CoastersRZ

I think a lot of it also has to do with the new attractions that they are adding at the Six Flags parks. I mean, yes, West Coast Racers looks good. But when was the last time that Six Flags St. Louis got a sizeable new investment?

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/10/things-are-so-bad-for-six-flags-it-got-downgraded-twice-by-the-same-analyst-in-less-than-12-hours.html Hopefully this is just a trend at Six Flags and not an indication of how things are going at Cedar Fair. Definitely glad that Six Flags did not go through with the reported purchase/merger of Cedar Fair.

The Racer is not a clone. It was the original. Racer 75 (which opened after KI`s Racer) is slightly different in the fact that the turn around does not fan out like it does on Racer.

Captain Nemo, hit it right on the head. I think the park was forced to either spend millions of dollars to fix something or retire the ride. Given the ride is so old, they likely decided that the return on investment for the fix just wasn`t there, given the rides age and marketability. I am sure that the park tracks maintenance costs per rider (obviously, that is not a public number, but an internal number for making decisions like this. Because of the apparent abrupt decision to remove the ride, that is likely why they do not have any immediate plans to replace the ride. I am sure that they will eventually replace it with something. It is a rather large plot of land, that is very visible from both the midway and Shake Rattle and Roll queue/ride area.

Keep in mind, that day of game, the tickets are $2 more. Yes, you can eat up in that restaurant. My wife and I have been meaning to eat up there before a game sometime. We always remember that when we are on our way out.

The one thing I was wondering after reading that blog post is there is no mention of the Mystic Timbers trains. I wonder how those factor into the train rehab schedule. I know that for Winterfest, Mystic is only running with two trains, as they presumably are starting to do the rehab on one of the trains.

For the record, I will be at the game! For those that do not follow hockey, the Cyclones are currently in first place in their division of the ECHL. They also had the best record in the league last year, winning the Brabham Cup. Unfortunately, they were eliminated in the playoffs last year.

On February 28th, the Cincinnati Cyclones will become the Cincinnati Beasts, for one night only. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a Justin Vaive riding The Beast bobblehead. https://cycloneshockey.com/game/2020/02/28/cincinnati-beasts-night?fbclid=IwAR3eKBsDr7xk_covpChGXvAWjuwxebRWghpFAHjItQMzm1qi1pqLfrJefAE

I totally forgot that ride was added this year... For those who haven`t been to Canada`s Wonderland, it is a great park.

What is the third B&M at Canada`s Wonderland? They have Leviathan and Behemoth.

I always thought that their placement, so far away from the main water park, was a bit puzzling. I wonder if they removed them with intentions to install them somewhere else in the water park down the road, or if they are gone for good.

They likely had to pay a licensing fee of some kind (or a percentage of sales) to Pink`s. That is likely why they opted to remove it. Higher profit margin potential for the Mac and Cheese bar. Not to mention those that have had the Mac and cheese bar at KI when they have had it have loved it.

I thought that, based on the press conference they had yesterday, that the bricks would be placed in the park. Per the below link, the bricks will be placed along the main midway. https://www.cedarpoint.com/play/events/150th-anniversary/guest-experiences

Clearly, the city`s position is they are not going to rewrite their sound ordinance. The fact that the one resident testified at the council meeting suggesting what will they build next? Orion is on the opposite side of the park from Diamondback. Nothing has changed operationally (in terms of park hours), other than the fact that they now have Winterfest in late November/ December. As Malem pointed out, the house built in 1961 likely has minimal insulation in it, which leads to more sound transmission into the house. Insulation by its very nature is used for thermal properties as well as noise deadening. I am sure the park will try to be good neighbors to these folks, but the fact that these people are wanting the park to not build rides simply because of noise is a little bit of an over reach.

For a coaster that was to open in 2019, I wonder what the delays were in building this thing. Makes sense to preview it with pass holders though. If there is extended down time, then the people already have a pass to return another day to experience the ride.

Precisely. They could have opted to not move near an amusement park. This same thing came up shortly after KI started offering helicopter tours back in the early 2000s.

For the most part, I would say that the park has been removing vending machines, rather than adding them. The Beast, and Diamondback are the only two major rides at KI that I can think of off the top of my head that have vending machines. There used to be some down by the Vortex exit on the midway, but they removed those a couple of years ago. Not sure if there are still some between Invertigo and Congo Falls.

They moved to the current location of the Fireworks when they put in Firehawk, I believe.

I find it interesting that the old Firehawk photo booth is still standing. I wonder if any theming will be applied to it/in it.

You can`t go wrong with Michael Giacchino. Although both provide dramatic music.

Dollywood. It is the only park besides Kings Island that I have ever had a pass to. While it is five hours away, I still consider it like a second home park. The shows, events, and rides are all pretty well rounded. I can`t wait to take my kids there. Have to give another shout out to that little park in Southern Indiana, Holiday World. Made a lot of pilgrimmages there as well.

They did alter the show that is in the Festhaus this year. I personally preferred the original from the last two years. Although, the show was better when it was in the Kings Island Theater for Winterfest 2005 (and had some added songs and elements).

Most newer B&Ms utilize drive tires in the load station to push the trains to the lift. Some rides, like Fury 325, Gatekeeper and Banshee have gift shops under the stations, but they still have areas dedicated to the ride electrical equipment. Even some rides the appear to be at grade have mechanical closets or buildings close by to house most of the electrical equipment and the plc.

A lot of it has to do with the mechanics of the ride. Most often, the rides require electrical rooms for the control systems, as well as compressors to run all the brakes, and the pneumatic gates in the station. These often end up being located below the station.

They had a parade in the incarnation of the Winterfest in 2005. I still find it odd that Kings Island hasn`t copied Carowinds` lead and opened Winterfest earlier, especially on the weekends. It would be nice in a way if they stayed open until 11, or opened earlier. As you noted, there is a lot of entertainment to choose from. It is almost impossible to do everything in one night. That is probably by design. They probably want people to visit multiple times so that they end up spending more money.