RingMaster

Given the fact that the "facade" for US is a giant tarp and the vast majority of Coney Maul's "theming" is a bunch of flags, they have had plenty of time to at least take down CM's exterior scenery between November 1st and now. Unless they're waiting til Preseason Cleanup to do so.

The Calgary Zoo's DA! apparently cost a mere $1 million to create, yet that is with only 20 some odd animatronic dinosaurs. Given the fact that ours has almost triple the amount of creatures and is 4,000 feet long, I would imagine a ball-park figure of, let's say, $4 or $5 million. Which, to add up the cost of WindSeeker (at $5 million) and the Coney Mall revamp (a guess of around $2 or $3 million), that brings the total up to around $13 million for these three items. I can already hear some folks going, "Bu-bu-but that's enough to build a woodie back behind The Racer! Why couldn't they just do THAT?! Dinosaurs are STUPID, GIVE ME MY COASTER BECAUSE I'M NOT FULLY SATISFIED WITH Diamondback AND/OR Firehawk!!!11!!"

The same goes for attractions such as, but not limited to: Invertigo Flight Deck Adventure Express The Racer Flight of Fear Firehawk Vortex Backlot Stunt Coaster The Beast Diamondback Flying Ace Aerial Chase Snoopy Surf Dog Woodstock Express Eiffel Tower Grand Carousel Viking Fury Delirium Drop Tower Congo Falls Scrambler Dodgem Monster Zephyr Shake, Rattle, and Roll Action Theater White Water Canyon KI & Miami Valley Railroad Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown! Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Tower Gardens Tasmanian Typhoon Coolangatta Racer Awesome Aussie Twister Sydney Sidewinder Down Under Thunder Bondi Pipeline Snowy River Rampage Great Barrier Reef Crocodile Run Pipeline Paradise Any show in the Festhaus Any show on the Bandstand Stage Any show in the Showplace Theater Any show in the Kings Island Theater Any show in the Peanuts Playhouse Linus' Launcher Snoopy's Junction Peanuts Off Road Rally Peanuts 500 Snoopy vs Red Baron Joe Cool's Dodgem School Linus' Beetle Bugs Sally's Sea Plane Snoopy's Splash Dance Kite Eating Tree Character Carousel Woodstock's Whirlybirds Great Pumpkin Coaster Charlie Brown's Wind Up ...this doesn't include all the shops, restaurants, midway games, or even the themed areas of the park. But you get the idea.

If it's a pay-per-walk experience, meaning you have to pay again if you want to go through again on the same day, I'm backtracking the length of the trail and doing it again that way. But, all in all, I am thoroughly shocked by this move by the park. I mean, talk about coming out of left field with a dinosaur walk-through, let alone one that's 4,000 feet long and has over 50 animatronics in it (although they do appear to be minimal in their actual movements and not like the Jurassic Park dinos). I was at least expecting a simple changeup of films in AT to Dino Island, and have the entrance/exit be a mini-dinosaur walkthrough. But this is good, if not better. Also, given the fact that I very rarely eat inside the park to begin with, let alone actually SPEND any money aside from the park ticket and an occasional soda, five bucks is a steal for something like this, especially considering the Creation Museum is at least $25, and that attraction doesn't have a bunch of roller coasters in its lineup (although some of its exhibits can be stomach-churning at times). Count me in for Opening Day for Dinosaurs Alive!

Or just had DA! go in Trail of Terror's spot as that is already paved and has electrical work installed (except I don't think the ToT path is 4,000 feet long).

Universal Studios did a haunted attraction a couple years back involving dinosaurs and human/reptile mutants in the Jurassic Park section of IOA, so it isn't too far-fetched of an idea. And if the "Silly Band" is the actual path for DA!, then it intersects ToT at several spots which may mean the end of the infamous Trail. Of course, they could just invade White Water Canyon's exit and make the undead cowboys roam Rivertown. It would certainly alleviate the issue of not having enough monsters out on the streets like last year.

Also, the same exact marketing tactics were used for Diamondback, what with teaser videos and random pictures. But this isn't a coaster being announced, so it apparently doesn't count. ....wait, I take that back. If it were a family coaster being announced, it wouldn't count either, because it isn't over 200 feet tall and doesn't go over 50 mph.

If we're going by Facebook standards......NOPE.

He only trusts certain media sources, as others can be grossly misleading.

Not to add more fuel to the fire, but if this were about SOB...wouldn't the price tag be higher than $9,000,000? Texas Giant is 4,920 feet long. Son of Beast is 7,032 feet long. That's an extra 2,112 feet to figure into the equation. Now, if we were to use the $10,000,000 price tag for TG's refurb, it would average out to around $2,032 per foot of track. For SOB, using this $9 million tag, it averages out to around $1,279 per foot of track. I don't know about you, but given the layout, length, and height of SOB, I would expect the number to be a lot higher. Now let's say the average is at $2,500 per foot. Multiplying that by Sonny's length, it comes out to around $17,580,000. At $3,000, that number jumps up to a little over $21,000,000. Note that this all pure speculation, so don't take anything I said as fact.

When did Ty say THAT? Terp, whose head hurts Sarcasm is an art form that takes years to master. Coasterkid still has a little ways to go.

I'm sorry, I just had to do this...

DUDE. They ARE exactly the same. Well, that pretty much puts the last nail in the coffin on what this could possibly be and who is designing said attraction. EDIT: We may have to wait until after Opening Day to go through it though: Now I'm mad. I wanted to check it out Opening Day. I hate waiting.

*cough*Facebook*cough* Seriously, tomorrow, I'm gonna fix me a bag of popcorn, sit in front of the comp, and watch as everyone on there start whining and complaining about the lack of a new coaster magically appearing this Spring. Reminds me of last year's epic drama, "Peanuts Are Irrelevant To Today's Youth".

I'm still holding out for a Dino-themed movie in Action Theater, though. I would, however, liked to have seen said Dino walk-through go in Tower Gardens, even though that's not a particularly large chunk of land (especially when considering the "largest of its kind" hype the park is giving it). But it has copious amounts of foliage and even three waterfalls that can be utilized to create a neat Prehistoric walk-through for the whole family. Maybe even use the big waterfall as a makeshift volcano. But I digress. Won't happen as apparently it's going in behind Racer.

It depends on if this is either an actual Media Event much like what occurred for the announcement of Diamondback, or a simple press release like for Planet Snoopy.

Obviously not describing WindSeeker as three others are being installed at other Cedar Fair parks, unless ours suddenly grew a couple more feet without our knowing. So they apparently aren't kidding around by saying this is a big attraction if it's supposedly "the largest in the world of its kind".

I'm surprised the idea of the Dino Island movie (or a motion simulator film involving dinosaurs in general) went extinct so quickly. I can see the entrance and exit of Action Theater become a two-part walkthrough with whatever film is playing as the centerpiece of this gigantic attraction.

^ And without having to pay a handful of nickels for the Family Dryer! Oh, wait, they'll probably make it an upcharge attraction. Shucks...

It's times like these where I must ask one simple question: Where's the Dippin' Dots Guy when you need him?

Resembles more of a generic shipping container, like the ones you see on the "Backlot." Wonder how big one would need to be to contain a T-Rex, though...

Given the fact that you would be moving past it at a controlled speed and would only see said animatronic for a couple of seconds (versus having it on a pedestal in a queue line and making guests stay in one spot to see it), it's honestly not that big of a problem. Not to mention the company that built that prop (and several other similar companies) makes some truly remarkable animatronic pieces for just about any occasion, and at a price far less expensive than what Disney and Universal shell out (although, on the flip side of that, said props have a lower quality than a Disney/Uni AA).

Not to mention...I can see several of those props being used for Haunt, specifically for Urgent Scare. Like having an Army member standing atop the guard tower warning those about the quarantine zone: And even possibly using the hangar facade as part of a military base under siege in the last third of the haunt: But of course, that would be WAY too much theming for both Kings Island's Haunt AND the park itself in general...

Then what about rides like Mystery Mine, Daredevil Falls, Splash Battle, and Barnstormer at a little park called Dollywood? They're not necessarily big, but they are well-themed and are at a regional park...

1. Maverick - Cedar Point (beastfan26) 2. Millennium Force - CP (coasterguy15) 3. Diamondback - KI (Indyguy4KI) 4. The Beast- KI (McSalsa) 5. Prowler - WoF (thekidd33) 6. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point (Centurey) 7. WindSeeker - Kings Island (jcgoble3) 8. Intimidator - Carowinds (Coney Islander) 9. Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point (LordSkippy) 10. Intimidator 305 - KD (TombRaiderFTW) 11. Dominator - KD (TylerRider) 12. Silver Bullet - KBF (KIfan1980) 13. Xcelerator - Knott's Berry Farm (TH13TEEN) 14. Big Dipper - Geauga Lake Park (PhantomTheater) 15. Flight of Fear - Kings Island (RingMaster) 16. Raptor - CP (Diamondbackcmh) 17. Behemoth - Canada's Wonderland (sethdawg17) 18. Son of Beast - Kings Island (stephatron) 19. Shockwave - Kings Dominion (XGatorHead 8904) 20. Shivering Timbers - Michigan's Adventure (Unrealsk8er) 21. Power Tower - Cedar Point (HTCO) 22. la Rosas Pizza - Kings Island (rcfreak339) 23. Patriot - WoF (Corn4ahead) 24. Way Too Much TV! - KI (muppetfan1999) 25. Renegade - Valleyfair (McSalsa) 26. Afterburn - Carowinds (thekidd33) 27. Wicked Twister - Cedar Point (Pillsberry123) 28. WindSeeker - Cedar Point (jcgoble3) 29. Flight of Fear - Kings Dominion (Coney Islander) 30. woodstock glyders - carowinds (rotag) 31. Talon - Dorney Park (pkiboy) 32. Adventure Express - Kings Island (kiruler102) 33. The Crypt - Kings Dominion (RingMaster)