XGatorHead 8904

Thanks for the nice comments. From time to time I'll tease Mrs. Gator about just having to stop for that sundae and ruining my plans! We continued the theme parks theme on the honeymoon with stops at Busch Gradens Tampa, Epcot, and Universal Studios. At Universal, we ate at this nice table service restaurant (I just looked on their website to find the name of it, but I can't find it so it must no longer be there or changed names... it was 13 years ago!). Mrs. Gator mentioned to our server that we were on our honeymoon, and they comped our meal! I totally didn't expect that, but it was very much appreciated!

This just happened to me yesterday. I rode FoF with no problem in the 2nd to last seat. Got off, went right in line again to the same seat. The ride op tried to push the restraint down, couldn't get it (on what had to be a different train). I ended up switching to the last seat of the train, and with two ride ops doing everything they could to get the restraint down, and me sucking it in, it just wasn't working. One of the ride ops had checked me the time before and even commented on the fact that I had just ridden. I finally gave up, and said "Forget it" and did a walk of shame. I've NEVER done a walk of shame on FoF... I've even ridden it four times so far this year! It's ridiculous that there isn't consistency on the rides. There's no excuse for there not to be. The belts should be the same length in each seat. Or, if there's a reason that there has to be different length belts (which I can't think of any, but I'm sure someone can enlighten me if there is a reason), then the same seat should have the same length belt on each train. I've been on rides where I've had to ride a specific seat that is able to accomodate larger people better... Great Bear at Hersheypark, Chaos at CP and Mystery Mine at Dollywood... and I'm fine with that. At least I'm able to ride. But to fit on one time, and then go back to the same seat and not fit? No excuse! I will say this though to end on a positive. The ride ops were extremely helpful in trying to get the restraint down enough to get the belt latched. It was just getting too uncomfortable and I'm the one that put an end to their efforts.

I have several pairs of shorts that are very comfy, but unfortunately they don't have zippered/buttoned pockets. I've been wearing them to parks for years, and have just been very careful on rides. I typically just have my wallet and phone in my pockets. However this year I decided to stop chancing losing anything. I went to Joann Fabrics and got some iron-on velcro, and put that along the edge of the inside of the pockets. So far I've only done it to one pair, but it has worked great on my two visits to the park since then. I'm going to be doing it to a couple other pairs before this weekend. As for water proof, I always bring a ziploc bag to put things in. Yesterday I forgot to grab one before I went to work (I was going to the park straight from there), but luckily I had a Cedar Fair plastic bag in my desk drawer so I just used that to protect my phone from the rain!

^A simple glitch. Gator, who just had to...

I can speak from experience on this one, as I proposed to Mrs. Gator at Kings Island... We knew we were going to get married, so we went ring shopping together. She picked out the one she liked, and I took it home until the day I popped the question. She didn't know when or where I was going propose, but I knew... We were going to KI with friends (who were in on it), and I had everything all worked out. I was going to propose at the top of the Eiffel Tower with the fireworks going off. The day of, Mrs. Gator-to-be and our friends came to my house to pick me up. She saw the ring box on my dresser and wanted to look at it. I refused and told her she had to wait until I proposed. Little did she know that the ring wasn't in the box, it was in my pocket. I had taken it out to throw her off. All day, I kept checking on the ring to make sure it was still there. I had it in a secure pocket, but I couldn't help myself. It came to the end of the day, and Mrs. Gator-to-be wanted to get a sundae. We went to the Depot Sundae Shop in Rivertown, and she and one of our friends sat and finished their ice cream. I kept looking at my watch. We had to get going if my plan was to work out. We made our way to the Eiffel Tower, and as we were passing the Antique cars I saw the elevator go up. I had a sinking feeling that it was the last one before fireworks. When we got to the base of the tower I asked the ride op if that was the last one, and sure enough, it was. Our friend Heather (who had set Mrs. Gator-to-be and I up on a semi-blind date, but that's another story) asked me "So now where's the best spot to see the fireworks?" with a smile on her face. I had to think quickly, so we booked it up to the front of the park. When we got to the front of the fountains, I handed my camera to one of my friends and we didn't have to wait to long for the fireworks to start. As soon as they did, I got down on my knee and proposed. Mrs. Gator-to-be said yes (which I pretty much knew - or hoped - she would, since she picked out the ring!). I got up, and she practically tackled me she hugged me so hard. Quite a few people around us came up and congratulated us. We got some great pictures during the whole thing, with the fountains and the fireworks in the background. (One of these years I'm going to get around to scanning in all of my old KI pics and putting them on here, and when I do these will be included. This was back in 1996, in the days of film and before the age of digital storing of photographs!) We were married a little over a year later. Sorry this was so long, but it's the first time I've told that story on here!

You're exactly right about that. This topic comes up every year, and every year it eventually fades away like smoke in the wind... Welcome to KIC!

This is EXACTLY the kind of thing I LOVE reading! IMO, that's what the ride ops should be doing on that ride! And they were having fun with it too. The Racer should race... I went on Sunday, but I didn't get a chance to ride Racer that day. However, when I was on Monster with GatorGirl, I noticed that they were racing. I was very happy to see them doing that.

A word of caution if you do that. Be careful where you leave your backpack, as things can easily get stolen out there if left unattended. We typically arrive in our swimsuits and leave our clothes in our car. The only thing we bring in to the waterpark with us are towels, sunscreen and our cup for drinks. When it's time to change, one of us will run out to the car and bring in the clothes to change into. I know of too many instances where things have been stolen from unattended chairs. Luckily, the only thing we've had stolen was our refillable souvenir cup, which had our name written on it.... that goes to show people will take ANYTHING there... why in the world would you steal someone's used cup? Yuck!

I'll believe it when I see it. From what I've seen in the past, Mr. Couch's plans seem to have a way of not working out.

As long as you're willing to breathe in the second hand smoke while you write that term paper...

As a member of KI's Admissions management for 9 years during Paramount's reign, I have only this to say: . Okay, I'll stop gloating now! Of course, back then, when a KI passholder went to another Paramount Park, they had to go to Guest Relations at the other park and get a ticket to enter. When the company and I parted ways, being able to scan one park's pass at another park was just in it's infancy.

Good (hypothetical) question! It would pain me, especially since I live so close to the park, just off Fields Ertel. If season passes were no more, and current prices were in effect, it would be a one, maybe two times a year trip for me. I've already gone 4 times this year, 19 times in 2009 and 16 in 2008. I'd be more apt to buy a Coney Island season pass in that situation though!

^No kidding! I forgot all about that until I opened this topic again just now. It's rare that I remember any of my dreams, but there have been times (like this one) where I'll dream something and it will end up coming true. It doesn't happen very often, but it's strange when it does happen! Now if I could only dream of winning the lottery and have that come true... of course, that would only cause a whole new set of problems...

A Kings Island Glee episode... I would love that! They are doing a very small tour. http://www.gleetour.net/ 4 shows at Universal City Walk in CA, 2 shows in Rosemont, IL and 5 shows at Radio City Music Hall. So who's up for a road trip with me?

Huh... I always thought at least a little ground had to be broken to install most rides.

Parent swap is where one parent rides while the other waits with the child, then the other parent can ride with no wait. KI has a card that can be picked up at Guest Relations. The first rider waits in line, while the other parent and the child can be off doing something else. When the first parent is done riding, they give the card to a ride op who initials it and puts a time down (if I remember correctly). The first parent then leaves the ride, gives the card to the second parent, who then has a certain amount of time to go up the exit to the ride so they can ride with little/no wait. If I remember correctly at Disney (it's been a few years since we've gone), you can tell the ride op at the beginning of the line that you need to do a parent swap. They'll give you a ticket which you give to the other parent after you ride, then they can go up the exit or FastPass line to ride. Another way is just to do a FastPass, which we did most of the time. Like I would use my FastPass, then after I rode Mrs. Gator would use hers. Other parks like Holiday World and Hersheypark have both of you wait in line with the child, one parent rides while the other stays in the station with the child, then you can pass the child off to the first rider as they exit. This is my least favorite method, since the child has to wait in line with you.

WDW is way different from KI in the fact that a young child can ride a lot of things there. That first visit we only did a one day trip to Magic Kingdom, but were able to take her on many rides there: It's a Small World (twice), Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Cinderella's Carrousel, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, TTA and the train. There were others there that we could have done on but didn't have time for: Dumbo, Liberty Square Riverboat, Pirates, Snow White. We also took in some shows, such as Country Bear Jamboree, Carousel of Progress, Enchanted Tiki Room, Mickey's Philharmagic (twice), and the Hall of Presidents (which is a GREAT place to go around nap time. I read this tip online and just as the writer said, my daughter fell asleep quickly during it!), not to mention the parades and fireworks. WDW has a great parent swap program, which we would use on our next couple of trips in addition to FastPasses to help Mrs. Gator and I ride any bigger ones that we wanted. As far as little infants, I've never taken one to a park, but most parks (KI included) have some sort of parent swap policy in place. We take advantage of those whenever we can/want to. We're just clear with GatorGirl from the beginning that mommy and daddy want to ride some big rides too. We're blessed that GatorGirl understands that!

Ummm, Dave? I thought we talked about this the weekend before... How you weren't going to go until HoliWood Nights? Did you forget all about that conversation and your reasoning for your decision? I know Voyage has a very powerful ability to attract people to it, but come on... You know I kid! If I had been at home on May 1st and seen the updates from everyone I would have been very tempted to go myself. Now I just need to avoid Facebook tomorrow, which is when everyone will be up at CP for opening day. Oh, who am I kidding... I'll be on there getting jealous! Maybe I can convince the girls to go to KI tomorrow to help dull the pain of not being able to go to CP! And 37 rides on Voyage? My body was aching after just 19 on it (and 11 on Legend, and 3 on Raven, and 45 total rides on everything at KI the day before)!

^^Shark, thanks for clarifying in your post and the PM you sent me. I did take it a little personally but now I know that wasn't your intent. I have my BA in Psychology and took my fair share of Child Psychology and Child Development classes, so I know where you're coming from on the topic of memory development (although with how long it's been since I took those classes, my memory of them could use some refreshing ). Remember yesterday, live for today, plan for tomorrow. (Ooo, I kind of like that. I think I made it up, but I could have heard or seen it somewhere before and it was just buried somewhere in my subconscious. I don't remember! )

First the "Paramount conspiracy", now free tickets just because the park is busy... I really wonder where you get some of your information. I worked in Admissions for 10 years, 9 of those in management. In that time, King Island NEVER claimed that if you didn't do everything in one day they would stop selling one day tickets and automatically give you a second day free, and to the best of my knowledge they have not claimed this before or since my time in the department. What a preposterous idea. Sure, some days are busier than others, but that's the chance you take when going to an amusement park. There have been, on very rare occasions, times where the park has given out tickets to return another day. But those were under extreme circumstances. Just because a park is busy is no reason to expect to come back for free. Yes, you did make plenty of positive comments in your TR, but you wonder why people are saying it's negative in tone? I think you need look no further than the subtitle you selected for your topic: "BBOBH + BLSC + Crypt + Firehawk + Construction = Huge Disapointment". This predisposes the reader into thinking "negative" from the start. Other people have commented on other items I take issue with in your TR, so I'll leave those be.

The way I see it, why not take them to the park just to enjoy themselves? Sure, they may not remember it, but they'll have a good time. Sharing good times with your family is crucial for young kids. When we took GatorGirl to WDW when she was 1 1/2, we knew there was no way she'd remember it. But we did take plenty of pictures, and we took along the video camera. I burned that trip and our next WDW trip the following year onto a DVD, which GatorGirl loves to watch from time to time. She enjoys seeing herself there with us, and hopefully after we're long gone, she'll still want to watch and look back fondly on us and the good times we had. If you don't do something just because your young child won't remember it, you won't end up doing anything. What a boring existence that would be. Enjoy the time you have together now, because the future is not guaranteed.

I've been to all of the former Paramount Parks, but never to any of the legacy CF parks (except CP). For me, it's too close to call between Wonderland and Dominion. Both parks were great. Wonderful landscaping and good rides. So it's a null vote for me. I just can't decide between the two...

That's funny. All this time, I thought the only thing that separated those two seats were 7 other rows of seats... Thank you, thank you. I'm XGatorHead and I'm here all week! Wow, I've been on a roll lately. First, locomotive photographers and now this...

Welcome to KIC Lakota88! 4 years old is certainly not too young to go to KI. My 5 year old daughter has been enjoying it since she was 1 1/2, and she gets to experience more and more each year. We did get some comments from friends when we took her to Disney World when she was 1 1/2 ("Isn't that too young?", "Why are you doing that? She won't remember anything!"), but she had a great time. Now KI is no WDW, but there are plenty of things for your daughter to enjoy. My daughter isn't afraid to try most rides, with the exception of Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, so I don't have the same situation that you do with your daughter being "a chicken". A good ride to ease her into the park experience would be Charlie Brown's Wind Up. These are swings that go around in a circle, low to the ground. She's probably familiar with swings at the playground, so having something similar to what she's already used to might be a good thing. Another good ride to start with is Character Carousel. As she gets used to the rides, she may want to move on to others. And, seeing other kids having fun on them may convince her that it's okay to try new ones (yes, it's peer pressure, but that can be a good thing at that age! ). I completely agree with markr's comments above. Please don't be a parent that drags their kid onto a ride they're not ready for. From the sound of your post above, it doesn't sound like you would, but doing so can prevent her from wanting to ride anything in the future. Below is a list of easy going rides that you can ride with her: Character Carousel, Sally's Sea Plane, Snoopy's Junction, Woodstock's Whirlybirds, Grand Carousel, and of course, Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad. Easy-going rides that are for kids only: Charlie Brown's Wind Up, Peanuts 500, Peanuts Off-Road Rally, and Snoopy vs. Red Baron. Avoid Boo Blasters on Boo Hill if your child is afraid of the dark/monsters, even though it's listed as a "Level 1 - Low Thrill Ride" on the park's website. My daughter is a thrill seeker like me, but BBoBH was too much for her (but I love the ride). Also, she may enjoy seeing the show Charlie Brown's Hoedown, and depending on when you're going, Snoopy Rocks On Ice (which opens June 5th). Hope this helps. Have a good time, and let us know how her first trip goes!

Wait... the train takes photos?!?!? That's one talented locomotive!