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And why would sitting out ruin them forever? All of the moving parts would have to be replaced anyway.

Some nice claims, but I have seen no evidence to suggest any of them are true.

I was only using painting the Eiffel Tower as an example. I just think CP gets preference over KI. I know that part of that is because of Dick Kinzel, but even after he's gone it's likely the new CEO will work in Sandusky. I don't see how CP will not continue to get more attention than KI in the future.

Anybody else a bit bothered that CP's opened before KI? I can't think of any logical reason why. I guess I shouldn't be surprised next year when CP gets a new coaster and KI gets the Eiffel Tower repainted. Happy 40th.

Well, it would be encouraging if some work started before the end of the year. They will have so much track work to do that I doubt they would need to move any of the haunt stuff anyway.

Awesome pics. Makes me want to go and take pictures at the park. Thanks for posting this.

I agree and that's really my point. I don't expect anything to change and then it will be the new leader's problem. Whoever that next person is will be the one to really "deal" with the issue.

Gemini is not a wood coaster. I should also point out that Mr. Kinzel will be retiring in January, long before any real decision is made most likely. So while his thoughts explain what the story has been for the past 2 years, it does not indicate what might happen in the future.

Pointbuzz has posted Dick Kinzel's keynote speech from Coastermania. You can get it here: http://i.pointbuzz.com/audio/coastermania2011.mp3 The Son of Beast question is at around the 28 minute mark. Initial estimate to fix $20 million+. EDIT: Whoa, it turned the URL into a player. Here is the link to the direct file.

I agree Hendrick. That's why I used the words "rumor" and "reportedly". Personally, I read a trip report over on Pointbuzz: http://pointbuzz.com/Forums/Thread/26681.aspx

Rumor has it that during the Coastermania Q&A at CP with Dick Kinzel, the topic of SOB was brought up. Reportedly, DK said they were considering the TG treatment but were waiting to see how it held up, price of steel, etc.

New for 2011! WindSeeker! Diamondback!

I wonder what kind of work they are doing on WindSeeker today. It has not been moving up and down the tower like it has been almost everyday this past week. I still expect to see it cycling before it gets close to opening.

Yeah I've never heard a good explanation of why those tunnel lights are on or off. Nothing directly comes to mind as to why it would be useful to have them on unless they are inspecting the tunnel.

Sounds like it was a good visit. Too bad about the crowds. I also would have thought it would be less crowded than you described.

Thanks for the info. It's a potato works conspiracy!

Thanks for sharing. This is a positive story and shows that the park really does care about feedback. It certainly gives me more confidence knowing they will definitely read any comments that come in.

Someone reported over on pointbuzz that CP's WindSeeker tossed a dummy or two during testing yesterday. I'll be watching the webcams closely today.

Unbelievable. From the dino webcam, it looks like they have been using an elevator lift all around WindSeeker today. It's possible they are installing these right now at KI.

Saw on the webcam today that they took off some of the WindSeeker seats and then re-attached them. They have water dummies loaded on the inside of each of the cars, but I have yet to see them do a cycle.

Do you think they will move the Dinosaurs Alive camera again? I kinda feel like we are looking at...well, nothing. Then again, I'm not really sure what we should be trying to see from an attraction like that. Personally, I preferred the close up WindSeeker cam. I thought there was a good possibility that you might see someone puking at some point this summer.

Thanks for the replies. I agree that it does appear on the bottom toolbar. I just find it weird that on other browsers it appears in the top right as well.

I'm not sure how everyone else reads the forums, but I make heavy use of the 'View New Content' and 'Mark this forum as read' buttons. I did notice that when using Google Chrome, the 'Mark all as read' button doesn't seem to be there. Anyone else notice this? Or is it just me?

This is so true. I just wonder if KI isn't "blind" as well about what to do. Considering what it took to build and get the ride open, then to later have to make the decision to use new trains and demolish the signature element, they have had a lot of tough decisions to make. I can only imagine that they would be second guessing any approach to "fix it" considering past events. I think the Gravity Group vs. B&M comparison is a little different. GG and B&M would have both loved to build rides at KI many years ago, but this situation concerns the fixing of a ride which happens to be GG's specialty. Although everything is speculation on our part, I have to believe that GG (and probably Intamin) submitted some sort of recommedations/proposals. It seems only probable that KI would reach out to any and all wood coaster manufacturers to submit a plan. We probably won't ever know what most of those plans were. To be clear, I sympathize with the park's situation. The fact that it is still standing indicates that they trying to save it if possible. But at this point, the ride it reminds me the most of is Drachen Fire.

Oh I think they would be interested. Remember that KI received several bids/plans for possible ideas of what to do with Son of Beast. To our knowledge, all of them were rejected. Gravity Group is based out of Cincinnati, so I'm sure there is some level of interest in being involved. I'm no ride engineer, but I would guess that many issues would be reduced if you could just reprofile the first half of the ride. KI probably doesn't want to do that though. Of course that what started the whole mess, KI not budging on their requirement to have a loop.