CoastersRZ

I will likely be at the park on Saturday, and then again on Sunday with a very good friend, for P&G day...

Kings Island used to do season pass preview days before opening to the public every season back in the day. It was a dry run day, and often allowed the new employees to get their bearings, when there aren`t single day paying customers in the park... Unfortunately at KI this has gone by the wayside. I believe that Canada`s Wonderland still does a preview day in the spring...

While that is generally the case, there are some circumstances that have happened this year, which resulted in the train progressing too far into the breaks before the unload station. When that happens, the normal block system override will not work, as the operators cannot clear the train out of the unload station. The only way to fix that is to have maintenance release the brake under the train just outside of the unload station.

I actually have ridden Cheetah Hunt. I`d say that the ride isn`t really that intense. It is a pretty graceful ride, with the best part being the run through the ravines/trenches when the trains make a series of alternating curves... I think it would be a nice fit for Holiday World`s first major steel coaster...

Yeah, I see that now. I also see that admission into Soak City will be included with 2012 Gold Season passes. It also looks like they will be able to sell tickets at the new entrance building, which is something that the current set up at Boomerang Bay did NOT allow for. Only pass holders or those with pre-purchased tickets could enter the Boomerang Bay gate. I just hope that one of these days they don`t make Soak City a separate gated water park. And hopefully, they will add a water slide or two in the coming years. All in all, still a sound investment in the park, in my opinion.

Where exactly is the action river going? From the sounds of it, this action river is in addition to the existing lazy river, which will remain. But I do NOT see it depicted in that rendering. If it is in addition to the existing lazy river, than I`m all for it. But if it is just a revamping of the current wave pool, that would be disappointing. I hope that Soak City remains free for pass holders and single day ticket holders as well! Otherwise, they could have some angry customers on their hands. It appears as if this wave pool is going in the parking lot, which means that the park is going to have to rework the employee entrance. WIll they keep the entrance lined up off of Columbia Road? Or move it to KI Drive? I can see some major tie ups if they try to move it to KI drive and don`t do it right. The new entrance from the parking lot looks a lot nicer than the current entrance, which still looks like a makeshift entrance. We`ll see if they actually add the landscaped area and trees into the parking lot. I agree that Kings Island`s water park could use some new water slides to boost capacity. Hopefully, they will do that in the coming years, especially on the wave pool side of things, where slides are a bit sparse. The cabanas are a big way for the park to make money, and those will be located around the wave pool. Overall, nothing too impressive, but nice to see a $10 million investment nonetheless. I likely won`t go to the water park. Heck, I`ve only been once to Boomerang Bay since 2004, and that was the first weekend Boomerang Bay opened in 2004! I still have yet to ride the new Twister slide at Sunlite Pool which opened in 2009 at Coney Island!

It always amazes me how addicted some people are to texting and their phones that they will carry their phones through the haunts. What is the big deal that you have to tell your friends that instant? It can wait five minutes can`t it? Especially if you just waited in a long line to experience said attraction!

And I for one hope they don`t rename Boomerang Bay. At the rate Cedar Fair is going, all of their parks will be merely identical with no local flavor or identity. WindSeeker or Dinosaurs Alive anyone? At least they have given most of their major coasts unique names. There is only one Firehawk, Diamondback, Behemoth, Leviathon, Stinger, etc.

There are a lot of parks down in Florida to visit. I would love to make it to Legoland. I love Legos as a kid. Sadly, I`m all grown up now, and haven`t spent any time with them in years! (I have looked in the architecture series some over the last full years, but never pulled the trigger on buying them). Definitely, a visit to WDW is not complete without a stop at Magic Kingdom. I don`t think I`ll be back down to Disney until that new ride opens. I`m glad MK is getting some attention in the form of new attractions. Now the other parks need to follow suit as well. BTW, Manta is an AWESOME ride at Sea World.

But keep in mind that the number of guests posting on Facebook still is a minority of the overall target market of Kings Island. Yes, it is a slightly larger target market than this website, but that alone does not mean that most guests want Son of Beast to be fixed. And just because the guests want it to be fixed doesn`t mean it will be. Back when The Bat was around, I bet a lot of the guests (and the park) wished that it could successfully reopen. But alas, the best option was for the ride to be removed and replaced by a new attraction. I sense a similar fate for Son of Beast in the next few years.

Staffing on a Friday, (when school`s are in session), is the primary reason that Boomerang Bay likely is closed. I know at Coney, we had a private event on Tuesday, and it was difficult staffing it because of schools being in session. In fact, the two rides managers who were there (myself and another one) were working the rides the last three hours we were open. In fact, for thirty minutes, I was working the Giant Slide with the head rides mechanic, because we didn`t have anyone else to run the ride!

Yes it is. And they seem to be doing ok, especially since their stock was upgraded today. But I still question the rationale of some of their cap ex installs. I`m sure they have a reason for some of their decisions. What I`d give to be a fly on the wall in some of those meetings...

Good to see all the additions at the Six Flags parks, and they aren`t just getting the same ride and dinosaur walk through attraction like Cedar Fair appears to be doing. In my opinion, Cedar Point is starting to get a little stagnant. I mean, the last coaster they added was Maverick, and that was installed all the way back in 2007. Yes, I still want to go to Cedar Point to ride their rides like Millenium Force and Top Thrill Dragster, but I am less compelled to go when they don`t have anything new to offer. Especially when I can ride WindSeeker here at Kings Island. The reason that you are likely seeing more B&Ms from Cedar Fair of late is because they have been burned a lot by Intamin lately. Shoot the Rapids, Maverick, Xcelerator anyone? Additionally, in my opinion, Cedar Fair`s capital expenditures budget seems a little small. They only typically add one major new attraction in a season to one park (next year will be Leviathon at Canada`s Wonderland). Didn`t Cedar Fair scale back a little bit the cap ex once they integrated the Paramount Parks when compared to the pre purchase numbers for Cedar Fair and Paramount?

I think the real root of the removal of Stealth was so that Great America could expand their water park. Water park attractions are a lot cheaper to install, and generally can be very profitable ventures. Just look at the explosion of indoor water parks that has taken shape over the last several years. You don`t see too many FECs (Family Entertainment Center) with indoor coasters and rides springing up. Krazy City was unfortunately short lived here in town. As an aside, I`m kind of surprised there aren`t more go kart track facilities in the Cincinnati area. There is The Web up in West Chester featuring an indoor electric go kart track, and Eastgate Adventures on the east side that features mini-gold and an outdoor go kart track. It seems like there could be a market for more. Especially one that combined mini golf with go kart tracks, an indoor component, ie batting cages, bowling, volleyball etc.

Yes, the first days of the Crypt were quite fun. Definitely more enjoyable than the current version of the ride. I really miss the band organ at Kings Island! But at least they have a somewhat adequate audio system on it. The Carousel at Coney had no music for most of this year. They just installed an audio system on it this past weekend for the rest of the season. Better late than never, I suppose. I wonder if Cedar Fair is going to be adding anything to Great America for 2012. Or, if the continuing 49er stadium debate has them taking a wait and see approach to future development for the park. There are quite a few rides that could go quite nicely at other Cedar Fair parks if they do decide to shutter the park. I have to wonder if that park is making them much money, since they have removed quite a few rides from the park in the last several years.

http://coneyislandcentral.com/photo/albums/userpics/10001/spook.jpg http://coneyislandcentral.com/photo/albums/userpics/10001/Spook-Ride-Coney-1961.jpg

Kind of surprised by the addition at Magic Mountain. Seems like an updated version of a second generation Intamin drop ride, albeit much taller. Definitely does not look like a capacity machine as each of the two cars only holds eight riders at a time.

And see, that is where the pricing model is different for Cedar Fair compared to places like Holiday World. Admission to KI is fairly cheap. But you then pay higher prices for food once inside the park. Holiday World is the opposite pricing model. I wonder why they don`t do passes the way Paramount used to do them. Buy a pass in the fall, and use it the rest of that year, plus all of next year. Get more people through the gates spending money on food, games and merchandise...

I doubt there was much of a discount for buying so many of them. The one thing that needs to be ironed out, imo, is the ride computer needs to be able to pin point which bars are not locked. Simply stating that the bars are not locked, results in longer loading times as operators have to try and find the bar that is not locked enough according to the sensor. Its not like Diamondback, where the computer can pinpoint a specific seat...

Why don`t they just add the same ride to every park??? Come on, I understand about most every park having Dodgems and Scrambler type rides, but these are major investments... We are already up to six WindSeekers already. Any other takers onto which Cedar Fair park is next to acquire a WindSeeker?

Well, in the past the park has offered discounts on the season pass rates on those days. But the past may not be any indication of future events... And, we are not taking tests here that are being administered by proctors. P&G is named after William Procter and James Gamble, the candlemaker and soapmaker duo that started the company way back in 1837, right here in Cincinnati. The common theme between Procter and Gamble that led to their business partnership? They married sisters.

You forgot to add the fact, that the King Cobra received its fresh coat of paint for the 1999 season. It only lasted three full seasons after getting its paint job. It was removed at the beginning of the 2002 season (it didn`t operate that season, and the last few pieces were removed the first few weekends the park was open in 2002.

I guess it just depends on the park. Coney will be busy on Saturday (hot air balloon race), dead on Sunday, and swamped on Monday, when the union picnics come to the park. I think it just depends on what special promotions the park will be having. I still have never made it to Kennywood. One of these days I`m going to get there...

Are you referring to the automatic spiel that went something like this "Welcome back riders, we hope you enjoyed your ride. Push down and pull up on your lap bars, walk down the exit ramp and enjoy the rest of your day at Paramount`s Kings Island. Oncoming riders, please secure all loose articles and step into the row directly in front of you"? I think there was some more to it, but that is all that I remember.

Already being discussed in this thread: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24140&pid=439542&st=150entry439542