CoastersRZ

Yes, that is very true. 12-5 is not much time for the younger set, or if you just want to visit the park with your season pass and ride the rides. I have no problem with them charging for HH next year, as long as they don`t shorten the season for pass holders by making the entire month of October an upcharge. Somehow, I doubt this will happen for obvious reasons. That being said, it will be interesting to see what the pricing strategy they plan to implement will be for HH. If it is not much different then this year, I`m sure there will be quite a bit of people that will attend, even if less pass holders go. After all, some pass holders tend to buy less stuff while they`re at the park as opposed to those who pay admission to get into the park.

Yeah. Interesting to note, that my new Gold Season Pass that I got this past Sunday does mention the upcharge to KI`s event. However, it states the name of the event as FearFest and not Halloween Haunt. This is likely just a leftover pass from the beginning of the operating season, that never got used as a 2007 season pass.

Although, keep in mind that a Ferris Wheel is NOT a high capacity ride. Similar to the Monster (as well as the Rock O Plane at Coney) only load a limited amount of cars at any given time.

Well, they kept the Thunderhawk name at Michigan`s Adventure. So it is not surprising they are keeping the Dominator name at Kings Dominion. With that announcement, it now means that Kings Island in 2008 will be the only one of the former Paramount Parks that will not have a B&M creation!

You should have received a voucher when you got the ticket to process your pass. I got my 2008 gold season pass this past Sunday. I got a new picture taken, but had I could have simply used my old picture. Also, there was a slight change to how the processing was handled. In years past, everyone filled out paper work, including if you were renewing your passes. This year, if you were renewing, you do not have to fill out the paperwork (as that is all on file with your picture). You only have to fill out the paper work if you are a new pass holder.

I`m hoping to get to the park on October 31st. Get to say farewell to those select rides for the season.

Yeah, right. And they are just staging Dominator at Kings Dominion because it is going to Carowinds, right?

Well, up until about a couple weekends in last year, Kings Island did not regulate the amount of people going through the fear zones. When they moved the Worksite from its location by Slingshot to the path between the Dodgems and IJST, they made both the Worksite and CornStalkers be one directional, and had lines. I must admit, the fact that these midways are closed during the day, also makes it difficult to move from the front of the park to the back of the park.

To look at wood coasters in another light, I recall a quote from someone, possibly a Kings Island maintenance or construction person. The quote was "You never finish building a wooden coaster."

Yes. That wooden coaster was the Shooting Star. The stage for Riverbend is located off to the right of the turnaround. The Riverbend property comes out to about where the building is on the right side of the picture, if not beyond that (out of range of the picture).

Yes, they did move some of the ginko trees from Coney Island to Kings Island. Although, I`m not sure if the ones at Kings Island are still the ones that came from Coney.

And, the trees that are in the circle between the Zephyr and the Obey the Net basketball game in Coney Mall are in fact Ginko trees, although they are not pruned like the push up pops anymore. Also, at Coney, there are several trees in a two lines in front of Moonlite Gardens that are also Ginko trees which are no longer pruned in that meticulous manner.

Coney Island Central now has eight historical pictures from Coney Island from 1971. A big thank you goes out to Raptor for providing the pictures! Coney Island Historical Photos If anyone has pictures from Coney in its heyday and are willing to contribute them to the site, please let me know. Otherwise, enjoy the update to the site. Robbie

Not much remains of the mall. Moonlite Gardens served as one terminus of the mall. The Carousel, Scream Machine and Tilt A Whirl all reside on what used to be the mall. Additionally, the LaRosa`s building across from the Dodgems and Golf also used to front the Mall.

Well, the Grizzly at Kings Dominion (as well as its inferior twin at Great America) were based on plans of the Wildcat. Keep in mind that Coney actually removed the Wildcat before Coney closed in 1971. It became the home for one of the sky ride stations. The area where the Wildcat once stood is now approximately the two story office space for Riverbend. Also, as originally sited, the Shooting Star also could not be rebuilt as the turnaround for the ride now sits on the western portion of Riverbend property. But that is not to say that Coney doesn`t have the land to put in a ride the size of the Tornado from Stricker`s Grove. A very fun ride, that would, in my opinion, be a perfect fit for Coney.

There is quite a bit of "open" land behind the Dodgems and Golf, between Riverbend and the picnic shelters. Although, this same area of land is often used for special events such as the LaRosa`s Balloon Glow. A ride like the Tornado would not take up all the open land. And, there is quite a bit of land between Kellogg Avenue and Lake Como that is primarily only used as overflow parking (it is a mixture of gravel and grass) for sold out concerts. (Although the former allocation is where the Flower show calls home every April).

Well, it is also not a question of how much cash they have or how many loans they could get. They have to anticipate a good return on investment to whatever they invest in the park. Its the same concept with any business. If you invest capital into your business you expect to see some sort of return on your investment. The question is, does Coney feel that a wooden coaster is worth the investment cost associated with it? Will it produce the necessary return on investment? I think that it would, but then again, I`m not privy to all the inner workings and thought processes at Coney either.

Excellent find!! It appears that those cars were going that fast. Also, notice the amount of shade umbrellas and large hats that the ladies were wearing in that video!

Yes. If any one has pictures from Coney Island pre-1972 and would be willing to share them with the site, please let me know through PM. Credit will be given, of course. It would be awesome if we could build the historical portion of the photo gallery, and would be a nice complement to the historical pictures on KICentral.

Yep. And Coney already has a carpenter on the full time staff. Yes, they might have to hire an additional person if they were to get a wooden coaster, but I think the bump in ride ticket sales would more than offset the additional expense. I mean, Stricker`s Grove obviously doesn`t bring in anywhere near as many people as what Coney does, and yet Stricker`s has two wooden coasters (one of which was based on a coaster that used to reside at Coney).

Uh, no. The Beast has three trains, each train having six cars holding six people for a total of thirty six people per train. The GCI trains have six cars per train as well. However, they only have four people per car, so the total train capacity is twenty four as opposed to thirty six. And Son of Beast was designed and built for three trains. The mid course brake that is located before the former location of the loop is a block section. That coupled with the lift, waiting brakes and station brakes provides for four blocks, which can safely run three trains. Because the mid course brake run is so far removed from the station, they didn`t want to have a train get stuck out there if the ride shut down for mechanical reasons. (Wouldn`t exactly be convenient to evacuate the ride in that situation.)

I`ve said it to others, but if Coney were to get a ride the size of the Tornado at Stricker`s Grove, it would put Coney on the map, and be a huge hit amongst the public. Will Coney ever install a wooden coaster again? Who knows. It sure would be a big hit and a nice little draw to the ride side.

Yep. Had a fun time, and always do at Stricker`s Grove. You forgot to mention Gabriel that the train was also not operating due to maintenance. (Teddy Bear was down due to some extensive retracking at the top of the lift hill and the first turn.

Not to mention that if you previously had a Maxx Pass, but will only be getting a Kings Island gold pass next year, you will be able to know which pass is for what year.

Well, based on pictures from RCDB, I`d say it measures in at around 10 feet tall, with a total length stacking in around 200-300 feet long.