XGatorHead 8904

^ That's why I refer to myself as a Trekkie. I always considered it this way: Trekkie (noun): a person who appreciates and enjoys watching the Star Trek shows and movies. Trekker (noun): a person who feels they must live the Star Trek shows and movies.

I was thinking that they did away with it too, that's why I put the question mark in the topic name. But in the ad they also showed the outside of a building that looks like a dorm, and if I remember correctly, a hallway with a bunch of doors in it that looks to me like a dorm hallway.

Kudos to the park for releasing the entertainment schedule ahead of time this time, unlike May 24th. Maybe this time I won't miss the Clown Band! One of my favorite spots to watch the fireworks is the area between the tower and BLSC. The only disadvantage of that spot is on a typical day this year you're not able to hear the music. In past years they have put speakers in this area for the July 4th fireworks though. We plan to walk through this area earlier in the day, and if the speakers are there, that's where we'll be. If not, we may watch from Coney or Rivertown, as these areas are typically less crowded areas to see the fireworks, and the views are not bad depending on where you are. I never quite understood why everyone crowds onto IS to see them, the tower and trees are in the way in too many spots there for my liking.

I looked around and haven't seen this discussed anywhere yet. I've been seeing ads on Channel 9 about their I-Team investigation airing this evening at 6:00 (they usually also cover the I-Team reports again on their 11:00 newscast). They're saying it's about a work program at a major tri-state attraction, and some of the workers in that program do not feel they are being treated well. During the ad they show a Litter Gitter, the reporter walking with a man who looks like it may be Mr. Helbig (it's shown very briefly so I can't confirm that it is), and 3 guys who are/were presumably involved in the work program. In the ad, one of the guys says that he feels "like we are in prison". My wife saw this ad last night, and she is very sure that the guy who made that remark is none other than Jorge, the ride op who gave me an attitude at Racer: see the lowlights section of Trip #6 here. I know years ago when the program first started, they housed the workers at the UC dorms, and the workers had to take a bus to and from the park. I'm not sure if they still do this or not, but I can kind of see how it would suck to be in a strange city with no transportation other than the Cincinnati Metro. What other complaints they may have we'll have to tune in and find out. I'm sure after it airs they'll have it posted on their website, http://www.wcpo.com/, for those of you not in the area.

We went to ST:TE on September 9th, 2001 (for some reason I'm able to remember that exact date). Being a Trekkie, I enjoyed it (no, I'm not the kind that dresses up and goes to conventions. I like the shows and movies, I don't have to live it). Even my wife, a non-Trekkie who I tried several times to convert but was never able to, had a good time. She even enjoyed the museum portion, which I thought she wouldn't (of course I had to stop and read almost everything, which she got a little annoyed with towards the end). The pre-show of the ride was well done, the ride itself was pretty good (I think Star Tours at Disney Studios is better as a ride). At that time they didn't have the Borg ride, just the Klingon one. We had lunch at Quark's, and my wife just had to talk to a Klingon during our lunch, who was very rude, which is typical of his species. The food was pretty good as I remember, but the Klingon insisted that we had ordered the wrong type of dish. I then picked up a few items in the store, including a nice polo shirt with the ST:TE logo. I worked at PKI at the time, and my wife had a season pass. We were a little upset when we were not able to get in free, but they did give us 1/2 off the admission price which I felt was a fair compromise. I don't remember if ST:TE admission was a perk of the PP SP back then or not. I can't really say I'm surprised this is closing though, considering the decline in the ST franchise over the past few years. For a while I felt that they had too much ST on tv, and I was actually kind of glad when Enterprise was cancelled. At that time I had felt for a few years that there needed to be a break in the ST universe, after which the franchise could go through a revitalization. Well, we are now in that break, and I'm looking forward to the new J.J. Abrams ST movie on May 8th, 2009. I'll be at the theater opening day, just don't expect to see me in a Starfleet uniform! http://www.startrekmovie.com/ http://www.ncc-1701.com/

I know drawings are not the most accurate depictions, but in the drawing of Rail Blazer on that brochure in the link, there are no bars in front of their legs! I never rode it, but for those who know about that coaster, was the only restraint the OTSR as depicted in the drawing? Or did it have the lap bar like KC and all the other stand-ups I've ridden?

Your missing a fact here, the park does not put on these events. The park is rented out to this organization the same way it is rented out to P&G. You are correct, Dane, in that the GLCCC is no different than P&G, GE or any other company that rents out the park. While I do not agree with what secondson is implying, the park does put on a Christian event every year, Spirit Song, which is not just a renting out of Timberwolf but an actual park event. If you have the chance, definitely work that night! It was always one of my favorite times to work. Everyone is there to have fun, and there is usually some good entertainment at the park then. Some of the performances they had in Festhaus in past years were very good! Unlike other events at the park, including the one I previously mentioned above, I personally cannot remember having even one bad experience on Pride Night.

There have been rumblings about this for years, even when Mason first annexed KI. At the time I was there, we always knew that there was a potential for Mason to do this, and we were opposed to the idea then. We had discussed it and even back then if Mason had proposed this the park planned to fight it, which I believe in all honesty they should, especially at this time in the economy. I know I didn't like the fact that when Mason annexed the park, I had to then pay city taxes on my earnings. I live in a small section of Sycamore Township that is not within the boundaries of any city, and I loved not having to pay city taxes there or at work. I know I was lucky then, now I work in Blue Ash so the Mason annexation prepared me for working in a majority of the region. But on the other hand, it is a great way for the city to earn money. However, it should be earmarked specifically for police, fire and infrastructure needs that arise due to the attractions being there. It should not be used for items such as the community center, which I refuse to believe is "outdated, becoming obsolete" as Eric Hansen, the city manager, claims. While I've never been in the community center proper, I have been to Corwin Nixon park there, and attended events at Mason High School. From the outside of the community center, I would think that other areas around here would LOVE to have what Mason currently has. Unless the money is earmarked like I specified, I am opposed to this, especially since I now go there as a visitor. That 3% tax on my $89.99 season pass will buy me a half gallon of gas!

Good TR, nice to see you had fun even with the overpriced LaRosa's. And your's was not long compared to some others I've seen on here (mine included)!

Holy crap! There was a KIC Day this year and I missed it? J/K!

You and I have probably heard about the same thing. If so, I would have to agree with you that this attraction would not be in a location that would be shocking. The attraction itself may be shocking from the name I heard for it, but not the location.

Chipotle's bad for you but the bols aren't bad? The only difference between a burrito and a bol is the tortilla the burrito is wrapped in. Now, what you put in either of them is what makes all the difference.

Slingshot is worth doing at least once just for the experience, but is not something I would do regularly (I'll save my nickels for other things). The Skyflyer experience is much better IMO. And it's especially great when they have the $5 price.

A Chipotle sounds great to me! I have it every Wednesday for lunch. We started that tradition at my last job, and I started it here at my new one. Chicken burrito bol, black beans, corn salsa, cheese & sour cream. Instead of using a fork, scoop it up with the chips. It's the one "bad" lunch I allow myself every week!

I'm going by myself... but I have friends who always go to Rush too, and we always just run into each other there. You'd think that we would actually plan something together, but for some reason we never do. I'll see most of them at a wedding on 6/28, I should talk to them then about the show. I was listening to a song the other day that I thought would be good for this topic, but I forget what it was now. I do remember it was Rob Zombie, I'll have to break out that cd again so I can remember which one.

According to the Gold Pass calandar, there are no ERT's on Sundays. ERT's for Delirium and Invertigo are on Fridays.

A few visits ago when we were exiting the elevator at the bottom, a man asked the ride op why they never opened the lower (50 ft) level. He told the ride op he had been coming to the park since it opened and it was never open to the public. The ride op confirmed to him that that level was never opened to the public but didn't know why. At that point I just had to speak up and tell the both of them that it was open at one time but was closed for good in the early 80's. Either that guy's memory was failing him or he thought the park first opened in 1986!

You're right, but I was referring to the fact that 13 years from now the brood that was in parts of Cinci in 2004 (actually their offspring) will return. And then 4 years after that, this current brood will be back.

The answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is 42. Anyway, I would much rather deal with cicadas every 13 years than the love bugs in Florida every year.

Trip #6 – 6/1 We weren’t planning on going at all this weekend, but my mom called us a few days before to get a group together. We had a prior commitment in the early afternoon, but met everyone at the park when we were done with that. It was the same group as trip #1, but in place of my sister was my mom’s fiancé. Highlights: - My wife actually rode two major coasters! I told her how smooth Red Racer was, so she rode that, then surprised us when she got in line with us at FoF. She hasn’t ridden any coasters but BLSC and AdvExp (and now LBGC) the past few years because she doesn’t like how they make her feel anymore. But she did just fine on these two. - My first ride on Avatar this year (and only my second ever)! - Our first ride on Wild Thornberries River Adventure this year. My daughter rode it once with us last year, and that was enough for her. After that, all she wanted from that ride was to watch the elephant spray people. This time, she surprised me as I got off Avatar when she told me she wanted to ride the boat ride. No one in line at all, got right on. She loved it and wanted to get right back on. We went straight from the exit back to the entrance. That was the first time she ever asked to do that on any ride. - My daughter decided on her own that she wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower (the total opposite of our first visit). While up there, she found a cicada clinging to the railing. She absolutely loves cicadas, so she was petting it and talking to it. When we were ready to go back down, she made sure to say goodbye to it! - Our first Smurf cone of the year (sorry, going old school). Lowlights: - The Robbie Kneivel display in the IR stairway area has been replaced with a display on the Carrousel. The placard in the display stated that it features the 1918 Wurlitzer Duplex Organ. But as has been posted here before, the innards of the organ were removed a few years ago, and now, sadly, all you hear is faint recorded music from a speaker. I miss the organ. - I didn’t ride it, but my uncle reported that none of the fire and water effects were operating on BLSC when he rode it. Could the Disaster Tranport-ization of this ride have begun? - Of the 3 ride cycles of Racer that left while I was in the station (including my own), Red and Blue were dispatched together a grand total of 0 times. - When we got in line for Red Racer, we picked a seat with no one waiting. My wife got in and buckled her seatbelt, but mine would not come out at all. We got out of the seat and back in line, and my wife just narrowly missed the gate closing on her leg. A ride op, who shares his name with the largest actor on Lost, looked at us like “What’s up?” I told him the seatbelt didn’t work. He got an attitude with me and in a snotty tone of voice said “It works.” I admittedly got a little attitude back with him and said “No, it doesn’t. It doesn’t come out at all. Don’t tell me it works when it doesn’t.” The ride op said, “It does work, I’ll show you.” As they were checking the restraints, the ride op told the girl checking my side to show me how the seatbelt works. And of course, I had a HUGE laugh when she couldn’t get the seatbelt out either. I’ve been using seatbelts since before that ride op was born, and he’s going to show me how to work one. HA! Sorry, but I don’t appreciate snide attitudes from park employees, and I wouldn't have gotten rude with him if he hadn't with me first. Trip #7 – 6/8 It’s a hot day, so Boomerang Bay is the cure! Highlights: - We started our visit by seeing Endless Summer on Ice. Great show, as it was last year. We sat right under the balloons and didn’t tell my daughter about them. She loved seeing Yogi, the shark and Scooby in the show, and she was surprised when the balloons dropped. We ended up taking 2 of them home. - Such a nice day for the waterpark. My daughter loved going up and down in the waves of the wavepool, going down all the slides, and walking around on her own in Kookaburra Bay. - This was the first time we took her over to Jackeroo Landing. She had no fear of doing the slides there, which are considerably bigger than the ones at Koala Splash and Kangaroo Lagoon. She did the blue one first and loved it. Then all three of us headed to the green, then the orange. It was great that all three of us could actually do the same ones! Lowlights: - There were no lifeguards at the top of the curvy white slides at Koala Splash. I know this was most likely due to staffing levels, since it was this way at the end of the BB season last year too. But I guess this is better than having those slides closed. I just don’t like telling other people’s kids to get to the back of the line when they cut in front of all the other kids, which happens all the time. It’s amazing how many little kids are there with no parents watching them. - They were only running 2 rafts on Koala Splash, so that made the line extra long for my wife and daughter. But on the plus side, the lifeguard at the top was aware that they needed more and was waiting to get the chance to talk to a manager about getting more, since 3 other rafts were sitting down below with problems. Trip #8 – 6/15 Another trip to the Bay… Highlights: - Lifeguards at the top of the curvy white slides at Koala Splash! - 5 rafts running on Koala Splash! - We actually got decent service at Festhaus. We only got 2 pieces of pizza, watermelon and a drink refill, so the food was already out for us. So all we needed to do was pick it up and then wait for our cup refill, unlike the debacle last time. - We went to see Girls Night Out after BB closed, and the cast went out of their way to interact with my daughter. We were in our usual front row (er, table) seats and when the cast came out before the show, the one in the black vest and pink skirt, I think her name is Kayla, sat down next to my daughter and talked to her for a while. Then during the intro to “This One’s for the Girls”, the soloist pointed my daughter out and said she wanted to see her clapping along. So my daughter put down her pizza and started clapping. She loves it when the performers talk her to like this, and the Girls Night Out and County Line casts are doing a great job interacting with the crowd! Lowlights: None!

You are correct. It was put in there as a tie-in to Paramount Studios and there was a stunt show done on and around it the first year of Action Zone. That didn't last too long...

Wow, I just have. Everything posted by coconutjuice was a useless waste of time. I think we have a new JacksonPKI!!!

Oh my god... what a great way to start posting on here. You're going to win a lot of people over with that as your first post.

Last Friday I attended the Moody Blues concert at the new National City Pavilion. When going to Riverbend I always park in the lot next to River Downs, but this time I decided to park in the other lot, just so I could walk through Coney. That was the first time I had walked through in many, many years, and the first time that I ever paid any attention to any of it (the only other time I walked through was for a Jimmy Buffett concert, and let's just say I wasn't in very good shape to remember much! ). I took the time to walk around, and I must say Coney is a fine little park. I found myself wondering what it was like in it's heyday; I unfortunately was born a little too late to experience that. My company is having a picnic there on 6/21, but I won't be able to make it because my daughter has a dance recital at 3:00 that afternoon, and by the time that's over and the drive down there, we wouldn't have much time to enjoy anything. Oh well, maybe some other time. There's plenty there for us all to enjoy. And the concert was good. Even though I was in the back section, the seats were great! I highly recommend this venue. With it looking so much like the main Riverbend pavilion (only smaller), it threw me off when I was able to see the Python and Rock-O-Plane to the right of the stage!

Skyscraper looks cool to me! I get nervous on Ferris Wheels, but of course I still ride them. And this is like a turbo-charged one with that speed. I'd probably pay $20 to ride it the first time. After that, no.