CoastersRZ

Yes, all people attending the event will need to register through Kings Island`s website. Upon registering, you will state whether or not you have a season pass or not. Additionally, you will state what group that you are affiliated with. If you do not register on KI`s website, you will NOT be able to attend. The online registration is not yet open, but we will likely announce details when it is available. And as state above, you MUST be a registered KIC member before February 1st 2009 to partake in the event as a member of KIC. People in interested in attending the event who are not registered with KIC yet, must register with one of the coaster clubs. There are NO guests permitted. Everyone in attendance must be affiliated with one of the organizations listed on Kings Island`s websites.

All attendees for the event MUST be members of the organizations listed on KI`s website. And based on what the KI website says, you must have already registered on this site already to partake in the Ride Warriors Coaster Weekend. I`m sure Ryan will be able to confirm the February 1st deadline.

You are likely correct with that thought. Remember how I mentioned that they need to pour grout between the top of the footing and bottom of the steel base plate? Well, the grout needs to stay dry and not get wet when its curing. That plastic tarp structure was likely placed there to keep the snow off and to keep the heat in. If you look at the webcam, there is that one tarp covering the base of the support near The Beast helix. Then, there are also a few more of those same things located by the Crypt, and turn in the train tracks.

Yeah, the train tracks were never removed in the process of building Diamondback. Therefore, they do not have to re lay the rails for the track.

Excellent aerial photos once again, Gabe!

And by Friday, it will be back to Sunny and 50 for the high, go figure!

While all the track work may be complete, they may still have some work to do on the supports. After the ride steel was placed, there was a gap between the top of the footing and the bottom of the base plate of the support. Once they have torqued all the bolts the proper amount, they will come back in and fill the gap between the footing and the support with expansive grout. (Some of the supports in the brake run area and lift hill had their grout put in place back in October). The grout provides a uniform surface for the loads to be transferred from the support into the footing, where the loads can be dispersed into the ground. All the grout must be in place (and cured) before the ride can begin testing. Just offering some construction expertise.

As an aside, Coney Island also uses Jeff Ellis and Associates to train its lifeguards. Coney also utilizes the VAT tests (for those who forgot from Saturday, VAT stands for Vigilance Awareness Test) at Sunlite Pool.

And if he and his staff can achieve that accomplishment, more power to him. It will make our home park look even nicer than it has in several several years. I know even the last two seasons, I have seen numerous attendants in the bathrooms cleaning. Under Paramount/Viacom/CBS I never saw that!

Yes, this event is on a Saturday and Sunday. The event will likely start at 6 or 7, with the exact time to be determined once the final schedule is set. Stay tuned for details.

The user that posted that video is none other than this sites own Zoso Beast. That video can also be found on the KICentral channel page on Youtube found here:

Well, if you are a working member of the media, you will know when the time for the media event for Diamondback occurs. Attendance is by invite only.

On the heels of the Carowinds article, there is now an article talking about Kings Dominion. The article states that applications are up for the Virginia amusement park. Read the article here: http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/...-213617/193650/

What is also interesting is that the article states that a new owner would need to spend millions to bring in new attractions, to make the park a destination worth the admission price. In addition to the fact that the Hard Rock theme would be stripped away, it was stated that they would have to spend money on advertising, which is something that the original operators of Hard Rock Park failed to do by all accounts.

Well, yes and no. The area to get back to The Beast will be right along the pathway by the games building. From the way I understand it, there will still be a small plaza by The Beast Photo booth. One thing that will be improved, according to Don, is that the actual entrance to The Beast will be more clearly marked. This past year, guests often were confused about where the actual entrance was, and some of them would try and enter in the exit, until they passed the photo booth and realized they were at the exit, not the entrance.

Uh, you ask where we found out the information about the trains, and then the very next paragraph are asking about pictures from Saturday? We heard about the trains at the event on Saturday. And if you want to see pictures, check out the Trip Report forum. There are SEVERAL photo trip reports posted in there.

Well, there are several things I want to comment on here. First, the wooden coasters like the Coney Island Cyclone, Voyage, the coasters at Indiana Beach that have steel super structure and wooden track are in fact wooden coasters. Yes, the steel super structure may not have quite as much give as a wooden structure, but the track construction and trains are consistent with wooden coasters. The overall ride experience is generally the same between traditional wooden coasters with all wood structures and ones with steel structures. Now, rides like Adventure Express and Cedar Creek Mine ride are considered steel coasters, even though their support structure is comprised of heavy timber posts and beams. The actual trains run on tubular steel rails. Thirdly, and I think others would tend to agree with me on this, the Intamin wooden coasters with the "plug and play" track are perhaps the most hybridized version of a wooden coaster and steel coaster. I have not ridden El Toro, but I have heard that it doesn`t have quite the same ride experience as a traditional wooden coaster. It rides like a steel coaster. Does El Toro loose something by not using the traditional wood coaster track construction? Possibly. But I can`t really comment on that, since I`ve never had a great adventure out to New Jersey to ride it.

In theory, increasing the length of the school year should raise the overall education of the state of Ohio, which is a VERY good thing. However, it will come at a cost. Not only would dozens of school buildings need retrofits to provide air conditioning, but there are other logistical issues. The air conditioning factor is a major one, because classrooms that are 90 to 100 degree are not very conductive to learning, and to air condition all the public school in Ohio would cost millions of dollars. Where would all that money come from? Additionally, the summer months are when some teachers take continuing education classes and workshops. Teachers that continue their education at local colleges may find themselves having scheduling difficulties with these programs if the school year is extended. Not to mention all the additional operational expenses related with operating schools for an additional twenty days. Then from the tourism side of things, there are many issues. Operators would loose about a third of their peak season. Not just places like Kings Island and Coney would suffer. Things like the Newport Aquarium, The Beach, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cincinnati Zoo would all suffer from having a shorter "peak" season when kids aren`t set to a routine schedule with early bed times do to school. And while the overall aim of the education reform would be higher education levels in the state, it would come with an impact on the tourism industry. And the tourism industry`s impact radiates into other areas of the economy with secondary suppliers. This is a very important topic, that I`m sure will be discussed in great detail over the next several months and years. There will likely be proponents on either side of the issue. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds.

From WCPO.com: http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story/Longe...i4YGTrBKoQ.cspx Essentially, Governor Ted Strickland wants to reform Ohio public education, including increasing the number of required days from 180 to 200. That would effectively add an entire month to the school year, and would result in even shorter summer vacations. The impact? Well, less time to promote tourism dollars in the state of Ohio, and at amusement parks like KI, a potential shortage of labor if Strickland`s reforms make their way into the education system.

At this point in time, that presentation is not available online yet. It may be available at some point in the near future, but I do not have a time table on when. Well, depending if I can get a full time job at an architecture firm after I graduate I intend to work at Coney on the weekends in my eighth season as a rider operator. If I can`t land a job right away (the school has not been able so far to place all the co-op students seeking placements for spring quarter!!), I might be working "full time" at Coney this summer until I can land a full time job in my profession. In other words, I will either be at Coney on weekends only, or working close to sixty hours a week.

First of all Ty, thanks for the trip report. Second of all, while this may have been my first presentation at an enthusiast event and in front of such a large crowd, it was NOT the first presentation I`ve given. I`ve had to give several presentations at DAAP of my designs (and have a thesis presentation to give next Wednesday). Additionally, I even addressed the size of the images issue in my presentation, apologizing more than once. The IR is just not an ideal setting to give a presentation that is intensive on images like I was giving. I tried to make the best of what was available. I sincerely hope that you found my presentation informative. All in all, I am glad you had fun at the event.

As I mentioned at the end of my presentation, you can check out Coney Island Central for more information on Coney Island. The website can be found at www.coneyislandcentral.com

Well, the hand stamps were a result of the name tags being left in the International Restaurant. The hand stamp was so we know who had checked in at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Hey, I did not fall. Nice pictures, and I`m glad you had a fun time!

Looks to me to be just shadows, and/or different lighting levels. Nothing major to get concerned about.