CoastersRZ

Well my first job was at Coney Island as a ride operator back in the summer of 2002. I was still working there this past year! It all depends what area you want to get into. Personally, I have never wanted to work in food service, so working as a ride op has been a nice job. Additionally, you can`t beat a job where you genuinely have fun and look forward to going into work everyday!

Well, according to the theoretical capacity numbers for Diamondback, it is projected to be the highest capacity coaster in the park...

They are not building "ceiling foundations" for the station. They have the supports for the floor deck for the station on one side of the track, and the columns extend above the flooring. Naturally, the roof joists will not be installed until the columns on the other side of the track are put into place.

And according to the Diamondback blog, the former location of that building will be the main queue area for Diamondback.

I thought so too. This wasn`t exactly the Kings of Komedy Clown Band, but was similar in nature and traveled around the park performing. It would be nice if the park did reintroduce roaming performers again. They just add so much energy and enthusiasm to the park atmosphere. That is part of what made the special events this past year so wonderful, is that the park brought back the Clown Band and had other live entertainment options in the park besides the special events.

There has been a flag on top of the lift since they topped it off last week!

Only odd thing in that article is when it is listing all the major parks, it throws in "Cedar Fair, L.P." as a major park, and doesn`t actually cite a specific park.

While cruising around You Tube, I stumbled upon the video below. The video is of The Untouchables Band, a variety of the Kings of Komedy Clown Band.

Yep. In the state of Ohio, all ride operators must be 16 years of age or older.

Haunted Trail Co-Owner, you were a little late with that discovery on vertical construction for the station. And what are you talking about the front of the passes said "2008 Pass?" Both the Gold, Kings Island and Platinum passes this year did not specify a year on the front. However, on the back, the only form of a date was the copyright date. In fact, the only thing that was specified on the front of the pass was the name of the park it was processed at, and what type of pass it is (ie gold, platinum or regular KI). And this past years passes also had the phrasing about not including admission to KI`s Haunt/Fear Fest.

Not to mention that KI`s website is also advertising early rides on Diamondback everyday for gold pass holders.

Well, I can honestly say that Kings Island is NOT as important as school. That being said, the preview event will likely be held in the evening. In the past (and this was under old ownership) Friday night previews for pass holders have been from 5 to 10pm.

Yep, the structural steel has begun to be placed in its final position! And the entire building that house RedBeard`s Revenge is completely gone. And for those of you who have hopped over to visitkingsisland.com lately, you will notice that the park has announced the projected date for the Gold Pass sneak preview for Diamondback. The big day will be April 17th, 2009. Keep in mind that drawings and plans sometimes change from the original design intent...

RailRider, this is more than just an annual touch up of the paint in the high traffic areas. In fact, they painted the roof of the station a couple weeks ago (same color). And Hamoperator, you are in luck! You can buy your 2009 season pass to Kings Island now, and pay nothing until April of 2009! Visit the Kings Island season pass page for more information.

All the B&M coasters I`ve been on have utilized the same station for both unloading and loading. I believe Diamondback will be the same way. Besides, its not like the B&M hyper coaster trains feature complicated restraints like those found on Firehawk. Which is part of the reason why Diamondback will have such a high capacity.

Alright. Just making sure, since I didn`t see a source for his information. Including sources is of paramount importance to me since I`m in the midst of writing my thesis, and I currently have two pages (at 1.5 spacing) of bibliography!

They will likely have the security guards escort park guests back to the ride area, so as there is not a running of the bulls so to speak. But then again, I`m still surprised that Cedar Fair hasn`t moved the ropes in the morning to the top of International Street so that guests can buy Starbucks and Cinnabon before the park actually opens at ten. You`d think they could generate some revenue during that time.

Where is your source for that information Tombraiderty?

Yes, you could see the demolition of the former stage on the webcam. Ironically, that stage area was not always located in that location. It spent one season located approximately where Danny Phantom Flyers are currently located. I believe it was only there for a season in the mid-90s before being relocated to its most recent location. They only had shows there for two seasons before that venue went dark. All the shows in that venue were country shows.

Yep, welcome aboard. And you mentioned your dad was a fan of Coney Island back in the day. Be sure to check out ConeyIslandCentral.com, a subsite of KICentral which I maintain, for all sorts of historical information and current news about Coney Island.

If you rode The Vortex on closing weekend, you might have noticed that they are in the process of applying some fresh paint to the station.

But the "live band" at FearFest was just a series of bands that the park brought in. It was not a live band that performed in a scripted show week in and week out.

Well, for me it was hands down The Beast. I reached my one hundredth circuit on it today, and finished out the year with 102 rides on The Beast for the year. (Which is not the most I`ve ridden it in a year, I had a few more than that back a couple of years ago). Post #6,000!

Ah, The Beast will be taking a much needed rest over the winter break (and of course going through its annual winter rehab) so that we can once again be thrilled by it again in 2009, its 30th anniversary year! And it will likely still be the longest wooden roller coaster in the world, and the longest coaster in the United States of America, even after thirty years!

Its not really that bad. In fact, when Backlot Stunt Coaster was installed in 2005, most of its bolts looked similar to those bolts. Sometimes parks will paint the bolts. A good example of that is on the below image of Invertigo.