CoastersRZ

Except for the fact that the zoo did not pay for these solar panels to be installed over their parking lot. Other companies (primarily PNC and the company installing them, lined up the necessary financing, in part through grant money, to pay for these panels. It would be certainly cost prohibitive for Kings Island to install solar panels on a parking lot the size of theirs. At least at this point in time anyway. Yes, eventually the price may come down. But add into the fact, that the operating costs once installed still will not produce significant savings when compared to normal electric rates. (Coal produced electricity in this part of the country is relatively cheap energy.

Certainly seems like there was a fall out in the triad. And I think this could get rather ugly. Now, I wonder who will be named the next CEO of Cedar Fair?

As I`ve said before, that addition they are putting onto the restroom likely is the electrical room for WindSeeker.

Piece number 8 is beginning to be lifted off of the trailer.

That "small white lift thing" is actually another crane. And it doesn`t actually lift the pieces so that the bigger crane can pick them up. When they go to lift the pieces, both cranes attach to the piece, one on each side. Once the yellow crane starts lifting, the other crane swings over while lifting. The whole point of this, is so that when the yellow crane lifts the crane, the other crane is there to lift the piece, and keep it from dragging across the trailer, potentially damaging the piece, and scraping up the paint job.That is the eighth and final piece. There will likely be the red top, piece, as seen in the renderings, assuming that the top of the ride hasn`t changes since the renderings were made...

Why would I be complaining about a lack of waiting in lines? The only time I did wish there had been a line is when I experienced the Harry Potter ride. The line is part of the adventure of that ride, and having practically two walk on rides didn`t allow me to fully experience the queue line...

Well, I`ve never been to Holiday World when the Voyage had a wait any longer than the bottom of the stair up into the main station...

The eighth and final piece of the WindSeeker tower has arrived on site just a few moments ago, according to the webcam. I wonder if they will put it in place today. Another question I have, is if the workers that are working inside of the tower are climbing up all those stairs inside the tower, or if they are attached a man basket to the crane to get the workers up and down. If they aren`t, those workers are getting quite a workout climbing up all those stairs!

And what about Voyage? And per Ohio Building Code, and most other building codes patterned after the IBC (International Building Code) coaster stations are considered buildings. Speaking with some experience on this subject matter...

And why did they remove them? Sadly, I have never been to Kennywood!

I`ll be silent this time, anyway! I doubt you see Cedar Point removing any coasters anytime soon and relocating them to other parks in the Cedar Fair family. (Great America is another story altogether though...) As Interpreter stated, they have lots of options. And they have quite a lot of room to pack in more rides. Check out parks like Indiana Beach, where they cram in rides above and around existing rides. Or, even check out a park like Coney, where many of the rides are right next to each other. In fact, several rides at Coney have their ride pads immediately adjacent to other ride pads. (Boats and Trains is right next to Round Up and Turtle Parade is right next to Rock O Planes).

Well, it is far from being completed. They still have to assemble the actual ride vehicle, and get all the electrical work done. Not to mention all the testing. I wonder when we will see the 8th and final piece put on the tower. If that will occur today or on Monday...

That is one of the problems of photvoltaics. They are still an expensive form of energy in terms of cost per kWh. But the more large scale installations like this, the more economical photovoltaics will become. Yes, the payback period is quite extended. And because Cincinnati has so many cloudy days (it averages about 50% clouds in a given year), the efficiency of the solar panels is even less. Another side benefit of these solar panels, not mentioned in the article, is that they will effectively shade a large portion of the parking lot. What is the benefit of that you ask? It reduces the urban heat island effect of having all that exposed asphalt. It also shades visitors cars, so they won`t be so roasty on a hot August afternoon from sitting in direct sunlight!

http://news.cincinna...|text|FRONTPAGE Be sure to check the link for some pretty cool pictures! That is quite impressive!

I also believe that the tower connections are located on the interior, which is why you do not see any man baskets with workers to connect the pieces together. Drop Tower on the other hand, has the splice plates on the exterior.

I think someone needs to use a thesaurus to cut down on the over use of reportedly stating certain words, according to the news source!

Go in off peak times, like early December, and you will find the Florida themers with virtually no lines! I know when I went to Busch Gardens Tampa in early December, the park was eerily empty the first couple of hours. It was so empty, that Jesse and I had an entire train on Skeikra to our selves, multiple times! See the image below to see how empty the midway was by Sheikra`s entrance!

Or if you are fortunate enough to have a friend who has grandparents in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, who let you stay there for free on Cedar Point trips.... Makes the only expense gas and food.

If I had to guess, I`d say that is more likely the rides electrical building and not a spot for vending machines...

I assume that this is a Kings Island police car, and not a city of Mason car? Still seems odd regardless of the jurisdiction.

I was not trying to belittle your comments. Sorry if my previous post came off sounding harsh. Yes, changes/screw ups do happen from time to time. And when they do happen, someone usually ends up paying for the changes (in the form of change orders), or to rectify a situation, in the case of something being done out of order. Its too hard to say, from an outsiders point of view, which this was. Only time will shed some light on this subject, and even then, we may never know why the concrete was ripped out.

Well, I can assure you, that the project at KI, while it may have design intents based out of the corporate design office in Sandusky, was executed locally. I know what I speak about, but can`t divulge why I know these things. Those that know me well, know full well that I really do know what I speak about. And it is pretty well delineated who is to do what, and when. And they usually test concrete BEFORE pouring it. If the mix is not up to the specs (through various tests like the slump test), they can and will reject the truck of concrete and send it back to the plant. That is not as critical on projects like sidewalks and midways, but it is more critical for structural concrete like foundations and concrete used in high rise construction. Concrete strength is specified in psi.

Wow. I smell lawsuits waiting to happen here. Truly a sad situation.

Trucks can drive on dirt, just as long as it is not all muddy from rain. In fact, in some instances, they will install all the heavy equipment BEFORE placing the midway. Why? because heavy equipment can cause damage to concrete, if it is not meant to handle heavy duty traffic.

But were those street performers only for special occasions? I know that Coney brings in jugglers and such for July 3rd every year. (There are a few companies in Cincinnati that specialize in such things, for birthday parties and the like).