PKIMaureen

Too late - I have a date with my handsome husband!!!! Beers and bowling, baby! I hope it's fun without me!! But how could it be??!!

Happy birthday, Ryan!! I hope it's a wonderful day! Do you have big plans?? Maureen

I am 32 years old and if any of my friends or family members dragged me to something like that, I would be beside myself with anger and fear. I'm not a wus, I just don't like that kind of thing at all. I've tried it and to me, it sucks. Now I know that plenty of folks love it, hence the popularity of the Haunt!! If the child was small, it's just plain wrong. I'm all for facing your fears but that is rediculous!!!!!!!! Enjoying my post-Halloween, non-scary time of year, PKImaureen

The fact we now have a full pictorial containing Swiper, my favorite Dora character, and a giant pizza wheel is a little scary. haha

HAHAHAHA!!!!! I display that award proudly on our mantle. Of course, it may have been meant for Bill Mefford. I should probably look at the fine print.

My favorite new award is for Best Seaside Park. For some reason, that cracks me up. I do agree that the same parks seem to win over and over. However, it is also well deserved. KI DOES have the best kids' area. Holiday World IS very clean. It would be interesting to hear a detailed explanation of how the votes are tallied - and who gets to vote. Gary Slade from Amusement Today has a great overview - perhaps he could send it to KIC.

I, of course, am already terrified at the prospect of the Haunt. We all know the reason I planned my wedding for Oct. 6 was to miss a weekend of the Halloween event. haha Even with the lights on, it sounds horrific. Nice job, KI!!

There are a LOT of former KI associates working at Hard Rock now. Several of the FT merchandise folks are there, as is a FT food service manager (mentioned in an earlier post) and KI's former head of IT. It's like KI south!!

I was so happy that Ryan and Josh invited me to this event. Although Tim and I could only stay for a few hours, it was so awesome to be back at the park. I really miss the Island and all of you!!! Tim was very disappointed that we had to miss The Beast tour (Our family was coming over at 5 p.m. for our church festival.) - In my 5 years of working at the park, he never joined us for a backstage tour. Silly boy! Next time for sure! The Beast was FANTASTIC - so smooth and so darn fast. It was probably the best ride I've ever had. Kudos to Team Ties - Josh, Don, Ryan and Dane. Awesome work, guys!!!!

Although I haven't ridden Firehawk at KI, I did ride X-flight at Geauga Lake. I am 5'10, average weight, and felt very secure. Of course, you do slide around a little which adds to the thrill. To me, the most thrilling part of the ride was when you turned over to face the ground. Feeling my entire weight pressed against the restraint scared me to death. In a good way. Have fun!

Friends, Please relax. The height requirements in Boomerang Bay will stay the same in 2007. There were concerns that they would go up when we had the map printed, so we changed them to error on the side of caution. Turns out they will not be changing. Get your suits ready. BB will open May 26.

Greetings from the Island. I wanted to let you know that I am, in fact, leaving Kings Island. I submitted my resignation last week, and it was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I love Kings Island. I love the people I work with, and I love hanging out with all of you. Unfortunately, as a department of one I am on call 24/7, and I made a very hard choice to move to a job that offers more flexibility. You have made my life at KI so fun. I have learned so much over the last four years, and your friendship and support means the world to me. Thank you for everything!! Keep on riding!!! Happy days, Maureen

Hello! T-five days until we open for the season!! Woohoo! Who can stand it?! We will offer the ACE walkback in 2007. Please meet at Guest Relations by 9:30 a.m. We will leave GR at 9:45 a.m. As mentioned earlier, we will walk under the ropes, not backstage. The walkback is designed to take guests to The Beast; however many of you know that The Beast is not always awake when we want him to be, so we may hit another coaster instead. Our GR supervisors will let you know what the ride is for that day. Please bring your ACE card with you when you come to Guest Relations. Happy riding!