CoastersRZ

Yes, P&G rents out the park for an entire weekend. They used to rent it for just a Saturday, but around 1999 or 2000 they started renting it out the entire weekend in September. P&G has had a company picnic at Kings Island every season the park has been open, and they had company picnics at Coney before KI opened in 1972.

No, IJST does not go upside down.

I would imagine most, if not all of the rides in the current Hanna Barbera Land will remain. It will most likely be similar to the Hanna Barbera Land renovation back in 1998 when they repainted a majority of the rides and renamed them. I think PKI will keep the classic rides and retheme and name them to fit in with the Nickelodeon theme. Yes it will be sad to see the classics leave, at least they will still have Scooby. Hopefully, they keep the kiddie bumper cars! With the large addition to Carowinds` Nick Central, PKI will have to make a big expansion to their land next year to retain the golden ticket award for best children`s area (or reclaim it if Carowinds dethrones Kings Island of that award this season as I have heard they might!)

While nothing official has been announced, an article in the Cincinnati Post on the 7th of April did mention the campground will be closed this season to allow for construction of the new resort. As far as I know, PKI and Great Wolf are still negotiating terms of the deal. IE would PKI sell the land to Great Wolf, lease the land, who will pay for the new campground, where will it be located, will PKI share a percentage of the profits. It will most definantly happen, the two sides just have to iron out the details. I personally hope PKI leases the land to Great Wolf and does not sell it. That is just my two cents.

The thing with adding a Kings Island History section to the Paramount Story, is space. The Paramount Story is already land locked by midways, foodstands, the Carousel and other assorted buildings. As the saying goes, why fix something if it isn`t broken.

I`m really looking forward to taking a spin on it. When I was there today, I did not see it complete any test runs. But there were about four people working on a train on the transfer track around 3:30.

Now, the third Son of Beast train, as I understand it, undergoes its winter maintenance during the summer (when the mechanics have free time during operating hours. That way, when the winter maintenance comes around, they only have to deconstruct and rebuild one of Son of Beast`s trains in the off season.

Yes, when I rode FoF last weekend it was just the lights along the wall on the bottom that were lit. None on the ceiling of the ride. It was cool to finally see the twisted mess of steel, but I prefer the disorienting darkness of the building than I do witht the lights on.

I don`t think so. As far as I know, the Kenton`s Cove Keelboat Canal cars were stripped of the parts that could be used as replacement parts on Wild Thornberrys before they were scrapped. The park doesn`t have room to store the old cars somewhere in the park. For example, I doubt that they even have a single Bat car in existance somewhere within the park.

Um. How do you get "forceful turbulent ride with quick turns and sudden drops" from JTR?

Does anyone know how long the ride will be in feet? I heard rumors of it being around 3,000 feet long which seems a little short. I think it will end up being around 2,000-2,500 feet which will put it about as long as Top Gun and Flight of Fear, in terms of length. I am really looking forward to getting to ride this ride. I think it will be a really fun and enjoyable ride, even if not fun on thrills. This ride will be more about the story and theming than the roller coaster thrills. The ride vehicles, like at Disney parks, are a conveyance device that allows the guests to partake in an adventure and a story.

The Antique Cars, as I mentioned in another post that you replied to, are currently parks between The Racer and the Zephyr (Swings), where the floats for the Nick Parade were stored last season. The cars currently have blue tarps over them to protect them from the elements, which means the park probably plans to use them for something in the future.

Well, as far as I know, all the theming from the smurf`s and Sunshine Turnpike have long since dissapeared. The theming for Phantom Theater is still in storage in the park somewhere as they brought out a couple of the animatronics for the line of Dracula`s Huanted Castle during Fear Fest last October. King Cobra has parts scattered about the park. One train is located in the drum of Flight of Fear, with some of the track and supports located back behind the maintenance buildings behind Flight of Fear, down towards the Little Miami River a little bit. The rest of the track and support structure is stored on a field behind Son of Beast. I don`t know how much stuff the park actually holds onto from past attractions. I know there is nothing left of Kenton`s Cove Keelboat Canal, as that ride was completly scrapped. The Antique Cars, after being removed last season were parked behin the Zephyr, next to The Racer. As of last weekend the cars were still there with blue tarps over them protecting them. Could this be a sign they may return in 2006 in a Nick Central expansion? Possibly. I don`t see why the park would hold onto them if they didn`t plan to use them for something in the future.

It is the Department of Agriculture`s Ride Safety Division that inspects all the rides in the state of Ohio. If you notice, every ride in the state has a brass plaque with an identification number, that also says ODoA-RSD. Every year a new colored sticker is placed on the plaque with a number to indicate it has been inspected. Having worked at Coney, inspectors do not just inspect the rides before they open, but make spot checks throughout the year to make sure daily paper work on the rides is up to date, that all rules are followed and that heights are being properly checked. I worked last year when the inspector was at Coney (we had a couple things he did not like, mostly involving minor techinical things and height checking on one particular ride. A couple days later, I saw the same inspector up at Kings Island at The Beast exit talking to one of the managers. To sum it up, I don`t know how the Department of Agriculture got the responisibility for inspecting rides. Probably stemmed out of the state fair. But Ohio`s ride inspection program is one of the more stringent inspection programs in the country, despite the bumper car issue at the county fair a while back.

Well, I think the Eiffel Tower and Face Off are not quite ready after their paint job (I didn`t go today but was there last weekend). Also, not sure if Top Gun is done with its own Hollywood makeover, whatever that entails. Last week, the trains were not even on the track, which means that the Ohio Department of Agriculture has yet to inspect the ride and clear it for the public to ride (but they could have done all that during this past week).

It all depends what the park has in store for Winterfest.

I think, as I stated above, that the passes that have been processed this year, either this past couple of weeks or today, are the ones that mention Winterfest. Only time will tell what develops.

Would that perchance be the TR:TR photo booth that was built and used for the 2002 season before going dark in 2003?

Ok, there is nothing on the park maps about Winterfest. Secondly, the person that read the thing about Winterfest on the back of their season pass got it processed today I believe. I got my pass processed last fall and it says nothing about Winterfest. Since I haven`t seen the back of a pass that has been processed this year, I don`t know if it is there or not. Yes, I actually thought of Winterfest today because it was so cold and windy. If the park does do Winterfest, hopefully they will have a larger turnout than what they had today, LOL.

Yes, but PKI receives/pays for their services, right? I know PKI receives some money from the on ride photos they sell.

Yeah, it was pretty brutal, especially walking back out to the parking lot! The thing that got me though, is when we were leaving Spongebob, The Vortex photo booth had workers in it, when The Vortex was closed. It seems like they should have been sent home (this was at around 11:10) so the park wouldn`t loose more money than they already lost today.

While I can not confirm this, I am glad that the park most likely will be returning Winterfest this season. Although, I will be bummed that it won`t be included with season passes! Hopefully they will offer at least a discount to pass holders though. It will be interesting to finally hear all the details!

Just got back from a cold, windy wet park. The park ended up closing at 12 today due to the weather, and several rides were not operating (All the steel coasters except Topcat`s Taxi Jam as well as The Beastie and Son of Beast were down. Most of the other rides were open though, and the lines were non existant. I mean, the weather was awfully brutal. Most people came and got their souvenir cups and left. IJST is coming along nicely, although they still have a lot of work to do on it!

Yes, when the sun is setting or rising, The Vortex`s orange track ccan often look like shades of yellow, as was discussed in annother thread in relation to one of the pictures of The Vortex. Yes, the Eiffel Tower is getting a paint job this season (as well as Face Off) but the Tower`s will not quite be ready for opening day due to the cold and then rainy weather we have had this winter and spring. Also, in the season pass email newsletter, the park mentioned that "Top Gun, Face/Off, and the Eiffel Tower will experience a Hollywood makeover..." Not sure what sort of Hollywood makeover they have planned for Top Gun. A return of the msit below the tracks? A restoration of the theming below the station perhaps?

The cars will indeed have actuators mounted on the frames, so the seats and riders will "shake" as the trains go down the subway stairs. Additionally, the trains feature on board surround sound systems with a subwoofer mounted below the seats, for the vibration of the engine effect. The trains will also feature working headlights. The trains technologically, will be similar to Rock `N` Roller Coaster at Disney MGM studios, which are also complete with on board audio and headlights.