CoastersRZ

Its hard to tell from that zoomed out picture, but it almost looks like they have reprofiled that hill and lowered it significantly (three or four feet) on the outbound (downhill side).

I don`t like the closing of the ride lines before park close. It screams "being cheap to save on labor". Like you said hopefully this doesn`t happen at KI. Doesn`t Holiday World do this, and have signs out front warning guests about this policy? Lets hope the early ride time at KI returns as well. I missed that last year.

Wow, I never knew that either. Thanks for sharing!

https://kicentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Episode-13-Bill-Mefford.mp3 Robbie (CoastersRZ) and Brad (IndyGuy4KI) are joined by Bill Mefford, who was the Manager of Marketing and Communications at Kings Island from 1982-1984 and again from 1987-1988. Hear about stories from his time at the park, as well as his time at other parks and in the amusement industry. We hope you enjoy listening to this. It was really fun talking with Bill! Stay tuned for Episode 14 coming out soon! Robbie

And starting March 29th, all Ohioans 16 years and older will be eligible to get the shot: https://www.wcpo.com/news/coronavirus/ohio-opening-vaccine-eligibity-to-those-ages-40-friday-most-residents-march-29

But to be fair, there are not currently any Cedar Fair parks that are open to use as a reference. They maybe intending to load full rows, but we won`t know until the parks start to open in a couple of months.

Hopefully that bodes well for Kings Island loading every single row on the coasters.

What are your sources for the attendance figures? I simply stated that the trust that owns Hersheypark likely is not interested in selling. Not that Herschend cannot afford to purchase a park the size of Hershey.

And the way I understand it, Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company is wholly owned by the Hershey Trust Company, which runs/operates the Milton Hershey School. I doubt that the trust company is interested in selling the park, as it is what likely funds the school.

I wand to get my vaccine. I just have to wait until I become eligible to receive it. I am 36 years old and do not fit into one of the groups that qualifies so far. I work at an architecture firm, so that isn`t exactly high risk (especially since we are currently working remotely Monday, Wednesday and Friday and only in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Hopefully, by the end of summer things will be looking more like normal. I would love to go to KI and see full trains being loaded by the end of the summer season. And hopefully Winterfest comes back this year! My four year old son keeps talking about seeing the "Santa show" at KI in the Festhaus.

Would be ashame for this ride to be removed. Although, not exactly surprising. if they do end up removing it. I mean how many years has it been since KI removed theirs? I wonder if the sky buckets at Six Flags Great Adventure will follow suit? Do any other Six Flags parks have the Von Roll sky rides?

Placed my order. Can`t wait to receive it and read it! Remember, to check out the KIC Podcast about this book: https://kicentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Episode-8-A-Ride-Through-Time.mp3

But sometimes you have to spend some money (and be open) to make some money. Maybe they are wanting to conserve money now and wait to see what happens in the next few months. Anyone know how well attended the Winterfest event was at Worlds of Fun compared to KI?

I am kind of surprise that Worlds of Fun made the announcement that WinterFest will not be returning this year. Seems kind of early to make that announcement.

This is an awesome thread. The air filled structure that was located where Tower Gardens is now, was an air filled structure. It relied on the air pressure on the interior to keep it up. It collapsed due to a snow storm putting increased load on the roof, that the interior air pressure could not support. The Cinema 180 building did not sit on Flight Commander`s land, but rather was situated between Flight Commander`s pad and the restroom by Vortex`s exit. When Dinosaurs Alive was put in, the tent structure that they installed (immediately to the left of the restrooms) sat where the building used to be.

I think AT&T has enough on their plate at the moment, to consider purchasing Six Flags. First I have heard of that rumor. I don`t think any parks would be interested in paying for the rights for Hanna Barbera. The characters simply are not relevant with the youth today.

Thanks for sharing those wonderful insights. It was very interesting to read.

It will be interesting to see how things go at KK this year. Also, for those that don`t know, Craig Ross is a former KI GM as well.

It looks like there will be an official announcement tomorrow morning.

So did Herschend back out at the last moment? Or the half right portion is that there is a deal in place and nobody backed out, they just haven`t announced it yet?

It is probably meant more as a way to put pressure on the state to let them reopen in some form.

I was one of the lucky ones that was able to secure a ride on Son of Beast that Friday night during the pass holder preview day. The passholder preview day was held on April 28th, I believe. The media event was in the morning. The ride didn`t open to pass holders until around 7 or 7:30 if I recall correctly (the park opened to pass holders at 5), due to what we later learned was a rough spot. After that night, it was closed several more weeks before reopening. When it did reopen, it was down to one train operation until end of June/early July. I was also in line for it in early June when a train was stuck on the lift and they had to evacuate the riders. The first drop on Son of Beast was an amazing experience. That combined with the loop made the ride. Once the loop was removed, I didn`t have much of a desire to ride the ride anymore. It was certainly a bold choice. One wonders what the ride would have been like had RMC been around back then and if we would have seen a RMC version of the ride instead of the one created by Werner Stengel and RCCA. Is Stengel still actively involved in the amusement industry? I know his firm is often a consulting firm used by other manufacturers, such as Intamin. Not unlike how Skyline Attractions works with Great Coasters for the layout/design on some of their rides.

So do you think something changed? Deal fell through? Or is it all postulating to draw up discussion?

Just curious, has anyone visited Wild Adventures in Georgia? Curious as to what the experience is at that park compared to Silver Dollar City and Dollywood.

Interesting that they are choosing to open at 11am. Hopefully this is just a temporary thing for this season. I am sure it is to cut down on labor costs.