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Ronny great trip report as always. I must say that I not only enjoy the quality of your photos but also your unique selection and angles you use to get them. I really think you have great unique talent and an instinct to shot a picture or tell a story that is interesting.

Nice report and the photos helped me understand the setup and mood of the place. Thanks for taking the time to do the report, i enjoyed the read.

No worries, I am sure she would much rather read it in a post than hear me sing it again. Besides; I never wanted to, what am I to do? I can't help it! Look at the way she's made.

WOW: Diamondback is looking more awesome everyday, I keep asking myself "is this type of coaster really being installed at Kings Island?". Falling in love again, I can't help it.

Wow Great Trip Report guys! I enjoyed reading it and hearing about the great shows and highly theme attractions. I really need to take the family down soon. again this was a great read on New Years Eve.

I look forward to seeing everyone there too and learning more about the park. 1.Captain Nemo 2.Boddah1994 3.gigacoaster2k 4.Gordon Bombay 5.Mr. 3000 6.beastfan26 7.flightoffear4thtrain 8.Raptor66 9.CoastersRZ 10.violakat03 11.cincyboy79 12.-15.Brian5475E +3 16.Cory Butcher 17.coasterguy15 18.-20.iChase (+mom)(+friend) 21.Beast man 22.&23.Beast1979 and the famous Trooper Mom 24.IBEW_Sparky 25.KIFan73 26.pkiboy 27.windshawne 28.keiko_coaster 29.PhantomTheater 30.Rollercoast19 31.Dropthegloves97 32.&33.touchdown62 and 1 friend 34.Ogrmac + 1 35.XGatorHead 8904 36.adventure2007 37.Kawana & Elina 38.standbyme 39.Avatar

Thanks for the report, looks like you had a good time.

Nice family Christmas trip report RaiRider. I enjoyed the description of your trip and do look forward to seeing the pictures, especially after your description of the lights from the Inn's dinning room. Thanks again and merry Christmas to you and your family.

I'm in and paid for. I think I will bring the family and get a room at GWL. While i'm at the event the family can swim.

I voted and at the time I did she was only behind the by 30 votes. This community can make the difference here so get out the vote.

I use Weather Underground the most when keeping track of winter weather and to give me a better idea of the weather in areas that I need to send my drivers. Also many of the shipping departments of business we visit have the Weather Underground on their computer monitors. My brother in Florida in the concrete pouring business and his girlfriend who works in an office for road construction, both use the Weather Underground for their weather perspective and most important to them, lighting strikes in the area. Last week when passing KI on my way to Newark Ohio I snapped a couple pictures and below are a couple of those.

POP Warner is huge business for Disney; if I am right Pop Warner just resigned a contract with Disney for many years. Disney has been having problems with some Pop Warner teams and has asked teams to leave the Disney property in the middle of the night. In the Disney rumor board Pop wanted to stay with Disney and Disney wanted tighter restrictions on the teams coming in (disruptions). A lot of teams from a large verity of youth sports teams aspire to play at Disney year after year. It’s like everything else good for some and not for others. Many of the parents, who traveled with my step sons traveling hockey team, liked their kids playing with other kids who had parents who cared enough to spend the time and money on their kids, because those parents usually took more interest in their kids.

Thanks Interpreter for the words and bump. Yeah that day was a historical day for the park, I mean they could have just offered the Robbie Knievel jump but they didn’t, they had bands and a lot of extra activities. We will be talking about that day for a long time. Also since then I have heard a couple mentions (Dipin Dots Guy) that the Clown Band could come back. I think a live playing band really helps set a mood for guests and I love roaming street performers. I think the Clown Band is a great way to encompass both.

This is tragic! Young children get so excited and think they are invincible. My brother drove a decorated concrete mixer truck in the Deland, Florida Christmas parade last year (2007). Just this week (Wensday) he was telling me his concerns about other entry participants not having enough help walking next to their vehicles to help them keep people from getting to close and to help the driver spot potential problems. They wanted him to drive the truck again this year but he refused, because nobody would volunteer from the company to walk the parade route to pass out candy and most important be crowd control. He even offered to let someone else drive and do the walking himself, but no one wanted too and he said it was too dangerous to do without help.

J.D. thanks for your kind words, it was a joy doing albeit very time consuming though. I have gone back through to read the report and that really takes a lot of time when including the videos with it. The thing about reading it now is I will tell myself I wish I elaborated more on a certain subject and included some others that I left out. Families’ love-em or hate-em they are yours through the good and bad times. I was glad to share Disney with my brother and his family before their daughter gets to old. We have a vacation rule with my immediate family, “If someone of the family makes you upset or gets on your nerves it’s OK to tell them, but after 10 minutes it’s time to move on and put it behind you”. Vacations are way to short and you don’t get do overs, so less time spent being upset the better and more chances for a positive memorable opportunity. I have learned this the hard way over the years. Example; I used to get upset when family would take to long getting ready to go to the boat for the weekend, then when we got there everyone was upset with each other and grumpy with no place to go. So I learned I had a much better weekend when we got there a bit late but everyone was happy. Thanks again J.D. for letting me know about your thoughts on the report. P.S. Just so you know I did not do a trip report of the family for a reason when I brought them to Bring a Friend day at Kings Island.

Terpy - I logged out an and closed my browser then reopened the browser, I did not encounter any further problems and was able to go page to page with-in 2-4 seconds after clicking the mouse.

Interpreter – From here I am not having any trouble logging in or getting any warnings. My speed seems to be ok as well. Maybe it is your internet provider issue. I have Brighthouse Networks Road Runner high speed turbo internet connection. I have posted less lately as well, but mostly because of work, which has required me to work more as of late. Best of luck fiquring out the issue.

Auge.dog – It sounds like you guys had a good time. I thought several times about you guys being there last week and was hoping everything was going well for you guys. I am glad to help in a very small way and as I know you will help others too in the future when giving tips about others plans. I look forward to your report and know it is hard to come back and get back in the grove of dailey life so take your time posting your report. I have went back a few times to read mine to help me remember some of the events, I am glad I got so detailed now.

BavarinBeatle – Great PTR I enjoyed the read and pictures. I also enjoy seeing you spending so much quality time out with your boys. I did notice in your first picture, a banner announcing Scuba Santa was there during your visit. We really enjoyed that as it was something different and unique, did by chance did you guys get to take that in?

Well said Terpy, but the good news is; it’s nice to know some are anxiously awaiting for a new episode.

Nemo had a good feel for it; I’ll just take a quick poke at it. Some say “size is everything” While others say “it’s not the size that matters but it is what you can do with it” Sea World with their space limitations has went with the second approach to give maximum pleasure to their guest and to get oooooh’s and awwwh’s from the whole overall experience. A video I posted in another thread a few days back may help describe what they are doing in the theme areas. Just fast forward to 1:45 in the video.

There was a Manta construction tour last week and DoingFlorida.com but up a video of that tour and I thought some of you would enjoy seeing the video. Manta does not look like anything super big but they are really going for the special effects. About 1:45 in to the video they tell about the special effects and artistry that they are doing to give the riders and non riders an enjoyable experience on and off the ride. I love theme and I am excited to include Sea World in our vacation plans next year.

^^Yes you did and I learned a few things from you that day. I learned on park tours Ronny has a wealth of interesting tidbits and during construction tours Robbie is a great asset for those hard to answer questions about what we are seeing. Angrybeaver – no she is just a little over 48 inches and for her age short. We tried to get her on Flight of Fear but she ended up being too short. She is probably a couple years away from Diamondback in height and bravery.

Thanks Robbie and sorry about inadvertently leaving you off. I had to go back and reread that part again and sure enough I did, sorry.

Usually when we hear the phrase Spring Forward and Fall Back we associate it with an easy way to remember which way to set our clocks to adjust for the day light savings time changes. Since the Kings Islands last operation day for 2008 fell on Sunday November 2 it was the day after the Fall Back time change which gives us 25 hours to enjoy the day. I decided early on that day that the title to this report should have the words Fall Back in it. As the day unfolded the atmosphere of the Kings Island and the laid back mood from the many fellow guests at the park, I realized that this day was the culmination of the whole 2008 season. The title “Spring Back and Fall Forward” is a much better way to explain how great the final operational day of the 2008 season at Kings Island was. As I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this report, to help me explain my experience of this last day I need to back us up to the early part of April 2008 in fact it was on the third of April. It was announced by this site KICentral that Something Old Becomes New Again at Kings Island, many speculated on the changes and offered their opinions about it. One constant message was repeated over and over as the season went on; we the guests and park enthusiasts would be treated to a very nostalgic year. This included 80’s style shows and a cleaner park to begin with then as the summer began special events were planned just like they were in the early years of Kings Islands operation. Those events included such popular events of; Robbie Knievel, Clown Band 1972 Hana Barbara time warp Rick Wallenda Brady Bunch It was very clear from the events scheduled at Kings Island that the park did not Spring Forward in 2008 but instead went Back into its fun past to the delight of many guests and park enthusiasts. Sunday, November 2, 2008 Today we got an extra hour of sleep thanks to day light savings time, also Kings Island rope drop was at 11AM instead of 10AM. That allowed us to make the 2 hour trip more leisurely, so we arrived rested and relaxed but ready for some adventure and thrills. Do to the last day of operations and last chance to ride attractions; Mostly rides will be ridden today. Plus Miss Rae has recently decided that she was brave enough to start riding roller coasters and other rides outside Nickelodeon Universe. This day was going to be the first time for her to ride many of the coasters at Kings Island. We arrived right at 11AM but needed to purchase our 2009 season passes and to swing by guests relations to resolve a ticket matter for Miss Rae’s friend who was joining us today. While I was working with the guests relations staff, some characters came in to invite Miss Rae and her friend to Howl-O-Fest. Miss Rea wanted to start her day in Nickelodeon Universe as she has for many years and to warm herself up to venturing onto the bigger rides there and beyond. I decided I wanted take advantage of a low crowd morning and ride some of my favorite attractions. Picture of International Street at 11:20 AM As I worked my way around through Action Zone, Coney Mall and into River Country I came across several fellow KICentral members such as kjkjk, Ashers and ZosoBeast. Our conversations were upbeat and various opinions about the park where exchanged. I met back up with my family to find that Miss Rae was ready to ride the coasters in Nickelodeon Universe. Of course Fairly Odd Coaster was first. Afterwards a quick conversation with BeastMan and his lovely girlfriend then onto ride Run Away Rapture. Now it was time to walk out of Nickelodeon Universe and start riding more thrilling rides in the park for the first time as a family. The first one was Backlot Stunt Coaster. The best part of Miss Rae’s new found bravery was that with every coaster we rode she wanted to ride one bigger than the last. I also met pkiruler102 in line at the Backlot Stunt Coaster It was getting to be around 2PM and time for some lunch, we went to Feasthaus While there the staff of KICentral was also having lunch they invited me to sit with them and also offered if I wanted too, I could join them on an impromptu construction tour at 3PM. I accepted their invitation because some of my best memories this year included time spent with them and participating in other various KICentral activities. I would like to pause at this point in this trip report to publicly thank all the KICentral staff and moderators for their hard work and dedication in informing us about and planning activities of our beloved park Kings Island, not to mention the countless hours that is spent on keeping the KICetnral website a fun place to visit from our homes. So Thank-you Dane, Ryan, Robbie, Gabriel, Ronny and Bill for all you do, I appreciate your efforts and time. After lunch as we walked up International Street we had conversations with Cory and met XGatorHead89 for me the first time. It was now 3PM and time for the construction tour which consisted of eight of us including Don Helbig of which was leading the tour; 2 Acers, 4 KICentral Staff members and me. I enjoyed the tour as a small group as it allowed us to ask more detailed questions and time to pause when someone was engrossed with particulars of the project. As you go into the construction area behind The Crypt it is hard not to pause to enjoy the unique picturesque view of an old iconic fixture of the park being met with a new one. Then throw in the Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad steam train running underneath the new structure and there I believe you can hear this Kings Island Park enthusiasts heart beating as I am sure you could with other enthusiasts as well. I have watched this video several times since that day as I think it captures the trains steam, whistle and bell very well, so I wanted to share it with you who may enjoy the train as much as I do. As we moved further back into the construction area I was in aw of the how well the Fall foliage blended in with the under construction roller coaster Diamondback. We went even further back to the edge of the tree line and it was pointed out to us how close the new coaster will come to the edge of a steep ridge. I had not noticed at how close the coaster was going to come to the tree line and the ridge. I think this is going to be a great feature of Diamondback to be able to look out into the back woods at Kings Island, especially when the tree foliage is as pretty as it was today. (Keep in mind in that area the coaster will be another 20 feet higher off the ground) On the way back Ryan shared some great tips on some photography and camera settings with Don and his impressive camera. Don did ask our small group if we would be interested in going to The Beast’s first drop for some more photo opportunities and we all expressed that we would. After several trains roared down the first drop and we all got the shots we wanted Don with his camera in hand announced to us we would leave after the next train goes over the first drop. Well when the next train passed us by Don turns his head towards us with our cameras already at our sides and says with a slight grin “you guys want to wait for one more”. The reason I told you all the story about Don above is because it will help me explain to you how I feel about Don Helbig. I think Don is like many of his predecessors in the past and that they all seemed to have passion for their job as Kings Islands Public Relations Area Manager. But I think Don goes just a little further with his passion, when I witness him in situations as the story above I see he also has a true passion for Kings Island and I think Cedar Fair, Kings Island and us enthusiasts are lucky to have him in his present position. After the construction tour I said my goodbyes to the guys as I needed to catch up to the family and to enjoy this first day of a new coaster enthusiast, Miss Rae. We all rode together Adventure Express, Racer and finally the biggest one for her for this trip The Beast. All day she showed little fear but The Beast had her nervous and convinced that she had to sit with dad to get through this one, in truth I was glad to sit next to her. I have read many reports of other parents riding a coaster with their children and the thrill it gave them on those first time coaster rides but I did not realize fully how much of an emotional impact it would have for me as well. I mean it was thrilling, invigorating, exciting and prideful all rolled into one type of an emotion I felt during and after our first ride on The Beast together. Well I had to buy the picture to mark this time in Kings Island history. As I was buying our picture another KICentral member introduced himself to me as a long time reader but seldom poster of the forums and he shared his thoughts and enthusiasm about the park. One of the wonderful things about belonging to the KICentral community is that I have met so many fellow members and have enjoyed the many friendships I have made here. It is amazing to me the wide diversity of ages and backgrounds of the members here but we are brought closer together because of our enjoyment and interest in Kings Island. As we left the park for the last time this season I was already looking forward to the 2009 season with all the possibilities it holds for my family and the park enthusiast side of me. That last statement was what struck me about what was so special and what made this last operational day different than others in the past. As we all enjoyed the last operational day and conversed with each other I noticed no one was complaining or suggesting they wished the season was not ending. This to me suggested that we all were very content with the past season and our park needs and thrills have been well satisfied, in fact I think we where ready to let go for this year. Also I noticed in the conversations that everyone was excited about next year and embracing Diamondback and the possibilities she will bring to the area. It was those thoughts that made me feel that nobody at Kings Island on November 2, 2008 was Falling Back or had the desire to do so but in fact we were all ready to Fall Forward into the 2009 season at Kings Island. I thank you all for taking the time to Spring Back with me in this report and just know I am excited to Fall Forward with you all into the 2009 season - Avatar