CoastersRZ

My parents gave me their old 1996 Dodge Caravan when they bought a new car. It averages around 20 miles per galloon, but with a tank that can hold nearly 17 galloons, it can be very pricey when I fill it up!

You have to love the Georgia Department of Labor, who deemed that the existing fences needed to provide a more "more effective barrier to their access". Now I have never been to the park. But if someone has to climb over TWO fences that are reportedly around six feet tall, I would say that is a pretty effect barrier for most people. However, it was clearly, as this case demonstrates, not a totally effective barrier.

$48 is nothing! I`ve spent upwards of $75 to fill up my tank all the way a few times in the last month.

Ah, very true indeed.

That coupled with the 4th of July holiday weekend, will surely result in a large spike in prices at the pump this weekend!

Both of those things we will likely never know though. And considering that ST:TE resided in a hotel, one would have to assume that they leased the space it was in. Could it be that the Hilton wanted to capitalize on some of their retail space with a higher profit margin attraction? And I have to wonder, why was CBS involved with the negotiations? I can understand Paramount/Viacom, but CBS? When Viacom/CBS split wasn`t the slower growth side (CBS) separate from the movie studios and cable networks? Only Paramount Television remains under the control of CBS. So why were they involved with negotiations on the future of the Star Trek: The Experience?

Is this really all that surprising of an announcement? I mean, after Cedar Fair quickly removed all of the Paramount theming and names from their properties, this was the last association from the old owners (save for the Nickelodeon stuff), that still had a strong tie to Paramount.

This Thursday, July 3rd, Coney Island is the host to the ninth annual LaRosa`s Balloon Glow. The event is free to experience. Standard rates apply for Sunlite Pool and Coney`s classic rides. And, Coney`s classic rides stay open until 10pm! The night is capped off with a fabulous Rozzi`s Famous Fireworks display on the shores of Lake Como. I attended the event last year, and it is a fun event. I highly recommend it (and since it is on the 3rd, you can take in Coney`s and Kings Island`s fourth of July festivities). Parking is $6 per car before 4pm, and $10 per car after 4pm. I highly encourage you to get there early if you are going to go, as the parking lot becomes a zoo around 6-7pm!

I do not recall seeing a dam near Coney Island in any aerial pictures. That of course does not mean there wasn`t one. I`ve done a little digging, and haven`t found any indications of a dam near Coney. However, I do have some information to share. The Captain Meldahl Dam and locks reside on the Ohio River to the east of Coney Island, 1.7 miles west of Chilo, Ohio. The dam replaced dam and locks numbered 31, 32, 33 and 34. One of those could be the potential dam that once resided near Coney. Construction on the project started in April of 1958, with construction of the locks beginning a year later. Construction on the dam began in 1961. The locks were placed in operation in 1962, and the dam was completed in 1964, with a total cost of $74 million. So the timeline pretty much fits with when the dam you were describing could have been removed. Meldahl Dam

And you base that average wait time of an hour and a half on what exactly? While the park will likely be crowded, it would have to be fairly crowded for the average wait time of all the rides to be an hour and a half.

Well, considering that it is a "100th anniversary time capsule" I would suspect that the time capsule was placed there for the park`s 100th anniversary, in 1986, to be opened twenty five years later, which would be in 2011

And, what about all the rapid increase in housing going on in the Mason area? Are they going to tax those new communities as well, in order to help recover some of the infrastructure costs these new communities place on existing systems? And keep in mind that Kings Island is part of the reason that this area is continuing to see massive growth (Warren County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Ohio). Personally, I think that an admissions tax in concept is fair. Charge the visitors to the parks so that the community can recoup some of the fees associated with police, fire and road maintenance. Those are services that these tax payers can benefit from. But what happens when the collected money is used to finance the new community center, or to develop Mason city parks? For the most part, the people that frequent Kings Island are not going to take in these local community spots. And don`t forget that all residents within the city of Mason have to pay a 1% earnings income tax, which includes all the workers who work at Kings Island. So Mason is already getting some money from the park (not to mention the neighboring Kings Local School District which benefits from KI`s property taxes). If this new tax is passed, I`d be KI wishes that they never would have seeked to be annexed into the city of Mason from Deerfield Township.

Well great in that there was no line. But I had some very colorful bruises on my thighs for several days afterwards from the lap bars!

I myself rode it nine times in a two hour window back in July of the year it opened. That was when the park had some exclusive ride time on Son of Beast from 9-11 pm for "pawprint" passholders. They actually shut down the ride an hour early to the general public so that we could get two hours of ERT. The reason they did this, was the original pass holder preview day of April 9th was canceled, because the ride wasn`t ready yet.

The article mentions that the surcharge can make a $50 concert ticket become nearly $75!

http://www.wcpo.com/content/news/localshow...70-809a62ce9221

Coney`s classic rides will close at 8pm on Wednesday June 25th, as opposed to the typical 9pm closing time.

Not to mention that rides are designed with a certain design position for the rider to safely experience the forces. Riding in a position that is not recommended can submit ones body to higher or unusual forces which could lead to injuries. There is a reason why manufacturer recommendations are followed. Because they are the ones who designed the ride, they know what is a safe riding position. And in the State of Ohio at least, amusement parks and carnival operators must abide by manufacturer rules. Not to mention, I`m sure their insurance company would be outraged if they found out that they were operating a ride contrary to how it was intended to be operated. If I witnessed a carnival that was not following posted rules and regulations I would be hesitant to ride any attractions at that venue. What other rules could they not be following? Are they not following all of their maintenance rules as well?

Yes, there is a time capsule by the entrance to Moonlite Gardens. It is slated to be open on June 21st, 2011. See the below image.

In 1907, the Coney Island Company was reorganized as The Coney Island Company of West Virginia. This was done primarily for tax and liability reasons. Lee H. Brooks and his two sons were still the ones primarily in charge of this new company. John Winslow Hubbard bought Coney Island in 1922 for $300,000. In 1924, Hubbard sold Coney (which by this time had 108 acres) to Coney Island, Inc. Coney Island Inc. principles included Rudolph "Rud" Hynicka, George F. Schott, and William O. Mashburn (whose family owned the Coca-Cola franchise in the Cincinnati area, and as a result, Coca-Cola became the official drink of Coney). February 21st, 1927, Rud Hynicka dies of a heart attack. He had owned 15 of 65 shares in Coney Island Inc. George Schott assumed control of the park. In 1935, George Schott passed away due to a heart attack at the age of 57. His son Edward Schott and son-in-law Ralph Wachs took over the operation of running the park. Edwards Schott passed away in 1962. Ralph Wachs and his son Gary Wachs were now in control of Coney Island, Inc. In July of 1968, Taft Broadcasting bought Coney Island for $6.5 million with the intention to build Kings Island. Taft Broadcasting would own Coney even after Kings Island opened in 1972. (Sunlite Pool did open for the 1972 season). In 1987, Taft Broadcasting was bought by Great American Communications, who became the new owners of Coney Island (Great American, like Great American Insurance is related to Carl Lindner and family). In 1991, Ronald Walker purchased Coney Island from Great American Communications for $3.8 million. Ronald Walker died unexpectedly in 1997, and his wife Brenda Walker continues to own Coney to this day.

On June 21st, 1886 (122 years ago today) Ohio Grove: The Coney Island of the West officially opened. The steamboat the Guiding Star transported those first park guests to the park that day. While that day is the official opening of "Coney Island", the name the park eventually took as its sole name in the following year, the roots of the park extend further into the past then 1886. James Parker opened his 400 tree, 20 acre apple orchard to picnic goers back in 1867. He operated his picnic business with early amusements until he sold it on March 18th, 1886 for $17,500 to the Ohio Grove Corporation. The Ohio Grove Corporation was spearheaded by William and Malcolm McIntyre, both steam boat captains. This company was only in charge of Coney Island for a few seasons. In 1888, the Coney Island Company took control of the park, under the tutelage of Commodore Lee Brooks.

Well, I would suggest that you visit this page if you wanted to view all the photos that the staff of KIC have taken of the current work being done in the Rivertown area.

Oh my. What the heck happened to that Eli Wheel? Was that storm damage or something else?

Mr. Postman, while you may not like to hear all the facts about specific things that I share that is fine. But you certainly do not have to go around these boards writing posts with harsh overtones about me such as your post above (and the name is CoastersRZ, not "coasters"). You clearly do not hold Coney or its Ferris Wheel with as high of a regard as what I do. And you obviously haven`t spent seven years working in the day to day operations of an amusement park to understand some of the intricacies of an amusement park such as what rides the general public enjoys. By all means you may post about KI in these forums. And Coney`s Ferris Wheel is not a piece of crap. As you have pointed out, at least Coney has a Ferris Wheel. And it provides, as King Maple pointed out, a more thrilling ride as opposed to a sight seeing ride offered by larger Ferris Wheel`s like at Kentucky Kingdom and Cedar Point. The one thorn in the side of all Ferris Wheels, regardless of their size (and this includes the wheel at Coney, Kentucky Kingdom, and Cedar Point) is capacity. They can only load one or a few cars at a time. And with only a few guests per car, they can take quite a long time to load and unload. This equates to not a high capacity, and can lead to long lines, as opposed to other rides which have higher capacities.

And to be technical, it is not a dividend, but a cash distribution. Isn`t all the loose change at KI collected and given out as scholarship money to seasonal associates at the end of the year?