CoastersRZ

While on the subject of robots and coasters, look at Disney`s Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom (or Indiana Jones at Disney Land). While these rides are guided by a track, they have on board computers which control the pnuematics that allow for the ride vehicle to shake, turn and rotate slightly. While not on a coaster, the programming of these vehicles is likely very complicated. But these rides have been open for several years with minimal problems. Granted, there is a big difference between a dark ride, and using that technology on a coaster. There is also a big difference between a year round resort park like Disney or Universal and a seasonal amusement park like Kings Island or Cedar Point.

From what I`ve heard, the location that was floated around for X-Flight at Kings Island was not the antique car site. From what I`ve heard (nothing factual, just speculation on the part of someone who will occasionally post on this site), had Paramount gone through with the plans to bring a Vekoma Flying Dutchman to KI, it would have landed on the site of King Cobra.

Not so fast. April 28th, 2000 is the first day that Son of Beast officially opened. Although it was closed the next day and for several weeks there after due to a "rough stretch" of track.

The storage track is still there. Right between the station and the lift hill. Because they only have two trains, it is unlikely that a train would be parked on the storage track, as they can just park the train that is having issues in the station. Also, because of the fact that the lift hill is located away from the main line and midway, the storage track is not readily visible.

Welche, Family Kingdom is several blocks south of downtown Myrtle Beach where the late Pavilion used to reside. Family Kingdom is home to a classic John Allen designed wooden coaster, Swamp Fox. I visited the park back in 2003 and grabbed a ride on Swamp Fox.

I know that at one point this year, Kings Island was NOT using black lights to check people re-entering the park. They were simply stamping your hands with black ink. I know it was like this around the end of June/early July. But, by mid-July, they had switched back to the black light system. In years past, Kings Island has relied on the black light system, so I`m not sure why they, at least temporarily, switched away from it. But I`m sure they had their reasons.

Well, typically (and it is going to happen again this year) the Southern Ohio Region of ACE holds an event at the park the first weekend FearFest is open. And in past years, we have been given lights on tours of some of the haunts. Also, last year, our lanyards allowed us to get to the front of the line for all of the haunts. Now that was one awesome perk!

And the same, obviously, goes for the Grand Carousel as well!

Actually, I believe that most of the footage in that intro was filmed at Coney Island, and not Kings Island. However, I do recall seeing one that was also filmed at Kings Island.

Yes, a huge thank you is in order for Ryan and Dane for planning the event in conjunction with Josh and Don at Kings Island. And as Ryan said, this event, as well as this site, would not be possible without you, the Kings Island fans! It is your patronage to the park and your love of the park that you visit this site and why you attended the event. I know I certainly had fun at the event! And I even had to leave early to attend to family matters, missing the two final portions of the agenda! Hopefully, this can become an annual event, as this one sure seemed to be a big success!

I have to believe that the general consensus was that the event was a great success. It was definitely nice putting some faces to all the screen names. The turnout for the event was wonderful. I know that the staff that were there (Dane, Ryan, Bill, Gabe and myself) had a fun time! A lot of planning and hard work went on to put on this event (primarily organized by Dane and Ryan. Good job guys for putting together a great event! Also, thanks to Josh and Don for helping to make the event possible! Hopefully, this will become an annual tradition!

I have participated in the volunteer program at Kings Island numerous times. I have "worked" shifts in Subway, at LaRosa`s during the first weekend of Winterfest in 2005, in picnics, and a shift in games during FearFest once each of the last two years. KI used to give out two or three tickets to return to the park at a later date. However, this season that policy has changed slightly, as they have eliminated most of the free ticket give aways. I believe that the entire group that volunteers will collectively get two tickets to the park (even if they had say ten people working a shift). It is up to the group then how to divide those two tickets amongst themselves. The program still does exist, however. It is generally a fun way to raise money for organizations, while providing you with a glimpse of seeing the park from a different angle. It is slightly different to not be a guest in the park, but to be working and interacting with the guests.

Yes, for one day general admission, $71 is ridiculous. But there is just so much to do at Walt Disney World, that it takes at least four solid days to experience the parks. The attention to detail in the parks and attractions is simply amazing! When you visit Disney parks, it is quite honestly like visiting another world. A truly awesome experience, and as the article stated, people are willing to pay such high prices for that type of experience. I definitely urge anyone who has never been to a Disney park, to try and make it to one at some point. You will likely not be disappointed.

Very true, very true. I just wrote two of the attractions that I knew didn`t have seat belts.

It is not Firehawk ERT. It is simply the first ride of the day will be Firehawk, meaning we will get to enter the line before the general public does, not unlike how the ACE walk back functions.

That ride does not appear to be a standard Eyerly Monster ride. Incidentally, the Monster at KI is one of the few remaining rides that does not feature seat belts. The other attraction that stands out at the moment is Italian Job. What I found odd on my visit to Cedar Point back in June is that Iron Dragon and Troika at Cedar Point do NOT have seat belts, while both Top Gun and Shake Rattle and Roll had seat belts added this year.

Glad your back safe and sound! Was that 105 degrees a humid 105 degrees or a dry 105? I know that the humidity is supposed to go up drastically the next few days, which makes the high temperatures even more intolerable.

Nah, it won`t be that bad. Of course, I am some what used to working at Coney in 90 degree heat, when you can`t go seek shelter in air conditioning. Speaking of which, I`ll be down at Coney the day after the KIC event. The one thing about hot weather at Coney, is that more people will tend to stay over on the pool side versus the dry ride side.

What he was referring to is that from past years, the number of comp tickets that the park has given to its employees is down. Granted, they don`t have to even give you any tickets. But, if you listened to the conference call, Dick Kinzel stressed how they reduced the number of comp tickets given out at the former Paramount Parks in an attempt to not "give away their product." They also mentioned that they have reduced the steep discounts that used to be offered for admission. They seem to think that charging people more to get into the place will result in them spending MORE once they are within the gates of the park. Granted, they may stay longer if they had to pay $40 to get in versus nothing, but if you pay $40 per person, how many $3.50 Cokes are you going to want to buy? Whereas if admission was cheaper guests might be more apt to spend even more than they already do within the park. But I`m not in charge at Cedar Fair, those are just some casual observations.

Nope. Kings Island has had commercials all year that feature rides that are not at Kings Island. One commercial showed an S&S tower ride as well as an inverting viking ship, both of which are rides that are not found at Kings Island. Sorry to burst your wishful bubble.

Exactly. If there is a gross neglect for safety like operators failing to check an entire side of restraints before dispatching the train, that should be brought to a manager`s attention on the spot. It is a situation that should be remedied if seen and should NOT be occurring to begin with.

Well, if they are in negotiations with Destiny Capital, I highly doubt that they would publicly say that they are discussing a possible sale of the company. However, unlike when the previous news story about a possible take over went public, this time Cedar Fair and Kinzel acted quickly to try and stomp out the rumor. It will certainly be an interesting conference call tomorrow, as I`m sure some of the analysts will be calling in inquiring about the reports of a possible sale. It will also be interesting to see Cedar Fair`s quarterly numbers, with this being the first full quarter of the peak season with all the former Paramount Parks under their control. The one question I have, is that $500 to $800 million number does not have a time frame attached to it. That could have a big impact on how far that money goes. If it is five years as opposed to ten or fifteen, makes a big difference! Also, if Cedar Fair is bought by a private company such as Destiny, then the days of getting a glimpse of the park`s performance will be over. Granted, Cedar Fair has become more secretive with the individual park attendance numbers since the acquisition, they are still very open about the total attendance for the entire chain.

Could it be because of the fact that Avatar and all similar Zamperla rides are not complete circuit rides, but are merely shuttle mode rides with only one train? And as odd as it sounds, I do believe that Great America does NOT consider their Survivor ride (same model as KI`s Avatar, except the seats are oriented in a ring and face outward) a coaster.

I know that if you recently bought your ticket (I bought mine this past Wednesday), the date issue has been corrected to the correct date.

Yep. (I knew I forgot to add something in my post full of facts!)