RailRider

This is funny because I sat next to you on the first train then. I was in 20th place. We crossed paths and didn't even know it. What an awesome night it was. 10 rides on Banshee, free ice cream, and met some amazing families and supporters of A Kid Again. Met some who were scared out of their minds to ride Banshee but loved every second of it. Also the ride crew that night were amazing for having been such a long day. Thanks again to KI and all involved for doing such an amazing event. Im ready for the next new ride so we can do another event like this.

In line. It's going to be a good night.

I will be by myself as well tonight. Wife and daughter are hanging out at the hotel while I attend.

We just picked our colors for our Magicbands, they will not ship till November

Vortex beats the ever living snot out of me as well. Then again some refer to that as your standard Arrow ride experience and love it. I for one am not sure if Vortex is riding more like Drachen Fire every year or if its just me getting older.

Shape not weight is what it all comes down to like others have said. Diamondback is all about the hips and butt. Drop Tower is about the shoulders and chest. I am walking around at 5'7 250ish, thank you long Ohio Winter. I fit on everything at KI, CP and any other park I have been too which is a lot. But Drop Tower is a squeeze and always has been because of my shoulders, whether I weighed 220 or 250.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is Disney fans are some of the most loyal, but change averse folks I have ever met. When the Main Street bakery started serving Startbucks coffee some loyal fans were grabbing their pitchforks and torches on many forums. Like I said earlier, i am very excited to use this new system. Less walking and running over the park for me. We will stick to a rope drop standard morning touring plan beating the crowds to all the rides. Then use our FP+ reservations before we leave the park, take an afternoon break (during which time I will use the My Disney Experience app to book an additional FP+ for when we renter the park). Re enter the park use our FP+, shop, see a show and watch some fireworks. Plus the Magic Band system is awesome. Resort Key, Tickets, FP+, Dinning Reservation, My Memory Maker, and charge account all in one easily worn wrist band. Yup that works for me. I have also heard that the RFID tech in the bands may eventually be used to provide even more interaction within the parks and rides. Should be interesting to see how this system develops once it is fully utilized.

I think the whole issue remains the reinstatement of Falfas, something that Cedar Fair does not want. Since Ohio is an At Will State, can't they fire an employee without cause? I understand the backpay and benefits issues, but I don't see how a court can order a company to reinstate/employee an individual. Just another example of Kinzel loosing Cedar Fair more Nickels.

Got my final confirmation email last night and I moved down from 13th to 18th in rankings. Not too bad for only 3 weeks of fundraising. Should have started earlier. Also pretty excited that I should be on the first night train that evening. I hope... Great job everyone. Still waiting to hear the grand total.

Curious if we have a total raised yet? Will be exciting to see if the Diamondback total is beaten.

I am really excited to see how the new seats and restraints work and feel. The seats look much deeper than your standard B&M Invert. Remind me of bucket seats with OTSR's.

Well the site says $51,055 raised with 243 donors reaching the $100 minimum. That is awesome. We should add up how much members here on KIC raised for the event. I didn't reach my goal of $1,000 but am very pleased with $580. Way to go everyone.

I think the FastPass+ system will be best utilized for booking around lunch and early afternoon. That way your morning is a pretty standard rope drop touring plan. Then you have 3 FP+ reservations around lunch, pick up a bonus scheduling and leave the park for an afternoon break. Come back for a night FP+ reservation and fireworks. Something along those lines is my initial plan for December as of right now

The new patio(s) look great. Very nice addition and this part of the park is going to fee very revitalized because of Banshee and the surround work that has been done.

^ Well put. I think Disney made the best changes possible to the system. Also knowing a few families with Autistic children, sometimes they cannot handle large amounts of people. Should Disney shut the park down for these individuals to make specific accommodations? I think Disney has made very reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities, but I guess the legal system will decide that.

Looks like 130 of the 222 fundraisers have hit the minimum $100 mark, which is awesome. Any idea the number of fundraisers that will be invited to the event, because I know raising the $100 was still not a guarantee to attend. I sit at $555 raised and am hoping to move closer to the $1,000 mark before the 13th. Needing to hit up a few folks that said they were going to write checks. I am getting very excited for this event.

I wonder if O'Terpy will be a part of this?

Ahhh the good ole Cannonball Loop at Traction Park. This place still amazes me to this day.

A pawl from my understanding is part of the ratcheting device that keeps the restraint in the locked position, it is also what produces the click click click sound when lowering or locking in a restraint. Having 11 out of 24 pawls skip would be spread over the 12 lap bars on the coaster. However that breaks down to each tub (since this is a spinning coaster) I am unsure. The take away is that obvious maintenance and inspection has not been completed on this coaster or at least off season maintenance rebuilding of the tubs has not been done. I cannot imagine 11 out of 24 pawls wearing down at exactly the same time, this has been ongoing.

This is what I was curious about. I haven't experienced the new B&M vest system so I was unsure of what to expect. Some inverts kill my shoulders so I was hoping this one to be much more comfortable. A cross between the Diamondback seat and Firehawk vest is what I am hoping for.

As I continue to look at Lightning Run construction pictures, is it just me or do some of the transitions look rough? I'm sure I will be accused of bashing KK again, which I'm not, simply concerned that elements look a bit rough in the transition area. Reminds me of how Drachen Fire transitioned from one element to the next and those transitions were the roughest part. That is all, begin the flaming...

Something that hasn't had a lot of mention is the new trains. I wonder if these restraints will be more forgiving for larger riders than other B&M inverts. I know many folks who are not overweight but have large shoulders or chest who have struggled with standard B&M inverts. Wondering how the vest system will compare.

Just so that you know, the Disneyland and Disney World trains all run Biodiesel to generate the steam. So if you are wanting a true coal experience in a park, go visit Dolly. The retrofit was done on these engines on both coasts between 2007-2009 I believe. Until there is more fuel for this fire I would call this nothing more than speculation. Then again the train at AK is steam outline.

Thank you all very much for the answers. I have a few folks that want to donate but via check. Now just to wrap that up with only 10 days left. Hope to keep raising.

This new system and especially the app and pre planning is going to end up being a great addition. I have been hearing many good things lately from folks who have used the system. Also no longer do I have to worry about running all over the park collecting Legacy Fast Passes. Our last trip to Disney in July, my wife and I wore pedometers. One day at Hollywood Studios she walked 4.8 miles, me being the FPV I walked 8.2 miles. I am quite excited about using this system in December.