BoddaH1994

You also must not forget the incredible revenue that just one show brings in. Look at the Gardens for example. It certainly pays its bills and it has what? Three big shows per year?

...except it DID get publicity... national publicity. I asked Don about it and he himself was interviewed by USA Today and Entertainment Tonight amongst others.

Don does best when he's without a script, this should be a good show. Will it be archived anywhere?

The Countdown: 4 - Looping Star, Beech Bend, Bowling Green KY - As SOB_TOM stated, they wouldn't take my cup of ice. They told me to take it with me on the ride. Yeah, it ended up all over the rides behind me. It's more or less a Galaxy coaster with a loop. During part of the helix finale, the train lightly strikes the ground. When you are slammed into the final brake run, the OTSRs release and go into an upright position immediately, hitting most riders in the head. When returning to the station, the train strikes the fence every time. A total piece of garbage. 3 - Mean Streak, Cedar Point, Sandusky OH - Big, tall, painful, and stupid. Everyone on the train was writhing in pain at the final brake run. One of the most uncomfortable rides I've ever been on. 2 - Son of Beast (circa 2005), Kings Island - The track work got worse and worse until hitting a pinnacle in 2005 when I could only ride it once a month or so. Every time I'd ride, I got a shooting pain in my rib cage while going down into the final dip. I'm not sure why. Many people would wait to ride this until the end of the day because they'd commonly get headaches. Fortunately, after the improvements, new trains, and reopening on July 4th of last year, the ride is a thousand times better. It may not have a loop, but it's not a fun ride again. 1 - Villain, Geauga Lake, Aurora OH - One of the most painful experiences I have ever had on a coaster. You'd get an instant of air time before the weight of the world crashing down on you at the bottom of each hill. Ronny and I insisted on riding it twice in order to torture the other members of our group.

Do you guys see what I meant in my other post about how it will draw many more acts to Cincinnati? Strike out the Pops from Riverbend's main venue and this will probably surpass their lineup. Plus you'll have the big acts in the main venue. I wonder if this stage will be set up in a way in which larger acts could use pryo like at USBA and Riverbend.

Donnie, and you can back me up on this one as well. People attribute the turning around of The Racer with the issues that The Bat was having. As I remember it, there was no connection or correlation between that Bat's Issue's and The Racer's Direction of travel. I wasn't alive in 1982, but all of the information I've ever read about the Backward Racer always mentions that it was done in response to The Bat's downtime. So you're right, I wasn't there, but that's how history is written (So that makes it true, doesn't it? ) Moreover, I've talked to many people before this announcement that have said that they had several deadlines as to when they planned to turn it around again, but opted to keep it backward until now.

I saw George Thorogood many years ago at Annie's outdoor stage. That was a good time.

Addressing some of the rumors: "The Backward Racer was more popular than the Forward Racer." I can see where it may seem that way, but that's simply not numerically true. Turning around the side of The Racer was a publicity stunt in the early 1980s. It was intended to be just for a short while, but it went over very well and they kept it. In the past several years, ridership of the Forward Racer has maintained marginally flatined while the Backward Racer has seen a steady decline. "Everyone's angry at Kings Island for turning the Backward Racer around." People hold many opinions, however the outlook seems to be that far fewer people are upset that The Racer being restored to the way it was than when they turned it around in the 80s! In fact, many from the park report some very positive feedback... especially from those who rode it in its original state. "The Backward Racer was turned around for insurance reasons/there was an accident/because it was unsafe." When one side was turned backward in 1982, the original gimmick was to do it for just the weekend... which turned into just having it that was for the week... then the month.. They decided to turn it back around in 1983, which turned into 1984, and so on. The fact of the matter is, the popularity of the gimmick constituted its continuation. During that 26 year period, the Backward Racer gave millions of safe rides with no notable incidents. The decision to turn it around was simply long time coming, rather than a reaction. Many believe that there is a safety or insurance issue involved, but that's simply not the case. I mean, don't you think that if insurance were cheaper having the train run forward, CBS would have done it? "This is a sad/dark era for Kings Island fans." I realize that it's hard to look at the past few years and imagine that anything meaningful will come into being from the decisions made, but we're under a new regime now. You can love or hate the decisions that Cedar Fair has made thus far, but I do encourage you to remain, at the least, cautiously optimistic about the future of Kings Island. What you must understand is that for almost 35 years Kings Island, as well as any sister park it may have had at the time, were a very small part of the big picture. Cedar Fair runs parks. That's what they do. If they don't do a good job running their parks, they fail. It's a simple as that. We know it and they know it. Their dedication to running a better Kings Island is evident already. In the past two years, we've seen a much cleaner park, the addition of a wonderful coaster, and an entertainment lineup that's nothing short of incredible. Over the next few years, you will see Cedar Fair ask you many times to pardon their dust, not necessarily always in a physical sense, but also as they finalize their identity after having doubled in size over night. I think we're all going to feel a lot better once the park opens.

So.... either your dad or his company put up the Kings Island Theatre sign too.

If it's a band you like, go for the pavilion. There really isn't a bad seat in the house. However if you're going just to go, go with the lawn. It's cheaper and is more of a field party. I disagree that the view of the stage is really that bad. There are upright supports that impede the view of the stage as well as those wonderful Chili Vision screens, but other than that you can see pretty well.

Careful, words can come back. <G> As many recall, on very light operating days, especially early in the season, the backward racer would not open. It would also open around noon during the week during the peak season at some points. So long as The Racer has enough people to constitute keeping both sides open, they'll have both sides open. It's only when half-empty trains begin rolling out on each side that they'll send the crew from one side where they'll be more needed.

PFFF I think not! They didn't just turn the train around for "fair raceing" or "old style". They did it for maintenance cost and insurance, its all about the money. I say on slow days you will only see one side running. I stand behind my words 100%. Their commitment is to have both sides open whenever it's necessary. So you may see only one side open, but no more often than they would only open one side when it was backwards/forward. As far as being "consistent" with other Cedar Fair parks, that's more of an operational thing. You'll notice that they intend to keep each park as a unique identity.

You know what? It doesn't.... it really doesn't.

When did you sign up? The last text we sent out was Thursday.

For both those who have joined the mobile group and those who didn't, please take our survey.

A special thanks goes out again to the many of you that have signed up for KICentral's new text messaging service. Since I've given everyone a taste of what it's all about, I was just looking for some feedback as to how you feel about the service. Additional open ended questions: 1) Was the content of the texts appropriate in making you want to read more on KICentral? 2) Was the time of day the texts were sent convenient and non-disruptive? 3) Would you add anything to the program that would enhance your experience here on KIC? 4) If you're not a member, why haven't you joined? Is there anything we could do with the service that would make it more tempting for you to join? For more information on the KICentral Mobile Club, click here!

Members of any accredited coaster club are invited to join in on the Ruth Voss Memorial Beast Walk Back in which they meet at the Kings Island Theatre daily at 9:45. After displaying their current membership card from an accredited coaster club, they are asked to sign in and are escorted to The Beast to get the first rides of the day.

I do not have an official answer to your question, but I will say that I find it highly unlikely.

Meet at the Kings Island Theatre at 9:45. Someone from marketing will be there to get everyone signed in and escort them back to The Beast. Remember that EVERYONE who participates must have a current membership card from an accredited coaster club!

I like the Paramount one myself, but hey... not unlike a person, it's what's inside that counts!

This is already being discussed here.

Shaggy, do you know how many hillbillies would be asking where the "other" theatre is if they spelled it that way?

You sure you aren't talking about Graveyard Shift?

The park was kind enough to send me some photos of the new signs for the Backlot Stunt Coaster, The Crypt, and the Kings Island Theatre. Click the link below to check them out! http://www.KICentral.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=216

Yep, the barrier was always there.