CoastersRZ

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And as was stated, if someone was actually injured on a ride because of an irresponsible rider, they would likely end up being charged for such an infraction. It is kind of akin to speeding. Does everyone on the road get a speeding ticket if they go a mile over the limit? No. Only if you get caught. And then sometimes you may only be given a warning. I know that I have seen cameras confiscated before when the rider had them out on a lift hill before. You can`t catch everything, and you certainly can`t take the time to remove everyone from the park that you catch doing that. Security has more important issues to concern themselves with than that. A stern warning, or a camera taken away should be enough to deter most people. Yes, it would be sad if someone who had been warned continued to do this and ultimately ended up injuring someone. But look at all the cases of repeat drunk drivers. Same thing applies there. You could be caught doing something illegal and punished for it, but it still doesn`t mean you won`t continue to do the illicit activity.

And Cedar Fair has now responded to Q Funding III`s stance on the acquisition with a press release of their own. http://www.cedarfair...ry&story_id=211 Essentially, the press release states that the proposed purchase price of $11.50 represents a premium over what the units had been trading at prior to the announcement of the deal. It makes no mention of the current price of the units. FUN closed today at $12.66, up 45 cents or 3.69%. Things are certainly starting to get very interesting.

As far as the interchange goes, the point of a re-design is to alleviate the two intersections that are within close proximity of each other. (Columbia Road and Kings Island Drive both intersect Western Row road within close proximity. The closeness of these two intersections often results in frequent back ups during rush hour. Especially since the employee entrance to KI is at the Columbia road intersection. Actually, ODOT is also looking at the design of the exit and entrance ramps there. They are also looking at redesigning the exit ramps at Mason Montgomery/Fields Ertel Road to the south of Kings Island, which also get backed up on almost a daily basis as well.

Not necessarily. You left out the one other option. Cedar Fair could find another suitor to offer a higher value through Monday. Will that happen? Who knows. Only time will tell. I think its fair to say at this point that both Apollo and Cedar Fair have NOT been doing a good job of persuading unit holders that this sale is the best option. Especially when, as noted, the current unit price is more than a dollar more than the offer price from Apollo.

For some reason, that first link takes you to a dead page (The requested page cannot be found). I believe that this is the article that you quoted and were trying to link to. I saw this happen to someone else`s link yesterday. http://www.earthtime...-fair-lp-holder,1132940.shtml It will be interesting to see what happens after Monday passes, since that is the last day the shopping period is. Have we heard a date by when the vote from unit holders is to begin and/or be concluded? And what percentage of the stock does the Knott`s family own? Correct me if I`m wrong, but wasn`t it around 7% of the outstanding units? So if they decide to vote against the acquisition along with this investment firm, that would account for nearly 16% of the outstanding units against the sale. And considering they need 2/3 for the sale, that is a pretty daunting early number, considering that it is almost half way to 1/3 already! But that also assumes that the Knott`s vote against and not in favor.

One but not both. And the article stated "probably," which does not guarantee that when the park reopens as LegoLand, that there will in fact be a wooden coaster still.

That last picture is in front of the present day Outer Hanks. It was taken from the current seating area that is in front of the building, looking towards where Viking Fury is. The T-Shirt stand would be down the path on the left hand side, with the restrooms at the entrance of Coney mall behind the photographer.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the existing rides. It would be a shame if the just relocated Starliner roller coaster was met with the wrecking ball after already being saved once.

Cedari Fair lawyer to seek dismissal of lawsuits against Apollo sale Read the article from the Sandusky Register here: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2010/01/21/front/1876014.txt Definitely a very interesting article and a must read. A quote from the article: And the quote that I found most interesting was this one, a quote from the attorney representing Cedar Fair: Correct me if I`m wrong, but should the board of directors of a company want to sell itself to the highest bidder? I mean, it would be in the best interest of their unit holders. But of course this is the whole basis of these lawsuits after all. The go shop period for a better offer ends on Monday. And it should be noted that Cedar Fair units closed today at $12.21, well above the offer price of $11.50 per unit.

For clarification, the article which you speak of was posted on August 6th, 2009. If you click on Kings Island on the right, it likely will be easier to find the article in question. Also, if you scroll to the two sections on The Beast, you can actually see the calculations that John Allen gave the park when they were planning The Beast. Very cool stuff indeed!

http://www.orlandose...a-park-20100121,0,1659229.story Try this and see if it works. Its to the article that I assume you were trying to link to.

In that one image of the Swing ride next to the Fairly Odd Coaster and First Aid building, it looked like they had applied primer to the top and bottom rails of the orange fencing. So I think its safe to assume that they will be painting all the orange fences another color.

I always love to see the inner workings of things. I love these pictures. It always amazes me that all the coaster trains are painstakingly taken apart and put back together every winter at Kings Island. After all, safety is of paramount importance at any amusement park. Some parks actually don`t do that type of maintenance in house, or every year for that matter. Some parks actually ship the trains back to the manufacturer every two years, and let the manufacturer do that type of maintenance. And I do not think that there is grease on the lap bars. Remember, that those orange lap bars tend to attract dirt, and often get dark spots where the dirt collects. Besides, the trains are still in the process of being put back together. They haven`t been given a once over and cleaned like I`m sure they will be before the first guests board them in April.

Glad to see that Reptar is getting painted. The green had begun to fade and look rather bad. Remember, the ride was installed in 2001, and had not been painted since it was installed. It will be interesting to see what the whole Planet Snoopy area looks like come April!

Well, technically Cedar Fair didn`t make any of the Vekoma Family Suspended Coasters, as they were already installed from Paramount`s days. Secondly, I don`t know what the color "read" looks like. I know what color red is, though. Just playing with you!

Well, there is always going to be a minimum level of staffing that they need to operate the park. For example, they are going to need to have at least the required minimum number of employees to staff the rides. The exact number of ride attendants is governed by a mix of things, not the least of which is state regulations, the manufacturer requirements (and the set up of the operating system for the ride in question), and the park`s insurance company. Yes, things like staffing for ecology (park services) and security can be adjusted in an attempt to save on labor costs. Even ride staffing can be adjusted to a certain extent, by not having an extra body checking restraints to speed up dispatch times, or by not opening that extra window at the food stand. The object is to find the right balance of minimizing operational costs, while maximizing profit and providing the guest with the most enjoyable experience. To answer your question, I don`t know what Carowind`s staffing has been in past years. I can offer you some insight into Coney`s rides department from last year. Prior to 2009, we typically had about 100 employees in the rides department, give or take. We would end up being short staffed towards the end of August as colleges and high schools started back up. And it had been that way since I started there in 2002. Last year, we had about 130 people in the department, and people were complaining about not getting enough hours at the peak of the regular season! (But by the time we approached the last weekends we were open, we were once again short staffed).

Yep. I speak from experience about enforcing park rules. I have kicked many people off of the Ferris Wheel for rocking the cars, after repeated warnings. Not only do the back of the cars say "Danger! Do Not Rock Seat" but after repeated verbal warnings you would think you would get the idea. I remember one guy got all mad at me and my co-worker because we kicked him off the ride and were yelling at him to stop rocking his car. He continued to do so after we told him to stop rocking, multiple times, so we kicked him off. Its a safety thing. I`ve even confiscated wristbands (akin to admission price at Coney), for people spitting and/or rocking the cars at Coney. Safety is of paramount importance, and riders doing stupid things can hurt other riders. That is why Ohio has the rider responsibility laws. One riders actions (say bringing a loose article, such as a camera, on a ride), can result in the injury of other riders if said article becomes a projectile during the course of the ride and strikes other riders. As Interpreter stated, if such a situation happens, the person who brought the loose article on board the ride can be charged under Ohio Law. And technically, they could be charged even if their is no injury. But as I indicated in my above example, sometimes getting kicked off the ride or kicked out of the park is the punishment for such an offense.

Also note, that this water slide will feature LED lights. Definitely a cool feature. Now if only GWL offered day passes during their off peak times, like the Kalahari in Sandusky does... Alas, that will not happen as they want their water park facility to remain exclusively for guests staying at the resort. And with one of these slides at Great Wolf Lodge, I would think the chance of KI ever getting one of these is very unlikely. Although, its about time that Boomerang Bay receives a new water slide or two.

In a one word answer: money.

That is a very informative website. I especially liked reading on the history of the engines. I did not know that Cedar Point and Disney World traded engines at the end of the 1990s. Thanks for sharing! I`ve always been fascinated with trains. I`m glad that Kings Island still has their train. Some parks like Kings Dominion and Carowinds removed their trains many many years ago.

Isn`t DC to the north and east of Richmond, Virginia? So why would someone coming from Cincinnati travel through DC to get to Kings Dominion? Granted, that may be the case for someone coming from northern Ohio, but I doubt that is the case for someone coming from south western Ohio. I mean, take 52 to Huntington, WV and then pick up I-64 to Richmond and take I-95 north to Doswell.

Especially since similar maps for Kings Dominion and Carowinds on their respective Planet Snoopy pages do not have their signature new additions for 2010 pictured. It is more about giving the average park guest an indication of where the area is located in the park.

I had noticed towards the end of last year they seemed to be doing some upgrades to the outdoor pool at the Great Wolf Lodge. Nice to see that they are investing in more slides for the resort.

The Cincinnati Museum Center, located in historic Union Terminal, had a record breaking year for attendance in 2009, eclipsing the previous high set in 1999. Read more here: http://www.wcpo.com/...PZkBJQIodw.cspx