CoastersRZ

More official details on the Canada`s Wonderland website here: https://www.canadaswonderland.com/play/rides/yukon-striker It is indeed the worlds tallest, fastest, longest dive coaster taking the records from Valravn. Also, Canada`s Wonderland announced that they will be hosting WinterFest in 2019. https://www.canadaswonderland.com/play/winterfest That means that starting next year, all five former Paramount Parks will now have WinterFest events, and are joined by Worlds of Fun. I wonder if other parks will join in (Dorney?).

Looks like a very nice addition to Canada`s Wonderland. I like how the lift is so close to Windseeker. And how it interacts with Vortex (the suspended coaster like The Bat), and goes over their Congo Falls ride. Gives me another reason to get up to Canada`s Wonderland. I still need to get down to Carowinds to ride Fury 325 too.

Its not just Canada`s Wonderland. Apparently California`s Great America is doing the same for 2019 pass holders (they get unlimited visits the rest of the 2018 season. Also, California`s Great America is getting the Pre-K pass. I would look for similar things to happen at KI. I never quite figured out why they didn`t let pass holders who purchased the next season pass in the fall in an unlimited times the rest of the remaining season. Lets them get in the door and potentially spend more money. This is the way it was done pre-Cedar Fair purchase. And since the attendance has been down at Cedar Fair, this seems like a perfect time to institute this policy. (Yes, they may loose some additional admissions revenue in doing this). Also, look for the Cedar Fair parks to start announcing their 2019 capital ride additions, in order to drive season pass sales. For example, Canada`s Wonderland is set to announce their new ride early tomorrow morning.

Well, I believe the Johnson bar is what controls the forward and reverse function on the steam trains. In theory, they could go the same speed in reverse that they go backwards. However, visibility would be an issue, if they had all six coaches in front of them.

They do back the trains into the storage buildings at the end of the night...

I once heard a number several years back (soon after Cedar Fair acquired the Paramount Parks), that stated something along the lines of roughly 40% of the Paramount Parks attendance came from season pass visits, while the legacy Cedar Fair parks were much lower (10 or 20%). The percentage can change on any given day. The park and Cedar Fair will not come out and say what the percentage is, (or even the percentage of visits at a park in the entire season). I would say that the 70% number is high though.

The days of building the biggest, fastest, longest coasters in the world are long gone.

I do not believe that that list is a complete list of shows. I know that there is at least one magic show that was held in the Kings Island Theater (I want to say the name was Spellbound). There have also been several shows in the International Showplace for Haunt (Hot Blooded comes immediately to mind).

At this point, I have not heard anything for 2019 or beyond mentioned this season.

They had found one. Hired him, and he was there a couple of weeks, before he was abruptly let go. The search for a new park president continues. And so what if I am trying to steal the referral bonuses? It is not like I have convinced anyone to apply yet anyway...

I think the lack of Scareactors might be related to the overall competitiveness in trying to attract people for jobs. I know it is hard for us to attract people to work in the rides department at Coney, let alone keep them through the entire post season.

Topic bump. It is that time of year again when schools start back up, and we look for people that can work weekends through mid-October to be a part of the rides crew. Pay will be $9.00 an hour. We offer flexible scheduling, and a fun work environment. If you are interested, please send me a PM. Your employee ID also gets you access to Sunlite Water Adventure and Coney`s classic rides the rest of the season. For those of you who are unaware, Coney was my first job, and I loved it so much that I have continued to work there as a Rides Crew Manager even though I have a full time architecture job. It really is a fun place to work. If you have always wanted to work in an amusement park running rides, now might be you chance. One of my fellow rides managers, Nick Shank, posts on these forums as well, and Kat, his wife, also posts on here. Let me know if you are interested. Robbie

Keep in mind that the Haunt website typically doesn`t have all the information on this years Haunt, as others have said, until around Labor Day or shortly thereafter.

What a topic bump! Keep in mind that S&S is now known as S&S Sansei Technologies, after Sansei Technologies of Japan purchased a majority stake in the company about five years back.

That is great! It is interesting that teaser posters have been showing up at parks for other possible attractions. I wonder if all of Cedar Fair will announce their 2019 products (rides) on the same day like they did last year.

Excellent question. I too have been hoping to hear its sweet sounds gracing the Carousel again. Especially since it is my son`s favorite ride.

Yeah. I really need to take some pictures from this season showing off the new trains and some of the signage. The miners town actually moved over to the picnic grove near the pool at the start of last season.

It will be interesting to see if this year`s WinterFest maintains the same quality as last year`s WinterFest.

My problem with the Coke Freestyle machines, is that while they do offer a great variety, there is only one dispenser. Compared to traditional dispensers that have six to eight dispensers per machine. I have seen backups before, particularly at places like Firehouse Subs.

It is surprising to see Six Flags post such good numbers when compared to Cedar Fair. I wouldn`t say that Cedar Fair is in dire straights by any means. They are continuing to bolster their out of park revenue opportunities with added hotels planned for the coming seasons. Six Flags seems to have done a better job, as of late, in expanding their reach so to speak. Particularly with overseas licensing deals and the increased parks. One has to wonder what Cedar Fair`s plan for growth is? Yes, they are adding Winterfest to Kings Dominion this year, but what will they do to continue their growth? We know they are going to try and leverage California`s Great America in much the same way they have been with Carowinds. But beyond that and adding hotel properties, how can they continue to expand revenue and growth? Could they look to adding additional existing parks to their portfolio? There are not many opportunities out there. It will be interesting to see how their quarter shapes up, and how the Haunt and Winterfest seasons shape up. Between the two companies, I much prefer to visit Cedar Fair parks compared to Six Flags. Six Flags hasn`t exactly been putting in huge, multi-million dollar rides at their parks like they used to. For example, when was the last time they added a B&M coaster?

I have been visiting Kings Island almost every Wednesday this summer. The last couple of visits have been the busiest so far this season. It was a really warm June.

If you have not made it out to Coney this year, I would highly recommend this event. The TLC that has been done this year has the rides side of the park looking fantastic. Mini Golf has been themed with Cincinnati icons, and all the rides have amazing new ride signs. I am working the early shift that day, so you might see me!

I agree that some flat rides or a wild mouse would be a great addition to Kings Island. I would love it if they got a flat ride package like Carowinds got a few years ago. Dorney is a great park. I went there about five years ago. I really enjoyed their classic Whip ride. Talon was good as well. Still need to get there with my wife, but that is on our list of places to go.

I am sure that they were hoping to ride Mystic Timbers into this season to bolster attendance. But without a new product (save for the Coney BBQ), there really isn`t anything to draw people to the park this year who visited last year. Yes, The Peanuts Celebration was good (I didn`t partake in too much of it because my son is only 1 and not into it yet). I wonder what is on the horizon for KI in the coming years. Hopefully things turn around for CF in July and August and as they head into Haunt season, and the WF season. Remember, that they will now have five parks open this year for Winterfest (Kings Dominion joins California`s Great America, Kings Island, Carowinds, and Worlds of Fun). I knew about the hotel at Carowinds, but I was unaware that a hotel was on the way for Canada`s Wonderland in 2020. That is a nice way to boost the out of park revenues for the chain. I wonder if a hotel will be developed near KI?

It happens all the time, even at Coney. At Coney, we also have another issue. Some rides require a supervising companion to ride. With the exception of Carousel and pedal boats, all riders must have a wristband. We often get disgruntled parents who did not purchase a wristband and are now mad that they have to purchase a wristband in order to supervise their kid who is too short to ride by themselves. We also have the issue of said parents purchasing one wristband and transferring it between them. Or getting a free baby wristband for their small kids, and not putting it on the babies so they can ride for free. I was called out to the Mission to Mars ride at Coney over just a thing. The operator was enforcing park policy that all riders, including those who are 1, wear a wristband. The parents didn`t want to put the wristband on their kid. I explained that it is park policy for all riders to have a wristband. They were not happy, but they were bent on doing things there way, and no matter what I said would not appease them.