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Early speculation about accident causation is frequently inaccurate. Accidents like this one frequently cause systemic change in the industry. Something clearly went very wrong here.

I really hate seeing items like this, and I hope that everyone involved is OK. On a sidenote - those enthusiasts who question why parks continue to buy B&M coasters now have one of their answers.

Nothing like building good relationships with regulators. This is beyond stupid.

Wow...now this is MUCH worse than being stuck on a lift hill for an hour. I'm honestly dumbfounded this even happened. I really hope everyone is OK. I hate seeing people who are just going to have fun at an amusement park end up in a bad situation like this.

Wow... how could something like this even happen with the controls / blocking systems? Just glad nobody died, even if there are some serious injuries. Hopefully everyone recovers quickly.

Don't forget that when asked about the turnaway, they knew all about it, yet denied it happened...and, as usual, blamed the would-be customer. One of the Park's favorite posters here then asked why on earth anyone would come from DC to visit when the park wasn't even officially open until May 30. He cited the then newly called "Preview Weekends." The park apparently saw that, and said poster hasn't been heard from since. Nothing is ever Ed Hart's or Kentucky Kingdom's fault. Ever. The poor park is so picked on and abused. Sigh. It's okay. On May 30, Lake Winnie appreciated my money and visit. It was going to be Kentucky Kingdom. I doubt they'd have let me in. I wonder what their tale would be THIS time.

Something tells me Smiler's days are numbered after this. Gerstlauer is going to be feeling this for a while, too. What a bad event.

Perhaps the reason that the promotional price is only open to residents of certain states is something of a scapegoat. Pick the states you feel most likely to get out-of-state visitors from and target them exclusively. This way, it looks to the average Joe like a marketing promotion. Whereas, if they said, anyone who doesn't live in Kentucky gets a discount, I feel that would appear considerably more fishy (and be considerably more upsetting to the people who DO live in Kentucky). Funny enough, as a season passholder from Ohio, I will be hard-pressed to visit the park often enough to match the insanely low price-per-visit of this promo (free parking might make it worthwhile, but keep in mind, that was not a factor in the purchasing decision). And even that is considering that I paid only marginally more for my KK season pass than I would have for a day ticket at the gate for Kings Island...

The most flagrant to me is the two days for less than $30 for Tennessee and Indiana residents. Kentucky taxpayer? Coming from California? YOU can pay full price. IF we deign to let you in at all.

Please understand that as the land is sold Cedar Fair will restrict its use, prohibiting use as an amusement park. Cedar Fair is not in the business of enabling its competitors to better compete against it. It simply won't happen.

And here I thought metal fatigue was when I rock out too hard and have to take a nap to recuperate.

I love this ride, mostly because of nostalgia, but also because it is fun. However, I find myself skipping it way more than I would like because I am constantly banging my knees into the front of the car. I know the cars are smaller because it is in the kids' area but I was wondering if anyone knows if any particular row is better. I know that is a long shot question and one I could find out for myself by experimenting but I hate being in pain so much of the ride. I am not that tall at 5'10" either.

That is very, very interesting. I wonder by whose choice...

No it wouldn't. I don't need a Vekoma SLC being put in the exact spot and painted red on red.

Don't let him catch you saying that, the banhammer might fall on you

That's two different trains, one full and one empty. The full one smashed into the empty one and yes people were in that first row. What you're seeing in the video is right after the smash happened with people screaming and the two trains sitting against each other rocking back and forth.

I don't understand how this happened... The blocking system should not have allowed a train to enter the block section if there was another train in it... Is there some kind of maintenance override that may have been left enabled? Prayers to everyone involved. The reports are making this look like a pretty nasty situation.

If the roller coaster ever gets up and walks into a temple and makes an egregious claim of power, then I'll worry.

Meijer is a success story, it has been for years. Look at their growth rate and profits. They aren't going to put something in that is going to fail in a fiscal year. They know what they're doing, its going to work. The amusement industry in Aurora is dead and even if very unfortunate its time to give up the dream it ever would come back. We don't need an Ed Hart in Aurora Ohio trying to resurrect a dead amusement park here.

Yikes. https://twitter.com/aaron_kelsey/status/605757492384120832

Last time I was at Cedar Point and rode Cedar Creek Mine Ride, which has no leg room either, I was advised to cross my ankles and ride that way. It made for a much more comfortable ride. Not sure if that will work on Woodstock Express, but worth mentioning

I'm not even sure what to think of this. Also, is anybody else seeing a Kentucky Kingdom ad on KIC, and this very topic? Irony at it's finest... "Indy's new play place?" Ha. This is a copy/paste from the KK Facebook page: "The Raging River Rapids Ride is ready to go. However, we can only open the ride after the Kentucky Department of Agriculture conducts its routine intitial inspection. The State’s ride inspector was scheduled to visit last Friday but never showed up. We have notified the individuals in charge at the Department of Agriculture but have not heard back from them. Once they arrive and complete their inspection, the Raging River Rapids ride can open. We regret the delay but it is out of our control." This blows my mind, why would you throw the ride inspectors under the bus and air dirty laundry in a public setting like this? This park has accepted zero responsibility for delayed openings, low crowds, negative reviews and poor customer service. Mr. Hart will go after anyone that disagrees with him and his opinion of the park. Young teenage employees are heckling breast feeding mothers on their own initiative. Inspectors are the reason rides are having delayed openings and negative internet people are turning paying customers away. The park will accept anyones money at the turnstiles unless you happen to interpret things and then security will be called to show you out. These actions will effect the parks sustainability long term.

Problem is, half the mystique is that we don't know what The Beast looks like beyond its furry claws. A dark ride about or including The Beast would change that. And sometimes, what you don't see is more important than anything they could show. How disappointed would you be if a dark ride shows The Beast and it's not what you had always envisioned...? Worse, what if it's a stupid design that's poorly animated by Triotech?

Sometimes I think that if some KIC members pooled their talents and imagination, they could come up with an amazing, block-busting media project!

There were fatalities in that explosion, so I don't see it being used in fictional ride theming. Any surviving descendants might not appreciate it. See the Plarr family. Nice story, though.

If I were the states ride inspector I would now take my sweet time setting up an inspection date. I'm sure T3 still needs to be certified and now that they have likely made a new friend I'm sure they will "fail to show" again.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/jun/02/alton-towers-rollercoaster-accident-four-seriously-hurt-as-carriages-collide

Not one bit. The only way a system will in some ways bypass the safety system is in Maintenance Mode where everything moves manual, but this is never on during operation, and usually is key activated on most panels and operations does not have this key. Regardless the safety systems are still there. This is typically used when the ride has a fault and maintenance comes in. The rides basically have a series of sensors along the course in certain areas (bottom/top of lift hills, before/after brakes, etc). The sensors basically detect where the train is along the ride and keep the trains spaced apart to prevent issues such as this. The sensors at the beginning signal that the train is in that area of the track. The sensors at the end after triggered tell the PLC (programmable logic controller) that the train is no longer in that area and that section is now clear. The system also will use cross checks (usually sensors come in pairs) and check itself. Any issues (say one sensor says the ride is there, the other doesn't) and the ride will fault and setup the ride, stopping any forward motion at the next available stop. Say a train is about to come close to cresting the lift hill, if a train hasn't cleared the mid course or safety brake (depending on the ride), the lift motor will stop, thus the train stops advancing on the lift. The anti rollbacks engage* and the train stops from entering the next block. Whatever happened to Smiler makes me quite curious. Something either didn't grab in time, something faulted, or somehow the first train advanced past a block and somehow rolled back. I'll be watching curiously to see what all happened. Operator error could have come into play. Depending on how close the trains got, usually even if you know the trains will setup (using lift hill issue discussed above) the ride operators should still press the lift stop or e-stop as a preventative measure and stop it before the safety system does it automatically. This practice may not have been done and at that point too late. However, it's too early to tell. I need to watch the POV to even see where the blocks are, and try to get some nice off ride footage to see how the ride is run. Seeing as I've never been over there I can't really comment on how it's operated daily. Regardless, something somehow happened, four riders have life changing injuries unfortunately, and now the industry as a whole is going to react, and in some ways overreact. I'm sure you will see ripples here in Cedar Fair parks, new ride installation changes, and new SOP's coming later. Look post Texas Giant at all the changes, they were there, some quite drastic. See how operations at Cedar Fair parks changed and how quickly IROC was brought in and ride operations retrained. Cedar Point took quite the hit operationally this season as a result.

Pinned or.... Terp, who doesn't even want to think it...

^^ Several people on this forum work (or have worked) as ride operators at Kings Island. What you described is basically how it works. For more, look up information about block braking systems. Here's a link to a basic explanation: http://www.coaster101.com/2011/11/23/coasters-101-brakes-blocks-and-sensors/ What failure led to two trains in the same block is one of the questions being discussed.

I have heard that Raging Rapids River Ride is now up and open for business as of today.

Very bad situation. Hope all involved recover quickly. Watch the POV of this ride, this coaster has speed until the brake run, which means those carriages hit really hard. Scary situation indeed.

Nope. Puns that are similar are not using the mark itself. I truly meant max air. Not maXair.

Oh wow. That ride looks incredible too, hell the whole park does. I can't believe something like this happened. Hopefully this isn't going to result in loss of life or limb. In going to actively watch for updates on this one. Quite concerning

As I recall, some did say mark of The Beast ... and it resulted with many of the queue line signs to be removed in the following years. An example of a sign that I remember... "All is for The Beast". The only remaining sign that I have seen is "you may lose loose articles to The Beast" and it can be seen hanging over the storage boxes. Some people even went as far as protesting the name of the ride as well.... glad that change never came to fruition.

This stuff is only further fueling my disgust with the park. If the park does all this and doesn't claim responsibilty for anything, let alone the incompetence of how they handle things, why should I expect anything better from the rest of the staff? To me, its showing that they're taking their situation for granted, like they can go about and treat anyone the way they want because they have the government funding. Its like they are just happy with the park being open and not going above and beyond that. They're squandering the opportunity they've been graciously given by the Commonwealth. Its sickening to me. Their actions feel like a big middle finger to the public and the taxpayers despite anything good they might be doing.

That sounds terrifying! I hope everyone who got hurt ends up okay. Why would they continue to operate it with guests on board knowing there were problems? What's the harm in shutting it down for a bit and testing/inspecting to make SURE it's safe?

Some would say a mark of The Beast.

another thought, I would presume, if one intended to open something to the public on Saturday, that it would be prudent to have the mandatory inspections wrapped sooner than the day before. I mean, what if the inspector finds something relatively small, but a required fix that could be re-inspected a day or two later? I don't know how inspections run in the roller coaster industry, but in my line of work, there always almost "something" that the inspector finds that he'd like to see changed or added. Having an inspection on Friday leaves little time to correct any issues that could arise. Oh, and throwing them under the bus publically, even if truthfully (and I'm not going to just assume the park is telling the whole truth), is a **** poor way to handle things. At most, say there was an issue with inspection and you are working to get everything in order as soon as possible. Even better, would be to simply apologize and say you are still testing and completing the final phase of the ride; hope to have it open soon.

It doesn't mean they can't find some small detail that would allow them to deny certification such as a missing label or something of that nature that they would normally overlook.

I passed the park on I264W today around 520pm and there was a train at the top of T3's lift. On my return trip on I264E around 815pm the train was no longer parked on the lift. It's definitely on site and testing (so it appears).

Whining and passing the buck? Clearly, management of this park doesn't care to hire competent public relations staff.

Sorry to post again being the last poster. There was one drone video over the park in 2014, I'm just now seeing this one, it's much more in depth and better video. Goes to show there isn't anything worth saving, it's time to just sell it and move on. Also, theres this walkthrough done early this year showing from the ground how bad the state of disrepair the park is, notably Big Dipper. There really isn't a use salvaging the thing, nor probably a way. It'd be better to build a new one somewhere honestly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1m6gaVx1DY

I believe I have found a very kind friend that will be helping me out.

Holy cow I didn't mean to post a book, but I just got typing and couldn't stop I guess!

Okie dokie, now I have some time to actually post! So, like I said, we headed towards Planet Snoopy first and rode a few things just to kind of get warmed up (mainly Surf Dog and Flying Ace Aerial Chase). The weather was cool, and misty for a large portion of our day however there was still a medium sized crowd. I was unable to ride Woodstock Gliders yesterday, but man did it look cool! It constantly had a good crowd around it. I think if I didn't get so dizzy feeling on spinning rides, I would have liked it a lot. I actually hadn't realized that you could control the motion of the car so easily on it. Gotta say, Flying Ace was WAY rougher than I had remembered it in the past, but was still enjoyable. I always like seeing little ones ride coasters because I like seeing their faces and reactions. My boyfriend and friend rode Diamondback next, but I sat that one out because I'm a huge chicken. That's okay by me though! I felt like Diamondback's line was the longest overall yesterday, but it gave me some time to enjoy the gift shop! It's now one of my favorite shops in the parks, not necessarily because of the merchandise, but the themeing inside. Very nice! My boyfriend and friend had a great time on it though, although my boyfriend said he had a little freakout moment when they were about to go over the first hill because he felt like his seatbelt loosened a little. He said "I just figured if I was gonna die on Diamondback, what a way to go." But luckily no one died! Next, we headed towards The Beast but I could see that the line was all the way to the entrance and we decided to pass and come back later. So we hopped onto Backlot Stunt Coaster! I really have to hand it to the workers yesterday, because I felt like the line moved fairly quickly compared to past trips. It was a great ride though, and I was impressed that all of the effects were working well. If I were going to suggest any sort of improvement to the ride for next season, the fake billboards could really use a new picture or coating of paint. They're pretty faint now due to the sun, and I think it could really add a fresh touch to the ride. Maybe even add a pop of color to it, which it could desperately use. Afterwards, we rode Adventure Express with a minimal wait. I can't help it. I love this ride. It needs a facelift but it's so fun and silly that I hope it's with us for a lot longer. I thought it was funny that someone was literally talking on their cell phone while we were riding it. I heard them say "Wait, I can't hear you right now..." in one of the tunnels. A few questions-- am I correct that there used to be mechanical spears in that first little tunnel with the skeleton? I could have sworn they used to come out of the ceilings and walls right in that area but I may have been dreaming. Also-- didn't there used to be really loud music in the grand finale hill? I couldn't tell if I was hearing any yesterday due to how loud the chain was, but it was just an easy thing that could really add to the atmosphere. Other than those little observations, still a fun ride! We walked towards The Bat next, which I may called Top Gun accidentally at some point. If so, I apologize but it's just a bad habit I need to break! I actually had a lot of fun looking around in this queue line because there's so many obvious Easter eggs. Like, they still had some decorations out for some Haunt attraction called "The Wolf Pack" or something? It was towards the front of the line but I could see it. Plus, the stars on the bridge were still there, along with an American flag I forgot about. There was a decent wait the first time we rode it, but it went by quickly just because we were too busy listening to a little boy freaking out because he was so scared. The ride was fun, but I must be getting older because I thought I remembered this being a little smoother. My head got knocked around a lot more than I remembered in the past, but it was still fun. We rode it twice, and the second time I hit my ear pretty hard coming around that last curve towards the little stopping point before the station. It wasn't too bad, but I guess I was more surprised than anything. Next we got a few rides in on Racer, once in each color car. We actually ran into my sister and brother in law here and rode it once, and it was kind of fun to show my sister how much I've changed since the last time we had come to Kings Island. Now I actually put my hands up on rides which isn't something I'd do before at all. It's always great fun to ride this, and the line moved very quickly both times we rode it. My only observation that I felt like could be improved on is-- well, this is silly... but have you ever noticed how nasty the walls are in the stopping area before the station? We rode on the Blue Train first and I could literally see filthy brown finger prints (which I couldn't figure out how someone's hands were SO nasty) and a giant spot where someone had vomitted. Sick! My sister and brother in law were about to leave, and really wanted to ride FOF with my boyfriend and friend as they'd never ridden before. Due to a crazy childhood experience, I don't ride this so I waited in the little seating area outside of the ride. It was misting pretty hard so this was a great place to kind of stay warm. Then I realized that twenty minutes had passed and I wasn't hearing the coaster launch anymore. I also noticed probably 8 or 9 employees going into the back entrance so I knew something was up. Turns out a little boy had hit his head and they had shut the coaster down. I got to see the First Aid truck for the first time, and I started to text my family in there to tell them they may as well leave the line cause it would be awhile. Apparently the operator had told them that it was a minor fix and it would be up shortly, so they waited...and waited...and another twenty minutes later and only three tests--they finally had everyone leave. Not sure what had happened really but whatever was wrong with it was getting worse with the tests. No clue how true that is, but that was just the word of mouth. My sister and brother in law left afterwards, so we continued on. We fit in some more rides on AE and TB, and my boyfriend talked my friend into riding Vortex for the first time. It was his first upside down roller coaster! They loved it and mentioned that it was much smoother than they had expected. Boyfriend also rode Banshee by himself because my friend and I were honestly just too scared to hop on. I'm ALWAYS impressed with how quickly Banshee's line moves. He was on and off within a matter of minutes. Kudos to the workers! Finally, we got into line for The Beast. This ride ALWAYS takes my breath away, and I was riding at dusk for the first time ever and it's just a completely different feeling then. I talked to a little girl in line who was riding for the first time, and she was nervous. I THINK I may have helped her stay calm a little, but my main tip was: sometimes I get nervous going up the first hill because it takes so long, but try looking around you at the other rides and the view. Later I saw her and she said that she had been really nervous going up the hill as well but that she LOVED it! Anyways, it was a really pleasant conversation and I was dying to ride again anyways. We hopped right back on and took another spin! I just love the feeling I get on that ride. Like, I feel like I can't breath and I can't think for a little while... like, it's like all that matters is that moment. I love it. We rerode a few more things, (my boyfriend and friend ended up riding FOF finally and LOVED it! Said it was the most intense and fun ride of the day) and my last ride of the night was actually on Boo Blasters. I HAD to ride it due to all of our discussions here on the board. My boyfriend hates this ride and was feeling kind of disoriented because of FOF so I rode it with my friend. Like, it felt BETTER to me this time but there was still a lot that really needed improvement on. Honestly after watching Phantom Theater's videos, this ride was just sad. My shooters actually worked pretty well this time, but a lot of the animatronics didn't work such as the couple in the bed and Shaggy/the Tourist getting chased. I was disappointed in that. However the smokey screen worked in the graveyard, and it was GREAT! It was SO great compared to the rest of the ride that I would have rather it not even be there. Like it stood out and looked great but just made the rest of the ride look even crappier. There were a few things I saw that made me wonder if they were leftover from Phantom Theatre. There's an animatronic playing the Organ, and I don't THIIIIINK that's the Maestro but I wondered if it was or not. Overall, a great day was had! The weather was not sunny and beautiful, but it kept us really cool and made the day better in the end, I think. I tried to keep an eye out for stuff to talk about here, and I also noticed what many had mentioned about the themeing in Action Zone. Like, none of that area is very consistent! I also know that Halloween Haunt is a major event at the park, but I really wish that they didn't leave some signs and decorations out. Like I mentioned, the area near The Bat was extremely obvious and stood out like a sore thumb to me. I know I'm in the minority, but it just felt lazy. I guess in a way, it gave me something to talk about, but it was an interesting site next to the patriotic queue line for The Bat. On a good note, I think that giant dinosaur in front of the Eiffel Tower is gone! Yay! Also the new Coke area and Starbucks looks great! The improvements they are working on are wonderful.

Presumably the inspectors are legally required to make themselves available in a reasonable timeframe, or as soon as possible. If so, to do otherwise would be impermissible.

^^ I like that....how about this synopsis for a Triotech attraction... The past.... On July 16th, 1890, I was visiting a friend in Kings Mills, only a short distance from the Gunpowder Factory. From my friends house we could easily see the railroad switch-backs near the powder house. It wasn't unusual to see at any time several empty cars being backed into the open tracks in order to connect additional cars, however, something seemed strange. As an engine pushed two empty cars backwards, there was another car on the opposite track and it was loaded with full gunpowder barrels. When the empty cars continued backwards down the tracks it was easy to see that the switch had not activated. From the distance, the cars appeared to tap together rather loudly and in less than a second a blinding explosion occurred. Men, woman and children clamored and struggled to escape the burning powder house. Surely many had died in the horrendous explosion. My friend and I ran towards the destruction to assist the injured pull them to safety. The explosion had created a crater that was huge and deep. We began dragging the injured away from the site to a location further away, when my friend stopped in his tracks and pointed towards the smoking crater. In the smoky, mangled and twisted metal jutting from the crater we heard low and guttural growls, as if there was something alive in the rubble. I know that I distinctly heard the sounds of chains being pulled taunt with a tense metal twang. As the supposed chains continued to be furiously drawn, the growling and howling intensified. Suddenly, there was a sound as if a chain snapped followed by another growl and a snap. My friend an I listened intently to discover just what this creature was and wondered just what was released during the explosion. Suddenly from the smoking hole, there appeared the claws of a creature unlike anything either of us had seen. The metallic claws of this Beast dug into the ground surrounding the hole and began to pull the creatures body forwards. Suddenly a second explosion occurred as billows of smoke escaped the hole, blocking our view of this thing. The smoke was so thick that all we could see was the lower extremities of this huge monster. As it pulled away towards the woods we could hear the klang klang klang of the chains being dragged away. Was this creature real? Was this some man-made invention or something released from the depths of hell to wander the woods of the Little Miami Valley? To this day neither my friend or I have seen any glimpse of this creature and as far as we know it still wanders the woods along the river. The present... Legend has it that a Beast was unchained many years ago and wanders the woods in the back property of Kings Island. Tracks were discovered in 1979 and the creature has appeared on occasion to frighten those who challenge it's territory. It has been known to be destructive and has destroyed many of the attractions at Kings Island including Flight Commander, TR:TR and has even destroyed it's own Son. We need to be vigilant and help confine The Beast in it's gaping crater. Are you brave enough to challenge The Beast and confine it to a deep dark crater before it destroys our beloved park? If so, sign up at the local expedition building in Rivertown today!

From what I can tell, all rows are the same in terms of leg room. Have you tried turning your legs to the side instead of straight forward? Some of the taller among us (e.g. malem) cannot fit at all without doing that. It seems to work for them. (Though I, at 5'6" with disproportionately short legs, can sit normally, so I can't speak from personal experience regarding turning the legs to the side.)

They all seem the same sizewise to me.... And I've ridden every seat many times... Terp, who was nearing the end of his teen years when Kings Island opened.