CoastersRZ

Am I interpreting your post right? You want Wild Thornberrys River Adventure to be torn down? Why would you want that? That ride is a great family ride. Not to mention a classic ride that actually outdates Kings Island by a few years. Yep. It opened in 1968 at Coney Island, and was situated alongside the Shooting Star.

It definitely is being repainted. I couldn`t tell when I check earlier, because there was a glare coming off the track. I think if KI`s gets a similar color, as you noted, it will likely blend in well with the Rivertown theme and makeover it got last year. The question will be, are they going to repaint the log flum building as well? I sure would enjoy some pictures from KI...

Don`t read too much into that. As was stated previously, the park maps for all the parks on the planetsnoopy website are from 2009. Ie, both Carowinds and Kings Dominion`s maps do not have their respective Intimidator coasters on them.

Well, before we return to the regularly scheduled topic, I`d like to add a couple of points. First, both season pass sales and group sales make up a large portion of Coney`s business (both of which are up significantly so far this year compared to last year, even without any new attraction coming in 2010). And most of those people are attracted by Sunlite Pool. The rides are a nice addition, but they themselves are not the draw at Coney. That being said, there are many rides at Coney that simply can`t be found in most "corporate" amusement parks. Rides like The Tempest, Bumper Boats, and the Giant Slide. And Mr. Siebert is not the only person that once worked at Americana/LeSourdsville Lake. There are several members of Coney`s full time staff that moved down to Coney when they sold off LeSourdsville Lake. Which, I have heard some people that came from LeSourdsville Lake say that they now wish they hadn`t sold the park, as that area is just booming. And, incidentally, Jeff Siebert himself made a visit to Coney Island this past summer with his family, on vacation from his job at Schlitterbahn. He met up with one of the full timers who he used to work with at LeSourdsville Lake. (I know all that because I was working the ticket booth that day and sold him the rides bracelets, and contacted my manager at the time to contact the full time staff member). Back to the regular topic. It really would not surprised me if they simply didn`t use the Action FX Theater at KI because of its off the beaten path location. At other parks, that is not the case. But because that end of Coney Mall is just kind of dead, there isn`t anything other than the restroom, the sometimes open EuroBungy and The Vortex exit to attract people to that ride.

The white color that was reportedly seen on Carowinds` Reptar likely was primer. I know that Kings Island`s Runaway Reptar has been showing signs of needing a paint job, as the green was noticeable starting to fade. I wonder if this new Pretzel shop will be located in the corner food stand, right where Octoberfest branches off of International Street (the stand that is surrounded by the Emporium shop).

Remember, that Animal Kingdom does not stay open as late as the other parks. At times, they close at 5pm, because the park featured animals. I know at certain times of the year they close at 7, but they are rarely open past dark. And yes, those two shows at Animal Kingdom are amazing! No visit to EPCOT? While it isn`t high on thrill rides, there are still several things that your kids will enjoy. In the Seas Pavilion there is the Nemo ride, in which you ride in people movers similar to Phantom Theater/Scooby Doo cars. You ride past scenes with real fish from the aquarium, and also see the stars of Finding Nemo throughout the ride. There is also Turtle Talk with crush, where kids can interact with Crush from Finding Nemo. Yes, your kids maybe a little too young to fully appreciate World Showcase, but there are still some rides that they may enjoy like Maelstrom, and the American Experience. I don`t know how long you plan to visit, or what you intend on seeing and doing, but Walt Disney World also has two top notch water parks, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Of the two, I preferred Blizzard Beach on my recent visit back in September of 2008. That trip to Disney World was actually "research" for my thesis project! Remember, if you stay on property at Disney, you have access to Disney transportation buses, which will take you to all the parks, water parks and Downtown Disney. This also alleviates the need to pay parking fees at the parks. Some of the value resorts (the All Star Sports, Music and Pop Century) are comparable in price to hotels on International Boulevard. And if you are flying into the Orlando International Airport and staying on property, Disney will even take you from the airport to your hotel and will deliver your bags to your room! No need to pick them up at the hotel! I used this service on my trip, and it certainly made getting from the airport to the hotel a breeze!

I thought exactly the same thing when I saw that building in the background of the Jurassic park sign. Somebody clearly didn`t think about sight lines and views to the Hogwart`s castle from other areas of the park.

I see that the event this year is being held on May 29th. Typically this was held the weekend before Memorial Day weekend (which this year Memorial day falls on Monday, May 31st). In years past, this event was held before both Coney Island and Sunlite Pool officially opened for the year. This is important since the swimming portion of the triathalon takes place in Sunlite Pool. Naturally, there may be some logistical issues with the park being open that day, but since the triathalon starts early in the morning, it likely will not impact normal park operations. If memory serves me right, this will be about the fourth or fifth Tri for Joe that Coney has hosted. It is a great event, and generally well attended.

And then there are the rides like Coney has where you don`t whirl, twirl or flip. The Giant Slide does not involve any sort of spinning. Nor do the canoes and pedal boats (although your feet will go round and round if you are in the pedal boats). And by far the most intense ride at Coney can be the Rock o Planes, if you know how to really get them cars rocking. Just ask Gordon Bombay. He had the experience of riding with me in a car a few years ago. He had to take a nice long ride on a park bench after wards!

As others have stated, please direct all conversation on this subject in the other threads.

Yep. And even the kiddy rides at Coney have maximum height requirements which prevent parents from riding the rides with the kids. Airplanes, Helicopters, Racing Rockets, Turtle Parade and Boats and Trains all require that the riders be under 48" to ride. No adults permitted. But as Gator stated, there are many rides at Coney in which parents can ride with their smaller children. Scrambler, Tilt A Whirl, Trabant, Giant Slide and Flying Bobs simply require guests under 48" be accompanied by an adult. Some rides like the Ferris Wheel and Scream Machine permit kids between 36" and 48" to ride with an adult. I have not noticed any rides in Nick Universe having altered height requirements in recent years. That said, I do not spend a lot of time in Nick Universe/Planet Snoopy as I do not have kids.

I hope to be able to get down to Carowinds at some point this year to check out Intimidator and see how it compares to Diamondback. I still think that Diamondback`s setting and use of the existing topography will make it a superior ride to Initimidator.

And it is little known that back in the early part of the 1900s, there were many streetcar, and interurbans and railroad companies that operated in the Cincinnati area. Unfortunately, competition was fierce among them, and they often had overlapping infrastructure and no coherent system for transportation (ie each company had its own intentions in mind, not necessarily transporting people from the suburbs to the central business district). Many of these railroad companies went bankrupt in the 1920s and 1930s. There is a great website entitled Cincinnati Traction History which is ran by Jeffrey B. Jakucyk. Not only does he detail the history of many of these defunct rail companies, but he details what is left of the right of ways that they companies once owned. In some instances, there are still rails buried under pavement/graded right of ways where the tracks used to run. For example, over on the east side, about a mile west of Coney Island on Kellogg Avenue, a rail line used to service the Water Works treatment plant. The line actually crossed over Kellogg Avenue with a bridge supported by stone piers. Several of these piers can be seen on the northern edge of the road in the winter!

They did not use a car in the parks. See this article for more information on the first park in the United States to receive Street View, and find out exactly how they did it: http://www.lifthill.com/news/legoland-ca-captured-in-google-street-view/ And for a larger image of the "image capturing device" check out this article: http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/index.php/google-legoland-2-5136/

That awesome features is called Streetview. I actually saw the car that Google uses to capture the street view when I was on Cross County Highway near Interstate 71 back in the summer of 2008. It looked like some kind of storm chaser vehicle with all the cameras and camera mounts hanging off of it.

I cringed because the blog update stated "On the coaster itself, stair treds are being finished..." The correct way to spell the word is "tread." Yes, it is likely just a typo, but in this day and age when web browsers have a built in spell check, it is rather sad to see silly mistakes like that. But it can happen to even the best of us, even those of us on sound footing.

I tried finding the issue reported on the IPB website, but was unsuccessful in my search. Again, this is a question that needs to be addressed by Dane. I understand your frustrations with this issue, and hopefully Dane will be able to correct the problem as soon as possible.

The below image comes from Cincinnati Views. A great website with tons of historical Coney pictures and postcards found here, as well as lots of great historical pictures of the Cincinnati area. I highly recommend you check out the site if you get the chance. So yes, the turnpike actually went out into Lake Como. Most of the way, via a land bridge, but there was an actual bridge that allowed the canoes on the lake to pass under and have access to the entire lake. To give you some reference, the building next to the Turnpike Station is Lakeside Pavilion, which still stands today. It is now home to Coney`s three lives shows. The Ferris Wheel is now located in the grassy area just outside the station. River Runner is located approximately where the actual station building was located. The train station is located about where the Scrambler and Tempest are located today.

There are no bridges on Lake Como currently. The bridges that the train used to pass under the parking lot road NEXT to Lake Como are still there out by Gate 1 and the employee parking lot. (The corner of the lake at the extreme opposite side of the Ferris Wheel).

Very nice find! Thanks for sharing such a great video. Its always nice to see the history of Coney Island and such a classic attraction! Notice that the turnpike did NOT use a center rail like the Antique Cars at Kings Island. Instead, the track was bounded on both sides by a guard rail for the entire route.

Right now, Cedar Fair still owns Kings Island and all of the other parks. They have a tentative deal to be sold to Apollo Management for $11.50 per unit. The deal, which is recommended by the Board of Cedar Fair is contingent upon 2/3 of the unit holders approving the deal. Until, and if, that approval occurs, the parks will continue to be owned by Cedar Fair. Cedar Fair is also in a shopping window, per their agreement with Apollo. In short, that means that Cedar Fair is free to try and find another offer with another company that is better than the Apollo deal. Given that the unit price at the end of this week closed higher than $11.50, some have speculated that there is another company that may be interested in proposing a better offer than Apollo. Or, that Apollo may be increasing their offer, in order to ensure the unit holders approve the deal.

At Kings Island? I don`t remember any alien based movie in the Action Theater at KI, besides 7th Portal. Part of the issue with KI`s theater, is that they never upgraded it to a 4D experience like other parks did. Heck, even the Cincinnati Zoo has a 4d theater (and has played Spongebob 4d). The theater was built in 1994, and so technology has progressed incredibly in that time frame. I do agree that Spongebob was kept too long in the theater (and there was a stretch this summer when it wasn`t even in 3d). Part of the problem for the theater at KI is its placement. It is a far way down a dead end midway. The Action Theaters at Kings Dominion and Carowinds are located closer to the main midways where there is more foot traffic. And with the north side of Coney Mall by the theater being devoid of attractions, save for the sometimes open EuroBungy, there is nothing that generates a lot of foot traffic back to the theater, besides the popularity of the movie itself. Personally, I think it would be sad if it didn`t open in 2010. But I really wouldn`t miss it. I don`t even know if I rode Spongebob last year or not. I just had no desire to.

Well, for starters, you linked to a Wikipedia topic in which they do not even have an article on! Secondly, Wikipedia is not a very reliable source of information since it is open source, and anybody can edit it, regardless if the edited information is credible or not.

Read more from the Cincinnati Enquirer here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100108/NEWS01/1090330/Zoo+attendance+soars+in+2009 Well, they certainly seemed to buck the amusement park trend of soft attendance figures in 2009!

They do play carousel music at the Grand Carousel. Its just sometimes they do not have the volume turned up very high, so it is difficult to hear. Its not like when the band organ was there, and the music was clearly audible from the path behind the Eiffel Tower.