Pagoda Gift Shop

As time goes on, my standards for 2012 continue to drop. At this point I think I would be content if they would just repave the parking lot. But they won't. Because they are Kings Island. Funny how KI seems to remind me of the Bengals.

What does fake mean anyway? Let them staple a dollar to your head and see if it is fake. I'm glad they don't really kill each other, if that is what fake means.

Yeah, the temperature can really vary wildly. The past few years they seem to have had good luck, with many weekends in the 80's. I wonder if it snowed if that would turn away some of the mega crowds that show up.

Note to self, stop opening threads with ambiguous titles.

Right. Season passes will go on sale like they normally do. I just don't think there will be an announcement until maybe early next year.

Usually yes. It is possible they will continue to wait if they have no "new" attractions for 2012 though. Without a major attraction of some sort to help sell season passes, it can be better to just wait until January when people will be more excited about any kind of KI news.

That's good to hear. Too bad it took 3 months to get a replacement, but I guess it can be assumed that KI was just waiting for them to make another one.

Intamin is probably the only company crazy enough to try a loop. I don't think GCI or Gravity Group would even think about it.

Yup. That's what I was thinking of. I also remember it ending with the "Welcome" which was kind of weird the first time you heard it. When I was at the park last week, I tried to get some pictures of the station, but you really can't see if from anywhere on the midway due to trees, etc. I liked that the station was so high up and that the train would disappear down the drop once it left.

Yeah, I had no idea about the moving costs. Dorney is probably getting 5-10 million then. California is a long way from Pennsylvania.

Now that Carowinds is on the board, here is the updated scoreboard: Canada's Wonderland: 28 Carowinds: 6.5 Cedar Point: 1 Dorney: <1

How about a Robbie Knievel ice motorcycle jump?

Cedar Fair is 0-2 regarding leaks on announcements.

There is no rumored project for 2013, other than anything you can make up on the spot, but that doesn't count.

I've never heard that CF wanted to keep the competition down. Well, I've heard it, but only from Geauga Lake conspiracy theory folks. Most of the reports I've heard is that CF knew the Paramount Parks were for sale and looked into it. Supposedly KI was the "crown jewel" that Kinzel wanted to get. I'm not surprised; Kings Island does a huge amount of seasonal operations and is in a great market/location. If anything, KI is why CF overpaid for the parks because Kinzel had to have it.

I don't think that's the one I'm thinking of. I was thinking of the spiel on the loading platform that was something like: "Oncoming riders, please secure all loose articles. Welcome to the Son of Beast. etc. etc."

Yeah I don't think they can stay silent on this issue much longer. I mean, how many years can you just let that thing sit there? We're approaching 3 years now. On a similar note, does anyone have the audio from SOB's station that played while boarding?

Remember this is just experimentation too. Holiday World is trying something new, so I'm sure they will be tinkering with the prices, etc. Personally, I think the CF passes and tickets are much too low. It's all about perceived value, and I would much rather pay more to get in the park and have all the food prices drop by $2-3. Seeing a sign for $6 fries ticks me off.

How many years has KI done the ice show now? I just realized that next season will mark 10 years for Cedar Point. Too bad I preferred the IMAX theater.

I would think that is just for a contest or some sort of deal for Labor Day. Doesn't sound like 2012 news, but it still might be something cool. Hehe, maybe Fast Lane Backyard BBQ?

I saw the show last week for the first time. It was great. Was the show last year the exact same I assume?

I rode Diamondback last week for the first time in 2 years. It was as smooth as I remember it being during my many rides in 2009.

Great photos. You might want to fix your spelling of millennium if you can edit that.

Yeah, if you have visited the Halloweekends Terror Island outdoor maze, you'll know that Millennium Island is about half the size of the current land where Dinosaurs Alive is at KI. It will be some work to get everything to fit I think. As for KI, I'm at a total loss. I'm stunned that CP could be so completely boring with their improvements. I don't think they have ever gotten a "cloned" attraction from another park, especially one in the same state! I have no clue what they will announce for KI, but as stated above, it doesn't look good. Hopefully they will get a replacement for the largest dino that burned in May. I can't believe they still have it listed in the park map, but it is missing from the attraction!

Well, so far the score is: Canada's Wonderland: 28 Cedar Point: 1 Hopefully Kings Island will get on the board before the end of the month. Dorney has said they are announcing soon.