CoastersRZ

Actually, on my last visit to the park (last Thursday) the floral clock was non-operational. The hands had been removed and there was a piece of wood covering up the location where the hands of the clock normally attach. It was like the clock normally is in the pre and post seasons. Also, the floral calendar no longer lists the year, just the month and date. I think thats unfortunate. It was neat to have the year on there as well, since it was a way to date the picture.

Another helpful hint is that the Python is usually one of the last rides that maintenance checks in the morning. As such, it may not be ready to roll right at 11. Also note, that Coney`s regular season ends after Labor day. The pool and rides are open for a bonus day on Sunday, September 12 (Pool is open 10-6, and rides 11-6). That is the LAST day that 2010 Coney pass holders get free admission for the rides. The rides are also open the last weekend in September and the first two weekends in October from 12-6 for the Fall O Ween Festival. Admission is $7 for kids under 12 and $10 for those 13 and over. Season passes do not provide admission to Fall O Ween.

Sounds to me like ValleyFair could be in line for a Planet Snoopy or some other similar family oriented attraction. That is based on the quote from the Valleyfair spokesperson alluding to the fact that the new addition will help attract families to the park.

No. Remember, one has to interpret things some say, and if you can successfully do that, you will understand a great deal of knowledge. I won`t spill the beans on Terpy`s post, but fully understand the intent of his cryptic post. Well, looks like I was beat to my Interpretation to Terpy`s post. Remember, in the amusement industry, reputation is a big deal. Particularly for repeat business. With a new prototype or design, there is risk. That is a risk that some companies would rather not be associated with, even if their products would work.

Yes, you should recognize some of the faces in that picture. (I was one of them, wearing the black shirt with white stripes (row seven, right behind the guy in the blue shirt). And yes, there were others who you might recognize. Everyone has their own hobbies. Some people collect stamps or baseball cards, etc. Some people go golfing or are season ticket holders to the Reds and can rattle off the stats of the players and team, much like most of us can rattle off the stats of rides at Kings Island. The most important thing is that the leisurely activity one partakes in, that they genuinely enjoy it. And Gary certainly enjoys riding Diamondback. And if you`ve met Gary, he is a very nice guy and actually soft spoken.

Well, I have ridden The Beast every day I`ve gone to the park this year, and have never noticed them doing that. Do they still do the "Two for Tuesdays" season pass perk in one of the cars? I know they used to regulate the amount of people in the station on those days. Its a little harder to separate at The Beast as there are no row numbers listed on the station floor. I actually like when they separate, as it provides a much more relaxed (and less crammed) environment in the station area. It is also easier for groups to figure out what rows they can sit in to ride together, and if obviously helps with capacity as well. The one drawback (from an operations point of view), is that it requires an additional associate, which requires paying an additional worker every hour.

Depending on the weather, I may swing by in the park in the evening, and may just happen to be there at that time. (It also depends how traffic is between downtown Cincy and KI at rush hour tomorrow.)

Yes. My point wasn`t necessarily what his job status was, but rather the fact that he is (I believe) in his 60s. And if he were retired, he would likely have more free time. Personally, I haven`t ridden Diamondback as much this year. That is largely due to the fact that I have worked a ton this summer between my real job (at an architecture firm) and working weekends at Coney. In fact, it has been thirty days since my last day off, on July 5th. Prior to that day off, you have to look back into around May 20th.

I believe that Gary might be retired. He is a really nice guy if you ever have the chance to meet up with him and talk. Some people like to go golfing in their free time, while others like to go to amusement parks and ride roller coasters. To each their own.

Excellent trip report! Those are odd sky ride cars. And for the record, Von Roll is also the company that made Coney`s/Kings Island`s sky ride.

While new rides must adhere to tougher regulations, that does not mean that older rides have to. Older rides become grandfathered in. Much the same way that older buildings do not have to adhere to the most current building codes. Now if there are significant alterations to said building, it muse be brought up to the current building codes.

If I`m not mistaken, most of the haunts that original year in 2000, were from an outside company (at least most of their design was). I believe that most of the haunts now days at KI are set up by KI`s own staff. Yes, there are some haunts that are borrowed or identical to haunts at other CF parks. I still remember the haunt that took place on the Antique Cars. Too bad they don`t bring back the haunt that was on the lower deck of the Eiffel Tower (it was during the first season). But I suppose elevator capacity is a limiting factor in that event.

And I`m not sure if people remember being at the park during the day when the boo event used to be a separate gate. If you were leaving the park, it was a nightmare. They actually were exiting regular park guests through the old season pass entrance as the paying Fear Fest guests were entering the main gates. It made for a rather large bottleneck and led to confusion. Hard to believe that 2002 was the last year that Fear Fest was a separately gated attraction! It seems like so very long ago! (I went to Fear Fest in both 2001 and 2002. Sadly, I never went in the inaugural season).

I have never been to Kennywood. I would so love to get out there. Particularly since I haven`t been on a Whip or Tumblebug since I rode the kiddy versions in Kings Island`s kiddy land many many years ago! Nice PTR!

Well, I have a passion for amusement parks. And I love the history of these places. I am one of the few ride operators at Coney that knows the rich history of the park and its past and current rides. That is part of the reason I enjoy working there. The money is secondary. I don`t HAVE to work at Coney, but do it because I enjoy it. The day I do not look forward to going into work at Coney is the day that I know my time has come to move on. I am in my ninth season in the rides department at Coney, and now officially the person with the longest tenure in the department. One of the rides managers (who was really part time the last few years only working a total of about ten days all season) started a new full time job elsewhere. He began working at Coney Island in rides in 1991!! I don`t mean to hijack this thread though. And to be fair, at one point in time, I thought that the park had said that only Gold and Platinum Pass holders were going to gain free admission to Halloween Haunt. But as is often the case, pricing and policies are always subject to change.

Coney sells funnel cakes from the building right next to the Ferris Wheel. Many times after a long day the aroma of funnel cakes can be smelled at the Ferris Wheel. I have never once bought a funnel cake at Coney, but the aroma is so enticing! (Unfortunately the stand is typically closed before the rides close...)

Why thanks for the kind words Interpreter. I try to keep things moderated around here. I haven`t been on the site much lately, with working my two jobs (one full time and my part time weekend gig at Coney Island). They keep me pretty busy (I`ve been working about sixty to sixty two hours a week, and have only had ONE day off (July 5) since May 24th!

Indeed it was. It is currently the only ride at Coney that permits riders to travel upside down (as well as allowing the riders to rock). It is amazing how many people will try to rock the seats on the other Ferris Wheel, even when there are warning signs on the back of each car, not to mention, it sometimes takes two or more verbalized warnings to instill in some riders that rocking of the cars is not permitted.

In all fairness, I doubt that Coney would be interested in that ride. Although I have it on good authority that Coney was interested in securing the Flying Scooters from Americana/LeSourdsville Lake. But the ride ended up going to none other than Fun Spot and Coney got the Rock O Planes from LeSourdsville Lake instead.

I did have never ridden the Scrambler at Holiday World. However, if you want an intense and fast Scrambler ride in the Cincinnati area, head on out to Coney Island. And, it is situated right on the shores of Lake Como.

Are the Eurobobbles at KI operated by KI games people, or is it an outside concession, not unlike the helicopter tours were?

But if you are looking at ratio alone, Holiday World is still a somewhat smaller park than most of the corporate parks. And even still, enthusiasts make up only a handful of the overall attendance. They are a mere drop in the bucket, even at parks like Holiday World. What Holiday World has realized, moreso than most other parks, is that the enthusiast community can be a very powerful (and nearly free), marketing tool to help attract even more general public attendance.

I`ve been working a lot so I haven`t checked into all the threads over the last few weeks. Yes, I would agree that the disrepect for the studio space by Architecture students is not a unanimous phenomenon. There are some people that will get drunk and trash a studio, but they are in the minority. If you were to walk into an architecture studio during hell week, right before final crits, you would see the studios in an even worse amount of disarray. I know that in my studios, we were required to clean them up, before the professors would issue our grades. At Coney, there is a "test" for the Ferris Wheel to see how skilled an operator one is. It involved putting a cup of water on the handle bar of one of the cars (when there are no riders or guests present of course). The object is to get the ride to rotate around one complete time without the cup falling, or water spilling. Which can be a difficult task even for the best operators, as the controls do change with the temperature and humidity levels. (Yesterday, the controls got very tight for 30 minutes, and then returned to the normal conditions as suddenly as they had tightened up). And for the record, every single day I have worked at Coney this summer, I have worked the Ferris Wheel at least part of the time I was there.

Given the option between a visit to Holiday World and Dollywood, I would likely pick Dollywood. While they both have about the same amount of roller coasters (depending on what your stance is on Blazing Fury), the atmoosphere at Dollywood is far superior, in my opinion. Not to mention the first rate live shows that Dollywood has. On one of my prior visits to Dollywood, we arrived at the park around 9:30 and didn`t ride a single ride until around 2:30 in the afternoon, with all the time being occupied by live shows! As with anything, each park will have its loyal fan base, and it will also have those that can`t stand the place. That is just the nature of having different people who have different likes and dislikes and viewpoints.

Dorney Park is one of those parks I hope to get to. I`m just not sure when that is going to happen...