Oldiesmann

Because some people might actually like the rides that they have to tear out to build new ones (such as the Antique Cars and Flying Eagles).

Many years ago, I bought a slide puzzle with either Scooby Doo or Scrappy Doo on it (don't remember). The most recent souvenir I've purchased is a Beast 25th Anniversary Souvenir Cup (got it from Outfitters in Rivertown earlier this year). I've also purchased a few souvenir pennies and souvenir quarters over the years, although I always seem to lose those.

After riding Flight of Fear for the first time in several weeks yesterday (I've been really busy lately and haven't had enough time to ride it before work), I noticed several changes in the queue building. First, it appears that they've replaced the TVs and speakers - the TVs are no longer in those stupid "cabinet" things like they are everywhere else in the park, and they have two speakers now (one on either side of the TV) instead of a single speaker right below the TV. However, PKI also added permanent lighting in here, which is annoying in my opinion. Although you can see better in here now, the new lights are so bright that the special effects lighting has little to no effect anymore (no pun intended). When everything goes out, the building is still fully lit, so nobody "screams" anymore and the building isn't pitch black. I'm sure PKI did this for safety reasons (who knows what people could do during the few seconds when the building is pitch black...), but it was the one part of the ride that has basically remained unchanged since it first opened. I still miss the fake fog and the nearly-dark ride building. Why'd they get rid of this?

387mph - yeah, right 3007-foot drop - don't be ridiculous. The current record for highest drop is 418 feet (Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey). I do agree that PKI needs a good high-thrill steel coaster. Something like Cedar Point's Millennium Force or PKD's Hypersonic XLC. Italian Job is fun, but not all that thrilling. Flight of Fear is still a really fun roller coaster, but PKI still dosen't have anything to match up to the latest and greatest coasters.

I also got stuck very briefly on SDATHC once (might have been the same time you got stuck on it - I was stuck either near the pictures or near the "dining room" scene - don't remember). I managed to score 1320 that time. Oddly enough, I managed to score nearly as much a few weeks later without getting stuck anywhere (1290).

There's also the all-time favorite holding your arm up in the air with a "thumbs up" and yelling "Clear!"

The only time I can remember being stuck on a ride was July 2nd on Congo River Falls. A photo eye right outside of the station got blocked, causing two boats to be sent out back-to-back. This in turn caused the conveyor to keep stopping - there were 4 boats on the hill, and there was too much weight on the conveyor (most likely a safety feature to prevent burning out the motor). I was only stuck on the hill for 5 or 10 minutes (maintenance came out and shoved the first boat off the conveyor (since it was about ready to come off the conveyor anyway), cycled everyone back around and shut down the ride again to fix whatever the problem was (my interpritation of the problem is a combination of what an associate told us and what I heard from other guests, so it may not be totally accurate).

Sounds interesting... I'll definitely be there if I can.

I've got two of them... Adventure Express - nice family coaster, but not much theming, and the ending is really lame. Yogi's SkyTours - great views of HB, but not all that exciting. There are pedals in the helicopters, but nothing happens if you pedal. The pre-recorded announcements during the ride are also rather lame. And yet, people wait 20 minutes or more to ride this (on really busy days, the line is 45 minutes or more).

5'10" here and no problem either... The trick is to sit all the way back in the seat and sit straight up, with the lap bar down as far as you can get it and your legs straight up against the front of the seat. That way you won't have too much trouble with knees banging.

I thought the fireworks show was pretty impressive this year, but I felt that PKI didn't provide enough information about the show... TV ads still showed fireworks being shot off of the tower, even though that wasn't part of the plan. The in-park announcements regarding best viewing areas were rather vague (clear view of the top of the tower and the open sky to the left - this puts you at many different angles, some of which would result in the fireworks being behind you). There was never any mention of being allowed to put a blanket or towel down in front of the fountain to view the fireworks - although this is a great idea, you wouldn't have known this unless you strolled by there and saw it. The additional entertainment was good (I particularly enjoyed the River Rats band in Rivertown - made the theming seem even more authentic), but PKI pretty much left guests to discover this entertainment on their own and provided little additional information about the entertainment, even to employees.

My sister went to it and had a great time, although it seems that Pillar wasn't very impressive in concert this time. I would have gone, but I had to work two out of the three days. I didn't request any time off for the concerts because the promoter didn't post a time schedule (other than what artists were playing on each day), and I didn't want to request time off if I'd only be riding rides part of the time.

The only advice I can offer you is to visit during the week, because it's less crowded then, and you'll be able to do more.

Not that I know of. The only riding I've ever done before the park opened was test-riding on Beastie and SkyTours.

National Weather Service says 50% chance of rain tomorrow.

I love the "Delirium is out of service" message on that sign. Apparently they didn't think we could figure that out...

Yeah, I was a little surprised to see The Beastie line so long yesterday - by noon it was all the way back to the brick wall with all the queue lanes open...

Adventures For Wish Kids had their annual PKI event yesterday, and the Shriners also had a huge group out there (patients of their Burns Institute and the patients' families).

The crowds have been pretty small during the week, although that's partly due to it being so hot here recently. I wouldn't expect to wait real long for most rides, although Flight of Fear and Tomb Raider will have longer lines since they're indoors.

I've never been to Stricker's Grove since it's mostly used for private parties, but it does sound like a great place to visit.

lol Ripping out the waterpark right at the height of the season is a dumb idea in my opinion... Nobody's going to be able to use the new attractions until next year anyway, so why rip out stuff now?

How can you only stay at PKI for 3 and a half hours?

That's definitely not a good way to appeal to families...

I will be there for all three nights of the fireworks - I'm off on Saturday (will be spending a lot of time at the water park...), working 3:45-close on Sunday and 11:50-8 on Monday. Not sure what time HB will close before the fireworks, but you can't beat getting paid to watch fireworks for 30 minutes or so

PKI would be stupid to remove Scooby Doo stuff considering how many kids all know and love Scooby Doo these days. I still don't want to see any of the current theming gone, but I doubt there's much that can be done to stop it. Hanna-Barbera is nothing more than a "brand" of Warner Brothers Animation now (as far as I can see), and it appears that most cable providers in this area only carry Boomerang on Digital Cable (looking at the three biggest - Adelphia, Insight and Time-Warner)...