bkroz

Doubtful. I think that those restraints are pretty standard for Intamin, and replacing the solid shoulder harness with the fabric one was certainly an improvement and a chore. There's so much to be done with the ride (probably, pouring new footings, bringing in new track pieces, moving brakes around, etc) that I highly doubt they'd go out of there way to change the restraints which, in all fairness, are doing just fine.

My guess would be that the Monopoly offered is the old Paramount's Kings Island-opoly. I never saw one that wasn't Paramount, and I can't imagine them making a Cedar Fair version... To randomly decide that Kings Island needs its own new, Paramount-free Monopoly board? Doubtful... But who knows. Perhaps they have some left somewhere and are wanting to get rid of them. I just don't think they've made an updated Cedar Fair version. Because, who would buy The Crypt?

Perhaps they got wind of that disappointment over in Switzerland, and thusly decided to have Shoot the Rapids travel down a stream at what can't be more than 3 miles per hour, then spray you directly in the face from both sides with at least two dozen hoses. Wet enough yet? Having FUN yet? GYK, who's almost certain that whoever decided Cedar Fair's stock trading name should be F-U-N is now regretting it, for the great many puns that it's been worked into on this and other websites...

My initial hope was that the giant turnaround would be replaced by an overbanked turn (a la Millennium Force) that would then curve its way under the first hill. Widening the turn will probably help dramatically, but I would've liked to have seen some nice floater air after the first drop.

The key is to prioritize. Roller coasters should never be a first priority. I can't think of a single situation where a roller coaster should ever come before customer service, safety, affordability, etc. Sure, some say that theme or family attractions or food selection comes before roller coasters, but that's all opinion. Customer service being #1? Don't know many who'd argue with that...

And then there's that time that Cedar Fair built the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world, and then twenty-five million dollars and a few short months later, it wasn't anymore.

And really, what difference does it make anyway? The experience of riding The Beast will undoubtedly be exactly the same when it's the second longest wooden roller coaster on Earth as it was when it was first. Having a record doesn't typically mean too much... After all, Kings Island has the world's tallest amusement park recreation of the Eiffel Tower. Are we proud of it? Maybe. What about having the world's only Giant Top Spin? Plus, visitors are bombarded by "records" that are all but useless. For example, Kings Island is / was also home to "the midwest's first face-to-face inverted boomerang coaster," "the world's first family launched coaster," "the world's longest roller coaster with an inversion" and "the Midwest's only flying coaster." People don't spaz out over it, because these records are so freakin' specific, any ride could be a record-holder. But because we're so inundated by these records, ones that actually are quite a feat (like The Beast's) typically go under-appreciated anyway. And on top of that, bigger is not always better, anyway...

So soon? Ten more years? Where are you people pulling these ideas from? Either way, don't go overboard. The ride isn't even built yet...

Another update on what is looking like one of the most extreme "wooden" roller coasters imaginable down south: Link. The voice in my head just keeps saying... how?! Look at that second picture and tell me that a similarly-colored old Western favorite from up north doesn't come to mind... I would wager that this ride will be incredible. Whether it's a fix to Son of Beast or a completely original construction, we would be extremely lucky to have an Iron Horse coaster in our park... Or so it appears thus far.

I want the time machine! I bet you could get it for cheap. GYK, who would buy it himself if only he had a vehicle large enough to transport it... Anyone have a zeppelin I might be able to borrow?

What a great vacation! I'm so envious of your children, not only for the incredible experiences they're afforded (and with their family, nonetheless!) but also for your patience and understanding with your daughter and her first looping coaster! If I had been shown the same patience and care, maybe my coaster riding would've started off as a more positive experience! This is absolutely an incredible trip here, and I'm very, very excited to see / hear about the rest! Thanks so much.

Plus let's get real: new pavers, landscaping, and atmosphere will last much longer than a lighting package...

Exactly! And Disney World faces the same issues that any destination park faces - how can you build new attractions in an order and to a given caliber that will require people to return more often? The fact of the matter is, no matter how fun it may be, I just don't think many people find Toy Story Mania as incentive enough to plan an entire Florida vacation. In all fairness I think for the most part, Disney World took last year off. Because there was flat out no way that anyone could construct anything that would be more of a draw than The Wizarding World. That was known and accepted. And truly, Disney World is at a disadvantage here. Can you think of another intellectual property that currently has as much draw, worth, and potential longevity as Harry Potter? Can you think of another film franchise in which all six sequels have opened at number one? Not Mickey Mouse, The Little Mermaid, Twilight, nor any other film franchise I can think of (regardless of how beloved) would I expect to boost a theme park's attendance by 36% - except Harry Potter. I think Disney will be reeling from this for a few years. The Fantasyland expansion is a very nice thing, and I'm sure it will be beautiful. I don't doubt that, to a degree, it will fulfill its role of drawing in the young girls where Wizarding World draws in the young boys. The problem is, those young girls will almost certainly become pre-teen girls and will find themselves much more interested in wizard magic than princess magic... So it's not necessarily a long term fix. So who knows? Disney will come up with something. But to me, the Fantasyland effort feels weak. A new Little Mermaid ride? It would be a feat if it were a 4D hybrid like Spiderman (which is easily and creatively could've been) or a motion-base ride like Dinosaur. Instead, it's a black-light style, omnimover dark ride just like the other four dark rides in Fantasyland. It'll be charming and beautiful, I'm sure, but is that really their big retaliation against Harry Potter?

Honestly, I think it's all for the better. I didn't understand the point of bringing in so many kids brands, like The Wiggles and Thomas, when you have an already-successful brand with Looney Tunes. What it created, for me, was an over-crowding - the fact that some parks had all three was sort of overkill. Can you imagine if we had Planet Snoopy, a Looney Toons area, and a Thomas the Tank Engine area? That's a lot. And as far as Evel Kineval and Tony Hawk, those both seem to be branding for the sake of branding; they were in-name-only sort of experiences, where a name change will make very little difference (a la Flight Deck). Six Flags has a very strong business with its core IP's - DC Comics and Looney Tunes - and if they can save money by eliminating some other ones, why wouldn't they?

And what about the previous riders that could have had items fall out? Many people, including myself, have complained about the limitation bringing items on rides (and thus charging an arm and a leg for lockers). This video could be the poster-boy of why the parks have initiated these rules. And I get that. But is your suggestion that something that was in many, many pieces fell onto the tubular, circular steel track, balanced there, and then somehow got kicked up into the air by the first tire passing over top of it, but did not slow or shudder the train whatsoever? Because at the top of that hill, you're what, 170 feet in the air? This isn't something flying up from the ground; it would have to be something on or near the track. I do not see something falling from someone's pocket on the previous train, miraculously balancing on the track despite all laws of physics and the UAE winds, and then somehow deciding to shoot backwards past a speed train. I'm not claiming that I know what it is, I'm only saying that there are many things we can most certainly agree it is not. The notion that these shattered, shrapnel-shaped pieces of whatever are flying through the air 170 feet off the ground makes it seem very unlikely that it's something that fell out of a previous rider's pocket.

^ That makes two of us. And not to beat a dead horse, because it doesn't really matter at this point, but those two are in the front seat. There are no pockets in front of them for things to fly out of.

The two things that greatly impact that in my opinion are as follows: 1) People will pay it. A few bucks here and there and the numbers start looking pretty awful. But the fact is, people can't say "Oh, okay, we just won't go to Disney World," because there's nothing else it compares to. If you've been saving and saving and saving for a trip to Disney World, you know prices aren't going to drop, and Disney World is the only Disney World. There's no off-brand or light version that costs less. To me, it's sort of like Apple. In some ways, it's a monopoly. They can really charge whatever the hell they want for an iPod, because people are going to buy them, plain and simple. Yes, there are competitors, but they're not comparable in every way. iPods are iPods, and no matter how prices increase (to a degree), people will still buy them. 2) It's not really $80 per day. The way Disney (and now, Universal) operates is with the "more you stay less you pay option." Most people with common sense see that and do exactly what Disney wants - they stay longer. And why wouldn't you? In planning my trip, I was absolutely baffled at how well the pricing scheme was at making me want to stay longer. A four day ticket is literally $15 more than a three day one, and it's only $10 to upgrade from four to five. It makes sense to stay longer, which is exactly what they want you to think. With the opening of the Wizarding World, Universal switched to the same style of pricing. It's like $80 for one day... or $150 for seven. So naturally, people lean towards more days (which means they sell more food, more hotel rooms, more drinks, more CityWalk passes, etc). I would imagine (though I don't have the numbers) that very few people get one-day, one-park passes. As far as SeaWorld, they raised prices by $1, and Busch Gardens by $4. But even that is somewhat inconsequential - for the most part, any special multi-day ticket to SeaWorld Orlando can add a day at Busch Gardens for practically nothing, and includes transportation down to Tampa. They just want people in the gate down there.

You don't expect any changes to Intimidator or you don't expect the Park to say a word about the changes that are taking place? If you aren't expecting changes to the ride itself, the whispers around the IAAPA showroom floor this past week may prove otherwise. Modifications to the ride? Yes. Will said modifications take away from the experience? I don't believe so, infact I think that most will be pleased in the long run. I don't expect anything to be said about it. The extensive missing pieces of track would make it difficult to take the stance that the ride isn't changing haha.

Still no word on any changes to Intimidator 305... and I don't expect any.

Really? I especially can't imagine thinking Kingda Ka's layout is better than any other coaster, but as far as view... Which is the "nice" one?

Okay, perhaps its marshmallow debris. Shouldn't be flying past the train anyway, should it? Talk about argument for the sake of argument... Some sort of splintered, shiny shrapnel comes flying out from the general direction of the track and into the air, very close to the train. The person in the second row even physically reacts by glancing towards it and drawing his arms back. Unless a magical ghosty made its way into the video, something flew past the train. I doubt it was purposeful, and that's something worth talking about. tggrr, I don't even understand what you would be arguing, unless you believe that whatever it is that flew past the train as it reached the trims is normal, usual, and planned. If that's your stance, say it. If your problem is my use of the word "metallic," then that's really something I'm not even about to argue. But something that was in many pieces went flying past the train, and I really, really don't think it was supposed to.

Thought this was interesting - some real F1 drivers taking on Formula Rossa. Perhaps just as interesting, though, this is MASSIVE amount of metallic debris that flies into the air as they crest the first hill. Uhh... What was that? And if it's what I think it is... Already? Check it out for yourself.

Watch the video provided on the previous page. They point out that certain sections of the ride are done, "primed and painted" while others are still being prepared.

The only thing separating WindSeeker from the Rivertown plaza is that shaded pathway between Vortex and Backlot Stunt Coaster. I can't see it being all too difficult to open that path a half hour before the park opens. It's not as if we're talking about a distance like from Drop Zone to Beast.

Some of my earliest memories of Kings Island are about the absolutely BLAZING colors of FACE/OFF looming over the entrance - the almost indescribably bright, but not "electric" or "neon" yellow and the light-but-deep red. Today it's sort of like macaroni and cheese meets a sun-bleached strawberry. Basically what it comes down to is that most of Action Zone could probably use some sprucing up... Painting Flight Deck (even if it's not the way we want) is a fantastic first step and I'm so overjoyed that it's happened at all. It's not a cheap or easy task for anyone involved, so we should be extraordinarily grateful that it's happened.