Gordon Bombay

Great trip report, thanks for posting!

Well, to be perfectly honest, I don't have much to do with KIC anymore. I'll step in when I get an abundant amount of texts/pms/facebook messages about something going haywire. If only the active staff stopped by more.

If only we had a topic to discuss amusement park zoning issues... Edit: For the record, mulimann posted some great links, but maybe they'd be better here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27359-whos-going-to-other-parks/#entry514318 Now what was that about 2014?

Hey, so, just a few notes since the OP hasn't posted anything in awhile: Q: Meeting up with friends? A: Please discuss that in a meet up thread! Q: Do you really like wearing jean shorts? A: Head to Kohl's next sale or start a thread about the fashion relevancy of "jorts." Q: Questions about why Son of Beast closed? A: Go here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25938-general-son-of-beast-discussion/ Speculating and discussing what, if anything, is coming for 2014!? THIS is the thread to do just that. So let's stay on topic, shall we? ___________________________________________________________ When they were tearing down Son of Beast, the bolts that came off the ride were placed into barrels and hauled off presumably for scrap. I assume whatever was left in that barn was scrapped or kept depending if it could be used on other rides. Like AZ Kinda Guy said, I assume that barn and that remaining stuff out there will be cleaned up once a new ride opens on that occupied spot even though by all indications it seems a new ride won't be going out that far. I'm surprised that they let so much stuff out there remain visible from the tower.

Again, let's stay on the topic of Kentucky Kingdom please.

Stop. Discuss the topic or don't post.

I highly doubt you'd see a strata coaster built at KI, you can already rule that out via the footprint you're currently seeing. I'd place good money on that whatever is being built will be high capacity and incredibly efficient. Rides like that are something KI has sorely needed for a long time and Diamondback was a step in the right direction. Not saying you'd see another B&M hyper ala Wonderland's Behemoth/Leviathan combo, but a downtime ridden, huge cost and inefficient strata coaster - not at KI. B&M once made trains for a wooden roller coaster and then never again. That photograph is phenomenal, mind if I ask where you found it?

Fun fact: This building... ...used to be part of the Wild Animal Habitat and then was repurposed as the Son of Beast "bolt barn." It held hundreds of spare bolts and parts for Son of Beast. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of it.

Negativity and skepticism? Sorry not everyone is viewing the situation through rose colored glasses. Every now and then you return to KIC and poo-poo how you dislike certain users here and the boards less and less each time. Good for you, friend, then why do you still keep coming? Being skeptical of this project is to have an opinion on the given information here put out by Hart himself. I wasn't aware that as "enthusiasts" we were supposed to blindly believe any press release as God's word or that "enthusiasts" are supposed to take mystery words about "construction" as gospel when evidence proves otherwise. I'll admit, Hart securing financing a few days before took me by surprise. I didn't see it happening given that he hadn't announced any kind of firm financing before and just weeks before had said the rides were "deteriorating" ( http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130606/NEWS01/306060074/Kentucky-Kingdom-significantly-deteriorated-analysis-says ). It seemed to me that he was getting ready to back pedal in a fashion similar to the HW group who also claimed to be so super excited about opening the park, then left when their "ride experts" determined it wasn't worth their time to do the necessary repair work. Alas, Hart proudly stood at the gates yesterday with the money he needs. Had you read the thread, and not just casually, I've pointed out numerous times that I really do want to see the park reopen, however, by all indications Hart was giving - I didn't see that happening and to a degree I wonder how much will really be open in May. He has a massive task in front of him, not just in repair work, but in operations and clerical work as well. I had the opportunity to visit a closed KK in the summer of 2011 ( http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2012/02/from-ruins-of-kingdom-boardwalk-rises.html ). In early 2012, I wrote about that experience and the Koch's attempt to reopen it - I maintain the same opinion I had then: I think the park is beautiful, seeing it closed it sad and it's the kind of place that deserves to be open, but I found the Koch's plan peculiar and was very skeptical of it. I feel the same way about Hart's plan. For what it's worth, I hope you're having a great summer too and doing well - also if you come back to the forums again I hope it's to contribute and discuss, not just breeze through topics and tell us yet again why you've fallen out of love with KIC.

While signs point to a coaster being bought or a portable coaster and the cost, why is this unlikely? Because who is going to survey, design, manufacture and assemble a coaster in time for opening day? Not any of the big manufacturers.

Notice in the press release that aside from the two coaster renovations, he doesn't mention when anything else will open. Even the water park attractions aren't announced for a specific date. I'm still waiting to hear what exactly will be open when the counter at the top of that page hits 0?

It'll be interesting to see what... If anything... "reopens" in 2014.

Do you guys mean in general or are you talking directly about Fast Lane sales? See what I did there?

Or you know like a quick walk out there to just see how dark it is. Would probably make sense before holding an event at night.

And that is most certainly not true. It may be what they WANT to do, but without a lease or money to fund a design those plans are a long way off. He has to get a lease, secure funding and open a park first.

Most people would probably assume you'd use the whole wave pool too. Typical, how do you screw this event up? It's not rocket science, especially when your competition across the street did it for years and you stole the idea.

I've not over exaggerated a thing and what am I taking out of context? If Hart has funding, why isn't he drumming up good press and waiting to the last minute to sign a lease or get ANOTHER extension? Anyone? Bueler? Bueler? As for construction, you realize NONE is happening right? You've provided no evidence of construction, no one else has provided evidence of construction and oh yeah... Who would grant Hart a permit for construction without a lease?

I do know that when Six Flags closed the park for the last season the train was removed and put in storage. So it hasn't been on the track the whole entire time the park has been closed. A portion of the train did in fact roll back from the station. I seen a portion of it when I drove through an alley by the dragster race car attraction. It sat there for over a year maybe? Since Ed Hart been back the train had disappear from where it was sitting. So after Six closed the ride, they put it in storage? Then apparently someone brought it back out of storage, reconstructed the chassis, placed it back on the track, left it sitting exposed to the elements and removed hardware from it? Because this is where it was and how it looked in 2011: So they're in St. Louis as the property of Six? Is Hart going to buy them back? Either way, he's going to need at least two new trains for that one particular ride. I saw the train, in pieces, myself when I was there in the summer of 2011, during Hart's first attempt to reopen the park. So neither ride has run since 2009. That's not particularly good. Even if Hart has good news to present next week, I highly doubt that park is ready by 2014 - especially to the capacity you claim it will be. Hart himself admitted it's in a lot worse shape than they thought, they currently don't have the money to fund any renovations (and why would they considering the parks future is in doubt?), that would leave them with just under a year to get everything open and up to inspection standards. Not to mention, they'd have to hire full time staff, seasonal staff, draft policy, perform training, hammer out operating policies, bring a POS system online and so much more. Do you have any idea how much work (and money) that would take to fit in 11 months? For the wave pool alone even - pumping out that standing water, redoing all the pumps, that cost will be incredible. Edit: For example, The Beach waterpark up here was closed last summer. In July of 2012 new operators came in and in just under a year they had that park open, but up until the last minute they were still running inspections with the state and trying to get their new attraction ready for opening day. That's a park with much smaller overhead, smaller operations and less infrastructure. Yet, you're telling us that Hart and Co. are going to magically happen to get a large scale amusement park that has been sitting idly for four seasons now (with some sections closed even longer) and has had no upkeep and wasn't winterized properly by May of 2014? Not happening by that date kid, even if Ed Hart finds funding. I hope he does, but by all indications he's given, there's no good news to report.

But now the water park won't be in the dead middle...It will have its own section unfortunately. Get a grip. Thunder Run's train is unusable, but that's actually the best one of all. Twisted Twin's train's are scrapped, T2's train is in pieces in the grass around the ride and roller skater hasn't run in years. And Greezed Lighting - beyond repair according to Hart and Co. IF he gets the park back open, NONE of those rides are running any time soon. The water park would be his best bet to reopen first, but even that is going to cost a lot of money that Hart doesn't have yet.

Pick a relevant major and it probably would.

This topic has been discussed ad-nausem and while I understand your concern, you could search and find similar answers to what I'm about to tell you. Who knows if you'll fit? There's a lot of factors that go into it. Diamondback has a test seat, try that out first before you wait. Any other ride, if you go up to the exit and ask a ride operator they'll let you in, let you try out a seat and then you can decide if it's worth waiting in line.

Man, those lanyards you guys have sure look awesome. it was really nice of Comp USA to sponsor the event.

Were they up there looking for money?

But often, Fast Lane is just "slightly less long wait lane."

Actually the change is new. In previous years under Cedar Fair's Attraction Boarding Pass policies - there were color coded cards that determined specific access. These cards could only be given out by employees who were specifically trained to evaluate a guest's case, needs and requirements. It's a tough situation as an employee - you want to be as accommodating, polite and respectful as possible while also keeping the guest's safety as the top priority. I should know, I assigned plenty of those passes the past few seasons before I left the park. In the case of guests with autism, there used to be a specific sheet just for those cases. Normally, the Attraction's Boarding Pass required that if the wait time was 30 minutes or less, the guest and their approved group were permitted access up the exit immediately. If the estimated wait time was above 30 minutes (say it was 45 minutes), the guest would be given a time 45 minutes later to return with their group and board. With the autism pass though, things were different - there were never assigned wait times specifically due to how some guests are affected by the condition. My best friend's sister is autistic and in her case, she's a child who doesn't understand the concept of waiting. Unfortunately policies like the one above are not a "catch all," every disability is different and each case needs to be evaluated on an individual basis. I never encountered any guest who tried to abuse the system when I gave out passes, but I know of many guests where the "autism pass" was a huge help to the family in the park. I can say this - the park takes this matter very seriously and the training and respect around that training are truly sincere and I can say with confidence that it was executed very well. I don't think the family in the mentioned case here is being contradictory, rather I think they were just taken aback by the policy change which up until this season was different and allowed for accommodation on rides as soon as possible. Frankly, I think the discussion has gotten to the matter at hand and people have been sharing their thoughts. Like many have said, it's a no-win situation. No policy, no matter how accommodating is going to be able to be applied to each individual case. However, I think the park takes alternate boarding and accommodation very seriously. As mentioned in the article, the park changed their policy after consulting with autism awareness groups in order to create an "equal" experience for everyone. I think in this case unfortunately, the guests were just not aware of the policy change. just pointing out something - during the remaining years of Paramount/Viacom/CBS (at least 2004 - 2006), the policy was the one I mentioned above. Guests who requested a pass for alternate boarding would be given a wait time on certain attractions if the regular line exceeded 30 minutes. However, there was no special accommodation pass for a guest with autism. Also, nearly any associate could give out these passes at rides, there was no evaluation. Cedar Fair implemented a new policy in 2007 that kept the "30 minute rule," but was more specific and individualized, while adding the "autism pass" - however, you also had to be a manager or a guest services team member to award this pass to a guest. I think what the park did was noble, they were trying to create an equal experience across the board. The problem was that not everyone was informed of these changes, but then again how do you target such a specific audience with the information of these changes? It's also tough when a first time on the job 16 year old kid has to be the one to explain said policy change to a parent in the heat, who has walked up an exit and is expecting to have their child accommodated based on past experiences. I will say this, I can be very critical of the way certain things are executed out of Sandusky - but this policy is something that the folks who work at Kings Island are truely passionate about. When I worked at the park, I loved receiving feedback from guests I talked to on the midway and I worked in an environment where I could share that feedback with my team. If you're a parent or someone who knows someone with special needs and has questions or ideas for improving the policy, please share it with the park. There were several people, and there still are people who truly do care.