Gordon Bombay

Wow, that was a good read. My favorite line: I had a similar experience with the "bored" actors in the cemetery on media night. At one point there was no one telling me where to go or any theming directing me that I led my group to the back end of the garden area behind the skyline and an actor from the former RL stine house showed me where to go. Did curse of the crypt really have live snakes in a glass case you had to climb over? I would not have enjoyed that.

I rode the ride once it re-opened and continued to ride it throughout the season. Even in the back seat its not that bad. The first drop is quite thrilling and if you sit in the back you get a few decent pops of air time. However, other than that theres not much to the coaster, its a sluggish, boring layout. Just an average coaster. Not that great, but not horrible.

Well first off no one here can actually say they "know" the popularity of Son of Beast considering none of us here never really conducted full survey or marketing study regarding the thing nor do we have full access to the capacity figures of the ride. However, if CF felt it was worth the price spent removing the loop and purchasing the g trains for it and to do all of the structural reinforcement that the state ordered then it probably of enough value to the park that it was worth doing those things. Not saying bare bones nights were a flop or not successful, but how do you know it was such the success you claim it to be? You don't have access to those attendance figures of guests who came that night nor do you know the budget, profit, attendance, and operations goals Cedar Fair had set for that night nor if those goals were reached in order for it to be considered a success. What crystal ball did you look in to know that the majority of guests who attended bare bones nights will be coming back next season? As you know, there were mixed reactions to how Halloween Haunt was executed this year and to the content it contained. For all we know there could possibly a silent majority who was displeased with the event and won't be returning next year causing a large attendance drop or there could be an overwhelming amount who loved the new changes this year and people could return in record numbers next year. Regardless, I don't think you have the proper information from a ride operators perspective to be able to predict the success of a previous event let alone next years event. Your criticized Brown for making judgement on SOB's popularity without all the "facts" yet you did the same thing about bare bones. Kings Island hasn't released any exact attendance figures yet or its unknown if they will however the park has in the most recent years been promoted as having over 3 million guests in attendance. This year though at IAAPA in Orlando Kings Island received a brass ring award for having an excellent radio marketing campaign in the "class 3" bracket. A class 3 park is considered a park that receives between 1 - 2 million guests per year. If the past years of "3 million guests" are true and KI is in the proper class for this award then I'd wager to say attendance could be way down at the park and that I'd question the supposed ability of Halloween Haunt/Bare Bones to pull in "record" crowds in the way some people have been cheerleading it for. Iaapa awards: http://www.iaapa.org/pressroom/pressreleas...08brassring.asp Other discussion regarding park "classes": http://coastercrew.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=834

School = But...im on a 7 week break and working at a job i enjoy and back in Cincinnati.

A friend of mine recommended I check out this Beast video on youtube... Its from the 1985 program from the Disney channel entitled "when you wish upon a star". In this episode a young girl named Kristen wishes to ride The Beast over and over again. The video shows some very interesting views of the ride although the segments are shown out of sequence... Things to look for in the video: -The Beast lake is still there -Old cars with buzz bars. -The MASSIVE ride operator panel. -The ride operators phone is inside the control booth rather than outside. -When she meets with the designers they show her a model that is quite unlike the actual design. QqpIfUPiFrQ

haha because taco's were the ethnic food of Tecumseh...

While I agree tunnels on SOB and little aesthetic things like the ideas you mentioned for Beast during HH (which I agree would be absolutely AWESOME!) they have kind of missed that window of oppourtunity with Son of Beast. X is being marketed as a whole new ride because it is having way more than just tunnels added to it. If they wanted to do something like that with SOB they should've done that when it first re-opened after the accident with the new trains.

I didn't say it would never happen, i just said from a financial standpoint it doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

I'm not saying its problems shouldn't be fixed, if you check my earlier post in the topic I said I'd rather see any money for tunnels go to wood coaster maintenance to help maintain the ride. A tunnel, while it is definantly a nice aesthetic feature to the ride, will not improve the smoothness of the ride and right now is not something the park probably wants to waste money on.

Don't forget that we're in a different boat here. The Cedar Fair people are park people. They do what they can to improve the guest's experience. I can see that mentality under Paramount, but I really think that CF would do it just if they thought it was a good idea rather than only installing it if they feel as though they can make a good basis for a TV commercial out of it. The CF people are Park people and do what they can to improve guest experience? Like raising food prices without increasing the quality of the food? Maybe the old Cedar Fair not under massive debt. I seriously doubt they're going to waste any money on frivilous things like tunnels on the SOB at this point when they're still in a tricky financial situation. I could see them justifying it if the tunnels did something signifigant to improve ride experience and further its identity as a fixed ride that is no longer like it was back in 06 during the accident, but that window of opportunity has somewhat already passed, if they wanted to do something like that they should've done it when they added new trains and removed the loop. In regards to what other posters said about tunnels distracting you from the jackhammering and roughness of the Rose Bowl....sit in the very back seat of The Beast on a wheel and see if you notice the roughness going through the double helix.

It does have a relatively small seating area not to mention if it was brought into full service it would have to be brought up to ADA code. I don't know where you went to High School but the lunch at my high school was A LOT BETTER than anything Wings offered Always good and the lunch ladies were always nice. Then again I went to private school until I was in college, so I don't know how public school food is. My favorite KI food option is always Chipotle after or before going to the park.

What was KC's height requirement? I can never remember, i think PKIVortex knows.

Sounds like a good base idea to get working from. If you wanna use any of my pictures I'd be happy to assist you, just let me know what you're interested in doing, I can get higher resolutions and larger pictures. Id be happy to help so long as credits given and I have the time towards the end of the year.

Never heard of them doing that to a small business before, if so, thats a shame as Coke is known for being a traditional american product you could always find in those classic small stores all over the country. Personally, I prefer Pepsi over Coke as far as taste goes, but don't drink any soda much anymore.

haha cool, im glad you liked my pictures from the LL thread. What kind of design with an abandoned coaster are you thinking about doing for the art show?

How about some specific examples to back up those claims? How has Coke abused their store?

Why do you miss King Cobra the most? Your profile says your 13, meaning the last year it even operated you were probably 7 or 8. Were you even tall enough to ride it?

I don't see your point. How are you judging the upkeep costs and how much labor goes into maintaining the ride from an aerial photo? It's age is not the reason its not going to be moved out of New York, its not going to be moved because its a state historical landmark!

I've often wondered that too why I don't see more people in there, its not in a bad location. I think most people feel that for the price and selection its easier just to get their family a large pizza in the festhaus. I personally don't think that what's offered at the Wings Buffet requires the price for it, but free refills is almost worth it. I think maybe the last time Montgomery Inn was in Wings was mid 2006? I don't remember if Wings made the transition to buffet mid season or at the beginning of the 2006 season but I thought I remembered Montgomery Inn ribs being sold there at the beginning of the season. I remember in October 2006 Bodah, Avatar, and I met up there one evening before riding some rides and it was pretty packed, but I've never seen it that busy since. Now, I'm just a college kid and don't make a habit out of going to Montgomery Inn, but I do go there once every winter with some co-workers as part of a dinner and get together. It's a high class place known for quality, and the food is excellent. I never felt that the "Montgomery Inn" they served at Wings was anywhere near the quality at the boathouse. If I were them, I wouldn't even want my name on such a crappy product that isnt even a good reflection of what they truly offer.

Yeah, those are parking lot trams sitting out there. According to Jungle Jims the safari cars will be seeing new life in November. Edit: Duh Gordon, it is November. I have a friend getting married at the Oscar event center in December and according to her, her guests are supposed to be taken to and from the event center on the mono rail. Ill be back in cincy on monday night, cant wait to see if Jungles has made any progress.

^hahah thats exactly the quote I was trying to think of but couldn't remember it. Thanks.

A lot of them are on property still privately owned and usually guarded as a lot of the parks are still trying to sell the rides. Myself, Boddah, and Dane had permission to go into Americana/LeSourdsville Lake and we even met with the owner. All the rides there have been appraised for auction or sale, but that was some time ago. I don't know if the guy from Urban Travel had permission to go into Spree Park or not but I do know the Greenland park in Japan is wide open and they really don't mind people going in and looking around. In Japan they have a lot of respect for urban ruins like that, most of the abandoned places in Japan are void of vandalism where as in the United State's its common to see grafitti in most abandoned places. It's just a cultural thing. A lot of times when I photograph abandoned places its not with permission, although I do always seek it, however whenever I do shoot abandoned places the only thing I take is photographs and I'm careful to leave everything in its place out of respect.

I've noticed that for some reason everyone seems to think that Geauga Lake was a flat ride kingdom and my favorite is when everyone says we're going to get a "flat or two". In reality Geauga Lake did not have that many good flat rides, they had a few classic ones that KI already has. Like Elmer, the only one I would really want to see come is the Americana ferris wheel as KI really lacks one. However with what Kinzel said in the last conference call... I fear that once they sell the property, and if you read the transcript they may be hinting that they're closing a deal on it, most of the flat rides will just be trashed. I don't think we'll see anything new in rides in 2008.

So as many of you know I'm a big fan of abandonment photography as well as photographing amusement parks. I currently run a website called Queen City Discovery which highlights urban ruins throughout the city of cincinnat, places i travel to, and hocking vallery area where I currently live and go to school. Recently I was featured in City Beat magazine for a photograph I took at the abandoned and defunct Surf Cincinnati Waterpark and recently did a feature on the site about LeSourdsville Lake/Americana. Unfortuanently the state of Ohio is state dotted with quite a few abandoned and defunct amusement parks, many of them small parks reminiscent of a time in American history when small parks were as common as play stations. However, today I want to show you guys something different. It's not often you see larger, full scale theme parks abandoned with multiple coasters and larger rides but there are a few cases across the world that I find particuarly intriguing... Greenland Amusement Park: Fukushima Prefecture, Japan This abandoned park sports a large rollercoaster and one small one as well as many classic rides such as the ferris wheel and a unique version of the lazytown sportacopters and a merry go round... Plenty more pictures to see here. The next park I'd like to share with you guys is the abandoned Spree Park in Berlin, Germany. This one comes courtesy of my friends at Urban Travel... Originally opened in 1969 this park closed in 2001 when it went bankrupt and the owners fled to Lima, Peru with about 20 attractions whom authorites thought were being sent for repairs but were really sold and relocated to other parks If you'd like to see some more pictures from this park click here. Thought some of you guys might enjoy these photos of a view of an amusement park we aren't accustomed to seeing. I know a few members on here like Monroe and King Maple the Tree King have travelled to European parks so I wonder if either of them had been to Spree Park when it was open. Hope you guys enjoy the photos and the read and dont forget to check out Queen City Discovery.

The Beast was the only ride to still play the Jeff Seibert "Paramount" no smoking spiel this year. I assume that was because that spiel is tied into the lift hill and queue house sound and light effects.