XGatorHead 8904

Way to go! Good luck next time with AI! Toy Story Midway Mania was very cool, it ranks as my 2nd favorite dark ride (it's pretty hard to surpass Spidey). I wasn't expecting too much from that either since it's basically travelling to different screens, but the whooshes of air and everything coming back at you were great. As you can see from my avatar, we liked it!

Pedal boats! AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH.....blub blub blub!!!! *runs and hides from them*

Last year my company's outing at Coney was the same day as GatorGirl's dance recital, so we didn't get to go. This year they've scheduled it the same day as what will most likely be Mrs. Gator's Pennsylvania family reunion, which we're planning to use as our starting point for our Parks of Pennsylvania Tour. So depending on when the the reunion is actually scheduled, we may miss the company outing there again. Last night I let out the idea of visiting Dollywood around Christmas time and Mrs. Gator liked the idea. So we might be doing that too!

I agree with those above that say Raven and Legend do not pale in comparison to Voyage. Voyage is tied with Beast for my favorite woodie (I just couldn't let it surpass Beast, so I decided on a tie). Raven and Legend are very close behind. We went last year, you can view my TR here. Of course GatorGirl (known then as Mini Me, before I came up with the GatorGirl moniker) was with us, but we did get plenty of adult ride time in as well. Beatle's right, Plymouth Rock Cafe is terrific! And the food park-wide is very reasonably priced (and very good too). If you like tilt-a-whirls, Turkey Whirl is fun. Gobbler Getaway is a fun dark ride. Their Flying Eagles are very unsnappable, nowhere near as good as we used to have at KI. And if anyone's interested, don't forget the Unofficial KIC Road Trip to Holiday World on May 2nd (plug, plug)! Edit: While I was typing this, you just put in that you don't like spinning rides, so I guess Turkey Whirl is out!

I'll let you know what it's like in my amazing PTR. As will I. My goals? Well, let's see... Diamondback of course. Opening day, May 1st, possibly May 8th, RWW, and any other time I can get some time on it! Um, all the other coasters at KI, and hopefully GatorGirl's first time on FOC! Two trips to HW for Voyage, Raven & Legend Parks of PA Tour - I've never been to any of these parks, so all the coasters (and other rides) I can get in at: Conneaut Lake (definite, if it truly does reopen this year), Kennywood (tentatively), Idlewild (pretty much definite), Hersheypark (definite), Sesame Place (definite), Waldameer (tentative), Lakemont (most definite - Leap the Dips and Skyliner, baby!) and Delgrosso's (definite). Hopefully Coney Island, which I've never been to for the rides... ...and hopefully Stricker's Grove, which I've never been to at all.

I was born in 1972, so... Eiffel Tower, Rotor, Der Spinnen Keggers, Bavarian Beetle, Sky Ride, Racer, Flying Carpet, Monster, Dodgem, Scrambler, Carousel, Flying Scooters (Eagles), Cuddle Up, Tumble Bug, Halley's Comet, KI&MVRR, Kings Mill Log Flume, Canoe Ride, Wheel of Fortune, Antique Cars, Enchanted Voyage, Scooby Doo (aka Beastie aka Fairly Odd Coaster), Gulliver's Rub-A-Dub, Motor Mouse, Kikky Kangaroo, Winsome Witch's Cauldron, Marathon Turnpike (aka Sunshine Turnpike), Autocat, Funky Phantom, Squiddly Diddly. Just to name a few. Of course, many of those were relocated from CI, but they opened in a new park so it counts!

The only game I play (and that's very rarely, usually about once every 8 years) is the squirt gun race. I've never lost on that. I couldn't play the games while working at KI, and I have no desire to lose the money on them now. Plus, if I were to play them, GatorGirl might expect me to do so every time we visit, and that ain't happenin'! The last time I played the squirt gun race was about 2001 at CP. I won a huge Scooby Doo holding a hot dog with his tongue sticking out. Being a big Scooby fan, I saw the prize and just had to go for it. For years that Scooby sat in my office at KI, and it now sits in it's own chair in my living room! I had a friend who worked in Games at one point, and he let me in on how to win the Peach Basket game, which I tried on my one and only visit to Kentucky Kingdom years ago. I won that one too. But I won't go tellin' the secret!

^Click on the two "this"es in my previous post. Many times when you see a word or phrase underlined on here it's a link.

Isn't this the same topic as this and this? Search is your friend...

It's always amazed me how at the waterpark, when it starts raining (not storming), how many people will run for the exits or seek shelter. Isn't the point of a waterpark to get wet?

I never understood the "More Flags More Fun" tagline. If there's "more flags" every year, wouldn't it eventually be 7 Flags, 8 Flags, etc.? And yet the number of flags remains 6. My head hurts.

Hopefully Diamondback will surpass Goliath as your favorite steel. We'll find out soon. Did you ever find out what, if anything, happened in the parking lot/front of the park on Saturday? That's odd that they had you exit out the back of the park.

In the Paramount days we had no problem transferring the pass to someone else if it hasn't been processed already. But that was under different park ownership... Good to see they've continued/reinstated this policy. Things happen during the off-season that cannot be foreseen.

So then in 2013, the launches on FoF and BLSC would propel us backwards? I'm there! I'll just avoid Drop Tower...

^Don't let the name fool you. Despite it being called "Backyard BBQ Picnic", there is no actual BBQ. There is, however, "Southern Fried Chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, unlimited soft drinks and ice cream treats!" It was decent when we went last year.

Thanks TB! That and the wind was coming from the west, bringing the 71 noise towards me and taking the Diamondback roar away from me! Oh, and those people will find something to complain about. When I worked at the park I heard on numerous occasions people living in the area complaining about noise levels of concerts, rides, ...and even fireworks. And it's not just KI that has to deal with this either. It was recently a concern for some who live around Quassy too. See this topic.

Unfortunately I couldn't hear the roar from the parking lot when I pulled in there yesterday. I just might have to go down Western Row next time I come off that exit and see it testing!

I pulled into the parking lot at about 5:15 yesterday to watch DB run for a little bit before I picked up GatorGirl from daycare. Just missed you there by a few minutes!

I'm going to take the wise advice I received from a very helpful kat on here and basically "reboot" this topic. So no more options... that really bogged down the topic and I've learned from my mistakes. I'm making an executive decision and choosing a park. So here we go... *hits CTL-ALT-DEL on topic* OK, I've mentioned this before, and here’s what I have in mind…an unofficial KIC road trip! Mrs. Gator and GatorGirl are going to be in Florida visiting my mother-in-law (aka Nana Gator). I’m not able to go because I don’t have as many vacation days as Mrs. Gator, and I need to save mine up for our trips the rest of the year. So while they’re enjoying Daytona Beach, I decided I should have some fun too…and only use one precious vacation day! On Friday, May 1st, I’ll be going to Kings Island. Yes, I know its Math & Science Day. Yes, I know it will be full of kids. But…I can deal with that. Rare is the time when I can ride as many of the “big” rides as I want. I love going with GatorGirl, and I wouldn’t trade anything for those trips. But it’s nice to get away for an adult trip. If anyone would like to go and meet there, just let me know! Just to let you know, I ride anything and everything, all the coasters, all the flats…except Drop Tower. Believe me, I’ve ridden it before and I love that ride, but due to Intamin’s tighter restrictions I no longer fit in it. Darn seatbelts! But if you want to ride it, I’ll gladly wait… Now for the main event. The next day, Saturday May 2nd, would anybody be interested in an unofficial KIC road trip to visit another park? Unfortunately, CP won’t be open yet (which is probably a good thing, given the number of Intamins they have and my inability to enjoy them now… the day would be torture for me if I went there not being able to ride Maverick, Millie, TTD and WT!), but there is a nice little park a couple hours to the west of here. So, is anyone up for a trip to… Holiday World - Santa Claus, IN (about 3 hours from KI) Park Hours: 9:30 – 5:30 Central (10:30 – 6:30 Eastern, 8 hours) Admission Price: $39.95 at gate, $35.95 online…or best deal: bring a Pepsi can to the gate to get $7 off ($32.95) http://www.holidayworld.com/ Positives: 1. Voyage 2. Legend 3. Raven 4. Pilgrims Plunge, only the tallest water ride in the world! 5. Turkey Whirl 6. Voyage 7. Some of the friendliest park employees I’ve ever encountered anywhere 8. “Free” drinks! 9. “Free” parking! 10. Yummy food at pretty reasonable prices (Plymouth Rock Café is wonderful!) 11. Voyage 12. Gobbler Getaway… 13. …and other fun flats 14. Personal greeting by Pat Koch (at least both times I’ve been before) 15. Trams 16. Voyage 17. I’ve only experienced the Dive show, but from what I hear the others are good too 18. The early close time will allow us to get back home at a pretty reasonable hour (new positive posted 4/1) 19. Voyage 20. Voyage 21. …and oh yeah, did I mention Voyage? (This is based on my personal opinion, not just “popular opinion”. For me, it’s tied with Beast as my favorite woodie. Just as others love SOB and Mean Streak *shudder*, I do truly love this ride…and Raven and Legend are right up there too). Negatives: 1. It’s their opening day...although I don't know what a typical opening day for them is like. It may not be too bad since they're not located as close to a major metropolitan area as KI is. I just don't know... 2. I’m already going on June 15th…but can this really be counted as a negative though? Two visits is a good thing! And I'd have more opportunities to ride Voyage, Legend and Raven on this trip than I would going with Mrs. Gator and GatorGirl! 3. The waterpark is closed. Some would consider this a good thing, but I like their waterpark. Oh well, I’ll be there June 15th anyway. So those are my thoughts. I'd like to spend as much time as possible there, so that may mean a bright and early start (but who of us wouldn't be willing to wake up early for a park?). If you’d seriously like to go, just post that you would. I wanted to get this topic posted in enough time for people to make arrangements for going, whether that be requesting off from work or whatever. Once the date gets closer and we determine who's going, we’ll finalize the plans such as where to meet and what time, etc. And don’t forget the trip to KI on May 1st if you’re interested too! Now violakat, about that "tentative" in your signature for May 2nd...

I can't imagine eating all that grease on those funnel cakes. And this struck me as funny in the link Terpy posted: Is a copy of Wii Fit included with this? I'm afraid to ask what MLE: The Game is like...

^That would be like running a car in a closed garage. Not advisable, as the fumes will make you exhausted. Permanently.

As of this past Sunday I've lost a total of 15.2 lbs ÷ by 8 weeks = 1.9 lbs per week. Right on track!

As has been quoted on many CF blogs, you can process your CF Platinum Pass at any CF park. From KI's blog, http://kingsislandinsider.blogspot.com/200...s-advisory.html: I would advise against trying to enter the park with a vulture or any other form of wildlife. Typically the only animals allowed in with guests are service animals such as seeing eye dogs. So unless your vulture is highly trained, they probably won't let it in and will direct you to the kennel to leave it there for the day. I personally haven't seen a vulture in the park for a few years, luckily someone got a picture of it here. Gator, not being mean, just saw the opportunity for a joke and flew with it!

From http://visitkingsisland.com/visit/visit_services.cfm: From the 2008 park map: As someone who has gone to the park with several people in wheelchairs or with physical impairments, it is pretty much vital that you stop by Guest Relations before trying to go up a ride exit. GR will provide you with a guide about how the situation is handled on each ride. Depending on the length of the queue line, you may be given a time to come back to ride. That length of time is usually equal to the time that one would have to wait in the queue line. Also, please note that only one companion is allowed to accompany the person up the exit. So if there are more than two of you, the others will have to wait in the queue line. And as the info that I quoted from the park website says, you can always call ahead to get the Rider Safety Guide sent to you before your visit. This guide also lists any health related restrictions each ride may have. EDIT: I just found the 2008 Rider Safety Guide online. It can be viewed here: http://visitkingsisland.com/images/attract...safetyguide.pdf

Wow, what nice landscaping! Looking good so far, can't wait to see what the water area looks like when it's done.