Gordon Bombay

There weren't. Yes, it did. It was black and white.

I get free work clothes, the only thing I've bought are my boots. Every company I have worked has provided atleast 2 free uniform shirts and you had the option of buying your own pants or company sold ones, your personal ones had to be within uniform parameters though. This year Cedar Fair I'm sure made a killing charging KI workers for their uniform shirts, and uniform shorts then not having the correct amount of sizes in or distributing the wrong ones. Failed to turn in your shorts when you left....that came out of your pay check too. KI needs an HR department and uniform overhaul park wide.

Fan of Beast, awesome pictures and report, I'm very glad you posted it. You were right, it is a very photogenic place, about how much does a plane ticket cost to get there? (And that girl looking for a husband, got a picture? ) I've always been fascinated by the former soviet block nations and see all the remnants left over from the former communist regimes. I'd really love to visit Pripyat, Ukraine (the town that used to have 50,000 occupants but was abandoned after the Chernobyl Disaster (yes tours are legal, and yes they are safe)). Fan of Beast, what exactly is your company building there and will you be back in time for summer at Kings Island?

Not to mention all the extra security you'd have to pull in.

What roller coaster in your opinion had its best year ever? -Firehawk, ran much more reliable and efficently than it ever did at Geauga Lake. What thrill ride in your opinion had its best year ever? -Delirium, absolutely awesome ride and always reliable. What restaurant had the best food? -Panda Express, although too pricey, its atleast worth paying for, unlike other KI food. What crew/area was best?[/b -The Beast Crew Did Son of Beast have its Best Year Ever? explain why or why not. -Definitely, the ride is actually somewhat enjoyable now. What new show in 2007 was the best in your opinion? -While none of them were that good, I'd day endless summer on ice due to it being something different. What was the best thing that happened this year at Kings Island? -The installation of Firehawk What change from 2006 to 2007 was the best?[/b -New uniforms on some employees. Did Kings Island Central have its best year ever? -Without a doubt.

^One of the best pics so far!

And the new thread is up... http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?...mp;#entry190911

This topic is to allow everyone to see the progress KICentral user; TrainDriver is making on his HO scale recreation of the former Kings Island Wild Animal Habitat/Preserve and Lion Country Safari Monorail. For those of you who don't know about the former attraction heres a little bit of info... In 1974 the park opened it's Lion Country Safari monorail which brought park guests up close with real wild animals in a one of a kind experience. KICentral user TrainDriver is a minister from Illinois who used to work at the park as a monorail train driver at the wildlife preserve. I'll let him introduce himself and bring you more up to speed on who he is, what he's doing, and about this history of the former attraction. ------------------------------------------------------- Originally posted by TrainDriver on 12/26/07 at 10:18 A.M. OK, First things first. My basement was a mess. I was planning on cleaning it earlier, but work got the better of my time. So late Christmas eve I began working... and working... simply cleaning the basement! The first thing to arrive was te monorail itself: This is the 1988 Von Roll set that was sold in 1988 at the opening of the Sydney Monorail - not quite like the Kings Island version - so some modifications will need to be made. Next we need construction workers - so I hired a few: I'll post more later... Posted by TrainDriver on 12/26/07 at 5:18 P.M. Hi there! I'm back. Well, the construction workers got right at it and put up the "future site of sign..." So it's official - we're putting up a preserve. Currently the surface is 1/4" fiberglass sheeting sitting on three 2x2's on top of a table - I have instructed the workers to create a modular design, just in case this whole setup will need to be moved in the future. Here are the guys getting at it: Posted by TrainDriver on 12/26/07 at 5:33 P.M. What project doesn't have its setbacks? I started having a little trouble with the construction crew. I don't know if you've ever noticed how sometimes there is only one worker actually working at any given time - but I am noticing it about this crew. One of the workers is drinking, one is playing with a pick-axe, and another is lying down on the job! I'm spending big money for this!! We're about to have a little talk! Train Driver -------------------------------------------------------

Taking care of it now...

Good idea, Avatar, if you'd like Train Driver I could copy and paste your stuff for you and set you up a brand new topic.

an excellent coaster deserves an excellent picture! Glad to see your back from Slovakia! Hope you had a good holiday!

I wonder if this place will rival perfect north slopes at all, a place I do not much care for.

No apology needed. I personally loved reading your responses, it was nice to get a real, professional view into an industry I knew little and didn't really care to know more about. I appreciate the insight you gave and believe that your last post especially brought up some great points. It's nice to hear from someone who has actual experience in the industry. Mr. Pickel, if you don't mind me asking, have you ever been to KI's fearfest/Halloween Haunt events in the past or this previous year? If so, do you feel that the more "mature" direction was a step in the right direction? Has this worked elsewhere in the industry?

^All things that cost money that CF, a company counting its pennies, could spend in other places especially when nothing has to be changed. They never lost the naming rights, they dropped the outer limits part when the show was cancelled and no longer shown regularly.

You implied you were talking about when you quoted it then made a comment directly under it...

Uh, bud, I don't think that was taken at sun set. That looks more like around noon hence the harsh light.

It has not been confirmed that the state or any tax dollars are paying for the sign. A similar incident happened a few years ago when Sharon Woods wanted to advertise their holiday lights celebration along to I-275. At the time I was working for my neighbor who is now a former county engineer. I would help him and his crew deliver and mount signs like the ones you see on the side of the road telling you about lodging and food, and would help paint lines in some cases. Sharon Woods already had up the typical brown colored signs (brown signifies a park or attraction) telling what exit you needed to take to get there. Well, when christmas season rolled around they requested new signs that would feature their holiday logo, the state told them that since it featured the picture of the logo and not just the name and exit number, they would have to foot the bill, sharon woods instead had their own made and hired contractors to go out and do it for them. This resulted in the state having to come out and take the signs down. Eventually one sign did appear and it was installed by the state and paid for by Sharon Woods. I'm sure the signs that had the big Paramount logo painted on them were paid for by the park and if new ones appear that have the new logo the park will probably pay for that too. However if it just says "Kings Island - take exit #" it's probably tax dollars, thats not advertisement, thats just part of the highway system. There are also cases where local municipalities will pay for signs similar to the old Paramount ones in order to boost tourism. Recently the city of fairfield caught some heat after the tax payers footed the bill to put up Jungle Jim's International Food Market signs along I-275, the city defended the expenditure saying it was good for boosting tourism and business while critics claimed it favored a certain business.

Oh man, the city of Mason....just really, really doing it here. Fixing those signs! I think my trips to Kings Island would be ruined with those old signs. Heck, even most of this summer when I'd drive up there and see those signs with the paramount logo still on them I'd consider turning around. Yes! Clap for Mason! How do you know KI isn't paying for the signs rather than the taxpayers of the city of mason?

Are you serious? FoF was opened WAY late, was way over budget, and frankly, sucked. Mantis however opened on time, met the budget, and was a crowd pleaser. I guess that it could be said that fof may not have been the best crowd pleaser due to the head pain, but mantis by no means is great and in all honesty id take fof with the otsr's over how painful mantis is. Mantis is quite a headbanger and still is. I still think KI's install was better than CP's that year.....but to say KI was better than CP every year, that I definitely do not agree with.

In Comparisson to Kinzel, when you listen to the quarterly conferences Shapiro always sounds excited, confident and enthused, listening to Kinzel is like listening to your grandpa tell that story for the third time today of how back when he was a kid everything was much harder yet a lot more boring.

And how do you know that the water park expansion will be lousy when its not even done yet, nor have you been in it yet. Personally even though KD is getting Dominator, which was a mediocre ride at best when I rode it at GL, I'd rather skip both SFA and KD if I'm in that area and just go to BGE.

-I know exactly what you mean. Being a photojournalism major in school I try to keep my photos as "real" as possible with little post processing, and in the case of my assignments and the majority of pictures here in the gallery....absolutely none. On that particular photo I just bumped up the contrast a bit and added my name. While I absolutely love my Digital SLR, I am very happy that I have fixed both of my 35mm SLR's and will get to be using those this upcoming summer at KI! -Thats awesome, is that of the bumper cars in Coney? Edit: I didn't look at it long enough lol, those are the jimmy neutron ones. -Thats one of my favorite movies, I wonder if they'll be using that same house in the sequel?

Was that the same logo Geauga Lake used for when thunderhawk was there? Looks more like Thunder Owl to me...

Actually, I remember when FF did go free, people were on the message boards upset by the possibility of long lines for Halloween stuff. Thats neat and all, and I read message boards and have heard people complain about the lines, not to mention experienced them first hand, with you but that didn't answer my question, which was posed to Gatorhead who worked admissions at the time.

When working admissions Gatorhead, did you ever encounter anyone who was taken off guard by the original fearfest upcharge then decided to just turn around and go home?