CoastersRZ

You answered your own question. The lift hill music on The Beast came from the opening theme music from that show, Lost. I believe that the music from that show was created by Michael Giacchino.

Appointment ride times? I can understand that for the big E ticket attractions like Orion and The Beast. But how would that work in Planet Snoopy? When the park opens this year, it will definitely be different. And as a pass holder, the amount of visits you can make for the season might be limited, due to the likely decreased capacity threshold.

And how exactly will ride operations if they keep the 6' of separation between the operators and the guest? How are the restraints and seat belts checked? I am sorry, but some of these measures are a little extreme (not talking about Six Flags). I had a cousin unexpectedly pass away on Saturday from complications of a chronic illness (he had been ill long before this Virus was around). His funeral mass at a church that can hold 1,000 people is limited to just ten people. The church is big enough that 100 people could be inside of it, and still maintain the social distance requirements. Having two small kids, I am all for stopping the spread of this virus. But I firmly believe that the number of asymptomatic people who have this virus is a rather high. This in turn would lower the death rates of this disease. Yes, it is terrible the amount of deaths that have been caused by this. But at a certain point the quarantine and its effects on the economy are worse than the actual disease.

Where was this years event supposed to take place?

https://kicentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Episode-9-Being-a-Ride-Operator.mp3 Don`t forget that you can get this podcast on iTunes, and on Spotify! Be sure to subscripe to not miss an episode! Show notes: Join Robbie (CoastersRZ) and Brad (IndyGuy4KI) as they are joined by Nick (Daretofly). In this episode we discuss the ins and outs of being a ride operator. We provide some tips for someone looking for their first job, as well as some of our favorite stories from our years of being ride operators. We hope you enjoy this episode! Watch for Episode 10 to come out soon! As always, if you have any ideas for future episodes, please let me know!

Really excited to see this! I will have to visit this park once it is ready to open this year. I have never been. Good to hear it will be a family run operation. I wish them all the best of luck!

I think it will be hard to prove that the park was negligent if someone catches the virus at the park. Especially, if the park institutes a temperature screen as part of the entry process. How is someone going to prove that they caught the illness at the park if it can take up to two weeks for the symptoms to materialize? Cruise lines are a little bit different example, because the guests can`t freely leave whenever they want, and the very nature of cruises has guests more on top of each other. Am i hoping that KI opens this year? Absolutely. Do I think there is a chance that it might not? Yes.

Except the park is a fixed asset. If the park can safely open for Haunt, one of the busiest times of the season, and feels confident that they will be able to make money, then they will open. Remember, it costs them money (utilities, insurance, etc. for a park, regardless if it is open or not.

Agreed on waiting to ride Orion. I have been working at home since March 13th, as has my wife. However, I work for a small architectural firm. Our prospective work has all but dried up. Clients that were considering doing projects (including some that we had already gone in for permit on), are now on indefinite hold. Over the last week, I spent less than a quarter of my time on billable work. While I am not concerned with losing my job in the next month or so, if this stretches on much past the summer, I do not have a good feeling about maintaining my job. I would be the last to let go, as I was the owner`s first hire back in 2013. Fortunately, we have a rather large emergency fund set up that can last us for a while, and my wife`s job seems like it would be stable. We lived off of my income when she was paying off $130,000+ in student loans from undergrad and law school. This whole thing is especially trying for parents with young kids who are now forced to try and educate their children, watch their children during the day, and work from home (if they still have that option). It broke my heart the other day when my son asked why he couldn`t go to preschool. These will be trying times for sure. Hopefully, with the stay at home orders, most of us will make it through without getting Covid-19. There will be a time when we will be able to ride roller coasters again. When exactly, we do not know yet. But our health and safety is of paramount concern. You cannot be riding roller coasters if you are no longer with us, or stuck in an ICU.

And as we have seen over the last couple of weeks things can and do change rather quickly. Remember, that a couple weeks ago, they were projecting nearly 10,000 new cases a day. With the stay at home order and strict social distancing the peak daily new cases is now projected at 1,800. That is a substantial reduction. Things can and will change. Hopefully things keep trending for the better.

The difference is that Kings Island has a lot more days to make revenue than just the summer months. Keep in mind that October and Haunt is a big season for amusement parks. Not to mention Winterfest has become a huge success. Kings Island has a lot more days to gain income. Granted, we do not know what the path of this virus will take. I think that the date they have in mind will be well into the summer before they through in the towel. Keep in mind that most of their parks had already been preparing for the season, so some of them would not require much work to get opened, no matter for how many days. Yes, there is a point where it would not make sense to spend the money if they have no guarantee to make that money back.

Nice blog post. I still miss that ride. Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle/Boo Blasters just isn`t the same ride (even though it does use the same people mover system as the former attraction, albeit with every other car removed.

I did hear about Six Flags. I was merely stating that I had not heard any rumor where Disney was seriously considering purchasing Kings Island. So I was questioning the widely disseminated portion of the rumor. Not denying that there maybe some truth in some of the points you bring up, just that it wasn`t as mainstream as what the Six Flags rumor was last year.

I have NEVER heard of any rumors suggesting that Disney was interested in Kings Island. I could see Disney buying SEAS before I could see Cedar Fair buying SEAS. However, purchasing SEAS, if the price was right, could give CF some market diversification. They would gain some year round operations in Florida, and a park in Texas and one in California. But BGW is fairly close to Kings Dominion. And I just do not see CF jumping into an acquisition of that size given the current economic environment. Though the ideas of a Platinum pass from KI getting you into Sea World Orlando or Busch Gardens Williamsburg is very intriguing.

And to add some context for those that visited Coney Island recently. The image that TombraiderTy shared of the Monster, the building to the right of the Monster was the LaRosa`s building (Across from the mini-golf course). Wipeout stood on part of the area that the Monster used to occupy.

It is only April 1st. Yes, it is questionable whether the park will be able to open mid-May, but to say that the park will not be able to open at all this season is a bit early to send in the white flag. Things could be drastically different come August. We just don`t know. Heck, look how drastically things have changed in the last few weeks even. Who would have thought on March 1st, that Ohio would essentially be locked down now, going on week three?

One can look to what Carowinds did this past year. They were open weekends after Haunt but before Winterfest opened. This won`t make up for all of the days, but I could see KI trying this. It all depends how long this quarantine stuff sticks around. I know that it is affecting my full time job (and will likely impact my hours at Coney, as well, in whatever roll I end up being in there).

I also do not get where he is retiring. He said it kind of tongue in cheek in the video. Then the fact that he was mentioning 20th anniversary, sure seems to me like he has no intention of retiring.

I believe that is where the Haunt "Field of Screams" is housed.

They still went through it. I just think the upkeep and the fact that it wasn`t in the water park led to its demise.

And in its last few seasons, they had modified it and drastically reduced the size from when it originally opened. For example, the final season, the green slime derrick had already been removed.

Kings Dominion already had an S&S air launch. Hypersonic XLC. It lasted from 2001 to a couple years after that. I would not look for a new S&S air launch to come back to Kings Dominion. I agree with Shaggy (although I have not ridden an S&S free spin), I feel like that is not the type of coaster that Kings Dominion needs.

Keep us posted on when it will be available and where we will be able to get copies of the book. If you want some additional information on this book, be sure to check out the latest KIC podcast!

At our seats. They have The Beast logo flashing on the screen!