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Just remember kids, next time you're in line, and a ride goes down, NO complaints about empty trains running for a full cycle, or more. And yes, I have heard people in line complain about all trains cycling before they start reloading. These are huge, complex machines. I don't care to speculate on where the problem started, that is for people much wiser than I. If it does come to light that it was left in a maintenance mode, I hope checks are put in to place to prevent loading while in said mode.

But if the contraption was allowed to operate in maintenance mode with public aboard, is that not operator error?

Not sure if it's been posted about yet or not, but this is lit up again.

IAAPA editors asked 75 industry leaders from around the world to predict how parks will change by 2020. https://www.yahoo.com/travel/future-of-amusement-parks-120461303772.html

Ensuring that rides are ready in time (including having completed inspections) is the responsibility of Kentucky Kingdom, not the department of agriculture. Maintaining effective communication and good relationships with agencies they depend on is also their responsibility. If the park wanted to explain the delay, a simple statement that they were still waiting on ride inspections would have sufficed. Whining and blaming others was not necessary or even remotely professional.

This is going to rival or exceed the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom accident when the young girl lost her leg. I fear from the news reports and design of the trains that multiple passengers will have lost appendages. A very tragic event and I pray for all of those involved. The continued thought I have reading the reports of the issues from the day is that the ride had been serviced numerous times and it was either left accidentally or intentionally in maintenance mode. I hope this is not the case, for the employees involved. Lastly, the Smiler will more than likely not operate again.

four...four?

I would submit ride inspectors are concerned about ride SAFETY.

I've never actually read the comments on the KK Facebook until tonight. I'm not sure if I should laugh or feel sorry. There's a lot of emotions, but I guess what stands out the most is disappointment.

Probably because Americans would take it seriously and nobody would ride it, or even visit the park..

The 2014 report has been released: http://www.teaconnect.com/images/files/TEA_103_49736_150603.pdf KI up 1%, CP down 4%, SeaWorld down markedly, Universal up markedly. Note that numbers in the report are industry estimates that aren't necessarily accurate. Most parks don't release attendance figures.

You can see a lot of children being forced on rides at Flying Ace and Woodstock Express. Twice I saw KI employees ask the kids specifically if they wanted to ride, and in one scenario, the kid was told the ride operator he did not want to ride, and was told to go towards the exit. I think that's exactly how it should be. Each guest is his own person, not his parents. If said guest wishes not to ride, he will not ride; regardless of whether or not he would have enjoyed the attraction. Everyone moves at their own pace, and whenever younger guests are ready to conquer the bigger rides, they will.

Not only was I impressed with the ride, I was equally impressed by how much "stuff" they put back there. In addition to the ride and a new gift shop (which is to be expected), they added restrooms, a food stand, a drink station, tables and benches and put another Dippin' Dots stand back there. All of this plus the re-themed/relocated Sparkler (now known as Crow's Nest). When I was last at the park back in late August, they hadn't even finished building the station yet. It's amazing how much they accomplished in such a short time.

New math?

Panda Express has a 25 minute wait.

What's not wrong with Kentucky Kingdom? Well, they have one of the finest wooden coasters ever built, so at least they have that going for them.

The bigger surprise is on that page. Twisted Twins. RMC. Really?

Screamscape is sure keeping up with the times.

I finally was able to ride Thunderbird during Holiwood Nights this past weekend. This ride does not disappoint! The theming of the ride is outstanding. The queue line is underneath the station. I like the fact that the lights in the queue under the station flicker and dim with the lightning and thunder when the train gets into the pre-show/launch area. Speaking of the pre show once you are rolled out of the station you enter the "launch area." The lighting, fog, and sound effects are great. The speakers are loud and the fog is good without being overbearing, thepreshow really does get you off to a thunderous start of the ride. The launch is smooth and more powerful than what the POV shows. And the Immelmann turn is fantastic. On the left side I felt weightlessness, on the right you get pulled over pretty quickly. The loop following is solid as well. I thought the turn arounds actually had some force to them at the bottom of the turns as they carried much more speed than I though they would. The zero g roll from the right side has a pretty good pop of air, from the left it has the airtime plus the roll feels like it takes forever to roll through(in a good way) and get upright again even though you carry a good amount of speed through it. The s curve before the barn on the left side is fast as you are closer to the ground but on the right side there is a good pop of airtime before getting pulled through the barn. Then the finale of going through the barn not once but twice is fantastic. The first time through you are ducking because it feels so tight when you are riding. The second one on the left side comes so fast you barely have time to react to the barn as you flow right through it upside down. On the right side during the second time through the barn you miss the barn but fly over the roof in such a slow fashion that it feels like you may land on top of the barn. My favorite seat I think the POV does a good job at describing the ride but the little things that I mentioned make the ride unique and a bit different from the POV. I think the biggest thing is that they literally saved every tree they could to make this ride happen. In this day in age of massive land clearing, building a new coaster, and having nothing to base the speed off of the ride truly unique. The tradition of ride rolling through the woods of Holiday World is indeed alive and well. With how heavily wooded the area is one would think the ride has been at Holiday World for years especially when you compare it with the newer rides being installed lately. Overall this is a fantastic ride addition to HW. It is intense enough to entertain enthusiasts and coaster fans in general public yet not so intense that a young kid would be intimidated into not riding it. It really is a family friendly addition that includes a 60 MPH launch and 4 inversions. My twin cousins that are 11 absolutely loved it. It was their first roller coaster that went upside down so it was a big deal to them that they could ride it and ride it over and over again during Holiwood Nights. I snapped a few pictures and videos from my phone:

And people wonder why I say the Kingdom faces VERY high hurdles should the other party take over the state house in November. Remember, Mr. Hart's business partner ran against Mitch McConnell for Senate...and lost. Badly.

Several people have mentioned "knowing your child" and that is the key. I have six children, and I can say that each one has had to be approached in a different way.

Another thing that'll be learned from this: marketing. Alton Towers and other Merlin parks are notorious for their methods. If Cedar Point was obsessed with breaking records, Merlin was obsessed with inventing them. Thirteen - the scariest roller coaster in the world. A nurse on site just in case. Free diapers for terrified adults. "Don't ride alone." Most every major coaster / thrill ride installation at their parks has been dripping with outrageous advertising. See also, Merlin's Thorpe Park's Swarm. Their marketing for that B&M Wing Coaster and its scenic near-miss elements? Test dummies allegedly returning to the station missing limbs. See "UK amusement park redesigns roller coaster after dummy passengers lose limbs," wherein the media knowingly or unknowingly touts this as fact. Smiler is going to change. Merlin is going to change. The industry is going to change. And next time Alton Towers constructs a large thrill coaster (IF that ever happens again), expect a very different spin.

But, obviously they CAN. And DID.

Some guests are more desirable than others. Perhaps they could bring them in by the busloads, like casinos.

Well, they're required to justify the park's subsidies through increased tourism, meaning they need to make it an attractive place for out-of-state visitors*. * This offer only available to targeted residents of Indiana and Tennessee. Some exclusions may apply. See security guard for details. It's a tourism program!

As a ky resident it bothers me that a park called Kentucky Kingdom and partially funded by ky taxpayers is cheaper for guests from outside the state

And I'm saying huge lawsuits over matters like this are unheard of there. So are huge settlements. Criminal charges, on the other hand... And medical costs are covered by the Government. England is not the USA.

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.

Doesn't everyone sit inside?

Oops, three trains. Goldrusher came with four but both were damaged. So they made one out of two.

Gee, what a surprise.

...except maintenance can and does ride to sense things while in that mode. Not often, but it does occur.

Yes. As you enter the ship.

I remember AT marketed Thirteen by saying guests would have to fill out a waver before riding trying to hint to how intense it was supposed to be. They also labeled their big ride projects as 'Secret Weapons'.

FIRST, your tax dollars and state's land and property are at risk, THEN they charge you more than others to go. What's wrong with this picture?

Kentucky Kingdom on Facebook : "First riders today on Raging Rapids!" Photo : Kentucky Kingdom via Facebook

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.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-06-03/one-of-alton-towers-seriously-injured-leaves-hospital/ One of the seriously injured people from the Smiler crash has left the hospital. Hopefully they make a full recovery.

My vote would be for Jaws...

Other interesting notes, IOA estimates show no change from 2013 to 2014 while Universal with Diagon Alley saw a large growth. Magic Kingdom will eventually break 20 Million guests and the other 3 main Disney parks continue to feed off of the driving force that is the Magic Kingdom. Always an interesting report to read and get up to speed on trends in the industry.

Former employees talk to the media, speculate about human error: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jun/03/human-error-likely-in-alton-towers-smiler-crash-former-staff-claim

I wouldn't be shocked if it never reopens after this. In fact, given the ride's history of incidents, if this turns out to be anything other than purely operator error (which at this point, I doubt, and for the sake of the person manning the controls, I sincerely hope it isn't), I would be at least mildly surprised if it DOES reopen at any point in the future.

In other words, they're not "free"; they're "included with purchase". Same as when a park (e.g. Holiday World) gives out "free" soft drinks; they're not free, but included with admission. Let me extend a common saying. There are four types of untruths: lies, darned lies, statistics, and marketing. (Now watch the word filter auto-censor that to darned...)

Point taken! But Six Flags hasn't planted advertisements in news sources hyping their rides by saying test dummies are flying out of them. I couldn't tell you what Six Flags' marketing strategy is. Which is a whole other issue.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

T3 was testing today FINALLY it is about time! https://instagram.com/p/3Z4QiVHDvR/?taken-by=myst1c.coasters