CoastersRZ

Looks to me as if they are preparing for another concrete pour. It also appears as if maybe the entrance to the ride will be located on the left? Notice they have some wood form work placed there. It likely won`t be long before we see the first piece of steel lifted into place... And opening day for Kings Island is just seven weeks away from today!

Yep. Coney is not related (at least not anymore) to Kings Island. But if you are looking to visit Coney, the prices are pretty reasonable (especially if you visit after 4pm). Normal admission to both Sunlite Pool and the rides is $21.95. Its $11.95 after 4pm. And if you just want to do the pool or the rides, then its $11.95, or $7.95 after 4pm. And you typically can get all the rides in during the 4pm to close time frame if you visit on a weekday. Be sure to check Coney`s website too. Last year they had a Deal of the Day every day during the summer, and sometimes the deals were pretty good deals. (For example, one deal was rides admission for $6.95 I believe. Other days it was free parking (parking is normally $7). And remember, it is free to walk around the grounds of Coney. The rides area is not gated. Sunlite Pool, however, is a gated area and a ticket is required.

I spy someone using Windows 7! How do you like it so far? I have Vista on my laptop, and all the computers at work are still on Windows XP. Not to hijack the topic or anything!

Just shows to all those people that didn`t believe, the park DOES read this site...

I have been watching that site like a hawk the last few days! Currently, the administration building at Coney is isolated from outside access. I`m not certain if it is under water yet, but Lake Como and Sunlite Pool are now part of the Ohio River. I know that at least part of Moonlite Gardens still had dry ground around it, at least from what I could tell on 275 on the way home from work this evening. There is going to be a big clean up once the waters finally recede. The sooner the better too. We have a bunch of employees to hire and train for rides by the first weekend in May, and we haven`t even started to look at applications yet...

Well, if they have replaced advertisements for season passes with this teaser stuff, what does that suggest? That whatever this announcement is about, is intended to help drive season pass sales for THIS season. That would be a logical assumption. Only one week until the 18th.

As promised, more photos have been uploaded to the photo gallery. Here is a link to the photo gallery: http://www.coneyislandcentral.com/photo/thumbnails.php?album=53 Here are a few highlights. Sunlite pool is definitely under water! The white fence on the right outlines the deep end of Sunlite Pool. This picture was taken from atop the Pipeline Plunge water slide tower. And one last image (there are fourteen new images from today in the photo gallery. Looking towards Kellogg Avenue and the main parking entrance. Lake Como is at left, and Sunlite Pool is at right.

I`ll have even more pictures from today later this evening. My brother just got home from Coney. And, the current forecast for the river is to crest sometime Monday afternoon at 56.5 feet. It is currently at 54.5 feet! And it could be up above 52 feet for a while. Right now, Lake Como is almost part of the Ohio River!

The current level of the river is at 52.6 feet. (The river reached the flood stage mark around 8 tonight, after these images were taken. They were taken around 3:30 to 6:30pm, when the river was around 51' high. Based on what my brother said, the full time staff at Coney is expecting the river to reach around 58' sometime early next week. That is quite a significant flood for Coney. Virtually every building will have a couple of feet of water in it That is about six and a half feet shallower than the 1997 flood, when waters reached 64.7 feet (seen in one of the images above). Its best that this is happening now than in a month from now. The image that shows the parking lot and Kellogg Avenue is the exact spot where the Cirque de Soleil will be held in just over a month!

As promised, I have some photos of Coney flooding. My brother actually got roped into working five hours to help move items to higher ground, or tie down larger items (such as picnic tables and pool chairs). Here is one image: The above image was taken around 5pm. And then the above image was taken around 6:30pm. In between the two above images, this was happening: Water was rushing into the pool from the top! For more flooding images of Coney, check out the photo gallery on Coney Island Central.com here: http://www.coneyislandcentral.com/photo/thumbnails.php?album=53

Oh they do. Most of the important stuff at Sunlite Pool gets loaded onto trailers every September for easy movement if the river threatens flooding. Other things get places in the warehouse above the employee cafe, rides office, and games area. Still other things (like the Carousel horses), get places on the second level of Moonlite Gardens. And remember, that the main administration offices are located on the second floor of the administration building. (A public restroom occupies most of the first floor). A small update to Coney Island Central has been posted! Check out the three new images in this gallery, titled "Floods:" http://www.coneyisla...ls.php?album=52 1937- 80', 28' above flood stage (52'). 1964 Flood- 66.2', 14.2' above flood stage 1997 Flood- 64.7', 12.7' above flood stage Images include shots of the park in the 1937, 1964 and 1997 floods. Hopefully, when my brother gets home, he`ll have more images to share of the current flooding at Coney (he still isn`t home yet).

UPDATE: Kellogg Avenue is currently closed between Coney Island (at Sutton Avenue) and Riverdowns due to high water. I hope to be able to have some pictures to share later tonight. My brother went down to Coney this afternoon to take pictures, and I think he got roped into helping move some last minute items to higher ground, as he is still down at Coney.

Uh, today is not Thursday, March 9th.... It is Wednesday March 9th. Tomorrow is Thursday, although it won`t be March 9th anymore.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110308/NEWS01/303080029/Ohio-River-expected-flood-by-Thursday?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE This past weekend when the Ohio reached just over 50', the east parking lot at Coney was partially submerged under water. A flood with a crest of 54 or 55' is enough to make Sunlite Pool be under water. The last time the Ohio River crested above flood stage was back in 2005 when flood waters crested at 56.66 feet. Prior to that, it last crested at 54.50 ft on 02/22/2000. A flood of 54 or 55' is quite significant for Coney. Sunlite Pool and the filter building will be under water. And potentially other building on property will be under water as well. Riverbend Music Center is partially under water, and Kellogg Avenue between Coney and River Downs is impassible because of high water.

And look how popular places like Hofbrauhaus are in Newport....

They will likely use a temporary crane, similar to what they used for Diamondback. That is how they built Drop Tower and the Eiffel Tower.

Wow! That is some incredible footage. He truly is lucky to be alive. Will most have been looking down on him! Hopefully he makes a speedy and full recovery!

I read an article on earlier today on an Evansville new site stating that the bus pulled out in front of him. The bus driver couldn`t see his car because her view was blocked by another bus that was turning into the park lot. The driver`s kid`s were on the bus, as she was going to take them to a doctor`s appointment after her morning run. In addition to prayer`s going out to Matthew`s family, I`m sure that the bus driver could use some prayers too. I know after a bus accident in front of the local middle school here in Anderson Township, which critically injured a student who was crossing the street, his family asked for prayers not only for his speedy recovery (he is doing fine, but still not back at school yet after suffering head injuries), but also for the bus driver in that incident.

I was shocked when I read about this at lunch. A very sad situation indeed. Hopefully his condition improves. The full time staff at Holiday World certainly has had a lot to deal with recently.

I agree it will be interesting to ride The Racer this year with WindSeeker`s tower so close to Red Racer. And keep in mind, that once they actually start vertical construction on this ride, it will likely only take a matter of days to get the tower assembled. After all, the tower is comprised of what, six pieces? The first piece will be the most important piece, because that sets the alignment for the rest of the tower. And if the tower isn`t plumbed correctly, even a 1/16" off the centerline can make for a big tolerance error over 300'!

And who is to say that they are trying to cover up Son of Beast? Maybe they are trying to cover up something else? Many would be quick to point to Son of Beast, because they desperately want some indication on its status. I think it is a foregone conclusion that the ride will NOT operate this year. Otherwise, we would have heard or seen something about the ride by now.

Indeed. And often times, GPS units are not updated for road closures. In fact, on the way home from a Carowinds/Dollywood trip last spring, myself and a friend (who posts on here from time to time) found ourselves having to stop and ask for directions, even though we were using a GPS. Why? I-40 was closed due to a rock slide in NC near the Tennessee border. And obviously, the GPS didn`t know that, and kept trying to route us back to I-40, even when we tried to detour that route.

You would think that with Google maps or other GPS devices you wouldn`t get lost. But when I attended an end of year luncheon for Coney at "Receptions" in Eastgate, many people that were using GPS devices got lost, and if you are familiar with the Cincinnati area, Eastgate isn`t exactly a rural area. The issue was that the address for the place was registering about a half mile from where the place was actually located!

I just read an article over the weekend about Lake Winnie. You can find the article in the January 2011 edition of FUNWORLD Magazine (the magazine published by IAAPA). Here is a link to the article:http://www.iaapa.org/industry/funworld/2011/jan/features/FamilyTies/index.asp A very interesting read. I highly recommend it if you have the time. As an aside, FUNWORLD often has very informative articles, and usually they are well worth the read if you have time to peruse their articles. And for those who do not know, IAAPA stands for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, or IAAPA for short. One of these days, I`d like to get down to Georgia to check out this park, and parks that are owned by a company that numbers its flags, and by a company that has a local property in the Cincinnati area.

And coincidentally enough, the arch seen in that first picture is almost the exact spot that the new arch was built for the entrance to Planet Snoopy this year!