CoastersRZ

The lineup for this summer`s inaugural season at the National City Pavilion has been announced. From Cincinnati.com

Yes, staffing will be a prime issue, particularly during the first few Fridays in May, and during the earlier hours in the day. More ride would likely open up in the afternoon, as some of the high schoolers get out of school. Since the park is open until 10pm those days, there might be a considerable amount of general public that files in to enjoy the park in the evening.

As it stands right now only three rides will be open for the Flower Show. Scrambler, Tempest, and Helicopters. The River Runner will not be ready in time for the flower show. The Flower Show opens in less then two weeks!

Right. And that may indeed be the case. However, certain trades, like architectural firms, and some other trades like electricians must be licensed in the state before they can practice in each state. That in itself is not impossible to do. Many of the firms I`ve co-oped at have held licenses in multiple states. But sometimes it is easier if the park can have someone local do the work that is familiar with the park, and can be called on an instants notice.

I highly doubt that Cedar Fair asked a company to travel to all of their parks putting up the new signs. Likely, they went with a local company for this work. Maybe, with the new ownership, they opted to switch to another company. Maybe they have experience with a company that is in Sandusky that is also in Cincinnati. I just doubt they would ask one company to travel multiple states to install the signs. Specifically when certain things require licenses in each state.

Well, I`ve heard that they are going to release the preliminary schedule of performances at the National City Pavilion tomorrow. So we should see what is in store then. Additionally, if National City ends up being sold (as has been speculated in numerous news articles), the Pavilion may get a new name sooner rather than later.

Actually, I believe that you were supposed to write your name on the back of your pass, so that you could tell which pass was your pass. That way, you wouldn`t have to worry about using your brothers pass and vice versa. Using someone else`s pass is something that isn`t taken lightly. At Coney, if we catch someone using someone else`s pass, we have the right to confiscate it right on the spot. However, Coney is slightly different then KI. At Coney, guests with passes have to show the ride ops their pass before they board each ride. As a result, we have to verify that the picture on their pass is actually the person using the pass. If it isn`t, we can confiscate their pass. They can then receive their pass the following day. If they get caught three times, they loose their pass permanently, without refund.

Well, the reason the gold pass and KI only regular pass are the same as they were last year, is that there is no point in changing the design just for the sake of changing the design. This also allows them to use any leftover passes they had from 2007 for the 2008 season passes. As far as the pictures go, that was likely a result of cost savings. They do not have to have the printers or buy the ink that was used to print your pictures on your pass. Some season passes that were bought in 2005 no longer had pictures on them anymore. Your pass is linked to your picture on the system. When they swipe your pass at the parking tolls and front gate, a large color pictures of yourself shows up on their screen. They then have to confirm that the picture matches the person using the pass. I believe that several of the legacy Cedar Fair parks (including Cedar Point), are upgrading their ticketing system this year. As a result, if you have a Platinum Pass from KI, you will be able to go straight to the gates and swipe it and it will recognize your pass. The systems will be integrated. I do believe that not all of the legacy parks are getting this upgrade this year though. At one point in time, Kings Island passes actually had your name on them. That went away for the 2001 season, the first year that Kings Island had the Gold Pass program. As an aside, all the season passes at Coney feature names, as well as color pictures.

Leave the moderating to the moderators please, Beast1979.

And there could be several reasons for that. It could be that there was some sort of structural issue (ie water damage, or rot) that was cost prohibitive to keep that pre-facade set of columns on KI`s theater. And I do not think that the KI Theater sign looks that bad. I mean, they did keep it as a neon sign. Had they wanted to do it cheap, it would have been a simple graphics sign like the attraction guideline signs. Keep in mind that with neon signs, the cost associated with purchasing the signs is only a portion of the costs. You have the cost of actually mounting the signs in place, as well as all the labor costs for running the electrical supplies to each of the new sign locations.

There has not been much change to any of the new attractions for 2008. Electrical work has continued at the River Runner, but there still is no entrance/exit platform up to the actual ship. The Turtle Parade ride has not been touched at all since my visit nearly two weeks ago. There still is no sign of the Eurobungy Dome yet. Frog Hopper`s mechanical unit has been placed on its new pad, but the actual "tower" portion of the ride has yet to be put in place. But the park is showing signs of coming alive for the season. The ride mechanics were busy today installed the cars on the Rock O Plane, last years new addition. Also, the Ferris Wheel cars are awaiting to be installed onto the ride. The Cincinnati Flower Show is open to the Public April 20th through 27th. Advanced admission tickets are available at Cincinnati area Kroger stores and National City locations for $15. Admission at the gate is $20. Children 3-15 are admitted for $2. Additionally, several selected rides along Lake Como will likely be in operation for the Flower show. In year`s past, these rides have included the Pedal Boats, Scrambler, and Tempest. Since Spin a Ree and Frog Hopper also used to open and they are no longer located where the River Runner is (which will likely not be open for the Flower show), the Ferris Wheel and/or the Helicopters might be open. I`ll let you know which rides exactly will be open, as soon as I find out. (There is a chance I could be running the rides on the weekends of the show. I`ll also be down there next weekend helping set up for the event, which is why I was at the volunteer orientation today)

I`ve never actually been to a concert at Riverbend. However, the roof does not obstruct sight lines of the stage from the lawn seats. Obviously, the lawn seats are cheaper then the Pavilion seats, because you are farther away from the stage. (The same reason why sports tickets are cheaper the closer to the nose bleed sections you get.)

I myself was expecting to see pictures accompanying the article as well, when I found the headline at lunch today. I can say, that as of two weeks ago, there wasn`t much to see. I am not a big fan of the building, as it is completely out of scale, and literally turns its back to Coney. That can somewhat be seen in this picture. That picture doesn`t make it seem that large, but if you venture over to the Dodgems/LaRosa`s at Coney this year, that stage building literally is a dominating structure.

The Cincinnati Enquirer today had an article discussing the new National City Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center. Read the article here The National City Pavilion sits on the northwest corner of the Riverbend property, and adjacent to the Dodgems from Coney Island. The Cincinnati firm GBBN Architects were the architects of record for the new multi-million pavilion.

It is a rather large building. And, it very dominating if you are by the Dodgems. Hopefully, they will at least put some paint on the precast concrete planks that make up the walls for the stage house. They are supposed to do some landscape and earthwork, to try and hide a bump out at the base of the building. It certainly looks a lot different then that area did back in September (or even the first weekend of October, when there was nothing but mud there).

I do not yet know what the height requirement will be for River Runner. Yes, I would assume adults will be able to ride it. I am not sure what the minimum height requirements will be. It will likely be similar to the Ferris Wheel. On that, kids must be 36" to ride. If they are taller then 36" but shorter then 48", then they need a chaperone to ride. At Coney, as with at Kings Island, a chaperone is considered to be someone 16 years of age or older, and a person who is able to abide by the rules and regulations of the said attraction.

I assume that "one somebody" you were referring to, was in fact me. Yes, I did apply for a co-op job at Walt Disney Imagineering for my current quarter co-op. However, they were never able to give me a firm answer or even response to my resume. (Hindered by the fact that they recently had reshuffled positions, and I had to contact about three or four people before I contacted the correct person. I`m happy with the firm I ended up at. The next five months will surely be exciting. But, I am choosing not to disclose what firm I`m working at for personal reasons.

Kind of like the "live show" that Paramount had in the venue now known as the Kings Island Theatre after it was renovated. Paramount`s Magic of the Movies: Live was one of the WORST live shows to ever be put on at Kings Island, as a bulk of the show was just showing clips from Paramount Movies and how the effects were "made".

P&G used to, at one point in time, only buy out Saturday. Then for a few years, they actually opened the park on Friday night from 5-10. But for about the last six or seven years, it has been Saturday and Sunday in September that P&G has rented out the park.

Which, I`m assuming costs a lot of money. More money then most coaster groups would be willing to pay for an event at the park, regardless of how short the lines would be. Look at Coastermania at Cedar Point. That event is open to ALL coaster clubs. And if the park were to be open exclusively just for coaster clubs, the crowds would be very light. As has been mentioned before, coaster enthusiasts that belong to coaster clubs are the rare minority when it comes to park visitors. There are some people that consider them selves enthusiasts, who do not belong to coaster clubs. Some, just enjoy visiting their local parks often, and occasionally hitting a new park every once in a while. They are not as obsessed with roller coasters and amusement parks as what most people who visit coaster related sites are. Remember, amusement parks are a business, and they will cater to what best suits the needs of the largest target market, which coaster enthusiasts are, for the most part, not the main target market. I am a former ACE member. I was a member of ACE for seven years. I did not renew my membership this year. Several factors played into my decision not to renew. The primary one was cost. ACE has high membership dues, and I only usually attended the fall event at KI, which did not happen last year. Additionally, I did not partake in the ACE walkback last year. In part that was because that perk is not as valuable any more since the gold pass and early ride times came about. And the final straw in the hat for my decision not to renew my ACE membership was that by the time you got the publications, the news was already several weeks or months out of date.

Cedar Fair will sell the land and properties to whomever offers them the most amount of money. To be honest, they probably don`t care whether the highest bidder will keep the Big Dipper or not.

My first ride was aboard The Beastie back in 1987. And to top it off, it was a back seat ride, with my hands up (so what if my hands were held up by my aunt, and it was before the lift hill! And I have picture proof of it. My first roller coaster ride.

You might be a KI addict if you show up at the park on a cloudy, damp Thursday in September for a commercial video shoot on The Vortex. A day when the park itself was closed. And did I mention that they were stopping the train on the mid course break run? That was back in September of 2005. There were several other members of these boards that attended that particular shoot including the Klockster, CoastersnSich, and ZosoBeast. As an aside, you might be a Coney Island addict, if you have worked there for six years, even if the pay is extremely low. And if you find yourself building a website dedicated to Coney Island. And if you are about ready to begin your seventh year of employment at said park!

I believe that he is referring to the PBS special that featured Coney and was made in the late 80`s. If I remember correctly, it starred Nick Clooney as the narrator. Not sure where you`ll be able to find it.

Patience is a virtue my friend. Good things often come to those who wait...