SML828

Just in case anyone else is like me - Hope you are in the midst of a very Happy Hanukkah. Merry Christmas to others! Happy New Year to all!

I, for one, hope they decide to bring back Winterfest - with or without many rides...Winterfest was always more about the atmosphere - hot chocolate, ice skating (a.k.a. falling on your butt), the shows, etc...I always liked going...I also think they could pull off FearFest and WinterFest in the same year. Yes, I know it would be a fast transition - a few weeks - but I think it could be done...I'm hoping for Winter 2004!

I had a feeling that wasn't the only broken/damaged bench. I don't think it would have been AS bad if they would've just played Self Righteous & God Of Wine during the encores (because they're slower) - but as soon as they started Semi-Charmed Life and people REALLY get into that song, I knew there was gonna be some damage - heck, my bench was shaky...I was also surprised (thankfully) that nobody was hurt... DL - What are the guys like off-stage? I've been wondering that. Did they just stick around T-Wolf or actually go around the park?

OK, so this is my first trip report...I'll try to not have it drag on and on...but I do tend to ramble - so bear with me! A couple of my friends and I met at the park around 4pm...Wanted to hit a couple of the 'houses' before the 7pm concert...even though I knew Third Eye Blind wouldn't be on until 8:05pm (gotta love connections!). Let me start by saying - although I have worked at the houses since FearFest started - I have never gone in with everyone in place and everything up & running - I have only gone thru with the house empty...so this was a new experience for me. FearFest - Part 1 We went to Curse Of The Crypt...It wasn't bad - MUCH better than past years - I like the re-vamp. My only complaint was the size of the groups being sent in - when you have such big groups, only a few people get the 'scare'. It was still very cool though. I also like knowing people there! (I was thinking that all night!) We then went to Maze Of Madness - waited about 30 minutes. I REALLY like this one...We had a good time trying to find our way out of this...Of course the woman behind me couldn't reach my shoulders, so she was just holding on to the end of my jacket...boy did she have a strong grip. Headed off to House Of Darkness - waited about 45 minutes...This is the closest thing to a standard haunted house...it was cool - again, our group was just too big - but I understand when the lines get long you don't have much of a choice. The major complaint I have with this one and Crypt is that they started grouping people inside in the entrance of the house...I think it was much easier when they did it before people walked in...Just my opinion! 3EB We then headed over to the concert...had great seats - Section 3, Row F (basically 6th row, center!) got there before 7pm - so we got to see the opening act - Similar Nature - they were actually pretty good and they are from Cincinnati! VERY cool instrumentals - kind of a funk/rock/jazz combo type of sound. Finally at 8:05p - the main event - Third Eye Blind! They were SO good! I have never seen them live and honestly was just a so-so fan - I liked them but didn't LOVE them....I'm totally addicted now! That was one of the best concerts I have ever been to....only 3,000 tickets sold (approximately). They played for about an hour and 45 minutes...For any fans on here, they played the following songs: Blinded Anything Wounded I'll Never Let You Go Motorcycle Drive By Faster Crystal Baller Palm Reader Horror Show Jumper Graduate How's It Gonna Be Wake for Young Souls Narcolepsy Losing a Whole Year Danger First Encore: Self Righteous Semi-Charmed Life Second Encore: God of Wine You could tell they were TRULY into performing - they said PKI was the first show after a couple months off and that "being onstage again is like the first time you're with a girl and the panties hit the floor for the first time... it's a good feeling." They came out for two encores...When they came out for the second encore - Stephan said "What the f**k is wrong with you people? Why are you still here?" He then went on to say how this was all about being close to each other, not just to them, but to everyone in the audience, so everyone should move up front...the aisles were suddenly packed...people climbing on benches to see...which anyone who works there knows is a HUGE NO-NO at T-Wolf. I spent years telling people not to smoke and to get off the benches - but I wanted to see too - so of course I climbed right up! Actually when we were walking out, we saw that one bench had been basically snapped into 2 pieces. Side Note: It sounds like next year they are gonna bring back the 'old' Timberwolf - they have approximately 20 concerts already in the works. I hope this happens - T-Wolf can be a great place! Hopefully it will get a little facelift in the off-season! Back To The Show: The encores were almost surreal - they sang Self Righteous, Semi-Charmed Life and God Of Wine. VERY cool moment! Not like anything I've ever experienced at a concert! My only complaint about the concert is they didn't sing the ONE song I wanted to hear live - Slow Motion - for anyone who hasn't heard this - find the version with the lyrics and listen to it. It's a sad song, but it's SO good! I can't wait to see them again. At the end Stephan kept saying "this is a good one." So true! FearFest - Part 2 After the concert we decided to see which things we had time to do...Circus' line was too long since we knew we wanted to get to Psycho Path and/or Route 666 and knew those lines would be VERY long. Well, we went to Route 666....This was really cool! I was impressed - I also got to see Shman and R_O_Yogi (YES, I recognized you Yogi - I was planning to come back after we finished! ) Thanx again Shman! We then headed over to Psycho Path and after talking to the person in charge, we decided not to wait (again, I love knowing people!) - we were advised to try it another night...with the huge line - the groups were also bigger, so the scares weren't as good. So, we decided to head out around 10:30ish... Well, that's my first report - a little more rambling than I planned on, but you get the points! Again, Third Eye Blind - definitely the highlight of the trip! Thanx for reading!

I'm gonna post my report for last night a little later, but just wanted to also say how bad the crowds were...but the concert was GREAT!

I don't see this as scalping...He has tickets that won't be used and wants to give someone else the chance to use them...Not jackin up the price or anything...

DL - Have you guys been told how late the concert is supposed to last? I know it starts @ 7pm, but don't know if they have any openers...Just tryin to figure out how much FearFest time we'll have...

Actually FearFest was officially open until 1am in 2001 & 2002...We were NEVER allowed to close a line early at the houses! Trust me, I was in charge of cutting the lines. We would close them at EXACTLY 1am...if people were in line they could go in, but if they showed up at 1:01am - they couldn't. In 2000 (the first year), it was only open until midnight, however - one night we were forced to stay open until 1am because of the long lines just to get into the park...as well as the long house lines. I really think they should go back to FearFest on Friday/Saturday, Close @ 1am, AND charge for admission. We always had a steady crowd both nights (unless it was not-so-great weather.) If we had 2-hour waits with the admission charge, why drop it? I haven't been yet this year (goin on 10/18)...but it sounds like the lines have been horrible. I still can't wait to go!

You'll probably like Third Eye Blind...I am gonna be there...There are plenty of seats left. It's only $5 (plus park admission). Some of their more popular songs are "Semi-Charmed Life", "Jumper", "How's It Going To Be", and "Blinded (When I See You)"...There latest album is called "Out Of The Vein"...Check out www.3eb.com for more info.

I just thought I'd share that PKI has been getting some recognition this week. Some of the actors (Carol, Greg, Marcia, Peter & Cindy) from The Brady Bunch have been at Disney World promoting the new ride there...Anyway, I've seen three different interviews with them and each time they are asked things like "Were you ever at Disney World?" or "Didn't you tape an episode here?" - Every time they have said "No, That was Kings Island in Cincinnati!" They all seemed to REALLY like doing that episode! I just wanted to share!

Trail of Terror was there in 2001 and renamed to Psycho Path in 2002 - Maybe 2001 was the first year for that...I TOTALLY forgot about Pirate Jack (in Paramount Theatre) - I even worked at it! Duh!? I guess the years just start blending together!? Pirate Jack was a REALLY cool house too! I worked The Freezer and it always had a long line - but I never got inside - I always heard it was the best - I also never got to go in the one at the top of the tower. I'm SO glad they aren't doing Celebrity Slaughter this year - that was one of the dumbest shows I have ever worked/seen! However, it always pulled in a crowd...

This is the 4th FearFest - I worked the first 3... The first year - there was a 'house' at the top of the tower called "Tower Of Terror" if remember correctly - actually I don't think that's right (Shman might remember - I think he was around then)...there was also one at the bottom of the towere called "The Freezer" - "The Crypt" was actually called "Mummy's Revenge" the first year and it was in the former Enchanted Theatre in Hanna-Barbera. There was a short movie at Paramount Theatre (Freak Show) - I HATED that movie! They also had "The Sewer" where "Circus" is now...plus Studio 50 Gore in the other half of Festhaus. We also had "House Of Darkness" and "Trail of Terror" (which is now "Psycho Path") - don't think "Maze of Madness was around yet. I'm glad they changed things after that and condensed everything to one side of the park - made everything A LOT easier!

I guess i was focusing more on the Circus of Horrors comment...Guess I have tunnel vision and am kinda sensitive about Usher comments! I'm sure you understand Yogi!

Talk about bein harsh towards the ushers...That job gets no respect...ok, very little respect...

Speaking as a person who formally was in charge of a few of the 'house' lines...I could actually understand being told different wait times. That can change constantly...it's pure guesswork...depends on the size of the groups being sent in, the amount of time between each group sent in, if there are any delays, technical problems, and as I said - pure guessing...these things change minute to minute. I know in the past we'd send anywhere from 6 to 14 people in at a time...sometimes as often as every 20-30 seconds...it truly does change.

Also remember folks that you can't always go by 'dry-run night' - it's a practice night - so just because something wasn't so great then, doesn't mean it won't be better when everything really starts. Everyone was still learning what they need to do.

Last year was the end of Enchanted Theater (home of the kids shows) - so no more Scooby, Flintstones, & Jetsons shows...I really miss that place - it was my home for 6 years! It was taken out because of the changes involved with the new Scooby ride....

BoddaH1994 - That pretty much sums up my feelings... I drove up there yesterday and it is weird without it being front & center. When you are used to seeing something for 31 years (I've only seen it for 25 years), it's weird when it's suddenly gone.

I always used to do the exact same thing...

It's been mentioned ONCE I think...not killed to death....Anyway, the reason they took the cars off is since House of Darkness will be opening at 3pm this year that doesn't leave a lot of time for the Scrambler to run...plus I think they are making longer queue lines this year. In the past - we had one line running thru the ride area and we had to put it up and tear it down every night...I'm guessing with anyone being able to go this year they want to have extra long queues that they don't have to remove every night. I hope that made some sense!

I just heard the very end of the info on Channel 5...All I heard was 'the park is still open' - came straight here then I was gonna check Ch. 5's website.... I can't believe the sign is gone...especially after just re-doing part of it...

A 3D House has been in the Festhaus every year of FearFest...Yes, the other half of Festhaus is open with food & stuff. I doubt Sponge Bob will still run, but I don't know that for sure.

Provided nothing has changed - It's really not hard to find the houses....Everything is located between Festhaus & Vortex. Curse of the Crypt - Act as if you are going toward Flights Of Fear (Between the games & Zephyr)...Directly behind the games building is the line for Curse Of The Crypt. House of Darkness - The line starts at The Scrambler...very hard to miss. Maze of Madness - Act as if you are going toward Flights Of Fear again - once you cross under The Racer tracks, there will be an open gate to your right...this the line for Maze Route 666 - You actually drive yourself... Psycho Path - Act as if you are going toward Flights Of Fear once again...You will actually go back towards the entrance to Flight of Fear...To the right, again there will be a large open gate - it takes you down an access road (should be someone there to direct you)...but go straight down the road to the very bottom - this is the entrance for Psycho Path. You forgot about Circus of Horrors 3D - This is in the Festhaus on the right side....The line starts at the front of the building. Elvira's Superstition is a movie back in The Paramount Action FX Theater (where Sponge Bob 3D is now). Hope that helps!

Water parks are becoming increasingly popular nationwide in part because they draw large crowds, according to Bill Robinson, president of William H. Robinson Inc., a Hamilton marketing company specializing in the amusement and water park industries. "They have a big draw," Robinson said. "Nothing brings in the bodies like a roller coaster does. ... But everybody doesn't ride roller coasters. Amusement parks have to have diversity to them."

I LOVE it Shaggy! Especially the counter-clockwise drains...And who doesn't love a little Olivia! Thanx for the laugh!