CoastersRZ

The color of wood? Why would they want to do that? That would be even duller than the current gray and silver color scheme that it is painted. And for the record, while there are some areas of rust showing through on the track, most of the light pink color is not in fact rust. It is just the faded red showing through the silver paint.

I wouldn`t look too much into it. 2012 is still a ways off. And as Gordon Bombay said, it is VERY unlikely that front line workers really know what is in store for 2012. How many people knew about WindSeeker until a few days before KI said we are going to announce a new ride for 2011? To quote the saying that I often bring up, those who know don`t tell, and those who tell, don`t know.

You never know. Many people often lurk and never post! In fact, just last night someone was at the final rides of The Beast claiming how much fun they had and that they`d only been into KI and amusement parks for a year. I`m not even sure if they have a screen name or post on here or not.

I would not mind to see Flight Deck get the color scheme of Nighthawk at Carowinds. It looks very sharp in my opinion, and would look good on Flight Deck. Better than the gray and silver paint scheme it has had since 1999 when it was last fully repainted.

Its unfortunate that budget cuts, if true, are forcing the park to open nearly two weekends later. Yes, keeping a close eye on budgets is a necessity, and it can be a gamble opening in the early season with the weather. I have witnessed numerous days that Coney closed early due to "bad" weather in the area, when in reality, they were trying to cut their losses for the day. I also have witnesses some other budget cuts back in 2009 (in terms of labor) at Coney, that were clearly visible to park guests. How much budget cutting is ok, before it starts to negatively impact the perceived value that guests have? I know that the cuts Coney made in 2009 (which have since been reversed I might add), clearly cut into the value that the paying customers were getting. I think part of the issue for the later opening may be the fact that there is no main draw to the park during the pre-season weekends like there is with Haunt in the post season. It makes it a tougher sell to get people through the gate in April/May. Like i said I`m glad to see daily operation begin sooner, but I am really disappointed to see opening day fall so late this year. Especially since I may have to forgo opening day, given that it is the week before Coney`s rides open for the season! Nice to see the midnight closes on Saturdays in July though. I`m still kind of shocked they aren`t going to try staying open later on some Sundays with Haunt like some of the other Cedar Fair parks. Especially given how busy Fridays at Haunt were this year. Seems like they could capture some more money if they were open on a couple Sundays..

Yes, it is very true. It is best you know what you are talking about before responding. I`m sure there is a valid reason why opening day is so late, but as of right now, I`m perplexed. Yes, the weather can be a bit erratic, but so can the weather in October.

Woah. Did you just propose to someone by inserting it into your signature?

But then again, October can be pretty cold. And I think most would agree that for the most part, this October was near perfect weather for amusement parks!

According to Kings Island`s Facebook page, opening day in 2011 will be on April 30th. http://www.facebook....isitkingsisland That is the latest KI opening day that I can remember. I know its the latest since I`ve been a pass holder, and I`ve been a pass holder since 1998!

Dave, the link in your post is to all the operating John Miller coasters. Here is the link that you meant to link to with the ten operating Schmeck coasters: http://www.rcdb.com/r.htm?nm=na&pe=6863&st=93&ot=2 Unfortunately, I have not ridden any of the coasters on that list! Hopefully I can ride some of them soon, especially before any more of them go from operating to SBNO or worse, defunct.

Yes, Cars 2 comes out next summer. 2012 will also feature another sequel, this one to Monsters, Inc. That movie will be out in November in 2012. However, there will also be an original Pixar movie out in June 2012, titled "Brave," previously titled "The Bear and the Bow."

Ok. Here is the other part of what I saw last night. There was a trailer parked near these items, which do look like man baskets. I also believe I saw some hose rolled up. I think it could be signs that Flight Deck is being painted. However, I too am cautiously optimistic for a few reasons. For one, the last time that the ride was painted, they started priming the ride before the end of the season. (As hard as it may be to believe, it was last painted for the 1999 season, so it could definitely use a fresh coat of paint. Secondly, with the coming winter months, the painting weather is not ideal (paint typically can`t be applied in sub freezing temperatures. Personally, I would love to see a completely new paint job on Flight Deck, one that looks similar to Nighthawk at Carowinds, would look wonderful on Flight Deck, in my opinion.

One word. Fastpass. I hope to get out to DisneyLand at some point. And remember, that Cars 2 is the next Disney Pixar film to hit the theaters next June! (And Toy Story 3 is available on Blue Ray and DVD this coming Tuesday).

Thanks for another excellent post Interpreter. It is really hard to believe that the final day of the season is already upon us. Time has certainly flown by. It seems like just yesterday that both Kings Island and Coney Island were opening for the season. And now Coney has been closed for a few weeks, and there is just one day left for Kings Island. As I`ve gotten older, it seems like time moves more quickly. Its certainly going to be a long off season for me. But at least this year, I have a full time job, and am not searching for a full time job in architecture. I`m sure we will get construction updates of WindSeeker to help pass the offseason dull drums as well. I`m already looking forward to next April! Although, I do enjoy the Christmas season too. (I already started putting up my Christmas lights today, but I need to state that I put up nearly 8,000 lights, so it is a multi-weekend project). I may very well see some of you at KI tomorrow. And hopefully the winter months fly by and April is here before we know it!

I snapped this picture at Kings Island tonight: Any guesses to the ride that I snapped this from? Better yet, anyone have any guesses to what they are? I have a hunch, but will wait to see what others think. (There were a few other clues that I`ll refrain from sharing for now...)

Yep. When Timberwolf opened, it was the place for concerts in Cincinnati. Then of course Riverbend Music Center opened in 1984, and attracted most of the big events away from Kings Island`s ampitheater.

Well, for now he is CEO and Chairman. But Q has other intentions, wanting him to at least vacate the position of Chairman of the board. I think the writing maybe on the wall for Kinzel. I mean, he isn`t exactly a spring chicken anymore, since he is 70. I also disagree with Q (they want to pay a larger cash distribution, instead of paying down more of the companies debt). I think for the long term health of the company, it would be wisest to pay down the debt now, and re-establish larger distributions at some point in the future. The current 25 cent distribution is merely there to offset the tax liability that unit holders incur because of the way the limited partnership is set up. EDIT: I was typing my response when The Interpreter was posting.

Yes, it is amazing the amount of engineering and work the goes into these rides. Few people really appreciate the type of work that is required to generate rides and attractions and the number of disciplines involved. I have been fortunate to have worked on a couple of amusement park projects at a firm that I previously co-oped at. And I also have had the privilege of meeting an Imagineer down at Epcot and got some feedback from her. Maybe one day I will return to work in the industry, but for now, I am grateful to have a full time job at an architecture firm.

I have been on several B&M inverts, Raptor, Afterburn, and Dueling Dragons at IoA. Of those I prefer Afterburn. I also love the way that the ride interacts with the topography at Carowinds, including a tunnel under what was at one point in time an entrance to Carowinds. I would love if KI got a B&M invert coaster one day. I agree with the "opps" section on Raptor. That ruins what otherwise is a very fun ride.

Unless something has changed, Diamondback did run two trains last year in the rain. I understand that the rain policy is corporate policy. But they carry it to an extreme. I mean, shutting down all the coasters when there is simply a light sprinkle seems like they are taking it to the extreme. I understand safety reasons, but there is a line of being safe, and borderline ridiculous. Shutting rides down at the first sprinkles of rain is borderline ridiculous.

One has to wonder if the fate Hercules suffered from will eventually be the same fate of Son of Beast. Only time will tell for certain.

A certain maverick of a roller coaster that is highly regarded by many. As an aside, I noticed while riding Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, aka the Kings Mills Log Flume, that the supports for the final lift and drop have been painted a fresh coat of green paint. I rode this ride early in the season, and seem to recall that these supports were covered in rust and peeling paint. It was nice to see the fresh paint (even though fresh paint does not mean a ride is here to stay forever, as Kings Cobra was painted and removed a few seasons after it was painted. On the subject of peeling paint, I also noticed on Sunday that one of the beams on Diamondback`s exit ramp has peeling paint, exposing rust. This is unfortunately visible from the queue of Diamondback!

While Cedar Fair may not have removed any ride at KI yet, they HAVE removed a ride at Carowinds. Their log flume was removed to make room for Intimidator. And I believe that they are removing Jet Scream at Canada`s Wonderland to make room for WindSeeker.

Right. But that was in a time when computer generated renderings were unheard of. Cedar Fair/KI clearly paid for the rendering to the ride in its Kings Island location. Just seems odd, that other than the KI website, they haven`t really promoted WindSeeker with the KI graphics. I`m still rather shocked that there are NO in park advertisements for the new ride in 2011. They are advertising 2011 season passes, but even those do not mention the new ride. Seems kind of like a missed opportunity to me.

Talk about resurrecting a post from a long time ago! Holy batman!