CoastersRZ

Stricker`s Grove is a small private, picnic park. It is set up entirely different than most typical amusement parks. And how do you know it doesn`t make much money? Keep in mind that they are now home to the Hamilton County 4H fair, which for the second year in a row will be held at Strickers. It will be there about a week after the Fourth of July this year.

Not to mention, I doubt that Paramount were the ones pushing for the Giant Top Spin. They likely sent out a request for proposals to various ride manufacturers for a ride that could deliver certain motions, within a set space with a specific capacity. I don`t think that Paramount influenced the design of the ride that much. I can attest to the fact that quite a bit of time and money was spent on designing the theme and building that housed the ride. Its too bad that the ride has suffered this fate. When it opened, it was a really unique experience. But upkeep and the problems with the ride unit itself were just too much.

Maybe they are removing the white posts and going to put in curbs and with islands for trees, not unlike how they separated the handicapped/VIP parking lots several years back. Sort of beautifying things so to speak.

Ask and you shall receive: http://www.13abc.com...&autostart=true That interview is very informative. He definitely seems to get it.

And if they could find a way to offer a spring festival, maybe we could eventually see Kings Island open most weekends in April again, instead of being open just the final weekend, like this year and last.

I remember the season pass preview night (evening before opening day) and Tomb Raider the ride never opened due to technical difficulties with the show elements. After waiting nearly an hour, I left the line to ride some rides that were open. My brother stayed in line for another hour and finally got to see the preshow room, but were not able to take a spin on the ride.

As someone that has created concept art (in the form of renderings for buildings before they are completed or even before construction begins), I can attest to the fact that the renderings do not always match the finished product. Things can and do change between the time that the rendering is produced and when the finished product is revealed.

I see Winterfest, if done right, as a way for Cedar Fair to make additional money at a time when the parks would otherwise be closed. If they alter the pricing strategy from what it was in 2005, it could definitely work. I mean it lasted from 1982 to 1992 and from everything I`ve heard was a profitable venture back then. I wouldn`t look for a winter event anytime in the next year or two, but Ouimet certainly seems to be sending Cedar Fair in the right direction. Just look at the trend in their unit price since the first of the year! Its trading at 52 week highs today!

I believe that you meant to say "Coney Island" and not Conry. I`ve heard that The Beach actually is on shaky ground. When was the last time that they added anything significant to the park? Not to mention, they canceled their winter event this past year. Certainly doesn`t speak well of the future for that park.

No doubt that he will be at least in part be discussing the results which Cedar Fair released today.

I agree. I didn`t expect a deal to be reached this quickly. I take it the Koch`s liked what they saw. It will be interesting to see what exactly their plan of attack is for the park.

I agree. I am still quite puzzled by the Koch`s interest in that park. Clearly they seem something positive in it, and at this point the positive outweighs the potential risks. The biggest thing that gets me is the proximity of this park to their current Holiday World property. Won`t reopening Kentucky Kingdom cannibalize some of the customers from the Louisville area that would normally go to Holiday World? In turn they would simply go to Kentucky Kingdom. I wonder if this plan was put in place (or at least the idea) before Will`s untimely death.

Indeed, the Tower was last repainted for the 2005 season. Too bad the lights that line the International Street buildings that were also replaced in 2005 are becoming less and less present. I still love how the building`s roofs are outlined with lights along International Street. Adds so much character to the grand entrance of the park, especially when leaving after a long day of fun at the park.

I remember when Paramount`s Magic of the Movies was featured in the then Paramount Theater. That was a waste of my time that I`ll never get back. Included scenese from Titanic, etc. If you looked at the ice shows, most of the actual skaters were NOT from the Cincinnati area, so I`d imagine the cost of the talent alone was much more expensive for the ice shows. Not to mention the maintenance and upkeep for the actual ice. I would so love to see a return of the Kings of Komedy. Avatar hit the nail right on the head, when he said they added a sense of spontaneity that can`t be found with scheduled shows. It is all about that chance encounter on the midway that can make lasting memories.

The thing that surprised me with this announcement, is that this water slide is not made by the two leading water slide manufacturing companies; ProSlide or White Water West. Instead, it is manufactured by Polin.

Keep in mind that both Vortex (rails only) and Flight Deck had only their track painted. None of the supports were also painted. They are painting Invertigo for two reasons. The red was fading which made the ride look terrible. A ride that is not painted and looks "run down" can make guests question the park`s maintenance, even if it is a five star operation. It is all about looks, and painting is a part of routine maintenance. The second reason steel coasters are painted is to prevent corrosion which can eat away at the steel which is never a good thing for the structural integrity of the ride. The next rides that could use some TLC for this very purpose are Delirium and Italian Job`s track. And KI planned to paint this ride all along. They simply did not have "extra" paint left over from Dorney Park`s Stinger.

I`m not disagreeing that a new coaster at Coney would attract a lot of people. I just don`t think that Coney would ever spend the money to build such an attraction. But never say never. Strange things have happened before. When Kings Island was built in 1972, who ever would have thought that Coney would still be around as an amusement park today?

I agree with Gordon. KI needs to have some roving entertainment like the clown band! They add so much to the atmosphere of the park! They are sorely missed. I remember them fondly from when I was a kid. They just add so much excitement to the park. Below is a video from the "Untouchables" one of the last incarnations of the Kings Island clown band, albeit it much smaller than the original band. This clip is from the band playing in what is now the Action Zone.

They should make it easy and painless for people to hand over their money. The easier it is, the less they will think about handing over their money!

Yes, Shockwave's operator booth is very similar to how King Cobra's was set up. As for the color of The Beastie, it remained painted yellow through at least the 1987 season, because I have a picture of me riding it back then when I was terrified of roller coasters. They painted it blu shortly after that.

There wasn`t much to the actual queue line. I believe most of it was surrounded by the station, and a large fence. You really couldn`t look out of the actual queue. There was a covering over the queue, much like the one that is on Viking Fury (wood slats). And whenever a train came into the brake run, it was deafening in the queue.

While those things would be nice to have (I still maintain that a wooden coaster the size of the Tornado at Stricker`s Grove would be a huge hit at Coney), I doubt that we will see them happen at Coney anytime soon. They simply are big ticket items. And the last big ticket item tha Coney installed was the Twister in the water park, and that cost around $1,8 million and was the most expensive attraction Coney has ever installed. You can`t buy many new shiny attractions for that amount of money. I

I love that Chronicle article with information on the construction of White Water Canyon! Thanks for sharing it!

The ride that was originally where the bench is was the Chance helicopter ride. The Hampton umbrella ride (the one pictured) was actually over more towards the entrance to The Beastie, with the helicopter ride being located just off the frame to the right. The Enchanted Voyage building can be seen on the right hand side of the photo.

There are also some old Winterfest logos that they are selling as well: http://www.cincyshirts.com/cincyshirts/vintage-cincinnati-shirts/winterfest-shirt.html They also have an old Coney (when it was dubbed Ohio Grove) advertisement on a t-shirt: http://www.cincyshirts.com/cincyshirts/vintage-cincinnati-shirts/vintage-ohio-grove-poster-shirt.html They also have a shirt of Surf Cincinnati, and several old Cincinnati relics that I remember from when I was a kid (Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, and Swallen`s to name a few).