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Funny you should mention that. This morning Kings Island posted a video on Instagram of PEANUTS 500 going through its morning test runs with the caption: I thought it was hilarious given the recent conversation on these boards about Kentucky Kingdom's practice of "weekly" inspections. Source: KingsIslandPR on Instagram

^ That is awesome! Kentucky Kingdom may not consider Kings Island competition, but I am sure Kings Island views Kentucky Kingdom as competition. Rightfully so, they are competing for the same regional crowd and KI does not want to loose any potential guests to KK. That is considered good business, aware of your competition, especially in your marketplace.

I can't wait for more reviews of this weekend and the hundreds that show up...

All I can say right now is "wow!" It started out like it was going to be the same show but with new Clowns, but it turned into so much more. There is a new act I'm dubbing "Twin Dragons" that defies explanation. I'm totally amazed. There are some old friends from last year's show and a lot of new ones. I'll go more into it later. Lorax has some pics she might come along and post. Mostly, if you're at the park after today Go See Cirque Imagine!

^Unless your like me, I keep the lights off as much as I possibly can. My wife has accused me on several occasions of being a vampire. I tell her I'm just saving money.

As promised, a report for the Shaker Inn. Just as jtro said above, we really enjoyed our Shaker Inn experience, though Chugh43, may disagree. For reasons that will become obvious. Positives; As mentioned, very quiet. With no interstate close by it had a quaint back road peacefulness that can't be found at the big exit hotels. The drive was well worth the extra 5-10 mins. As soon as you pull into the parking lot, the landscaping, and care of the exterior are immediately apparent. Once inside, the room was clean, immaculately clean. The staff was awesome, they found a way to let us check in late, and add a day with no questions. And gave us work arounds for both. Negatives: The only real outstanding negative, was the pull out sofa. The mattress was so thin the springs would have made a mosquito uncomfortable. Poor Chugh43 ended up sleeping on it in it's sofa configuration. The room configuration was kind of strange, as it's listed as a suite, but access to the bathroom is only through the bedroom. All in all, I'd highly recommend this place. Clean, quiet, and off the main road. We didn't have a chance to check out the pool area, though it looked as pristine as the rest of the landscape.

If they are indeed only inspecting the rides on a weekly basis the answer is simple. No, the park isn't worth visiting.

...If you aren't near a border, limited funding and a crying need for out of state visitors in order to qualify for tax subsidies. If you are near Cincinnati, a conscious decision by Ed Hart, apparently so as to not irritate Cedar Fair/Kings Island... May 30. It's coming. Wonder who might try to go again? With....

If Terpy has taught me anything,( it's much more than this), it's that you don't need to pack everything you own into the park. If it won't fit in my zippered pocket on my cargo shorts, I don't really need it. I do however lament the day I can go without my phone. My dad is 90, he is the only reason I still carry it into the park.

You poor child. I have a friend who can't tell Coke from Pepsi!

No. Most remember it happened at Kentucky Kingdom. Then...the park puts in a new drop ride. Separately: http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/blog/morning_call/2015/05/kentucky-kingdom-opening-this-weekend-with-several.html

Try the new D shaped Slim Style LED lighting from Philips. Get the daylight version. You won't be disappointed. Home Depot has them.

That is hilarious. Then again to go from 0 guests in 2013 to about 600,000 in 2014. That is some serious growth.

More hubris from today's IndyStar-a full page color ad splashed across the back page of the front section of the paper. The opening paragraph mentions that KK Is the "fastest growing park in the U.S." and has "risen to international prominence". Talk about an inflated sense of self worth.

Hey guys! So, I recently creeped through the forums and made a playlist of songs played at Kings Island, songs that made me think of Kings Island, and songs that made a lot of the forum members thought of when thinking of Kings Island. I thought I would share it here for you guys to enjoy. If you have any additional songs that you've heard or remind you of Kings Island, share it here and I will add it to the playlist. The songs are timeless, so it doesn't matter how old or new the song is! I hope to have an amazing playlist I can play every time I go to the park. The playlist can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/user/123345110/playlist/7MU7wqYjMNTdFGdubnr00y

Courtesy of GOCC / Jesse Rose Cedar Point seems to be building a little timeline of its current roller coasters. What might go at the end of this list? Well, as the sign says, CP is the Roller Coaster Capital of the World. They don't always go for tallest or fastest, but they have a lot of variety that complements the beautiful beaches and lake (when it's not green). Might this be a hint that a new type will be added to their collection? Of course, it could be another Centurion-style red herring, but I don't find that likely. For those who don't know, this fence was put up around the former Good Time Theater / Dodgem site.

It will be interesting to see if the other three are actually available May 30th and what reason they give if any one of them isn't...

I remember the traffic going home. I always managed to stay awake long enough to make it to the RR/75 interchange before falling asleep on the way home.... also the "gum trees" on the way to WWC Uggh.....the "Gum Trees"! So glad that that kind of stuff went away. I never understood the idea of placing gum on tree trunks, or even attraction walls (see racer tunnels, etc).

It was not appreciably better the day it opened. I got off that thing and wanted to cry for the park. Not as badly as I did in 2000 somewhat south, but yeah.

The best is currently SBNO unfortunately. I've since resorted to Blue Streak @ CP following it's extensive refurb and trains. But I'd much rather enjoy Big Dipper at Geauga Lake, or Wolf Bobs if it was still standing as well. Villain was another great ride, and potentially my favorite hybrid. It was one of the few coasters to actually frighten me from riding it, it bucked on those hills with incredible speed and very enjoyable, but worrisome laterals if you were on the right hand side. However, I'll enjoy what little is still left in Ohio for Wooden Coasters, it's sad they are a dying breed, they always have been my favorites to ride for the most part, but that could be the nostalgia speaking.

The Racer. One attraction. One coaster. So counteth the park.

Having a ride inspected weekly isn't even a choice on Roller Coaster Tycoon. Why in the world would that be appropriate in real life? Please tell me you're being sarcastic with that remark. All parks (except KK as we're finding out) inspects all their rides each day. Yes, all the coasters have the entire length of track walked and checked. RCT isn't something to infer information on how real parks operate. You should really read the rest of the thread to get more info on KK's situation. Many people want the park to succeed. Its their own actions that warrant worry. They continually do things that set the park up for failure, at the expense of the Commonwealth's taxpayers no less. Government has no business running amusement parks.

^I hope they are remembering to get the postal codes of all their international visitors!

T3 trains > poorly written articles.

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If you're here for the Cirque Imagine passholder preview, we're starting to check in and line up. Yep, I got here 50 minutes before the doors open (which is at 6:30) and there were about ten people already checked in. I hope Trevor Bodogh the Bycrobat comes out and does some tricks to entertain us while we wait

LOL! This is me sometimes. I often look at my on-ride photo and laugh at how bored I look.

I actually hope to make a trip this year, next year is not a "given" at this point.

For the record, Coke is better But then again, Mountain Dew is better than Mello Yello. Now, as far as choice in an amusement park, I would rather see Coke over Pepsi any day. Just my opinion

Maybe. But the cost is REALLY going to need to come down so that the savings are realized. I can buy a 75W flood light for around $4-5 for outside. An equivalent LED bulb is north of $25. I'd feel much better about making the environment greener if some of that meant more green stayed in my virtual wallet. But, the energy savings and far less frequent bulb replacement quickly pay for the bulb...

Yes, This guy's driving skill was just as good as his painting skills. The same guy wanted me to install a lexan late model spoiler (off one of our old race cars) on the top of the tailgate of the same truck. Said it would keep the rear of the truck on the ground at 90 mph I was scared every time he pulled out of his driveway.

A roller coaster. A date. (Not the fruit.) The feeling of disappointment when a ride I liked is removed. The feeling of apathy when a ride I disliked is removed. If I had to guess, I probably rode a steam train the first time there. The weird feeling that comes with visiting multiple parks in one day. New ride announcements. An acrobatics-/cirque-type show. (And what a show! Y'all need to post reviews of this year's Cirque Imagine on here.) Blue ice cream!

Or how about a Haunted House in West Virginia that should by all means be considered a coaster?

And I don't think that KI will invest in this ride any longer. I'm calling it...this ride gets replaced for 2016. Not sure if they will replace it with another themed shoot 'em up or not, but I feel like something is going in there for 2016. Don't have any insider information, just an educated guess.

Remember when Kings Island had three very respectable, world-class indoor dark ride experiences? TOMB RAIDER: The Ride, Flight of Fear, and Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle? Scooby Doo was a masterpiece compared to Boo Blasters. I rode it last week. Your experience begins in the creepy and haunting antechamber where the greatest hits of summer 2013 set a haunted, forgotten, and uninhabited tone, lit by that eerie, spine-tingling fluorescent shine that only high-definition TVs can produce. Inside your vehicle, most of the guns don't work (let's hope Junior doesn't end up at a broken one! Oops!) and even if they do, half of the targets don't (which is downright jolly on a ride that is essentially lifeless unless the broken targets get activated by broken guns). Can't see where you're aiming anyway - no lasers (unlike the other parks' versions). Many of the ride's effects don't work. I initially typed "animatronics" but that would be a misnomer wouldn't it? I'm thinking specifically of a turntable (the chasing tourist scene) and a hinge (the skeletons in bed) that apparently aren't worth fixing this year. Maybe next year! I find it funny that someone on an earlier page suggested that they've just forgotten to turn on the fog screen. If so, the person who's meant to turn it on each morning has overslept since the week after the ride opened, and I'd personally buy him an alarm clock if it would solve the problem. Useless and meaningless finale, too. (The same finale, by the way, makes for an awesome scene when the ride operates with individual carts, like at Kings Dominion.) It's downright sad. I feel as though the constant driving force and thought behind park operations should be, "How would this come across to a first time guest?" Even ignoring the things a first-time guest wouldn't notice (because they don't know what's supposed to happen, i.e. fog screen, visible lasers, etc) the state of the ride is abysmal and embarrassing.

Those little fruit sippers that were plastic. I remember the plastic orange and the plastic grape, but I can't remember the third one. I believe they also came with silly straws as well. You'd see quite a few ice carts with a canopy throughout KI holding those things in the eighties.

It would be nice to see Vortex get some TLC, but I'm sure there's a prioritization of things that need attention for other reasons and Vortex just never quite makes it to the top of the list unless it's broken. I wouldn't be surprised, though, for it to get some fresh pain after the 2016 season. 2017 is, afterall, it's 30th birthday

Having a ride inspected weekly isn't even a choice on Roller Coaster Tycoon. Why in the world would that be appropriate in real life? Please tell me you're being sarcastic with that remark. All parks (except KK as we're finding out) inspects all their rides each day. Yes, all the coasters have the entire length of track walked and checked. RCT isn't something to infer information on how real parks operate. You should really read the rest of the thread to get more info on KK's situation. Many people want the park to succeed. Its their own actions that warrant worry. They continually do things that set the park up for failure, at the expense of the Commonwealth's taxpayers no less. Government has no business running amusement parks. I was completely joking. I know that RCT isn't really how parks operate. I'm in KY, and haven't been able to make it to KK since the park reopened. I would love to see the park succeed, because I really would like to have a closer theme park. However I've always wondered why the park isn't advertised much in my area. hmm...

Consistency? In a park that has an Oktoberfest area, with no Oktoberfest. You don't say!

What about big steel flats...called coasters? See Six Flags....and....Kings Island.

I just hope Cedar Fair doesn't cave into the RMC deal with Mean Streak considering how they want to improve ride experiences in the park all the sudden. I'm not a fan of butchering coasters. If it's a new RMC great, if it's not leave it how it is. Reprofile and retracks are acceptable, but turning a wooden coaster into a hybrid and claiming wooden coaster records (looking at you Goliath) I won't stand for.

It should have laterals if it rode the rails well and was profiled better I'd believe. But, for now it'll shuffle and bounce everywhere making you think you didn't secure your back before riding. Maybe I should report it to lost & found.

Mean Streak is a great twister layout, one of the best, and looks fantastic on the peninsula, it's just a tad too painful for me in a few spots. If they reprofiled it completely and did a great job it may be tolerable and one of my favorites indeed. Even the fan curve they started with at the end of 2010 is already starting to wear badly right at the end of the turn, it used to not shuffle there at all. I'd love to see if whoever did the retrack on Hurler at Carowinds would come in and do Mean Streak, it was GCI if I remember correctly, could be wrong, but that's a night and day difference, especially over the one over at KD, I'll never ride that again for quite awhile. Grizzly yes, that, no

Having a ride inspected weekly isn't even a choice on Roller Coaster Tycoon. Why in the world would that be appropriate in real life?

I had never really ridden the big coasters until I went to King's Island when I was 12 with my sister. That day I rode The Beast, The Vortex, and The Racers...but then we got in a fight in line for Flight of Fear and she made us leave... But I digress... Anyways, I would have never imagined before then that I'd get on an upside down roller coaster. Granted, I haven't ridden it since because it still frightened me some. But I got to check something off my list!

Or you can sit stoically, having the time of your life, whilst onlookers wrongfully assume you are not.

^ This thread resulted in our meeting...

Not all of us have apps or will ever use them... Plus we trust each other. Apps don't share credible, useful hints from peeps you can meet in Ye Olde Park.

I hope they serve S'mores again.

It's interesting to note that this is not the first time that Monster has been "removed" during a season. From 1981... I reverse image searched the picture to give credit, but it appears the original site is now gone. But this picture was also posted a couple years back in this thread, where there were then arguments on whether our current Monster is the original Monster. I've heard it was replaced by a different one around this time, but I've never been able to prove/disprove that claim.