Shaggy

I would suspect because it's localle most of you have not travelled to New England. That having been said, the best coaster in the US... by far... is Superman Ride Of Steel at Six Flags New England. It was a total surprise to me the first time I rode it, and has yet to be matched. It has every single element enthusiasts look for. It all just came together in this ride. This year it was re-painted and heavily re-themed to Bizarro, which works quite well IMO. But no matter, the coaster is an absolute dream. It has been my #1 for nearly a decade now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYOoxyYgha0 A funny, and true, story. The first time I rode it, we plunged down the first drop. I was in the very back seat. Well, the guy in the very front seat had a baseball cap that flew off although it was turned backwards on his head. The cap flew backwards and my reflexes were quick enough that I reached up with my left hand, caught it, and I held onto it the whole ride. When we got back to the station, the gentleman was shocked to see I had his hat, The entire station erupted into applause! That, my friends, is a talent learned only by a seasoned coaster rider ;-) If you ever consider travelling to the Northeast, plan a stop there, you won't regret it. Shaggy

Paula is an expert at munipulating us enthusiests. Not all... only those that buy into it. ;-) Shaggy

At least KI has a decent photo spot, unlike Worlds of Fun. Well, they do, but its under used. The argument I have is the Keyhole gate photogs scramble to take your picture as soon as you come through the gate. There's usually a flurry of them competing for photo ops, so they stop folks as soon as they can. No prob. However, who wants a picture with the ugly, dark entrance building behind them? The Fountains are the most picturesque area in the park, but the photogs take your pic opposing them. I'd suggest the smarter photog would offer to take the pictures in front of the fountain. Seems to me better taken photos would outsell volumous invasive ones. Shaggy

I rode it in May. It was as bad as I remembered, but not nearly as awful as SOB. Shaggy

From what I recall, Neverland is about 1 hour north of LA in the Santa Barbara area. It was fairly remote, and a bit hard to get to. Santa Barbara is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen, and quite honestly I would not want to see it turned into what Anaheim has become (not that it would.) However it does seem appropriate that Neverland would be reclaimed by the Jackson family as a final resting place. Graceland of the west, I suppose. Shaggy (The rides were sold auction, weren't they?)

The two things I miss the most at KI are: David Mandt and Jeffrey Siebert With all due respect to Don. Shaggy

The School Bell is not a sound effect. It's a ride Op literally pulling a cord mid-station to ring the actual bell on the roof. They typically ring it as a train comes into the final brake run during 2 train operation. BTW, the bell once fell during Stark Raven Mad...

^The jean skirts down to the ankles is a religion thing. My sister had a friend in high school who went to a church where a majority of the girls wore those all the time (I forget the type of church). I believe those are of the Pentecostal Faith. They also do not cut their hair. I believe the Duggars... the family with about 1,237 kids... are of that faith. (I am not affiliated.) I can say that I, and most others of my age, are into the freedom of being able to wear whatever we want, and express that freedom. Understood... but as you mature, you'll realize how it screams of simply "wanting attention." Rely on talent. ethics, and your word to make those statements for you. Those last longer and speak volumes. ;-) Shaggy

After reading your post, it seems to me that your nerves simply caught up with you. Once the ride was over, you body just responded. While I have always been blessed with an extremely strong stomach, and I've never gotten nauseous or vomited from a ride, I can relate to what you are asking. Indeed, I do believe age affects our ability to ride. I've not spoken much about this, but my equilibrium (sp?) is not nearly as good as it once was. And I truly believe all those years of being dropped, looped, spun, twisted etc etc etc had something to do with it. I cannot ride amusement park attractions like I once could. Specifically, I cannot be looped or spun around. That's a big reason why I do not travel and ride coasters like I did years ago, my body just can't handle it anymore. Back in the day, I would rack up 10, 20, 30 or more rides on rides/looping coasters... I'd take part in early AM, or late PM, ERTs and not suffer any consequence... I'd spend literally park open to park close hopping from one ride to another. Those days are gone. Now I take a park at a leisurely pace, and factor in downtime between looping/spinny rides. Just recently, I rode Tony Hawks Big Spin at SFOT. My friend loved it, and coaxed me into staying on for a second go. (The park was slow... no line.) That thing spun the crap out of me... so much so, that I could hardly stand up afterwards and had to be helped off the ride. My head spun for hours because of that, it nearly ruined the day. It took about 2 hours to fully recoup, and that involved eating a meal and sitting very, very still with my head down. It was in that very moment that I said to myself... geez, I am middle aged... and I will never be spun like that again. Shaggy

I didn't watch the video, however it's just a smoke ring from Volcano. There are low-lying clouds which would cause the smoke ring to hover for a while. Shaggy

It's worth pointing out that Fantasy Farm became the home of Kings Island's "Wheel Of Fortune" Trabant ride in it's latter years. Here's a link to the page on that site that shows the ride operating at Fantasy Farm. It's the first picture in the second row down. http://www.fantasyfarm.org/auctionbook.htm When Fantasy Farm closed, all rides were auctioned. "Wheel of Fortune" was purchased at that auction by the Delgrosso family... they operate their own park in Pennsylvania formerly called "Blands" now called "Delgrosso's." To this day, you can still ride "Wheel of Fortune" at that park, although it's now called "Casino." http://www.delgrossos.com/maplg.html

As opposed to what? Huss? Premier? RCCA? B&M - okay okay, anomaly Will Koch decided he wanted a big, state of the art, record breaking ride for his small park. With such installs come big, state of the art, record breaking problems. I don't wish any I'll on HW, but I simply don't "get" this decision. A Pirate Ship, or small chute-the-chutes would have served this same purpose... better. Shaggy

ENCHANTED Voyage.

The last ERT ride of Sunday night I turned all the way around the whole ride. It was HILARIOUS! I got to watch everyones faces and watch them during airtime it was so fun! Please explain. You turned your entire body around in the seat? This, irregardless of "HILARITY" does not sound like something to brag about. Shaggy

Those who doubt the severity of the SFNO damage need only look here. http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18622 I have it on good authority that the gears/mechanics/motors of nearly every ride in the park were shot by the flooding. Its not as simple as sweeping up and plugging things back in. It would essentially mean re-building the park. SFNO started life as a troubled park called Jazzland. It was never a big performer. So for Six Flags (who has little to no money to spare right now) to spend a dime on re-opening a devistated park, during depressed ecomonic times, and in one of the most depressed areas in the country... would be ludicrous. Shaggy

Most here are too young to know that The Beast's entrance, and exit, are vastly different from when it opened. An entire queue house was demolished when the exit ramp was re-routed, the lake drained and the on-ride photo building added. Other than the station, there were 3 seperate queue houses. Now there's just 2. In addition, the exit led guests under the station and out onto the path that in recent years was used as the service road to Tomb Raider. Back when KCKC was still there, and prior to the re-configuration of the exit, there was a large Beast logo housed in a small building just next to the KC KC lift. It was called the "Beast Tamer Photo." Also, the original signage to The Beast told it's "legend." Finally... there's been many rumors over the years as to why the lake was drained... "Oh it stunk", "It was a mosquito breeding ground", "They couldn't fish trash out of it" etc etc etc. When the reality is, the exit ramp was built to allow wheelchair access to the station. The water was drained to allow for construction and the lower lying path. I wouldn't expect too much in the way of a new Beast Entrance. More along the lines of a re-directed midway.

Kings Island and I are the same age. I was born a few months prior to the park's opening. Shaggy

Not to mention that the park is land locked. It is... but there's other land nearby that would be suitable for the stadium. It boggles my mind as to why they haven't considered the ginormous Golf Course nearby. If it's a big name PGA course, re-locate it, and then GAM and the 49ers can build/share a parking garage/lot.

I actually remember seeing a film in the Cinema 180 theater. You actually sat on the floor. I sat on that floor myself a number of times... One season they showed a movie featuring a POV ride on The Beast. I remember thinking "Uh, it's about 500 feet away, why not just go ride it for real?"

... hence my post 7 messages up. ;-)

If I remember correctly, Flight Deck has one of the top riderships in the park, but there's always the chance I'm not remembering correctly. Top three capactity eaters at KI: Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad Adventure Express Vortex The TRACK appears to be the only part of Vortex getting a re-paint.

Actually, the Puppet Tree sticks out in my mind quite notably. My favorite was the "Rockin Robin" number they did. It was quite cute. Here's some trivia for you. One of the better puppeteers from the Puppet Tree and other KI shows was a guy named Joe Kovacs. You remember (well, because of age, some of you won't...) Wayland Flowers and Madame from the 1970s? Well, Mr. Flowers passed away in the late 80's. However, his estate searched for years to find someone that could carry on the legacy. Joe has gained national attention after being chosen to be the new "master" of Madame. I believe he may have now severed ties with Madame as she has a new puppeteer. His website, as well as hers makes no mention of the team. However, Wikipedia still has a few "words" about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_kovacs Shaggy

Other than that I can't think of any reasons to have that little thing in the splashdown. How about people They similarly fence the base of most low-to-the-ground coaster drops. See the below pic of Goliath at SFOG. http://rcdb.com/ig3290.htm?picture=52 Every year, KI deals with dozens of people that make their way into the fountains or in small ponds etc on dares, out of stupidity or just plain ignorance. Because of this, a 4 foot perimeter fence, I would suspect, does not pass muster with the park, OSHA, or Insurance providers. And with the seemingly brainless folks that enter secure coaster drop areas (again... see SFOG) every year, parks must take extra precautionary measures. P.S. Fish could swim through fence holes...

To be specific, Skylab was a Huss Giant Enterprise. One of the 3 ever installed. The giants were much larger and each car seated 4 people. Only one remains in operation... well, sporadic operation... and it's located at Canada's Wonderland. Shaggy

OMG this thread makes me feel old. I can remember KI PRIOR to King Cobra ever being installed. And I also remember riding it during it's first year of operation. As a matter of fact, I rode King Cobra's precursor at Kings Dominion... King KOBRA... a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop... You young'ns do know what a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop is, don't you? if you don't, then do your homework. The future of coaster knowledge is in your hands. Shaggy