Oldiesmann

It's been in 3D both times I've ridden it recently (yesterday and in late July). The only unusual thing I've noticed is that when I rode it in July, they were handing out 3D glasses after everyone was seated in the theater. Yesterday though they were handing them out as people came through the line like usual. In all honesty though, I can't see Spongebob lasting much longer unless they replace the film. The film is quite grainy now, and will only get worse with time. It's beginning to detract from the ride experience. They recently replaced the sign at the beginning of the queue, but the same film has been shown over and over again for seven years now. I'm not sure how much longer it will last. The best solution would be to convert it to digital projection, but that would likely be quite expensive.

Link has been fixed. I forgot that the auto-link-parsing thing messes up links when you have it in HTML mode.

Fox 19 just said on the 10:00 news that they have "reliable information" that it will be either a Star Flyer or a Wind Seeker and that it will fly 100 feet higher than the Eiffel Tower. No clue where they got this, but we'll find out tomorrow if they're correct. They must be pretty confident that their source is correct or they wouldn't be airing it.

What about Giovanni's Pizza? I saw several of those on the way.

Pictures are up http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldiesmann/sets/72157624789767912/ Also, here's a video I took of the Hot Cats ride: <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obJPwQMR0f8?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obJPwQMR0f8?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obJPwQMR0f8?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> I've never heard of WaWa either. I just find it funny that there's a big billboard near the park for Sheetz, and it doesn't seem all that impressive to me.

The problem is the exit isn't marked Washington Avenue. It's simply marked US 60. Therefore, I thought I was supposed to stay on 52 and of course didn't realize that I had made a mistake until we were on 64. Fortunately it only took us 15 minutes or so to get off and find our way back using the GPS on our phones. Also, what's so special about Sheetz? It looks like nothing more than a typical gas station and convenience store to me (though we didn't stop there).

Great to see that they raised so much from that event. Hopefully they'll do it again next year! It's amazing that they managed to sell that many ducks. Even if everyone just bought one duck, we're talking 37,000 ducks.

My sister and I made our first trip to Camden Park yesterday and had a great time, despite the long drive (we drove out and back the same day - 3 hours each way excluding stops). The employees seemed friendly, and while there was assorted litter scattered around the park, I didn't think the park was that dirty. The main pathways were clear, as were the areas around most of the rides. The rides themselves were quite enjoyable for the most part. Their train ride was ridiculously slow. It gives you a nice tour of the park, but it would be nice if it would move just a tad bit faster. The bumper cars were a lot of fun. Surprisingly, those cars are made by the same folks who made the ones that KI uses. I only wish KI's would move that fast. Their "monster" ride, while smaller than KI's, was quite intense - possibly due to the longer ride cycle. The whip was a lot of fun. It was great to finally be able to ride one. Rocking Tug was as enjoyable as it could be for someone who's used to Surf Dog. I skipped the Zamperla ride, having ridden Linus Launcher. Hot Cats was a lot of fun. Reminded me of Flying Bobs at Coney. It was great to see a park that knows how to theme their roundup. I still don't understand why Stricker's likes to leave the colored panels for Electric Rainbow sitting in a neat pile under the ride. Scrambler was extremely enjoyable and seemed faster than the one at KI. The most intense Scrambler I've ridden so far (still need to ride the one at Coney). Tilt-a-Whirl was enjoyable as always. The sky ride was great for taking pictures of the park and everything. The Haunted House was a lot of fun. I had fun watching the guy operate the levers controlling the brakes on Big Dipper. It makes me wonder why KI doesn't leave them that way (though I'm sure there are plenty of reasons - safety, inconvenience to ride ops, time, size of the rides, possibly state regulations/manufacturers' recommendations...) The Pronto Pup was quite tasty, as was the $0.99 regular soda (though I don't understand how they can charge $3 for the sodas at the vending machines) Didn't get a chance to try the funnel cake. I skipped the Log Flume as well (it wasn't all that warm and I didn't want to walk around soaked the rest of the day), but I love their "this is a water ride. You will get wet" sign. Overall it was a very enjoyable trip despite the heavy rain, the long drive and our brief tour of part of I-64 in western Huntington (Google's directions said to take the exit towards Huntington then take the Washington Street exit, but didn't specify that this was off of US-60 and not I-64, so we got turned around a bit, but the GPS on our phones got us back there pretty quickly). We are now planning to go back to Camden Park again next year if possible. I will post pictures later.

Another possible location would be Harvest Home Park in Cheviot (for those who don't know the significance of this place, see http://www.harvesthomefair.com/). The only issues with moving it would be: 1. What do you do with the existing fairgrounds? I'm sure the Carthage location was rural when the fairgrounds were built, but it's not a great neighborhood now, and definitely not the easiest place to find for those not familiar with that part of the city. 2. Where would you hold the demolition derby, tractor pulls and other "spectator sports"? If it moved to Coney, would River Downs be able to handle those sorts of things? The location is probably the biggest problem - it's not a great neighborhood and there's limited parking. The other problem though is the time of year when fairs are typically held. August is not known for being a cool month in Cincinnati, so maybe they need to look into the possibility of providing more shade for fair visitors. I haven't been to the Hamilton County Fair in years, but as I recall, there weren't a lot of shade trees on the property, at least not to the extent that there are in Butler County.

Apparently the park doesn't take safety seriously The article even implies that the park is only restricting where he works because a judge said they had to. If I were in that area, I would seriously think twice about visiting that park.

Being the centerpiece of the park, I think the tower will last as long as KI does.

The park was closed on the day that they shot these, but I agree with Terpy that the park shouldn't encourage this type of behavior. It would be like KI allowing them to drop a basketball from the top of the Eiffel Tower while continuing to state that you are not allowed to drop objects off the tower. People would try it anyway, someone would get hurt, and the park would get the blame for allowing it to happen.

I find it hard to believe that Mr. Six didn't make people want to visit Six Flags. It was definitely a fun marketing scheme regardless, and I wonder how long he'll stay in retirement this time...

http://thedailydisney.com/blog/2010/08/disney-parks-chief-fantasyland-expansion-plans-are-being-redrawn/

I have a rivet in a small pocket on the side of my swimsuit. They didn't make me take the walk of shame, but they did make me roll up my swimsuit to cover up the rivet, so it likely depends on where the rivets are located.

The results are in... CP guests got free chocolate chip cookies, while Dorney, Valleyfair and Worlds of Fun are all getting Planet Snoopy next year... See http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22444 for more info.

As was previously mentioned here, several CF parks were celebrating yesterday to mark the 60th anniversary of Peanuts. Here's a roundup of the events: Cedar Point's present to Snoopy was his favorite cookies (chocolate chip), which were promptly passed out to guests in attendance (that's right - Kinzel actually giving something away...): <object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>Meanwhile, over at Dorney, the announcement was that the current Camp Snoopy kids area would be expanded and renovated to become Planet Snoopy next year, complete with a claim that it will have the largest collection of kids rides on the east coast: http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2010/08/happy-birthday-snoopy-dorney-park-2011.html In addition, Valleyfair and Worlds of Fun will be getting Planet Snoopy next year as well. More info: Dorney Park Press Release Valleyfair Planet Snoopy page Worlds of Fun Planet Snoopy page

There's still a chance that they could get that $50k grant. They're currently in 2nd place for the August grant, with plenty of time left to vote. Glad to see they're making progress though.

http://www.kmov.com/news/local/2-buses-tractor-trailer-collide-on-I-44-100036604.html Apparently the students were on their way to Six Flags

Cedar Point adding a new kiddy coaster because a competitor's park in California is getting a new kiddy coaster next year. Right. That makes a lot of sense...

Congrats to Gary on his monumental achievement. I don't think anyone could have predicted just how popular Diamondback would be :-)

I chose Beast because it's a famous coaster and would do quite well on its own. However, Racer would also be a good choice since it's tamer than Beast in some ways and many parks have done well with a classic out-and-back coaster as their only one.

Also, no videotaping is allowed during "Snoopy Rocks On Ice" due to music copyright laws (though they tell you this at the beginning of every show).

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2010-07-22-roller-coasters_N.htm

It has always amazed me that people can do that. I used to have a regular Etch-a-Sketch and the lesser-known Etch-a-Sketch Animator.