markr

Top Thrill Dragster only number 13? Ohhh, that makes me so mad.

Thank you KI for those wonderful bargains-stuffed myself on the $1 per slice pizza. ( I'm not sure I'm happy about what it did to my waist line-lol.) Also, the park was practically empty the whole weekend, so had nice short waits. ( Not sure it proves my point about holiday weekends not being crowded or because of the threat of bad weather.) At any rate, a nice, pleasant weekend. Next up Haunt.

I remember Keith being at ERT a lot at Diamondback and always getting real wild and crazy. I didn't get to know him as well as I would have liked but treasure the fact that I did have the privilege of knowing him. One of my favorite sights at KI was seeing him with his two boys-he was obviously devoted to them. My heartfelt condolences to his wife and boys.

KI Original Employee, too much of your post seems to focus away from bullies accepting responsibility for their actions. While it is true people should stand up for themselves, just because the victim does not stand up for themselves is absolutely no excuse for the bully's actions-that is like saying that the thief is less guilty just because you leave your wallet half-way out of your back pocket for him to take. And I would like to address the issue of you becoming friends with the bully after you fought him: To say that anyone has to earn the right to be treated with respect and dignity, with all due respect, is a bunch of hogwash. If a person expects me to "prove" myself to them by punching them in the nose, then I want nothing to do with them-real friends love and respect you for whom you are. The whole idea of today's anti-bullying campaign, in short, is to stop blaming the victim and make bullies accountable for their actions. I might add that there are other ways of standing up to people besides physical force, Physical force does not prepare one for the real world because, if you used physical force against a bully at work do you know what you would be? Fired. PS: I know I am speaking with a lot of passion but it is because I feel passionate about the subject. Nothing personal against you, KI Original Employee, as I do like a lot of your posts.

^Used to love the Metts at Bier Gardens.

^Well, sort of related to Oktoberfest. Anyway, I agree-Oktoberfest was always one of my fav areas of the park.

Viking Fury really is the only attraction left showing evidence of Oktoberfest existing.

Since there is a break in the tunnel after going around the lower helix before entering the tunnel on the upper helix, I would call that two tunnels. The second tunnel past the break shed used to be two tunnels before being connected as one tunnel. Its the same logic. I never thought about this issue before, ie are there two tunnels or just one tunnel on the final helices ( If I spelled helices wrong or if I improperly categorized one helix as two, I apologize. Whew-I'm exhausted from thinking up this post.)

I've said this before on other threads but on 3-day Sat-Mon holiday weekends, I find that crowds are usually light at both KI and CP at least on Saturdays-if there is a busy day it is usually on the Sunday. I just think people prefer other family activites on holiday weekends instead of amusement parks like picnics.

With respect to trash cans, I would have to agree with Tanna. I hate covered trash cans because of having to touch all those germs after just washing my hands. And speaking of germs, nothing drives me crazier than the rude people who use the blow driers ( the ones where you put your hands in the holes) to dry their clothes after getting off the water rides.

Sorry to be a party pooper, but has anyone thought yet about how Fast Lane will affect capacity? I plan do ERT with my good old Platinum Pass so, hopefully, this won't be an issue for me.

I am so psyched up to do my annual trek of the haunts with my coaster buddies Darlene and Karen and to watch them get scared out of their wits. ( lol.)

To be honest, there was nothing on Joncars' post that offended me. In fact, it seemed like last night, we were having a nice, civil discussion about the Funperks program. Just saying.

Thanks Khaoskat.

I think Kaoskat's idea is an excellant suggestion, Joncars. By the way, what is the difference between earning instant rewards and advancing to the next level?

When was KIC Day??? And why didn't I get invited??? Hmmmph! When was KIC Day??? And why didn't I get invited??? Hmmmph! It was on another thread-I don't think it was an official KIC day, just an informal get-together.

Thank you KBlanken. It looks like Fast Lane tickets indeed are covered by the Fun Perks program.Joncar, I would click on the link Kblanken provided and take it back to Guest Services. This time I would ask for a Supervisor to review. Guest Services has always been great when I wanted to speak with a supervisor about an issue and always my issue has been resolved.

I reviewed the frequently asked questions on the Funperks website and it says that admission tickets are not covered-I don't think FL passes are categorized as admission tickets plus the representative who processed the purchase asked for Joncars' gold pass. I would have to agree with Joncar in that I don't understand why FL purchases would not be covered. Maybe I am missng something.

Just editing my post-I thought FL stood for Florida, just realized that you meant Fast Lane.

Its not unusual for the kids' areas to be crowded during the week days with stay-at-home parents and their kids.

Wish I could find that old Mantis ad with that smart alecky kid about to step on the bug while the voice-over says " Ever wonder why you were told never to step on a Mantis? Anyway, love how the ride just soars around the entrance. I had heard rumors that originally it was going to be a combination wing coaster and flyer. While a flyer would have been nice, I'm kind of relieved that it is just a sit-down coaster as flyers can be kind of uncomfortable.

^Me too. What is so menacing about a Mantis? Its actually a harmless insect. Do wish I had bought some of the cool Banshee gear-they are collectors' items today.

Woo hoo!!! I can't wait. PS-I wonder if they'll have to rename this ride because of local pressure? I remember how the original name for Mantis was Banshee but, because the name was so dark, the park was pressured into re-naming it. The name The Gatekeeper seems just as dark if not darker than Banshee.

^I do agree with you that any complaint should have been brought to the attention of Guest Services or a manager. ( One of the "blue shirts"-lol.) I have had only a few issues over the years with service and have always been very happy with the way Guest Services has responded. While I do agree with you that employees should not have to put up with verbal abuse, I do not think it is reasonable to expect a customer who has not had a good experience not to be angry and to not express this anger. Again, if a customer service associate is not prepared to deal with a customer expressing anger at mediocre service, then he or she has no business in customer service.

I just wanted to do a little critque about this scenario. If I was in The Bat's shoes, I would not have been a happy camper either. If I am not mistaken, Skyline is already made, so how long should it take to make his order? I must agree that 10 minutes passing where the order was not ready yet is unacceptable. What is most unacceptable to me is that the associate did not apologize to him after seeing how upset he was. I work at a busy call center and may have to deal with a customer who is very angry because of others' mistakes. While the others' mistakes may not have been my fault, guess what? The customer does not ( and should not) care and he is going to take his anger out on me. It is my job as an associate to de-escalate that call by apologizing to him and doing everything to correct the problem. Yes, maybe yelling is not the answer but I don't see anywhere that The Bat cussed at the associate. If you are in customer service and expect customers to not be angry, then you have no business in customer service. I agree that everyone has the right to be treated with respect and dignity, including employees. It just seems like I am seeing too many excuses for employees' doing a mediocre job. ( They may have had a bad day, etc.) In my opinion excuses are simply unacceptable.