CoastersRZ

In response to TOPGUN1993`s response post to Corey`s comments about Mystery Mine and Thunderhead, I`d have to disagree with TG1993 and agree with Corey. I found the very last part of Mystery Mine to be fun with the two inversions. However, in general, the ride seemed to be a little jerky, and it did not contain any sections with lots of speed or with a series of elements lined up together. Ie, it seemed like you would do one or two things, then hit a trim or block brake the entire ride. On the other hand, I was blown away. Thunderhead was the first coaster that I had ridden from GCI (yes, I will be posting a PTR later tonight!). From the moment you leave the station until you hit the final brakes, the ride is non-stop intense thrills. The ride never seems to loose any speed anywhere throughout its course! It just seems to keep up its momentum and pacing throughout the entire circuit. If I could choose one ride to ride that I haven`t, I, like the Interpreter, would need a time machine. I would love to have experienced the Shooting Star at Coney! Yes, it wasn`t the tallest or fastest, and would seem tame to most coasters at Kings Island today, but it was a classic ride that I wish I could have been alive to experience it. As far as rides that are currently in operation that I would like to ride, that is a tough decision. While I have now ridden 78 different roller coaster (which still pales in comparison to some who have ridden several hundred), there are many that I would like to ride. I would like to experience the B&M flying coasters. Additionally, I would like to experience SheiKra and/or Griffon. Other honorable mentions would go to Alpengeist, Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia, and Kentucky Rumbler. There are just so many different rides out there, and many of them offer their own unique elements that it is hard to choose just one that I really want to ride the most.

Well, in all fairness, adding words that state "I am simply adding these words so I don`t make a one word post" does not make the post of higher quality. In fact, the post still lacks any pertinent or additional information to the subject at hand.

Heck, the season pass we bought paid for itself with just our two visits! And I will want to swing by there again and try and use that pass either in the summer or for next year`s Smoky Mountain Christmas. And yes, the live shows at Dollywood are top notch. We watched three shows, one was an hour long and the other two were forty five minutes long! So three shows took 2.5 hours of time, and that`s just the actual run time of the show, not counting the time we sat in the theaters before the show started! Dollywood is a really great park, and Thunderhead is now one of my top wooden coasters! It was the first coaster I have ever ridden that was designed by GCI. In my opinion, Kings Island needs one of those rides! I`d trade Son of Beast for a ride by GCI in a heartbeat.

Well, technically, it was CBS that sold the Paramount Parks, not Paramount itself, nor Viacom. Paramount Parks became part of the slow growth division when CBS and Viacom split several years ago. Paramount Pictures was under the Viacom umbrella and Paramount Parks, because of the slow growth nature of the amusement park business, under the direction of CBS. If none of the major operators were willing to even buy the Hard Rock Park for $35 million at auction, there certainly won`t be any interest in buying a piece of land where there used to be an amusement park. With the large amount of money that was invested in the Hard Rock Park, for it to only last a year does not bode well for any potential new parks to be built in the United States anytime soon. As Railrider said, ultimately, the former GL property will likely be developed as some sort of commercial big box development, or a mixed use development that contains some specialty stores, one or two big box stores and some office spaces and residential units all in the same development. With the state of the current economy, it could be a while before any of these developments take shape, but if the GL property is prime real estate, it will eventually be developed in some form or another.

Trust me, the staff will document all of important stuff in pictures to put on the site. Not mention all the personal trip reports with personal pictures that will be filed soon after the event.

Holy fright! Talk about a bump. I would not count on the Nickelodeon characters receiving their eviction papers just yet. But time may be running out on their stay at Kings Island. Then again, maybe not. As the old saying goes, only time will tell what the future has in store for Kings Island. Was is certain is that Kings Island will be a different place in five years than it was this past year or five years ago, let alone thirty years ago. And the Interpreter will be quick to point out, that it is not a guaranteed fact that Kings Island would still be seeing the fair in five year. Robbie, who has been known to post witty posts like the Interpreter from time to time.

I believe he might also have been referring to the fact that the narrator was talking about not riding the rides with back or neck problems. When the narrator mentioned that, the video showed a clip of a guy wearing a neck brace riding a slow teacup spinning ride.

I`ll be there! Boddah1994 gigacoaster2k Gordon Bombay Mr. 3000 beastfan26 flightoffear4thtrain Raptor66 CoastersRZ

True. Most people might have been pass holders. But, there might have been some paying customers there. If there were, and they were forced out after only an hour just because it was cold, and they paid for five hours, I`m sure they would have not been pleased and would like to have the chance to experience the park under better conditions. Yes, the park`s policy is to not offer rainchecks or refunds. But what would be the smarter thing to do? Give comp passes to those who paid the general admission price and have them come back a later night and experience the event, maybe spend some money on food and merchandise during their future visit and, hopefully, have a nice impression of the park and want to return in future years. Or, not offer comp passes and say sorry about your luck. We sincerely hope you continue to visit us in the future, thanks for your money. Those customers then might think twice about visiting SFFT. Which is smarter from a business point of view in attracting and keeping potential customers?

Which was a valid reason for closing the park. Compared to just being cold. And at least the day that KI closed WinterFest due to snow, they didn`t even try to open the park. I certainly hope that they gave out comp passes to those that were essentially "booted out of the park."

No, King Cobra closed at the end of the 2001 season. It was removed early in the 2002 season (demolition was roughly 80% done when the park opened in 2002). Construction on Delirium began in September of 2002. And Carter, I`d be careful with what you post on these forums. Make sure your post has valid content and discussion points before submitting a reply or a new post.

That station is looking mighty fine! Also the entire ride just seems to dominate the midways. The train is certainly going to have a lively beginning next year with Diamondback roaring by and above the tracks!

And that guest named Robbie (not to be confused with me) could frequently be seen riding many of the coasters, including The Beast. I didn`t see him as much this past year as I had in past years.

I believe, some one can correct me if I`m incorrect, that KI does in deed collect loose change from the park. However, I believe that Kings Island uses all the loose change they collect to fund a couple of scholarships each year for seasonal associates.

And getting back to the topic of construction of Diamondback, if you check out the webcam, they have some supports up for the hammerhead turn and even some track heading up into the turn is now up.

Very true. I know two years ago when Coney lost power on a busy Saturday afternoon, we started issuing rain checks for guests to come back after the power had been out for an hour and a half. It ended up coming back on after two hours of being out at six o`clock. That day was a stressful day for me, as I was working the Ferris Wheel, and it was fully loaded when we lost power! We were in the process of loading a car, when our hydraulic lift (which raises up to the cars and keeps it from rocking when guests are boarding) just died. I immediately looked next door to the Spin A Ree since we didn`t have power, and sure enough, that ride had just stopped to. Then the radio went crazy! It ended up, that we had about six ride ops pull on the wheel to get it moving so we could unload it. Once it got a little off balance, we were able to unload it the rest of the way. But then we got paid to sit there for two hours. We couldn`t go on break, since the breakroom had no power and couldn`t make any food!

I would be irate if I was a paying customer and was told that the park was closing due to "inclement weather" which was because it was too cold out. It would be different if it was raining or snowing, but to close just because it was cold out? I would be mad if I paid to get in, only to have my time cut short without a proper refund. The translation of the "inclement weather" is that because its cold and not enough people showed up for us to make money, we are going to shut down early, since we already got your money. Sorry about your luck, but we do not offer rain checks or refunds!

Two more pictures from today have been added to the photo gallery at KIDiamondback.com This image show some of the significant progress that has been made on the station. Wood sheathing is going up on the upper level of the station. On the lower level, they have placed the girts between the structural columns to provide bracing for the cladding that will eventually enclose the lower level of the station. Additionally, if you look at the supports for the lift hill on the far left of that picture, you will see what looks like blankets wrapped around the base of the supports. Those are concrete blankets. Those are there because they poured the expansive grout between the top of the footing and the bottom of the steel support. The blanket is there to keep in some of the heat from the grout (as concrete and grout both produce exothermic chemical reactions) so that it can properly cure in this cold weather. I hope some of you enjoyed that little construction process update.

Well, I know that on cold nights, there will be a layer of ice in the outdoor portion of the slides that has to be melted before riders can challenge the slides for the day.

Voted. Thats a nice song, and she has a great voice!

I agree, that water coaster slide packs quite a punch going down that one drop. I know that I was certainly not expecting that when I made a visit to the Great Wolf in September.

I was actually thinking that we`d see pictures of the indoor water park at Great Wolf! Not just pictures of KI from I-71 and from your guest room! How was your visit? Was Bear Track Landing crowded?

And Diamondback isn`t really a first generation B&M hyper. Goliath at SFoG, and Behemoth are two of their latest hyper coaster designs. From what I`ve heard, both coasters are incredible rides. And with Diamondback having the splash down ending, and the fact that the ride is built over and around KI`s midways and attractions and then goes out into the woods will surely help make Diamondback a very interesting and fun ride to experience. Will some people not be happy with the experience of the ride when it opens? Sure. Some people like to complain about everything, even if there is nothing at all to complain about!

The reason that the two sides of the station roof are not symmetrical is because of the fact that one side is the exit and the other side is the entrance side with some room for waiting guests. How is it any different than the station over The Vortex? Even Adventure Express`s station is not symmetrical, as the roof ends much higher above the platform floor than it does on the load side. And Gabe, that should say wood sheathing in progress on the station. Based on the pictures, that will not be the final exterior treatment for the station, but simply the substrate that the final material will be applied to.

I highly doubt that your school encourages kids taking off school for vacations. Rather, they likely realize that it is inevitable that parents will occasionally pull their kids out of school to take family vacations, and those absences will be counted as excused absences. And kids do get vacations from school. National holidays are just one example. Spring break, and Christmas break are two other examples of vacations that kids get from school. And depending on your profession and company that you work for, you get more or less vacation days. And it is also based on seniority, ie the longer you work for a company, the more vacation time you get. I still stand by my original statement. You should not skip school just to ride Diamondback on its first day. Education is far more important than riding a roller coaster on its first day. Kings Island and amusement parks should NOT be placed ahead of school work and attaining a successful education. After all, it is that education that will eventually help you get into a good college program and get a good paying full time job that provides vacation days, so that some day in the future when Kings Island adds that new ride or coaster when you have your full time job, you can use one of your vacation days to visit the park.