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We are in need of riders for a photo shoot Friday morning (August 28), from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. The shoot will include a series of thrill rides and family attractions in Planet Snoopy. If you are interested, please click on the link below for more information and to register. This is only for Shift 1 in the morning. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/kiphotoshoot In addition, I am in need of riders for night visuals on Banshee and Diamondback Friday night (August 28), starting when the park closes at 10:00 p.m. Park admission is required to participate in this shoot. The first 45 people to RSVP via email at Don.Helbig@visitkingsisland.com will be eligible to participate in the shoot. You must be available to meet at the park Friday at 6:30 p.m. to go over the details of the shoot and sign waivers. Do not RSVP for either shoot unless you are 100 percent certain you can be participate.

I went to the State Fair and Kentucky Kingdom this evening. Here are my impressions: 1. Very light crowds at KK. Everything I wanted to do, I did and as a walk on, except my first ride on Lightning Run, which was about a 10 minute wait at 5:30pm. 2. Crowds in the park were much higher caliber than the ones on the fair midway. Polite, no cursing loudly, no smoking, etc. 3. The park was VERY clean and the landscape was impeccable. I learned about some new to me plants today with the plant ID tags the park has installed. Grounds were spotless. 4. Fair was VERY crowded. Food was very expensive (thing KI prices for food, plus add some!) Food was good however. 5. KK looks great at night. I had never been there after the sun set. 6. Thunder Run and T3 have some pretty nice LED chaser lights. If I can figure out how to upload from my phone, I will share a picture. 7. Perfect weather. 8. Night rides were fun. 9. Friendly staff. 10. Fair midway had some nice rides, but some were exactly the same you could ride inside KK. I think the fair was the clear attendance winner....VERY crowded. 11. KIngdom Radio had a nice selection of music from many different genres. This was my last visit of 2015 and was a great one to end on.

We have our new announcement date:

Carolina Harbor is now official!

We'll send out an email tomorrow with the details on where to meet.

So far: Carowinds gets Cirque Imagine next year. And the cast is there!! Good for Carowinds. New Starbucks near the park entrance.

And I am a sucker for immersive experiences with real effects. Sorry I am one of the few that misses Amity and Jaws. One of my favorite rides at Universal. Then again I think Indiana Jones at Disneyland is better than Spiderman and pretty much anything else out there.

Well folks, that question is now answered.... Looks like we've got a daily countdown on our hands..... #2.... Cedar Point on Facebook: "Mine Ride. 1969. One of the first roller coasters to utilize steel tubular track. #2" Photo : Cedar Point via Facebook

Heard something very funny while riding Adventure Express on Sunday. A mother and her six year old were riding behind me... Mom - "Are you sure this is like a train ride" 6 year old son - "Yeah mom, just like a train ride" (ride starts and right at the first drop and through out the ride) Mom - "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh - Jeesh - ahhhhhh - OOOOO-----NOoooooo!!!!" Son (giggled furiously the whole way) (back in the station) Mom - "That was NOT a train ride!!!!" Son - "You should never trust a six year old."

This is going to be awesome.

Uh...Ohio has 2 bodies of water on its borders- the Ohio River and Lake Erie.

Just because Kings Island isn't located in a state that borders two bodies of is NOT an excuse to reject theme. Theming was always considered a major part of the park when it opened in 1972. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This project isn't being dropped without fanfare at 11pm on a Saturday night.

Even then though, with KI you can see and hear Banshee roaring and screeching. Diamondback towers over the park ominously. The screams of Invertigo chill your bones. The excited children pointing at the T-Rex, their imaginations running wild. Then you get through the entrance. The monstrous fountains hit your ears at the exact moment the peppy pop music does. You look up and there's the green metallic Eiffel Tower, looking as tall as ever. Then it hits you: you're here.

I like how Ouimet is willing to show you just enough of the cards to keep you engaged. He doesn't say exactly what's planned, but you know the plans are there. I'm not sure if his style is intentional or not, but it's very fun.

Carolina Harbor:

Apparently on Tuesday night, KK stopped allowing guests into the park by 8:30 saying they were closing early. I know someone that was turned away.

Good luck to those going. If I lived closer, I'd be there.

Don posted here about Kings Island needing volunteers for photoshoots. Tony Clark posted something similar on Cedar Point's blog. The first photoshoot opportunity: "Sunday, August 30 (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.) Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora, OH - looking for all ages and heights" Sounds like the future is, if only for one more season, bright for Ohio's Wildwater Kingdom. Unless they're for generic use across all of Cedar Fair's parks...?

Cedar Point on Facebook : "Corkscrew. 1976. The first roller coaster in the world to have three inversions. #3" Photo : Cedar Point via Facebook

Shortest fulfilled thread ever!

Here's a link to the Friday morning sign-up page that works on mobile devices: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/kings-island-photo-shoot?mobile=0

I can tell you that Henley said it best. Good bye BB, Once again.

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Universal is ON FIRE. So many great additions to the park. And yeah, sure, they're removing classic attractions. But these classic attractions are old and outdated. Hate to say it, but there's not many people in this generation that are big fans of Beetlejuice. It's all about what's popular now. Edit: You know what else is old and outdated? Universal's website. It's been nearly the same for years. The attractions listing is really weird and I don't like it...I wish they would change it.

Nice interview with Mr. Ouimet. http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-cedar-fair-coasters-20150827-story.html

I know Terp and I have been to Lagoon and know at least how it used to be. Lagoon used to be my home park. You want a park that has changed where it should, but knows where it shouldn't, that's Lagoon. It's essentially the same park it's always been, but also isn't afraid to change with the times. I think this documentary captures it perfectly:

And Cirque Imagine, too!

While an update on front gate of KI would be great a coaster at it would take away fro. One of the best entrances ever.

I definitely prefer practical effects and rides over the simulated, but I think Universal has done a great job with the simulated rides/screens as well. Spider-Man and Harry Potter (especially Forbidden Journey) are great combinations of practical and simulated. But Yes I would love to see some more stuff like Indiana Jones, that is one of the best rides. At the same time too, while I like practical effects and they seem more real, for the movies the screens I think are a bit more immersive for the movies. IT allows you to really go on a journey with the characters from the film in ways that practical effects couldn't achieve. Animatronics can look great but can still tell they aren't real (usually, though Disney has fooled people some). But on screens they can put the actual actors in a film that is part of the ride ad talks with the guests. Without them some of the stuff wouldn't be possible. Could you really imagine going on a Harry Potter ride without Harry Potter characters in some capacity? This is bigger for Universal than Disney since Universal is basing attractions off movies, and Disney has many of it's big live action films based of attractions or comic books. Though even they have been starting to go more towards projection based systems as well.

Sorry about your ankle! According to the 2015 guest assistance guide, "casts are not permitted on Banshee, Diamondback and Drop Tower." Additionally, no leg casts are permitted on Backlot Stunt Coaster or Flight of Fear. See Guest Services at the front of the park for a full list of attractions that you can safely ride. (Operators at certain rides may need to check that you were cleared to ride at Guest Services, so I suggest making your way there first.)

For the families who visit Kings Dominion's water park, it probably wasn't a choice between "Atlantic Ocean" or "Soak City." That would be like asking why folks would bother to visit Kings Island's water park instead of going to Lake Erie.

“When you get to the park and you see that coaster, you can’t help but think you’re in for a good day.” This is exactly how I feel entering Cedar Point too. Used to be the thrills were a bit further out in the distance, but at CP it's right up front, and as you're waiting outside the gates it builds a lot of anticipation and excitement. You're seeing the beauty of the coaster, hearing the sounds, and seeing the people having a blast. It makes for such a great atmosphere and a great start to the day. Kings Island's entrance is beautiful as is. It has kind of a more relaxed feel to it. Like "home" I guess is the best way to put it.

Confirms what I said about a month ago. They're satisfied with KI's entrance as is.

Still tremendously sad. This would be like Lagoon deciding to take down the Roller Coaster for me. Every enthusiast has their coaster, and for those who like Thunder Road, this is devastating. Lucky, Roller Coaster extends into the parking lot and is nowhere near the water park. (It's also well maintained and a source of pride)

I'm not sure how that decision was made, considering Kings Dominion's waterpark was just changed this year to Soak City from WaterWorks. Perhaps it has something to do with being the biggest waterpark in the carolinas?

This is a move in the right direction. This identity is fresh, cohesive within the park's themed lands, and classy. Maybe if our water park expansion had come a few years later, we'd have Kings Coast or something more appropriate than the generic Soak City.

I guess it was a copy and paste article with the same photos from another website. Here is the link to it and check the comment section under 'best rated' and there are plenty of people talking about how the park was packed and high ticket prices haha. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3180987/Heading-Oblivion-Alton-Towers-quiet-thrillseekers-barely-queue-popular-rollercoasters-park-shuts-early-hardly-s-there.html#article-3180987 I knew I wasn't going crazy about seeing a comment section on this article.

Blackbeard's Revenge. The same slide complex KI is getting next year.

Terp Read the comment section of this article. The people commenting have mentioned that the park is as packed as usual. If you notice the photos almost everything (trees, Buildings, etc) has long shadows in them which to me means they were taken in the early morning. I can take some photos at Cedar Point during the ERT session that would make it look like a ghost town in the middle of summer if that was my intention. Now do I think attendance has dropped off a little bit yes. But this seems to be a story that is highly sensationalized for clicks and comments.Edit: it appears the comment section was removed from the article (at least on the mobile version). I was linked to this article when it first came out at the beginning of the month by a friend. The comments were saying that there wasn't a noticeable difference in attendance or wait times and that this was a slander piece. That might be why the comment section is not available anymore.

And that last part, killed it for me . I have a very difficult/nearly impossible time in "regular" Haunts that contain scareactors, handling them in that type of environment would be impossible. I was genuinely hoping for the type of experience I described. One haunt that I attended (I think at Universal Orlando....cant be sure, I've been to many) several years ago provided the leader in the group with a flashlight....however it was rigged to work for a while then it would shut off at strategic points to allow the group to experience total darkness. The groups were small but the effect was totally awesome....because when the darkness occurred the monsters came out and their faces were slightly illuminated by glowing paint. Plus it was always the leader that got the scare...so the most afraid individual in the group moved to the front to hold the "security flashlight" that turned out to be their undoing....LOL

While I'm sure many will enjoy this new addition, I will miss the removal of more classic Universal Attractions to make room for another simulator/screen ride. Just seems like Universal has gone the route of adding new attractions that are basically the same simulator/screen concept. Then again that is how they are able to roll new attractions out so quickly.

The only time I saw anything done about what I call the "special snowflake" spots (the ones with yellow diagonal "don't park here idiot" markings, at the end of each row), they were just warnings that said if they did it again that season they'd be fined or towed (I asked the attendant leaving the tickets). I do wish they would police it a little better, because those spots on the ends are meant to be left open so people can see traffic and pedestrians when turning onto the main drag out of the lot.

https://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/fast-furious-ride/ Fast & Furious being added for 2017 with Disaster and Beetlejuice being removed. Disaster will close Sept. 8 and Beetlejuice will close later this year.

This makes me glad to have a Subaru Outback hatchback.

I know that the Muskingum University police were a bona-fide police force, with authority to arrest, issue citations, and all of the other police-like stuff. Of course, they were a complicated matter because despite being a legitimate police force, they still had to answer to University administration. At the risk of saying something political, that was always a caveat that greatly restricted their usefulness. Of course, New Concord police still retained full authority to make arrests, issue citations, and the like on the Muskingum campus, so things had a way of working out. Kings Island police are likely in a similar situation, having the legal powers of a police force, but still answering to the authority of KI/Cedar Fair administration. And in much the same way, there is still Mason Police, who would be unrestricted by park administration. Everything in this post is speculation on my part, lest anything come off as my own knowledge. Basically, just providing an analogy to which I am familiar.

Building a clone of Rolling Thunder in that park might not get Terp through the gates.

Ed Hart should take up acting with his role playing in writing all these articles.

Yep... I've crawled through the hatchback to the drivers seat on a couple of occasions during holidays weekends at the park .....lmao! I dont understand why I've beem blocked in from both sides, but apparently they wanted a closer spot and got it.....