CoastersRZ

I just have to add in a comment. While that article mentions increased school funding from the state this year, there are several districts in the Cincinnati who are actually going to see a DECREASE in state funding this year. The Cincinnati Enquirer ran an article about this several weeks ago. Several districts would stand to loose 3% of state funding if my memory serves me correct.

The Thunderhead exits do meet up at the bottom of the stairs. If I recall there was no arcade located in the exit to Thunderhead. There was, however, an arcade in the exit of Tennessee Tornado with air hockey tables.

The Terms of Service at the top is the official ToS of the entire site. The Terms of Service topic in the forums is in addition to the site`s overall Terms of Service, and geared specifically to the forums. Typically, specific issues about what is not permitted to be discussed in the forums, such as politics, is listed in the Terms of Service topic in the forums. I hope that cleared that up.

As the Interpreter stated, The Beast ALWAYS has had trim brakes. They used to be skid type brakes that were applied to the bottom fins of the train. However, in 2002 The Beast received a new braking system utilizing standard pneumatic brakes in the station and magnetic trim brakes throughout the course in the same locations as the old skid trim brakes. Here is a video on our own KICentral channel on Youtube featuring a testing video in which you can clearly see the original skid brakes.

Yes it is. Sadly, I have to admit that the last time I was in Boomerang Bay to enjoy the water attractions was MANY years ago. In fact, it was for the season pass preview day back in 2004 when Boomerang Bay opened. Which is a little ironic since my thesis topic is focused on entertainment architecture and indoor water park resorts. I have, however, been to both Disney water parks in Florida. Talk about top notch water parks! A nice feature about those parks is that they actually have sprinkler heads spraying parts of the pathway to keep the concrete from burning your feet on hot days if you aren`t wearing sandals!

No problem. I`m just glad to shed some insight on it for you.

Well, to be technical about it, the Carousel has never had a "calliope" at Kings Island. A calliope is an instrument that is powered by steam and often found on steam boats. The Kings Island Carousel used to have an operational Wurlitzer Duplex Band Organ #157 that dates back to 1918. Only twenty Wurlitzer Duplex Band Organs were ever built. While the decorative front to Kings Island`s band organ is still present, the organ has not been operational for several years now. I believe that 2005 might have been the last year that authentic carousel music could be heard originating from the band organ. Incidentally, while the Carousel (PTC #79 built in 1926) originated at Coney, the band organ was never located at Coney. It was built for Ocean Grove in New Jersey.

Well I want to clarify something, and do not wish to start any arguments. The Beast has permanent trim brakes located on four locations of the ride. They are magnetic trim brakes and cannot be adjusted (or turned off) without maintenance going out and taking some of the magnets off. Occasionally in the spring months before the trains break in for the year, they may remove a couple of these trim brakes (such as at the top of the second drop). But once the regular season rolls around, the couple of brakes that were removed are placed back into action.

For those of you who have seen similar articles about Carowinds and Kings Dominion about a surge in job applications, the same is now true at Kings Island. Kings Island has received twice as many online applications this year as they have this time last year. Read the entire article from Cincinnati Enquirer here: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090212/NEWS01/302120119. Although the article fails to link to the correct website for Kings Island. They still link to www.pki.com and not visitkingsisland.com

Just an update on the auction. There is now a Allan H. from Texas who has bid $100 for spots 65 through 96. That means that those spots have generated $3,100 for A Kid Again. Additionally, KICentral`s $600 bid has fallen to fifth place! This means that the minimum bid to partake in the auction is now more than a $100. The top ten bidders have now raised $8,000 combined! Remember that the real winners are the kids who benefit from A Kid Again. Remember that there are still two months left on the auction!

Yep! It has become one of my favorite wooden coasters. I can`t wait to get back to Dollywood this year to ride it again!

Often times when new ownership takes over, there are changes in management. Look at what happened when Cedar Fair bought Paramount Parks. How many of the Paramount Park people who were involved in management are still with Cedar Fair.

He has to handle his day to day job responsibilities. After all he is getting paid to do a job. There are a lot of marketing related activities related to running an amusement park. It is not all fun and games.

Except the issues with the webcam may be technical in nature. Not to mention that it could be a technical issue with the webcams connection to the internet and not anything with the actual webcam. It is not the end of the world if the webcam is down for a day. And given the high winds today and impending storms, I doubt that they would be doing any lifting of the trains.

According to Myrtle Beach Online, Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach has been sold for $25 million. The new owner, FPI MB Entertainment, hopes to be able to close the deal quickly with the hopes of reopening the park by Memorial day, of this year! Read the entire article from Myrtle Beach Online here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/loca...ory/779327.html I have to wonder exactly who these new buyers are. Hopefully they can operate HRP successfully for years to come. What remains to be seen is if the Hard Rock name will leave the park or not, and whether it will retain its rock and roll theming.

Yep, I had a "Captain Zoom" record. Still have it somewhere. I inherited it from a neighbor down the street when I was two or so. I used to listen to it EVERY birthday.

Some of the young kids around here may not have ever seen one of those devices operating in person before! Back when I was a kid, I would listen to some records on our record player. I even had a "Captain Zoom" record, where he would sing happy birthday to me (and say my name on it, which I thought at the time was totally cool). I also remember a time when walkman`s were all the rage for cassette tapes. With those you had to use the fast forward buttons and hope you held it long enough to get to the next song, otherwise the rewind button would have to be used. My how technology has changed such a simple task like listening to music. Not to mention many other things in our lives.

Amusement parks are a capital intensive venture. In order to secure repeat visitors to keep money coming in, parks have to continue to invest in the parks to give the locals a reason to continue to come back year after year.

Well it will be interesting to see how the 2009 season unfolds, that is for sure. It is also a scary time to be graduating from grad school and looking for an architectural full time job! But that is a whole other story.

And keep in mind that Delta just announced that they are lowering airfares out of the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport.

It couldn`t have been the early 90`s. KI firs launched a website in 1996 I believe. And it was very rudimentary. But right around 2000 and 2001 they did have some ride videos on their website. They also had a webcam back then. I know they had it pointed at Runaway Reptar and the log flume when those were under construction prior to the start of the 2001 season.

Uh, Mr. Chef, we already know that several shows from 2008 are returning in 2009. Endless Summer on Ice, County Line, and Flashback: Totally 80`s are all coming back. In addition, there will be a new show in the Festhaus replacing Girl`s Night Out, a new show on the Bandstand replacing Hot Island Rhythms, and a new show in the Nickelodeon Theater replacing Dora`s Sing Along.

As was stated before, they have used the International Restaurant last year for the morning character breakfasts. I would look for that to continue. I would not look for the IR to become a restaurant like a Fridays or full service table restaurant anytime soon though. The only elevator that services the second floor is located in the kitchen area. But for having small events like the character breakfasts, it is a perfect location with a great view of International Street.

Actually, you haven`t always said that. You probably heard me say something similar. I`ve quoted this person before in the forums, on more than one occasion. To quote legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, "There is nothing more uncommon that common sense."

They were painted I believe as recently as 2004 for The Beast`s 25th anniversary, if I recall correctly.