Shack, worst service ever! Waited at least 30 minutes before I paid for my food. After Chicken Shack I take another stroll to let the food digest before going on another ride. So I walk to Planet Snoopy to ride the new Woodstock Gliders. Very fun as usual! Now I felt like it was time for a few more rides on Diamondback. Rode it at least 4 more times throughout the day. Now I head for BLSC. Always a fun ride. I contemplated about riding it twice but I thought otherwise because I had to leave soon. So for my final rides of the day were Banshee. Rode in row 8 both times and as usual, had a blast! Before I left I had to find one of my old co workers. It was good to talk to her again. Unfortunately, the talk didn't last very long because she had to go back to work and I had to leave for my baseball game. We ended up winning that game and extended our win streak to 6 games. Overall, I had a great day at KI and it couldn't end any better than a victory on our home turf! Some pics I took.

My phone's the first thing I grab in the morning too. To shut off the alarm. I'm not much of a phone oriented person either. My iPhone is made from two old broken iPhone 4's. Frankenphone! If I didn't live 1500 miles away from family I probably wouldn't use it that much. But it's nice to have it to text my parents and my grandpa.

Grabbed this from the Coaster Crew Facebook event page.

fuse.net is a service of Cincinnati Bell, which has has provided Internet service to the park for a long time.

And while there has been talk about possibly tearing down the entire current front gate building, or removing the International Restaurant, to allow for a "front gate coaster", I don't see that happening now since they took the effort over the offseason to install an elevator at the International Restaurant entrance. If anything, at this point I think they're more likely to reopen the International Restaurant as a public restaurant than to remove it.

About the outage today, I'm going to take the liberty of reposting the following from the KIC Facebook page, originally posted at 3:18 PM: So that's why the site was down all afternoon and evening.

Cedar Point is the kind of park that developed over the course of a century (and then some) growing from a picnic park to a carousel park to a midway to a coaster park. Its setup (particularly the long midways dotted with vendors and rides) reflects that history. I think of that as a "natural" or "organic" layout that develops over a long period of time as a park grows. Often, those parks aren't very intuitive or easily navigable because they grew out as needed and under the care of many different owners. (See Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, Conneaut Lake Park, Universal Studios Hollywood, Kennywood, etc.) In 1955, Disneyland opened with an innovative "hub and spokes" park layout with an entry land that forced all guests to the center of a wheel from which other themed lands radiated outward like the spokes on a bike tire. That was very unique and new, and one of the key elements that separated Disneyland from the parks, midways, and boardwalks that had predated it. To me, that layout is intentional, purposeful, and man-made. It's got traffic flow in mind. It's got the benefit of being developed and built all-at-once instead of responding to growth like the other kind. (See Disneyland, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida, Animal Kingdom, Kings Island, etc.) Being 50+ years old by time American parks began being built in Disneyland's image, Cedar Point maintains its midway style. Its themed areas - Frontier Trail and Frontiertown - were built between 1965 and 1972... right around the time Magic Kingdom opened. What's cool is that Cedar Point has shown an interest in at least giving personality to different areas. Gemini Midway is a great example. We'll see what else the park has in store. Valravn and a "dark forest" dark ride in Rougarou's area would build a very compelling themed area (if trees came along, too). Of course, then Millennium would be even MORE stranded than it is right now.

The cheap motels in Mason are extremely so (and I don't necessarily mean 'price'). You'll save money, and the people running them are friendly, but you'll see why they're so cheap quickly! (I've been to two that have cigarette burns in the bed covers, mold in the ceiling panels, and ... hair... I'll just stop there.) The neighborhood is relatively safe, though, and well-patrolled at both "ends" of the town (by that I mean the Fields-Ertel end and the Kings Mills end). I'd recommend spending a little more for the quality of the overall experience. Avoid the ones that advertise their weekly rates up front! Also, be aware that "nationally-advertised, brand-name" chains do not necessarily denote quality! Trust me. Conversely, chains whose names might lead you to believe that they're cheap because they're small ("micro"), might actually be of higher quality than you might expect. Check on-line for their rates.

CP also has themed music to its themed sections as well. Country in Frontiertown, and last year brought bluegrass to the Trail.

^You wouldn't believe how easy it is. I have two teenage daughters that live on their phones, first thing they grab when the open their eyes in the morning. Drives me crazy.

Oh, Terpy.

There are serious access issues inside that restaurant, too. Many steps...remain to be taken if that's the goal...unless they already have been.

RAID? Quick, Henry, the Flit! Terp, raising the Black Flag.

Here is the announcement and web page. Sorry for the delay some problem getting on KICentral earlier today: http://www.visitrichmondva.com/things-to-do/vathrills/ Interesting. Worth a site visit.

I will add that, while some of the queue music did not provide the best theming, I do miss some of it. Not sure what Hoobastank's "The Reason" has to do with Raptor, a bird of prey.. The song was released in 2003, 9 years after the ride opened, so it's not period. However, it does hold sentimental value as I remember listening to it while waiting with a certain girl who, for me, is The Reason. Then there's Maverick's queue that had a lot of cool country music. Now, I'm told to Let It Go.