CoastersRZ

And it should be noted that the patch Ryan spoke of has been applied to the forums and will hopefully prevent such spam PM attacks in the future.

Yes, the Zoom flume was in operation from 1977 until the end of the 2008 season. Keep in mind that the Zoom Flume was built at a time when water parks were virtually non existent. The Beach didn`t open until 1984 and Kings Island`s Boomerang Bay (Water Works when it opened) did not open until 1989. While it may not have been the fastest water slide around, it still pleased park guests and was a popular attraction on warmer days. There are many that will deeply miss the ride, even with the new multi-million dollar Twister opening this year.

Some or all of you may have received yet another spam PM from a user named "muzrinkl" within the past half hour. Do not open the link in the PM and promptly delete the personal message. The member has already been banned. Sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused. As always, do not open messages or emails from sources or people you do not know or do not trust. Thanks, -Robbie

True that. I learned the hard way with that one when my computer died back in February. I had to restore it to the original factory settings. Luckily, my thesis stuff was backed up, but I lost some personal files and a project for another class. (I had the PDF file for that project, but not the original InDesign file that was used to create that file). I now back everything on my computer up on my external hard drive once a week, including email, just in case something like that happens again, at most I will have lost a week`s worth of data.

And, the second lift hill on The Beast is 141 feet tall, not exactly what most would consider low to the ground... You are after all above the tree tops.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/photo.ph...0525&ref=mf These pictures are supplied by Coney Island. The last pictures (picture 20) is the future splash pool. The steel for the ride just arrived at the park this week. I actually drove by the park on my way home from UC today, and they had already placed a considerable amount more of the steel. (That includes the steel for the slide platform where guests will actually board the slides).

And please note that Coney`s classic rides are NOT in operation that day. In the past, this is the weekend that Coney`s rides have opened for the year. I`m not sure if they will be open this year or not, but admission to the rides has not been included in the cost of admission to the festival in past years.

Safety restraints are there for a reason. They should be used in a proper manner, and be snuggly fitting to your body. After all, restraints are there to keep you safe during the ride. Leaving excess space between yourself and the safety restrain jeopardizes your safety, and in turn the reputation of the park, if something bad were to happen. Safety should be your top priority when riding amusement park rides, as they are after all, big pieces of machinery. That being said, there is a difference between the restraint being firmly secured and being stapled. Primarily, if you pull down the restraint until it reaches a slight resistance that is fine. (Ie, no two inch gaps between your thighs and the restraints). However, if a ride op pushes down on your lap bar as hard as possible and staples you in, effectively digging your cell phone into your thigh and cutting off circulation to your leg, that is too tight. I speak from experience when a ride op did that to me this year, and made my entire ride completely unenjoyable. Remember safety is of paramount importance. Having been a ride operator at an amusement park, I can attest to the fact that some people will try and circumvent safety measures (particularly rocking the seats on the ferris wheel, despite numerous verbal and written warning). Remember, that you as a rider have a responsibility to ride in a safe manner that will not contribute to injury or harm to yourself or others. (Yes, Ohio has rider responsibility laws governing such a thing).

Exactly. Whenever someone takes a picture of that sign, they will know that Diamondback is at Kings Island. It really is no different than when Paramount owned the park and they liked to plaster the PKI logo all over the place, including on the lead car of many of the coaster trains.

And don`t forget that opening day will also feature the debut of Marty`s Party and Down Home Country. Additionally, Parrots of the Caribbean will perform at the park on opening day! A little tidbit of trivia, but Jimmy Buffett used to play at Timberwolf before Riverben Music Center was built. It was at a concert at Kings Island that the phrase "Parrot head" was coined!

I`d say at least three days between the two parks. We were at Dollywood from 9:30 until about 7:15, which is a long day in the park. To follow that with a four hour drive to the hotel, followed by six hours at Carowinds the next day and an eight hour drive home makes for an exhausting two days. An extra day or two would certainly make the trip more enjoyable and not feel as rushed. I know. Only seven weeks until my final presentation, and nine weeks until DAAPWorks, the exhibit show open to the public containing the work of all the graduating students. Thins may not settle down until I find a full time job, however.

Smarties are my favorite candy, and I have loved eating them since I was in grade school. On any given day, I will eat a couple packs of those, whenever I get the munchies. However, this year (just like last year and the year before) I have given up Smarties for lent. Less than a week and I can eat them again!

Man! Sure are planning on hitting a lot of parks! For those who are local to the Cincinnati area and have not visited Coney before, it is a nice little park with several classic flat rides that are no longer found at most major amusement parks. And you can`t go wrong with rides admission of $11.95! (There are also after 4pm discounts, but the park closing hours for rides are slightly different this year compared to past years.

Why thank you Interpreter! Yes, I have operated the Ferris Wheel at Coney now for six seasons (I never operated it my first year at Coney). The last four years I have worked weekends only. You likely won`t see me at Sunlite much, as I am normally over on the dry side running rides. You may see my brother over there though, as he is a manager over there. Coney is a nice little park, with relatively cheap prices ($11.95 for rides all day, $11.95 for Sunlite Pool and $21.95 for a combo ticket). If you have never been there, it is a nice park, with many classic rides that can no longer be found in most major amusement parks (like pedal boats, bumper boats, canoes, a trabant, Super Round Up and Giant Slide).

Huh? I think the odds of the blind man hitting Cincinnati on a map are highly more variable and unpredictable than 50/50! I mean, it would be like the odds of predicting the winning lottery numbers. As a long time Reds fan, I have never once been to an opening day game! And the last six years, I have either been in school or at work during opening day! But it is a uniquely Cincinnati event. Other MLB teams and cities do not have such hoopla around opening day as what Cincinnati does. Part of that is because the Reds are the oldest professional baseball team.

Well, it may be sunny tomorrow, but I doubt that the Reds opening day will be that enjoyable with a high temperature not expected to reach above 40!

Little Bill`s Giggle Coaster opened in 1992 as Scooby Zoom. It was renamed Topcat`s Taxi Jam in 1998 when Hanna Barbera was renovated. It was renamed Little Bill`s Giggle Coaster in 2006 when Nickelodeon Universe took over Hanna Barbera Land. Also, the kiddy swings ride opened next to the bumper cars in 1992.

Well, Bavarian Beetle there is one ride that opened the year you were born. Yes, I am telling the truth! The Wild Thornberrys River Adventure opened in 1968 at Coney Island. It was then moved to Kings Island for its opening in 1972. For those of you that were around before KI, there is this timeline on Coney Island Central that goes all the way back to 1867 when James Parker purchased his apple orchard, which became Coney Island in June of 1886. Granted, that is not KI, but still somewhat interesting.

Yep. King Cobra was painted during 1998 for the 1999 debut of the new Action Zone (the same year that Top Gun lost its red track color). And King Cobra last operated in 2001, and was removed at the start of the 2002 season.

Especially with how many highways have been rebuilt and reconfigured over the years! GPS devices like Tomtom are nice, but they sometimes give directions a little too late, or get confused when roads have been altered or are under construction.

Yep. See my PTR from Dollywood last weekend! Cory and I arrived at Dollywood at 9:15am and didn`t ride our first ride (Tennessee Tornado) until around 3 or 3:15 because we were watching shows all day! And Dollywood positioned one of their food stands right on either side of about a twelve foot wide path, so that you have to walk by it to get to certain areas of the park. The smells from that place are enough to make anyone want to stop right there and buy some food! It truly is delicious smelling!

Yeah, but there is a chance for a dusting of snow on Tuesday! And as far as predicting the weather on opening day for Kings Island on April 18th, any forecast for that date at this point in time is like a blind man throwing a dart at a map of the United States and hoping his dart lands on Cincinnati. When I went to Dollywood and Carowinds last weekend with Cory, they were calling for 80% chance of rain all day on Satruday up to even that morning. By 1 or 2, it had stopped raining and the sun was out by 5! Sometimes, even with all these sophisticated computers and modeling programs, mother nature does her own thing that goes against what all the models are predicting.

The specifics of that will be announced soon. There will be a way to prove both of the things you asked, and will likely involve bringing some form of printout to the park when checking in.

Yes, and one big difference between Ride Warriors Coaster Weekend and Coastermania at Cedar Point is that Cedar Point has been holding Coastermania for many many years. The park knows how to run the event and what planning is necessary for a park run event. With KI and RW, it is their first park sponsored event, so there is a little more lead time in ironing out the final details to make sure the event goes off flawlessly. Rest assured, if Ride Warriors Coaster Weekend is anything like Coastermania, you will be very pleased with the event, and very very tired. I went to Coastermania in 2007. Nothing like being at CP riding Millennium Force at soon after sun rise, and not leaving the park until 12:30am with a night ride on Magnum! Talk about a LONG day at the park!

Well, if you have been on some of the other Arrow mine train coasters (Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Carolina Goldrusher) you could easily arrive at that impression. These older coasters lack some of the speed that Adventure Express has, and also have a lot more sections of straightaway track. Both of the above mentioned rides also have the old Arrow mine train restraints, ie the ride ops must lower the restraints for each car, and all the restraints in each car lower down together. When I was younger, my mom and aunt tricked me into riding it (this was like 1991 or 1992 when I was six or seven), by saying it was a train ride! I was terrified of coasters for several years after that. In fact, it was not until I rode The Beast in the fall of 1996 for the first time that I became hooked!