CoastersRZ

Yeah, thanks for the kind words on my angle for the jump. I spent two hours ontop of the Tower for the jump (6-8pm)!! It definitely is a unique angle to see the jump from that angle. And, I had to film it without a tripod, a swaying tower, and a wall of people all around me (not to mention a camera battery that was on the brink of dying). Again, excellent videos and pictures!

Yes, I second the sentiments about the Clown Band. Great clips of it Avatar! I really hope that Kings Island can bring this type of entertainment back to the park. It really adds a lot of excitement and fun to the atmosphere of the park. That is part of the reason why I was sad to see the Nick Parade not continue at KI. As you can tell from those clips, the live entertainment on the park midways really adds a lot to a guest`s overall experience of the park. Can you share the other videos you have of the Clown Band? I would love to see them!

Sure enough. There is not a lot of water attractions at that water park. Heck, Coney has two water slides and a giant pool for half of at the gate Wildwater Kingdom admission. In fact, admission to both Sunlite Pool and Coney`s classic rides is four dollars less then admission to Wildwater Kingdom!

Kings Island used to have two public picnic groves outside of the front gates. One was located down in the valley (between where Invertigo`s queue and the parking lot is). The other picnic grove was on the current site of Invertigo.

Does CP still use greeters and station separators on most of their major coasters? I know that they still were last year. I`m actually kind of surprised that they haven`t instituted the separator at the coaster stations like at Cedar Point. Currently the only ride they do that at at Kings Island (excluding Delrium, which is more due to the design of its queue rather then staffing issues) is Firehawk. It would certainly make the station area of rides like The Beast and Flight of Fear a lot less chaotic if they had a separator in the stations.

The first official kick off weekend to Coney`s season is now over with. Sunlite Pool is open daily, and the rides will be closed Tuesday-Friday of this week, before opening for daily operation this coming Saturday from 11-9.

The only food that may be brought inside the park is food that is required for verified medical reasons. Otherwise, you will have to keep your food in your car. Now, there are a few picnic tables located outside the front gate if you want to pack a lunch an eat there. But you are not allowed to bring in your own food or drink, like you mentioned you wanted to do.

Uh, computer shut downs of rides are nothing new, and do NOT indicate (usually) major issues with the rides. Furthermore, it does no illustrate an inattentiveness of the ride operators running the ride.

Well, the mid-course brakes are block brakes. The train likely got stuck up there because there was likely still a train sitting on the brake run immediately adjacent to Shake Rattle and Roll. Now, this was likely a result of the computer shutting the ride down for some reason (could be anything from a faulty sensor, to some sort of computer issue). And the reason you likely saw people up there on the mid course brake, is because there were people on the train. It is standard procedure when a ride goes down for mechanical reasons for ride operators to go and talk with the guests on the stranded train in order to keep them calm and alert them to the current situation.

Now that is one world class animation and bit of photography work right there!

And I`d say that the closure isn`t so much as falling sparks, as it is for falling debris. I`m not sure if any of you have ever been close to a fireworks display when it goes off, but there is quite a lot of falling debris from the expended shells when they fall down. At Coney, when they shoot off fireworks on the banks of Lake Como, they shut off the employee lot, because it is so close to the launch pad. After we finally get clearance to go to our cars, there is always debris around (and sometimes ontop of them), if the wind is blowing the right direction.

Well, I know she was at least in Dead Awakening for Halloween Haunt. She was likely also in a show in the peak summer season last year, although I`m not sure which one. I`m sure Ryan will know.

The new River Runner at Coney Island is now officially open. Additionally, construction on the new Eurobungy Dome is well under way. Unfortunately, the Super Slide and Round Up are not quite ready for the season yet.

Yes, he has been practicing. But I believe his longest practice jump was with twelve trucks, or half of what his jump tomorrow will be.

Might I suggest that you use the search feature of the forums? It can be a powerful tool that can help you answer your questions. (Particularly in finding a thread titled "Defunct KI Rides" which will answer some of your questions.) Furthermore, The Vortex did not use most of the old FOOTINGS of The Bat. Most of the old Bat footings remain undisturbed on The Vortex site and can be readily seen.

Actually, the local news said that some analysts are predicting gas prices could hit $5 or $6 a gallon, THIS summer, if we have a bad hurricane season! I know the pain, it cost me $71 to fill up yesterday!!

This Memorial Day weekend, Coney Island officially kicks off its summer season. Sunlite Pool opens for its 83 anniversary season on Saturday, May 24th and continues with daily operation through September 1st. Additionally, Coney`s classic rides officially open for the summer this Saturday. New this year are three new attractions: the Turtle Parade kiddie ride, the new River Runner and the Eurobungy Dome. The Eurobungy Dome is an upcharge attraction while the Turtle Parade and River Runner are including with rides wristbands and season passes. Also, don`t forget Coney`s other great attractions like the Zoom Flume and Pipeline Plunge water slides at Sunlite Pool. And Coney also offers a wide collection of classic rides including the Tilt-A-Whirl, Trabant, Tempest, Ferris Wheel and last year`s new attraction, the Rock O Plane. Also, don`t forget about Coney`s live shows in the Lakeside Pavilion (next to the Ferris Wheel and adjacent to guest relations and the Museum Shop). The three shows for this year are "Stuck in the `80s", "Coney Island Beats" and "Under the Big Top." All shows are performed daily except Mondays throughout the summer and sponsored by Procter & Gamble`s home care brands. Additionally, the new National City Pavilion debuts this Saturday when WNKU presents the band Over the Rhine. And on Sunday, May 25th, Sheryl Crow performs at the new pavilion. The new National City Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center is located immediately adjacent to Coney Island. The new 4,100 seat pavilion cost more then $3 million to build, and was designed by Cincinnati firm GBBN. To see a full listing of concerts at National City Pavilion, visit their website here.

And in reference to the question you are asking. No, the food stands at KI do not qualify for the carry out exemption from sales tax. If you buy food at a stand in KI, you will have to pay the Ohio Sales tax. However, if you were to leave the park and get a carry out from a fast food restaurant, you would not have to pay the state sales tax.

That is usually only on opening weekend. While lines will not likely be an hour or two to process, you might expect some long lines with this being the holiday weekend and all. But, Kings Island has the season pass processing process down to a tee. Even if there are a bunch of people in line waiting outside of the season pass building, the line will usually move pretty quickly.

I would consider the new program on The Crypt almost like a new attraction. Yes the theming is gone, but the new program provides a very powerful and forceful ride experience. That is almost like a brand new ride for this season. And as others have mentioned, how can you forget the fact that there are two new shows in the Festhaus this year?

I would be surprised if that floral clock was not in full summer form for this weekend.

Uh, KI does have ert sessions on some of their rides. They are from 9:30-10am on selected days in the season. Check out Kings Island`s gold pass calendar for all the details on the Gold Pass and Platinum Pass perks.

No one was ever thrown from The Bat. Furthermore, no one else was ever seriously injured or killed on The Bat. Just like many other popular urban myths, such as The Vortex sinking, they simply are that. Myths, and not based on factual events.

Yes, the chain dogs and anti roll backs for The Bat were located by the wheel assemblies. Additionally, while hairline cracks did occur in the wheels, I believe they did not have to be replaced daily. I have heard that due to the lack of banking, the shock absorbers needed to be replaced frequently, weekly or sometimes daily.

Well, the primary differences were the fact that The Bat didn`t have banked track, which led to issues with the shock absorbers. Additionally, the brakes and brake fins were mounted on the bottoms of the cars, as opposed to by the wheel carriages. Those are just some of the issues that led to The Bat`s sporadic uptime, and eventual closure only a few years after it opened in 1981.