CoastersRZ

Why mess with something if it isn`t broken? The old saying "if it ain`t broke, don`t fix it" applies in this situation.

What more would you want to know? Watch the boards closer to then, and you will probably find a topic on it, when it is closer to that dreaded day when the coasters stop running for the next five months. At least this year, we will be able to return to the park in less than a month and ride a couple of the rides!

The thing I never got was did they build such a large queue line for the helicopter tours. The main think that I believe led to their demise was the high cost. Something like $29 for a quick 3-5 minute flight, per person

I went to the park this evening, since I had some free time. Crowds were on the light side. Delirium`s line appeared to be longer than Drop Zone`s line! I rode Top Gun, and they have been regrading the campground site which is currently a big plane of dirt. Nearby lightning shut down the high rides for about a half hour at 7:15. The rides reopened, and I got in five very good rides on The Beast (three of those in the dark). The park has begun to prepare for Fear Fest. They have the tent up for Sleepy Hollow Horror, have the floor in place and a couple of the walls. The rest of the walls appeared to be covered up by tarps right next to the tent. Also, they have the Maze of Madness sign and entrance doors in place on the maintenance building next to The Racer. It seems like just yesterday that the park was getting ready to open up.

Have you ridden Iron Dragon? Top Gun, IMO is a far superior ride, even if the track length is shorter. Iron Dragon is just so slow moving that it is a boring coater. Top Gun is a fast paced, high speed ride that is fun. While it is quite a hike to get to the station, I do not think it takes up that much room, or should be removed for simple reasons such as what you suggest.

Actually, Top Gun is not the biggest waste of money since IJST since Top Gun was around well before IJST. Why removed Top Gun? Yes it is a very short ride, but it is still a fun, enjoyable ride. What is people`s obsesion with wanting the arrow coasters to disappear from PKI?

Well guess what? I just recieved an email from Russ Johnson, the Southern Ohio ACE representative. And Fall Freekout at PKI is back, this year as an exclusive ACE event, and not in conjunction with the Great Ohio Coaster Club. The date is October 1st. Below is a copy of the email I recieved from Russ Johnson.

I actually heard that when I was riding Viking Fury earlier this year!

You save $1 over advance purchased tickets. If you have a 2006 season pass and order tickets you save $8 off of the walk up admission price of $24.99. The one thing that the advanced ticket (non season pass version) guarantees is that you will be able to get in. With the season pass ticket, you have no guarantee that you will be admitted into the day you choose to go if it is sold out.

Yes, the ride will be open that weekend. Also, the park has done the final ride on The Beast for the season for the last couple of seasons, so I see no reason why they would not do it again this year.

I was just checking PKI`s website and saw that they have once again added the first weekend in Novemeber to their operating schedule. They will be open November 5th and 6th from 10am to 6pm. Seems like in years past they stayed open a little bit later in the evenings. But who can complain with them being open an extra weekend. I was kind of surprised that they added this weekend with Winterfest starting just three weeks after that weekend! But Fear Fest won`t be going on, so they will have already started to transform the park by then.

Within the last couple of seasons the park has painted most of their attractions. If Nick central takes over HB land, then one can assume that most of those attractions will recieve a fresh coat of paint. That would put Top Gun and Drop Zone as the attractions having gone the longest without new paint. The DZ paint is fading, and IMO, Top Gun would look better with the red (or any other color other than silver) paint. The track color is just too close to the support color.

But those trains are very different in design than what The Vortex`s trains are. To add lapbars to Vortex, which I don`t believe it needs, would either require major work on the trains, or new trains all together. And I do not believe it would improve the ride experience that much.

Top Gun`s track was painted silver back at the end of the 1998 season as part of the Action Zone rebranding of Adventure Village for the debut of Drop Zone and Face Off. King Cobra was painted at the same time.

I`m assuming you were refering to the block brakes before the corkscrew?

Aren`t the golden ticket awards given out soon? It will be interesting to see if PKI retains its claim as the best children`s area in an amusement park. Paramount`s Carowinds could give PKI a run for its money this year!

The Racer has always had lap bars of either the buzz bar or single ratcheting variety.

Yes, Face Off, and the first two inversions on Flight of Fear are cobra rolls. The last two inversions on Vortex are refered to as a boomerang (although B&M refers to this element as a Batwing, like on Top Gun at Paramount`s Carowinds and the element that dips below the midway in a tunnel) Top Gun: The Jet Coaster Batwing, also known as a boomerang. The batwing is on the far right side, and is similar to The Vortex`s boomerang, except that the track is inverted. The picture is not really a good angle of the element.

The name of the song is "Highway to the Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins. There are no exact lyrics in the song "I went to the danger zone." Their is the "Highway to the Danger Zone" line. Also, there are the two lines "I`ll take you/ right into the Danger Zone." Highway to the Danger Zone lyrics

It did not mention that Top Gun would be repainted (and it in fact was not). Although it did mention that it would recieve some sort of Hollywood treatment. I am not sure what that was to this day.

I have not heard any information about if this event will be held this year. I did not go last year because of school work. This year, if it is held, I would go because I will be co-oping and will have my weekends free! If it is happening again this year, I would expect that we would hear information about it soon. Last year I believe it was organized by ACE and the Great Ohio Coaster Club. I just checked the Great Ohio Coaster Club website. This year they are having Fall Freak out at Dorney Park. Too bad they aren`t also having one at PKI, as I thought it was well received by those who attended. It seems that other major parks have an annual enthusiast event, either park sponsored or regionally sponsored by the local ACE region. I find it odd that PKI and its good relation with ACE and enthusiasts in general does not have an annual event, besides Coasterbuzz`s Beast Buzz.

Nope, it is no different. Same exact ride. When PKI was running Flight of Fear a couple years ago without the midcourse break it was different because PKD has always had that on. When PKI retrofitted FoF to the lap bars, the first couple of seasons they were running it wide open, without the trims on. Then I think last year they turned them back on.

Why, why why? What is the big idea of bringing up rumors about Top Gun or Vortex leaving next year?

Some of the acess stairs are recycled from one of The Bat`s lifts. What is it with this crazy rumor about The Vortex. People keeping asking about Vortex sinking every month is seems like!

Yes, Face Off IMO, is one of the underrated rides at PKI. True its capacity is nothing to write home about. But the ride is in general a very smooth ride. The g forces on the ride are quite powerful. This ride doesn`t waste time with "cute" turns and little drops. It is all aboout the loops and the two hills that get the trains up to speed to clear the inversions. The ride is definantly a unique ride experience.