carpediem01

Our latest trip to KI, the elephant was an enjoyable source of amusement. We were close to the picture area, just beyond the normal sight of the riders as they approach the elephant. Some of the things you hear, as well as see is entertaining. We heard quite a few things heard, which were both funny as well as PG13 rated. We witnessed one dad, shield himself with his toddler son, as well as several other types of attempts at trying to "miss" the spray.

I would be interested in finding out what happened to the individual, as well as what happened to him. While it could very well have been a heart attack, as I am unaware of what the symptoms are, he did appear to rise up from his seat as his head protruded up. The individual next to him was adament in the guy needing immediate attention. Not to be crass here, but he did start to turn blue fairly quickly. What my daughters have said they will remember, is different than myself. I suppose that could be due to being a parent. I will always remember the actions of his wife and kids, while my daughters definitely remember the man and those actions. Another observation my wife and I made, were what appeared to be visibly shaken employees. Obviously we all take things differently and this was on different. It appeared that one or more left shortly after(quite possibly due to be shaken up as well as being witnesses). However, there were a few that remained, that not only initially were shaken, but also after the event transpired. I have no idea if there is an assessment policy in place, to be able to assess each employee after being involved with such an event. Interestingly, my 2 daughters stayed in the station with my wife and myself, and wanted to ride the next train available, which was actually shortly after the event happened. We offered them the choice to leave or stay in the station, and they both chose to stay, and see how long before the next train. I must confess that our family has seen quite a bit leading up to that day, as our youngest daughter, age 10 and one of the 2 daughters mentioned, was diagnosed with leukemia 2 1/2 years ago.

Interestingly, the same nurse/emt also assisted somebody in the wait line as well. A girl appeared to have fainted and/or gotten light headed, right when the line is at the last turn before the attendant starts to send you down one of the two paths. She was laying on the ground in the corner, with her boyfriend/husband kneeling next to her. The nurse/emt individual got out of line and walked up to assist her. She got a candy bar to her, and then the ride attendant made a few trips to see her. I must admit that it was several minutes before another KI employee showed up to see how she was doing. A few minutes later, somebody asked for a glass of water from the ride attendant, which then led to a run on people waiting in line, asking the guy for glasses of water. Between the gentleman in the station, the lady in the line and the run on water, it was definitely a unique experience.

It appeared the man either had a heart attack or a seizure. The individual who may have saved his life, if he survived, would have been a nurse/emt type individual who was actually on the yellow train at the same time as the guy. She was behind the row we were in. Our row was directly behind the row which the gentleman was in. He seemed fine on the platform, just standing there right before loading. He was wearing a red hat, which he took off right before boarding, and then started to strap in. As my family and I started to get strapped in, the individual next to him, started yelling for help(they appeared to not be related, and the gentleman looked as if he was riding by himself). The nurse/emt rushed up, after getting her restraints off, and immediately looked at the guy. She was the one who started cpr, and worked on the guy before other KI individuals were able to. With there being no AED units on site, they waited until the paramedics got there, who used the shock unit on him. I have no idea if the gentleman made it, as he was looking blue even before the paramedics arrived, as he started to look blue before we were barely out of our seats. My 10 and 12 year old daughters were a bit taken back, and we attempted to talk about other things, as things progressed. At that time, the gentleman's wife came running onto the loading platform, and they let her in with her daughter, by opening the gate. We assisted his son over the closed gate, so his family could be together. His wife was obviously visibly shaken, but kept her cool around her kids, by telling them to stay with her, and not watch what was happening. Quite the experience.

This will show that I have been going to KI before the Brady's, but I can remember music as well as DJs in The Beast queue. "Back in the day", part of the experience was the line/waiting. Of course, through the eyes of a teenager, listening to rock with your friends, was fun in and of itself. Having been to more amusement parks than I can probably remember, around the country, those "waits" at KI years ago are still memorable. My kids enjoy music in the queue lines, but it feels more like staged entertainment vs. "the moment" to me. Of course, spending a day in an amusement park is a great day to begin with.

I wanted to verify that if I purchased Maxx passes through KI, that they would be considered gold passes when used at KI. I tried to call customer relations and the lady was a bit fuzzy on the answer. I also went through the KI website, and sent an email but have not heard back from them yet. We are interested in purchasing several Maxx passes, but wanted to make sure they would afford us the same offerings as the KI season gold pass. Will there be a notation or different color scheme on the Maxx passes currently being purchased at KI, to denote gold pass option? thank you.