Oldiesmann

Removing the loop is the wrong thing to do in my opinion. That was the best part of the ride, and it won't be the same without it. The loop wasn't the problem. It was just a rough ride altogether. I'm all for anything that makes it a smoother ride, but not if it involves removing the one thing that made the ride so famous to begin with.

Thanks for the info. I was going to attend that conference call as well, but it looked like it was more for investors so I skipped out. WinterFest's main problem is that it's too darn expensive, especially compared to local competition, mainly HolidayFest (see http://www.holidayfestatthebeach.com for this year's prices).

I didn't expect them to buy all five parks, but I am excited to see what the company will do with them, even though we probably won't see any changes until next season.

I'm with the people who want CedarFair to buy PKI. They've got a great track record with Cedar Point (hundreds of awards, quality top-notch rides) and I think they'd be the best ones, especially since their only business is amusement parks. I don't really see why Anheuser-Busch would be interested in King's Island - it doesn't really fit in with their current offerings - two Busch Gardens parks (nice rides, but both parks also have wildlife conservation programs and wildlife exhibits), two waterparks (each of which is conveniently located near a Busch Gardens park), Sesame Place (Sesame Street themed kiddie park in Pennsylvania), three SeaWorlds, Discovery Cove (a tropical getaway designed to teach kids all about the ocean and sea life through a unique hands-on experience) and KingsMill Resort and Spa (conveniently located in Williamsburg, Virginia - not far from Busch Gardens...).

I also wish PKI had left HB alone. Many parents grew up watching HB cartoons and it was great seeing them point out the various characters to their kids. Even though most kids only recognized Scooby Doo, it still gave the parents something memorable to share with their kids. I'm especially annoyed that The Beastie was re-themed. I thought that they would surely leave that one alone since it wasn't an HB-themed ride, and it had become a family favorite. The Beast is still one of the most popular coasters in the park (probably the most popular at that), and there was really no reason to do that. I am glad that the kiddy whip ride was moved to a more promenant spot though - many people probably weren't aware that the ride was even there last year because it was crammed back in a corner. The Nick Central parade helped to increase its popularity some, but it definitely suffered because of its location. Crew reductions can happen for a number of reasons, but I experienced the effect of this last year (although it might have been due more to a crew shortage than a planned reduction). At some point, someone decided it would be a good idea to remove the greeter position at Beastie. This was a horrible idea in my opinion and only made things worse for everybody (including guests) - height-checking wasn't done until the kids got up to the front of their row (in most cases), and we had very little time to check height in between our other responsibilities. It also caused delays in many cases and probably had a lot to do with why so many parents got so ticked when their kid wasn't tall enough - if they had been told this before they got in line, they probably wouldn't have cared as much. Granted, it would have been easier if people had actually read the sign at the beginning of the ride (and if a very few people didn't try to sneak their kid on the ride even though they were too short), but things were a zoo at Beastie during any normal day, and it was especially bad during the few times when we were swamped...

http://www.schmidty.com/vmhistory/history/...chwabinchen.asp

Video worked fine here, but maybe that's because I've got a broadband connection.

The ride itself. The pre-show is good, but it would be better if they'd leave the stupid emergency lights off.

Glad they're almost done with it. I really miss that ride! Now we can look forward to standing in really long lines for that ride again

You're probably thinking of Fender Bender 500 - similar concept, but that's about it. The way the ride operates is much different than that of the antique cars. Riders have no control over the cars, and it's all powered by electricity, not gasoline.

Best advice as far as ice water is to bring a souvenir cup or a water bottle of some sort. They'll fill it up with ice water for free.

Nice job

Yes, they actually did have to build a special access road to get to Delirium, but it wasn't for the sake of transporting the parts. It was so they could get a couple of large cranes and a cherry picker back there to get the big gear up there. I don't think they built the road all the way around the campground. It appears to be an extension off of an existing access road (from what I've seen from the tower...).

It's just honesty really. If the person says they're at least 13, then the site admin can't get yelled at for collecting their personal info if they're not 13 yet (legal stuff).

That's something that we've known for a while dale...

I would assume 13, but I don't know for sure.

Actually, it's supposed to be 97 tomorrow. It only hit 96 today. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the hottest day on record in Cincinnati was July 21st, 1934 when it got up to 108!

This is the first time I've actually seen any of them, so it was good to know that they're still around

IPB shortens longer URLs when displaying them... The full URL is http://travel.discovery.com/guides/video/coasters/coastervideos/wood/wood.html

I thought it was very nicely done too. I like how the conference was open to anyone who wanted to come. Most of the time the general public doesn't get invited to these press conferences.

While riding Drop Zone earlier today, I found the antique cars... They're now parked behind Slingshot (on the other side of that wooden fence). Also, there was a little bit of action over at Delirium today, and Face/Off was closed for repairs of some sort (I heard hammering noises coming from that direction and saw a couple maintenance people over there - they had stopped the train right before the second hill.

The presentation this morning was really nice. Sounds like a great time, and I can't wait

My sister and I will be attending

I doubt that Ghoster Coaster is going anywhere, because it's extremely popular (at one point on the 16th, I heard them telling guests in line that the current wait was 90 minutes...)

I know they did away with the fog a long time ago - I just brought it up because I liked the fog and thought it added a lot to the ride. I could be wrong about the TVs, as I've only ridden FOF one other time this year, when the lighting in the queue area was normal, so I didn't pay as much attention to the TVs then as I did now.