Outdoor Man

we are well under way getting to our goal. we started saving for it a few years ago (don't intend to finance it- and hopefully will be the "money is no object" trip). all things considered it was a great trip. and by the way i really hate the "elmer fudd" moniker. it was the most creative name I could think of in 2005- and I had wished i went with something else.... since.

I agree. It would be interesting to trace their training back to its origins to see how long they have been perfecting this model. Our organization would LOVE to mimic it- but it simply would not happen in a one-year comprehensive training... not two, three, or ten. I was at Downtown Disney (alone) trying to find a Ken doll (NOT FOR ME) and someone who "just earned her 'ears'" was designated as my personal scavenger hunt assistant. People remember customer service. before my daughter got sick I was sort of getting tired of getting nickel and dimed everywhere... Disney does sap every penny they can, don't get me wrong. But when she got sick and everyone went out of their way to be excessively helpful all day Wednesday, my thoughts of complaining got completely WIPED AWAY to thinking of how I could adequately commend each person.

This has sort of become a annual tradition for our family. Thank goodness we had beautiful weather this year (not snow like last year). We only stayed on property for 3 days… our “big” family Disney trip won’t be for a few years yet. Took the Magical Express from the airport to the Boardwalk Villas… BEAUTIFULLY awesome resort! We have 2 girls, (almost 6 and almost 2). Our oldest couldn’t wait- because “at Disney, everything is REAL.” We went to the Contemporary resort Monday morning for the Chef Mickey Character Breakfast. I wish I could have seen that whole scene through the eyes of our daughters- though I’m pretty certain we enjoyed it as much as they did. Maybe more. Relaxed through the afternoon and swam at the clubhouse pool and ate in our room. Tuesday morning, under slightly cooler conditions, we went to the Magic Kingdom. As a father, I will NEVER forget the sight of my daughter locking in on the castle for the first time. She saw it on TV, but never in person. First ride was “It’s a small world.” Reminded me of the similar ride that Kings Island used to have (miss that ride). Like most of the rides at DW- they don’t change them (ever) and they never get old. Then over to a 15 minute wait at Peter Pan. My daughter said she felt like she was in the movie… but didn’t like flying. When I was her age, the Dumbo ride (kind of a much larger “Snoopy’s Flying Ace” ride) that I really wanted to ride was closed, so Lauren said I could ride it with her. Leah was affixed on the Carousel, which I must say isn’t as nice as Kings Island’s (and that’s about the only place I can say that). From there it was onto to meet Rapunzel and Flinn. BIG line and probably the only time during our stay that a “cast member” got irritating. Went to Toontown to meet and greet with Mickey, Minney, and the ‘fairies’. All which my daughters loved… and we loved watching them. I have to hand it to the ladies that were in the fairy costumes- they meet individually with probably thousands of kids each day and are as enthusiastic and full of original conversation as can be. Time to eat. Ate at Tomorrow Land (Cosmic something…)- Four of us ate for $45- one meal. Our room had a kitchen so we ate most of our meals there in the three-day span. All of our groceries cost us $43. Parade time. I am pretty certain that every person in the park stopped what they were doing to watch…. It was PACKED! No amount of words can say how well this thing goes. Frontier Land for some meeting and greeting with Woody and Jessie- and a bird-pooping incident. Saw one come from no where to “steal” a churro from someone. Boat expedition with a guide with more one-liners than I’ve ever heard. Very funny though. Country Bear Jamboree (zzzzzzzzzzz…..). Pirates Life boat ride- which was darker than I remember- but still good. American President tribute (can’t think of name)- very good; narrated by Morgan Freeman. On to Tomorrow Land for the Monsters Inc improve show… very funny and in “real time” cutting on attendees. Then “mom and dad” left youngins’ with Grandparents to ride Space Mountain. And lastly, the Motor Speedway before fireworks. Magical Day. Did we see/do everything; not even close. To do Magic Kingdom you need at a minimum 2 days… and it wasn’t even close to being full. Day three was supposed to be Downtown Disney / Rain Forest Café and a few other things but my oldest daughter had other plans. While I was closing out our reservations and airline information she proceeded to, out of no where, manifest full symptoms of the flu. Here’s where Disney’s Board Walk impressed me. They converged from all corners to help us- a concierge helped us specifically until we were settled, gave us a “room for the day” at no charge and checked on us constantly. We love staying at the Board Walk anyway – but they insured that next time we come down we’ll be return guests. While my daughter was a 102 degree dead weight we ventured back to the airport for our non-stop flight on Airtran (which was on time) back to the Tundra. Great trip, and not all written here… way too much that no one would care about. When you have kids in the 5-year old range, Disney is WORTH the trip…. For the kids too. It would be interesting to see what would have become of Kings Island had a recession not taken hold in the early 70’s and derailed much of their “resort” plans…. Kings Island was to be the “Disneyland of the Midwest.” It’s termed a theme park, but really a “thrill park”- which is OK- but much of the flavor that takes you out of the place you’re in and situates you into that make-believe area is gone. Rivertown is now really just a name where rides are named after that theme… not much else tells you you’re in a frontier setting. It just would have been interesting to see what it would look like had all of the original plans come to fruition. Next year when my family goes to KI- we’re season pass holders… I will try every time to tell Guest Services when an associate goes out of their way to make our experience extraordinary. You can’t compare the two- Disney mostly has adults working. Kings Island, teens. Good service is something you’re rewarded for at KI- at Disney, it’s in the job description. Disney goes out of their way to make sure that you have a one-of-a-kind experience.

I would like to add the fact that Son of Beast took a lot of time and effort to complete, there was much hype for it, and they just can't afford to lose it. CF has too much confidence in it! a certain "first-of-its-kind" roller coaster comes to mind that was removed because of maintenance... what was it- oh, "The Bat" time and effort to complete don't matter so much once your return on investment begins to go negative. besides CF didn't "create" it.

i thought everyone got that deal.... you don't?

since it is still standing, my first thought would be that since CF has a penchant for liking coasters... tall, record-breaking coasters- they are probably trying to figure out how to re-open it. Now, that being said- many projects in motion are probably looking through a different lens since Kinzel has been forced to vacate one of his seats of leadership. My guess is they thought they knew- and now probably do not again. that's just my opinion.u

can we assume correctly that the ride that this thread takes its name from it beginning to go vertical, as the flow of recent photos from the park seem to have ended?

i may be off- but hasn't that "equipment" been there for a while?

i had that............ i deleted it when i went to correct "Corba" Of course that's the most obvious one.

just being a sad sap because they have more coasters than our fair KI. a little misplaced thought- I am going to miss the days of KI being the favored child. any "record breakers" will more than likely be built at the step-sibling to the north. going back years and imagining if CF owned KI since inception- Demon isn't built, Cobra isn't built, The Bat isn't, nor Vortex, Son of Beast, Flight of Fear... all record breakers at the time of construction (or so I think).

a massive cash influx, expansion at a Six Flags park... doesn't that usually mean that the park is within 5 years of being sold/closed/demolished? Six Flags Worlds of Adventure in 2000/2001- sold in 2004, demolished in 2009'ish Six Flags New Orleans- purchased 2003 (?)- closed 2005. Six Flags AstroWorld- closed and demolished. 2005 (i think) Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (closed 2010). Six Flags and the words "closed" and "demolished" seem to go hand in hand.

that's awesome- and at the same time, TMI! there's a lot of fowl-ness coming from th former GL park. Many things of that whole mess, even from a business standpoint don't make sense. I also tip the hat to them for trying to save the coaster, but when I read that it was a college student (at least I think that was her "profession") and an investor from New Zealand I happened to think that she may have been in over her head. that being said- it seemed they had a few duck in a row to begin and stopped on the "owners" pull back from the agreement. I think that a great location for a classic coaster, if it could ever be pulled off, would be at a classic park on the banks of the Ohio River (Coney Island).

and for the 1.6 million/year and debate of Kentucky Kingdom/Holiday World; if not mistaken, the Ark would be year-round. Aren't these other places summer-time operations (4-5 months at most)? and again, i may be wrong on this.

funny that no one has complained to disney about this. it amazes me that people like him have no set in stone evidence that their "theory" of how we came to be is true, yet they feel the need to bash all others who have opposing viewpoints. the guy is a clown. I may be backwards on this- but i don't believe the premise of the taxable advantages are that they are issued money from the state. And I may be wrong on this, but isn't the benefit that they are "excused" from tax payment for a set amount of time? And I'm not going to delve into the religious end of the debate- but if he was a studied scientist and would venture over to the history side he would see thousands of historical records of people, places, and events that prove authenticity that aren't of Christian record, Jewish record, Islamic record, etc- they are of historical record.

Have you ever flown out of CVG or paid for a flight from out of there? If I was a hoosier, I wouldn't wanna be associated with that place either. No wonder why there are so many advertisements for IND in Cincinnati. touche'

terp- you are like the "wiki-terpreter" or "interpretedia"-

post more if you have....... the Black and White / creepy fog is a nice touch. are there any books out about it?

too bad for Indiana- they're the only ones in the OKI region not represented at the Airport. Stupid Hoosiers.

seriously?, covington. It's not even in covington is it? More like Hebron or Erlanger, isn't it?

jandyb79 - and I assume you will post said pictures?

Terp... what does CVG stand for anyway? the only thing I can figure is "covington."

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but doesn't the State of Ohio own the airport and the land it's on? I've flown out of that airport at least once a year for 4 years now and when leaving the airport you always see "Welcome to Kentucky" signs coming out, and from my understanding it's because Ohio owns the airport, could be wrong though. I'm not going to swear to it- but I'm pretty sure that most airports welcome you to whatever state they're in upon exiting- because "usually" you're flying in from another state.

and Oktoberfest is in........ September.... (answered this out of chronological order. hope no one else had this pitiful joke.......) AND, if you live in Liberty Twp, like me, the 2010 Fall Fest was in the Summer.

i find it interesting that with the ariel pictures well-before closing and more recent have little similarities. ie- you cannot make out where the midway was. Almost like they pulled EVERYTHING up- concrete and all. unless I am missing something- and like a loser with nothing else to do today- I tried to find how the old layout went from recent pictures.