Outdoor Man

But the original KFC is in Corbin, KY actually Terp- and I could be completely incorrect on this- but my family and I went to the Louisville Slugger factory last August. And unless I heard them incorrectly- they used to be have a majority of their operations across the river in Indiana, but had moved them back into Louisville in recent years. again, I could be wrong.

not to change the subject... but in the image on the webcam page at the top of fireworks coming from the Eiffel Tower.... that's a Paramount era image isn't it?

Whoa.... you mean Panda Express isn't German?

first off- i don't think for a second that there is a ride op position at the top. But I will side with, not an elevator, but some vertical transporting aparatus. Could you imagine having to ascend 300' of ladder steps. Although I'd be willing to guess that the guts of the tower will be somewhat similar to that of Drop Zone.

does that picture imply that they've already ripped out some pavers they just put down- or are those the old ones from that area?

i seem to remember the base of Skylab being closer to the walkway. I am just dreaming?

There is no doubt about that. Go to Chuck-E-Cheese on a Saturday for first hand knowledge on how some people let their kids act. And the funny thing is, those same parents will blame teachers for the kid's failure in school, but when it comes to discipline, they will also be the first parents to start a lawsuit because their kid was disciplined too harsh. Some kids need a good crack in the a$$. Ditto- couldn't have said better myself.

Paramount did a much better job in the last 3 years of their ownership than they did years 3-10. In the first few I think they did pretty well in making it a "Paramount Studios" park. after a while new attractions were given top billing while other areas were flat our neglected. I could be wrong, but in the last year or two they started to get much better and seemed to let the local management experiment with ideas (ie- WinterFest). For what its worth, and I've said this before- Kings Islands days of being the "favored" child and recipient of record-breaking / innovative rides as the company's flagship park are over. I think if CF had owned the park all along, The Beast doesn't happen, Vortex doesn't happen, The Bat doesn't happen, King Cobra, Son of Beast, Flight of Fear, etc... While I have no specific rub against CF's Management, Cedar Point is the flagship park, and Kings Island is now just in the pool with everyone else.

Is it just me or does the diameter of the foundation that will go vertical seem more narrow than that of Drop Tower? Pictures can be misleading on perspective, but it seems like it will be a little "slender."

when it does start going vertical it won't take long before it is visible from just about anywhere in or around Mason.

was that at the original coney? i don't recall that ride being indoors (I have been wrong before).

But on the flip side of the coin...as I mentioned my nephew suddenly got sick while we were at Chef Mickeys. He threw-up in his bowl. Because it did smell, I immediately picked up the bowl and found our waitress to let her know what had happened. I was surprised that she didn't take the bowl from me. She had me follow her into the kitchen and told me to dump in in the garbage...then she took the bowl from me! It did not upset me but it did surprise me that that is how she handled the situation. that's almost funny. I don't know that my reaction would have been much different. )

I normally fly Delta- but they couldn't do an on-time flight it they left the gate an hour early... it would still be late. Airtran was on time and very courteous. never had a problem. fyi- you can upgrade to business class at the check in for cheap!

KI has a milestone birthday next year does it not?

back before my wife was my wife I would visit her at Miami U (sans 1998-1999'ish)- the price of a gallon of gas at the corner Speedway was $0.79 for months.

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).