CoastersRZ

Yep. Very true statement. Things that are new experiences to people will seem new and better. Having experienced certain attractions over and over, they can loose some of their initial appeal, which makes the new experiences seem much better. At this point, I think Haunt is a big tool to help Kings Island sell additional season passes. Not to mention that including Haunt with park admission keep people inside the park for a longer amount of time, which is a good thing. Why? It keeps them in the gates where they can buy food, beer and merchandise (especially with the no re-entry after 7pm on Haunt nights, which is NOT done to increase in park spending, that is just a side effect). After all, admission prices are just one source of revenue for amusement parks. In park spending makes up a large portion of their revenue. And just look at the size of the crowds that Haunt brings in and how many people buy food and play the games.

I highly doubt that they will be removing either Delirium or MaxAir and sending it to Carowinds. All the times I`ve been to Carowinds, and I`ve made numerous visits including visits in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2010, the park has had little to no crowds. Granted the last few visits were on opening weekend, but still. The Charlotte area is a growing area. They obviously hope to continue to grow the park and the revenue coming from the park. Comparing HUSS to B&M. I don`t see the comparison you are trying to make. B&M doesn`t innovate too much. Instead, they seem to rely on tried and true designs, and make extremely reliable rides. HUSS rides are more innovative, and thus have issues with downtime.

The fireworks are set off back behind WindSeeker. Note, if you choose to ride Beast, that it temporarily suspends operation at approximately 9:45 due to its proximity to the fireworks launch pad. The line for the ride remains open until 10pm. Once the all clear is given, the ride resumes operation, and all people in line are then allowed to ride.

Well, funny you should ask such a question. I just returned from a three park (two park days), weekend trip with some fellow friends. The one park we went to that had the Flash Pass was Six Flags Great Adventure. We were prepared to buy a flash pass if needed. But fortunately, and to our surprise, the lines were relatively short. We did see quite a few people using flash passes though. Some rides had more people using flash passes than others. The prime rides seemed to be El Toro, (which is an incredible ride, but that is for a future PTR) and Kingda Ka.. The flash passes definitely slowed the line at Kingda Ka. The bigger issue we had was with the Platinum Flash Passes, as the ride crews gave little or no warning to when people would be using these passes. (Those passes entitled the holders a second consecutive ride). Visual Scan. We didn`t end up using a Flash pass, and rode everything, except for Green Lantern which had a full queue, and we decided it wasn`t worth the wait, especially after the garishly slow operations at Superman (they were averaged a dispatched train about every five minutes in our nearly two hour wait for it). I for one am disappointed that the single rider line on Diamondback has been eliminated. I often go to the park several times a season after work, and if the single rider line was short, I`d hop in it for a quick ride, to bypass the longer line. But if they were not monitoring the line, then the SRL could be longer than the regular line. I can see both sides of the coin on this. It is a way for the park to generate some extra revenue. But it also can be seen negatively by the guests who are paying a pretty penny to enter the park as it is already., espceially when they already feel they are being nickled and dimed as it is. I am glad that they have restricted it to a certain time, as most of my visits to the park are in the late evening or early mornings. And I do agree that the perks for Gold pass holders seems to have dwindled a little bit over the last few years. One thing is clear though,. Cedar Fair`s new President is already having an impact on the day to day operations at the parks. I mean, it was just last week that he visited KI and said that a fast pass type system could be headed to the park... Hopefully some other nice things are headed to the park that can be seen in a more positive light by all.

Already happened once. Won't be happening again anytime soon... Coney does make money. Yes, the floods ate a pain, but are a fact of life that Coney has gotten used to dealing with by now.

While it is not a coaster, the Tempest flat ride at Coney is driven by a chain. If the ride is not balanced and braked properly, the chain can snap (with the sound of a canon). It usually happens at least once a season. When it happens, it normally takes the ride down for several days to a week while maintenance fixes it. Its not that common on coasters, but it does happen from time to time.

Chains get replaced. I`m not sure how often, but I think its safe to say that the chain on Vortex is not the original chain that opened with the ride. And the chains actually will stretch a bit as they are used. So when the weakest link breaks, they likely will replace the entire chain.

http://news.cincinna...|text|FRONTPAGE Some interesting quotes in that article, including his near identical statement to what he said about Knott`s Berry Farm.

It was a fun time indeed. Several long standing revenue records (both daily and weekly) were actually broken. The grand finale for the fireworks were awesome! It went on for a solid minute to a minute and a half. By the time we got done counting all the money from the ticket tables, shutting down rides, and doing time cards (the 3rd happened to be on a Sunday this year), we didn`t end up leaving the rides office until close to 12:30am. Then several of us rides people made a late night visit to Ihop! One has to wonder, given the size of the crowds, and the popularity of the event, if expanding balloon glow to two days can`t bring in more revenue and alleviate some of the major traffic issues. Certainly worth a thought as the event seems to get bigger and bigger every season. It is Coney`s big day of the season. I got to see it from a different [perspective this year as a rides manager as opposed to a ride operator.

I have not heard anything about those rumors.

That would be an interesting acquisition, and would definitely help even out their balance sheet across all twelve months of the year. There certainly would be synergies between the two companies, and it would offer CF the chance to expand their lodging properties. However, I just don`t see Cedar Fair taking on any more debt right now. They have been struggling the last few years to pay down the debt that they incurred from their last acquisition, Paramount Parks.

Yes, take Interpreter`s advice. The ride itself isn`t that bad, but that first drop can pack quite a punch. And the braking can be rather abrupt too. The ride also has a very conservative block system. If the train isn`t advanced from the unload area of the station to the load area by the time the other train crosses immediately over the station roof, the ride will set up the blocks, with the other train getting stuck right above the station. The only way for the ride to get unstuck is to have either maintenance or a rides manager come out with a key and unlock the air brake release valve for that brake. That actually happened tonight, when a guest was slow to disembark the train in the unload area. I actually am the opening rides manager tomorrow, and maybe working all day.

Sadly, I have never been to SFGamerica. In fact, the one Six Flags park I have been to (when it was actually a Six Flags park, I went to Kentucky Kingdom the year Chang opened, prior to it becoming a Six Flags park), is World of Adventure, aka Geauga Lake, which is of course no longer an amusement park. One of these days, I hope to experience SFGAm. But time and funds are limited at the moment. (Saving for a house requires a lot of money). One of these years I hope to get to a Six Flags park. Although, I`m not certain that park would be the top on my list. SFoG or SFGAdv would likely be my bets to visit first.

Nice trip report. Glad to hear you had a fun time. I love going to Cedar Point. It is just a fun park, and has so much to do. That park seems so much bigger than Kings Island, in part because it is more elongated than Kings Island.

Wow! All I can say is WOW! That was REALLY impressive. I especially liked the "rock tilting" effect that the lights had on the mountain at about 4:45 into that video. A really nice show, and rather unique. Seems like something Disney would do, to be honest. Now if only I could make it up to Canada`s Wonderland sometime this year. Unfortunately, I don`t think I`ll have the time (or money) to make it up there this season. Not to mention I do not have a passport... The same technology likely wouldn`t work quite as well on the Eiffel Tower at Kings Island, simply because of the fact that the Eiffel Tower isn`t a full canvas, since it is a lattice work of steel beams and girders. I am happy that Kings Island is now lighting the front side of the Eiffel Tower again this season. I was disappointed when only the back side was lit last year. It just wasn`t the same with the front side dark last season. Especially with the amount of people that view the nightly fireworks from right inside the front gate area.

And don`t forget that those scooters originated at another Island! Diamondback and Intimidator at Carorwinds are slightly different beasts. I like Diamondback a little bit better, in part because it has a better setting than Intimidator, which skirts Carowinds` parking lot. I absolutely adore Afterburn. It is one awesome invert from B&M and among my favorite inverts I`ve been on (out of Raptor, Afterburn, Dragon Challenge, and Montu). Carowinds is definitely a nice little park. Depending on the crowds, you should be able to get most of the rides in during a seven hour visit.

Yes, while it is sketchy, people obviously fell for it. It seems like this sort of story comes up a couple times a year at various amusement parks.

When are you going to be at Coney? Keep in mind that July 3rd is THE busiest day of the season at Coney! That being said, there are lots of fun and unique activities going on at Coney that day, from live music to hot air balloons to Rozzi`s Famous Fireworks over Lake Como. If you plan on attending, get there early. Crows usually aren`t that bad early in the day, and parking goes up to $10 (from $7) at 2pm in the afternoon!

Not to mention they use polyurethane wheels, like steel coasters. The similarities are too similar to steel coasters to deny. The same thing can be said for the new Texas Giant. Man, its been a while since I`ve posted on here. I`ve been a little busy working two jobs and nearly 65 hours a week the last month or so!

And who says they must fix it before adding a new coaster?

I haven`t heard anything estimated opening date for Bumper Boats yet. They are still working on making some modifications to where the ramps for the dock attach to the shoreline.

It was a fun time yesterday. Things got a little busy in the afternoon and evening. I didn't ever figure out exactly what was in the time capsule. The memorabilia display was really cool, although I didn't check it out that much. I will say they had security positioned at it all day. The fireworks were short, buy awesome, as Rozzis always are. I got a nice view of them from the Bumper boat dock (which is still closed btw), just another perk of being a manager. The weather today forces Coney to close at 5 instead of 9!

Excited to see Graveyard shift come back. Although it will be interesting to see how the change of venue from the Kings Island Theater to the Festhaus will affect the show. I`m kind of glad Hot Blooded is back for a third season. I think the show is great, and I still like that water effect!

Well, I have witnessed a long back up at the south gates this year. I went on a Friday evening back in early May. I arrived around 5:15 and proceeded to be greeted by a long back up. The reason? They had only two people stationed out there, and one of them was having computer issues and thus could not scan passes. I understand about having computer issues, but only having two people out there to begin with was a little unreasonable.

News article posted on the 125th celebrations: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110616/NEWS01/106170316/Coney-hosts-125th-birthday-party?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE Additionally, Sunlite Pool will remain open until 9pm this Saturday! Additionally, admission after 4pm is just $5.95 per person for rides or Sunlite Pool. A combo ticket will be $9.95 after 4pm. Not a bad deal, considering the longer hours the park is open, and the festivities. In addition to free birthday cake (while supplies last) there will be free hot dogs from John Morrell from 4-7pm near Lakeside Pavilion, and free chicken sandwichs from Chik Fil A from 4:30 to 6:30 near Lakeside Pavilion. So what better way to spend a Saturday? And in case you were wondering what the oldest amusement parks in the country are, here they are: Lake Compounce, Bristol, Conn., 1846 Dorney Park, Allentown, Pa., 1860 Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, 1870 Idlewild Park, Ligonier, Pa., 1878 Seabreeze Amusement Park, Rochester, N.Y., 1879 Coney Island, Cincinnati, 1886 I`ll be working the middle shift as rides manager on Saturday, but plan to see the memoribilia display and catch the fireworks on Saturday. Hope to see some of you there.