CoastersRZ

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.

The problem with the price for admission for people who don`t ride rides is this. They could probably ride some rides like the Eiffel Tower, Carousel, and train. Do you give them a wristband that says no rides, and apply it across the board? It would just add yet another thing that ride operators have to check for.

It is rude. I have been on the receiving end of rude parents who are upset about heights at Coney (where we do not have color coded wristbands for heights). At Coney, we have wristbands to serve as an identification that you have paid to ride the rides. Pass holder must get a wristband (a policy that has been in place for three years now). Over the weekend, we had a guest (a season pass holder) say that one of our operators was "harassing" them, but not letting them ride the Python. Held up operations, and resulted in them wanting to get their pass refunded (which didn`t happen). The back of the passes say that a wristband is required to ride the rides.

Carowinds had spent quite a bit of time, effort and money fixing up Thunder Road. And then they tore it down to make room for their Carolina Harbor water park expansion.

Rides are open daily now through mid August. 11-8 Sunday through Thursday and 11-9 on Friday and Saturdays. Admission to rides is separate from the luncheon series. June 20th is a Wednesday. It should also be noted that June 21st is Coney’s official birthday.

Yes. My apologies for not having episode 3 done yet. The last few weeks, I have been working 60-70 hours a week between my full time job, and getting the rides department at Coney up an running. Stay tuned, Episode 3 is on its way, I promise.

I got a chance to ride the Island Wheel today. The views from atop the ride are impressive, and really shows off how big Sunlite Pool is. I would recommend you come out and check it out. Also check out the rides, and all the new ride signage that has been installed this year. The rides side of Coney is looking the best it has ever looked in my seventeen seasons working there!

Was it the top of lift 1 or lift 2? If you stopped at the top of lift 1, it likely was waiting for the train on lift two to clear lift two.

And this is further complicated by the fact that these parks are still technically owned by a different company. They are just being managed by Six Flags. Do Cedar Fair Platinum passes grant admission to Gilroy Gardens, which is managed by Cedar Fair, but not owned by Cedar Fair? BTW, the Gilroy Gardens website is the same basic design as the rest of the Cedar Fair parks, but it is not listed as one of their parks on the corporate CF website. I have often wondered if these management contracts include specific performance targets that result in the management company getting say a percentage of sales, once a certain threshold has been met. Or if they are just paid a base fee to manage the parks. I would think the former would entice the management company to run the parks better as they would have a financial stake in it more than just getting a management fee.

Interesting that they have built a temporary stage to expand the state. I wonder if they will eventually make this a permanent addition. Hopefully they dress up the front of the temporary staging.

The correct architectural term is footing. They likely replaced some of the concrete in the footing as there was likely signs of deterioration in the old concrete.

Construction on the Island Wheel is coming along. This is located in the parking lot, right next to the Twister water slide, and next to the East Pool Gate (which is an exclusive entrance for season pass holders. You can see this thing from the pool area, as well as along Lake Como (and likely from the 275 bridge). I can`t wait to see this thing at night.

Things are starting to come together at Coney, as we prepare to launch for the 2018 season. Opening day is this coming Saturday, May 26th. Rides will be open from 11am until 9pm. Several of the new ride signs have already been installed and they look fantastic. The new theming and paint job on Python is looking wonderful as well! That is also the first day that the Island Wheel will be open. Tickets cost $5 per person and $2.50 for season pass holders. To give a sense of scale, the Twister water slide in the background stands 45' tall. This giant wheel stands 155' tall! Catch the Island Wheel before it leaves on July 8th.

I concur with the no plans for a new section of park. There are lots of areas where they can infill new rides and attractions.

Right on the other side of that fence is the Firehawk brake run. They just switched out the type of fence. Nothing to see or hint about a future attraction there.

Assuming those numbers are accurate, which I have heard they are not, Canada`s Wonderland is the number one seasonal CF park. Followed by Cedar Point and Kings Island. Knott`s Berry Farm ranked higher, due to it being the only park in the chain that is open year round. It is amazing that the Magic Kingdom attracts nearly 20 million visitors a year. Nearly seven times what Kings Island attracts.

I did this once many moons ago. It is a fun experience, but as Don stated do not expect it to be ERT. I think when I did it for Vortex (I got maybe three or four rides in during the two hours I was there). But this was mid-early 2000s.

Well, they had to clear some of it for when they built Diamondback due to them doing some major grading in that area. Remember that the area where the train trestle is was a rather steep ravine. They raised the grade quite a bit in that area when they were building the foundations.

We have had season passes to Dollywood before. Haven`t in a couple of years due to having a 17 month old at home. Still haven`t been on Lightning Rod.

It would be a nice, heated location for a Winterfest show. And would help to spread the crowds a bit. But they will have to find another location for a new Haunt. There would not be much turn around time if they held a Haunt in there between end of Haunt and start of Winterfest.

It is amazing how there are some traces of things of the past, and then there are some things that are completely gone with no traces whatsoever.

It would be nice to use an indoor location during the summer months again. Especially for a kids related event.

That is correct. Also, the current maintenance building used to be part of the Cafeteria. That is the building immediately behind the Carousel and Scream Machine. Behind the administration building and now behind a fence in an area for employees only is the German beer garden restaurant. That is now the comissary, used to produce food for Moonlite Gardens when there are weddings there, or for specialty food items for the picnic grove. The location of the Fender Bender is the approximate location of where the Shooting Star station used to be.