CoastersRZ

Kings Island actually did do a season pass ride night, way back in 2000 when Son of Beast was new. Back then there were "pawprint" pass holders. (Pass holders that purchased before the end of the 1999 season. They were promised a ride date in early April to ride Son of Beast. When the ride wasn`t ready on time, that date was canceled. Once the ride was up and running, they declared a couple of ride nights in July of that year. They shut the line down to the general public at I think 9 or 9:30. And then the ride was free to pawprint pass holders for two hours. I rode Son of Beast one of those nights nine times in two hours. I wonder now, what I was thinking riding that thing so many times in so short of a time frame!

I`d like to go down there again, Jesse. Although not in the middle of the summer. (Thats right when Coney is kicking off, and the way things have been at work of late, I`ll be fortunate to be able to take my vacation days when I want to take them). And besides, I`m trying to get out to Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg sometime this year. Not sure if that road trip will happen or not. I need someone to go with, and it most likely will be a long weekend trip. Ie, Friday through Sunday evening. That way I maximize my vacation days at work.

But Disney has all the hotels down there, and that is a perk intended to keep more people staying on property. And generally, you should try and AVOID the park that has the extra magic hours. Most resort guests will choose to go to the park with the extra magic hours. And the wait times during extra magic hours can be quite long.

And its had a few other names along the way before it was Alley Cat 500. Remember, that ride originally opened at Cincinnati`s Coney Island!

Another thing I wouldn`t mind seeing is having some exclusive night ride times. I know Cedar Point has like three nights, where they keep one of their coasters open for like two hours after park closes to allow the pass holders a chance at some evening ert. I wouldn`t mind seeing some of that happen at KI. But then again, there likely are logistical issues to that as well (like clearing the park of guests, etc.

So does that mean the every day early ride times on Diamondback are no more? I really enjoyed that perk and would be sad to see it gone... Especially since most of my visits were early Saturday or Sunday morning visits.

Which makes me wonder, what is Cedar Fair planning hotel wise? They mentioned in the conference call that some of the capital budget was going to lodging. Could certain parks be seeing a return of a campground, or a hotel on property?

Hmmm. That certainly puts a twist on things. I wonder what is up,. Only time will tell.

I believe that it has been stated in the past that the Action Theater will be open in 2011. Has anyone confirmed whether or not those alleged pieces of WindSeeker spotted on 275 today were in fact for WindSeeker? **EDIT** This just posted to the WindSeeker page on Ki`s website here: http://www.visitkingsisland.com/public/park/rides/thrill_rides/WindSeeker.cfm

I guess we will find out in a month or two if Atlantis will make its way to the Dayton area. Personally, I hope it does end up at Wright Patt.

It is far from a done deal that one of the three shuttles will be retired at Wright Patt. One of the shuttles (Discovery) has already been committed to go on display at the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian. The other two shuttles (Atlantis and Endeavor) have yet to find a home. Some people want them to go to Florida and Houston, the locations of the shuttle launches and mission control respectfully. I think it would be awesome if one of the shuttles was retired to the Air Force Museum up at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. NASA is expected to make an decision (and an announcement) on where the shuttles will retire by the end of April.

Glad tosee Newport Aquatium continuing to invest. Remember who owns the aquarium. That's right, Herschend Family Entertainment.

The webcam has been up earlier in the week. In fact, see Indyguy4KI`s post on Monday which includes a screen capture of when they were pouring concrete around the ride area for WindSeeker. Its only been down for a few days now, not an entire week.

I tried to get on the webcam last night, and was unable to load the image. I thought vertical construction wasn`t supposed to start until March. However, pieces for WindSeeker were supposed to start arriving in mid-February. Clearly the 17th is mid February. It will be interesting to see if we have any reports of pieces showing up in the Kings Island parking lot...

I`m not sure if all of it is, but the section that was shown in that video appears to be from the area you described.

On wooden coasters, the track is made up of layers of wood, typically eight layers of wood. Over many seasons of the wear and tear of the heavy coaster trains running over them, sections of track, particularly in high speed, or high force areas, can wear out. I don`t know the exact science behind it, but would imagine part of it has to do with the nails and connections wearing bigger holes in the wood over time. Another possibility could be that the wood itself has become fatigued (ie has started to compress slightly from all the forces exerted on it). When people refer to retracking a wooden coaster, it usually means that the park`s maintenance team removes several layers, or all the layers of wood tracking in a section of ride. As you can see in that video, they are working on placing some new wood in that stretch of ride, which is a high speed section of the ride. Because of the amount of work involved, retracking a wooden coaster is typically a winter/off season project. Generally, retracked sections of wooden coasters run smoother in that section of track than they did the year before under the old track. And is this maintenance that generally results in wooden coasters having higher upkeep costs compared to their steel counterparts. In essence, wooden coasters are never finished being built, as wood is continually being replaced throughout the years. The blog post mentioned that 800 feet of Beast track was being retracked this off season. To put that into perspective, the 800 feet of track is roughly 10 percent of the total track length on The Beast. That seems like a high amount! Hopefully, The Beast will be roaring in excellent shape on April 30th!

Paul, I hope you don`t mine me sharing some photos from my personal collection from KI in the mid to late 1980s. The KI that I see in these photos is drastically different than the KI that you can visit today! Well how about this: That is actually me on the right side of that car. My brother is in the middle, and my cousin is on the left giving the thumbs up. Or, how about this: On board the smurf ride around 1987. Or lets throw in some more Sunshine Turnpike shots, shall we? Leaving the station with my Dad at the wheel. And here is one of the infamous elephant fountain in Hanna Barbera Land. Let me preface this by saying that my parents were not bad parents. Yes, they had a leash on me. But that was apparently the in thing back in the 1980s. (And I have seen numerous parents, still to this day to that to their kids when at places like Coney and Kings Island.) The subject of this fountain was brought up in a discussion not too long ago, and here is proof of it in the park. To give you some perspective, the restrooms that are on the border of Planet Snoopy would be just out of view of the image on the left. The Sunshine Turnpike station area is visible at far right.

I actually have never been to Indiana Beach before! It seems like a fun little park to visit. Just haven`t had the time or someone interested in going up that way.

Agree, nice comparison shots Paul. Few people realize how lacking the original Kings Island was with mature trees, as those pictures of the kiddy area and Oktoberfest clearly demonstrate. Also notice how faded the artwork on the Carousel had become. I believe that artwork was "repainted" in 1969 when the Carousel received a complete restoration. While I don`t think those murals have been repainted, they have been repainting other areas of the Carousel in recent years. The Carousel building was recently repainted (with new gold leaf put into place), and the ceiling on the actual carousel was also repainted not too long ago. Now if only the oldest ride in the park could see its live music generating device returned...

I too really enjoyed The Mummy when I was at Universal in December. A great ride with some great theming and surprises. And thanks for the kind words about my trip reports!

There is a marked contrast between KI`s Timberwolf, and what looks like a very nice venue down at Carowinds with their Paladium. I believe the Paladium has covered seating, while KI`s Timberwolf does not. Needless to say, Riverbend Music Center, with its two stages, has the contemporary market pretty well booked for outdoor concert venues. (Remember, that the Jimmy Buffett craze and parrothead nation originated at a concert at Timberwolf. Now Buffett`s shows always sell out within a matter of minutes at Riverbend.

Which is almost upon us again. Not to mention, Daylight Savings Time will begin again in a few weeks! I really like that it is starting to stay lighter later now.

I wouldn`t call the go kart track at Kings Island a piece of crap. I am amazed at how there are not many go kart tracks in and around the Cincinnati area. I know there is a go kart track at Eastgate Adventures (which also has miniature golf), off of I-275 and S.R. 32 on the east side of town. And I think there is an indoor track up in Liberty Township in an old Kroger (paired with a laser tag arena). Has anyone been to the one in Liberty Township? Other than that, there isn`t much. There used to be the indoor go karts in Krazy City, but that has since closed.

It seems as if I was editing my post, to reflect the post that RoTag posted while making my post, when you posted your post Terpy. (There is a high usage of the word post in the previous sentence). I added a sentence to my post about the Whip not being relocated to KI.

And the building that housed all three of them at Coney still stands at Coney to this day! It was actually renovated a few seasons back. Today it is known as Moonlite Pavilion. It is located adjacent to the Administration Building, and Round Up and Trabant. Sadly, the Whip was one ride that was not relocated to Kings Island. I agree with Paul. That is some very rare video of a ride that is not very well documented at KI. Post away Jesse (when time permits you to post these things). And thanks to Paul for posting these pictures every day. It certainly brings back memories, and keeps the forums active during the offseason!