DoomPlague

and Meteor Canteen

With the premier trains, as long as I was in a middle seat SOB was fine. Smooth even. The wheel seats were atrocious but at least it had that middle seat option. I only ever rode Mean Streak in the 2000s (I think) but it was astonishingly bad. Anyone remember how it was in its early days? I rode Texas Giant in the early 90s before it got rough and loved it. Worst for me might be Flight Deck/Top Gun at Canada's Wonderland or most SLCs. But weirdly enough, FoF with its original restraints probably had just as much headbanging but I still liked it.

I bet Carowinds is behind the Western & Southern open moving to Charlotte

Does Coney BBQ not have ribs this year? It has been my go-to there.

I like Orion more and more as I ride. If anything its just smooth and consistent. I do prefer DB but Orion is obviously smoother, it has a better drop and the speed hill and that airtime hill at the turn before the brake are probably better than any singular element on DB. It's also a more consistent ride than Millennium Force which usually gives me no airtime (when you do get a good ride, its certainly great). I have no idea what ride is "most popular" with guests. Obviously old-timer KI fans (no offense) mostly love The Beast but I find myself having to defend it to everyone else myself. The ride that most consistently gets attention from younger enthusiasts seems to be Mystic Timbers, which many consider the best GCI or close to it (its also my favorite at the park). Some love Diamondback but others consider it a lower tier B&M hyper. I usually see it ranked in the middle of the gigas now that people are getting over the initial disappointment. But all of this is from thoosies and not the general public.

The single-use fastlane doesn't bother me, unless they start selling so many that it screws over the standby line as others have mentioned. While I would never use it myself at a park where I've ridden everything and can always come back, this could be a good option at other parks on those days where the full Fast Lane is mostly unnecessary. I imagine people visiting KI from another state with no plans to come back soon might find themselves wanting only to skip the Flight of Fear line or whatever other line is disproportionately long. I've always been of the mind that KI makes most of its money from people who are not like thrifty-ole-me and I benefit from that. All the people buying souvenirs, fast lanes, funpix, lockers, etc etc are contributing to CF staying afloat and investing back into the parks. The idea that everyone can have the same or similar experience is frankly unrealistic. As far as the high number of guests vs higher prices, that's obviously just a balancing act. CF probably has analytics that help them decide the optimal price point. On a side note, yesterday I saw a couple younger people use what looked like the single-use fast lanes (like the prestige pass ones) on Mystic Timbers but even from the entrance you could see that the standby line was only to the bottom of the steps. It saved them one or two dispatches.

Oddly enough, Craig is meme name given to a Halo character (the game series) that looks like this: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/halofanon/images/4/42/Craig-the-brute.png/revision/latest?cb=20200813192401

Rode Cargo Loco twice today. Couldn't get it to consistently spin either time. And honestly based on the lines I saw (or lack thereof) I think the GP weren't impressed. Also, the ride is really quiet and could use some music while its running. Also the seats get surprisingly hot sitting in the sun. With some tweaks it should be a nice addition but it needs those tweaks. Rode AE a few times. I'm pretty happy with the new theming elements in and around the station. The on-ride additions are nice, but not super noticeable. I do wish they would bring back the mist/fog in tunnel 3.

Tried Grain and Grill again tonight. But I got there late, around 7 PM, which may be why I didn't get to choose my bread? I just got the two small slices of baguette (artisan whatever). Got the beef and maybe its also because I was there late but I got a decent sized portion. 3 pieces (2 decent sized ones and 1 smaller one). Also got the perogies. I remembered that I'm not really a pierogi person. Just very heavy. The beef had decent flavor but it was overdone and I could tell it had been there a while. Honestly, unless they rethink that whole menu, I'm not sure I'll eat there again. Earlier in the day I decided to try the Clucks and Barrels at Brewhouse. Was hoping they were better than the other tenders I've had at KI and CP and they were but are still nothing great. I don't get why these parks struggle to serve up something as good as even the cheaper fast food places that have tenders.

I like it but many would call this an example of the marketing people overboard similar to the whole "What's in the shed" deal. Which is funny when you consider how similar people already feel about how AE and MT end.

I still think they probably wanted the 48 and just had to settle for the 24 at the last minute. Could be wrong, but with coasters the park has clearly favored higher capacity. I don't see the 24 seater increasing FL purchases by any significant margin. And while its going to suck this first year, down the road the capacity probably won't matter that much outside of the busiest days.

This is really best left to guest services. They have a form on the website to contact them (or you can stop in at the park). As far as I know, any upgrades have to be done by guest services.

I don't get the "insulting" part personally. If anything I would be insulted if they offered something dirt cheap like "Hey Star Wars fan. Since you're probably a loser with low income, here's a $50 pod to sleep in" Granted, I would probably also accept unlike the 6k experience they offered.

I was under the impression at this was all announced so late in 2022 because the park was unsure if they could get the rides soon enough. So I wonder if they went with the 24 seat model just to actually get it before summer? But yeah, having a lower capacity option at a park like KI definitely isn't ideal.

I always go that week due to the lower crowds. Never seemed like the tournament made much difference. I remember when the park would open the second to last week in August and it was always a great time to go.

Nah, the one I'm referring to was more fast paced and had a more noticeable melody that seems to be unrelated to anything I can find for the film.

Seattle is one I've thought about a lot. Everyone insists it rains too much there but it actually rains more at Kings Island, a successful park, than it does in the Seattle-Tacoma area. What's more is that rainfall drops off a good bit there in the summer, which would be a park's main season. Though I tried to tell someone in the area this and they wouldn't hear it. It's like rain is part of their identity. I like the idea of indoor parks that can run year round and out of the elements but it seems like it has to be the exact right place to work out. And as far as Cedar Fair, they seem averse to building any indoor, air-conditioned environments.

I miss having theme-appropriate music throughout the park. The Top Gun line had speakers lining the entire queue. There's one theme that would play that I liked, it was this dramatic, mostly electronic (I think?) music that I've never heard anywhere else and it doesn't seem to be from the movie.

I was at Enrique's yesterday (Friday afternoon) and got shredded cheese on my burrito bowl as I always have. Maybe they ran out? It's typically one of the last options alongside the lettuce, sour cream, etc and I don't remember there being other options aside from queso (though its definitely a bummer that that's no longer included). As far as Grain and Grill, I'm wondering if I got different potatoes than everyone else. I'll try the beef next time but the portion you get does seem smallish. With the chicken, I got two fairly big legs, but that's a cheap meat by comparison and @disco2000 apparently only got one. Sounds like they're still experimenting with portions? Or maybe there's a training issue? Obviously food prices are higher than they were a year ago, so I'm kind of surprised we aren't seeing more shrinkflation at the park.

The Bat did indeed open this evening. It wasn't open around 1 PM when I first checked but then I went back after 5:30 or so. Got 3 rides. Honestly, I think its running a bit shakier than it has in the past.

I wasn't as impressed as others were but I'll try something else next time. Got the Moroccan chicken with tzatziki sauce. I've had tzatziki sauce on gyros that I liked but this, imo, didn't go well with the chicken which was very mild (and I prefer white meat to legs). The potatoes (Potatas Bravas) have a little bit of spice to the sauce but I didn't really like it. Then again, I've been told that I have the palate of an 8-year-old. The bread was good at least. I like that the place has a lot of sides options and 3 bread options.

Part of me gets superstitious about jinxing things that I want to happen. So I'm just going to list things that I would rather not see or don't care about, and then either I get what I want or I can at least say "Hey! I was right!" 1. The Bat will be the next coaster to go. A lot of people are saying this and between the recent problems and the fact that Arrow isn't around all make this seem likely. 2. The park will get two new coasters this decade but one will be a family coaster and the other will be a B&M that enthusiasts and KI fans won't want. 3. There will be at least two coasters removed this decade, so the park will have fewer coasters in 2030 than it did in 2018. 3. They will continue to cut down trees throughout the park and make it look like a barren concrete jungle. 4. Action Zone will get a drink stand in 2039

You can tell how resistant KI was to the whole idea with how lenient this policy is compared to what other parks have done. I agree with those that question the 4 PM part. That's going to cause trouble for people who come in earlier. It should at least be "all day" for Saturday and Sunday, if they are going to do this. The policy probably isn't needed at all on weekdays.

It's worth pointing out that the ride originally had 6 cars per train and now just has 5. That adds to the problem.

IIRC, he knew he was breaking the rules but thought he would "get a warning." (if you expect a warning...you don't actually need a warning).