CoastersRZ

Well, unfortunately for me, my schedule is quite full already. Between working at my "real job" on the weekdays, and working at Coney on the weekends, I don`t have much time. Needless to say, it will be easier for me to get a day off at Coney than it will be at my real job.

Well, to be honest, the ride operators don`t necessarily keep track of how many riders there are. Rather, they generally keep track of how many empty seats there are. The ride computer keeps a tally and it deducts the number of empty seats from the tally. Amusement parks keep very detailed logs on capacity, as it impacts staffing forecasts, budgets, and what rides deserve capital improvements. In the case of Holiday World, capacity studies actually played a role in their decision to only use two Timberliners as opposed to three. (It opened with three train PTCs).

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100516/ENT03/5160319/Buffett+++Parrotheads++are+back I posted this in the Coney Island section, because Riverbend is next to Coney. However, the article does mention Kings Island and Timberwolf. Why? Because it was at the Buffett concert at Timberwolf in 1985 that the phrase "parrothead" was coined. The Buffett concert this year is early, tomorrow, May 17th. It sold out in a matter of minutes this year, which is typical.

I did walk around Splashin` Safari. However, I did not ride anything. Maybe next time, since I do have that ticket to return later this year!

My alarm clock went off at 6am on Saturday, May 15th. After a quick breakfast, I was out the door by 6:20 for the three hour drive to Santa Claus, IN. I plugged in the iPod Touch, and I was off. I arrived at the parking lot around 8:20 (CDT). I checked in and met up with Brad and Jesse. The first order of business was to kill some time since the Gobbler Getaway lights on tour would not begin until 8:45am (CDT). (Photo by Jesse Marchbanks). So I showed Brad and Jesse my new car in the parking lot. Unfortunately, today, I noticed I have a small scratch and tiny dent in the passengers side door. Not sure when I got that. After that short side trip, it was time for the walk back to Gobbler Getaway. The group was escorted around the restroom building, and over by Raven. We entered the park by walking through a gate. They collected our park tickets, and we waited there momentarily. Then it was off to the back section of the park. But we took some back gravel roads behind The Raven. It offered some excellent views of The Raven. This shot shows the turn over Lake Rudolph. From there we continued walking and were treated to some other unique views. Here Jesse and I are standing in front of The Raven. From there we continued walking and were also treated to a unique view of The Legend doing its morning test runs. After a long walk, we finally reached Gobbler Getaway. From there, we boarded the ride, with cameras allowed, to ride through the ride with the lights on. Pretty cool to ride it with the lights on. After that we, were able to wait in line for Voyage until the park opened at 9:30 (CDT). At this point our group consisted of myself, Brad, Jesse and Scott. We were on the first ride of the day on Voyage. The ride is one intense ride from start to finish and it never lets up. The air time is pretty intense and the triple down after the mid course block area is insane, all in complete darkness. Yes, Voyage was still running the PTC train, and it was one train op, but the crew was doing a great job of dispatching the train quickly. Especially considering they were taking loose articles and putting them in the bins or FREE lockers, while the train was out on the course. After the ride on the Voyage, we went off to Legend and Raven. Crowds were getting pretty thick considering they had a walk for Diabetes and there were LOTS of music groups in the park. We grabbed another ride on Voyage (with about a twenty five minute to thirty minute wait, even though the attendant at the front of the line was warning it could be an hour long line. We then tried to scope out the line for Pilgrim`s Plunge, but it had some mechanical issues. I was looking forward to riding that ride. We grabbed a good lunch at Plymouth Rock Cafe. It felt weird eating good food (ham, macoroni and cheese, cottage cheese, etc.) in an amusement park and not typical amusement park food. So we went for a spin on Gobbler Getaway, this time with the lights off. My gun was not working at ALL. Not a fun ride for me. Upon exiting the ride, it had began to rain. Which was just in time for the Voyage behind the scenes tour. We went through two locked gates and were escorted back to the Voyage. We walked all the way out to the mid course brake area. It is quite a hike back there and goes up some pretty steep terrain. After the tour, Brad and Jesse went out to their car to grab their swimgear to try out Wildebeest. While I had my swim stuff in the car, I opted not to go to the water park. Scott and I followed them into the water park and looked at Wildebeest. Looks like a fun ride. We later learned that this ride had a little bit of a wait when we later met up with Brad and Jesse. Scott and I then rode front seat in The Legend and grabbed a ride on Liberty Launch. Pilgrim`s Plunge was open by this point so we ventured over there just to take a look. People were getting fairly wet and it was evident the water temperature was rather chilly. Even moreso since the temperature outside was only in the low 70s. We then met up with Brad and Jesse again. They deposited there stuff in their cars and we grabbed another ride on Legend and Raven before grabbing a quick ride on Nightmare Falls. By this time it was time for our private dinner. Again, excellent food. (The fudge brownies are awesome). Will Koch was supposed to be at the dinner for a brief Q&A but had to be at a fundraiser with Pat. So Paula Werne was there. She expressed her appologies that the new Timberliners were not yet ready to go for us. As a sign of gratitute, she informed us that Holiday World would be giving everyone a ticket to come back to the park sometime later in the year and experience The Voyage with the new Timberliners! This was an awesome gesture by the park and totally unexpected by me. Kudos to Holiday World for this nice gesture and a VERY big THANK YOU. After Paula spoke Holiday Worlds head coaster maintenance man and a member from Gravity Group were present for a Q&A session while we waited for the park to clear out. We were also informed that the Voyage ERT had been switched to the early session and Raven and Legend moved back to the later session so that they could continue testing the new Timberliners after our ERT. So after the Q&A session, we were off to Voyage. I rode it five times. The last time was in almost complete darkness. We were also on the last ride of the night on The Voyage. After than, it was off to Raven and Legend. Night rides on these two rides is simply insane. I liked the night ride on Raven slightly better than The Voyage though. It is pitch black in areas. Dare I say it, but I think a night ride on Raven might be better than a night ride on The Beast! And what was even better, is the ERT that was supposed to end at 9 (CDT) actually ended closer to 9:20! Again, a big thanks to Holiday World. We also had met up with Kat and Nick for the ERTs. A big thank you to the wonderful crews at Holiday World. Particularly the ones that were running the rides for the ERT. They were very nice! All in all, a fun trip. The parting photo is of us on The Raven during at night. Thanks to the nice ride op (I think Lisa was her name) that took the picture. She worked most of the day at Voyage yesterday. I`m sure I`m leaving out some details. But it was a long, dark drive home.

The zoo also has a Swan Lake. Although there Swan Lake still appears as a lake and not a shallow pool used for a ride`s water effect.

And once again, why is Kinzel commenting on things related to Cedar Point? Why not CP`s general manager, or public relations staff? The sooner Dick Kinzel is no longer at the helms of the company, the better, in my opinion. He micromanages Cedar Point too much, and the company could really use some fresh blood. They seem to be slightly out of touch with the consumers, especially given the food prices in their parks!

It looks good so far. It will be interesting to see how this compares to Cedar Point`s Starlight Experience. But calling Kings Island`s Starlight Spectacular more of a show than Festival of Lights may be a tad misleading. The Zoo does have a light show on Swan Lake synchronized to music. However, based on the video you posted, Kings Island`s will be a little more dynamic than that. But, the zoo in general has a lot more lights than Kings Island`s 2 million. The overall experience at the zoo`s event likely will be more breath taking than Kings Islands. That being said, I am eagerly waiting to see the finished product at Kings Island. I think this is a splendid addition to Kings Island and will help bring in families to the park, and keep them around until the park closes. Speaking from experience though, I hope that this attraction is kept up well in the following years.

I`ve actually never seen or read the 1972 book about Coney Island. I have red Charles Jacques book numerous times though. There is also another book out there, entitled "Ohio`s Amusement Parks" or "Southwest Ohio`s Amusement Parks." I forget the author right now (I have a copy of the book at hom in my desk. The book details not only Kings Island and Coney Island, but also touches on other parks, including Stricker`s Grove, Americana/LeSourdsville Lake, Fantasy Farm, Ludlow Lagoon, Chester Park, Cincinnati Zoo and others. The book is worded a bit odd in areas, which makes it diffcult to read, as the areas don`t flow really well. But it offers some good information on the parks along with some historical photos.

And for the record, that book is not OVER ten years old. It was first published in August of 2002. And yes, Coney Island (at least used to) sell that book in their gift shop. I have not heard anything about Charles Jacques Jr.`s book on Kings Island. I know several years back, the late Jim Knippenberg would post snippets in the Cincinnati Enquirer about the book, and asking for people with stories and/or pictures about KI`s early years to submit them to Jacques. I have not heard recently on the status of the book. I think it would be great, especially if it contains some more history on the transformation of Coney to Kings Island.

Well, I have been going to KI ever since I was young. Very young. About seven months old as a matter of fact. See: And: Little did my parents know at the time how much of an amusement park enthusiast I would become, or how many years I would spend working at an amusement park. I still find it hard to believe that I am in my ninth season working at Coney Island in the rides department!

Well put Shaggy. That is what I tried to allude to in my earlier post. It is now featured in a more prominent location. I wonder if the flag raising that they used to do outside of the gates will now be done at this new location when they play the anthem in the morning. I few weeks ago when I was in Nickelodeon Universe, near the Eiffel Tower, waiting for the ropes to drop to officially open the park (having already secured my early rides on DBack and Beast), I witnessed a thing that reminded me how much I like that the park plays the national anthem at 10am. The group that was there was all talking, but the moment the anthem came on, everyone became silent and began to sing along. People that had ball caps on removed them. It is such a nice way to start off the day at the park, and celebrate all the freedoms that we have in this country and, as Shaggy stated, all the men and women who have died defending the flag.

Regardless of what the weekend is called, it has typically signaled the start of the summer season. In fact, Coney Island and Sunlite Pool officially open on Memorial Day weekend, and have for years. Not to mention, that is when Snoopy`s Starlight Spectacular debuts at Kings Island.

I too was not too fond of Mystery Mine. But I absolutely love Thunderhead! Note if you are planning on riding the train that it is not like Kings Island`s train with departures every five minutes or so. The Dollywood trains leave at specific times, like every hour on the hour, or at half past the hour. Its not a big deal, but just something to be aware of when visiting the park.

I`d say that flag poles hardly ruin the view. Its not like they placed a large display that entirely blocked the view like they did in 2001 for Tomb Raider: The Ride. And besides, I like that they moved the American flag and state flag to such a prominent position. Don`t forget that Memorial Day is coming up soon. (That holiday used to be called Decoration Day once upon a time).

I will be making my third visit to Holiday World (first since the Voyage`s inaugural season. It is a fun little park, with some awesome wooden coasters.

Yes, there used to be flag poles on the right side of International Street. Additionally, there used to be a large flag pole out front (outside of the metal detectors). I know it has been tradition the last several years for the American flag to be raised when the National Anthem is sung in the morning. And yes, the flag poles in front of the fountain are new (or at least relocated).

So the next question is, what is the operational strategy that Shapiro and the new owners disagreed over, and what impact will it have on the guest experience moving forward. Unfortunately, we may never know what exact operational strategy. So with Shapiro still heavily involved with Snyder and Dick Clark Productions, I wonder if Q will tap him moving forward to serve on the Cedar Fair board.

That the ride had a line on opening day. And that the recent times I`ve ridden it with no line have been skewed because the rest of the park was empty and there were no lines elsewhere in the park.

Well, it did have a line on opening day. I have not ridden it recently, save for a couple spins in the late evening a few weeks ago on a Friday when the park was empty to begin with.

Well, I have experience in writing a huge research paper: a thesis document for my Master`s of Architecture degree from UC. In addition to books and articles, I also had interviews as the source for some of my information. I had met with a Disney Imagineer down at EPCOT in the fall of 2008. I also met with some operations personnel at the Seas attraction at EPCOT as well as operations people at the Great Wolf Lodge. While those interviews did not yield any pertinent information that found its way into the final document, it did offer me insights and information that impacted my design decisions, which were discussed in my document. And on the subject of pictures, my thesis document is full of pictures. The list of illustrations covers many pages. Some of the images I took myself while at Disney World or other parks. Some of the images came from books or elsewhere. But as the old saying goes, sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. It is a lot easier to represent something visually than to try and articulate it using only words. For those who are interest, my thesis document is published online at Ohio Link here: http://etd.ohiolink....=ucin1243014144. For the link directly to the PDF, you can view the document itself here: http://www.daapspace..._renderings.pdf And for more information on my project, you can check out this brochure I made: http://www.daapspace...chure_final.pdf For those who are interested, my thesis was entitled "Entertainment Architecture: Contextually Integrated Water Park Resort in Norwood, Ohio." Yes, that was a project that I got to do in school at UC`s top ranked Architecture program in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning. And yes, I got to visit Disney World and Great Wolf Lodge for research. The project consumed essentially an entire year of my life. Its hard to believe that about one year ago now, I had my final presentation for my thesis project, and that its been eleven months since I graduated (top in my class I might add). Now, back to the subject at hand. It is hard to compare food prices between the parks as prices can and do change based on the season. For example, when I went to Disney World in September of 2008 for research for my thesis project, 20 ounce Coca-Cola soft drinks were $2.50. I`m not sure how much the same thing was at Kings Island that year, but it was likely $3.50 or so that year. And you know what, when I was down at Disney World, I didn`t even think twice about shelling over the money for the drinks, because it seemed reasonable considering I was at Disney. Especially since the temperature the week I was there was in the mid 90`s. Granted, Disney may changed their pricing to compensate for peak demand times (ie charge more when demand is high, less when demand is low). And sorry for the really long post. Quality over quantity!

Either way, I think Q would be smart to bring him on board. He seemed to work wonders over at Six Flags, and I think he would do a lot of good at Cedar Fair as well. To use Q`s words, "fresh blood" would do some good for Cedar Fair in my opinion.

So do you think that Q might be tapping him to be their nomination for Cedar Fair`s board? Or do you think that they are positioning him to be their nomination for the upper management team to replace Kinzel and Co.?

That is true. It certainly sounds as if the current board wanted to go in a different direction, or at least with a different person at the helm.

Or, Shapiro received a better offer elsewhere? It certainly seems like there was some sort of disagreement, and that he did not leave the company on good terms. I wonder where we will see him next. From everything I`ve seen, he certainly seemed to turn Six Flags in the right direction.