Oldiesmann

No injuries reported and no word on how the fire started. The zoo has two Chance CP Huntington locomotives (one used for the train and an extra) so this probably won't cause the ride to close but it will be interesting to find out what happened.

You would have loved working at Beastie in 2005, when they raised the minimum height from 36 to 40 inches. All of the "my kid rode it last year so they should be able to ride it this year too" people...

Also a 28% increase in in-park per capita spending. Very good news. Hopefully the rest of the season is good for the chain as well.

While it looks like a good concept, I have to wonder how many people would want to visit an amusement park in southwestern Arizona in the summer. Wikipedia says average highs out there are 90 or above between May and October.

This just happened a couple days ago... Should be interesting to see the full details of this.

NebulaZ looks like fun but Zamperla's website says the theoretical hourly capacity is 360, so I doubt KI would go for something like that. Slingshot's capacity was terrible as well but at least it was an upcharge so the lines weren't that crazy. For unique flat rides, maybe a Chance Aviator would work.

Apparently it is possible for rides to get stuck upside down: https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/kennywood-aero-360-still-closed-stuck-upside-down/

Glad they finally decided to put that area to good use again. I wonder what they'll do with it during Haunt since they usually have CornStalkers back there (and a family-friendly area during the day).

Yeah, he's been gone for several years. I've heard his job prevents him from being able to post here (that's what someone said here a few years ago and I'm pretty sure I heard someone say that at an event one time as well). I did meet him in person on closing day at KI one time years ago though.

I'm more interested to see how things go for Balloon Glow this year. I've attended that event numerous times over the years, and it's always one of Coney's busiest days. The rides being gone will theoretically give them more room for people to place chairs, blankets, etc. for the big fireworks show at the end of the night, but at the same time, the rides always drew big crowds during the event and gave people something to do besides the pool.

As a certain member (who hasn't been active here in several years) would say, yes, someone has seen it (those who have been here a while will get the reference )

There is definitely more to this than we're being made aware of, but the blasting and repainting was clearly done with the intention that the ride would reopen this year.

My reaction to this echoes what I've seen from a lot of people on Facebook - the pricing is ridiculous. The views from the restaurant are nice, but not too many families are going to spend $300+ for dessert and a unique view of the fireworks.

If the video seems a bit odd to anyone, they said during CoasterStock that they used original audio clips for this video rather than whatever audio was captured when this video was made. I'm curious as to where they even found this footage.

This is going to be a great show. With good weather expected this weekend (mid-70s and partly cloudy tomorrow, sunny and much warmer Sunday and Monday), I'd expect large crowds. I will be there tomorrow and look forward to seeing this show

I don't think this has anything to do with the accident, especially since other Slingshot rides at other CF parks are still operating. During the Banshee walk-back at CoasterStock last weekend, I overheard someone saying that Kings Island was the only park that leased their Slingshot and that the ride ops actually worked for Funtime rather than KI directly. If that is indeed the case, I'd suspect that has a lot to do with the ride's sudden unannounced removal - it would lead me to believe that the lease contract was up for renewal (which, given that the ride opened 20 years ago, would make sense) or that someone wanted to re-negotiate the terms and the two sides couldn't come to an agreement. The "future expansion" answer is just KI giving an answer to get the public to stop asking why it was removed, without actually giving the real reason for it.

The case has now found its way to the state supreme court: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/05/cedar-fair-passholders-at-ohio-supreme-court-hoping-for-refunds-for-delayed-2020-season-capitol-letter.html

https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/federal-court-dismisses-land-of-illusion-lawsuit-against-butler-county-and-others

This past Saturday there were at least two incidents in Festhaus. After the first one was broken up, a Mason officer and Warren County deputy hauled someone out in handcuffs after security told him to leave and he refused. This resulted in a loud chorus of boos and even a few middle fingers being thrown in the direction of the officers involved as if they'd done something wrong. As we were about to walk out of Festhaus, another incident took place in almost the exact same area (near the restrooms) - suddenly a large group of people goes running towards the restrooms and all you hear is "oooooo!", followed shortly by several security personnel also heading in that direction. At that point they were telling people in Festhaus to either find a seat or leave, and reportedly weren't letting anyone else in either.

Correct. The ball has not been there at all this season. It was removed for media blasting (to remove any old paint and dirt/debris from the frame) earlier this year: https://www.facebook.com/cincinnatiblasting/posts/4946918102026925

It appears the one at Cedar Point did. I found a video of it on YouTube that was posted on May 7th, the day CP opened for the season.

Interesting to see that it's been removed completely. I just assumed the ball was missing because it was being repainted. Hopefully they'll put some good flats in that area, especially with all the space available on the other side of AE where part of Skylab used to be

I was last down there in 2019. I plan on visiting again in August.

Interesting idea but I feel sorry for the employees who get stuck working overnight - I doubt that many people will come between midnight and 8am

I'm wondering how Gerstlauer is involved in this since they didn't manufacture the ride.