XGatorHead 8904

^ I thought the same thing. Not quite as good as last year's, but still pretty good. Still definitely worth checking out. It is still in it's first week, so it may get better as the season goes along.

The grandson was probably about 4-5 years old.

"The Cincinnati Kids", aka the Kings Island episode, is scheduled to air at 11:30am this Sunday on the MeTV network.

Band camp? In June?!? They start earlier and earlier! Back in my day, we didn't start until August, when it was nice and hot outside... This event sounds like fun! I've been to several KIC events in the past and they are always a good time. But I've got some good news and bad news. Good news: The event is on June 15th, the same day that my company outing is at KI, so I'd be there anyway... Bad news: ... if I weren't going to be out of town for my family reunion. But at least my family reunion means a trip to Holiday World on the way back, since Santa Claus is the exact halfway point between the reunion and home. To everyone who does get to go, have fun, and make sure to tell the rest of us all about it!

What is it with me being in Planet Snoopy and overhearing comments about Enchanted Voyage? Yesterday in front of Flying Ace Aerial Chase, Mrs. Gator and I heard a grandfather say to his grandson, " Let's go ride the Smurf boat ride next."

Woman pointing to the building behind The Great Pumpkin Coaster: "That used to be 'it's a small world.'" Um, yeah... not quite. Boat ride that took you past various scenes while playing a song that would get stuck in your head, yes, but that's about where the similarities end. And no Mary Blair or Sherman Brothers on Enchanted Voyage, or Smurfs' Enchanted Voyage.

2 or 3 years ago I put velcro on the pockets of a couple pairs of shorts (now dubbed my "park shorts") and I have never had a problem with losing anything out of them. Individual results may vary, and past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

I know that they'll have Duff Beer, but the question I want to know is will they also be serving Flaming Moes? I'm excited to see this, but I don't know when we'll be going down there again. The Simpsons Ride was one of our favorite things at the park. I was sad about the loss of Back to the Future, but I think they did a better job with The Simpsons.

I saw the topic title and thought this was going to be a haunt attraction to be built somewhere, based on one of my favorite horror movies of all time. Every time I see the name Carol Ann(e), I instantly think of Poltergeist and Zelda Rubenstein's famous line "Don't go into the light, Carol Anne!" Oh well... I think this will look nice along the river. I haven't been down to The Banks yet, I really should make it down there.

If I remember correctly, The Beast queue still had water even after Vortex was built, but I could be mistaken. The years all run together and I don't remember what year the water was removed (but I do think it was after 1987, Vortex's debut season). As to why the water was removed, Shaggy had a good post a few years ago:

But not too much! The "big boy" seats are not consistent though. My first time riding Gatekeeper (row 4, right side, on the end), the ride op got me on with just a little bit of effort. After a quick bite to eat, I went to row 4 on the left side, on the end, and the girl wouldn't even attempt to get me in. I tried again a few hours later, left side row 4 on the end again. DaveStroem tried to get me in, and there was still about an inch left before the belt would meet the latch. A few hours after that, I once again went to row 4, right side, on the end, and it took quite a bit of effort from Beast Man and sheikra_rocks, but they got me in. If I had know from the start that the trains were different colors, or where the train numbers could be found, I would have noted what train I got the first time. From what I could tell, GK's big boy seats were really no different than Wild Eagle's regular seats (which don't have designated big boy seats). Sometimes I fit them, sometimes I didn't. But when I WAS able to ride, it's a very good ride. The keyholes are great, as is the roll past the towers on the way back.

^Me too. I've been to my fair share of KI media events, and this will be my first at another park. I'm going to bed as soon as I get home from work (I purposely stayed up WAY late last night so I would be tired and ready for bed early today). I'm planning on getting up at 11:30 and leaving my house by midnight for the four hour drive to the Point. I can't wait! I'm resisting the temptation to watch the POV's so I can get the full experience for myself.

We were in line for AE on Saturday and the guy in front of me saw those and said "Those are new". I corrected him and told him those are left over from King Cobra, to which he responded, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that ride." Dare-to-fly, you had me questioning myself since you're usually better than that!

I for one want the park to know that I'm leaving to have a parking lot picnic, or to visit a restaurant down the street. No more FunPerks, and if the service we got at Bier Garten (and the service friends got at Reds Hall of Fame Grille) on Saturday is any indication of the way they will be running things in Food Service this year, I'll be taking spending my money elsewhere, be it Kroger to pack a lunch or Taco Bell, Chipotle, Burger King or one of the other nearby establishments. (Yes, I realize it was opening day and am willing to give KI Food Service another chance... one more.) Maybe then they'll actively work again to keep my money in the park. People gotta eat, but not necessarily in the park.

There's a future for her in the Dippin' Dots trade.

Let's see.... how to justify to Mrs. Gator the purchase of a large Gargamel head... I got nothin'... Smurfy, it's all yours!

New article on Cincinnati.com about all the new things at KI this season: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130426/ENT/304260018/Kings-Island-adds-time-tested-fun?source=nletter-nletter-entertainment

Just a little over a week until I make my 5th annual trip to HW's opening day. I sincerely hope that I see Pat at the entrance, as I have almost every year. There was only one year that she wasn't at the gate on opening day. When I saw her a month later, I asked her where she had been, and she told me that she had been visiting her family in Florida. I'll try to remember to report back if she was there. Even though she is what many on here may consider "old", she is very active. I imagine constantly walking up and down those hills and around the entire park would keep you good shape!

Thanks... rub it in... But seriously, it looks very nice. When I told GatorGirl that we couldn't go today because of the time, she asked, "But we're eating there Saturday, right?" I think I have a little Reds fan on my hands! Wish I could have been there with you guys, but a little thing called employment in a department with very inflexible hours got in the way. I would have had to take the whole day off... I'm already doing that for Gatekeeper media day!

What's The Italian Job: Stunt Track? You sound like my daughter GatorGirl. When Mrs. Gator slips and says "Italian Job", GatorGirl asks, "What's Italian Job?", and when Mrs. Gator says "Top Gun", GatorGirl asks, "What's Top Gun?" These started out as honest questions at the beginning of last year, since GatorGirl only knew them under their current names, but now she asks just to drive her mother nuts, and to make me laugh!

There was a link in another topic that went to the KI website that had a chart with the differences between regular, gold & platinum passes. On that chart it showed that gold & platinum passholders got 10% discount on food. Of course, that page also had pictures of Dorney passes on it, and advertised Fast Lane to get early rides on "Millennium Force, Raptor, and more". That link now shows a different page than what it did before, so who knows if we will actually get 10% discount now. I have not yet received an email from KI about the end of FunPerks, and offering me a BAF discount.

Oops, double post.

Tough choice, but I had to go with Mrs. Brady. Mrs. Partridge was close because she played in the band, but I watched the Bradys way more than I did th Partridges. And on that note, it's only a few more days until I have my annual night-before-opening-day Partridges/Bradys at KI double feature!

I'm disappointed in the end of FunPerks. I've said numerous times on here that my in-park spending increased last year due to two reasons: Hank's Burrito Shack & FunPerks. In my experience, most of the time the cashiers asked if I had a gold pass, or if they didn't I had it right there to hand it to them. I only had one problem all year when the cashier at IS Skyline swiped my pass after the transaction was complete, but it was quickly resolved by the associate at the FunPerks booth. I liked the instant rewards that I got for free cotton candy (of course, I think GatorGirl liked it even better), and the burger meal deals in Soak City, which we used on several occasions (note, I said used, not re-used... they were separate offers). I know that there was abuse of the system by others, and I hope that that didn't contribute to FP's demise. Because of FP, we did things we normally wouldn't do... we had a free game, so we used it to play the squirt gun game in Coney... and of course I had to pay to play against GatorGirl so they could get a race going. We had a free rider on Skyflyer, and we paid for the 2nd person to ride. I especially loved the FP discount on our season passes that we earned & used on closing day. 10% off food is a good start... I got 20% off at Dollywood with my DW gold pass last year. Whether 10% will be enough to keep me buying food in the park or go back to doing our parking lot picnics is yet to be determined. I'll have to see what the prices with the discount are compared to what we would spend down the street and bringing it back to eat in the nice grassy strip in the middle of the parking lot.

^Yeah, I read that today in the Enquirer article I linked in another topic. Just not the same as a big covered patio. The sun moves, making parts of umbrella-shaded tables unshaded at certain parts of the day. No big deal though. It's not like I'm going to be spending hours at a time on that patio anyway. I'll stop long enough to eat, but then it's off to other things!