CoastersRZ

I think it was one of those user supplied information apps. So it relied on the users to provide accurate information. Not unlike the app that I recently saw on the news about the location of cops running radar on certain streets. But I believe that there is a Disney app that does provide access to menus of the restaurants/food stands at Walt Disney World.

Yes, that is because it is based on the location of the WiFi base station. The more WiFi base stations, the better the accuracy of the location. And my iTouch location get me a fairly close approximation. It narrows it down to about a ten house radius in any direction from my house.

I believe it does. The security office, which is located in the main parking structure (Gate 2) at the intersection of Kellogg and Sutton, sits at 52' above flood stage. The filter room for the pool actually sits a few feet below the pool deck, which itself is a couple of feet below the main parking entrance structure. As a result, a flood of around 48 to 49' will flood the filter room. The main administration offices are all located on the second floor of the administration building. But there are plenty of food stands, and some offices, including the rides office, that may very well have a foot or two of water in them, depending how high this water level gets. The last time the Ohio got high enough to flood Coney was 2005. The river did come close in 2008, and flooded the filter room, and the deep end of Sunlite Pool. Here is an image of the deep end of the pool in March of 2008: And here is an image inside the filter room, showing how high the water level reached:

Except such an app would be restricted only to the iPhone, as the iPod Touches do not have a GPS feature. And as noted, WiFi access is not readily available at Kings Island. I do know that there are apps out there for Disneyworld that actually include information on the current standby wait times for the attractions and the times for the Fastpass system. Although I`m not certain if there is free WiFi in the Disney parks either. I know at UC, the entire campus has free WiFi, and nowadays, a lot of restaurants are also offer free Wifi. Bob Evans, Panera Bread, Frisch`s Big Boy all do to name a few.

And remember that Coney just installed a multi-million dollar water slide last season. One of the largest investments that Coney has made in many many years. And that investment was on the heels of the 2008 investment which saw three new attractions open on the rides side. Needless to say, 2010 will be an off year for the park adding new additions. Who knows what will be in store in the coming years though. Currently, Coney is bracing for a hopefully minor flood. The Ohio River is expected to crest around 54', or two feet over flood stage. That is enough to flood most of Coney under two feet of water, and shut down Kellogg Avenue.

Not going to happen. This was just a project for fun that someone did as part of the Coaster Cats club. Sigma Sigma Commons was designed by renowned landscape architect Hargreaves and Associates. Prior to the greenspace, that area on campus used to be surface parking lots. Needless to say the greenspace looks a lot nicer than barren parking lots. And, UC`s campus was recently recognized as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country. Not sure I entirely agree with that. But it does have quit a collection of architecture from world renowned architect. Michael Graves (Engineering Research Center), Peter Eisenman (Aronoff addition to the DAAP building), Henry Cobb (CCM addition), Frank Gehry (Vontz Center for Molecular studies on the east (medical) campus), Gathmey Siegel (TUC renovation), Moore Ruble Yudel (Steger Student Life Center), Cambridge Seven (Central Utility Plant), Thom Mayne (Campus Recreation Center), and Bernard Tschumi (Richard Lindner Center). All of those buildings create a rather unique mix of architecture for a college campus.

According to John Kiesewetter of the Cincinnati Enquirer, John Manby, the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment, will be on an upcoming show of the CBS show "Undercover Boss." Locally, Herschend Family Entertainment owns Newport Aquarium, and also operates the Ride the Ducks that depart from Newport on the Levee. HFE also owns Dollywood, and Branson`s Silver Dollar City. Read Kiesewetter`s article here: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/tv/2010/03/12/roto-rooter-president-tvs-newest-undercover-boss/

Exactly! And when I was a kid, I only went to Kings Island, once or twice a season. So I was always excited the night before I got to visit the park. And I really didn`t care what characters were in the park. I enjoyed going because of the rides. And believe it or not, kids enjoy Coney`s rides just as much. Often times when it gets close to time for them to leave, one can hear them begging their parents for just one more ride before the car ride home. Like I said above, not having the Nick characters results in some lost "magic" at the park for the kids that are a little older. But as others have said, they will still be happy to visit the park and ride the rides, regardless of what characters are plastered around the kiddy area.

Actually, before the ride openeds, the park was fairly heavy on the promotion of the special effects of this ride. Splash down ending, working headlights, on board audio system, rumbling seats to sens going down the subway stairs, real fire at the helicopter scene. All these effects because Kings Island had "the best of Hollywood entertainment: Now Playing." And of course their marketing guru at the time liked to build up anticipation for the park`s new additions, even if they did not merit all the hype. That particular person now works for a water park company down south in Texas, but he still makes visits from time to time. Remember, he had his start in the amusement industry at a now defunct, SBNO park up in Middletown. And Backlot didn`t have that much down time its first season. Not moreso than a ride like Firehawk.

And how do we know exactly what a company would do with an amusement park? They haven`t exactly owned or operated a chain of parks before. And on the subject of Son of Beast. As has been said and restated by the park, they have not made a decision on the fate of Son of Beast. While that may very well be the case, the 2010 season is quickly approaching. I`m sure they know if the ride will be opening with the park, or even by Memorial day weekend. As in order to open the ride, they have to have the ride inspected by the state ride inspectors. Additionally, they would have to have hired a crew to run the ride once the park opens. So while the park may not know what future action they are going to take with the ride, I think it is logical to deduce at this point in time, that no news equates to the ride likely not opening with the park. It may remain standing but not operating for now. Especially barring the outcome of the vote next week and any events that happen thereafter.

Yes, that is possible. However, the three point challenge has rather minimal maintenance costs, after the initial capital investment. Thunder Alley, requires licensing by the state, annual maintenance on the cars, not to mention the cost of the gas for the cars. While these costs may be insignificant in the grand scheme of things, they will eat into the profitability of the attraction. By comparison, the three point challenge just has the staffing costs, and the costs related to the prizes.

Honestly, I don`t think it will be that big of a deal. Yes, there is not as much magic associated with seeing a Snoopy character as compared to seeing a Spongebob character, or Dora the Explorer in person. There is not the cross connection of kids seeing a character on the television day in and day out, and then seeing it in person at Kings Island. But one needs to look no farther than Coney Island to realize that children`s areas need not be themed to pop culture to be successful. Before Taft bought out Coney Island in the spring of 1969, the children`s area was dubbed the Land of Oz. There was no cable television network to theme the rides to. Was it popular? Of course. Are the unthemed kiddy rides at Coney today popular? Absolutely. While there may not be some of the magic that was associated with the Nick characters, kids will undoubtedly continue to make lasting memories in Planet Snoopy. And parents will enjoy seeing their kids having the time of their life on the rides in kiddyland just as much as they did last year, and even before Nickelodeon took up residence in the park. Remember, I come from a generation that when I was riding the kiddy rides in the park, it was years before Nickelodeon even came into the park. I actually still remember the promotion in the park that was touting the addition of Nickelodeon Splat City in 1995. And that was when I was 9 years old! I still have fond memories of riding many of the rides including the bumper cars, and the kiddy whip.

Yes they must make money off of it. However, on several instances this past Halloween Haunt, it was closed on Friday nights when I visited. Granted Friday nights weren`t as busy crowd wise, and staffing could have been an issue, but it still seemed odd to have it closed. I think if the park were to add flat rides, the better currently available location would be the old site of Flight Commander, where the Eurobungy sits. That area of the park certainly could use some sprucing up and an anchor attractions. That midway through there, short of the exit for The Vortex, does not really see much foot traffic.

It still is ashame that the owners of Myrtle Beach Pavilion felt the need to redevelop that property. Unless something has changed since I last heard about it, the property is still waiting to see some redevelopment. Kind of sad, considering the property is right in the heart of downtown Myrtle Beach. At least Family Kingdom still is open and doing well to the south.

Still, it may be a little pricey for a family of four. But if you have the money, like you said it can be a great deal if you visit both the east and west coast parks.

Unless you read a different article, I don`t see where it says they hope to open the ride with the park. Instead, I see the following:

I actually believe that Ohio is one such state that is trying to make 911 tapes sealed and not open to the public. Many news outlets will file lawsuits against the states, or governments requesting this information. This is commonly referred to as the sunshine laws, as a way for the government to be transparent. At the heart of the issue is a family`s right to privacy versus the ability of governmental agencies to remain transparent. There have long been lawsuits and court battles associated with this type of thing, and they will surely continue for some time.

And at the time the Clipper operated, most amusement parks were still using a ticket based system. Which meant if people weren`t riding the rides, the park wasn`t generating revenue. So naturally if a ride was not popular, it would stand to reason that the park would have an impetus to reinvent the ride, in order to spark interest in it, and bring some revenue back to that ride. Keep in mind that back in the day, some amusement parks did not even own all their rides. They had some concessionaires that actually owned the rides, and both the concessionaires and the park split the revenues that the rides made. I guess the closest equivalent to that now a days are the fair companies that set up their rides at church or community festivals. They share some of their profits with the organization that contracted with them.

They also have their own Police Department. Even the University of Cincinnati has its own police force.

Now that would certainly making for some interesting situations if that were to pan out! But there would be a lot of ifs in there. I just don`t see that happening any time soon.

I would have concluded that had I pulled out my Coney Island book. But I have been immersed in car information and research the last couple of weeks as I look to purchase a new car here in the coming weeks. It is a very time consuming process!

The thing I found funny with their pass processing was the difference in height requirement between the Cedar Point pass and the Platinum Pass. For the Cedar Point pass, a junior pass is measured as a kid 48" or less when measured with their shoes ON. A Junior Platinum Pass is defined as 48" or less when measured in bare feet! Seems a little strange to me!

Wow thanks for sharing! So is this a book, or a binder full of pictures that he had taken? Its awesome to see a picture of such a fine vessel as the Island Queen. Do you know if this was the first or second incarnation of the Island Queen? There was a time when more than half of Coney`s visitors arrived via steamboat!

Holy quote! Talk about excessive use of the quote feature! I`m not sure I`ve ever seen that many quotes inside of quotes in one post before here on KIC, and I`ve been around these boards for quite some time now! And it is funny how some people end up having similar or identical names.

Well, sure. Anything can happen. Especially in pre-season, before the parks officially open, roll backs can and do happen. And not even on launched coasters! Sometimes with all the new grease and bearings and parts that were put into the trains during offseason maintenance, things take a couple of cycles to break in. Things usually run a little slower at first. And there can always be unexpected things such as power outages that could prevent a launched coaster from successfully achieving the desired launch speed. And there are some rides out there that are harder to evacuate in the event of a power failure, say an Eli Bridge cable driven Ferris Wheel. I speak from experience on that one, as I was once working Coney`s Ferris Wheel, when Coney lost power with the ride almost fully loaded (we were in the process of loading the twelfth car) several years back.