CoastersRZ

And with that, this topic is officially closed.

Well, Coastermania back in 2007 occurred on June 15th. Maybe with the way dates fall now, Coastermania happens a week later than it used to?

At its peak tonight, the line for Diamondback was around 25 minutes. It tapered off towards the end of the night to around five minutes. And a hint for those of you wanting to ride Flight of Fear/Firehawk. I didn`t get to the park tonight until around 7:30. I headed right for Flight of Fear and Firehawk (before Trail of Terror opened). And I walked on both of those rides, which does not happen often with Firehawk.

Yes. I got the same phone call on my cell phone. I`m not certain I gave them my cell number. I had my hopes up at first because I saw that the number was a non-513 area code and thought that it might be one of the firms I`ve been applying to calling me about a job. Unfortunately, it was just Kings Island, and not a firm calling about a potential job.

First ride I thought of was Afterburn at Carowinds. I love that thing. Unfortunately, it was closed when I visited Carowinds opening weekend this year. Personally, I wouldn`t mind Space Mountain from Disney World. I love that ride. Yes it may not be high on speed or thrills, but it is just a fun family ride!

Correct me if I`m wrong, but wasn`t Chang installed at Kentucky Kingdom before Six Flags (even the former ownership) owned the park? Chang opened in 1997, and Kentucky Kingdom was flagged in June of 1998. So technically the part about previous Six Flags management just plopping the ride down is some what misleading as it actually wasn`t Six Flags management that did that, but the prior owners before Six Flags initially bought the park. I`d have to wonder what exact plans Six Flags has for Kentucky Kingdom. Is it going to go the way of Geauga Lake and become strictly a water park? Or will it be kind of like Coney, with the water park and pools being the main draw, but still retaining some rides and coasters to pull in group sales and pass holders. Being only a couple hours away from Kings Island and Holiday World puts Kentucky Kingdom in kind of a weird spot. They can`t really compete with all the thrills that Kings Island has. Its clear that they are transitioning away from the thrills and focusing on the water park aspects. But do they really anticipating in competing with Holiday World on the water park front? I know that Holiday World does advertise in the Louisville area, and I just can`t see Six Flags developing a water park that out rivals Holiday World`s collection of signature water rides.

Actually Ryan, I believe that the water effect may be from a company called Aquatic Show International. They have a product titled Aqua Graphic that seems to more accurately depict the effect used in Hot Blooded. Here is a link to a video of the product on their website: http://www.aquatic-show.com/site/video-AquaGraphic-231.html

It was nice seeing you guys down at Coney! I`m glad you had fun! Coney was actually more crowded today than it was yesterday. And I actually was running the Ferris Wheel and Rock O Planes for a while today.

I highly doubt that Coney would even be interested in one of those old Arrow shuttle loops. Besides the ADA issues, those rides are really outdated. Now, I could see Greased Lightnin` being a good ride for Coney, because of the launch out of the station. However, I do not foresee Coney getting a ride like that anytime soon. Too cost prohibitive, and doesn`t exactly fit the Coney target market.

You only need to buy one admission ticket per pseron if you are visiting the park on Saturdays. It will give you access to Howl-O-Fest, Halloween Haunt and all the rides. Most of the rides in Nickelodeon Universe will close down around 6pm. Other than that, the majority of the rides will stay open until the park closes at 1am.

And I haven`t been to The Beach in more than a decade. But to my recollection, the water slides that The Beach bought have yet to be installed. Correct me if I`m wrong on that one.

Now that is a very cleverly worded post! Kudos! I`d venture to say, that the Intimidator coasters aren`t really a sponsorship agreement as much as they are a licensing agreement. Yes, they do tap the NASCAR theme, and are sport the Dale Earnhardt name and endorsement. But I just don`t see DEI (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) paying Cedar Fair to use their trademarks. Cash likely flowed in the other direction. But that is just my thoughts on that matter.

Yep, I second what Terpy just said. And those images of SFoG in that article remind me of images that I`ve seen of Coney Island. In fact, a lot of stuff at Coney gets packed onto semi trailers at the end of the season, just in case there is a flood. In the event of a flood, those trailers are quickly trucked out to higher ground. I know because I have been helping winterize Sunlite Pool for the year this week and last week. A lot of what I`ve been doing is packing stuff up onto trailers, or moving things to higher ground/tying things up in case of a flood.

Sponsorships would not necessarily mean lower food prices. Also, keep in mind that most major attractions at Disney World are in fact sponsored by corporations. One that I can think of off the top of my head is Test Track at EPCOT, which is sponsored by GM. I also believe that Spaceship Earth is currently sponsored by Siemens. Disney uses these corporate sponsorships of attractions to help foot the initial capital investment of these attractions, since many of them are so capital heavy. I could see Cedar Fair trying a similar approach on new attraction installs over the years. But it would not be on the same scale as at Disney. For starters, the attractions at Disney World can cost millions more than attractions at seasonal amusement parks. Secondly, like the GM sponsorship, there is generally some advantage for GM having the sponsorship. In the case of Test Track, GM gets a show room in the exit area to show off their latest cars. (I do believe that there has been some news lately about whether or not GM is going to renew the sponsorship of Test Track given GMs bankruptcy proceedings.)

Well, technically that picture is a little outdated. The Giant Slide is not located in the bottom most portion of that red box you drew in, right across from the Tilt A Whirl.

There is not as much room as you think there is between Lake Como and Moonlite Gardens. The clearing below Moonlite Gardens is actually the place where wedding ceremonies are held (with the reception following in the main portion of Moonlite Gardens). While there is room between the paved patio area and the parking lot, there is no access to that clearing from the main midway. There is also not enough room for an Enterprise between Lake Como and the midway, next to the Scrambler. One last thing to note in that image. There is actually a gravel path that extends to the back side of Moonlite Gardens that connects with the parking lot. It is used to load stuff into Moonlite, as well as by employees on their way out to the employee lot adjacent to Gate 1. Finally, a wooden coaster will not be built in the location you suggested (adjacent to Riverbend), because of noise. With PNC Pavilion so close to the Python, we already had to close the Python down early (sometimes as early as 7pm) for concerts in PNC Pavilion, because the noise from the coaster travels into the Pavilion. Finally, keep in mind that the map is not an accurate representation of scale.

Well, technically not ALL the brakes are magnetic. Their are pneumatic fin brakes in the station and brake run leading into the station. But all the trim brakes (first drop, brake shed, descent on the helix, and the approach to the brake run in the station) are indeed magnetic brakes. Sorry Terpy, I couldn`t resist.

Yes, you will get the Platinum renewal discount ($145 versus $150). But you will not get the special gold discount which is valid only on those select days, as it applies to only those renewing gold season passes, not platinum. Feel free to correct me if I`m incorrect on this.

Well, Intimidator 305 isn`t using the standard Intamin track that they have used for years on rides like Millennium Force and Maverick. Does that mean you will not like the ride simply because it is using a new type of track construction? It certainly is a unique twist to the dueling coaster concept to have an inverted and a sit down coaster. I believe that there was once a coaster in Japan (made by Togo) that was a racing coaster that actually had a stand up along side a sit down coaster. I`m sure the ride will be a hit among the general public that visits the park, Vekoma or not. And having ridden the Carolina Cobra at Carowinds, I must say that if this new coaster utilizes their new restraint system, the ride has a chance to be a world class ride!

I`m not entirely sure what happened to all of those houses. I know that two of them have reappeared in front of the Python for Fall-O-Ween.

Charles R. Flatt, of Anderson Township, died Sunday at the age of 90 after battling mantle cell lymphoma. Charles Flatt was manager of Sunlite Pool at Coney Island from 1946 until 1970. After 1970, he coordinated the construction of Kings Island and Kings Dominion for Taft Broadcasting. He retired in 1984. Even at the age of 90, he was still an avid Sunlite Pool visitor and swimmer. He often wore a Sunlite pool shirt with this wonderful quote: "You don`t stop playing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop playing."

Yes, what do you mean by that? Could you please elaborate on what sprucing up you are talking about? A lot of the rides this year received some sprucing up. Super Round Up, Boats and Trains, Scrambler, Tilt A Whirl all received new lights this year. Additionally Trabant was painted for this season.

Well, in the case of that particular ride, its real estate was used to build the Festhaus. Speaking of the Festhaus, I`m really glad that Cedar Fair has brought back the live shows in there. After all, the building was designed for live shows.

Its amazing how the orchestral music made the atmosphere of International Street feel so different from the rest of the park. It really made it feel like you were entering the gates of Kings Island and leaving the realities of your everyday life at your car in the parking lot. With the same music playing on International Street as in the rest of the park, it makes arriving at the park seem "less special" if that makes any sense. Together with the fountains, the music provided a wonderful setting for making memories. Its just not the same (I guess I would say it lacks some of the charm for lack of a better term) as it once was.

Well for me, the coaster I have ridden the most is hands down The Beast. Since 2000, I have ridden it 613 times. And probably a hundred or two prior to 2000. It is the first big ride that I rode when I was over coming my coaster phobia. That was back in October of 1995. Ever since that ride, I was caught hook, line and sinker! Little did I know at the time of that first ride on The Beast how much it would impact my life: -I have spent countless hours and days at Kings Island. -My thesis project at UC involved entertainment architecture and an indoor water park resort. -I have spent eight years working at Coney Island, running the rides (and now as a rides manager in charge of the people running the rides). -I have become an avid history buff to both Kings Island`s and Coney`s histories.