CoastersRZ

I think that the poster was referring to Coney Island, not Coney Mall at Kings Island. I do not know of anything new at Coney for 2012 at this point in time.

Yeah. They have several variations of the KI logo. Keep in mind that there is also the logo with the red text and the blue flag, with Kings and Island stacked on top of each other. Didn`t Spirit Song used to be the weekend after the 4th of July (or at least in July?)

Another excellent post Jesse! It is amazing the amount of friends that I have made through this site, and the memories that I have also made from trips to the park. Anyone remember that KIC Winter event back when Diamondback was being built? And that Coney Island presentation i gave? Yes, Interpreter, civil work can be quite fun. And I doubt many people picked up on your hint. I definitely can`t wait to get together again with the many friends I have made on this site sometime soon. Hopefully long before the park opens again. I had a lot of fun at that bowling event last January in Blue Ash! Maybe a repeat performance?

As "one of the guys that runs the site" I can attest to the fact that we are busy. We do have our own lives, and I have a girlfriend and a full time job that takes up a lot of time. (Whoever heard of a job requiring just 40 hours a week?) I know I have been posting a lot less than I used to. Mostly because I have just been really busy since the park closed. I still read things and post things from time to time. Besides, there is not a lot to see in terms of construction activity at Soak City, other than civil work. When they start forming concrete and building buildings, that is when I get excited, as someone who is in the architecture profession can attest to! I am eagerly awaiting amusement park season again. Granted, I am slightly spoiled by the fact that I got to ride some coasters this past weekend at Dollywood! I`ll try to post a little more often than I have the last few months, but can`t guarantee anything...

Jungle Jim`s is actually opening a second location, in Eastgate (east side of Cincinnati). The location will have a stationary monorail in the parking lot. The store is expected to open sometime next summer.

Q Investments plans to reduce its stake in Cedar Fair by about 30%. See more information here: http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748704221204577080541841321390.html?mod=BOL_twm_dept

The footing for that sky ride tower actually still remains in place to this day at the park. Recently, they`ve been covering it up with an old row boat that is turned upside down on top of it.

Ah. I remember those Five Star Attraction signs quite well. I`m not sure what all was considered a Five Star Attraction, but am fairly confident that the Eiffel Tower was one of them.

I agree with Jesse`s comments. I have been fairly absent from KIC here the last few months. Life has a way of catching up to you, and between my job and my social life, I have been kept pretty busy. I still pop in here from time to time and check the forums. I just don`t have as much free time as I used to...

As I understand it, only the new wavepool will allow inner tubes. But I could also see both wave pools allowing inner tubes. Honestly the last time I was swimming in Kings Island`s water park was the season pass preview weekend for Boomerang Bay, way back in 2004! I have walked through it a couple times since then though. I look forward to checking it out again this season, and swimming there... Its just a matter of finding the time to visit the water park when I don`t want to ride the rides... I still maintain that they need to add a couple new water slides to the park. This expansion will definitely help with closing the gap between the original water park and the 1997 expansion. The last renovation in 2004 helped bridge the gap between the original water park and the expansion.

True. But keep in mind that the Python at Coney only currently holds six people per train! Talk about a capacity nightmare!

Agreed. Unfortunately, I doubt I`ll ever see a wooden coaster at Coney, as long as I`m working there... But stranger things have happened.

It is a little surprising that they didn`t do a "rob" on the food stand. I know at Coney, we will typically do a "rob" on the rides ticket booth, if they start approaching that much money, simply because we don`t want the employees to have that much cash under their control, in case someone were to attempt to steal money from them...

The new wave pool will in fact have more aggressive surf with waves reaching four feet in height. And, the new wave pool will allow guests to take inner tubes in with them. The existing wave pool did not allow guests to take inner tubes in with them.

Well, I have always maintained that if Coney were to get a wooden coaster, it would be a huge hit, regardless of the firm that designed it! But the $3 million price tag would likely still be out of Coney`s reach. Keep in mind that when they installed the Twister water slides in 2009, they spent nearly $2 million.

And the floral date actually had the old Kings Island logo up until about five years ago. At one point in time, I believe it also had the year listed on it as well. And those two images show you how small a lot of the trees were inside of the park when it first opened in the early years. Many people take that for granted now!

I can`t say that I`m surprised. With the amount of shows that were canceled at Coney last year. Not to mention, having it at Bank of Kentucky Center will mean less costs associated with raising the big top. And BoKC is not far from Coney, just across the river. The shows are definitely entertaining. I did get a chance to see Ovo at Coney last year, and it was a wonderful experience. Granted, I got free tickets to it, so didn`t have to pay the steep price of admission.

Looking good! I wonder if they are simply relocating the employee entrance access drive around the new Soak City entrance, and keeping the existing curb cut off of Western Row Road (across from Columbia Road (south), or if they are going to tie it into Kings Island Drive. It also looks like they are already digging out the base for the new wave pool.

I guess the chain snapped! Keep in mind that the lift angle on Diamkndback is steeper than that on earlier hypers from B&M like Nitro. This new creation at Canada's Wonderland has a loft that is pretty steep.

Yes. I still maintain that was one of the worst ride removals and replacements in KI history. That coupled with the removal of the Flying Eagles ride really removed quite a bit of charm from the park. But that is neither here nor there. I`m looking forward to seeing more incredible comparisons! I actually thought about doing something similar for Coney Island Central this summer, but just never got around to doing it...

Well, Cedar Fair has been increasing operating hours at many of their parks the last couple of seasons. And, Kings Island did close at midnights on Saturdays in July this year. I actually remember going to Cedar Point in 1999, I believe, and we visited on a weekday and they were open until 11pm if I recall correctly.

Back on the subject of the ADA, the subject that is most open for debate is what exactly is defined by "reasonable accommodations." And as an aside, I`m still surprised that most water parks have slide towers that have stairs to get to the top, and almost none of them have any sort of elevator or lift. Granted, some of those slides may not be safe for people with disabilities to enjoy.

http://www.mediabistro.com/agencyspy/c-k-chicago-takes-a-ride-with-cedar-fair_b25621 A couple of things to note from the article. First, is that CK will handle social media initiatives for ALL ten Cedar Fair amusement park. And secondly, it will also handle PR, which was previously handled internally. So does this mean that some people within Cedar Fair are losing their jobs as it appears they are outsourcing the PR positions?

I likely will be renewing my 2011 Dollywood pass into a 2012 pass. I plan on going down there for Smoky Mountain Christmas in early December. Hopefully, unlike when I tried to go down there last year, there isn`t a freak snow storm that dumps six inches of snow on the area, forcing the park to close! The ride looks incredibly fun, and appears to be a solid choice for Dollywood`s ride line up!

Standbyme, This is an AWESOME thread. Kudos to all the work you have/will be doing for this thread. It is stuff like this that makes checking out KIC so much fun. I love seeing the history of the park and what it looked like in its early days, before I was around. I look forward to more photo comparisons in the coming days/weeks.