Shaggy

Paramount should be credited with the re-furbishment of the Festhaus, not Cedar Fair. As a matter of fact, that stained glass window was uncovered for Winterfest. Shaggy

For clarification... Sinbad the character... not the comic. Har har... According to the video, the 1,700 seat ampitheater was full... sure didn't seem that way to me... actually, I've seen the show before and it was never full. Finally, they say that Sinbad will have a new entrance. But aren't they going to be closing that show and utilizing the facility for the new Harry Potter area?

There are rocks being hauled to the area just behind the storage shed. Also, the queue perimeter railing appears to be going up and looks to be wooden ala Maverick. The entrance sign posts have also been stained to match the loading station. They may be waiting for the splashdown to be completely dry, perhaps they will be painting or lining it. However that remains to be seen. Shaggy

I don't know whether to clap or cry at that. What an amazing piece of history. It does answer one question for me... I had always wondered if the Coney Island train had featured the Fort Apache animatronics that were later installed at KI... indeed it did. So to those curious about the old train "show" and what it was like at KI, just watch this video. Great find! Shaggy

Kentucky Kingdom is not open next weekend. http://www.sixflags.com/kentuckykingdom/info/parkInfo.aspx

I rode the Giant about 5 years ago, and I'll be riding it again in a month. (Depending upon my pain threshold that day.) It was, as previously stated, horribly rough. A complete overhaul is no doubt in store. I'd expect GCI is involved. Rather, I HOPE GCI is involved. The Giant is easily one of the most amazing coasters to look at, but worst coasters to ride. It's part of that elite group of woodies that you WANT to succeed, but just don't. Others I'd include: 1. Rattler 2. Mr Twister 3. Hercules 4. Psyclone 5. Ghostrider (Simply because of it's poor upkeep) 6. The Boss 7. Mean Streak 8. Hershey Wildcat 9. and of course... Son of Beast I've not ridden the first two, (I'll let you know about Rattler later this year...) but I have ridden the last 7. And we know what happened to #3 and 4. Rumor has it that Mean Streak is up for a complete overhaul itself in 2010, so it seems GCI may be busy in the future. By comparison, I STRONGLY feel that the best woodies are the most underrated ones. Viper at SFGAM, Thunderhead at Dollywood, Lightning Racer at Hershey, Cyclone at SFOG and Kentucky Rumbler are all some of the least discussed coasters, yet are are absolutely incredible to ride. As far as the wooden coasters I feel are the worst... The Boss is by far the roughest wooden coaster I've ridden. Son of Beast is basically insignificant now that the loop is gone, and Mean Streak is just a waste of valuable CP real-estate. In addition, the most overrated, blown way-out-of-proportion, non rider friendly, and far too intense woodie is hands down Voyage. Shaggy

While I've not been to Valleyfair, I have been to World's of Fun as recently as this past summer. Quite frankly, I could not have been more under-whelmed by that park. It's base-infrastructure is pitiful. It's reminiscent of a park that's long since outlived it's glory days. I got an "Astroworldish" feeling when I was there. Don't get me wrong, it has possibilities... but only with a tremendous amount of overhaul. It has a fun hyper, a fun invert, and apparently getting a much needed woodie. But those three rides cannot make up for the rest. SFGAM has had it's future tossed around so many times over the years, but yet it still remains. With the looming 49ers stadium, that land is far more valuable as real-estate than it ever was as a park. The business head in me thinks they'd be crazy not to sell that and reduce debt. Shaggy

Whats a floppy drive? A stick shift Ba-bump-bump Thank you, thank you... I'll be here all week Shaggy ;-)

Actually there are Kings Island construction photos floating on the web somewhere... including a half built Eiffel Tower. I have several pics on floppy in storage somewhere that show the park under construction. Problem is, they are buried in storage somewhere... oh, and the fact that I do not have a floppy drive anymore ;-) Shaggy

Folks, we have a winner. Now THAT was funny. Shaggy

I too would have Knotts in my stomach if my T-Bar were perilously re-straining me. Shaggy - who thinks he finally coined a Terpy

I wouldn't say Fallen...out of...Holding on for dear life maybe? I think that it's best to just say that it has always been safe for guests. Shaggy

No one has ever fallen out of Tomb Raider : The Ride or The Crypt. No, but close... Judging by the pic... me thinks the testing is 'bout to begin...

Just you... it's as it should be. Shaggy

I don't think you should worry. In particular, B&Ms typically have "Big Boy" seats set aside, with a little more "room" for the larger patron. Not that you fit that category. I also know from experience that the B&M Hyper seats tend to be quite roomy and IMO very comfy. (I still want a seat to put in my living room to sit in and watch tv, complete with TV Tray restraint LOL) The good news is that there will undoubtedly be a test chair at the queue entrance for larger folks to avoid embarassment, and a wait for nada. Shaggy P.S. My 34" pants are feeling very tight these days... I blame winter too... ;-)

When the B and M hypercoasters first debuted (see Nitro, for example), there was a small cable that attached from the rear of the restraint to the train body (see Flight of Fear's 'seatbelt' for a nearly analagous example). The cables were soon removed. I believe Nitro and Raging Bull were the only B&Ms to have the cables... and it was, more or less, a Six Flags novelty. At least that's the only ones I rode that ever had them. Apollo didn't. But as you said, they were short lived. I've never had it confirmed, but I've heard several ride ops sliced fingers on the cables when the plastic covering on them wore down... thus the removal. Seems like at an IAAPA I attended around 2000, B&M were showing off the new "security cables" on a displayed hyper car. B&M hypers all use a much simpler, but effecive way of securing a harness. There's a little "line" on the pivot axle at the base of the restraint pole. The restraint must be pushed far enough in so that the ride op can see the mark on the base of the restraint. It's the same idea as those "Power Surge" rides where the Ride Op must push the restraint in far enough that a signal light above the rider goes out. I've ridden the Superman Rides both prior to, and after, the restraint modification. The earlier restraint system was flawed for sure. Specifically at SFA, I could push my restraint slowly forward after locking, and no I didn't do so on purpose. I remember riding, having my lap bar push forward from my body weight mid-ride, which scared me to death. Upon exit, I told the ride op, who said "Yeah, we know" and shrugged it off. I didn't ride the coaster anymore that day. I was not shocked in the least when the person was thrown out at the other park. It was obvious that an obese person could easily cause the restraint to fail. Shaggy

It's either a future building, or a queue pad with wooden railings laid out. Shaggy

It appears that a new building may soon start appearing... Shaggy

It doesn't stop them... see SFOG for reference... it just appeases the Insurance Company. ;-) Shaggy

This is just a guess but it looks like they are building a fence along the swan lake path. I'd also expect a lock-out fence surrounding the splashdown pool in addition to an esthetic perimeter fence.

"If they are planning to do a pull through, they don't have a crane large enough to do it. Clifford was the only one that would have been tall enough, and that's been gone for weeks. I vote for the no pull through on this ride." Certain B&Ms also utilize a "ball" contraption that can slowly crawl the track. Batman Knight Flight at SFO, ummm SFWOA, errrr GL, came with it's own. Here's a link to a pic of it being used when the coaster was re-located to Kings Dominion: http://www.kdfansite.com/gallery/displayim...bum=3&pos=5 I believe B&M also has one that has been used to test parameters on several different installs. I've also seen them use a makeshift "car" complete with plywood shells that that run through "tight" areas. Shaggy

Fence footers?? Re-installing the "World's Largest Hanging Basket." Yuk Yuk Shaggy

And all "KECO" parks that had, or have a "Vortex" branded coaster use a variation of the same logo. The difference is found in the coaster trains. For instance, here's Canda's Wonderland: Here's Great America's and Carowinds:

I don't remember some of those. I've been riding FOF since 1996 but don't remember any kind of prints or even any very good signage (except for the sign at the base of Racer's hill) leading to FOF. I seem to remember something leading to Vortex but don't remember what. Same with Beastie. Outer Limits, Flight of Fear had the ride's logo stenciled along Coney Mall. It stretched from The Racer's Lift hill back towards the former Flight Commander area. These only existed partially through 1996. Also, in 1995, when construction began on OL:FOF, a gigantic sign was placed on the side of The Racer's Lift Hill vaguely advertising the new space-themed coaster... without saying what it was. Vortex was a stencil of the iron hand logo. It stretched from The Vortex "house" back down Coney Mall to where the former Rock Shop was. Beastie used orange baby paw prints. They ran in a random pattern through HB Land. Top Gun used a stencil of the Flying Jet logo. These stretched from the ride entrance back through what was then Adventure Village. King Cobra and Flight Commander also had "prints" that were used along paths in their earlier years. Kings Island used them on many attractions when they were new... mainly for crowd/que control. Shaggy

I love it when Shaggy comes around. Awww shucks, you guys sure know how to make a guy feel welcome ;-) Just for some clarity on my part Shaggy, the pump system that was used to create the Rivertown creek was retained during the construction of Diamondback? Yes. The pump house that held the recirculating equipt for Swan Lake and the creek was not removed. It, along with the Paradise Island drink stand, were left standing. Look very closely at the Diamondback construction pics. In some of them you will see the new storage shed, trees, and the Paradise Island drink stand. Well, in those trees, pretty well hidden, is the pump house. Shaggy