marlfox_21

That is perhaps the most evil thing that I have ever heard. ...errr READ.

Where is Flordia anyways. I live in Florida, but I have never heard of Flordia. Just kidding.....It's all in good fun.

True, but I didn't say that it was realistic. I just said it is what I would like to see.

No creature can hide from thee from those that tread invisibly cross hill and rain through wood and rocks marlfox, marlfox, marlfox. They should start a themed area based on classic novels. Kind of like the comics area at Universal. This is something that I would like to see. m.f.21

I actually had a woman get angry with me once. I was working in ( at the time ) Hanna-Barbera Land. And this middle aged woman asked me how to get to The Beast. So, politely, I told her. And she got angry with me, telling me that I was giving her wrong directions. And she physically stood there trying to tell me the correct way to the ride. At this point in my head I was thinking, "if you know then why are you asking me?" But then she told me that I was rude, and that she remembered The Beast being somewhere over by where Son of Beast is located now ( this was in 95 and yes, she was so rude that I still remember this ) And she ended her anger spree by saying that she remembered it clearly from riding it in *1971*!!!!! At this point I realized that all was hopeless with this woman, and I let her walk away. m.f.21

I love coasters just as much as the next guy. But, does anybody remember when amusement and theme parks did not just build a coaster legacy. My point is that it takes a lot more than just roller coasters to make a good park. m.f.21

In all honesty, if it came down to Cedar Fair selling just a few parks, I don't see Kings Island, Kings Dominion, or Cedar Point being amongst them. But hey, WHO KNOWS? This is the mystery that keeps us all coming back on here, right

And just like the paramount story ( ha ha little pun ) they can sell their .5 and get the weight of it off of their shoulders. m.f.21

Look at the history of the Son of Beast. Did anyone here logically expect for the ride to open and ACTUALLY REMAIN OPEN for a very long period of time? I am sure that this will be a continuous trend for the rest of the season....AKA get over it....and if you get a chance to ride it, enjoy it while you can. m.f.21

this is very disturbing news. We barely even got to know Cedar Fair. go to http://www.pointbuzz.com/ to see some more interesting topics. However, what is available at this site is the same as ours, guessing, unanswered questions, and speculation.

That's quite a treat. The sign shop is exactly what the name implies -- they make the signs for the park. However, while back there you can see hundreds of old signs from the days of the past. In fact, that's also where they are constantly doing rehab on carousel horses too. Trust me, it'll be one of the highlights of the day. Ryan I agree. The sign shop is a really unique treat. Especially if you go all goo-goo for Kings Island's past. It is a museum all in itself. Hidden deep in the bowels of Kings Islands associates only back areas. Just before Boomerang Bay, and right around the corner from the also museum like, but slightly depressing scrapyard. m.f.21

One of the forums I just read made me remember something kind of funny. And I would like to know if anyone else has any amusing stories to share. Ok, one year when I was working at the park, ( I believe this was in 2003 ) there was a Third Eye Blind concert to be held at Timberwolf Amphitheatre. And there was this HUGE, ok..MASSIVE banner going almost from one side of the Front Gate to the other that read..."TONIGHT ONLY, SPECIAL EVENT, THIRD EYE BLIND CONCERT, ONLY $5 WITH ADMISSION." And a couple walked up to me and said something that I have not been able to forget. "Hi, we just read the sign about the Third Eye Blind concert tonight. How much does it cost to get in?" To this day, this amuses me. I love guests. The park could not exist without them. But sometimes, their questions do come out a bit humorous. Another one of my favorites was a time when the power went out in the entire park. ( Except for the WaterPark, and Drop Zone. ) I believe that it was in 2002. And I had a wonderful guest ask me "When do they expect for the power to come back on?" Now, understandably, this was a paying customer whos time was being taken from her due to the outage, so I did feel for her. But honestly, again, this was another humorous question. In my mind alone, I was thinking..."Well, I do believe that the electrical power is scheduled to come back on in precisely 25 minutes." But desiring to be professional, my answer was, "I do apologize for the inconvenience to your day ma'am. Regretably, at this time, I have no way in knowing when it could come back on, but if it is a major inconvenience to you, please visit guest relations at our front gate, and they might be able to work something out for you." I am in no way putting down guests. I love these questions. They make the day lots of fun. Has anybody else had any humorous questions at Kings Island? I am quite sure that you have. If so, please, share them here. Just please be sure that your responses are polite. I do not want to be responsible for people insulting valuable guests on a Kings Island site. ( You know what I mean, funny, but your responses were professional. ) m.f.21

This is bloody brilliant. Thank you for making this. It is the kind of respect that the history of Kings Island truly deserves. Only, I still imagine it on a grander scale. Like, say, oh, I don't know, "Something that you can walk through." But this is great! Keep up the good work. m.f.21

I feel very sorry for the man. I certainly hope that he is alright. And I am sure that the park is relieved that this did not happen while the ride was in operation.

I have made a lot of posts onto this site. But I have restrained myself from making any posts as to the Son of Beast's Reopening. Back when the rides incident 1st happened, I stated that they need to take as much time as needed to ensure safety on the ride. But this has been my only comment. ( granted I repeated it a few times ) But to be honest, even by Christmas last year, I was expecting a 4th of July opening for the ride. Why? Because it would make perfect sense from a business point of view. For one, it makes sense for July 4th to be an appropriate deadline. This gave the park roughly a full year for investigation and necessary change. There is no chance that anyone could get hurt on this ride now and even attempt to claim that Cedar Fair did not take full responsibility and time to fix the original problem. Which is good. ( in other words, no idiot wanting a claim could try to say that they made a quick fix ) Another reason for the 4th of July is that this date is pretty much the same as a green light for business. In a way, the 4th is a turning point for people, especially people who are in school to realize that their vacation time is going quickly, and they want to make the most of the time that they have. This is the same for vacationing families. This results in massive crowds at...well, Amusement Parks. The turning point for the season is on this date, and any money lost in the first several weeks of park operation can still be made up for through peoples desires to come back to the park for this new attraction. Not brand new, but new for the 07 season. By the 4th of July, many local visitors for example have already visited the park, and spent their money. Well, this is a reason for them to visit again, and spend more. Not only that, but this would be an incredible way to kick off the 4th of July celebration at the park! Imagine it. No announcements. Just rumors. No press conferences to confirm expectations. Imagine if Cedar Fair just wants for you to go online oneday, or visit the park, and BOOM, goes your heart and your imagination. ...IT'S RUNNING!!!!! And if you are lucky enough to be there when that happens, then it comes out to being equal opportunity to get onto the ride. If it does not open by the 4th of July, you can all send me messages with squatting tomatoes hitting me in my smiley face. But if it does, and I am quite sure that it probably will, then just sit back, relax, and enjoy the roar of the son, again, for the 1st time. m.f.21 There is ALWAYS a chance for someone to be hurt on any ride. Luckily, it rarely happens. I for one say let them take their time with it, let them break in the wheels, and then reopen it when they know for sure everything is in working order. I agree with you completely. People can get hurt on any ride. But please <-- note that the summary of what I said was that at least people probably could not have a lawsuit with say for an example ( a pre-existing injury ) by trying to claim that the same problem still exists with the ride. I am not saying that this would happen necessarily. Instead, I was attempting to say that with some people today, and their crave for lawsuits and ( easy money ), who knows. But I do appreciate your comment. m.f.21

July 4th is not the turning point in a park's season. Especially now when there are dates for Halloween events. The bulk of revenue for any Northeastern park comes between the 4th and Labor Day. You can see the effects from the business side here: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=...46371&rfi=6 While it seems that SoB will be open within the week, there was no way for the park to guess if the ride was even going to re-open at all. As a current associate of DISNEY ( through zoology and business degrees ), I can assure you that YES, July 4th, is a turnaround date for ANY amusement or Theme Park. But again, feel free to throw tomatoes at my smiley. m.f.21

I have made a lot of posts onto this site. But I have restrained myself from making any posts as to the Son of Beast's Reopening. Back when the rides incident 1st happened, I stated that they need to take as much time as needed to ensure safety on the ride. But this has been my only comment. ( granted I repeated it a few times ) But to be honest, even by Christmas last year, I was expecting a 4th of July opening for the ride. Why? Because it would make perfect sense from a business point of view. For one, it makes sense for July 4th to be an appropriate deadline. This gave the park roughly a full year for investigation and necessary change. There is no chance that anyone could get hurt on this ride now and even attempt to claim that Cedar Fair did not take full responsibility and time to fix the original problem. Which is good. ( in other words, no idiot wanting a claim could try to say that they made a quick fix ) Another reason for the 4th of July is that this date is pretty much the same as a green light for business. In a way, the 4th is a turning point for people, especially people who are in school to realize that their vacation time is going quickly, and they want to make the most of the time that they have. This is the same for vacationing families. This results in massive crowds at...well, Amusement Parks. The turning point for the season is on this date, and any money lost in the first several weeks of park operation can still be made up for through peoples desires to come back to the park for this new attraction. Not brand new, but new for the 07 season. By the 4th of July, many local visitors for example have already visited the park, and spent their money. Well, this is a reason for them to visit again, and spend more. Not only that, but this would be an incredible way to kick off the 4th of July celebration at the park! Imagine it. No announcements. Just rumors. No press conferences to confirm expectations. Imagine if Cedar Fair just wants for you to go online oneday, or visit the park, and BOOM, goes your heart and your imagination. ...IT'S RUNNING!!!!! And if you are lucky enough to be there when that happens, then it comes out to being equal opportunity to get onto the ride. If it does not open by the 4th of July, you can all send me messages with squatting tomatoes hitting me in my smiley face. But if it does, and I am quite sure that it probably will, then just sit back, relax, and enjoy the roar of the son, again, for the 1st time. m.f.21

Well, I had my opportunity to experience ShieKra at Busch Gardens....FLOORLESS!!!!! And granted that I have been waiting for this for quite some time, and I did get the front seat on my first time on, however this experience was somewhat, shall we say not up to scale with my expectations. Granted that the bars have been dropped and the original true floor is gone, there is a small new floor that sits just under the 2 middle seats. And I was lucky enough to be in the left of those two seats, and my friend Travis was on the right. The ride design is so weird. It sits 8 people across in 3 rows, and the 2 seats in the middle do have a floor and the outer 3 on both sides do not, to simplify it. My second time on the ride was much better. I sat in the 2nd row, and I actually got to experience a floorless ride this time. And let me say that the view from ShieKra, with your feet dangling is incredible. They also had SIX trains running at One time. AMAZING!!!!! I waited a maximum of 15 minutes to ride the ride TWICE! So if you come down to Florida to check out ShieKra floorless, it is very worth it, just don't get stuck in the middle of the train. m.f.21

Given the extra lengths that Cedar Fair has gone to ensure safety on the Son of Beast. I would not be too surprised to see it shut down for a while. But we will all have to wait and see.

This is very sad sad news. I pray deeply for the girl and her friends and family. Could you imagine how it must feel. To think that SHE STOOD in line for that to happen. And it might be the last time that she ever will. This is very very sad. The ride should be destroyed. m.f.21

I am not sure how it is now, but in the past not only was a drivers license required for these positions, but you had to be 21 years of age as well. Trust me, I know. I did it. And it is for very good reasons. Imagine allowing someone with very limited driving experience to drive throughout that park. For an example, driving a Ford F-150, and 250 through the Paramount Story. There is not a lot of room for error there. But I have done it. And you are driving through a park where virtually everything from left to right is custom built. And you are driving around people. This is not a responsiblility that the park takes lightly. And I for one, greatly approve of this. m.f.21

I am going to the Lowry Park Zoo tomorrow. Afterwards we are going to finish our day in Tampa at Busch Gardens ( with our pass ) and check out the floorless SheiKra.

Well, me and my fiance are finally getting around to starting to pack for the big move back to Ohio. And as a result of this, we are beginning to hit our "TO DO" list pretty hard down here in Florida! Our most recent stop took us to the city of Jacksonville, where we visited the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens for our 1st time ever. To start out with, I can say that the traffic and the roads leading to the zoo were surprisingly unstartling, and I did not get LOST!!!!! Nope, not even once. As for the Zoo itself, when you pull into the parking lot it is laden with beautiful palm trees from beginning to end. And there is no charge for parking which is a major plus. Upon entering the Zoo, you come across this massive gate topped with bamboo and palm leaves. And the zoo itself, when compared with Cincinnati, or Columbus is absolutely beautiful. And it has some of the best displays for animals that I have ever seen, anywhere. While the park offers high viewing areas of their animals, they also offer at least 3 different viewing points for nearly all species, except for reptiles. Which is understandable when you include the necessary containment procedures for handling venomous reptiles. And their venomous collection was astounding. From poison dart frogs of every size and description, to cobras, cottonmouths, copperheads, gaboon vipers, bush vipers, mambas, eyelash vipers, pygmy,Diamondback, and canebrake rattlesnakes, beaded lizards, puff adders, and probably more that I can't remember, I have never seen such a wide variety of venomous reptiles in a zoos collection anywhere. And the Green Mambas ( Dendroaspis Viridis ) put on such a show, while climbing their props and flicking their tongues, and biting at their rats. I have never seen mambas so active. It was just good timing, but WHAT GOOD TIMING IT WAS!!!!! The rest of the zoo was simply beautiful. Especially their South American themed area. This architecture was so up to scale that it simply was one of the most pleasant atmospheres that you could ever imagine. I can't even describe it, other than pleasant, entertaining, family oriented, and very very easy on the eyes. This part of the zoo, is simply up to scale with Busch Gardens or Universal or dare I even say Disney. And for a city owned zoo, this is phenominal. Their Australian exhibit is very sweet, with loads of unique animals, including Cassowaries, and Kangaroos. And their Kids area is one of the best. With a maze of bushes for the kids to go through. An animal carousel, and a splash area that consisted of statues of blue whales, stingrays, dolphins, fish, manatees!!, and more. All of which are fountains, and the kids can have a whale of a good time in here. Both me and my fiance got to feed a Giraffe here, for the cost of $2 a person. Not bad considering that you are given a handful of browse, and we got the whole thing on video. The giraffe that we fed is named "Irwin" and yes he is named after the late great Steve Irwin....God rest his soul. We also purchased nectar and fed cockatiels. At one point I had 4 of these birds weighing down my left arm. This was just amazing. My fiance ended up with the same number on her shoulders. We also got this on video. The train ride at the Jacksonville Zoo is also unique. You pay $3.50 for one hand stamp and it is good for the entire day. We rode the train for a complete circle once, and to the back of the park once, and to the front of the park once. The zoo is also working on what appears to be a future spectacular exhibit, which is going to be mostly new garden space to complete their future title of "BOTANICAL GARDENS" which should be quite impressive. The only thing about the Jacksonville Zoo that appears unsightly is the neighboring Trout River, which is so highly polluted that is a total shame to think that wildlife ( ESPECIALLY MANATEES ) have to cope with it. However none of this is the zoo's fault. Just poor city and state management of the river. In fact the zoos banks are the cleanest that you will see up and down the entire river system. So to sum up this report, I would have to say that my rating of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens when based on family fun, cleanliness, animals, animal care, expense ( which is a big factor ) everything is affordable, even the gift shop. I bought a shirt for $15, a shotglass for $4 and a magnet for $3 just for examples. And their food was relatively cheap as well. But it tasted good. And based on views of the animals, friendliness of associates ( they were friendly! ) and things to see and do give this park a 10 out of a 1-10 scale!!!!! I would highly recommend a stop to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in the future, should you ever get the opportunity to go. It is truly worth the money and the time. And you will probably want to go back. thanks for your time...... M.F.21

I am all for Kings Island recieving a 300 ft. Coaster. Or anything less or anything more. However. This website was graced with excitement and interest in Firehawk forever and a day , long before track ever even started showing up at Kings Island's gate. And my comment is, isn't this enough for now? Kings Island got a new coaster. Granted, as mentioned in other posts, it is not a record breaker. But it does seat four across, which is a 1st for Kings Island, and it is a flying coaster, another 1st for Kings Island. This is part of what Kings Island needs. Unique qualities to their rides. If I were to get to choose the design for the next coaster, I would introduce another Stand Up coaster. One bigger and faster than the King Cobra was. It could be yet another choice for guests to choose from when attempting to satisfy their own personal thrill levels. But as I mentioned before, I am perfectly happy right now with Firehawk. And dare I say, take some time to enjoy it, and the rest of the season. And later, you will have the unique opportunity to ride Son of Beast AGAIN for the 1st time. It should be like riding a whole new coaster. And again I dare say, simply enjoy it! Then take a drive to Cedar Point and enjoy Maverick. There are a lot of new things to enjoy this summer. Take advantage of it, and worry about next years season when it comes around. Because trust me, much like Firehawk, it will be here sooner than you think. And will you be bored with it and looking forward to 09 then? m.f.21

ABSOLUTELY NOT....This is pretty much the only place left in the park with the original landscaping. Children should be able to enjoy this without having to breathe in someone elses cigarette smoke. m.f.21