bkroz

If they're creating a timeline of the park's current coasters, then I have a strong prediction.

But does that not defeat the purpose, at least a little bit? It's like going to the theater to see The Avengers, and the first trailer before the film is for The Avengers. Why see the highlights of the attraction you're about to experience? Especially The Beast, with its famously concealed layout that's still a surprise to most folks who ride. Personally, I'd rather not watch POVs while I'm standing in line, even if the POV is for a different ride. That's just me.

But what are the operating expenses? Probably little to nothing. The property includes "Fred's Diner" which is a restaurant that can be accessed without entering the "theme park." I'm sure that's where they make money. The "theme park" itself is old dusty buildings. Americana is exactly what it is - an old roadside attraction not unlike any other ghost town or historic recreation village that requires little-to-no staffing. Upkeep? Sure. But as it is, it's just a themed RV park with a diner and few themed buildings. I don't know the terms of the IP license, but in terms of day-to-day operations, I wouldn't guess it's burning through cash.

I went here when I was a kid. Very barren. Kind of a neat roadside tourist attraction for kids. $5 entry. Not much to do / see. Still, it's a cute little place! A little stone age "movie theater" plays (/played) Flintstones cartoons, a few houses from the characters, a big volcano with a golf-cart train ride through it. There's a Flintstones Bedrock City camp ground / "theme park" in South Dakota that's much more... alive. It's very similar to the Yogi Bear campground concept - a regular ole family campground with a themed mini-golf, some character statues, a "drive-in" theater, themed buildings, etc. http://www.flintstonesbedrockcity.com/ However, the Bedrock City in the Arizona desert (the one that's for sale) probably doesn't lend itself well to a big expansive green campground. It does have camping and RV parking though! http://www.bedrockaz.com/index.htm

They do. https://www.holidayworld.com/tickets/buy/?keyword=Daily%20Tickets

I'm sure more will be discovered, but as of now, I don't see how operator error alone could do this. It seems to me that the computer overrides any operator error. It's the computer that allows the train to be dispatched. It won't dispatch until and unless the computer allows it, right? So for the employee who saw that all restraints had been checked and the dispatch light turns green to indicate that it's ready, what fault are they at? The system said it was a go, so they went. I'm sure we'll learn more, it just seems to me that the computer supersedes the operator anyway. At least, it's supposed to. It's almost confusing how a train could valley (since that seems to be what happened) without anyone noticing, but employees wouldn't have had their eyes on the vast knot of track, would they? They'd trust the computer.Very strange.

Point taken! But Six Flags hasn't planted advertisements in news sources hyping their rides by saying test dummies are flying out of them. I couldn't tell you what Six Flags' marketing strategy is. Which is a whole other issue.

Another thing that'll be learned from this: marketing. Alton Towers and other Merlin parks are notorious for their methods. If Cedar Point was obsessed with breaking records, Merlin was obsessed with inventing them. Thirteen - the scariest roller coaster in the world. A nurse on site just in case. Free diapers for terrified adults. "Don't ride alone." Most every major coaster / thrill ride installation at their parks has been dripping with outrageous advertising. See also, Merlin's Thorpe Park's Swarm. Their marketing for that B&M Wing Coaster and its scenic near-miss elements? Test dummies allegedly returning to the station missing limbs. See "UK amusement park redesigns roller coaster after dummy passengers lose limbs," wherein the media knowingly or unknowingly touts this as fact. Smiler is going to change. Merlin is going to change. The industry is going to change. And next time Alton Towers constructs a large thrill coaster (IF that ever happens again), expect a very different spin.

Problem is, half the mystique is that we don't know what The Beast looks like beyond its furry claws. A dark ride about or including The Beast would change that. And sometimes, what you don't see is more important than anything they could show. How disappointed would you be if a dark ride shows The Beast and it's not what you had always envisioned...? Worse, what if it's a stupid design that's poorly animated by Triotech?

Which, for all we know, could've been changed by someone here.

Solid ride. The issue people are (or, should be) raising with it is that if you live within reasonable distance to a Cedar Fair, Six Flags, or Busch Gardens park (which, I'm certain, many if not most of the residents of the continental US do), you've seen this pony before, or taller. SeaWorld continues to operate under a cloud of confusion. It's not a zoo. It's not a theme park. It's not an amusement park. This coaster will strengthen the "amusement park" angle with a nod to the "theme park" angle. But it's not going to draw people from the area's outright theme parks (Universal and Disney). At least rides like SheiKra offer something you probably won't find at a local amusement park, whereas, to the general public, if you've been on Diamondback, Intimidator, Behemoth, Kumba, Millennium, Nitro, Raging Bull, etc., then you aren't going to be drawn to SeaWorld by this single attraction. I have long argued that SeaWorld needs to de-emphasize its marketing as a "really, really, really good zoo," because even the best zoo can't reasonably charge $65 for one day. I have said that SeaWorld ought to re-emphasize itself as a winning theme park. This is more toward the "amusement park" angle, but it's still better than constantly harping on Blackfish and bringing its zoo practices back into the public eye.

Interestingly, Boo Blasters is a 1 (again, because the ride experience itself merits a 1. If the "scariness" of it mattered, it would be a 2, I bet). But I found this in the Guest Assistance Guide (linked to in my post above). "WARNING: This ride contains strobe lighting. Riders will experience theatrical lighting, loud noises, and dark rooms themed to a haunted house." Can we find an old version of the guide to determine if it used to include "theatrical fog" in that description? Maybe they gave up SO completely on the fog screen that they edited it out of the guest guide. Why warn people about it if it's not there?

Look at the Guest Assistance Guide. The rating 1 - 5 isn't just one person's arbitrary numerical score of how "scary" a ride is. It describes forces, heights, changes in elevation, changes in direction, etc. The 5 rating describes "rides that generally have one or more of the following: high speeds and/or heights, aggressive and unexpected forces, and rapid directional or elevation change. Riders will encounter many unexpected rapid changes in speed, direction and/or elevation." The Beast? Yep. Backlot Stunt Coaster? Also yep. Are they equivalent ride experiences? No. Is one "scarier" than the other? Yes. But they both meet the qualifications of a 5. (You wouldn't, after all, tell me that Backlot Stunt Coaster does NOT have aggressive and unexpected forces, rapid directional and elevation changes, and rapid changes in speed?) WindSeeker (also, Woodstock Express, Surf Dog, Drop Tower, etc) is a 4, or "rides that generally have medium to high speeds and/or heights with moderate to rapid braking. Riders may encounter unexpected changes in speed, direction and/or elevation." So it's not like a guy working for Cedar Fair got on, was afraid of heights and went "Oh, that's a 4!" There actually is a basis for the rating a ride is given. As for the Blue Ridge Tollway, I'm surprised it's a 3. It almost PERFECTLY matches the description for a 2. I'm sure examples like that abound. Just trying to offer some new evidence to the conversation re: ride ratings.

Of course, the building has been divided since the boat ride. The boat ride filled up almost all of the building (right?) whereas the showbuilding now houses a theater (haunted house) and backstage lounge area for characters. Not that those spaces couldn't easily be reincorporated into the dark ride if the infrastructure of the ride itself changed.

Through the seasons is a great concept. Especially because the Peanuts have done something noteworthy in most every season at one point or another. Great idea. I think a boat ride also helps to slow the pace of an attraction, versus the Omnimover that whisks you through pretty quickly. With a boat, you have to drift and really take it in. That's not a bad thing.

Shouldn't affect opening. Rain or shine. If the park is super empty and is scheduled to be open very late, park officials might make the announcement that the park is closing early, but that's about the only thing. That's a low chance all things considered, and if it does storm for a bit, it'll only serve to clear the park out. See shows or relax in a restaurant until the storm passes. Just don't go for Flight of Fear. If you can imagine, that's the idea almost everyone will have.

If it's pitch black, no. If the colored floodlights are on, yes. However, you wouldn't want to spend your time trying to figure out what's about to happen. Like Space Mountain, half the fun is that you don't know exactly what's coming. Only about the first 15 seconds of the ride is really *wild.* For those first 15 seconds, you very sincerely can't tell if you're upside down or not. After that, it's got a more predictable layout - just twists and dips and slaloming to build the giant knot shape. Then, halfway through, it reaches the midcourse brakes and comes to an almost complete stop. From there, it gathers speed slowly, but mostly slaloms along the ground before going through a final corkscrew. To follow up on what Rustbucket said, Six Flags (and a park in China) bought clones of the ride and built it without a building around it, so there are outdoor versions of the ride in the US and China. If you really want to spoil the experience, you can see photos of the outdoor version here, and a video here. If you've ridden Rock 'N Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios, you've ridden Vekoma's version of Premier's Flight of Fear layout.

It's got what some affectionately call "the Premier rattle" that many rides by that coaster's manufacturer - Premier Rides - have in common. It's sort of a vibration (probably due to the launch mechanism) that feels very similar to Backlot Stunt Coaster. When BLSC pulls up into the over-banked turn and slaloms before the "subway stairs," it feels a lot like Flight of Fear. It's smooth like a steel coaster, but it does snap through some elements and inversions. However, there are no over-the-shoulder restraints (like Banshee), so you won't slam your head against anything. The launch sounds worse than it is, so don't freak out when you see it blast out the station while you wait. It's easily one of my top 10 coasters if and only if the interior show lights are on. I've only been once this year, and it was in pitch black darkness. Personally, I think that defeats the purpose. Inside of the large show building, the track and supports are coiled and knotted and it's truly ridiculously cool looking. Sometimes (at least, in past seasons?) the ride building is lit with purple and red floodlights angled in all directions that allow you to see how crazy the track looks while also being very disorienting for the ride's first 10 seconds, during which you really can't tell if you're upside down or not. To me, riding in the pitch black darkness is kind of a let down. Have the theatrical lights (NOT the overhead work lights) been on at all this season? Or have we degraded to the point that it's either pitch black or full work lights on?

Probably the one that's shown on a TV embedded into a tombstone. If so, it's not new. In fact, last time I rode, that screen was off. The scene at 1:15? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-oh20wirPI

Remember when Kings Island had three very respectable, world-class indoor dark ride experiences? TOMB RAIDER: The Ride, Flight of Fear, and Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle? Scooby Doo was a masterpiece compared to Boo Blasters. I rode it last week. Your experience begins in the creepy and haunting antechamber where the greatest hits of summer 2013 set a haunted, forgotten, and uninhabited tone, lit by that eerie, spine-tingling fluorescent shine that only high-definition TVs can produce. Inside your vehicle, most of the guns don't work (let's hope Junior doesn't end up at a broken one! Oops!) and even if they do, half of the targets don't (which is downright jolly on a ride that is essentially lifeless unless the broken targets get activated by broken guns). Can't see where you're aiming anyway - no lasers (unlike the other parks' versions). Many of the ride's effects don't work. I initially typed "animatronics" but that would be a misnomer wouldn't it? I'm thinking specifically of a turntable (the chasing tourist scene) and a hinge (the skeletons in bed) that apparently aren't worth fixing this year. Maybe next year! I find it funny that someone on an earlier page suggested that they've just forgotten to turn on the fog screen. If so, the person who's meant to turn it on each morning has overslept since the week after the ride opened, and I'd personally buy him an alarm clock if it would solve the problem. Useless and meaningless finale, too. (The same finale, by the way, makes for an awesome scene when the ride operates with individual carts, like at Kings Dominion.) It's downright sad. I feel as though the constant driving force and thought behind park operations should be, "How would this come across to a first time guest?" Even ignoring the things a first-time guest wouldn't notice (because they don't know what's supposed to happen, i.e. fog screen, visible lasers, etc) the state of the ride is abysmal and embarrassing.

The ID and credit card should be with you not because it's part of the process every time, but because if there IS an issue, you don't want those items to be in the car or at home.

It was also a heck of a lot nicer to look at. And that makes for a different experience. I seriously think Coney Mall has more potential than just about any other Kings Island area. The whole thing deserves the '60s / '70s vibe Gemini Midway makeover, with retro patterns, streamlined facades, popcorn lights, groovy music... and it all begins with Racer.

Ultimately, what was said toward the beginning is true. Unless you're carrying something for medical reasons or have a child with you, you should be able to reasonably fit everything you need in pockets. A wallet (really only needing cash / card, ID, and ticket) and a phone if you need one. A carabiner with keys or a single key in your pockets. In other words, if you bring a book bag, you're going to pay. Literally and figuratively. Nothing's more frustrating than watching crowds of people rush into a queue while you fiddle with a locker. Carefully examine what's in that book bag and ask yourself if it has to come with you into the park. If not, then you probably don't need it at all. Just a thought!

It should! Oceaneering is behind the ride's vehicles. Same folks who create motion-base SCOOP vehicles for Spider-Man and its successors.

Below is a POV video from the ride at Six Flags Over Texas. Compare this to the dark rides added to Wonderland and Knott's. Ride starts at 1:40. Animatronics? Physical sets? Storyline? Intellectual properties? Motion base? Simulator? All worth talking about!