CoastersRZ

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).

And how exactly will it cause all the work on WindSeeker to come to a halt? Its not like they are tearing up the ride pad or anything. I`m sure there is a very valid reason for the removal of the concrete. They actually cut some of the concrete at some point last week.

For those who get the Sunday print edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the advertisement at that link, was printed in yesterday`s Cincinnati Enquirer. (My uncle called me asking about it).

If ever there was a disclaimer attached to a post, that about takes the cake!

That is a very good question. I wonder why they are tearing up the fresh concrete. Maybe they had some extra pavers? Although, it certainly seems like a lot of work to put down some additional pavers.

We would certainly love to see all of those images Gary! And I echo other sentiments on here. Nicely put together piece Ty! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!

For all we know, that could just be the old Diamondback camera pointing towards that area. If that is the case, then I`d imagine they will be able to tilt the view up as necessary.

Which at one point in time, with the old skid brakes, was actually a set of block brakes. In other words, had a train not cleared lift two, those brakes could actually stop a train if need be. Which is why the train never used to slow on the first lift hill like it does now. When they installed the new magnetic brakes, the brake shed no longer was a block brake, so the train on the first lift hill had to wait to be released until the other train cleared the second lift hill.

I love trains and have always been fascinated by model trains. I mean I have a train that goes around the ceiling of my bedroom. But yet, I have never made it out to EnterTrainMent Junction. That is definitely on my list of things to do, sooner rather than later.

Well, I`ve only ever had one cavity in my life. And that was a result of a molar that came in at an angle, that I later had braces move it into its correct position, exposing the cavity. I used to drink three to four cans of Coke a day. I quit cold turkey twelve days ago. Talk about a tough couple of days! The weird thing is, in the summer when I`d work at Coney on the weekends, I would almost always drink tons of water while there. But only on days that I worked at Coney! Now, I`m drinking water almost all the time. Makes me wish it was time for Coney to open already!

And if I`m not mistaken, the few pop machines that remained at King Island last year were more than $3.50 a piece. More like $3.75 or $4. I can`t remember which. Right now, I have given up Coca-Cola entirely (I`m in my twelfth day without any sort of cola. I gave it up for Lent, but may very well stay primarily Coke free after Easter rolls around, one week before KI opens.

Yep, both are made by the Eyerly Aircraft Corporation. I have never been on a Fly O Plane before. But I can attest to the fact that many people will loose their stomachs on Rock O Planes. I`ve cleaned up my fair share of spills on that ride.

Well, fortunately, Conye is a one park operation, and doesn`t have corporate head quarters or a big wig CEO. Remember, it is not uncommon to see Vic Nolting, the President of Coney out and about with a pan and broom in hand.

I just checked out a video of the Fly O Plane. The whole thing looks down right nauseating! How does it compare to a ride in the Rock O Planes?

That's a bummer. It would give a nice view of WindSeeker construction!

And yet, I still find myself going back there to work weekends this year! Granted, I have officially been promoted for this season, but I just love working there too. To me, it's not about the money. Yes, I do like getting the extra paycheck. But not one time have I ever NOT looked forward into going into work at Coney. Which is somewhat rare, since this will be my tenth season working there.

I'd love to read that article if you come across it! My first visit to Stricker's Grove was before the Teddy Bear was finished being built. And of course its a replication of the long gone Teddy Bear from Coney Island!

The old WCPO webcam! I take it that it is no longer an active webcam?

I think it is safe to say that new employees get paid minimum wage, It has been that way since the minimum wage jumped from $5.15. Also, returning seasonal workers have made the same as minimum wage as well, save for some rare exceptions.

Very well said! In fact, I have my current full time job, because I spent six months working at this firm on a co-op. And, I have been in constant contact with the person that hired me for another co-op at another firm. (He has since left the firm I co-oped at, but still contacts me from time to time. Networking is big, and it is all about who you know. With a place like Coney, where turnover of employees is generally very high, we like to be able to find good employees anyway we can. Cousins and brothers of current workers is often a good way to find solid workers, because we have a built in reference. Does Coney sometimes get lets than quality employees? Sure. What place doesn`t? But once you find a good employee, you want to hold onto them as long as possible, because they help display the image for your company, whether it be an amusement park, a fast food restaurant, a grocery store, or other service oriented store.

I LOVE Pixar films. (Yes I am 26, but I still love all of them. Sure, there are some that are not my favorites, Incredibles comes to mind.) But both of the Toy Story sequels have been very well written and could stand on their own merits. Hopefully, Cars 2 is the same way. Although, I am a little skeptical as well, since I think the story line is somewhat more limited since both the original and sequel to will focus on racing. Cars 2 comes out on June 24th, 2011. And next year will be the first year that TWO Pixar films are released in the same year. "Brave" will be released on June 15th, 2012. That will be followed by another sequel (although I have heard rumors that it will actually be a prequel) "Monsters Inc. 2" which has a tentative release date of November 2012.

You`d be surprised. At Coney, where there are VERY few rides that actually have any type of a queue line, I have witnessed line jumping. How so? Rock O Plane`s line has a chain from the stairs up to the ride platform to a planter (a distance of maybe six feet). This planter serves as a sort of queue line, separating the line from the main midway. On busy weekends, Rock O Planes normally has a line because of its low capacity and loading only one car at a time. You`d be surprised how many people over the years I`ve seen duck under the chain, and cut in front of the entire line. All while I am standing at the entrance gate (a mere three to four feet from where the infraction is occurring). When I see them do that, I call them out on it, and send them back to the end of the line. Its even worse when they try to say they had been in line, and then I have to quip back that I just saw them duck under the chain and cut in front of all the guests patiently waiting in line.

Hey now, one of the managers over the last few years has had a brother working as a ride operator for several seasons. And in fact, two other managers have had their brothers work in the department when they were managers... In fact, my cousin applied to work in rides this summer as well. As far as hearing from someone, that depends in part on how many applications the personnel department is handling. And, if it gets forwarded onto landscaping or rides. If it gets forwarded onto rides, then we will review the applications. (That should happen either this week or next). From there, we will call people to set up interviews (likely starting sometime the first week of April). Yes, I maybe doing some interviews, but that depends when the interview times are set up. Since I have a full time job, the earliest I could get down to Coney during weekdays would be 5:15 or 5:30, so unless your interview was set up for early evening, I wouldn`t be the one conducting the interview, but one of the other rides managers would be. Honestly, we haven`t talked about how we are going to be handling interviews and hiring this year. We are supposed to have a meeting with our boss sometime this week I believe to discuss hiring and interviews. We don`t have much time to get our ducks lined up. Opening day for the rides is the first full weekend in May (May 7th and 8th) for the Appalachian Festival. When you receive a call about your interview, the person calling will tell you where to go and what to bring. Typically, we ask that all interviewees bring proper paper work to complete the necessary hr paperwork, should they be hired. In short, you will know by the conclusion of your interview with rides if you have been hired. At the conclusion of your interview, you will also be given a date for a rides training.

Good, I`m glad it was nothing too bad. So Coney Islander, back onto your topic. Did you submit your application? Do you have any last minute questions?

Because most amusement parks used to be spectacularly lit at night. It was part of the attraction of staying until it got dark. I still enjoy riding rides like Scrambler and Monster at night, even Zephyr and the Carousel, because of all the lights that they have. That was also one thing I liked about the 10pm closes that we had at Coney on Saturdays the last few seasons. Unfortunately, not enough people stuck around at Coney on those Saturday nights, so we are back to 9pm closes Friday through Sunday. With one exception, and that is July 3rd for the Balloon Glow, when the rides will stay open until 11pm, right through the 10pm fireworks!