CoastersRZ

Driving on Columbia Parkway to get to UC every week day, I pass by Lunken airport. Goldstar`s commisary is by Lunken. That is not the most pleasant smell at 9:30 in the morning. Speaking of Skyline, the Skyline in Coney Mall at KI is featured in one of the Skyline commercials that has been airing on television the last several weeks. The footage was shot at the park in 2005.

Well, I wouldn`t say "hardly" anyone is there during the week. There can be weekdays when the park is very crowded. Heck, even at Coney, there would be weekdays when we would get large crowds, especially if the weather was nice.

Except for the fact that Skyline and LaRosa`s have been in KI for many, many years. LaRosa`s for example has been in the park since it opened in 1972. Granted guests might be familiar with their offerings. There is still a considerable markup. Add to that the fact that the portion sizes (at least at Skyline) will be smaller than what they are at a normal Skyline, with usually sub-par quality at the in park Skyline. Logic would say that at least pass holders would spend less money in the park with the higher prices since they can visit the park many times a year. If it was more reasonably prices, I would be enticed to occasionally spend money on food in the park. But unless their are unusual circumstances, I will just wait until I leave the park before I get food. But it seems like guests are having no problem paying the higher food costs at KI so far this season!

Yes, the clown band was known as the "Kings of Komedy."

Ah. Senior year I took AP Physics. On the last week of classes, we went on a field trip to KI for Math and Science days. But because the park was open for daily operations by that time, it was an 'alternative' math and science day. Our Physics teacher gave us a packet to fill out at the park. But before we got off the bus he said it would be extra credit if we think we needed it to improve our grade. What a field trip to be the last one in high school!

The reason that they assign seats is because of capacity. On IJ, they pair singles and groups of three to eliminate empty seats being sent out. That in turn improves capacity and shortens the amount of time you spend waiting in line. I`ve been told by my parents, that they used to do this on The Beast back when it first opened. (Heck, during a season pass holder preview day back in 1999, they were assigning seats on Face Off because of its low capacity.

If memory serves me correct, wasn`t Hypersonic XLC from 2001, and not the same year as Stealth and Son of Beast?

Not that I know about. The park is still hoping to have the ride opened at some point in the 2007 season. But an exact date has not been pin pointed. There are a lot of factors that will likely play into the decision of when (and possibly if) to reopen the ride this season.

They were painting some of the supports Saturday morning.

It was getting busy. In part because, like the past two Saturdays, there were a large amount of school and charter buses in the parking lot.

I have a brief trip report from the Island on Cinco de Mayo. I am going to focus not so much on the rides, but developments/improvements the park has made since last week. I arrived at the park shortly after 9:30 to take advantage of the early ride time in the Action Zone with my Gold Maxx Pass. The ert operates much the same way it did last year. You show your pass to the worker/security guard at the metal gates that were positioned right past the Paramount Theater. The Coca-Cola Oasis has been completed, and the misters were operating today. Additionally, the park was now running the third train on Adventure Express. The Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad was also open today. One major ride was down the entire three hours I was there, and that would be The Beast. Work is progressing nicely on Firehawk. It appears as if all the track is now completely painted. Only some of the supports in the helix, and for the lift hill and first drop have yet to be painted (they were painting today). The photo booth has also been painted and there were workers working on that. Also, the lights on the lift hill have been installed, and were lit today. Crews were also busy installing the queue rails for the ride today. There were still no trains on the track, however. It is really starting to take shape. Won`t be too much longer. Click here to see a few pictures of the progress of Firehawk, as well as the new Coke Oasis and height check station.

Ok, I`m slightly confused with your post. You are saying that Holiday World doesn`t put money into the park like other major parks? Well, for starters, both the Raven and Legend started off as one train rides. But do to the popularity of the rides, and growing attendance levels, Holiday World added a second train to those rides. Additionally, the additions in 2006, their 60th season, was the most amount of money they had spent on new rides in a single season in their entire history. So I am failing to see your 'lack of reinvestment' concept that you claim Holiday World is suffering from. And part of why Holiday World has been successful, is their emphasis on friendly courteous service. Not to mention the fact that they try and keep the park as clean as possible for the guests. Throw into the mix the "free" soft drinks and "free" parking, and you have a park that appeals to families. And will keep them coming back for more, despite its relatively remote location.

I agree that working together with the GWL in Mason appears to be a "win-win" situation. However, up in Sandusky Cedar Fair`s Castaway Bay is in direct competition with the GWL Sandusky. Also, keep in mind that CBS still owns a share of the Great Wolf Lodge (about 14%). CBS apparently offered that stake to Cedar Fair. But Cedar Fair declined to purchase the share.

But, at Geauga Lake, the water park is turning into the major draw of the park. It would be silly to separate the dry side from the wet side of the park, because that park is struggling as it is. Yes, many of the water parks that were built at the Paramount Parks were built integral into the parks. The main exception is Boomerang Bay at Kings Island, which was built on the outskirts of the park. The water park offers guests a reason to stay at Kings Island longer. The longer they stay at the park, the more money the guests will likely spend. And Cedar Fair is ever concerned with guest per capita spending.

Well, technically, many may argue that Paramount had a lack of enthusiasm towards dark rides as well. I think others will agree that Phantom Theater was a much better dark ride than what Scooby is. But, on the flipside, Scooby draws in long lines which is something that PT didn`t do its last couple of seasons. (And Paramount did add Scooby rides to many of its parks.

I have a couple additional comments to add, having listened to the conference call. -Season pass sales at the former Paramount Parks are down. They attribute this to the fact that they started selling them later than they typically had been. A contributing factor was that the prices were slightly higher and the restructuring of some of the perks offered with their passes (likely bring a friend free days). -Also, an analyst asked about the connection that KI has with the Great Wolf Lodge. Kinzel responded with the fact that their marketing agreement will ultimately lead to more tourists and people coming to the area which will inevitably lead to more people visiting Kings Island.

Its still rather early to tell one way or the other who is better for Kings Island. Especially since the full season has yet to get underway. I think that we will have a better indication of how Cedar Fair runs things once the full summer season starts up and the park gets Firehawk flying. I like the fact that Cedar Fair has come in and put a major new coaster in the park in the first full season of their control. I also think that it bodes well for us that Dick Kinzel seems to think that we have a wonderful and beautiful park. Hopefully, that means good things to come this season, and in future seasons.

As the Interpreter said, I doubt that we see Boomerang Bay become a separate gate. It would be a hard sell to the general public. Especially since it has been included with park admission since it opened in 1989. Yeah, if you listened to the conference call, season pass sales are down at the former Paramount Parks. In part, they are crediting that to increased prices and some perks that have been removed (like the bring a friend free days).

Yes, as others have said, it is best to start off by hitting Rivertown area of the park at opening. The Beast usually has little to no line right when the park opens. I then usually head over to Flight of Fear to grab a couple rides on that before it gets a long line. Of course, with Firehawk opening Memorial Day weekend, Flight of Fear will likely become busy right at park opening as well. Since you will be at the park on weekdays, you should have no problem getting in all the attractions. Obviously, some rides like IJST, Face Off and Drop Zone have lower capacities than rides like Vortex. Don`t let a long line at Vortex full you, it may seem long, but it generally moves rather quickly. Some of the don`t miss attractions are Flight of Fear, The Beast, and Delirium. Also, you can`t go wrong with classics like Shake Rattle and Roll, the Scrambler, and the Monster. Drop Zone is also a nice thrill and will give you a birds eye view from a slightly different angle than what you could get from atop the Eiffel Tower. As far as restaurants go, the park offers Cincinnati favorites such as LaRosa`s Pizza, Skyline Chili, and Graeter`s Ice Cream. The park also offers Subway and a Chik-Fil-A, and eventually will also offer a Panda Express in the Festhaus later this year. There is also a all you can eat buffet in the Wings Diner across from the wild Thornberrys River Adventure. Be forewarned that the food prices are on the steep side. Especially at the all you can eat buffet (expect that to set you back about $15 a person). I hope that helps you out some. Most importantly, have fun while you are at the park. Afterall, that is why the park is in business.

Well, I know that last October, it was not uncommon to see a security guard standing on Beast`s exit ramp for the last couple hours of the night. Especially for the last couple of rides of the night.

He had some very kind comments with regards to Kings Island. He also mentioned that it was a 'beautiful park on par with some of the Disney parks'.

Yep, those aren`t movie posters. They are posters promoting events and attractions within the park (including the three point challenge). And yes, one of the faces on the FearFest poster is from someone on this site.

Well, there is your answer. As it always says on the online park operating calendar as well as in the maps, the operating hours are subject to change. It is rather curious that they are open that day, since it is not a Math and Science day (like the 16th is). Obviously, they must feel that they can attract enough guests that day to make some money.

Well, I attended a lecture last week that was given by a Disney Imagineer. At the lecture he said something along these lines. If there is a safety issue on Main Street that results in an injury once out of every million guests, that may not seem like a lot. But consider that the Magic Kingdom attracts 15 million guests (average) each year and that those guests must walk down Mainstreet twice (once on their way in and once on their way out), that results in 30 injuries a year. That is 300 injuries in a decade. While it might not seem significant, it can add up. Granted, Kings Island doesn`t attract the same amount of people as what Disney parks do, but they still attract large volumes of people. The same situation applies, just with slightly smaller numbers.

I`ll have to bite my tongue as well on the SoB comment. Still in disbelief that it was actually said, but to each their own. I don`t believe that there was any "new" padding added to Vortex this year. The only change as far as I know was the addition of the seat belt.