standbyme

I was kind of hoping that they would have a new "foot of the fountain" display...unless they add something different it looks like it will almost be the same as last year. My family always takes a group shot there and it's nice to have the pictures look different from year to year. As a side note, I know they probably sunk a lot of money into that skull, so it's not surprising that they are using it again...i'm just a little dissapointed.

I like your new avatar Avatar!

Could you elaborate...I am curious.

Just thought this showed some interesting activity.

I might not use the word "amazing"...but it is a great asset to the park...the park would not be the same without it. It's a very good coaster for anyone who doesn't like really tall heights but still wants a fast ride. The thing I really like about it is that it's a coaster that a whole family can enjoy together...a lot better than BLSC.

Which kid are we talking about...the main one right in front or the one to the very right of the screen near the side of the stage? I am pretty sure that I saw the one to the right of the stage on the 4th Of July when I was at the park...he must be there a lot!

Cory, I am sure most of you Brady Bunch fans already know this...but the song in Avatar's video that he posted above is titled "You've Got To Be In Love (To Love A Love Song)" Here is a youtube clip from The Brady Bunch of "them" singing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdVW8sFING4 I watched all of Avatar's videos that he shot and put in his trip report..there is nothing really that obscure. The first video of Greg is him doing a take-off on Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady"...his was probably called "The Real Greg Brady". The second video is a medley of "I Can See Clearly Now" (Johnny Nash & Jimmy Cliff both had hits of this.) "Good Day Sunshine" (The Beatles) followed by "It's A Sunshine Day" (The Brady Bunch). The third video with the Brady montage is Queen's "These Are the Days of Our Lives". Hope that helps. P.S. Sorry if I also helped hijack the thread.

I work in a record store...and it doesn't matter what kind of junk a record label sends us to give away...if it's free people want it! The best case of this I remember is we had free (boring) calenders on our counter...a daughter says to her Mom "Look Mommy, calenders!"...the Mom shot back to her in a mean tone "We don't need a calender"...but when she found out they were free she took THREE! I think the same is true with this, if they didn't charge to have a picture with them everyone would do it just because it wasn't costing them anything...and the line would come to a standstill. It's just the way the world works.

Thanks for taking the time to do the trip report...it was very interesting. It's nice seeing how things are in other places...places where they obviously do not sue as much! I was wondering, in your photo, is that the peak position that the "boat" swings to?

Not just "some" cash...i'm guessing a gallon of tea inside Kings Island probably has the about the same "street value" that a kilo of Coke does out here in the real world!

I'll help continue to take this topic off course...in the "It's a small world" department, Mr. Van Dyke was born and raised in my little town. (He was fortunate enough to have escaped.) He comes back every 10-15 years to visit. Last year he was in town...he walked by where I was at work, but I couldn't go out and actually meet him. He believes in staying physically fit, while he was visting he used the health club 2 doors down to work out. If you watch The Dick Van Dyke Show you might notice that the character Rob Petrie always mentions that he is from Danville, IL. Also, a good inside joke on the show is that at one point "Rob" says that the mayor (of Danville) was at the grand opening of a new business on Green Street...back in the day, Green Street was known state-wide for being a great place for brothels! To continue in the "It's a small world" department, Hugh Hefner supposedly lost his virginity there also.

Wow. I had no idea that was you...I see your screen name all the time...I wished that we had bumped into each other at one point. It would have been nice to say hi. As for what you were doing...the ride was over and everyone was starting to get out. Glad that you like it...so do I get to know which one is you? (It wouldn't be the one with the tongue sticking out would it? I totally agree...I was not suggesting that just because I had done it in the past that it should never be done again...I was just kind of letting everyone know why I wasn't more enthusiastic about the tour...but you should of seen my trip report the first time I did do it!

Wow, it’s hard to know where to start with this report. I could start with the fact that I came REAL close to not even buying a ticket to go. Since I would have to come alone I waited until the very last day that tickets were on sale to decide whether I wanted to do that or not. Anyway, with the prospect of appearing to be a loser (as mentioned in an earlier post of mine) I decided to come…and I’m REALLY glad I made that decision…the day turned out (as Ryan/Boddah1994 might say) AMAZING! Since I am in Illinois, my day started SUPER early, I was on the road by 3:30. (Which is 4:30 Ohio time) I arrived at the park toll-both gate by about 7:50...there were already 4 others waiting to get in…including a big mobile home. (Was that anyone here on the board?) For the next 40 minutes I just watched the KI sign countdown the minutes as more and more cars arrived in line. After the gates opened I easily found a nice Gold Pass parking spot and headed to check in…I thought I would be the first “regular member” to register since no one seemed to be getting out of their cars that quickly…but when I got to the table I noticed that “pkiboy” already seemed to have that honor. I talked to him for a minute or so…and he seemed to at least pretend that he had a clue who I was! (I don’t post that much…so I am not offended when someone doesn’t know my “name”.) It took a mere minute or so for Ryan/Boddah1994 to find my name on the list and I was all set. I have met Ryan a couple of times in the past…and he always seems like he’s glad that you showed up…and at the end of the evening after I saw how much work was put into this event I can see why he’s glad! Basically I just looked around while people checked in and then tried to see if I could figure out who might be who. At last year’s event I “met” a grand total of 1 person! (Gabriel/Captain Nemo) At this year’s event I was planning on changing that. I remember Ryan posted that meeting fellow KIC posters was half the fun of the event…so I was going to see if that was true. (It was MORE than true.) I looked around for either a familiar face or nametag…the first tag that seemed familiar was “Ty”…I went up and introduced myself and asked if happened to be “TombraiderTy”. Even though he was a lot younger than I am, he was very polite and we had a nice talk about the park, this site…and the “other site”! (Ty, it was nice meeting you…and I look forward to any other grand ideas that you come up with for the park! Don’t let anyone dampen your spirit for the park.) The morning was going well…I had already doubled how many people I met last year! Time flew by quickly and before I knew it was time for the Club Blood Tour. On the way back to the tour I got to meet the “easiest” member to identify…Avatar. Since I always read all of his trip reports that are loaded with family photos I knew who he was instantly. We talked for most of the trip back…and he was just like I pictured his personality to be…nice and easygoing…I’m guessing he’s one of those people who is always at ease whoever he is with, and everyone’s a potential friend. At some points during the walk I would kind of sink back a little or speed up…unknowing to Avatar it was more of a case of me just trying to stay out of anyone’s camera shot…iChase (and his camera) were behind us! Avatar made a joke about “How can I standbyyou if you’re either up there or back there”…I didn’t bother telling him my motives at that time since we just started talking. The day is already becoming a blur and I can’t remember who else was walking with “us”…no offense to whoever was there…just old age setting in. Hanging out with Tombraider Ty outside of Club Blood was TOPGUN1993/Paul, so it was nice to say hi to him in person after reading countless posts and pictures he has posted over the years. Now, Club Blood is not one of my favorite haunts…but it was still very interesting to see it with the lights on. There are quite a lot of details that you never notice in the dark…if I were the designer(s) I would be a little depressed that I worked so hard and so much of it doesn’t get noticed. Next up was the ERT on Invertigo…which means nothing to me. Once you “kids” are older you’ll (unfortunately) understand. Over the years your body changes…and even if a coaster doesn’t scare you in the least it can still make you sick! When I ride Invertigo it’s like playing the lottery, with great odds…I know that if I ride it there is about a 1 in 3 chance I will end up with a headache for the rest of the day…and since the ride doesn’t thrill me that much I usually just choose not to risk it…and that is what I did this morning, I just watched and took more random photos…which was good, because I got to meet the site’s very own photographer Ronny/Gordon Bombay. I have always been in awe of his photography skills and it was great to be able to tell him that in person…what was even better was that a nicer guy he could not have been. If you ever got to meet Jeff Siebert you have an idea of what his personality is like…from the moment he said “hi” it was like he was truly glad to meet you. He seemed like he was having the time of his life at the park with everyone. After the ERT ride time it was about 10 o’clock and we had a little time to kill, so I followed/slowly ran with some other members to get in line for SOB just before they dropped the ropes to let the public in. I am not a fan of SOB and every time I ride it I swear it will be my last…but after hearing so many posters say that the front seat is a good ride I figured now was the time to see since there was no line. Guess what? I actually thought it was decent! Maybe even fun! (I still think it’s sad though that most people say that there’s only 1 decent place to sit in a whole train though.) After this I headed straight over to the carousel for my ride so that I could attend the SOB Tour. Now, being that I am CONSTANTLY on the lookout for cameras I scouted the area…but didn’t see any real obvious. I was SURE that having all of us ride the carousel was just a way to make sure they could get video/pictures for the site…so I was being very careful. I chose a horse that I could easily keep my face hidden…it was a “stable” horse that didn’t go up and down. When I chose this horse that is when I met Cory Butcher…he “warned” me that my horse didn’t move…I told him I didn’t care…then he told me that if I sat on a stable horse I had to ride twice because they would only give me half a ticket on that kind of a horse…I am embarrassed to say I fell for it. I switched horses and he started laughing and said he was only kidding. The good thing is that I talked to him and another poster (sorry I forgot your name) the entire ride…which meant I never had to look out to where a camera was PROBABLY lurking! (So thanks Cory & ? For the assist!) I did not get any “decent” photos of anyone on the carousel…the only one that came out kinda clear was of KIfan73, but he looks like he is bored out of his mind…so I won’t post it! The SOB tour was “ok”…I must admit I was expecting a little bit more…but it was still neat seeing the structure up close…it is always impressive anyway, but close up it is even better. I did not take any “good” shots of the actual ride…iChase’s photos are far better. I did find it a fun site seeing all of the people with cameras ready…it kind of reminded me of the bus of Japanese tourists at the end of the movie “Speed”. After a little free time, the next thing to do was take the obligatory ride of the “bumper” cars in order to tour the Diamondback construction site. I have not rode the bumper cars in probably 1 ½ to 2 years…WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM?!!! They are now the saddest ride in the park…excluding “The Crypt”. (You’re welcome for that jab at your ride Ty.) They now go SO slow you could safely put a newborn child in one of them…alone…and still no harm would come to it. If the ride can not be run “properly” because of liability reasons I say it is best just to retire it with some dignity. It’s really sad knowing younger kids may never know that these were once fun…unless they hear stories from their parents starting with the good ol’ “Why back in my day” line. After the “bumper” cars I was invited by Avatar to join him and some others to go and ride Zephyr. After that we just killed time looking at the splash pond construction site…it is during this time that I finally got to meet Bill/ZosoBeast for the first time. I have seem him at some of the past park events but never spoken with him, he was fun to talk to and we joked about the new Diamondback name instead of another Beast off-branch. The Diamondback construction site was the main reason that I came to KIC Day, and it didn’t disappoint. To some it may be nothing but dirt, markers and footers…or footings if you prefer, but to me it is a chance to see the park from a different angle…in this case the train! Both Bill/ZosoBeast basically just stayed at the bottom of the hill waiting for the train to come so that we might get some interesting photos. The train seemed to be running slower than usual…probably a “watched pot never boils” kind of thing…anyway the train only came by twice while we were on the tour…but that was enough…I was happy. Directly from the Diamondback area we went to The Beast tour…to be honest, I have done this tour 3 or 4 times in the past…and it is getting a bit old. (They always say there’s nothing like your first time.) With that said, I will say that Ronny did a great job at livening it up with his enthusiasm and so it was more fun than I expected. I love it when the sky is like this! I skipped the Totally 80’s show…sorry Ryan…I just don’t care to watch the shows at the park…just not my style. I was walking by after it was over and snapped this photo of the interview session: It was a little funny I came up behind two older women who walked up to see what was going on in the theater…after watching it for a few minutes one of them said to the other “This doesn’t seem like it’s that much”. I get the idea that they went away thinking they were seeing the 80’s show. It was now time for dinner so off to the picnic ground I went. It was here that I finally met iChase who was also standing in line. After avoiding his camera for most of the day it was good to finally get to talk to him. (Like it says in The Godfather…keep your friends close and your enemies closer!) I had a lot of fun talking to him and he, KIfan73 & I ended up sitting together. KIfan73 has a nice “dry” sense of humor…which I appreciated. He said he was just waiting for someone at the Q&A Session to ask the “So what’s the park building next” question…I thought that would have been great. The raffle was interesting…and Ryan was right, there were some AMAZING prizes…but there were some stinkers too. (In my opinion.) I have never entered a raffle where there were so many prizes that I was hoping I WOULDN’T win! Congratulations to everyone who did win something…I liked that mostly everyone applauded when someone won an item. Also, thanks to the park for the great “Pity Prizes” for everyone…giving all of us the Diamondback Media kits was awesome! Even though I didn’t win anything else I walked away feeling lucky to have came. Looking at the “mystery autographed ball”. The day’s events were dwindling down…but there was still some good things left. The Q&A session with Tony Carovillano and Jeff Gramke was great. They were both very friendly & interesting…so what more could you ask for?! I would just like to say thanks to both of them for taking the time to do something that went above & beyond what they had to do…it is appreciated. After the Q&A session concluded I heard the words “group photo” announced…which was my cue to sneak away. I truly meant to go watch Ryan “take one for the team” but I got sidetracked and didn’t make it back in time. I look forward to seeing a video. To kill time before The Racer ERT I decided to just head over early and watch the fireworks…it was there that I finally got to meet the “2 brothers”…sorry I forgot your screen names now…I enjoyed talking to both of you…please reply to this thread and remind me your screen names…I tried to find your drum avatar but didn’t have any luck. I started the evening ERT out perfectly…in the front seat of the Red Racer. I never actually caught the name of the guy I was riding with, but he was truly a very nice guy…plus, I can honestly say I have never heard anyone sing “It’s A Small World” as they go up the lift-hill…a unique experience! Even though the evening was almost over, I still had to keep an eye out for Ronny and his camera…he tried to get a shot as we were leaving but I ducted that one...and being that he was a professional, I just knew he would be waiting for us when we came back in…which he was...he IS dedicated…he is willing to outlast even someone like me who is pretty stubborn! I must admit though, he did finally get a picture of me that I not only can stand…but am glad that I have for a souvenir. (You can’t see most of my face!) Thanks Ronny for being so understanding. (The flash didn’t go off…but I hated not to use the picture.) I (Like others who I have seen posting about this day) am sure that I have forgotten to mention at least someone that I met that day…it is totally just because I met so many different people and my memory is not that good…and not because you were not fun to talk too! So in conclusion let me say that if you, like me last year did not attempt to interact with anyone you were missing out…it was a world of difference for me this year. The next day the only regret I had was that I felt that it might have appeared that I abandoned some people when I started talking to someone else…that was not my intention…it just seemed like one minute I was talking to this person, then another person joined in and I would talk to them…then I would look around and the previous person was nowhere around. I hope no one felt like I was not interested in hanging-out with them. I enjoyed talking to absolutely everyone I came in contact with…hopefully anyone who talked to me can say the same. I would like to thank all of the KI Central & park staff for putting on a day that I will long remember!

As always Ronny it is a pleasure seeing your photos they are always first class. It was even a bigger pleasure meeting you at the event. I look forward to next year!

Something that most people wouldn't get...but since my screen name is standbyme and I have seen the movie countless times I know a lot of the dialog by heart...I just laughed when you posted the above words trying to take away a little of the negativity of this thread...and being this thread is about fast food I thought this was appropriate...here is some of the ending dialog from Stand By Me: "Last week he entered a fast food restaurant. Just ahead of him, two men got into an argument—one of them pulled a knife. Chris, who had always made the best peace, tried to break it up. He was stabbed in the throat. He died almost instantly." Just a little "food for thought"!

Nice TR...everytime someone puts up a TR of this day I have to go back and "adjust" mine so it doesn't seem to similar! I like the photo of Bill & Gabriel on the "bumper" cars. Once again it was very nice meeting you at the event. I was shocked when I found out this was your first park "event"...it was a good one to have as your first! See ya, J.D.

^ My family "knows" not to take my picture...and people who consider themselves my friend know how I feel and also indulge me...even if they don't agree...so to that end yes, I would appreciate any courtesy that you wish to give me. Keep in mind, everyone that knows me knows that I love to TAKE pictures...just not be in them...but I am NOT a hypocrite, I never take anyones picture that I KNOW hates it also. (Chase, sorry for hijacking your great thread.)

Chase, Your pictures turned out great! The SOB ones look awesome...better than being there in person. I also had a great time at the picnic area...I wished that we had "met" earlier in the day. I am sorry that I didn't get to say goodbye to you...when they started to organize the group photo I just snuck out...I am sorry that that meant I didn't get to tell you how much I enjoyed talking to you. See ya, J.D.

To me, screaming on Viking Fury is not a choice...it is required! I hate being on it when it is quiet. My nephew & sister have screams that sound like they are already on fire...and someone throws gasoline on them. Believe me you can hear them distinctively near the entrance of Festhaus. I always sit on the opposite side of the boat from them just so I can see people's reactions. I have heard some good comments from others after the ride is over...the most memorable 2 that I liked were, a woman saying in a real snobbie tone "You can stop screaming now...it's over". My favorite though was when 2 boys who had just ridden during the same ride with my nephew got back in line again for another ride. I was standing near them and they didn't know I was "with" him, when they saw him in line again they made it sound like he was a God...one of them said in awe "That's him! That's the one who can scream so loud!". I guess everyone has different standards of what is ok. (I also do not like obscenities or things like "We're gonna die".) On our last trip on Viking Fury my nephew came off the ride and said "I can taste blood"...he will probably sound like Tom Waits in the future.

Just wondering if any of the Mods have anymore details about what is happening on this day. I just watched a video of the press day for Diamondback and I noticed Don mentioned that "The Bradys" would be signing autographs...is that true? Will they have the Kings Island photo available to buy possibly? Any help with these answers would be appreciated so that I can start planning whether I am driving all the way from Illinois twice in one month. (I'll be at the Second Coming.)

It's nice to read a trip report that has so much enthusiasm...it makes for a fun read. (I wish I could be that excited about ANYTHING in life anymore!)

Nice pictures...I like the panoramic one a lot. Thanks for taking the time to write this TR up.

I hate going to the park on Saturdays because the ride-lines are usually so bad...but it doesn't appear I have to worry about that with this event! I will be lucky to have any free time at all. Even if Club Blood is not one of my favorite HH attractions, I look forward to getting a better look at it...thanks for the addition.

I am a "quality over quanity" kind of guy...so it doesn't really matter how many people are coming to the Second Coming...but is this about everyone who is actually coming?! (I would have guessed at least twice this amount.)

Hi, It is just a brightly colored free-standing sign...it is just like the one by the photo-booth to the left of the fountain as you enter the park. (It is no more than 3 feet wide and 7 feet tall...usually 2 employees are standing by it to measure your child and give you a bracelet. The one in Nick U. is near the Blues Clues ride...you shouldn't be able to miss it. I know what you mean about getting your child prepared for what they can and can not ride...there is nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a kid dissapointed. As for your Picnic question...the last time I went it seemed like vegetarians had very little choice.