bkroz

I can't say who picks them, but at least last year, I was quite happy with the selection. It seemed there was enough modern pop music to satisfy us younger kids (I specifically think of Jason Mraz' "I'm Yours," an obvious summer hit but still a clue that whoever does pick the music is smart about it). I've heard reports that this year's music selection was a little more classic rock and country based. Honestly I hope that's not the case. I understand that there's an audience that's being catered to there, but why not play the radio friendly hits of today? Why not Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" or Lady Gaga's "Just Dance?" Whether it's your cup of tea or not, those are the kinds of songs that are on the airwaves still, and would get people moving (or else they wouldn't stay on the airwaves as long as they have!) Of course, by starting this topic you've also opened the Pandora's Box wherein we must discuss theme-appropriate music placement... The park's music system is or was wired to play different music in the different themed areas, and many of us here are (to say the least) displeased with the fact that that's not utilized as it once was. There was a time when International Street played grandiose, triumphant movie scores; Oktoberfest played the Glockenspiel; Coney Mall played 1950's jams; Rivertown played country music; and the "hits of today" were played exclusively in Action Zone. Today, it seems that the only divisions in the sound system are between Boomerang Bay, Planet Snoopy and "everything else." To many of us here, the music that used to be so carefully considered and appropriate added the notion of Kings Island the theme park and, if even subconsciously, we find that the park is missing "something" now that it's gone. Like Disney's Magic Kingdom playing "Step in Time" on Main Street U.S.A. or Islands of Adventure's pounding " " in Port of Entry, there was a sense of grandeur and building-excitement about the Raiders of the Lost Ark score playing as you entered the park for the first time. Today, that's gone, and some people really have noticed...But of course, there's also the more positive aspect of park music, with people this year experiencing a little more of that music appropriateness - the Inception soundtrack in The Crypt, Flight of Valkyries on the Stunt Track Coaster, and even a score for Drop Zone, allegedly...

^ But the WindSeeker cam is still active, it's just not on their website. So they have three webcams, which is what Hendrick meant, I think. http://174.121.245.214/cfki/WindSeeker1/WindSeeker2.jpg?r=1304478171985

Nope. Yet another plan is now under consideration. The very first sentence of the linked article states: (Emphasis added) Even the title of the article notes that the mayor says that the city should issue bonds... You can't get much more passive or removed than a person saying that he thinks that someone else should do something. If someone saying someone should give something to this park meant that its opening was secured, it would've opened in 2010. It didn't. Then fans were assured via a glossy campaign that it would be open in 2011. It isn't. The money is not there. The "Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company" and Ed Hart are trying their darndest to secure funds from somewhere (ANYWHERE!). So far, they've been rejected at most every turn.

I agree, but that's assuming she bought the tickets at the front gate. Other ticketing agents like the ones in my previous post would not have the ride restrictions available to give. The restrictions are readily available on the website. Regardless of whether or not the patron has the foresight and common sense to read such restrictions, its his or her responsibility to know them. The park has done its part in making the information available. It's on the informational signs in front of the rides and in the publicly-accessible Safety Guide. And if the woman had thought to visit the park's office (which I should think anyone with a severe impairment would do, if just to discuss limitations) she would have plainly been told the information. Instead, she neglected to be prepared for what should be very obvious restrictions based on a prosthetic limb. And to follow it up, she bypassed communication with the park (as far as we are told) and went directly to the media. That in and of itself says something about this woman and what she's after... And it's not an apology or a plea that no one else have to go through this apparent torment again.

Funny, I don't recall ever seeing a ride with a fax machine in the station. While that may be true, I bet that the Park Operations Office does. ;)

More detail at: http://www.wtae.com/...329/detail.html This, I think, is the most disappointing. Another "I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else ever again" mentality. When the reality is, if the seasonal, probably-teenage employee scanning tickets for entry had said, "Excuse me ma'am, do you have a prothetic limb?" we'd probably reading an article about how she felt singled out and pre-judged. There is no right answer, because certainly each employee cannot be expected to memorize every impairment possible, know the rides restricted for each, and ask each and every entering patron "what your problem is?" And while I can understand being upset that you were asked to exit a ride due to manufacturer recommendations and park guidelines, I can't imagine A ) not at least going back and reviewing why you were ineligible to ride and B ) going to the press instead. But that's the society we live in. When we don't get what we want, we complain right over top of the person trying to explain it to us, and instead take it to someone who will commiserate and tell us that we deserve everything we want regardless of the consequence.

From the 2011 Rider Safety Guide which is publicly available to all Cedar Point visitors (and is comprised of the "stuff" that's printed on each of those signs posted outside the attractions that people don't read): (Emphasis added). While the wording is a little odd (as it seems that the paragraph was written for Top Thrill Dragster, having the other rides added as they were built, it is still part of the Safety Guide. If that weren't clear enough, the specific section of the Guide dealing with each individual ride notes for Shoot the Rapids: Emphasis added. In other words, this was no haphazard decision by an untrained employee. It's pretty clearly spelled out that to ride these rides one must do this, to ride those rides, one must do that, and to ride Shoot the Rapids (and Top Thrill Dragster and Maverick..) one must go to the Park Operations Office to provide documentation that the prosthesis will not fall off. I can understand why so many day-to-day visitors ignore the posted safety signs or do not look through the Rider Safety Guide. They figure that their limitations are the ones the rides are designed to stay within. After all, "You know your physical conditions and limitations, Cedar Point does not" (so says the opening page to the safety guide). But if you have an obvious and striking physical impairment like a missing limb, why wouldn't you peruse the rules concerning it before visiting? That's sort of a big deal. Basically, the woman simply couldn't have ridden under Ohio Revised Code Section 1711.551 which requires "that riders must obey all warnings and directions regarding amusement park rides..." The manufacturer recommended (read, requires in Ohio) that people with a prosthesis have documentation to prove their prosthesis' security. Granted, the employee could've explained that she needs to visit the Park Operations Office and have come information faxed over instead of simply asking her to exit the ride. But of course, who's to say he didn't except the woman who is probably eyeing a lawsuit? http://www.cedarpoint.com/_upload/pdf/2011Rider_Safety_Guide.pdf

For whatever reason, I was thinking this was in comparison to the quarter before. Silly me! GYK, who has much to learn in these parts!

All of this in Q1? WOW! But... What parks owned by SIX are actually open during the first quarter? And what events do those parks have going on that might boost attendance and in-park sales? It's certainly an impressive figure in that it would seem to be a reflection of corporate changes. But Q1 isn't generally that representative of the fiscal year, right?

And that's precisely what creates the illusion of the face looking at you regardless of where you stand in relation to it - as your perspective shifts, you view the face from a different angle, and your mind helps interpret the shading and curvature as looking directly at you. It's concave.

It's sort of a shame that such an effect goes to waste... It's a mind-boggling effect! But I can understand how it didn't quite fit the Scooby Doo theme, and doesn't match Boo Blasters much better.

The metal detectors are not turned on. They only use them on July 4th and Saturday night Haunts. Uh, really? Because I am certain that I walked through them every time I entered the park, and that they were staffed at all times... If they weren't even turned on, they would all be marked open. But instead, a security guard is stationed at each lane that is open. Why would they waste that payroll unnecessarily? And why would those security guards closely monitor whether or not the metal detectors go off? Is it all part of a grand attempt to make us think they're on? Is this a new policy this season, and one that they're telling the public about? (And why would they... "Attention visitors to Kings Island: we will only use the metal detectors on July 4, 2011 and October 7, 14, 21, 18 2011 this year. Any other day, you're welcome to bring whatever you want into the park.")

Free for you, maybe! But somewhere along the line, the nickels are rolling in!

At the risk of people paying for this and being upset that it's not what they thought, I should point out that people here have hypothesized that it is not laser tag, but a laser navigation maze. Admittedly, that does sound like it would be about right for an attraction called "The Vault." Like a spy, thief-themed attraction where you have to sneak past the security lasers into a vault, right? I haven't been in it, and I haven't read anyone else here say they have, but someone mentioned another Cedar Fair park building something like it last season. You can find a laser attraction of this type in the ADVENTURE exhibit at COSI Science Center in Columbus. There, in trying to master the adventurer's skill of perseverance, you must climb through the "fiery beams" emitted by the ancient spirit Skorn - make it through and you recieve her part of an ancient code. For anyone who like Tomb Raider: The Ride, ADVENTURE is an incredible exhibit, and unlike anything you'd expect to see at a science center. There's a pre-show and all!

From Inception?! My, how music licensing never fails to impress me! GYK, who just today decided to buckle down and learn how to spell "license" and derivations of it. (The two tricky letters, c and s, appear in alphabetical order in the correct spelling - maybe that'll help others!) EDIT: For those looking: Hopefully they manage to cut to the "extravagant" part of the soundtrack pretty quickly, since the long is nearly twice as long as the ride. Very nice music though! I can't wait to see how it does on the ride. No more howling wind or animal hooting! Let the joyous news be spread; the jungle animal calls are dead. Should we also talk about how a Top Spin (especially a well-themed indoor one) would be probably the best possible system for Inception: The Ride? And put the whole thing inside a Vekoma Madhouse a la Alton Tower's HEX and I would probably faint. Think of the twisted skyscrapers revolving around you, and the trees moving onto the ceiling while you flip around. Hahah.

Been there done that. And after? The Crypt we have now. Not that I'm claiming causation... But think about it!

^ My mistake. I know someone in this thread commented on reading the scrolling signs outside the exit and leaving the park because of it. But yeah, it's a shame that today seemed to have such a feeling of unpreparedness surrounding it. As I said, it must've been incredibly stressful and unrewarding for the employees. EDIT: There it is.

Agreed. Fortunately our tickets are good for any one day in the 2011 season and we stopped when we realized everything was broken, but I feel bad for the people with specific day tickets or that entered the park only to learn nothing was working. I don't think that the park has any publicly-available tickets that are good only a specific day. You saw exactly what I assumed there would be - prior notice of the closed attractions on signs outside the park - and decided to turn around as a result. Others certainly had the same opportunity, but were caught up in the hooplah of opening day (while others entered the park before the rides began to break down). I don't blame them. But, it was the same last year, and the year before that, and likely will be the same next near. When the ride operator's first encounter with the public, throughput, operations, mechanics, and rider organization is the park's opening day... You get exactly what you'd expect: confusion, question, and maybe even panic. As anyone knows, your first day on any job is strenuous. It's a science and art to learn the physical operations of the job (be it computer systems, key strokes, operator panels) and to learn how to interact with the guests, how to perform crowd control procedures, how to optimize a ride's hourly throughput... To throw gangs of first-timers in control of a multi-million dollar ride with little leadership or practice results in what may saw today. The operators certainly did their best. They just didn't have a lot to work with. What a stressful day this must've been for them...

Fat chance. Who else recalls a day [last season?] when a power outage left rides, shops, and restaurants without any power. Refunds? Not a chance. And they say the line to exit the park was longer than any of the ride queues... Part of the business of amusement parks is unpredictability. Technology goes haywire. I'm especially surprised we didn't see more downtime with Firehawk, Flight of Fear, and Backlot Stunt Coaster, whose specific niches seem to be particularly hard to keep working right at the beginning of the season. The park does what it can to alert people before they visit by the LED sign outside and even online mediums (like telling folks that WindSeeker would be closed). It could be worse. Imagine the people who travel by plane to visit Floridian parks, only to discover a ride like Harry Potter that they have planned a trip around is down for mechanical difficulties the day of their trip. What do you do? Request a refund or a rain check? Unlikely.

Like the Backlot Stunt Coaster, The Crypt is a perfectly enjoyable ride... If you don't wait more than ten minutes for it.

And again, didn't Paramount used to have dry run days? Like a dress rehearsal where everyone would come in and put the rides through the paces, using other employees as patrons just to make sure operations ran smoothly on the first public day? I may be misremembering that, but I'm pretty sure that's something they did annually... And it seems to have helped avoid days like this. It's a shame, and certainly doesn't cast the park in a good light for the rest of the season when it starts out like this. Of course, more than likely they'll end up getting their stuff together. But this clearly leaves a sour taste in many people's mouths... Imagine if you didn't have a pass. Would you return after your experience today? (And if your answer is no, than probably there are a lot of people who will say no next time someone asks them to go... Wouldn't an extra half-day of payroll be worth it?)

All good news, but I agree with your point 100%. I think even having the ride continue and go around once more, followed by one more backwards flip would increase the ride length by 50% and make it seem more 'worth it.' I just can't see how making it do three locked flips instead of two would put that much more strain on the ride... Maybe it would. I'm not qualified to know. But it seems pretty logical to me. Especially since it's not like the ride has some huge line that it needs optimum throughput to make it through. Might as well make it last 30 seconds longer... Still happy about these changes though. Looking extremely forward to the full report later. I hope someone took some Crypt queue pictures for me. I am also dying to experience the little new touches on Backlot Stunt Coaster, and to see Coney Mall for myself.

I would never question your knowledge of Crypt, I just remember it doing more last year but I could be wrong. Haha! Well I would certainly not call myself an expert by any means! Last year, the ride began by ascending towards the back of the room, went around a time and a half, then locked into place at the top of the second arc and fell forward, doing a slow, locked inversion. Then it reversed and did the same backwards, flipping riders headfirst towards the lava in another slow, locked inversion. So it inverted twice. There were no free flips through where the gondola goes nuts. That hasn't happened since the beginning of 2009. Your detailed description and my wife's memory is in agreement. So I type corrected, same as last year... still boring! To me, this is good news. Or, at least not bad news. You had me a bit worried, I have to admit! Again, spoilers about the queue line from anyone are more than welcome as private messages!

I would never question your knowledge of Crypt, I just remember it doing more last year but I could be wrong. Haha! Well I would certainly not call myself an expert by any means! Last year, the ride began by ascending towards the back of the room, went around a time and a half, then locked into place at the top of the second arc and fell forward, doing a slow, locked inversion. Then it reversed and did the same backwards, flipping riders headfirst towards the lava in another slow, locked inversion. So it inverted twice. There were no free flips, where the gondola goes nuts. That hasn't happened since the beginning of 2009. It's been slow, inverting arcs like you described. But was there any additional lighting or music used during the ride itself? And feel free to give me spoilers about the queue, even via private message.

My guess is it's the same as last year... After all, the ride didn't have "flips" last year, just large inverting circles like he said... Sounds like last year's cycle. Plus, as you said, I don't know how you could make it less thrilling. Literally not going upside down at all? Ouch.