CoastersRZ

Why are you no longer a member of Coney? I believe the Pepsi sign is still there. Although, I have not worked coaster or paid much attention to whether or not the sign was there this year or not. I do know that the Python track got a new paint job, new flags were added to the ride, the station was painted, and the back row now has a permanent cover over it. And for the record, within the rides department at Coney, we simply refer to the ride as "Coaster." The same way that we simply refer to the Ferris Wheel as "Wheel."

I actually rode Cedar Downs for the first time when I went last August. Such a fun and unique ride. Too bad more of these great classic flat rides weren`t still around. I still say that if Kings Island were to get two or three classic flat rides added to the park (including a set of Scooters again), it would be a wonderful addition, as most classic flat rides could be enjoyed by a wider demographic range than all the big coasters. Hopefully, I can make it up to Cedar Point sometime this year. Maybe I`ll make it up there in September and check out there HalloWeekends event and see how it compares to Haunt at KI.

I believe that Kings Island has been selling cotton candy and pocorn before shows in the Kings Island Theater for several years now, so that is not a new phenomenon. Now if they would only offer a general discount off of ALL food and merchandise in the park (say 10% or something), it may entice more pass holders to purchase food (and also may encourage more people to buy passes). (Coney I believe offers 10% off food and merchandise for regular pass holders and 20% off for Platinum Pass holders). I`ll have to get out to KI sometime to see the new ice show. Been busy with my new job, and working weekends at Coney. Not much time to get up to KI except in the evenings. On the topic of Broadway type shows, back when they had ice skating in the Festhaus in the early to mid 90`s one of the shows was in fact "Broadway on Ice."

More information coming out after the Annual Meeting was held this morning. The Sandusky Register is currently (as of 12:45pm on Mondy, June 7th 2010) running a hedline that states "Cedar Fair back to the drawing board on debt problem." The article doesn`t mention many details (other than to say more information will be forthcoming in tomorrow`s Sandusky Register. It did, however, state that the Q&A session with Dick Kinzel was "interesting." Whatever that intails. See the very brief article here: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2010/06/07/front/doc4c0d137a41622582472375.txt

How different is T2 from other standard Vekoma SLC coasters? I never rode T2 when I was at Kentucky Kingdom way back in 1997.

Yep. The sad thing is, just working doubles on weekends, I will still hear the shows about two or three times a day! And its not like you can avoid hearing the shows while working the Ferris Wheel. As anyone who has visited Coney and ridden the Ferris Wheel while a show is going on can attest to, the shows are rather loud. Unfortunately, I`ve had guests over the years ask me at wheel if the shows were Coney`s Karaoke show. And I`m not joking about that either.

Well, I`m sure it is a great show. (I had to listen to two of Coney`s shows today while at the Ferris Wheel, and Coney`s "MP3 Shuffle" had many songs that I had never heard of/listen to. A lot of Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus songs. On the flip side, the "Motown Review" show had a decent song selection to it. Although, the singers were still in "live rehearsal mode" so things were not functioning at their optimum. I`m sure in a couple of weeks, I`ll be sick of all the songs already.

Well, the Python still has the Pepsi sign hanging on it out front. And in addition to the new paint job on the track this year, the ride has received several new flags. And the trains have received some work as well. The back row is now completely covered up with a thick black canvas/leather cover that goes from the top of the backrests in the very back row to the base of the headrests in the front row of the back car. That should alleviate some problems with having to explain to guests that the back row is closed.

As I`ve said before, I am NOT a fan of Maverick. And Invertigo isn`t exactly in a grassy field either. I`d say more like gravel and concrete plain is a more fitting description than grassy field.

I totally missed that on that page when I was there. Still, that ride opened in 2004. Hard as it may be to believe, but that was SIX years ago already!

To be clear, that sign is not there now. It was added to Phantom Theater. I truly miss that ride. It was a really unique ride and I vividly remember riding it for the first time. I always seemed to ride it on almost every visit to the park. Unfortunately, Scooby Doo and Boo Blasters just isn`t as grand of a ride as what Phantom Theater was. Maybe that is in part because of Phantom Theater`s uniqueness.

When was the last time that Chance Morgan installed a major new coaster? The best I can tell, the last major coaster to come out of Morgan (prior to their merger with Chance Rides) was Quiksilver Express at Gilroy Gardens out in California. It seems that Chance Rides (according to RCDB) has made a few kiddy coasters a few years back. I`d say the four major steel coaster manufacturers today are Vekoma, B&M, Intamin and Premier Rides. There are of course smaller companies like Mack that typically make smaller more portable type rides like Wild Mouse rides.

Remember, that there is another park in the Cincinnati area that actually charges 50 cents for a cup of ice water. A park that is now advertising based on nostalgia and "Old fashioned fun."

And few people realize all the engineering by structural engineers that go into designing the foundations for rides. It is more likely that a home in a subdivision will have more settling issues with the soil than a multi-million thrill ride.

And on the subject of parts for Flight Deck. S&S Sports now owns the assets from the old Arrow Dynamics/Development. As such, they also own the parts department for all Arrow coasters, so replacement parts are still theoretically being produced for the suspended coasters. The Beast opened in 1979, with both lift hills in place. Originally quoted as being 7,400 feet long, a more accurate number of its length lists it at 7,359 feet. The only significant change made to the ride (other than the new braking system about five years ago), was the combining of two tunnels after the brake shed.

Well, I suppose accidentally sitting in a protein spill is better than working a ride and having a protein spill land on your head. Fortunately, that did not happen to me, but a fellow coworker, while operating the Ferris Wheel. I`ve come close to having a protein spill land on me while working the Rock O Planes. Disgusting more than embarassing. Yes, I have a similar situation from last year. The coaster operators called me saying the ride went down. I asked them if they had accidentally pushed the e-stop button. They assured me they hadn`t. So I called maintenance and heade out to the coaster. I get out there and check the e-stop button, and they had pushed it. Simply pulling it out restarted the ride, right as maintenance was arriving!

The PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center actually opened in 2008. It resided on land that Coney used to own, but donated to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (who actually owns Riverbend Music Center). In fact, the Giant Slide used to reside next to the Dodgems on land that is now occupied by part of the PNC Pavilion. Why would Coney donate land to the pavilion? For those that have ever been to a concert at Riverbend or PNC Pavilion, you likely parked in one of Coney`s parking lots. Part of the service fee you pay on your concert ticket is actually a parking fee that is directed to Coney. Just another little known fact. And PNC Pavilion was built to attract the groups that like to play in the smaller, more intimate venues.

That was already linked to a few posts up...

Given that the pond was the one in Octoberfest, I`d imagine that the ride was either Viking Fury, or possibly Sling Shot. Viking Fury does pass directly over the water. With Sling Shot, all it would take is for some trajectory to the ring when it slid off to find its way into the pond.

The original rainbow arch at KI left around the time that Phantom Theater opened (1992). For the 1998 renovation, they added a new arch type entrance closer to the Eiffel Tower, almost in front of the Showplace. That lasted for a few years, before they relocated the Yogi and Flinstone columns to the side of the midway for a few seasons. This new arch is located almost in the same spot as the rainbow arch was located. On a side note, has anyone else noticed metal poles sprouting up at the entrances to Planet Snoopy on the sides of the midway? These poles are about 42-48 inches tall and located at the entrances to Planet Snoopy. Not sure what they are for, they almost look like the bases to umbrella holders, but given their placement, that function wouldn`t make sense.

I think its safe to say that this Harry Potter ride may be similar to Spiderman in terms of being a ground breaking new dark ride. Now if only I could get a chance to go down to Florida and experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And yes, I have read all the books. I read all the books over the summer in 2007 (while working 40 hours a week at a co-op job and working at Coney on the weekends).

Or there is the fountain that used to reside out front of what is now Outer Hanks (although at the time it was Oktoberfest Gardens). Then there was also the fountain in the midway between the Zephyr and Obey the Net game. That fountain is now the home of a large planter. Then of course there is the now gone (but not forgotten elephant fountain that used to reside outside of the restrooms in kiddy land (near where Sally`s Sea Plane resides today). And lets not forget the fountains that used to be in Swan Lake.

Remember, that July 3rd (Balloon Glow Day) is Coney`s busiest day of the year. So expect crowds, especially since this year July 3 falls on a Saturday.

And as you stated, the Wallendas used to perform at Coney in the 1950s all the time. It featured none other than the Great Wallendas.

Has the city seriously addressed yet how they are going to compensate Cedar Fair for essentially taking away some of their land that they lease for this new stadium if the deal passes? It still seems to me like the city is so interested in getting this stadium, that they don`t care how bad they screw over Cedar Fair. It seems as if the city has seen the potential for new tourist dollars and forgotten that they already have a tourist destination that they are alienating by not addressing its concerns with regards to the new stadium.