Gordon Bombay

I believe the reason for the 2006 closure was the ride was going to be relocated to another Paramount Park before Cedar Fair made their acquisition. If memory serves, I think it was going to Carowinds.

Kool Aid is not a proven vaccine for COVID-19.

Despite the nostalgia for the ride, Son of Beast was pretty, pretty bad. In both forms. However, did you ever ride The Villain at Geauga Lake? I'd ride Son of Beast ten times in a row and let someone kick me in the stomach before ever riding The Villain again.

What did I miss? Did someone call this virus a "budget corona?"

What the hell are you talking about? Even if a "national lockdown" or ordered closure of non-essential businesses occurs, we're a far way from martial law—let alone the national guard gunning people down in the streets. That's not even occurring in other nations.

COVID-19 has been confirmed in the greater-Cincinnati region.

Is the only model they lack the hyper/giga? Since Goliath is from Giavonola?

I disagree. This would not be a good topic for "don't waste your money" style "consumer watchdog" entertainment. Those stories can barely copy+paste from these forums when all the info is right there (and, spoiler for the next iPhone story they run: "yeah, you don't need to upgrade but'cha could!). The topic of this global virus is already being covered every day by respected journalists who's focus is reporting on such health-related topics. Follow the CDC, keep an eye on a proper newspaper, wash your hands (if anything, less germs), and just stay informed. Given that the situation is fluid and still developing in the Tri-State area, the park is most likely monitoring the situation and will only address it when there's a need to/more information available.

Look, I get it, this website has to serve as a cheerleader for the park in some respects and you say all this now (nor am I in no way trying to deter you from visiting). But I would keep an eye on the news and developments as things progress before you declare "not one bit" and jump in line with tons of people all touching the same queue rails. How things were in February are very different from how things are in March. How things are today could be very different a month from now—both for the worse or for better.

I don't think it's fair to call it a "panic," yet or even a "hot mess." Yes, there are some people probably being a little overzealous gobbling up all the hand sanitizer (but who's surprised when even the thought of snow triggers long lines at Kroger), but rather people are taking this seriously and preparing. There's a lot of risk and unlike previous global viruses, the transmission is easier. We haven't seen anything quite like this in sometime. Even if you're not in the at-risk demographic, there's still a threat to many people. Can most afford to "self quarantine?" Can most afford to take time off work? Can students on a specific educational track afford to be delayed? Etc. There's also glaring, nationwide issues with testing and testing availability and affordability. If you can avoid being sick, no need to worry about testing. Better to be prepared.

Question: what is this thing?

I think that depends. Do those nations have differing views on the length and height of Orion not being perceived to stack up to its predecessors?

No. They'd never do such a thing. BTW, wanna go to Geauga Lake this weekend?

Thanks for checking it out!

Wow. I was literally planning a trip there this Spring... I've been checking every day to see when they'd announce their calendar. To see this today really hurts.

Thank you! Sorry about the bad link, moving too fast this morning.

"When the sun finally does go down, even on this dreary Winter Saturday, it will fall on car dealerships and industrial vistas rather than behind the wooden supports of roller coasters or the glimmering water of a lake." LINK: The Story of Chester Park

In addition to what @TombRaiderFTW noted, keep in mind too that the "movements" of TRTR were also a bit different than that of a traditional top spin. Again, I'm not an engineer, but the lava pit scene was a good example: rather than swinging, the gondola was locked and slowly moved downwards over the the theming as opposed to having momentum. If you ever stood in The Beast queue and heard the loud screech coming from the ride... that was energy being released. It was quite a bit different from other top spins, even the one that eventually premiered at PKD. As for symptoms of the theming... even before Paramount was gone, the theming had been degrading.

Haha, thanks. It was more so... lots of coffee this morning and typing quickly while waiting in line for more. Thanks for this post, @TombRaiderFTW. Ironically, I never touched again after 2009 despite being around until its removal. I totally forgot about the Inception score! I'm no engineer by any means, but this was always my impression too. Like, it was so big and required so much energy to do anything. When the ride would have an issue and break down, it performed normally and went about its proper "homing" procedures as intended... but the earth shattering sound and the shaking of the building made it seems as if the world was ending. I was never able to experience Volcano, but was its theme and design on par with Tomb Raider? Also, I just realized... that ride wasn't themed to the movie "Volcano?"

I'll never forget the first time that guests got to experience the 2009 version. It's important to note that even before Cedar Fair emerged on the scene: Tomb Raider was a shell of its former self. The ride, like many highly themed Paramount attractions, did not have its theme maintained. Not sure if this was due to a lack of resources or poor design (there was lots of blame going around), but the "totally themed, highly immersive, thrilling dark ride attraction" it was in 2002 did not fully exist in 2007. Many of the effects were gone, didn't work, etc. The best example was the spinning light that lined up with the door that you could eventually see struggle to spin. Still, I guess enough worked. The 2008 ride cycle was at least fun, then came 2009. The "boring ferris wheel" program was.... wow. It was bad. The queue itself looked ok, but the animatronic bat looked like a cheap thing bought at Party City. Shout out to the employees who did their best... warning guests about loose articles, trying to make things fun, even at one time resorting to Jungle Cruise-esque comedy routines in the pre-show to try and liven things up. That very first cycle: "Welcome back Crypt riders, how was your ride!?" Nothing but a chorus of boos and jeers. Every guest walking out of the exit was annoyed they had waited. That ride went from being one of the most popular with a line every night to having single digit riders by 9:15 PM. The only good part of that was if you worked it... you were heading home (or to the bar) at a reasonable hour. So, so, so, so bad. That generic wind howling... the empty box... the concrete floor covered in dirt... the skeletal remains of the "lava pit." And in the end, even with that mellowed out, boring cycle: the ride STILL didn't work properly.

@TombraiderTy Excellent finds and what's even more interesting... both signs happen to have different eras of "temporarily closed" signage as well.

Does anyone know why Kings Dominion's had a modified layout compared to KI and CW's? Was it built specifically to fit that space?

Thanks for posting this!

Such a great photograph. Any chance you have more to share? Specifically, any shots of queue line? I completely blank on what that was like

Just a joke. ;-) ACE used to have an...interesting...reputation. I'm sure it's better now.