Thrill_Biscuit

Congratulations again on your 1,800 inversions on the mighty Vortex!

LOL! My mom would overload the Christmas tree with tinsel. I mean, it was on sale for ten cents a box, so by golly she was going to use it all! So, with our chrome "Cousin Itt" dangling literally thousands of invitations for a cat attack, ours, too, was a tree that seldom stayed in the ideal, upright position!

That's what we're all here for - to chase away the off-season blues!

Threw my back out this season, so my counts are all over the map: Bat: 18 Adventure Express: 13 WindSeeker: 15 Banshee: 1 Eiffel Tower: 92 Kings Island Miami Valley Railroad: 8 Beast: 4 Back Lot Stunt Coaster: 6 Zephyr: 1 Shake, Rattle & Roll: 1 Scrambler: 2 Viking Fury: 6 Delirium: 2 Whitewater Canyon: 1 Splashing Other People's Boats on Whitewater Canyon: 440 Goats petted: 6 Piggies petted: 1 Souvenir Cups left at the park: 1 KIC Meet-ups: 3 (Opening Day, Tropical Plunge Announcement, Closing Day) Cirque Imagine shows: 7 "Hey Dons:" about 5 "Hey Gregs:" about 3 Meeting Terpy: 1 That's about it. It was an epic season, though; one of the most memorable ever!

"Vortex is impressed!"

Mine was the Eiffel Tower, which I've visited countless times - often two or three times per trip - throughout the entire existence of the park.

For me, KIC becomes Kings Island during the off-season. My mind goes to my favorite table at the Festhaus patio (the one with the perfect view of Delirium and Banshee, as well as seeing all the happy, amazed faces of new guests emerging from the canopy of the trees, all awestruck by their first views of those awesome KI rides), and the conversation and fellowship on this site bridges the long, winter months perfectly!

James Earl Jones could sing for Rush... 96 Rock could play Winger... Sharks could go vegetarian... Fanduel could try not advertising...

And, with mergers of late, comes chopping of least-performing assets - human and otherwise. Slimmer, smaller, more-efficient. Sell off as much as possible to "raise funds" for future growth. Obligado! (That's Portuguese for "Much obliged!") -Tb

I agree that fall colors make The Beast one of the greatest coasters in the world, with Diamondback not far behind! Great report!

Oh, so it's about alleged rape involving people who happen to work at Cedar Point, and not the park itself. Okay. Got it. I thought by the original post title, "BREAKING: The Sandusky Register is reporting a rape of a ... girl at Cedar Point," that rape occurred allegedly at the park itself, and not off-site as the story implies. This would be like a headline reading "Nuclear Weapons Facility Theft" for someone who happened to work at such a facility being arrested for allegedly shoplifting from a nearby Target or Walmart, for example. Sad that someone has had to suffer such a life-wrecking event, if the allegations prove true.

Tragic. No other words.

I once stopped in the middle of RT 42 in Mason for a little raccoon that freaked out and ran under the truck I was driving. The scared little creature was just shivering and cowering. A guy in a business suit showed up and started gently throwing small rocks under my vehicle (I understood his noble purpose, so I didn't complain - plus he was quite precise). The raccoon eventually ran off behind the Ace Hardware store. It took about 10 minutes, but it was a happy ending. I'd like to just believe that the critter just ran up into the wooded area and lives there now, happily ever after.

Any other way to present?

Here's the ASCII version: ~<xx^^~☼~~/☼~~~<

Now there's a name I haven't heard since December 20, 2000! My last slice of Sbarro ever was at a nice little table next to a window that overlooked the Hudson River. To the best of my knowledge, that Sbarro doesn't exist anymore. Just a thought.

^A mall food court, with an Abercrombie & Fitch soundtrack.

I did too, anonymously. Good luck!

Nothin' helps the ol' International Street LaRosa's go down like beautiful fountains and loud, sad-sounding, minor-chord heavy emo music blasting through the speakers. Yep! Our kids do not know Kings Island as it was; and likely, they never will.

I had noticed that, for a few days early in the 2015 season, the fountains were in full-blown, skyward fire hose mode continually; they didn't switch between different modes at all. Could just be the "watched pot never boils" principle, but they kinda lacked that certain charm for a few days. Also, there was at least one night I remember when the lights never came on. That could just have been a fluke. The goose "contributions" were very noticeable from the tower, as well, and I heard many guests mention it.

Hmm. After more than two long, eventful years, the Snickers mystery is solved... for me... who doesn't pay attention... much. Still, every time I shave, I can't help but to think of The Bat... or Top Gun... or Flight Deck... [meatball crosses the plate, and...]

No, I did this in a 2-D overlay. However, Google Earth now has Kings Island's landmarks, trees and buildings in glorious 3-D, which you can tilt back and, depending on how powerful your graphics are, watch as all your familiar park objects come into view, and stay in correct aspect as you "move" the camera around! (Banshee looks a little taller, wooden and inversionless, though) .

Why not? Here's the more 'finished' version (although, it's really just 'sandbox mode')... This time there's an electric tram circuit getting ready to drop off guests, and a few other little changes.

Thanks, Imperial! I also added earth-tone rocks to the fountains, rounded out the shapes a bit, and put a nice, stately bridge over them which, when viewed from street level, would resemble the architecture of the Grand Stand in front of the tower, without taking away from the "view" too much. The hexagonal building with the pathways is supposed to be a La Rosa's that draws crowds away from the main midway, and allows them to eat under a huge pavilion (it's about the size of the Chicken Shack complex, visible at left), vs. shop-blocking lines or congestion formed when folks choose to line up perpendicular to the entrance of that favorite eatery. I had some "table parasols" dotting the grassy area, but it looked too cluttered. Just some interchangeable concepts I throw around every now and again.