Gordon Bombay

@TOPGUN1993 or @TombraiderTy can correct me if I'm wrong but, I believe behind the exit path fence (where it shifts towards the photo booth), there's a concrete pad where another queue house once stood.

I, for one, welcome our Six Flags overlords.

I'd be very surprised if that moved on. The folks attending Summerfair aren't really there for the rides, let alone dressed to swim.

To be fair, how many people ever take to Facebook to spread good will and positive sentiments en masse? Certainly agree that this isn't a popular decision, but let's not act as if Facebook is a barometer for rational opinions.

Random: Did Volcano have both a load and unload station or just one station? Also, was it not running much at the end of its life?

Photograph from me. Hi guys. With the recent news that Coney Island would be removing all of its rides, I wanted to visit the park and document how it looked before all these attractions depart. It was the first time I had been to the "rides side" in probably a decade (I avoided the Python because riding it once with @Captain Nemo in 2008 was enough for a lifetime). I shot some photographs and authored a quick piece on the park's extensive history. Link: Coney Island As It Was In September 2019 While this is shameless self-promotion, I do want to point out the AMAZING resource/website you have here tied in with KIC: Coney Island Central. Authored by @CoastersRZ, it's an excellent record of the park's vast history. From as best as I can tell, the last day to experience Coney's rides is this weekend: September 21 during the "Fire up the Night" event. And if you liked the above article, you might enjoy some of my other amusement park stuff: Stories on Americana/LeSourdsville Lake Stories on abandoned amusement parks What's up withe Jungle Jim's monorail I climbed Son of Beast one time

Yesterday I watched a full grown dad jump on one trampoline while his small child could barely move in the harness on the other trampoline. It was weird.

Their website is currently advertising their "bonus weekends" which includes one price, general admission for all attractions: https://coneyislandpark.com/tickets-passes/bonus_weekend_pricing/ However, their pricing structure through the earlier parts of the year was: Pool tickets, ride tickets, or a combo of both parks: https://coneyislandpark.com/tickets-passes/daily-tickets/

In terms of what? Looking at your actual customer data? Unless the average park goer doesn't care about the rides and only comes for the pool. In which case, that patron has lost nothing. It will be interesting to see how they restructure their pricing and with removing attractions, they'll definitely need to. But again, where are you getting 50%? While it's unfortunate that the rides are being removed, the park no longer needs to staff, operate, or maintain such attractions—there's an immediate and vast cost savings right there. Are you referring to Geauga Lake? Because I'd say that situation is entirely different at a park with an entirely different background/history and operation. It was more than just a collection of carnival-style flat rides that complemented a water attraction and group sales events.

Where are you getting the 50% figure? By all accounts, the park made this decision after looking at the customer data and where guests are spending their time within the park. I don't think the park made this decision lightly and removing the rides provides significant savings (although it's a hard pill to swallow). I'd hardly say they're "done for" by solely having the pool (which truly has been their bread & butter for years), water attractions, and yearly festivals. Anecdotal: but I swung by yesterday just to snap some photos of the rides before they depart. People were enjoying them, but the "crowds" around the rides paled in comparison to the crowd at the pool and its line to get in. Hell, many of the people I saw actually enjoying the rides were donning amusement park t-shirts anyways. A lot of people on these forums, like with Orion, need to realize just what little percentage "enthusiasts" make up of park guests/buying power.

I would doubt it. None have particularly good capacity. Would be neat, though. History repeating itself in a way.

Just a riff on how people feel Orion won't be as good as its contemporaries. I.E. — KI gets a Dive Coaster ala CP and CW, but just like with Orion, it's scaled back and "not as good" as the ones that came before it. *Not that I think Orion will be that way, just making a joke.

If you're playing Roller Coaster Tycoon and bored of Vortex, that plot of land leaves a lot of room for a B&M Dive Coaster that's good, but not as good as the ones Canada and CP received.

Delete your account.

Your entire post is very well said, @BoddaH1994. Since 2009, Cedar Fair will have installed four roller coasters that are reliable, comfortable to ride, have huge throughput, and are marketable to a regional population well beyond their first year. In addition to that, their other additions have been aimed at improving an overall guest experience. Those additions all beat Tomb Raider, Italian Job, and Son of Beast by almost every metric. Kings Island (and by extension Cedar Fair) couldn't care less whether this ride is taller, faster, better, etc than any of the chain's other coasters. That's completely and totally irreverent. They're not worried about attracting ACERS, TPR folks, or YouTube reviewers (cause ya'll are gonna show up anyways), they want the suburban family with expendable income to come, purchase a pass, have a good time, find value, and spend more year after year. And by all indications—that strategy is working out quite well for them.

I sincerely doubt anyone made a conscious choice to "throwback" or "troll." I would wager that whoever created the rendering was unaware or basing The Racer section off of old/incorrect information. As others have alluded to in years past and on this thread: supposedly recaR was flipped around when PTC further raised opposition to reverse running trains. That may or may not be correct, but what has been stated in this thread and is a fact is... ...running only one side immediately frees up three employees that can be used elsewhere should the occasion ever call for it. Is it disappointing when one side is closed/they don't race? Absolutely. Is it poor operation? Not if those employee positions on the closed side are being used to keep other rides/operations running elsewhere. If it's a budgetary decision (I've heard they don't run both sides in the early and late hours in recent years?), then yeah... pretty disappointing. The reality is that Kings Island is relying on a workforce who's options have multiplied in recent years. 15 years ago, many positions at Kings Island paid higher than minimum wage and were rife with perks. Then the park went even with minimum wage and cut employee perks in a business where young people are relegated to seasonal work, required to work long hours, and often have to judge distance and gas vs. a return on their time. All while companies like Target, Kohls, and even certain fast food chains offered up higher (above minimum) wages, better benefits, better hours, and had more frequent locations/closer distance. It's my understanding that Cedar Fair (and by extension Kings Island) have made attempts in recent seasons to improve the allure of their seasonal positions and improve retention, but for as many people as the park can and does employ... it can be difficult to retain. All that to say: when a new ride opens within one of the park's areas, that area typically gets A LOT of scrutiny and attention. It's important for things to look good and run well, even those attractions within close proximity to the new ride. Perhaps there will be an emphasis to keep The Racer running both sides consistently, not just for the perception of "racing," but to keep lines moving on a side of the park that will see increased foot traffic. Maybe they'll even paint the thing too.

Nice save.

Forgot about that mess of an attraction. Thanks.

Is there a good piece online that sums up what happened to that ride? I rode Pilgrim's Plunge on its media day. Hated it. Then just now learned it's gone.

@BoddaH1994, I agree with your assessment 100%. Thought this video was interesting, because you and I had a similar conversation in person a few weeks back. As someone who has been away from the industry for bit now, the perception I seemed to be getting from these boards and the occasional publication was that KI would be in the "purgatory" category, but by my own rough assessment—that just doesn't seem true. I would say it certainly falls into the top tier category, but for reasons other than roller coaster investment. Like you said, each park receives investment based on a multitude of factors. The video makes an interesting case about potential markets, but briefly skims over entertainment dollar competition in each market. I'm also curious where the stats come from on land percentage used. For example: KI has "a lot" of land, but "a lot" of that land isn't exactly flat or easy to access/develop. Ultimately, I think a lot of amusement park fans often mis-judge a large roller coaster as being more than it really is. The economics, marketing, and management of amusement parks (both large and small) is not similar to Roller Coaster Tyconn (1, 2, 3, or Classic). That game is a good place to start, though. ;-) Also: I watched this video last night and went down a rabbit hole of others on amusement parks/random other topics. Been watching a lot of YouTube lately as I move away from Netflix and Hulu. There's some great content out there, but I caution people to take it all with a grain of salt. Just because content is free or made by like-minded coaster fans (or fans of any subject), doesn't mean it's entirely accurate, no matter how good the production value is.

This is 100% correct. Except for The Crypt. I hated that ride. Couldn't have been happier to leave it behind.

Thanks! I remember the entrance itself (and that sign!), but not much beyond that. Appreciate you jogging my memory, Gator. Now, if anyone knows of some photographs... *cough* @TombraiderTy *cough*

I've been racking my brain trying to remember the queue line for King Cobra. Anyone have any photographs of it or the station? I've seen the views from the tower and such, but I'm still trying to remember that queue and iconic station... IIRC: the queue line was at the center of the ride, kind of cramped, very jungle theme, lots of CRT televisions and you went up stairs into the station? The station had that operator booth above everything, looking down?

It would be bad. The end.

Ooooooff. It's a joke, friend. From the days of the footing/footer debate raging across these hallowed forums. Hopefully when this thing opens, a couple people on this site take a few laps and mellow out. The ride should be silky smooth since it's built atop some well-poured footings.