CoastersRZ

Not to mention that it is still listed on Kings Island`s official website. For now just be excited that opening day for the park and Diamondback is less than two weeks away! And by the time opening day is here, I will have less than two months left in college!

Well, in their defense, sometimes they may not know about a defect unless they are told about it. The pedal boats at Coney are a prime example of that (as are the bumper boats). Sometimes the steering mechanism gets reversed (ie left actually turns right and right turns left) or it breaks all together. Often times we as ride ops only find out about this by guests telling us. Likewise, the same is true of bumper boats. Sometimes the throttles break and you can`t go faster than the normal idol speed. This is usually easier for us ride ops to spot than broken steering on the pedal boats. I`m not saying that the ride is or isn`t well maintained (its been several years since I last rode that attraction), but sometimes the park will simply not know something needs to be fixed until someone tells them about it.

Yes, I believe that all attendees MUST preregister. Hopefully it won`t be much longer before more information, including about registration, is available.

From KI`s website: You may, however, bring a guest, but that guest who is not a member of an approved coaster organization MUST pay FULL PRICE for Ride Warrior Coaster Weekend, even if they have a season pass. If she had an ACE membership, she could get in free. She would have to show her ACE card. And when I was a member of ACE several years back, it took them a long time to get me my membership card when I renewed, so if she is going to join ACE, I would do so sooner rather than later! Things might have changed since I was last a member back in 2007. I hope that helps answer your question.

Pavers are much more aesthetically pleasing than just plain asphalt and concrete paving. Not to mention most pavers are lighter in color than asphalt which means they do not create as much of a heat island effect. What that means is that the black color of the asphalt absorbs the heat and makes the temperature several degrees warmer than it actually is. Concrete and light color materials reflect light and do not absorb heat like asphalt and dark colored surfaces. As a result, pavers can produce a better and more enjoyable micro climate. But that is a lot more information than you likely wanted to know!

Yes. I`d actually say going by Scooby Doo`s Haunted Castle might be the quicker route. Remember, that Kings Island may very well have security escort people back to Diamondback once the park opens to avoid a stampede of people running to the ride. I know the park was under different ownership, but they did similar things for Flight of Fear and Backlot Stunt Coaster when those attractions were new. And yes, as stated in the park maps "Due to major ride popularity, it is necessary to close some queue lines before the park`s closing hour." I`m not sure if it still enforced, but Nighthawk at Carowinds even had a note on its sign saying that the park cut its line one hour before the park`s closing time. If you have a KI Gold or Platinum Pass you will be able to partake in early ride times on Diamondback beginning Friday April 24.

That first paragraph offers a broad generalization that is not necessarily true of the regional amusement parks. Both Six Flags and Cedar Fair reported increases in attendance last year, while the destination parks in California and Florida did see their attendance dip as more people stayed closer to home for their vacations.

Last time I checked, the Python was still sponsored by Pepsi. (At least it was last year). I don`t know if that has changed this year but see no reason why it would have. If it has, I will let you know as soon as I know.

I`d like to remind everyone what Ryan stated yesterday:

There is already a topic on this. No need to create another topic on it! If you read the first post in that thread (see link below) you will see that it sufficiently covers your topic. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?...;hl=photo+shops Topic closed.

Well, I can`t really speculate on that. That would be like asking "So when will the Reds win their next World Series and who will be on the roster." I think it is safe to say that no coasters will be added to Coney in the foreseeable future. Especially with Coney investing a large amount of money ($2 million into projects this year, including the $1.8 million Twister water slide). Not to mention that Coney added three new attractions the previous year (River Runner, Turtle Parade and Eurobungy Dome) and the year prior to that they added the Rock O Plane from LeSourdsville Lake. It all really depends on how successful of a year Coney has, given the current economy. And the rides at Coney are NOT the primary draw or money maker for the park.

Because they likely intended to make the announcement in a couple of days. But when planning a two day event of this size, unexpected problems can arise during the planning stage. The time to resolve these unexpected problems could not be immediately clear. When the blog entry was created, Don could not have foreseen the unexpected delay. Rest assured that the information will be disseminated on here when the official details are released.

Mr. Eagle Eyes, you may in fact be correct. It certainly looks like that building is no longer there. As an aside, imageshack is taking a long time to load your images. At least for me here at UC anyway. Those supports are the same navy blue color that they were last season. Because of the cloudy dreary day and the low resolution of the webcam, they appear to be black. I actually remember seeing a film in the Cinema 180 theater. You actually sat on the floor.

Well, things take time. But things will be finalized soon. They have to be since May 9th and 10th is just over a month away from now.

Well, Cedar Fair is looking to sell off some assets so that it can remain a viable company moving forward. And the fact that Cedar Fair does not own the land that Great America sits on is a further reason why the sale of Great America would make sense. Cedar Fair has a long term lease for the land, that it inherited when it bought Paramount Parks. In 1985, the Marriott Corporation was looking to sell both of its Great America parks in California and the one in Chicago (which is now owned by Six Flags). The California park was sold to the City of Santa Clara Redevelopment Agency. The 118 acres of land was sold for $72.5 million with another $16 million for the rides, buildings and equipment. The city then entered into a management contract with KECO for five years with an option for KECO to purchase the park at the end of the contract. In 1989, KECO exercised its option to buy Great America`s business assets (buildings, rides and equipment) from the Santa Clara's Redevelopment Agency for approximately $25 million. Also, KECO then entered into a 50 year land-lease with the city`s redevelopment agency. The above is just a little of the back story on how Great America became a part of KECO, and later Paramount Parks and Cedar Fair. I`m not sure how much money Great America makes in revenue, but have heard that it is a weak performer. Not to mention that the park is land locked.

Yes, in the past they have shut down the coasters if there is rain in the area. If the rain is expected to be a prolonged period of rain, they will often take all but one train off onto the storage tracks. That results in one train operation during the rain, but that beats having the coaster completely closed. I`m not sure if that will be the policy again this year. It seems to change from time to time, and even month to month.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything comes of these talks in the next two weeks. Will Great America still be owned by Cedar Fair? Or will the 49ers purchase the park from them? Will the 49ers continue to operate the park as an amusement park? Who knows. If Cedar Fair sheds that property, and receives some monetary compensation, they will be able to pay down some of their debt. Which is one of their main objectives with the announcement last month that they may sell Great America, Valleyfair and Worlds of Fun in order to reduce their debt levels.

Right, obviously some sort of extension would be required. I really liked all the banners that Carowinds had. It added a lot of festiveness and energy to the park.

Need I remind the younger posters on here about King Cobra`s line. You passed immediately under the lift and right next to the lift motor (which was separated from the line by a tall fence (ie like nine feet tall). So passing right by the lift motor is not something new to Kings Island. But since King Cobra last operated in 2001, it will be eight years since the ride ran at the park. I really like the light fixtures that they have put up. They look modern, but yet also have a touch of nostalgia that reflects the old gas lamps that used to light the area. I wonder if the two little stubs on the lamp posts (seen in this picture) will be used to hang banners, similar to what can be found on light posts at Carowinds as seen in the picture below.

Remember that Sunlite Pool is still chilling visitors to Coney Island. And this year it will be home to the new multi-million dollar water slide, The Twister which is currently under construction. Both Sunlite Pool, the Twister and Coney`s classic rides officially open for the year on Saturday, May 23 (Memorial Day weekend).

And remember how Vortex looked before it got its fresh new paint job in 2002? It looked far worse than what Flight Deck currently looks. The dark blue supports were almost a light gray in some areas because they had faded so much.

Now if only Flight Deck could receive some fresh paint...

Even Coney Island has private events every year when the park is not open to pass holders or the general public. These institutions are willing to pay to have the park open exclusively for their members/employees. And has been said before these events guarantee the park some revenue for that particular day.

The Disney bus system at Walt Disney World is VERY nice. When I went down there in September, my sister and I utilized the bus system. All the bus stops are clearly marked with the final destination for the bus. The only drawback we found was that because we stayed at the All Star Sports (a value resort) and the fact that September was not peak season, we sometimes had to wait upwards of twenty minutes at the resort to catch a bus. Otherwise, the bus system is very efficient. Disney has the operation of moving massive amounts of people across its property down to an almost perfect science.

And there are many on here that likely do not even know what TQM stands for... To understand total quality bus systems, Cincinnati`s Metro is not a pristine example. Try riding the CTA buses on the Magnificent Mile. Now that is public transportation at its finest.