CoastersRZ

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.

That is not a "ditch." That is just mud from tire tracks from equipment moving back and forth. The snow and ice in that area has been removed/mixed in with the mud from the construction traffic.

All I can say, if this event is anything like Coastermania at Cedar Point, it will be an awesome event! And its two days. That is pretty awesome! And I would imagine there will be some opportunities to experience Diamondback!

Guy1115, did you ever call up Coney to get a response to your inquiry? Additionally, I bumped this thread for anyone that might be interested in buying a Coney Island season pass. Today is the last day to purchase a pass before the prices go up! Coney Island Season Passes

One thing is for sure, it will be one of the earliest enthusiast events of the season! Coastermania at Cedar Point is an entire month later.

I have witness line jumping at Coney first hand when I have been working. The Rock O Planes don`t really have a defined queue line perse. And that ride is a low capacity ride because we can only load one car at a time. I was checking heights and moving the ride while the person I was working with was loading and unloading the cars. Well, several times in one day, when I was scanning the line to see who I needed to height check with the stick, I was people come up from by the Python and just cut in line, skipping a dozen and a half of people, or about two ride cycles worth of people. When I questioned them why they just cut in line, they tried to act innocent like they hadn`t done it, when I watched them cut right in front of all the people! They wanted to give me an attitude as I told them to proceed to the rear of the line if they wanted to ride. They left the line and didn`t walked away. Presumably a ten minute line was too much for them to handle!

Not to mention that Swan Lake was home to a synchronized light show for WinterFest in December of 2005. And the barge that held many of the Christmas trees remained in the back corner of the lake through the 2006 season and part of the 2007 season before being removed. The lake was not drained until after the 2007 season had concluded.

Yep. And until something else is released, either by the court, or other interested parties, we likely won`t know how things are progressing with the Chapter 7 proceedings.

Back at the end of 2005, and in early 2006, Kings Island was selling a board game called Kings Island-opoly. It was a take off of the hit Monopoly game. The game had Paramount`s and various Paramount names on it. I don`t know how well those sold, but I believe that they eventually became part of the Paramount merchandise clearance sales. Here are some photos of the game in our photo gallery. I don`t know if you could anticipate it making a return. I`m not even sure if they sold any in 2007 or if they had cleared all of them out by the end of 2006.

Well, since I have never purchased a season pass from Coney before (with my seven years working there, I have been able to use my ID to get in). My suggestion would be to give Coney a call. I`m sure someone would be able to answer your question. The general information number for Coney is 513-232-8230. Granted, if you call tomorrow, you might not get a response, due to the current weather situation!

Well, the horses are made out of wood. And they are painted, so the paint provides some protection from the elements. Additionally, the Carousel building provides some protection to the actual carousel from the elements.

And, keep in mind that Ohio`s minimum wage this year is $7.30. And if you depending on the department, you could be able to work double shifts (so you`d be there all day) as opposed to working just one shift at a time. That way you could maximize your trips to the park.

Yes, it is quite an honor to be mentioned both in the KI newsletter and the Diamondback blog. As others have stated, this is in part a community run site with the extensive forums. Kudos to everyone for helping make such a vibrant and dynamic community. And personally, I am honored that my name was in both the blog and the email. For those of you attending, I sincerely hope that you like my presentation and that it gives you a new perspective and understanding of the history of the amusement park in the Cincinnati area. Not many amusement parks close because of their success and are rebuilt twenty miles away, where the new venue continues to thrill visitors 37 years after first opening. And the park that was "closed" when the new park was built has not died either and is still thriving today in its own right. But I don`t want to spill too many beans before Saturday!

I attended CoasterMania back in 2007, with my Cedar Fair Maxx Pass. The event is certainly a fun event. And who can go wrong with 7am rides on Millennium Force? Yes, it was a Saturday, but lines were really not that bad. The longest line was for Maverick, and that was only an hour. Most rides were near walk on. Millennium Force`s line got to about thirty minutes in mid afternoon, but still not bad by any stretch of the imagination. I would HIGHLY recommend the event to those who haven`t gone to it in the past.

Remember, for anyone interested in buying a Coney Island season pass, that prices will go up after Friday!

Yes it was. But a distant time ago it was not.

What do you mean once upon a time? Even as recently as this past season said moderator still had an effigy of him hanging in the Action Zone.