bkroz

^ Terp here used the wrong "their" in a post earlier and silly little me thought 'I'm sure he wouldn't correct my mistakes, so I won't embarass him!' How wrong I was! Haha though I suppose you have a good point with mine. And that park in Cali may have been cheesed at one point or another that Kings Island got all the "good rides." Do they have a Flight of Fear? A Beast? A Tomb Raider? That particular park is now fighting to stay open, and certainly is envious of us for some of the things we have that they don't.

Why can't there be a Hyperdive Machine? Just imagine - a first 200+ foot drop, and out-and-back layout of airtime hills, hammerhead turn, a few more hills, a block brake, a second vertical drop, inversion, splashdown, breaks.

Hahaha this is honestly hilarious. Here's hoping it lasts? I honestly cannot see Mr. Kinzel finding the humor in this, and wonder if he knows it exists... Perhaps he does and I'm not giving him enough credit...

Well those who are not KICers do not have an account on KIC with which to announce their winnings... Plus, how many non-enthusiasts would bother to respond to something on Kings Island's Twitter... Just saying.

To some extent, you can see why there's so much turmoil and such quick turnover among "lower level" employees... As you said, look at the parking attendant. Probably gets paid minimum wage, maybe fifteen cents more. Their job is to watch as car after car after car (so many cars, that the parking lot is filled) pays $10.00 to pass by them. Sometimes they probably get hassled and hear a lot of derogatory things. And for a while, they may think, "Well, its only $10 and you have to pay to park." But a quick scan of the parking lot reveals that the $10 per car is pure income. Because not a cent of it is being spent on the potholes and cracks and gravel of the parking lot... 'So,' they may think, 'where is it going?' A good question... And this topic may be the answer. These people are making less than $8.00 an hour sitting in the sweltering hot sun. In that same hour, they're handed hundreds of $10 bills and probably treated pretty rudely about it. And they know as well as we do where those thousands of dollars a day are going - and it's not towards the parking lot.

Still no call! Wahoo!

Choosing your words very carefully?

I suppose I'm sort of inclined to believe there's an unannounced contract in place... Dive Machines are pretty cheap (SheiKra was $13 million, and the larger, taller, faster Griffon was $15) and seem like huge draws... To me, I feel like Cedar Fair or Six Flags would have built one by now if they could have...

No kidding! Think of how different things would be... Wow, I love that ride.

http://www.rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&ml=6803 Unless they somehow have a contract that only is in place in America that I don't know of, I think you might be wrong... There are six Dive Machines in the world, and only two are in Busch Parks... Again, maybe they do have an exclusive contract in the United States, but I've never heard of one... Wasn't it famously predicted that Diamondback was a Dive Machine? You'd think that, if such a contract publically existed, that idea would've been shot down and wouldn't have become the big rumor that it did.

The official world premier was streaming live the other night around 11:15 Eastern Time, and I watched - I think the show is fantastic, and so well done. My only "complaints" are that there's no story per se, and the show is a tad long (as the article says, 25 minutes). For those reasons, I doubt it will surpass the popularity of Fantastic, which has a moving and involved story with some great physical props and effects. World of Color is somewhat disjointed, just showing Disney clips with no tale to weave them together. The music that was specially composed for the show only plays at the beginning and end, and isn't used to join the clips together or anything, whereas in Fantasmic!, the same theme music is adapted throughout and used in most every scene in one way or another, helping to tie it all together. Overall, I'm sure that World of Color is a show that thrives off of its sheer size. There's no way I could judge fairly because half of the show is certainly about it's power. Consider a 320 foot tall screen of water... It's easy to watch the videos and YouTube and go "what's the big deal?" but standing in front of fountains blasting over two-hundred feet in the air, it's bound to impress by its sheer size if nothing else. I think Disney really got what it wanted, in many ways: A show where (unlike Fantasmic! and it's massive cast, costumes, moving props, complex elevators, perfectly timed expensive fireworks and boats) one could realistically just hit the "on" button and watch the waters come alive. World of Color is certainly a fantastic, fantastic show from what I saw, and a really necessary part of California Adventure's re-do. Now if only we could get a similar nighttime show at Islands of Adventure... Or (dare I say) a much-scaled down version at Kings Island?

For whatever reason, it's literally about my favorite thing on Earth when you pull up into the helicopter scene in the front row. There's a burst of air right there if you're seated in the right place. at :29

Drama!

I think Drachen Fire will always be a ride that fascinates all who never got a chance to ride it (myself included). The history itself is hilariously absurd. And the ride itself - Arrow's attempt at B&M. The only Arrow coaster on earth with a Cobra Roll, B&M supports, etc. And an inversion mid-way down the first drop. It sounds really cool to me. But having ridden Anaconda at Kings Dominion (and consequently having my first "wow I really need to sit down or I might physically be sick" experience ever on a roller coaster) I can see how Drachen Fire didn't appeal to many. No offense to the fans, but Arrow's transitions are so awful. Truly. Just looking at that fantastic overhead picture that Jasper linked to, you can see the pieces of track that are awkwardly bent, and imagine the head-banging that goes along with it. I just don't understand. Why couldn't they just bend the track smoothly? On Adventure Express and Vortex and the like, you can physically see where the neck-snapping will occur because the track direction changes so terribly. Why not just bend it smoothly!?

Another Maverick in the state of Ohio? It seems to me that the rides that are "inspired by" Cedar Point favorites will continue to go to other states, as Intimidator did. Maverick is a world-renowned coaster, and though it may increase the number of people who say "Well hey, let's go to both!" when they're in the vicinity of one, it would probably do just as well if not better if a "Maverick" was added to Knott's or Canada's Wonderland.. Intamin launchers cover a broad range of rides, granted. But to have a terrain-hugging, bucking-bronco style LIM launch with a drop greater than 90 degrees and a launch track in the center etc... That might not happen again in the state of Ohio.

My favorite spiel, as you exit: "Thank you for participating in our experiment. We know now what happens when the body is pushed to..." Pushed to what, you might ask? Eh, it's not of paramount importance.

^ I think it's so funny seeing S&S "selling" 4th Dimension coasters and the like...! Never thought I'd see the day! Has a Freefly Coaster ever been installed anywhere? I'd love to see one in action... I don't think it'll catch on like suspended coasters, but its definitely a unique family coaster... And Vekoma is moving ahead nicely. For example, see the new trains for Carolina Cobra. For Battlestar Galactica, they even duplicated B&Ms signature four-across seating, and the ride itself is LSM launched... I mean, that's not a great example since the ride has been closed for a few months and isn't expected to open soon since the trains are being dismantled or something, but still... Vekoma is up and at 'em, and doing well.

No kidding! Who's going to pay for Flight of Fear's air conditioning every single day? Or the air conditioning in the restaurants? Suddenly you'd have a new appreciation for the park leaving the doors to restaurants wide open and running the AC at the same time. Which of us will pay to have HUSS come over here and fix Delirium or The Crypt? And who's going to pay for the fog machines that are desperately desired?

That long straightaway with the roof over it is called "the brake shed" and, if I'm not mistaken, it has been so since day one. There are those here with much more knowledge than myself, but I believe that the only change in the brakes came after an incident a few years back when the friction brakes were replaced with magnetic brakes. Perhaps that makes the braking seem more abrupt, though the final speed is unchanged? All that being said, however, I too remember The Beast much differently than I experience it today. I visited the park quite often on family trips probably until 1999, visited once in 2002 with only memories to guide me and certainly not as an enthusiast or even a fan, and then resumed visiting normally (this time with friends, and a much-expanded library of knowledge about the park) in 2007. My 2007 rides on The Beast do not match what I had remembered from being forced on it screaming and crying in 1999 (I was 8, and not a fan of coasters) or even in 2002. It felt to me then (and still feels to me now) that instead of being a pounding, out-of-control, ravenous ride, it was sort of "coasting" and just a little bumpy. My friends, however, still seem to think it's unbelievable. So I always assumed I was less-impressed with it because A) I had experienced Son of Beast, and so The Beast's roughness no longer felt out-of-control; I had over-exaggerated the greatness of The Beast from my youth, or really pumped it up in my memories (a common occurrence for most people); C) I knew the layout and was now more familiar & unsurprised by the "coaster in the woods"; and D) my coaster repertoire had expanded and I had ridden more wooden coasters and coasters in general than ever before, so The Beast was no longer one of my bigger ones. (Pretty much what dbfan said) Perhaps some of these things impacted your ride, especially B?

An interesting fact I learned from having friends working at the Point: on Wicked Twister, try rows 13 and 14 - in both rows on the final trip up the back spire, the seats twist such that Lake Erie is underneath you, upside down, continuing off into the distance. It's incredible. As for Kings Island seats, does anyone else remember the "dangler seat" on Tomb Raider? Long gone, but I'm just saying.

Today, Kings Island tweeted as a celebration of Rock Band Live: I did so, and recieved a confirmation text saying I was entered into the drawing. Then, a few hours later, received another text saying: "You're a winner. A rep will call to tell you what you've won!" Praying it's not a scam, and also praying I didn't win Creed tickets... Wahoo!

Flight of Fear is definitely in my top ten, because it's an experience. I wouldn't ever consider Joker's Jinx in my top 10, or even 50. There's something about the full experience, the darkness, the colored lights, the music, the tension, the mystery, the build-up, the everything... It's one of those "medium-sized" rides that, for better or worse, we won't see at Kings Island anymore. If Cedar Fair had bought the park any earlier, we might've ended up with a Joker's Jinx, and it just wouldn't be the same. Great parks are made of big huge thrill rides and smaller, well-themed rides. With Cedar Fair and Paramount, we ended up (thus far) with a nice combination and a world-class collection. It's a good thing.

Too true. Vortex's line may appear very long, but it more than likely isn't - it's a straight shot, whereas most rides have those agonizing back-and-forth queues. So when the line does spill out into the midway, it's the equivalent of maybe only three or four switchbacks. Same with The Crypt (if you plan to ride it, which I do suggest). The line MIGHT be long (or nonexistent, it's different all the time), but the ride takes 55 people at once. So it won't move at ALL for five or six minutes, then a massive group will move in. It's frustrating and people leave the line thinking it's broken down, but it hasn't. The longest I've seen Diamondback's line on a normal day is 20 minutes. It's a people-eater. As was said, The Beast can get long at night, especially when it stops operation for the fireworks. It's obviously worth it, though, so don't miss it. Longest lines in the park (by time waiting): Firehawk The Beast Flight of Fear Invertigo Backlot Stunt Coaster The Firehawk, Invertigo, and Backlot have long lines simply because they have a low throughput by their nature. Worth waiting for, though, if this is a special trip! Especially Backlot and (if you've never been on a flier) Firehawk. Flight of Fear has a long line because people see Firehawk's line and go 'Uh, we'll do that later. Let's go ride this one right next to it and then we'll come back.'

^^ Luckily, I believe many of us had already anticipated that he was wrong. First of all, why would he know? Does he work for the park? Has he in the last decade? Selective thinks he has "insider information" because he has a friend of a friend whose cousin has a friend whose barber has a friend who works at the park. What he fails to notice is that there are dozens of people on this very board who work at the park (such as yourself) who shoot down every single one of his ridiculous claims. Rest assured that Kings Island, like any business, has plans in place, and it's mandated that the employees be made aware of that plan and what to do in case of an emergency. Saying anything else is ridiculous. Might some employees panic or be rude during an emergency situation? Sure. You'll find that anywhere. That doesn't mean they aren't (at least basically) prepared. ^ As you said Windshane, you know where one storm cellar is. That's a start. Basic preparation. Clearly you ought to learn the rest, and in case of an emergency, we would hope that all employees would be in constant contact to ensure everyone's safety and keep everyone informed.

Even as someone who enjoys the ride, I think the LAST thing you should worry about is that ANY action taken with Son of Beast makes it "too smooth." Don't you worry about it - I don't think they could manage that even if they wanted to (which they might)!