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I wonder how the cell phone owner feels right about now. Loose articles are not permitted on the rides. If lost, in no event should they be retrieved while the ride is in operation. Sooner or later, one of these loose phones is going to cause a death.

I wouldn't wish it to happen at my least favorite park.

People like that are the reason 500 word "warning" labels exist.

Magenta Lizard and I were stuck on the first lift hill of The Beast due to a guest having his GoPro out. The ride op (Princess Sparkles) had to go retrieve it. The person in question while waiting in line read the sign out loud and said since it only said no pictures, video must be fine.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Yes, if the choice is food, shelter or Disney, I agree. But small choices over time can make what is for some a once in a lifetime trip obtainable. No Coke in the house can help finance The Mouse.

One thing is certain. It took place in California. That state, in particular, will be VERY interested in lessening the risk of future such incidents.

This occurred on the park's B&M Inverted coaster, Flight Deck. A maintenance worker apparently went to get a dropped cell phone and was hit in the head by the coaster's train, which may have also injured a rider. http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/national/report-great-america-employee-hit-head-roller-coas/nmcNm/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook A rider somehow got a broken hand but is otherwise is OK. The worker got some bad injuries as well, but was responsive when first responders arrived. I hope both the worker and the person whose hand was somehow broken get a speedy recovery, and in the case of the worker I hope he didn't get any major long-term head injuries as could happen. QUICK EDIT/UPDATE A 2nd source: http://abc30.com/news/two-injured-on-roller-coaster-at-great-america-in-santa-clara/781579/ Based on more info listed by this, I got more of the picture and edited this post. This seems similar to when the guy jumped a security fence to get his hat and was killed by a rider's feet on this same coaster, save this time no one died.

There was a small event at KK the day after Holiwood Nights in which Hart said the announcement would be coming in a month.

Sad, even sadder because it could have been avoided. Here's hoping to a full recovery to the worker and rider.

You don't base your first impression of a ride on how much it weighs? And you say you like roller coasters...

If no live animals were to visit an amusement park, said park would surely go out of business. After all, its paying customers are animals. They're humans. Humans are animals. *gasp* (And what Terpy said)

And, it's utter malarkey. Disney is maximizing its profits. Many even lower income people make supreme sacrifices to take the kids to Disney. News Flash: it isn't the superwealthy who are the bulk of, or even a substantial minority of, the Disney parks' markets.

The better benches are around the corner at Frontier Town Station. You get to sit in the shade, then you get to ride the train.

A lift evacuation....oh the humanity!

Woodstock Gliders. One cycle wait.

This kind of incident wouldn't usually affect rides elsewhere. Smiler was a systematic failure that could - in theory - be an issue across the model or manufacturer. This was an isolated incident that could happen on any roller coaster if proper procedures aren't followed, not a specific issue tied to the model or manufacturer.

Banshee 5 min wait... Racer no wait....Bat no wait.. Congo Falls no wait.. Drop Tower 15 minutes.... Delirium 5 minutes.. Invertigo 30 minutes.. weather hotter than he**...

Agreed. Y'all should read the rules page on Kennywood's website. It's huge, and you can tell from the wording that they've had people trying to work around their rules in just about every manner possible. (Don't bring dead animals to Kennywood? Seriously?)

Very true. Once in a lifetime trip, I agree. And people are free to spend their money however they please, including saving smartly and consistently to afford a massive expenditure like a Disney vacation. I sure do. But the mentality that "I must get my children to Walt Disney World or I'm an ineffective parent" is the problem I see. Walt Disney World shouldn't be something you feel you ought to be entitled to visit every year or two, and you shouldn't think that any system in place or change in pricing that discourages that is inherently unfair or unjust to you. And unfortunately, I think it builds a sense of inferiority because if you don't take your kids to Walt Disney World on the reg, what's wrong with you? White picket fence, ranch house, 2.5 kids, and a biennial visit to Walt Disney World. It's integrated into the middle class American dream, and I think that's the force that's building this contradiction: take your kids to Walt Disney World, but spend beyond your means to do so. Disney's ticket pricing is battling that, purposefully or otherwise. At least part of the reason Disney raises prices is to "reduce crowding." Which is the nice way to say, to cut off people at the bottom. Like it or not, the family that struggles to pay bills is exactly the group that's going to be most significantly affected by a ticket price increase. Walt Disney World is a massive expense for the average person, much less someone who scrounges each month to pay the utilities. Maybe I shouldn't have said "you shouldn't go." Rather, maybe I should've said, "you don't have to go."

The comments on my article are telling. One says, "Many of us who struggle with paying bills can no longer afford a day at the park. Until hourly wages rise to meet inflation, the problem of Disney park admission will continue to be controversial." If you struggle to pay your bills, you shouldn't go to Disney World. *shrug*

This is the beauty of our country. If you have something that is in demand expect to pay more for it. It sucks and sacrifices have to be made. My entire family is doing a big trip there and we leave tomorrow. We started saving and planning for Disney since Christmas of '13..... 18 months of planning for a week with 6 adults and 2 kiddos. It will be a blast. But we knew it was expensive and didn't want to cut ourselves too short or skimp on a family vacation. Prices increase everywhere and for everything. Not a right to go to Disney....

"Nobody goes there anymore; it's too popular." --Yogi Berra

The laughable thing is that if you visit any Disney Parks message board, the overwhelming message of the fans is, "The parks are too crowded! There are way too many people! Disney needs to do something about it to thin the crowd and make the parks more fun!" So Disney does just that. They raise prices. And the response from those same fans? "How could they do this? They've priced my family out of a Disney vacation! I was a loyal fan and a frequent visitor, but they've really stepped in it this time, and I'm never going back! I just can't afford it and Disney is no longer for the middle class!" They fail to see the connection between the problem they identified and Disney's response to it. "The parks are too crowded; they should do something about it." So Disney does something about it and suddenly you realize it was YOUR family who got edged out. The parks are crowded. Extremely so in many cases. Partly to combat that and mostly to maximize their profits by doing so, they inch up the admission once or twice a year. And people keep coming, which only proves to Disney that it can and should continue to raise the price. It's a vicious cycle. I wrote a history of Disney Parks admission pricing (with inflation) and talked about why it increases every year in this article if you're interested.

I'm excited for the ride, but it's at least a little disappointing that the naming conventions of Busch Gardens have taken another hit. The names of their attractions had gotten into a nice rhythm. Kumba. Montu. Gwazi. Jungala. Katonga. SheiKra. Then we started hearing that Cheetaka would be next. And at the last minute, we get... Cheetah Hunt. Huh? And now, Cobra's Curse. Would it've been so bad to name it Cobrata? GYK, who noticed and appreciated Busch Gardens' consistency and uniformity in this sort of thing.

The wi-fi now requires you to click "I accept" in a browser before you can go anywhere with it.

There is supposed to be an announcement in July. Hopefully T3 will be operational at this time.

I wonder if this incident took place in an area where lock and tag procedures are required to enter.

Thanks Terpy! More like a welcome back though. I used to be a member years ago, you and I would chat now and then too. I honestly for the life of me could not remember my username or which email I used haha.

It IS a very nice bench!

Off The Charts is actually really good. I am pleasantly surprised.

Wow... I hope everyone is ok and healing....I know lots of folks rag on the mandatory lockers, but they are necessary. I LOVE Universal Orlando's fingerprint lockers....convenient to use and free up to 1hour 40 minutes, after that you pay. Scan a finger, get a locker number, put stuff in locker, press lock button, ride ride, scan finger to unlock, retrieve stuff move on.....and they are all over the parks. Last sat on Banshee when we went through the heartline roll, the person in front of me lost some change... it hit the sole of my shoe and...darn it, it did hurt!!! Fortunately my shoe slowed it down because it then richoeted upwards and beaned my friend on the forehead. Luckily he was wearing sunglasses! Also back in may on Sheikra, on the second drop into the tunnel, a small stream of water was falling as the train went under it and hit me smack in the right eye.... I couldnt open my eye or see straight for a while....not fun....

The first fact listed here is one of the most unusual facts I have ever read for a roller coaster. And it's listed first. https://www.cagreatamerica.com/rides/Thrill-Rides/Flight-Deck

upstop posted in the wait times thread that Banshee is open today, with a then wait time of 5 minutes.

I'm wondering if the hot weather is keeping the dry side of the park that empty. For a Saturday in mid June, call me surprised.

The NBC Bay Area report on the accident paints a somewhat more gruesome image of what happened: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Californias-Great-America-Injuries-307240951.html While I feel sorry for that employee and his family, at this point it almost certainly sounds like someone wasn't following proper procedures. The question here is whether the ride operators knew that he was there. Typically, someone entering a restricted area while the ride is in operation would result in the ride being e-stopped, followed by park security and management being called - even if that person was an employee of the park, since ride operators should also be aware of lockout requirements/procedures.

Oh no! Let's all wish both injured parties a rapid recovery. Especially the maintenance worker, I can only imagine the damage done to him. I can't imagine this being possible anywhere other than a low zone, where there would surely be a fence and lockout/tagout procedures required for entry. If so, I also wonder why he was there while the ride was still operational. Further, is their policy not to retrieve lost loose articles at the end of the day? Or was the guy (or gal) new and didn't know this procedure? Cal/OSHA will surely have a field day.

What is video but a very rapid sequence of pictures usually with background audio? Sounds like someone was testing the ability to get away with stuff. Grr.

Disney is being smart with their new IPs really. Yes they could crank out some rides for Star Wars right now to coincide with the new films but they are waiting to see what people like from the new ones first. In interviews they have stated that they plan to make new Star Wars attractions but want to see what hits with the audience first. Imagine if before Phantom Menace came out and they thought everyone would love Jar Jar Binks and made attractions at all of the parks based around his character. This is why it's smart to wait and see what people like the most. Agree with others too that with the current saturation of the market and initial cost of opening a new park from scratch that the most likely new parks to open will be new ones from Disney or Universal.

I never been to a Drive In Theater ....and I want to see Jurassic World sooo badly. Same for Star Wars but that is still several months off.

Drive In Theatre? Drive In Restaurant? Drive In Funeral Home (Yes, Florida has such things)? Drive In Church? Drive In Bank? Terp, whose ears perked up.

One would figure Disney would have pooled their resources toward a land themed after an immeasurably bankable (and still culturally relevant) franchise with a new film debuting this December, rather than one themed after a mildly bankable "franchise" with a new film "potentially" debuting two years from now. Granted, AVATAR is the highest grossing film of all time, but when you now own an intellectual property worth over $30 billion and you can erect theme park attractions to your liking without worrying about licensing renewal fees, I feel like that's a pretty big disturbance in the Force. That said, this is also the same company that was about ready to go hog-wild on a TRON-centric redesign of Disneyland's Tomorrowland at one point because they were so certain Legacy would be a box office smash...oh, wait. EDIT: Fun Fact, Disney isn't the only company to attempt major attractions around films that end up not doing well on the silver screen, as Universal actually had plans for a Van Helsing-themed dark ride in the exact spot where a certain Wizarding school sits now... I really liked Tron though.

^Of course it is. Saxophones make everything better. I really enjoyed it as well. I found one of the instructors that works with the UC band plays trumpet for the group (he's the younger looking man). Even on tunes I don't particularly care for otherwise, it just sounds awesome live with a group like that. I saw Cirque for the first time today as well. Love the new music track and some of the new stuff. I prefer this year's version to last year's. OTC is still my favorite show though.

The nice--and I say that both literally and tongue-in-cheek--thing about Kentucky Kingdom is that, if it were someone else's fault but they're own, you can count on them pointing fingers. If KumbaK delivered the trains late, they'd be saying that. Heck, even Holiday World did that with the Timberliners back in 2010--they point-blank said that the trains were late, and it threw their testing schedule off. Kentucky Kingdom, and moreso Ed Hart, have made it abundantly clear from the lawsuit(s) last summer and the T3 delays that they are not afraid to point fingers and throw blame elsewhere. The fact that Kentucky Kingdom isn't pointing fingers now almost makes me think it is something on their end. But that's me.

I think there's something important to consider here: location. For a large number of the major cities at or below Boston's latitude in the country, you can name a large park (either a chain park or a park with about 3 or more coasters) that's within a 3- to 5-hour drive. Literally the only exception that comes to mind is New Orleans, and that's only been the exception since 2005. Situations like Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, where two major parks are an hour or less apart, rarely seems to work outside of Orlando or Los Angeles. Which makes sense--both of those cities are major vacation spots. If there's going to be a new park outside of Orlando or LA, I think it'll fall within a few hours' drive of New Orleans. If Alabama Splash Adventure takes off, I can see it filling that niche. If there are any new parks in the next 10 years, I look for them to either be Disney theme parks added to existing resorts or small, family-owned amusement parks around the size of Stricker's Grove. Sometime around 2012, I think Ouimet made the comment that the amusement park market is saturated in the U.S., and I think I agree--I just don't think there are any other major cities who aren't already taken care of for the type of weather they experience.

There is supposed to be an announcement in July. Hopefully T3 will be operational at this time. When did the park say anything about an announcement in July?.... TheBEASTunchained.... Asking another question....

There are something you say or do on here that I can not agree with at all, then you go and do this and I cant like it more than just 1 time. The beauty of different people coming together for a conversation. We are slowly building an idea of entitlement and spending beyond our means for everything. It used to be you needed a roof, food, and family and a way to provide them. Now its with this, eating out, having junk food, cable, internet, phones phones phones, etc.... For our trip each family of 3 is running about 2300 (not including flight) for the week long in the Disney hotel, with a meal plan, and the photo package. To save money we could have rented a much cheaper hotel, Disney says we can bring our own food in, and each person has a camera on their phone.....

^I am sure he was, which begs the question why was he in such an area with the ride running when lock out tag out is required to enter the area.

^ I'd have to wonder if the Maintenance worker was just walking around, his phone rang, and he dropped it. "Oops. Dropped my phone..." then he leaned over to get it and a train whizzed by. One of the riders in the front row may have had their hands out going "WOOHOO!!!" as you sometimes see on coasters, and smacked him and then he got dragged the 10-15 feet. Or he also could have been getting a phone for a guest for whatever reason. Why he didn't think to wait and tell the guest "I can go get it but wait until the park closes, I can't while the ride's running" I have no idea. If he recovers, we may eventually get the whole story as to how this happened and why he was there in the first place- which I'm pretty sure CGA would like to know.

Here is article comparing how Disney is now longer attempting to attract the middle class with their pricing increases. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2015/06/12/how-theme-parks-like-disney-world-left-the-middle-class-behind/

Agreed.Carowinds' Hurler is a fast, fun (if jolting) coaster that has enough airtime and laterals in it to keep it interesting the whole ride. It's not for everyone, but there's something worth trying there. It's probably my favorite coaster there, and it's definitely the one I've ridden the most. Kings Dominion's is... not. Trims, and then endless, airtimeless shuffling. Once you've ridden Carowinds' version, it's also pretty disappointing. I wish Carowinds wasn't removing any wooden coasters, but if either Thunder Road or Hurler had to go... I'd choose Thunder Road. But like many have pointed out, it's odd that the park didn't just put a path under it... I have to imagine it's for something big, or else there was an unexpected reason that required Thunder Road to go. Given how they mentioned the 2016 announcement as part of the 2015 announcement, I'm betting they've got something good up their sleeves.