Outdoor Man

return of the tables probably means some lone idiot was caught with a foul object inside.

That'd be a pretty cool PR stunt. I'll never forget the implosion of Riverfront Stadium. ... only if it can be for a "Paramount Movie"

This is the second report on these forums of suits discussing SOB in public. I'm encouraged by the fact that the tight lips we've see the past couple of season have, if these reports are to be believed, loosened and that visible (or at least audible) progress is being made toward a decision. Based on Dwight_Schrute's post, I would expect an announcement in August or September. I don't think anything else can be drawn from those snippets of conversation. to be fair. they were walking away from SOB when I heard that and though I was curious as ... was trying not to be obvious. they weren't being quiet or secretive, so anyone around them would have easily heard the conversation(s)- likely all of it.

was in the vicinity of some management-types at the park looking in the general direction of SOB. They didn't look like park patrons or a dippin dots guy (unless they upgraded the dress code for "Smitty"- assumed Dippin Dots guy name- to wearing jackets and ties). I didn't try to be in an area where I could hear what they were saying, but while they were walking back through AZ, I overheard several distinct phrases: "that will take almost a year" "there's still several months before that announcement is made" ... "effect on the foundation of existing structures" so, in closing- that can mean anything.

and that's what my original post to the topic was about. Not trying to be naive, but to the average person it seems that they had 6 months to do this- and now they're 6 weeks into the operating season with a year old ride that hasn't taken a rider up yet. I know there's more to it than this simple explanation.

I think that the "unicorn" option was probably code for the "I have no idea" crowd.

Was there Sunday... it was wall-to-wall people with just pass holders. This weekend should be, in a word, chaos! Park looked GREAT too! can't wait for the trees to grow/mature and provide more shade.

So, if Diamondback goes down- the DL Roster consists of: 1) Diamondback 2) WindSeeker 3) Drop Tower 4) SOB (60-day disabled list) 5) Crypt (designated for assignment) numbers 1-3 are pretty significant for a "thrill-seeker" spending in excess of $40 to enter. I understand storms/lightning, etc... In the instance of WindSeeker- I may be naive, but didn't they have an entire off-season to get this thing in running condition for the season. It seems like a month since opening day should have had this thing running.

First off, I have never seen a ghost or experienced one... that I know of. That being said, I know some people who have. Short story: my family lived in a farm back a lane in a very rural area 2 hours north of Cincy... before I came along. It was a house rumored to be frequented by Annie Oakley while she was traveling in the Buffalo Bill show (late 1800's???). My family and i were doing a "tour" of our old living areas a few years ago and visited the house (which is still occupied by a family we have known since before I was born.... A little history of the area: Greenville, Ohio has a festival every summer called the "Annie Oakley Days"- basically its a 3-day flea market with some wild-west theming thrown in. OK- go back to the house. We drove back and were talking to a father, whose daughter was probably late teens. Having known nothing about the history of the house- he starts talking about how busy things are with his family coming up to the Annie Oakley Days approaching, his daughter was "Miss Annie Oakley," and how they could not possibly be more involved in the event. My mother said, "well, did you know that she used to stay in this house when she came in to town?" His face turned pale white and the hair on his arm stood straight up. Nothing menacing ever happened, but apparently his daughter would wake up and talk about a "woman in western clothes" being in her bedroom at night. NOW, I personally have never experienced anything remotely close to resembling ghost-activity and have doubts as to my overall "belief" in them... HOWEVER- I've got absolutely NO explanation on that one.

I'll put my money on a new coaster in 2013 for CP as it would likely be a left over Kinzel project (he had an affinity for coasters).

OK- Now, while there on Saturday I asked the elevator attendant at the Eiffel Tower why it hasn't opened yet (this may be a position the Dippin Dots guy gets promoted to... but the explanation sounded plausible). They said that the KI WindSeeker wouldn't open until outfitted with the updates given to the new one opening at Carowinds (i think that's where they said)... and assured that all of them were operating properly.

As for whats next and the post tallies... I haven't read all 58 pages but am I first to say... TIMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9am shade for Action Zone on sunny mornings.

was sitting in the festhaus with one of my daughters hunkered down on the floor by the giant claw game for that flash/BOOM!

Was hunkered down in the Festhaus when said lightning strike occurred. I thought I remember DT operating after that, but not sure. Winderseeker wasn't operating on friday either.

I think SOB will stand until a future plan is in place. If they demolish it, most of it will need to come down by crane because many structure pieces sit too close to Flight Deck and Adventure Express. And if you're going to go into the expense of bringing in a crane to clear something out, you don't necessarily want to pay to bring one in twice... so they'll wait until the plan is in place. I wouldn't hold my breath for anything to "open" in 2013. It'll be '14 at the earliest if I were to be a betting person.

There were five guys in the group total. Don was not even around.... Logically, I do not see them announcing the demise of SOB until they can make it part of a story that is positive. (ie. What you are getting . . . not what they are taking away.) He knew he could tell because anything he told me would only be considered rumor. They aren't going to take it "public" to the media until they can USE the media. I think that you will find during the season that you will get more reports of guests saying the same thing. Mr. Ouimet clearly doesn't consider it a "state secret" like his predecessors. You should also note that Mr. Ouimet walked away from the group to talk to me. No one from the group followed him or came over to listen to what he was talking about. When I walked away I did not look back, but as I noted, Greg Scheid then caught up with me after I had walked 100-150 feet away from the original conversation. He also came alone and told me that Mr. Ouimet told him about us. So, apparently he went back to the group and was telling his GM about our conversation to some extent. I would like to know if Matt told Greg that he should invite us or if it was Greg's idea after Matt told him of our conversation. Personally I think he was TRAINING his GM. I have never seen Greg out in the park before and I have frequently seen Don in the park, but on this day Don was not present. Infer what you will, but CHANGE is happening. There is a new sheriff in town and his name is Ouimet. That must have been the group I saw when there Friday. (I posted this in another thread)- I was in AZ and noticed what looked like executives up against the fence where the race cars are observing SOB and making hand gestures while looking at it. I didn't hear what they were saying and didn't make it a point to get in a place where I could, but noticed they were looking SPECIFICALLY at SOB. And I'll second that Don H. was not in the group. I couldn't tell you what Greg looks like- so he could have been there.

weren't those "fun" storms yesterday? I can actually vouch that the storm didn't arrive fully until approx 10:08. and WOW, did it storm!.... again.

i will second all of that. Went for the first time yesterday and the things mentioned WERE noticeable. 1000% agree about The Beast. It was probably the smoothest ride I have EVER experienced on it. Now, I will say that on 3 different instances yesterday we were bunkered down in the Festhaus while explicit lightning and torrential downpours came and it still confuses me that our German themed building has: Italian Pizza (LaRosa's), Chinese Food (Panda Express), and a "British Invasion" show. all in all, It was a great day, all the way to the Fireworks going off 5-minutes early because "another" storm was approaching. One thing I did notice yesterday was a group of Park Officials (about 5-6 of them.... not Dippin Dots guy) in Action Zone overlooking the pile of wood, commonly referred to as SOB. Couldn't hear what they were saying (and didn't try to put myself in a position to hear)- but they were "getting into" hand motions while pointing at it.

that lends itself to the thought on another thread of those wish for a steel "giga" to replace SOB. That ship has sailed.

here's a lighter topic for you... and Flintstones were "ambassadors" for Kings Island back in the day- so... win-win. or however you post videos

as far as thrill rides go, they're 2 for 5. That's a 400 batting average, and yet still more accurate than the weatherman.

for 2013, I'll side with a decision to finally for that pile of wood. I honestly don't think that CF (even under Kinzel) had/has any intentions of reopening it (think about it- if you're KI's insurance company would you allow them to reopen a coaster with a law suit history?, it's a business not a charity). I think it's there until a larger "master plan" for the area can be developed/put in place. As for the thrill-seekers aspirations for a giga-hyper-mega and/or record-breaking coaster- the 1990's called, they want their dream(s) back. I'm going with IndyGuy on this one. new chief is building on families and less on the average thrill seeker. I'd look for a family-oriented dark ride of some sort to debut in the former Tomb Raider building for 2013 and perhaps a Action Zone (and former SOB site) overhaul in the 2014 range.

If you're going to have the areas, enforce it. If you have no intention of enforcing it- drop it. I do get entertained by people who disregard the notices as if it doesn't apply to them. It's not usually the under 25 year old crowd either.... it's the parents that I notice doing it. sigh.

meh- my only problem with the Smoking Only areas... the park employees don't enforce it otherwise. It's all open air, so if the smoking public is dispersed about the park... the smoke doesn't cluster. My thought: do away with the smoking only areas, smokers... use good judgment when smoking (ie- not while in line in tight spaces. We're not kindergartners- we can figure this thing out.