bkroz

Wow. The way something is stylized in a logo does not necessarily correlate to its legal spelling. I doubt a corporate email to the headquarters of the company (Dippin' Dots, Inc.) would be returned "Thank you for your interest in dippin' dots..." GYK, who was a massive fan of Paramount's Kings Island *

You wouldn't think two parks could pack in so much, right? Very cool. Glad you had fun.

There, the system is set up almost as if to discourage 'marathon' use. Takes the fun out of "marathoning" Millennium Force when you have to wait 30 - 60 minutes between uses. It's still a premium service that lessens your wait, but it is NOT for immediate and unrestricted boarding. At least, not on the park's most popular and major attractions. EDIT: By comparison, at Kings Island, You can ride Diamondback a dozen times an hour if you want. Not to say that people do that often, but the immediate gratification is there. Not so at many of Cedar Point's rides.

Near the top of this page.

A different Cedar Fair. I bet it would still happen today though... It would probably just look, sound, and smell a lot different.

POV videos didn't have quite the pizazz back then.

Shockwave gives you a good snap that most B&Ms don't. Like a chiropractor tired of his job.

"GOO-gah Lake." If people look at you like an alien, it's a sign of endearment. "Goo-GAH" is an alternate pronunciation but it's common only among infants.

They even have a separate wait time sign for Millennium's Fast Lane. Every time I've been there, it's 45 minutes.

One reason for that is that the merge point for Millennium Force at Cedar Point is at the base of the ramp up to the station. So if you're the only person in the Fast Lane queue, you'll start at the bottom of the ramp, which is probably a 20 - 30 minute wait alone. Then, if Fast Lane backs up...

The most comparable systems are SeaWorld Parks' QuickQueue and Universal's Express / Gate A pass, which are both MUCH less intrusive, obvious, and transparent. I think it's equally important that both of those chains have tiered line-cutting passes. I would imagine that MOST guests who use QuickQueue at Busch Gardens Tampa opt for the once-per-ride option. I'm one of their desired demographic. I visit Busch Gardens Tampa infrequently. When I visit, I do want a hassle-free experience. I want a "best day" of the year. I want to make sure I can ride all the coasters, and I don't want to have to worry in the week leading up if I'll face two-hour lines for each. QuickQueue at Busch Gardens Tampa starts at $19.99 (valid on 8 rides, not Kings Island's "all of them"), and I'll pay that to get priority boarding once-per-ride. Because it's once-per-ride, it's also metered much more than an unlimited option - folks waiting for Kumba may see me pass by once, but they know I won't be by again. I certainly don't know all the math behind it, but in that sense it sort of IS like Disney's FastPass where a certain amount of hourly capacity is set aside for QuickQueue and the wait time is adjusted to match. The difference is that Disney knows exactly how many will be back per hour, whereas Busch Gardens doesn't except based on past patterns. Still, they can know how many passes they've sold and have an idea of how people move through the park, knowing most will ride only once-per-ride. For 250% the cost, Busch Gardens also offers QuickQueue Unlimited. It's a premium version of a premium product, so the guests like me (who just want a hassle-free day and to make sure to get to experience each ride) say, "Well, I don't need unlimited. I just want to make sure to get on everything, so the lower tier is fine for me." And really, even though they make less money off of it, I think that's probably a nice balance for Busch Gardens to have MOST QuickQueue users opt for the lower-tier, once-per-ride version. The catch (for the park) is that once-per-ride options require a way to make sure you only ride once-per-ride. That's a level of investment (in personel, scanners, etc.) that an unlimited ride wristband flashed to an employee who would be there anyway doesn't need.

That's the question from a business stand-point. Measuring losses and goodwill and revenue and profit. There are MANY more questions than that, and most of them are – from a guest's point of view – more important than profit and losses. Most absurd was the initial promise that Fast Lane would not impact the wait times of guests choosing not to use it. Pretend there were no separate queue - that guests with special wristbands were simply allowed to shuffle through the regular queue "excuse me, excuse me," to get to the front. That's really what this is, just dressed up more nicely. And that's fine. I don't think it's amoral or that it's ruining Kings Island or that Kings Island / Cedar Fair is the only one doing it. All I'm saying is that it does impact a typical guest's experience and devalue "general admission." Any promise to the contrary is just silly.

A $59.99 admission ticket used to guarantee you priority access to attractions in a very logical order: first-come, first-served. A $19.99 admission ticket used to guarantee that you'd been scammed by a scalper. One thing is true: the fella behind me in line who's having exactly the same opportunities and experiences that I'm having, but paid one-third as much for it is having a better best day than I am! And it is a park of tiers now, isn't it?

Absolutely awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this, wow. Universal's creative lead publicly said that the locker placement on Forbidden Journey was a grave mistake, and they went out of their way to make sure nothing similar happened on Gringotts. Hopefully they'll find a permanent solution sometime soon, because it doesn't look like the Wizarding World is going to get any less popular. (Sorry Disney World!) At least one poster here counts Revenge of the Mummy in Orlando among his top three coasters on Earth! It's a great ride from start to finish, from that incredible animatronic to the fake unload station and the second dive into fog. Just an unbelievable coaster - by the way, made by the same folks as Kings Island's Backlot Stunt Coaster and Flight of Fear. If you've ridden them enough times, the sound and feel of the launch gives away the connection. An electrical hum, then a tug, and a sudden burst. Ahhh... now I'm daydreaming. I bet inverted coasters don't have more hills because the point of those hills is for that weightlessness and the floating airtime. Strapped in across the shoulders, chest, and waist, it wouldn't create near the experience. There are a few B&M Inverted Coasters that have an airtime hill, though, and they tend to be adored by enthusiasts. I thought I spotted one on Banshee when the art was first revealed, but it was a zero-G roll (which is basically the equivalent of an airtime hill on inverted coasters... it's also the inversion at the top of the Hulk's launch!) Ripsaw Falls is a great surprise because it's a water coaster in disguise. Where flumes like Kings Island's Charlie Brown ride sail down the waterfall and splash into a trough, Ripsaw Falls actually engages with track and the vehicle becomes a roller coaster car, allowing it to do things that flumes can't do as gracefully, like that incredible double-down main drop outside. Pretty cool! I'm sorry you didn't like Transformers. It's a technological marvel, but I'm not a die-hard fan of the ride itself either. It's a bit of a convoluted story made worse by the breathless action and explosions between characters I'm not totally familiar with. When riding with first timers who haven't seen the film(s), I say "Basically there are good robots and bad robots. We're riding in one of the good ones. The good ones are multi-colored, while the bad ones are painted black. They all want a crystal that we have. You'll see it in line." It's fun and, in terms of dark rides, is really cool and action-packed. But I ride it at Universal Studios Hollywood, where the wait is never over 5 minutes. I wonder... did you get a chance to ride The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man? Poseidon's Fury? E.T. Adventure? What'd you think of Seuss Landing? Thanks so much for sharing all this!

"Subject to change without notice." True of admission prices, season pass benefits, operation hours, and children's heights since 1972*... * Some earlier, some later. Subject to change without notice.

I would say Coney is pretty high up on the list in terms of lands that could benefit from a renovation. Could be the most charming area in the park, by far. Buildings re-painted classic white and blue. Racer re-painted in its red, white, and blue. Chaser lights on Racer. Flashing, matching incandescent bulbs on all the family flat rides. Matching trees planted down the center planters. Lights strung up in the trees and retro, geometric sunshades (see Gemini Midway, 2014). Affectionately retro (but not obnoxious) matching marquees advertising "GAMES" "SNACKS" "POPCORN" "RACER" "MONSTER" "TROIKA" "SCRAMBLER." And for those who aren't big into film, Marvel / Disney's new Guardians of the Galaxy in on-track to be a Frozen-type viral hit, thanks in part to its soundtrack... entirely made up of songs from the 1960s and 1970s, played in the film via a cassette "mix tape." "Cherry Bomb." "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." "Fooled Around and Fell In Love." "Come And Get Your Love." To hear those classics playing in Coney Mall would be wonderful. Oh, and you know... accurate. The music of my parents' generation. My mom would lose it if "Come and Get Your Love" played in the park. And, who is it who brings the wallet? Certainly not the Katy Perry generation, and yet...

If it's a good coaster standing, it would be a good coaster sitting, right? The opposite, I would guess, is no where near true!

You say that since you don't have bed bugs. Something tells me you might become concerned.

And I quite enjoyed Coney Island's Luna Park's flying coaster. Mean Streak ruined the day for me. Like all wooden coasters, it has its years, months, days, and hours where it rides differently. There have been days when I've found it tolerable. This most recent time will remain the most recent time for the foreseeable future.

I'm confusing reality and fantasy... Did this ever play on The Crypt, or was it just one of the tracks we were rallying for it for play?

You know, significant digits and all that. And I don't know what those Square credit card scanners have been smoking...

^ I believe that. At least there's a semblance of cleanliness to most public restrooms and kitchens. They don't even try with gas pumps. My credit card might get handed to a cashier once in a while (with most of the swiping and scanning going on on my end), but the money in my wallet has been in tens of thousands of wallets and tens of thousands of hands. *shrug* I'm not a germaphobe... just pointing it out! Supposedly 90% of bills carry traces of cocaine. I'm 90% certain that my credit card doesn't.

I'm not sure how you think business works, much less construction, but they're a year into construction at this point, and three years into working together. Imagine the money (both to Lightstorm and in construction costs) that it would take for Disney to "order crews to stop working and draw up plans to [build something else there]." Like it's that simple. Leverage? Cameron couldn't care less about Marvel. Why should he care at all what else Disney owns? They have a contract with him, and his vision is being brought to life in steel and concrete as we speak. I doubt he lives in fear every day, shivering in bed and thinking "If I don't behave, they'll use Marvel against me!" Even pretending it wouldn't mean basically breaking contracts left and right and setting fire to millions of dollars of work that's already been done just to start over from scratch, what, exactly, from the Marvel Universe would fit at Disney's Animal Kingdom alongside Africa, Asia, The Oasis, etc? I proposed Endor in my article above. It's a fun idea and it totally fits conceptually. But the ship has sailed. The only way out of Pandora now is with some heavy fines, lost relationships, and unhappy shareholders. There were options. Today, they're much narrower. And Disney doesn't seem to be ashamed or worried about Avatar Land, so it's a moot point.

Is it just me, or is the new paint scheme much more appropriate for a "Mantis" than the former? Green and silver with red rails? I'd count that as evidence against this being a potential Lebron coaster. Unless the Lebron coaster is a testament to his high school days, during which he was a green-and-gold "Fighting Irish" leprechaun at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School here in Akron. (By the way, my own high school's big rival! We famously lost the big basketball match 4 years in a row. ) Probably little St. Vincent – St. Mary would be easier to rein into a deal than the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Sure, Disney is beefing up Animal Kingdom. No one's accusing them of neglecting the park. That's not the question. As to Cameron being a stickler, I doubt Ms. Rowling was accused of having "child-like tantrums" and issuing constant threats to back out of the project. If you're a powerful and successful person who represents and creates a brand, you're bound to be protective of it. There's a right way and a wrong way to do that.