Kawana

I'm on as long as it takes me to catch up since my last visit. That usually means an hour at the least and many more hours most times.

I'm in the same boat. I'm not quite sure yet what to do. I was thrilled when it was mentioned that over $30,000 had been raised for A Kid Again. That is simply amazing. It's like I said on Saturday, it's your money you should be able to do with it what you wish. While I applaud the park for encouraging people to donate their seats, I don't think anyone should be forced to give up their seat. You paid for that seat, it's your decision.

I don't think you should worry. In particular, B&Ms typically have "Big Boy" seats set aside, with a little more "room" for the larger patron. Not that you fit that category. I also know from experience that the B&M Hyper seats tend to be quite roomy and IMO very comfy. (I still want a seat to put in my living room to sit in and watch tv, complete with TV Tray restraint LOL) The good news is that there will undoubtedly be a test chair at the queue entrance for larger folks to avoid embarassment, and a wait for nada. Shaggy P.S. My 34" pants are feeling very tight these days... I blame winter too... ;-) Just to add to these sentiments...I think you should be fine!! The one thing I noticed about the Behemoth seats compared to the seats of the other, older, B&M hypers is that they're deeper and the edges come up a little bit more so you're sitting deeper in the seat (only tall people will be touching the floor). But anyway, I've been on both Behemoth and Nitro about 65 times each and have seen ONE 'walk of shame' on Behemoth and about 6 on Nitro with the older seats. The walk of shame on Behemoth was a guy who was very huge...at least a 46" waist, if not bigger. As I've been saying to people, if you can fit on Vortex right now you'll have no probs, and probably even a 44" on D-back should be completely fine. That makes me feel better. As those who've seen me can attest, I'm not the smallest guy out there, but I'm not the biggest either. I'm sporting a 42" waist right now so I think I'll be ok. Now if this were 3 years ago I'd be at a 50". Times are a changin' and for the better if I don't say so myself.

The lens seems to be fine. My back however, is not. It's getting there, but I'm still a ways off.

Man, am I really that much bigger than everyone else? Most people say so, but I guess it doesn't register until I see pictures. Great idea for a TR. The contrast between pictures is stark. Excellent job. Sorry I didn't get to introduce myself. Perhaps next time?

Other than my back, which was hurting Friday night, I'm not sick. It generally takes a lot for me to get sick though.

Sorry. Vibration Reduction. There will be a red VR on the side of your lens if you have it along with a switch to turn it on and off.

For those waiting with bated breath, yours truly has only strained his lower back muscles. With the assistance of an NSAID and exercises he should be back to normal soon. Gator, I just couldn't help myself, you know? Stanbyme, thanks for the encouragement. I can't shoot Manual all the time like the pros, but maybe someday I'll get there.

First off let me say that I was thrilled to be taking a tour like this, I'm still only a level 1 coaster nerd, but it was still awesome. Thanks to KIC, Kings Island, and Don Helbig for making this all possible. Special thanks to Don for answering my questions with an answer and not some PC babble that we've all heard before. I know you've all seen more than enough pictures from the tour, but I thought I'd share some of my favorites. WARNING: The following pictures are not Gordon Bombay quality. You've been warned. Diamondback is truly a great addition to the park as it towers above all. My best try to get artistic with things. Something old, something new. This waterfall will add a ton of charm to the ride, I think. Train shot. All in all the day was great, aside from the nasty weather, I had a chance to make some new friends, and spend a great day with people who share the same interests as I do. Thanks to violakat and her husband for driving myself and Nemo around, the conversation was probably the highlight of my day. clbehymer, it was nice to meet you, I love putting faces to names. Avatar, CoastersRZ and Cory Butcher thanks for your patience while trying to explain the intricate nature of Disney to me, and thanks for letting me know that a trip like that could be in my reach someday. Sorry I couldn't go to Krazy City with you all, but my back had just about had it by then. I'm sorry if anyone was expecting more from me this time, but I'm writing this in agonizing pain and truthfully I'm lucky to be able to sit upright. I know this wasn't my best effort, but I thought you'd all like to see a little from my viewpoint. I know I don't do many PTRs but I do truly enjoy sharing my experiences with the fantastic people I've met on these forums. Thanks for reading/looking.

I have a 15-55mm lense that I use for getting the whole idea of the shot, overviews, and panoramas. Then, I have a 55-200mm lense that's great for close ups, and even with going all the way up to 200mm, I can crop something out of he picture that's very small, and get a high detail quality. I freakin' love this camera. =) Does your 55-200 have VR on it? I thought I'd better get it as my hands aren't the surest things in the world. I love mine, if my 18-55 somehow got ruined Saturday it was turning a little rough when zooming, I would probably get another 18-55 with VR.

Way to catch me trying to be all David Caruso on a cloudy day. I really don't know what I was thinking, probably that the sun might come out and I'm too lazy to take my shades off. The funny part is that I don't remember you taking that picture at all. That day was kind of a blur. Thanks for the PTR. Glad to see you were able to upgrade to a proper camera.

Great photos Ronny. I really enjoyed hanging with everyone. Thanks for letting me spend time with you all. The photos as I said are fantastic. Thanks for the PTR.

Great PTR. I'm so happy the JJ group photo turned out. I had a blast with you guys, and I totally understand your Saturn obsession. We all have our things, don't we? Thanks for the TR.

Once again I agree with you Avatar. Not only was this a considerate thing to do for those who didn't make it, it was also really neat for those of us that did go to be able to see how everyone else spent that time. The radar screens showing the impending doom were a great touch. Very cool idea and not boring in the least.

What in blazes is ROTB?

Smurfberries are smurfier, of course. And they make the ice cream taste delicious.

Thanks for your sympathy. It kind of sucked, but we made a good day out of it. We went to Jungle Jim's and ended up meeting the KIC group there. What are the odds!? That truly was nice to see you there. In case I neglected to introduce myself, I was wearing the Ohio State hooded sweatshirt. Too bad you missed the tour, though.

Now that you said something, I had to look twice to see the supports. Nice catch.

JD, this was a cool idea for a trip report. It was neat to be able to see ourselves on the webcam. I think I can narrow two of the gray blobs down to me. I'm one of the two. We did just barely beat the heavy weather by maybe 10-15 minutes. Thanks for thinking of us.

We were done around 3 and truthfully, it was not a moment too soon. It was cold enough out there and the wind and rain just made it worse. I'm glad I went (the day lasted longer than I expected) and I would go again in a minute.

I can't speak for the SOAR event, but on the KIC tour, it was freezing, windy, raining and snowing. Good football weather, but not so much for the looking at of coasters.

I remember climbing the entire height of the Eiffel Tower using the stairs when I was younger with my Dad. Mind you, this was many moons ago when Kawana was a little tyke around 6 or 7.

I lucked into seeing Skillet last year and would love to see them again. Don't know if I'd want to fight the crowds though.