Thrill_Biscuit

LOL. Having been in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York and other major metro areas, that sounded kinda funny to me XD.

Mankind put humans on the moon before it figured out the concept of putting wheels on luggage. Kings Island will put a roller coaster in its picnic grove before it puts a restroom in X-Base. It's all just organic, natural progression, imho.

The Weather Channel keeps forecasting a derecho for late tonight into tomorrow morning. I've been through a couple of these rare storms. They're pretty powerful. I know they can cause a lot of tree, roof and vehicle damage over a widespread area; or, they can pass high enough over us to just dump a lot of rain without the super-gusts. It will be an interesting evening if forecasters' hunches are correct. Stay safe.

My Dad and I caught the 3:00 show on Fathers' Day (Sunday), and it was just magic! That ring performer blew us away, and the new, sideways strength/acrobat piece interlaced with the trampoline act was superb! I must say, I love the Egyptian (or Indian)-sounding music during that exchange. It is absolutely mesmerizing! Very good show!

Well, let me step into my time machine and find out. [beep-blip-boop-bop-click-click-click Poof!] Okay, I'm back. Yes, the ride eventually gets dismantled and removed, to the disappointment of Eloi and Morlock alike. So enjoy it while it lasts.

I saw "Wildfire at Kolm[unresolved character symbol]rden," and thought of the wildfires in Arizona. I had no idea there was a Kolmarden until reading this. Tells you how Kings Island-centric my amusement park knowledge is.

I like "Timber Tantrum," a name I used to give wooden coasters when I first played Roller Coaster Tycoon... back in 2000.

For years, my Dad had desired going, once again, to Kings Island, that magnificent, world-renowned park that put our hometown on the map. He had gone a few times in the 70s and 80s, and the last time we went together was in 2009. At almost 78 years of age, facing down what could be frightening health challenges, the stoic Air Force and Army veteran and retired steel-forger joined me for a memorable walk through this evermore amazing park of "ours." We walked the entire park (well, the dry side) and put over 10,000 steps on our health apps! I've always bragged about Dinosaurs Alive!, so after a brief stop at Starbucks, we headed to the exhibit. "Is this animatronic going to give Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?" (a little Disney humor... ) In all seriousness, Dad was so awestruck by the magnitude of the exhibit, that he was compelled to call home and brag to my Uncle Jim. We of course rode the Kings Island Miami Valley Railroad, and he was overjoyed at the experience he so longed for over the decades. After years of bragging about it, I finally gave Dad a few pointers on the fine art of White Water Canyon Geyser splashing. He mastered it in only a few tries, and in this shot, that column of water emerging from the blue cannon would ultimately, thoroughly drench each and every passenger of that "doomed" boat. We then enjoyed "Jump," the Dog Show at the International Showplace (although, to the gasps of the audience, one dog, after committing a back flip appeared to visibly injure one of his back legs, but kept on with the show, tail wagging). The dog's apparent "limp" quickly went away, and the rest of the show went off without a hitch. We thought it was an interesting little show, but I wanted him to see the "Cadillac..." The 3:00 performance of Origins was so amazing, so flawless (okay, the Juggler lost one ball), but the new routines (the WOW that is the ring/hoop performer, and the new side-view, human trapeze act blended with the acrobats) brought tears to my eyes, literally! It was just very well-done and the packed house went nuts! My dad couldn't stop talking about how cool everything was (this was the first "non-concert" live stage show he's seen since the mid 1950's!) Stunned amazement, and pride in this wonderful park for having such a great show! ... and in his classy, sharp-minded way, he walked over to the technician at the "booth," and gave him props for his work on the sound (and whatever else he runs from that console)... to which the guy was very grateful! This was a very sweet, precious day, and I don't really know how else to sum up the emotions of it. Thanks for letting me share it here. Happy Fathers' Day. See y'all in the park. -Tb

Each caret (^) at the beginning of a post is supposed to refer to one post above. Using two (^^) means "two posts up," etc. -TB, happy to teach

I met Don at the park yesterday, and admitted to being the creator of the Statue picture. More on that later... He asked if I (we) were having fun with the teaser tweets and I said "oh, most certainly, yes!" I said "Well played so far!" Mutual smiles. (I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the Summer of 2016!)

Woman coming off of White Water Canyon: "Not cool, a******! You got my ******* brand-new Jordans wet and RUINED them!"

I'm bringing my 78-year-old father, Philosophy_Biscuit, to the park this morning in celebration of Fathers' Day. He and I had talked about it for years, and, well, what a better-forecast day to do it. We last visited the park together back in 2009, but it was very brief, and his roommate had to get back home so we only got to see part of Action Zone, and ride the Boo Blasters (I think it was BBOBH, I don't think it was SDATHC anymore). Prior to that, our last visit was in.... 1981. So much to show him, and he's been wanting to for quite some time now. Mason is our hometown (he writes for the Mason History Museum) and he and I share a deep pride in our world-class, putting-us-on-the-map little amusement park here. He's never seen the Diamondback splashdown, or Banshee, or Dinosaurs Alive!. It will be memorable, and I might even convince him to join me in a splash or two at WWC. Happy Fathers' Day to you dads out there! -Tb

I've already written to the park about WWC's ops getting carried away to the point of missing "feet up," seat-belt, phone and shoe-off violations, and they seem to have gotten 100% better. Some of the ops only start the constant chatter when people are at the geysers, because apparently they enjoy the props riders give them, thinking they're the ones splashing them (even though it's the paying customers on the other side ). Most of the time, though, the op and us geyser "groupies" team up to form the greatest, unscripted spiels of all time, and I regret not having my camera going during them!

The spiel at The Bat is so loud, distorted and incomprehensible, that it's easy to be hilariously misheard. "Aaaalright, riders! You're often worried 'bout a fifty wonder-mall Eisenhower, Fat! See your knuckle-muffin happy swagger on the Baaaatttt!" Huh?

I find these new systems to be cheesy. For example at Dave & Busters games are charged 3.8 credits or something like that so that your mind is disconnected from the cost, the trick modern casinos are using with so-called penny slots.

Just never, ever give up the Eiffel Tower spiel. Millions of people know that the tower is a 1/3 replica of the Paris Eiffel Tower, and I've never, EVER witnessed anyone spitting or dropping anything from the platform.

Barrel Rolls? Nice. I'd pay a whole city of silver dollars to ride a wooden barrel roll at Kings Island.

I've always considered that scary possibility. It's amazing how anyone can sit in a room with a computer screen and scope out every possible hiding place and escape route, should they decide to do something criminal.

There's video proof that Son of Beast was destroyed by an alien mothership in 2012.

Sigh (not aimed at anyone). Must.... consult ...the Orb, and absorb the wisdom thereof:

I think Dodge'Em should be taken out and replaced with well-landscaped green space.

Thrill_Biscuit is only a life-long, local fan of the park, and knows nothing more or less than the average member on this board. I used a random number of asterisks. Could also fit "Rocinante," CedarFair," "Rivertown..."

They know everything because their great computers fill their hallowed halls... oh, wait.. saw your awesome avatar and couldn't resist. I still don't know, so I talk.

Just got a bunch of duplicate mailings, ostensibly showing plans for *********'s layout and certain specifications. I got excited about the elevations (ranging in the 700's) until I checked and found that those mean sea level.

Last year's highly anticipated Roller Coaster announcement never convinced a single one of me that a parking plaza and water slide were coming. A big wink. Here it is: That was a big wink.