CoastersRZ

And you successfully posted entirely within the quote. I quickly glanced at your post, and didn`t see the normal post text! I had to go back to the original post to see what you had actually written!

Coney Island is once again hosting an international fireworks competition. The second annual competition will put France, Italy and Portugal against each other. The companies that are competing are: Brezac Artifices, France; Panzera, Italy; and Grupo Luso Pirotecnia, Portugal. The event will be held on Saturday, September 21st. The gates open at 3pm (two hours earlier than last year), and fireworks begin at 8:30pm. Admission is $30 per carload, and includes admission to the park, and access to Coney`s classic rides. (Separate admission rates apply to limos, buses, RVs, and walk in admission is $5 a person. No re-entry. And after the three competing countries launch their pyrotechnic artistry in the sky over Lake Como, Rozzi`s Famous Fireworks caps off the night with a grand finale. Last year it was an extremely fun event. I have never witnessed so many fireworks, with each show going for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Definitely a fun event and well worth the trip. Not to mention the price is pretty reasonable considering you gain access to the rides and a night of fun fireworks. For more information on Fire Up the Night, go here: http://coneyislandpark.com/fire_up_the_night.php On a slightly unrelated subject, please note that Coney Island is closed to the public this Saturday, August 24th for a private event. The park will be open to the public again on Sunday.

Agreed. I wonder if we will ever see another wooden coaster built at Cedar Point. There have been a lot of new and innovative concepts to appear on wooden coasters in the last several seasons. Believe it or not, Mean Streak is over 20 years old! It opened in 1991 and was designed by the then leading wood coaster designers of Summers and Dinn.

Flight Deck, by far. Dragging Iron. I mean Iron Dragon, is a tad on the boring side.

It is incredibly fun! If ever there was a dream job, this is pretty close to it for me. I still can`t believe that I get paid to work on awesome projects like this. I actually left my position at K4 Architecture back in May to take this position at TRA, knowing that I might get to work on amusement park projects. It was a risky decision, but it so far, has turned out brilliantly. (Not to mention that I am still doing some contract work on the side for K4 and maintaining their website). So I am really looking forward to the opening of Banshee to see my project built too! Its always an awesome feeling to see a project that you had a hand in get built in three dimensions.

Except that dual launch coaster launched you forward both times. This one apparently will launch the trains both forward and backwards, which Backlot Stunt Coaster does not do. It will be interesting to see what plans they have in store for the park past 2015.

This ride is definitely going to change the look of the Action Zone. It is a lot closer to the midway than what Son of Beast was. And it will tower over the midway by Slingshot too. I can`t wait for next April!

Thanks for the pictures! I went to Six Flags Great Adventure back in 2011 with some friends. We had originally intended only to go to Hersheypark and Dorney, but we ended up doing those two parks in one day, and did Great Adventure the next day. (Talk about lots of driving). But it was well worth it. We had a lot of fun at SFGAdv. I can`t wait to go back there and take my fiance with me! I really love El Toro. Between Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster, I pick Top Thrill. Kingda Ka has a lot more vibration in the trains.

One firm that is working on the ride that was not mentioned is Tony Ravagnani Architects. TRA is based in Cincinnati, OH and also did work on Cedar Point`s new entrance and Gatekeeper. http://www.tonyravarch.com/ TRA worked on the station for Banshee. This is of particular interest to me, since I currently work at Tony Ravagnani Architects. And yes, I did work on the project.

Well you certainly seem to be acting like a moderator to me! And besides, some of us mods are busy working one or two jobs. I know I have been busy at my current job working on some exciting projects. No need to chastise us moderators. On the subject at hand, I rarely ride Mean Streak when I go to Cedar Point. Same goes for Mantis. There are other rides I would much rather go on and wait in line for than those attractions.

Yep. Most of the electrical panels for the rides are removed at the end of the season and moved to higher ground (the second floor of Moonlite Gardens or the warehouse above the games building). For example, the carousel horses are stored on the second floor of Moonlite in the off season. There is something coming to Coney next season. It is coming at the expense of a ride that has not operated all season this year though... It will be an exciting ride.

Well the family is going to announce the new attraction for next year. That being said, a Mean Streak rehab is not likely to be the main headliner attraction for next season.

If I am not mistaken, Mean Streak has closed a couple of weeks before the end of the season the last couple of seasons so that the crews can get a head start on the off season maintenance of the ride.

Gary, I was thinking the same exact thoughts with the fire fighting theme to this coaster. Hopefully Blazing Fury is safe. I still miss that splash down ending on it. So does anyone know where exactly this new resort hotel will be located in relation to the park/parking lot?

That statement is not entirely correct. Kings Island does have several rides that have come from Intamin. The Eiffel Tower is an Intamin ride. As is Viking Fury, and White Water Canyon. Kings Island just doesn`t have any Intamin coaster creations. Personally, I am beyond ecstatic to finally be getting a B&M inverted coaster. I love Afterburn at Carowinds ever since I first rode it back in 2001, and have wished Kings Island would get a ride similar to it. Now I finally get my wish! I think with Bansee, Diamondback and The Beast, Kings Island has a nice trifecta of top notch coasters. I know I will certainly be among the first in line to tame Banshee! Especially since I have been doing some work related to the project at my job. Is it April 2014 yet?

There will be a gift shop and ride photo located in the station building. Not shown in the rendering is another set of doors by the staircase on the left where riders who just got off of the train will enter the ride photo area. The elevator lift for wheelchairs will be adjacent to the exit stair case.

I agree that the ice show was a poor replacement for Babes in Toyland. It just didn`t have the wow factor that Babes in Toyland had. I have never used a Q-Bot when I have gone to Dollywood. And I even have had a pass to Dollywood for a couple of seasons. Dollywood lets you purchase your pass in November and December of the year before and use it the remainder of the season. Kings Islnad used to do a similar thing with there passes once they went on sale in the fall, they could be used unlimited times the rest of the season.

So I wonder how much they sold this property for and if they will use the money to pay down debt or put it towards their hotel refurbishments.

I don`t think the entrance will be right by the restroom, based on the plans that were posted last week. Looks more like the entrance will be closer to where the graveyard display is currently set up. Glad to see ride pieces finally on site! I`m really excited to see this thing start to get built!

They are not digging footings for the station just yet. But soon though, footings will be taking shape.

If you could select the playlist for Banshee`s queue, what songs would you choose that fit the theme of the ride?

No, that is not true. Just because a ride was not shown in the renderings, does not mean it is getting removed. Since most of Adventure Express is so low to the ground, it wouldn`t be that noticeable in the rendering. It would have cost them more money to model that for the rendering, with little extra effect. After all, the focus is on Banshee, not Adventure Express,

My best guess is that it'll be below the station much like we see on Gatekeeper. There is what appears to be a door [to the gift shop?] in the concept art of the station. The ride photo and a gift shop will be located directly below the station. The door you see in the rendering is actually the exit from the gift shop. What the rendering doesn`t show is the entrance to the ride photo, which is directly below the bump out in the station, right across from the stair, which is the exit stair. Also not pictured in the rendering, is a wheel chair elevator lift, which will be located directly to the left (in the rendering it would be behind) of the staircase. How do I know this? Well, lets just say that I have a very fun position at a local Cincinnati company. A company that was not mentioned at the announcement, but was mentioned in an article about Gatekeeper and Cedar Point. It has been tough the last couple of months, knowing but not being able to tell anything.

Seriously? 2016? Kings Island just announced the largest single year investment in park history and people want to discuss if a coaster is coming in 2016. Topic closed.

Brad, the amazing thing that record that was achieved last night, is that myself and several other KIC`ers were at the park. If people were on KIC at the park, it was all via mobile devices. Pretty cool. Its also really cool to finally see the rendering. This ride will be a huge hit, and I love the layout and concept. The station looks really awesome too. On a side note, for those of you who know me, you know that I am extremely happy with my new job and some of the projects that I get to work on!