XGatorHead 8904

Good! That wasn't originally offered, so I'm glad they're doing it now. The Cincinnati Beerfest at the Cincinnati Convention Center has them, so I assumed this was standard practice among the beer festival circuit and was wondering why KI didn't have them available. Kudos to the park for adding this option!

We were originally planning to go to Kings Dominion this summer with our friends who live in Maryland (after going to DC with them too). But last week we found that they have to leave themselves to come here halfway through that week, so our plans have changed slightly and Mrs. Gator mentioned, "We could still go to Kings Dominion or we could change that to Busch Gardens." Hmmm... let's see... I've been to KD before but not BGW, which I've always wanted to go to. Yup, we'll go there! Of course I told her that if we go there I also have to go to Colonial Williamsburg, which she's fine with too. (I think she brought it up so that we could be a little closer to Virginia Beach, where she also wants to spend some time). Not to mention that one of the KD photos is HyperSonic XLC, which hasn't been there since 2007.

My friends and I are going on Friday. We regularly attend the Cincinnati Beerfest at the Convention Center downtown each February. Like Beerman_IPA said, the people who normally attend these events are not the rowdy Bud Light crowd (I love the way you put that). For the February Beerfest we always have a DD set up, and for this one Mrs. Gator will be coming to the park to take us home. My group is responsible adults, and hopefully others will be too. I wonder if KI will have cabs readily available for people. They're easy to catch near the convention center (and the Cincinnati Beerfest has a deal with Uber too) but taxis are much rarer in Mason. I don't have a neck beard, but I do wear the hard pretzel necklace!

^By the time I started in Admissions in 1995, you had the choice of getting either the parking decal that had to be affixed to one car, or a parking affixed to a season pass (and that person had to be in the car). Individual parking passes were $29.99 (decal or on pass), additional parking pass was $11.99 IIRC, and family parking was $49.99 (on each family member's pass, no decals available for that). Those prices stayed the same for years and I sold so many of them that those $29.99 & $49.99 prices are permanently etched in my brain.

We drove by there in 1996 on our way from Grand Canyon NP to Flagstaff. It was definitely out in the middle of nowhere. If I had been the one driving with my family à la Clark Griswold, I would have stopped, but I was with my mom and stepdad on our last family vacation before I got married and they chose to just drive on by.

So, since sign-in for CfK isn't until 9:00, would anyone be up for doing Breakfast with the Characters that morning? We went last year and the food was good, the only thing was the lines were long but I would think that KI would have learned and made improvements from last year. Plus, if we get there closer to when it starts, that should be better than when I got there close to 9:00 last year. Even if you're not doing CfK, you could join in. But note, this is only available to Gold & Platinum Passholders (which most of us on here probably are anyway). Here's my review from last year: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/29742-breakfast-with-the-characters-for-gold-and-platinum-pass-holders-this-sunday-62914/?p=627923 EDIT: Just re-read my review. $6.99 last year and $12.99 this year? That's quite the price hike, but that may work as crowd control too.

Riders being that close to the front of the train is nothing new. Just look at your standard PTC train (Racer, Beast, Woodstock Express, Voyage, etc.) Heck, even Adventure Express' Arrow train is the same way.

I still think we should make a follow up to this for Haunt hiring. Start it off like this video and have the Haunt scareactors invade it and chase everyone off!

Good to hear that they have 5 Dodgem cars working. That's two more than last year! Last night we decided that we're going there again this year, for the 3rd year in a row. With it being one of Mrs. Gator's two home parks as a child (the other being Idora Park) and its constantly in-jeopardy future, we don't want the year to go by only to find out later that it was finally its last season.

I wonder if The Beast's claws are adamantium...

Carol Ann's Carousel is scheduled to open tomorrow, with free rides from 1:00 to 7:00 pm, and free cake and ice cream from noon to 5:00 pm. http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/hamilton-county/cincinnati/downtown/carol-anns-carousel-on-the-riverfront-is-ready-to-roll-on-saturday

I'll go on record and say it will be very unlikely that we'll see the inside of the fort. In all likelihood, it will be the exact same tour that KIC was honored enough to get a few years ago: board the train which will take you around to the train storage shed, where they will back the train into the shed and give you information and history of the trains & engines, with time for questions and answers. The train tour is well worth the time to take, especially if you're into trains and/or park history. I'm thrilled to get the chance to do it again! Sorry to crush your dreams. As many times as I saw that house while driving along the employee drive entrance from the time I started working at the park in 1989 until they enclosed it in the fort, I'd love to see it again today myself!

Just bought my ticket!

Isn't it mostly roller coasters though? That's what I meant by that I am probably not missing much I do miss you though Gator! Others responded before me... it has its share of coasters, but it also has a unique collection of classic flat rides, some of which are very hard or impossible to find anywhere else. They've kept their history and have made it a priority, unlike some parks that remove the old to replace it with the new. And I miss you too! darkrider68, I'm with you on Ghostwood Estate. Ghostwood Estate is the ride that Boo Blasters wishes it could be.

^I will gladly escort you to Kennywood. It's a wonderful park that is definitely worth visiting!

I've only been to Kennywood twice, but on those two visits I never felt unsafe. Stopping for gas at the gas station down the street on the other hand... I didn't even bother filling up all the way and got back in the car quickly! I love Kennywood. It's a classic park with big time thrill rides thrown in. Sad to see something like this happened and I hope for the best for them in the future!

Well, I was Gatekeeper's first public Walk of Shame, and I ended up being Thunderbird's too. (Come to think of it, I was one of the first for Wild Eagle too during the Season Pass Preview Day when it opened; I rode it at least once and then had a WoS, so I would say I'm at least in the first 20. I guess wing coasters don't like me) Both sides of rows 2 and 3 will accomodate bigger riders and there are signs in the station stating that. My first attempt to ride was Row 3 Left. The ride op said he was worried about hurting me by pushing down too hard. Luckily, a reporter was speaking on camera while she was in her seat so we weren't the ones holding up dispatch. We eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to work out. I was okay with that; I was there with friends and even if I didn't get to ride I would still have fun, not to mention rides on Voyage, Raven, Legend & Crow's Nest. A friend told me to try the right side since the ride op there was a little more helpful. I was able to squeeze into Row 2 Right. The launch is great, with thunder effects and fog building anticipation. Since I was riding the right side I missed out on the head choppers on the 2nd passthrough of the barn, but it was still a fun ride. It's a good addition to the park. I liked it better than Wild Eagle, but I think I might like Gatekeeper a little more. I'll have to ride both again to compare since I haven't ridden GK since it's Media Day and I only got one ride on TB. There's one problem I find myself having though. I am almost consistantly calling HW's new coaster by the wrong name; I keep calling it Thunderhead. I was telling the Gatorettes about my day last night and kept calling it Thunderhead. I've even had to go back and re-type it's name in this post. I guess that's the problem with having a name so similar to that of my #1 wood coaster!

Thanks Brad, and thank you chugh43 for inviting me to tag along! I'm excited for this. I didn't get to go to HW last year; it was the first year I missed since about 2009. I won a pair of HW tickets at the GOCC Holiday Party in December, so we're planning to go again in June on the way to my family reunion in IL (Mrs. Gator & GatorGirl couldn't make the reunion last year, so that's why our annual HW visit didn't occur). Thunderbird looks like a good addition for the park... hopefully they have big boy seats, or at least a seat I can squeeze into currently! We'll find out in less than 24 hours! If not, at least they'll have a few other rides open for us, and I'll get to spend time with some great friends.

Nice! I've never seen those metal Demon things before. Also, the cards with the Paramount logo are interesting too... I've never seen the logo with red around the mountain.

^Sometimes BoddaH is privy to such information. I'm looking forward to these shows. I had the privilege of performing with some of these cast members during the off-season, so I'll be watching from a different perspective this year.

Anything's fine with me. Like I said before, the only places on my boycott list are Steak 'n' Shake (and Chik-Fil-A which I forgot to mention before). O'Charley's worked their way off the list a few years ago, so they're in good standing now.

I'll let everyone else decide where to go. I'll eat anywhere besides Steak 'n' Shake, but there's not one at Tylersville so that won't an issue.

I'd be up for dinner beforehand.

I worked at the park from 1989-2004 (then again 2008-2014). I don't remember them doing yearbooks in that first 16 year stretch, although I could very well be wrong. That's happened a lot to me lately. The 2nd period of time has only been Haunt, so I'm not necessarily privy to everything that is offered to the regular seasonal associates. However, when I worked upstairs in the Operations building in the early 00's, there were two yearbooks from the early- to mid-1980's that were there. It was fun to look through them to see managers that were working there at the time back when they were seasonal associates themselves, looking at the old costumes and styles, and I even saw my Grandma in them (she worked in the Executive Kitchen in the 1970's and later worked in Housekeeping, cleaning the offices until about 1992 or so). Hopefully Magenta Lizard will let us know what years the yearbooks that she bought on eBay cover once she gets them.

Oh wow... I didn't realize it had gone up that much! Ok, that invalidates my argument on the price, since Red Dog is only $4 more. But I stand by everything else!