markr

Loved Enchanted Voyage, especially that song. I agree that KI made a big mistake getting rid of one of its signature attractions.

Diamondback will open approximately 3 years after Cedar Fair's acquisition of KI. Millenium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and Maverick all opened 3 years apart and, if I am not mistaken, planning on Beast started in 1976, about three years before its opening. It would, therefore, appear to me feasible that Diamondback was never planned in the Paramount years.

In addition to riding Racer with them, got to meet and chat with them. They were so warm and down to earth. Thank you Susan, Barry and Mike. Please come back soon ( don't wait another 35 years) and bring back the rest of the gang.

Millenium Force the first year was 54 inches but they lowered it to 48 inches the second year.

Nitro's height requirement is 54 inches, so I am guessing it will be 54 inches for Diamondback.

No Gemini? Once again, great trip report and great photos.

Both in their debut year of 2000: Son of Beast ( Because running only one train): 3hours Millenium Force- 2 hours 45 minutes ( and worth every minute.)

I rode Hurler when I was at KD 14 years ago and thought it was a great ride. In my opinion one of the most underrated woodies.

I thought Shooting Star at Coney Island was the tallest and fastest at that time.

Not sure I will have the motivation now to go to CP with Diamondback in my own backyard. Rode Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure and it totally blew me away with the air time. I think Diamondback will be very similar.

The Brady Brides, very briefly as I recall in 1981. I remember when the Brady Bunch was on the Friday night lineup at 8:00 pm and the Partridge Family was on right after it at 8:30p. During the first two seasons, they still had cigarette commercials on television. Indeed both the Bradys and the Partridges have a special place in my heart and in the hearts of many others of my generation. I will be there on 8/31 to welcome them home. How about bringing some of the Partridges back also?

The next time you go to CP, I wouldn't go I-75 to Ohio Turnpike. You are really going out of your way. I would go I-71, get off on Rt. 36, the Delaware exit. Turn left on 36 until you get to Rt 23. Take23 north and get off at Rt 4. Take Rt 4 North all the way to Sandusky. Or if you do take I-75, get off at Rt. 6 at Bowling Green. Take Rt 6 east all the way to Sandusky. Great trip report.

Thank you KILifeguard for standing up for what's right. There has been a lot of debate about whether or not it was right for the workers to go to the press. This is another example of the blame the victim mentality. How the workers' responded to their situation (ie going to the press instead of their employer) is really totally irrelevant. ( and unless any of you were in a similar postition and alone in a strange county, what right have any of you to pass judgment? ) The fact of the matter is they have been living in substandard conditions and someone must accept responsibility for this.

But employment at will contracts are subject to Ohio Unemployment laws. Yes, an employee in an at -will contract can be fired for any reason or no reason at all but if he or she is a covered employee and is fired without just cause as defined by unemployment law, they are entitled to unemployment benefits. Of course foreign workers probably wouldn't qualify for unemployment benefits. I simply brought up the unemployment benefits issue because the question was directed directly to me, ie would I fear reprisal for going to the press about an action by my employer. Again, I am in no way saying that KI did anything wrongful as to the workers. However, if you work for a company, I think you must always remember it is your own responsibility to look out for your best interests. Employers are usually looking out for their best interests, not yours. That is simply a fact of life.

So you would not fear dismissal by going to a media outlet? Now that one boggles the mind. I wouldn't fear dismissal. In fact I would dare the employer to even think of dismissing me for going to the media, for I would be entitled to unemployment benefits if that were the reason for discharge. I am sure that the employer would hestiate about discharge if they were to risk higher unemployment premiums.

I myself lived at Woodridge on the Lake from April 1999 to March, 2000 and the living conditions there indeed were not good. I constantly had headaches and was fatigued. I found out after I moved out that there was mold in the buildings. Also, there was a big fire in one of the neighboring buildings which caused the building to burn to the ground. I am really miffed at the personal attacks being levied by many of you on this forum against the foreign workers. I am not by any means saying that KI is responsible for the situation. We don't have enough information to determine that. What is clear to me is that the workers indeed are living in less than healthy living conditions. They are human beings and deserve to be treated as such. Many of you feel that if the workers had gone to their employer instead of the press, all of their problems would have been solved. I speak from personal experience and, believe me, many people for good reason are afraid to go to their employers for fear of retribution such as dismissal. For those of you who are in the workers' age group, I ask you how you would feel if you were in a strange land and subjected to a similar situation? And to those of you like me who could be those workers' parents, I ask what if it was your son or daughter?

While I have had some issues with park security in the past, I feel that Cedar Fair has made remarkable improvement in park security. Witness the increased amount of police officers in the park. However, statements that issues like line cutting, smoking, etc are secondary to guest safety misses a valid point. These issues are indeed safety issues. Second hand smoke is a serious health hazard to others. And line cutting has the potential to escalate into a violent situation unless security is readily available to deal with it.

And the park's/website's loss if enough people agree with me and refuse to shell out the money. It is immaterial to me whether or not the website/park negotiates an agreeable price. I am simply expressing my opinion that I feel the price is too high. If the price is lowered because of enough feedback, that is fine. However, I won't lose sleep if it is not lowered. I will simply not attend.

Last year's event was a blast. However I feel you are making a mistake charging season passholders the same price for the event as non-passholders. Last year, as I recall, you charged $16.99 + $3.00 shipping or $19.99 for passholders. This year you are charging $29..99 + 3.00 shipping or $32.99 for everyone, including passholders. That is simply too pricy. Because of this, I regret that I will not be attending this year unless you lower the price for passholders.

I think from mid June to Labor Day weekend, CP has DJ's at Millenium Force and Raptor queues. Also the music in the Mantis queue line is the same as the music in the videos-they simply turned the video portion off. It would be nice if they could have DJ's in The Beast and Firehawk lines. I suspect the new ride will have western music like Maverick, so unlikely we will see DJ"s there.

Cedar Fair is doing a super job bringing back the old KI I grew up with and loved. In addition to getting back to KI's roots of building great coasters, they have also brought back the great live shows that KI was legendary for. Of course, best of all, the park is so much cleaner.

I don't think there's any rule that a hyper coaster cannot have inversions. I am inclined to think perhaps there are loops on the coaster since there are 8 rows 4 across. I am just basing this upon Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure which has no inversions and has 9 rows of 4 across. I am just guessing.

There are indeed trashcans in the parking lot. Cleaners or no cleaners, the trash in the parking lot is the result of people simply being rude and inconsiderate toward others and the envirenment. Yeah, ALOT of people at KI seem to be like that. Fortunately for us, the teenagers in the yellow shirts are doing a good job of keeping the park clean so we can have a good day at the park Amen. I cannot praise the workers enough for the outstanding job they are doing keeping the park clean.

There are indeed trashcans in the parking lot. Cleaners or no cleaners, the trash in the parking lot is the result of people simply being rude and inconsiderate toward others and the envirenment.

Would love to see CP build an intamin woodie like El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure. One can only hope.