CoastersRZ

And Jurrasic Park The RIde didn`t open until Islands of Adventure opened, which occurred in 1999! So we are only talking a variance of a few years... Here are some preliminary Dinosaurs Alive pictures from today: http://www.KICentral.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=339

Dinosaurs Alive is in fact well worth the $5 charge. And yes, that dinosaur was not present in the attraction today. But the T-Rex is still huge!

Yes, it was a rather soggy day at the park. Some pictures will be posted on the site here soon from Dinosaurs Alive! In my opinion, it is well worth the $5 charge. The first time we went through, not taking time to read the signs or snap any pictures, it took us nearly fifty minutes to get through the entire thing! Now if only that pesky rain can stop!

It has been unusually rainy still. But it sure doesn`t seem like there has been much visual progress so far, at least in terms of testing the ride yet. I know I was down at Coney last night trying to paint the rides office, and our progress was hampered by the weather. Its hard to paint in a room that has no windows and the power goes out...

Since it is on a Saturday, I likely will end up having to work that day... At least I`ll be working at Coney, but may not be able to partake in all of the festivities... It just depends what my schedule will allow for that week. It will definitely be a fun filled day.

But our ride system on Boo Blasters has a much higher capacity than the other Boo Blasters which utilize the Sally ride system.

So how do you like your iPhone?

Wow. That is an incredibly high barrier!

Coney Island is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. (It is the sixth oldest amusement park in the country). The official birthday is June 21, however, that is a Tuesday, so where would the fun be in celebrating on a Tuesday? So on Saturday, June 18th Coney will hold a special 125th anniversary celebration. The party starts at 4pm, and includes special food deals for $1.25 throughout the park. Q102`s Jon Jon will host games from 6-9 pm with birthday prizes given away. Archival films will be on display, as well as the unveiling of what surprises are located within the Moonlite Gardens time capsule (seen below). To cap off the official anniversary celebration, there will be a Rozzi`s Famous Fireworks display over Lake Como at 10pm with a lucky contest winner lighting the fuse. So come on down to Coney for a day of fun and some nice celebrations! At this point in time, the rides close at 9pm that day, but I would not be surprised if the rides end up staying open that day until 10pm. I will let you know if we keep the rides open until 10pm that day, as soon as I find out. For a complete list of special events happening at Coney this season, check out the events press release on Coney`s website here: 2011 Coney Island Events

Hmmm. Going with a proven design (actual operating installations) versus a prototype design with no current operational installations? Who thinks Cedar Fair opted for the cheaper of the two versions and is now paying dearly for it? Remember, originally, they said WindSeeker would be ready for opening day at KI. We are almost a month out from that. And with next weekend being the big "unofficial" start of summer, it seems as if there is a chance that WindSeeker will still not be ready by then! EDIT: Is it just me, or does it look like the swings in this webcam image are actually rotating? The seats look like the extend out past the end of the support arms, indicating that they are rotating. I`m not certain if I`ve seen them rotating before (either in person or on the webcams). Hopefully, this is a sign of good progress and that the ride is getting closer to opening. I know I personally can`t wait to ride it! I really hope its open Memorial Day weekend...

He certainly has changed his tune a bit since back when he was suggesting that the Apollo deal was the best value for unit holders. Now look at the unit price! It closed today at $20.90, up 15 cents, and off the 52 week high by about $1.70. The thing I found most intriguing about the letter was the mention (again) of out of park revenue opportunities, such as hotels. I wonder if we will ever see CF try and build a hotel at KI on the fringe of the deep south parking lot? I wonder what partnerships they maybe considering. Anything that could help them generate revenue in their non-peak seasons I think would help. (Now if only they could take a look at how KI ran Winterfest back in its heyday, and see that the event can work. That would be a great way to expand the season a little bit. Of course competition for holiday events is a lot more intense today than it was back in the mid 1980s. But one can dream, can`t they?

Oh, wait.... And speaking of similarities between the two parks. Kings Island is getting a giant swing ride this year, while Coney is getting a more mellow swing ride this year, just for the little tikes:

Yep. And speaking of the flood cleanup, WLWT Channel 5 has a video and a story up on their website right now. http://www.wlwt.com/entertainment/27954736/detail.html The person vacuuming the pool out, as well as the person at the very end on the golf cart just happens to be my brother, who is one of the pool managers this year.

I know I can`t wait to check out Dinosaurs Alive! And hopefully that shiny new ride right next door is ready for visitors soon too!

The reason The Beast was down to one train was because of the rain. Cedar Fair is ultra conservative with rain, and typically will only run the coasters with one train in the rain. The exception to the rule is Diamondback, which has a "rain mode" that allows it to operate with two trains by keeping an extra set of blocks between the trains. One would think that they could adopt The Beast to have a similar "rain mode" since it has TWO lifts and is such a long ride time. There are ample blocks to keep the required spacing of an extra set of block brakes between trains. One train operation on The Beast is just ridiculous. I`m all for safety on rides, but I still think that rain rule is a little extreme. Especially considering that The Beast uses magnetic brakes to slow the trains down considerably. The old pneumatic brakes do not do the majority of the braking work. The magnetic brakes work the same regardless of how wet it is, so they are still going to slow the train down to the same speed. (Same thing goes for Backlot Stunt Coaster, which also has magnetic brakes).

I`d say that the commercial will definitely pull in people wanting to experience Dinosaurs Alive. I think it is a very well put together commercial, and kind of reminds me of other classic Kings Island commercials (Phantom Theater, and Beast come to mind).

Well, why do they advertise Marathon at Kings Island (the sponsor of the nightly fireworks show)? There are no gas stations at Kings Island....

I'd say that too if I worked at Coney. Well, I certainly don`t think my life stinks for working down at Coney. I actually enjoy going into work every day I go in down there. I`m just glad it wasn`t my job to clean out Sunlite Pool of all the dead fish after the flood waters receded. Talk about smelling fishy!

First things first. I by no means am thrilled as a season pass holder about losing the Action FX Theater as a regular attraction. Did I ride it last year? I don`t believe I did, and I`m sure it has suffered from low ridership over the last few seasons. So it is not really a loss that I am all that upset about. But replacing it with an upcharge movie is what gets me a little upset. Because I essentially "loose" a free ride, and it is replaced with an upcharge. That being said, I agree with many others` who have pointed out that to watch a movie in 3D in the theaters normally adds an extra $2.50 to the experience per person, so $2 seems reasonable. Secondly, like Dave said, I think had the movie been free with park admission, it might have enticed more people to shell out the money to experience the animatronics. I definitely agree that charging for the movie and the attraction seems like a cash grab (as if paying $4 for a Coca-Cola isn`t enough of a cash grab). Kings Island is definitely spending some money on Dinosaurs Alive! Paving the area with concrete (more expensive than asphalt) and spending the time (which equates to money) to stamp the concrete proves that this will likely not just be a one or two season event. I`d also be surprised if the company that is supplying the animatronics is also not retained to care and maintain the animatronics, since they are the once who built them. So part of their deal maybe to get a cut of the receipts from the attraction, which is why it is an upcharge. I can totally understand that. And as a business, which all amusement parks are, whether or not us enthusiasts want to accept that, it makes economic sense to have some up charge attractions. Another point is that installing Dinosaurs Alive is the worst decision in park history is a rather opinionated point, don`t you think? I can certainly name several other decisions that have been made over the years (moving the Flying Eagles to Carowinds, cancelling the original Winterfest anyone?) that are far worse than installing an upcharge dinosaur attraction. Remember, Kings Island is a business and they install and spend money on things that they think can bring them extra income. Clearly they felt that they can make money on this attraction for several years. And as other posters have pointed out, even COSI up in Columbus is having a dinosaur exhibit this summer. Dinosaurs always are popular with kids. As such, as has been stated before, the prime target market of this attraction is generally NOT going to be thrill seekers, teenagers hanging out with friends, or enthusiasts. The target market for this experience is going to be FAMILIES. Families are generally the ones who come to the park and spend money. They are typically the ones that will splurge on things like this, for the chance to create some memories. And $5 isn`t really all that much, considering that at peak times in the summer they charge $15 or $20 to do Skyflyer or Slingshot! Just look at Disney, with some of the enhanced visitor experiences they offer, all for a price. By not charging those extra few dollars for some services (such as the VIP packages that most parks now offer) the parks are leaving potential money on the table, and missing out on possible sources of additional revenue. If you are unhappy with the direction the park has taken this year, as it seems you are fairly adamant about it, then that is fine. One less person ahead of me in line complaining about every little thing the park does wrong that is not in his best interests or what he thinks the park should do. And how has one person ruined your summer? (I doubt the person you cited even had any impact on the decision to bring said attraction to the park.) And if you are going to let a simple thing like an addition to a park ruin your summer or your day, then you clearly are not a very happy person. In fact, having just watched a customer service video (Pike Place fish market in Seattle) to train all of the new employee`s at Coney, there are some very good messages in the video. "Choose your attitude." You can wake up in the morning and say that your life stinks and that the addition to Kings Island is not what you wanted to see. Or you can say life is great, and while I don`t particularly care for the addition that KI has added this year, it will help them as a business to move forward and install future rides and attractions that I might enjoy.

Care to elaborate on the developments? Cedar Fair units have risen quite dramatically the last few days (it is now trading at over $22) on heavy volume (more than twice the typical volume). Something is definitely up. And the relative absence of comments from Q is a little odd too. Now when do they plan on announcing their new CEO?

When I was at the park Friday evening, Flight of Fear`s line was out of the building. Since other lines were walk ons, I didn`t want to wait in the line for Flight of Fear, even with the indoor queues not open. I opted to get in rides on other rides that I was unable to ride on opening day due to the crowds. Glad to hear you had a fun time at the park!

Stretching the cables out generally comes over time. It is not a near instantaneous process, but a gradual one. Just like Niagara Falls is slowing retreating every year because of erosion. (It erodes about a foot per year, although certain changes to the river, including hydroelectric, are slowing that down to a rate of one foot per ten years.

Already brought up and discussed here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23087&st=320

And I also recommend a visit towards the end of the year to check out Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas. It is a wonderful event!

They no longer shoot fireworks off of the Eiffel Tower. They did that in the early 2000`s as part of the Nights of Fire events that they had for the Fourth of July. The park usually is pretty crowded on the 4th of July. The fireworks, while not on as big of a scale as the old Nights of Fire, will likely be a little bigger than the typical nightly fireworks spectacular. I believe that the fireworks will still go off at 10pm, even though the park is open until midnight. Someone who has actually gone to the park when it is open until midnight on a Saturday could probably verify if that is indeed correct or not. And its not just KI where July 4th is big. Coney has its Balloon Glow on July 3rd, and that is typically the BUSIEST day of the entire season. (They keep Sunlite Pool open until 9:30, and the rides open to 11pm that day, with the fireworks being launched across Lake Como. Its usually a pretty good fireworks show. Although, traffic can be a bit chaotic leaving after the fireworks. They actually shut down Kellogg Avenue for the fireworks!