BoddaH1994

Although I do agree that The Racer, like any other 30+ year old wooden coaster could use as much TLC as it can get, I really like the classic white look to it. I realy think that red and blue tarnish it.

This is going to end up being a back and forth topic. There are a lot of die hard fans of both rides, but personally, I have to lean towards the original.

Finally, someone said it. We are a team and not one crew is better then the other. Each department is the same way. We all work as a team. And I think we make a great team at that. I agree that every crew does their own thing to make the guests happy. I guess the thing about The Beast's Power Hour is that people flock to The Beast anyway because it's not a big secret that it's better at night, and the crew does little things to show that they're having fun, and if they're having fun, we're having fun and vice versa. What's great about The Beast's Power Hour is that it's so natural. When I was up there the other night, I rode both The Beast and IJ within the last hour, both of which tried to work the crowds up. On IJ, there was a girl who kept yelling to us asking how our ride was when we were waiting to pull into the station and was rewarded with an appathetic clap from a few people from the train. The effort was there, but it just didn't seem to happen. On the other hand, on The Beast, they were doing similar things and were getting a great reaction. One thing that I particularly noticed was how the girl in the drive box would tap the mic against the table to a familiar beat, and the crowd would respond with clapping the 2nd half of the beat. This wasn't planned or organized or anything, it was just natural. Also, when our train pulled into the station at the end of the ride, the same girl in the drivebox yelled, "How was your ride??" and didn't get much of a response. She then threatened to not unlock our restraints until we screamed for her, which triggered a mediocre response (we didn't have a very enthusiastic train), so after that she just proclaimed, "You guys suck!" and released our restrains. You can argue say that what she did wasn't HR friendly, but I can tell you that the whole station was rolling.... definitely made for a new experience. So in closing, if you're on a non-Beast crew and you want to have a successful power hour, just have fun and make sure that the guests know that you're having fun. Let them in on the experience... that seems to be the way to go. Ryan

This has run its course.

Steve's right. Last year when we got to go in there for Fall Freakout it was the highlight of the day in my opinion, except getting only one question wrong on Stevie B's scavanger hunt (it's GHASTLY Manor, not GHOSTLY Manor) Lesson learned, I guess.

You know, if you see someone smoking in a non-smoking area, you can just always politely tell them about the 19 designated smoking areas. Most of the time, people disobey the rules because they simply aren't aware of them. Remember that this is a new thing to the park this season. If someone has something to say about it, remind them that you don't make the rules, you just enforce them, if it goes beyond that point, then call security and have them escorted out. Think you can handle that?

I was at the park myself. I can confirm that the KC graveyards are in fact still there.

July 4th Weekend Explodes With Entertainment! This year’s Fourth of July event at Paramount's Kings Island will be a whole weekend of Star Spangled Celebration! Saturday, July 2nd - Monday, July 4th will be one of the most exciting weekends that PKI has seen in quite some time. During the daytime, captivating entertainment and opportunities for family fun will be initiated by live music throughout the park, antique costumes, banjos playing and dancing through the streets. However, the fun will not stop there! Saturday, July 2nd also marks the return of the hugely successful Nickelodeon™ Celebration Parade where kids and adults alike can sing and dance in the streets with their favorite Nickelodeon characters such as the Rugrats™ gang and SpongeBob Squarepants™ and his Bikini Bottom buddies. Plus there's even more characters, more floats, and tons more excitement in store for year two! Dining options for the holiday weekend include the All-American Independence Day Buffet that the whole family can enjoy. Families can enjoy the all-you-can-eat smorgasbord of southern fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, plus dessert and soft drinks for just $9.99 for adults and $5.99 for kids. Click here to purchase tickets now! Additionally, each night during this weekend celebration, Paramount’s Kings Island Nights of Fire returns with three nights of firework spectaculars. Plus, this year you can enjoy it all in 3-D! These awe-inspiring displays of eye-catching pyrotechnics will light up the skies beginning each night at 9pm. Mark your calendars and make plans now to join us for a memorable 4th of July celebration weekend! Tell us about your last park visit, win prizes! Tell us about your last trip to the park and you could win park tickets or one of a hundred gift certificates worth up to $1,000. We'll use your feedback to make your next trip better! Participate in the guest satisfaction survey today! Want another chance to win? Tell us about your experience on the new Italian Job Stunt Track. Pretty Ricky Coming to TimberWolf Paramount’s Kings Island, KISS 107, and I-Wireless are showcasing their second installment of the Summer Concert Series with the up-and-coming Hip Hop group, Pretty Ricky. The group will take the stage Saturday, June 25th, at 7:30pm at the TimberWolf Amphitheatre. Much like the Jackson 5, Pretty Ricky features the talents of four brothers, Slick ‘Em, Baby Blue, Spectacular, and Pleasure. They have been working their way to the top since 1997, and are currently being fueled by their hit single getting its fair share of radio play. Additionally, the May issue of Vibe magazine named Pretty Ricky one of the next artists to watch making this a concert you won’t want to miss! Tickets for the KISS Summer Concert Series are available at all Ticketmaster locations and ticketmaster.com. Tickets are just $20 and include park admission after 5pm. For guests with pre-purchased tickets or season passholders, concert tickets are just $10. For more information on the KISS-FM summer concert series, visit pki.com. Buy Three Adult Season Passes, Get One Free! For a limited time, the Four Pack of Season Passes is the same price as three individual adult passes! That means, you buy three and you'll get a fourth absolutely free. To take advantage of this great deal, click here. Starbucks Opens Doors at PKI Looking for a place to relax after taking advantage of 365 acres of overwhelming fun? PKI now offers the perfect spot to relax and catch your breath before you enjoy the more than 80 rides, shows and attractions. Friday, June 3rd marked the opening of the final addition in a season of new dining establishments at PKI. On the heels of the hugely successful grand openings of the Happy Days Diner and Chic-fil-A, Starbucks opened its doors at their new International Street location near the base of the Eiffel Tower. Offering a full menu of your favorite coffee blends, chilled drinks, and pastries, Starbucks provides a soothing spot for those looking for a pick me up to get the day started right or those seeking a destination to wind-down after a full day at Paramount’s Kings Island. MTV2 Nesquick Gameriot MTV2 presents Nesquik GameRiot, powered by Xbox as the country’s biggest traveling video game expo and competition. Come check out 25 new and unreleased video games on 70 gaming stations, meet and beat Zyos, the #1 Halo player in the world, receive big prizes in the MTV2 Head2Head Dogfight competitions, and win free stuff! Wednesday, June 15th - Sunday, June 19th. Cost is free with park admission! A Day With My Grandparents My most memorable experience at Kings Island was over 25 years ago. I remember my family rented a huge RV so all of us could travel together. My grandparents were with us and I might add that these were grandparents like no other! They taught us so much about life and living. Being a child, I thought it was quite humorous that these "old people" were going to a thrill park with us. But wouldn't you know it - they did everything we did! My grandfather rode The Racer with us laughing and screaming the whole way. They kept up with us wherever we went even though we walked our feet off and the heat was overwhelming at times. They NEVER complained. They seemed to be enjoying the day even more than we were. But how could that be? Maybe it was because they had lived through the Depression and World War II, and had learned not to take any day for granted. When we finally did stop for ice cream and a break, it was the best ice cream I ever had -- not because it tasted so good but because I realized I had learned something that day that I hope to pass to my young children. A day at Kings Island is fun and action-packed just as life tends to be however, if we don't sit in the shade and enjoy an ice cream break and the people in our lives, then we really aren't living at all. It's the people and family in your life that makes everything else worthwhile! Thank you for such wonderful memories. Betty B. from Stanford, KY. will receive two tickets to Paramount's Kings Island. Winners are randomly selected. Submit your entry! Jesse McCartney at PKI on June 11th Jesse McCartney takes the Timberwolf Amphitheatre stage at PKI on Saturday, June 11, 2005! Don’t miss your chance to see the singer, songwriter, Emmy-nominated actor and co-star of the current WB television hit show Summerland when he makes a stop in Cincinnati. Tickets ON SALE NOW Special Limited-Time Offer: Six-Month Subscription to Nick Magazine When You Order Online Today Receive Nick Magazine when you order your tickets online: Order your tickets and season passes online TODAY and we'll include a special six-month subscription to Nickelodeon Magazine! Learn more about receiving Nickelodeon Magazine when you order your season passes or when you order your single-day tickets! Stay tuned for our next issue in two weeks! Source: PKI e-newsletter

Ha... that's great... there have been several times in the past couple years that I have had friends both in the park and online and didn't know until later that they were the same people.

No The Beastie was not open during the winterfest. Who would what to ride a coaster in the snow? You're asking the wrong crowd of people that question.

As soon as I logged into the net tonight, I got a million billion IMs saying that the KC track is in fact gone. Can anyone confirm this? Does anyone have any further information?

Dan and I have been rumbling through ideas as to how we could improve the site, but in the end, it comes down to what you guys think of the site. We can make all of the updates in the world, but if you guys stop coming back, it makes it a little pointless, now doesn't it? Please respond below to the questions and help make PKIC a better site! Please note that this simply to give you guys what you want, we're not going to take it personally if you disagree with some of the things that we do. Qustion 1: I visit PKIC: a. Every day b. Every Week c. Every month d. Casually e. When there's something of interest that may be on the site. f. Rarely g. Other (define) Question 2: I visit PKIC because: a. The forums b. The photo gallery c. The articles/editorials d. Other content (define) Question 3: The content of PKIC meets or exceeds what I desire out of the page: 1. Strongly disagree 2. 3. 4. 5. Strongly Agree Question 4: The moderators and admins on this site are fair when making decions about closing, deleting, and moving topics. 1. Strongly disagree 2. 3. 4. 5. Strongly Agree Question 5: The content of PKIC is superior to similar sites involving amusement parks. 1. Strongly disagree 2. 3. 4. 5. Strongly Agree Questions 6: If there was one thing thing that PKIC could add that would bring the quality of the site to the next level, what would it be? Question 7: What is the one thing you like best about PKIC? Question 8: What is the one thing you DISLIKE most about PKIC? If you have any final questions/comments/concerns please post them here. Thank you! Ryan

It's a shame that you visited on one of these limited operation days that we've been having. I went last Tuesday and was a little disappointed with the amount of rides and attractions open myself. I can assure you that you saw the worst of the park. When it's booming, it's seriously a great place to be. We're pretty much to the point now when the park is on the verge of being at 100% and the real season is about to kick off. I hope that you give the park another chance sometime soon. Ryan

I believe so.

An internship is a job that you get when you're in college that is a bridge into your field of study. For example, if you're a business major, you may be set up with an office job at P&G or some other local company so you can get hands-on experience in the field. It's common that when you graduate, the company will offer you a job, but if not, you still have experience to put on your resume'. Some internships are paid, some aren't paid, but you almost always get college credit for them.

Sure there is! Eating an ice cream cone while riding down the hill on your sled.

I'm pretty sure there's a marketing internship position, but it's something you apply on PKI.com for.

Nah, it's probably like Beastbuzz and events like that in which the park is open to the GP, but the group from the specific event gets a lanyard and must wear it to get into the special activities.

Somebody get me a bucket! Bill, the gun please....

Thanks for the comment, Its nice to know that someone notices how hard we are working. Your welcome, I hate it when guests think they know how everything should run when something isnt going there way. The ride is brand new and the first of its kind and the IJST crew is doing a fantastic job of operating it. Yesterday Beast was closed down and I was out guest relating and some lady came up to me and demanded to speak to my manager and supervisor because according to her "whoever the f**k is running this s****y park is doing an awful job, and I want to see your darn mannager!'" I told her they were doing the best job they could and that she had no idea of the circumstances and that the park employees were doing there best. She still continued to argue and curse and scream at me untill I threatened to call security. Does this lady know how to run a park? No, not at all. Do 90% of the guests at KI know how to run the park? No. I dont know everything about the park but what I can say is that the powers that be in charge of the park are doing the best darn job they can to run the park and it is no easy task, so quit complaining. Although the guest experience that you are talking about is definitely on the unnecessary side of the spectrum, I have no choice but to sypmathize with the position of a lot of the guests in the park. I don't think it's too much to ask a guest who more than likely, drove long and far to get to the park, paid a lot of money to get into the park, and is likely spending even more money inside the park to expect a certain degree of performance out of the park in exchange. I don't think it's too much to ask that nearly all of the rides be in safe working conditions, the employees look professional and act the same, and the general look and feel of the park to be above par. Before you attack me for this, let me let you know that as a frequenter of the park, I really don't care what's running and what's not. I mean now that things are in full gear, I'd have to say that 50% of the reason I go to the park is to do work for PKIC, while 40% is to see the many employee-friends that I have made over the past few years, while only 10% is to ride the rides and enjoy the attractions. Of course, I am by far the exception rather than the rule. On the other hand, do you want my stance on guests that lash out at employees? I don't see why PKI should have to do business with them. If a person really gets so worked up that they have to raise their voice or cuss at an employee, they really have no place at a family park. I suppose when it comes down to it, there is a double-sided obligation. The park must realize that their patrons pay a lot of money to enjoy the rides and attractions and should keep them clean, safe, and in working order. At the same time, guests must realize that these things are mechanical, and mechanical things break from time to time, especially if it's new. Aren't we all better people now? Ryan

I think Holiday World is perfectly capable of pulling off such an expansion. Keep in mind one thing, using the terrain is certainly going to cut down the cost of the ride. Secondly, there is always the option to use steel structure on parts of the ride. That greatly reduces their cost in the beginning and in the long run on upkeep. I think most of you don't quite take that little park quite seriously enough. I'm not saying they are building the new world's longest woodie, blah blah blah, just saying that they are definitely able to make such an expansion. I definitely agree about not building anything taller than Son of Beast. Sheesh, like you said, what a mistake. Perhaps we'll get lucky and it'll burn down? :-) On the other hand, I have heard many positive things about Colossus at Heide Park. Its not too much shorter than Son of Beast, only about 20 feet. Its made it through several seasons, 4 I think, and all reports say its still glass smooth. I think if Intamin's plug-n-play technology works on that ride, then something taller may not turn out to be a bad thing at all. As for Six Flags and stupid investments......I guess I understand them. I'm still not sure why Kingda Ka was chosen, given the reliability of all the other rocket coasters. However, I understand the reason they did it. A new, record breaking, attention grabbing ride at the flagship park. Keep pumping money and attention into the Parks that are actually making the money. I think I would have went with something different if I were them, but the reasoning behind it does make sense. I certainly wish them the best of luck in attempting to turn things around. - Todd Once again, Todd tells it like it is. I agree that HW is commonly underestimated. Would they be able to build a coaster that's longer than The Beast? Sure. My point is that it probably wouldn't be a very lofty investment. Was Son of Beast a mistake? That's really hard to give a blanket answer to. I know of a lot of people who absolutely love the ride, but on the other hand, if you ever get into a conversation about PKI with someone who's not a regular, how often do they mention how uncomfortable the ride is? Pretty often in my book. I guess the tiebreaker is the countless hours of unnecessary maintanance and millions of post-completion dollars put into it. As Todd stated above, it's hard to imagine what else could have been done with that money. Burn it down? Nah... last year when I was in line for The Beast, some old guy told me this long-winded story about how it was made of a certain type of wood which will rot into nothingness within 2 or 3 years... then again, you know old people... they know everything. Oh, and while we're on the subject of rotting away, let's talk about Six Flags. Yeah, Kingda Ka looks cool, but I think it was a terrible investment. A couple of years ago when CP built TTD, people were jumping over eachother to see this mysterious giant. Now, two years later, and less than 20ft higher, people still seem to think that if you've ridden TTD, you've ridden Kingda Ka. I suppose building an only slightly taller coaster than the tallest one in the world, and making it a clone is kind of like buying a Toyota Landrover... you might as well just buy a Chevy Blazer and tape $20,000 to the bottom of your hood, because that's what you just did. Ryan

They've closed the park to the general public on an early weekend day for years now. It's always important to check the schedule, but I can see why a lot of the GP would assume that it would be open.

So why even mention it? It's also likely that you make yourself see Winterfest stuff. I mean, what could they possibly have put up this early?

Just think -- if all of the themeing worked liked it should, it would easily be the best themed season park out there.

I'm talking about all of the retracking, work, lawsuits, etc etc etc that have been a result of that ride. I don't think that the idea was bad, but I think that we now know the limits of a wood coaster, and if they try to break it, they have the same, if not worse, problems.