CoastersRZ

Actually, I finished with an A for my thesis project. At the school Awards Ceremony the day before commencement, I received the AIA Henry Adams Medal for Highest Academic Achievement. In other words, I had the highest GPA (3.945 in grad school) out of all 54 people that received their Masters of Architecture degrees from UC this year.

Yes, I had a picture of you (from KIC day right before we got the behind the scenes tour of Club Blood last year). And actually the juggler in many of those pictures is actually my cousin from when she was juggling at Coney for Balloon Glow a couple years ago! And, a trick that I used to do in art class in high school I did with this project. It is similar to the hidden Mickeys at the Disney parks. My initials are hidden in four places (in three images). Can you find them?

“King of Hearts Water Park” as seen from atop the Royal Flush Slide. The wave pool is visible, as is the main entrance to Joker`s Wild! The blue Speed Slide is located on the actual Bicycle water tower. Another view of the water park showing the many water slides. A final view of the King of Hearts Water Park shows the water tower and the water slide that launches from it. This image also shows the main façade of Joker`s Wild! Indoor Water Park. This view shows in more detail the entrance to the indoor water park. A street café is located at left. Upon entering Joker`s Wild! Indoor Water Park, this is the view that you are greeted with. The Racing Aces slide serves as the terminus for the Park Avenue Axis. The wave pool is located off to the left. The lazy river encircles the raise island that is seen in the foreground. The green water slide on the left is the water coaster. Standing next to the Activity Pool, you can get a sense of the industrial motif of the indoor water park, which ties into the history of manufacturing in Norwood and the Cincinnati region. The building on the left is the German Acorn Bar & Grill, themed to German playing cards, in which the acorn is one of the four suits of cards. Here is a link to the brochure for “Queen City Commons” and the water parks. (11.45mb PDF file). Well, that concludes the actual trip report portion of my post. Finally, some closing remarks about my thesis. The design images which you see above are only a part of my thesis project. My written thesis document was the other part of my thesis project. It is entitled “Entertainment Architecture: Contextually Integrated Water Park Resort in Norwood, Ohio.” The finished document ended up being 80+ pages long. If you are interested in reading my thesis document, you can read it here. (It is a 26.36mb PDF file). As you can tell, this was a very complex and time intensive project. I had a lot of fun working on it, and my seven studio mates and my two thesis chair professors had a lot of fun giving me critiques on it. This project was the reason why I would sometimes seem to drop off the face of the earth on KIC when I was under a tight deadline (before I plotted my final presentation, I averaged about four hours of sleep a night for seven straight days to ensure I finished all of the renderings shown above!). And to quote Walt Disney, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” I never thought that I would actually design an indoor water park resort for my thesis project. And I was able to work on some very awesome projects on co-op job from last summer that are related to the amusement park industry (I won`t divulge the specifics, but needless to say I have seen the finished products already). So I truly believe in the quote from Walter Elias Disney. I hope you enjoyed this trip report/my thesis.

So I know that I promised a trip report of Queen City Commons and Joker`s Wild Indoor Water Park a while ago. I have been distracted by working LONG hours at Coney so far since graduating June 12th. For those of you who do not know, I graduated from the #2 ranked graduate Architecture program in the country (The College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, which is commonly referred to as DAAP, at the University of Cincinnati). The program is ranked behind only Harvard according to the 2009 Design Intelligence rankings. This trip report details my final thesis project, which was developed over a nine month period (September 2008-June 2009). The actual research for my written document began in earnest in March of 2008, and continued through September of 2009 (including a trip down to Disney World last September, where I was able to meet an Imagineer at EPCOT, thanks to my second chair thesis professor!). Keep in mind that this project is my design work and does not reflect any actual plans for the site or intended uses for the site in the future. And now, on with the trip report. Driving along Interstate 71 in Norwood, I received my first glimpse of my ultimate destination: "Queen City Commons" and the "Joker`s Wild Indoor Water Park." The 21 acre mixed use development is located on the former site of the U.S. Playing Card Company (which had occupied the site since 1908, and will be moving to Northern Kentucky later this year). A close up of the elaborate signage that faces Interstate 71. Once off the highway, I was greeted with the main entrance to the "House of Cards Hotel and Conference Center" which is located at the end of the Park Avenue in Norwood, just south of the Norwood Lateral. The main hotel lobby is located in the original building that was designed by Cincinnati architect Samuel Hannaford. Approaching the underground parking garage, I was able to see the connection between the original building and the new Damon wing of the hotel, which also contains the drop off area and entrance for the conference center. Upon parking my car in the underground parking garage (which is located below the entire development), I entered the main hotel atrium. The playing card theme is evident in the various banners that are hanging in the atrium space. A curving grand stair case links the four levels of the hotel. The check in desk is located at the far right. In the middle right, there is an animatronic display featuring playing car characters and the resort`s mascots. Progressing into the hotel even farther, I pass by a restaurant that is located within the atrium space. Continuing, I pass the Jack of Diamonds bar. Upon exiting the eastern side of the hotel atrium, I encounter my first glimpse of the "King of Hearts Water Park." This is the outdoor water park located within the "Queen City Commons" development and admission is free for the general public. To the left of the pedestrian street is the Hearts wing of the hotel. There are street cafes and retail establishments along this street. Before exploring the outdoor and indoor water parks, I decided to explore the overall development because of all the entertainment options that are offered. The entire site is based off of a Cincinnati allegory. Interstate 71 is the thoroughfare at the right in the diagram. Those familiar with Norwood will recognize the open space in the lower left as Dorl Field. The town square alludes to the Central Business District. When I was there, the town square was a hub of activity. There is a fountain show which is synchronized to various musical tunes. Additionally, there were jugglers and liver entertainers on the square. In addition, street cars traverse the entire 21 acre development and have stops right on the square. This view is actually from one of the restaurants in the Mt. Adams building that overlooks the square. On the left is the miniature Ohio River. Another view of the town square with all the activities. To the right of the Bicycle water tower (which is one of the two existing elements that I kept in my design) is the entrance to "Joker`s Wild Indoor Water Park." Note:I spent most of my design time focusing on the hotel, indoor water park and the sequencing of spaces along the Park Avenue axis. That is why the buildings on the southern portion of the site do not have detailed facades other than simple massing. Numerous bridges cross over the river. The river contains a river walk and passenger boats. Upon boarding the passenger boats, the captain of the boat informed us of the rich history of river travel in Cincinnati. In fact, we were informed that there were numerous steam boat building yards in the East End of Cincinnati. There was a small fee to board the boats, but the experience was well worth it. The building at right is actually an AMC movie theater. The Riverside Cafe is located right along the river, and underneath a couple of the water slides. A view along the river, showing the facade of "Joker`s Wild!" Approaching the entrance to the indoor water park from the town square, I was greeted with this view. The view of the Clubs guest room wing.

Yep. I remember when I caught your rare factual error in your post.

Funny part is when I went to fix this it was correct? Who knows! I fixed the typo in the topic title for you. No, it didn`t fix itself, I caught it and corrected it!

Speaking of traditions, the 74th annual Norwood day at Coney Island happens tomorrow! Unfortunately, it looks as if the weather is not going to cooperate! But I will be there all day working a double, rain or shine!

Closed. Use the linked thread for all discussion on this subject.

Just as long as we get some advanced notice that a ride is leaving. Unlike when King Cobra was removed, and its removal was not announced until the beginning of the 2002 season. There was no chance for those wanting to ride it one last time to do so...

Well, I know in the past that P&G has had two days for their private event in September. These companies likely pay Kings Island more money than other companies, like Dollar General, for the privilege to have the park open only to their employees and their families and not the general public and all the pass holders. These companies pay for that exclusiveness. That being said, companies such as Dollar General, will still utilize group sales to have company outings at Kings Island. These events typically will be on Saturdays because that is when the employees are off of work. Not all these companies are willing or want to pay to rent out the entire park. Regardless, they are still spending money at the park, which is a great thing as it means the park is making money. For example, I worked at Coney today, and we had a TON of company picnics today. The line for the Ferris Wheel was about a three cycle wait (which made the wait time close to 25-30 minutes). There were relatively few pass holders at the park today. While it was less than an ideal day to visit the park if you were a pass holder hoping to ride some rides, if your company picnic was at the park, you would enjoy your fun filled day at the park. As an employee, it was nice seeing the park that busy, because that meant that the park was making a lot of money. After all, group sales is a big money maker at Coney (with the rides being a key attraction to selling group sales). One reason that the rides at Coney were likely so busy today too, is that the cool temperatures likely kept some of the people with the group picnics from spending their time at the pool, and instead were riding the rides. I understand your complaint and gripe about the park being busy. But it is after all a Saturday in the peak season. A busy park is better in the long run than an empty park, as Interpreter pointed out with the Geauga example.

I have made two recent trips to Dollywood. I had never made a visit to Dollywood until last December when I went on a trip with Cory Butcher down there for their Smoky Mountain Christmas festival. I made another return trip down there for their opening weekend back at the end of March. The park is an awesome park. Granted the single day admission price is a little steep. But $55 is not that terrible, and well worth the cost in my opinion. The live shows that Dollywood has are worth the cost of admission alone. I haven`t seen the new stage production that debuted this year (Sha-Kon-O-Hey) which features songs written by Dolly herself. The main live shows at Dollywood typically last forty five minutes and are incredible. There are some high quality rides there too. Tennessee Tornado is an excellent steel coaster from Arrow. And there is also the unique Mystery Mine. But one of the highlights from my trips to Dollywood was Thunderhead, a GCI wooden coaster. Also don`t pass up the unique and "Disneyesque" Blazing Fury ride. Here is my PTR from opening weekend of Dollywood. I did not take my camera with me to Dollywood (I did for Carowinds, which was day two of our short park trip) as it rained most of the day at Dollywood. Here is my PTR from Dollywood at the end of December. This PTR shows some of the rides as well as some of the Christmas shows that Dollywood puts on. If you have the money and the availability to do so, I`d recommend buying a season pass for a few dollars more. That way you could visit on your trip, and go back in December to experience Smokey Mountain Christmas (and yes the roller coasters do operate if the temperature stays above a minimum temperature (I believe it was 35 or 40)). So in summation, yes, I believe that $55 is worth a visit to Dollywood. I hope my PTRs help you see what a wonderful park that Dollywood is.

Yes, I can attest to the fact that it was a rather busy day for rides (especially for a Friday). The day was at times very stressful, but the time passed by really quickly.

Jesse, I am glad that you and your family had a fun time at Coney on the 3rd of July. It was nice seeing you, even if I didn`t have a chance to meet up with you. You`ll have to come back sometime when its not as busy when I can actually meet up and ride some rides with you! July 3rd is always a fun, but very busy day at Coney. I have to admit, that I was not needed immediately for late shift on the 3rd (and actually rode several rides with fellow coworkers who were also off for late shift). But I did stick around and helped cut lines at closing time, and then helped clean the park after the crowds had left. My car was stuck in the throngs of people attempting to leave Gate 1. I didn`t clock out until 11:19! And some of us rides employees were treated to a night ride on Round Up at 11:50 at night, a very nice way to end a long day at Coney. And I still had to wait for some cars when I left at midnight. As always, your photo trip reports are remarkable! Sorry for not having seen this thread sooner. I have been working a TON of hours at Coney so far. In fact, my last day off was Tuesday, June 30th, and I`m on tap to record 60 hours this week, after weeks of 59 and 53 hours!

Yep. It is known now as Moonlite Pavilion, and is located immediately adjacent to Round Up and Trabant as well as the Administration Building.

I`m glad you had fun Jesse! I would have met up with you (I was off for part of the evening), but needless to say the park was pretty crazy! I ended up not leaving the park until close to midnight (helped clean up the park after the crowds filtered out). And now, I`m set to leave for another 11 hour day at the park, weather permitting.

I can assure you that there is nothing wrong with Tempest. The ride reopened in time for July 3rd and balloon glow. Props go to Coney`s maintenance team for getting the ride ready. They worked long hours this past week to get it ready for July 3rd, which is one of the busiest days of the season at Coney. When I rode it in the late afternoon, the ride was almost completely loaded. The ride does need to be balanced (loading people in certain cars in equal numbers) to prevent the chains from breaking. And on the subject of spinning. That too depends on where people sit in a car and how the weight is distributed. The ride I had on the Tempest was pretty intense and featured a lot of spinning.

Topic bump. For those interested, this event will take place THIS Friday, July 3rd. The weather looks to be splendid this year for it (last year it was raining on and off on the 3rd).

Um. There is no "block brake" on the lift hill. If the train ahead of the one on the lift has not cleared the mid course brake run, then the lift will stop. No brake needed as the train is not being propelled by its own kinetic and potential energy yet. It is still relying on the chain lift to move. Chain stops, train stops. No need for a brake. The slight hesitation you feel might simply be the chain slowing down a little bit as the train crests the hill. Not unlike what happens on the lift hills of The Beast.

Notice in the picture of the fountain from the Eiffel Tower the white rocks and bushes that were planted along side the fountain. That landscaping was later replaced with the more mundane and easier to maintain grass. Thanks for sharing those pictures! 1994 is right around the time that I was really beginning to get into roller coasters. I believe it was that year that I first rode Top Gun, and made my first trip to Cedar Point. I wouldn`t ride The Beast until October of 1995.

I`m glad you had a fun visit down to Carowinds! I agree that Afterburn is a great B&M inverted coaster. I was saddened when it and Vortex were closed when I went down to Carowinds on Sunday of opening weekend this year. But, I`ve ridden the ride back when it was Top Gun: The Jet Coaster in 2001 and 2003. Hands down a fun ride from start to finish. Yes, the new trains and restraints on Carolina Cobra make for a very comfortable ride experience. I still think its sad that the unique Flying Super Saturator was removed for this ride, but I think that this ride likely has a higher capacity than what the FSS had. Ah yes, Danny Phantom Flyers. This ride was the highlight of my trip back in March since Afterburn was down. Its still sad that this ride left Kings Island. Too bad KI can`t get a new set somewhere in Coney Mall. They would be an instant hit again.

The Tempest was never at KI. Americana/LeSourdsville Lake, yes.

There is another Americana ride operating at Coney Island. The Rock O Planes came from Americana! And, the Tilt-A-Whirl came from neighboring Fantasy Farm. Tempest is undergoing some major repair work (obviously, since the ride is almost completely disassembled right now). It will be operating again soon. There is a chance it may even be open by the Fourth of July.

As much as I hate to admit it, I have not ridden a water slide or had my swim suit on at Kings Island and Boomerang Bay since the season pass preview back in 2004! Which is a little sad, considering that my thesis was focused on water parks (albeit the indoor variety in particular). I however, did make several trips around Boomerang Bay last year and this year. I must say that the landscaping over in Boomerang Bay is impeccable! Too bad the same level doesn`t appear to show through as much in the main park. When I went down to Disney World last year, I visited both of their water parks. Talk about fantastic water parks! Worried about walking on hot pavement/concrete? Never fear, Disney has fountains that spray on the walk ways, so the paths are wet and cool for those bare feet. And the theming is simply amazing. Of the two Disney water parks, I preferred Blizzard Beach. The layout at Typhoon Lagoon just seemed a little awkward. My sister and I were there in September, so it wasn`t peak season, so the water parks were fairly empty when we went. Well worth the visit, in my opinion.

Well, it is far from a given that casinos (or even slot machines) will be added to Riverdowns, and its future remains uncertain. Buying additional land is expensive, not to mention the fact that there are some residences across the street from the park. Also, the topography there is rather challenging. Coney does own two parcels on the north side of Kellogg on either side of Sutton, right where the main parking entrance is to the park. Those lots are used for overflow parking (they will be used for July 3rd) as well as for some Riverbend concerts that are sold out.

Well, I think they will be opening the 100th anniversary time capsule that is in front of Moonlite Gardens on the 125th birthday.