CoastersRZ

Well, I think you answered some of your questions. The pumps are located in the pump room underneath the bandstand. There is a door that is visible on I believe the Planet Snoopy side of the bandstand that leads into the pump room. The pipes that go out to the fountains are encased in the concrete that form the pool for the fountain. I am not quite sure what you mean by run electronically or naturally or both.

It doesn`t have to be much. I like the shade structures that exist for The Beast, and even Invertigo/Drop Tower. Those do a lot more to shade the queue than the shade structures on Firehawk, and even Diamondback and Banshee.

Well, as stated above, parks do have an incentive to not have guests waiting in line. Generally speaking, guests waiting in line are not spending money in the park. So the virtual queueing technology frees the guests to spend more money in the park, thus increasing the per caps spending. That is also why higher capacity rides are better for parks. It can handle more people in an hour and thus those people won`t be waiting in a line as long. As long as there is some shade, I can generally handle most queue lines. I like the queues at Dollywood. They are generally well themed, and almost always provide ample shade (and sometimes even drinking fountains in the line (same with Disney).

There is a Whip ride operating at a Cedar Fair park. It is at Dorney park. And of the three Whip`s I have ridden at Pennsylvania amusement park`s, I by far enjoy Dorney`s the best for its out of control feeling. Second place goes to Kennywood, followed by Hershey. Part of the reason that Backlot has the weird space around it, is that hey were installing the same ride at Canada`s Wonderland in the same season, so they had to try and get the ride to confirm to the site restrictions of two different parks. When you do that, there are bound to be some areas that seem a bit awkward and don`t work too well. i would love to see a flat ride placed on the plot of land that used to be home to the Salt Water Circus, which is the area just next to Diamondback`s transfer track. That area of the park (and that midway) always seems so deserted, and more of a pathway just to get between Points A and B.

Wow. That image from Magnum is of superior quality compared to the ones at KI. I too wish that a few more coasters at KI had on ride photos. I renewed my pass to a Gold Pass for 2017, and included Funpix on it. I imagine Mystic Timbers will have an on ride photo. Hopefully they don`t remove an on-ride photo from another ride. The Funpix program is really a good deal. And, in 2017, if you have a Platinum Pass, it is valid at all Cedar Fair parks.

I was wondering where his position would be based at since he oversees many parks now, or if they would make him relocate to Sandusky.

While their maybe strong evidence that points to a Rocky Mountain Construction conversion of Mean Streak, until Cedar Point or Cedar Fair officially state such, it is just a rumor.

Flooding is a fact of life at Coney. There were wooden coasters at Coney back in its heyday, and they managed just fine, despite the floods. I`ve heard some things about what might be in store for 2017. I won`t say too much, but will say that not every improvement that parks get come in the form of a shiny new attraction.

With every new construction picture of this ride, I grow more and more excited. I love Thunderhead at Dollywood, and can`t wait to have a GCI right in my backyard. For those who have not experienced a GCI, you are in for a treat. While it may not be the biggest, tallest, fastest or meanest ride, it will be loads of fun, which is what roller coasters are supposed to be!

Racer does typically receive some track work every off season. While it could use some paint touch ups here and there, I think it is kept in relatively good maintenance in terms of paint. Long gone are the days of the red track and blue hand rails. As long as wood coasters are maintained, there is no need to remove them. They don`t have a "useful life" like steel coasters do. And even then, steel coasters can live on. Look at Hulk at Islands of Adventure. They essentially replaced all the track and supports on the ride during its recent refurbishment. If KI were to get a RMC, I would hope that it would be an original creation, and not a renovation of The Racer. With us getting a GCI, and CP rumored to be getting a RMC remake to Mean Streak, I doubt that we would see a RMC at KI anytime soon.

It is set up the same way at Coney. The Operations Managers/Directors are not in charge of food service. There is a separate person in charge of those operations.

He apparently died suddenly while vacationing in the British Virgin Islands. http://amusementtoday.com/2016/11/apex-parks-group-mourns-unexpected-death-of-president-and-chief-executive-officer-al-weber-jr/

If you go often enough, you are bound to experience some kind of problem. The mark of a good operations is how they respond to the problem and remedy it. So where is Greg`s new position based at? Ie, does he have to relocate to Sandusky, etc.?

This is sad news indeed. Condolences to his family, and all those affected by his passing. Al Weber started his career in the amusement industry as a ride operator at Cincinnati`s Coney Island. Read more about him here: http://www.attractionsmanagement.com/detail.cfm?pagetype=detail&subject=news&codeID=328171

What was Mike Koontz`s role prior to be naming Vice President and General Manager? And did Worlds of Fun`s General Manager move to a new post within the company?

I haven`t been down to Disney World since they started implementing Magic Bands. But it seems like you now have to plan out your visit to the park more than what you used to. Having visited Disneyland each of the last two years, I like the way the paper Fast Pass system works. However, not as many rides at Disneyland have Fast Pass. For example, I believe one attraction that did not have a Fast Pass line at Disneyland/California Adventure is Midway Mania.

This will be interesting to see what unfolds. I know that the construction trades can be heavily unionized.

As far as wanting an Intamin ride, look at the last time Cedar Fair installed an Intamin ride. Even look at exactly how many Intamin rides have been built in the US in the last five years. I would not anticipate seeing an Intamin coaster gracing Kings Island any time soon.

Just to clarify, Darien Lake was not previously owned by Cedar Fair. Just the Wet n Wild Palm Springs was. I have visited Darien Lake, which for a time, was managed by Herschend Family Entertainment (the owners of Newport Aquariuam, Silver Dollar City and part owners of Dollywood). The park is a smaller park, and had a couple of nice rides. We visited it in 2015 on our way to Niagara Falls and Canada`s Wonderland. My wife and I really enjoyed the Zamperla made Moto Coaster. We made it through the park in like three or four hours. Worth a visit, but unless they were to add another big new ride, we would not make a visit there again.

I agree. Since this is an outside company that is setting it up, I wonder if it is successful, if we will see it return in 2017. It wouldn`t be that far stretched for them to open a food stand or two, and have a couple kiddie rides open for this... Not that I want to work in November through December at Coney...

That must be a recent change to Universal. I was out at Universal Hollywood last April and that wasn`t in effect then. When did they implement metal detectors at the entrance to their queues?

Joncars05, it is not about making a quick buck off of people putting stuff in lockers. Not allowing loose articles in the station can and does increase capacity. It allows the ride operators to check restraints and not have to worry about stowing or securing loose articles. Cedar Fair has been fairly relaxed with this policy. Only Banshee and Firehawk at KI currently prohibits loose articles in the station. As Six Flags parks, most of their major coasters prohibit all loose article and require people to put any loose articles in a locker.

I went through Sharon Woods once. I wasn`t that impressed. I do agree it seems a little odd that they are charging per person, and not by car. My wife and I are planning on checking it out. I will try and post some pictures after we go through it. Not sure when we will go through it though.

Well, just because those lockers have not yet been removed does not mean that they will be removed. The asphalt on the midway right there hasn`t been removed yet either. I suspect, given the recent trend at the park, that the asphalt will be removed and replaced with either concrete or some kind of pavers in front of the station area.

Well what if the employees don`t consider their "work" days as work days? What if they have so much fun at work that they don`t consider it work? I have fun working at Coney, and look forward to going in every time I go in (especially when I get to ride a ride or two...) I didn`t make it to KI as much this year as I typically do. Pretty busy with working a full time job as well as weekends at Coney. When I wasn`t at either job, I was spending time with my expecting wife. She is due on December 22nd. We did not renew our Platinum Passes for next year, since we will likely not be traveling far on any trips with a young child. We did get Gold Passes so that we can still go to Kings Island (and can take our child to WinterFest next December).