dare-to-fly

As final preparations for the event are being made, I can tell you that this will be a ton of fun! There are a couple of surprises that I was allowed to borrow to show everyone as a part of the historical tour that I think you will greatly enjoy seeing! All registered attendees will receive an e-mail from me later this week with everything that you need to know upon arrival. (Basically you can't go wrong as long as you come in through gate 1!) On a more personal note, I would like to sincerely thank all registered attendees from KIC for helping us get enough numbers to run the event. I have been planning it for quite a while, and it has been my big project since becoming a rep for this region. Can't wait to see you on Saturday for Classic Fun in the Sun 2017! Nick Asst Regional Rep, ACE Southern Ohio

I have GOT to ride the carousel so that I can hear it! For some reason this keeps slipping my mind, and that's just unacceptable. Thank you so much for all your work in preserving an important piece of history! As an avid fan of the classics, I definitely have a big appreciation!!

Everything is fine. Last chance to escape the wrath of The Beast! It was a pleasure! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Glad you did. I have lots more that I could have added, but I didn't want to get too detailed. I kind of felt like I did already. ...and I really SUCK at acronyms. That should not have taken a few seconds for me to figure out.

Sam will not be there, but I may be. That's a busy weekend with lots of things I want to do so my schedule's still up in the air. You should definitely make sure to be there.

I almost forgot about this comment. I've ridden Nighthawk only twice. That's plenty. The line is always ridiculous, and it's not worth the wait for me.

There are very few parks that I have ever not been checked (aside from Disney who doesn't check restraints). It's interesting to me that Carowinds is one of the parks that I haven't been checked in multiple cases, mainly on Intimidator. That tells me that whatever system they use is flawed. I also know someone that was dispatched with the bars locked up on Goldrusher, and it's still the only park that I've ever had a restraint fail. I have had restraints occasionally come up a click on a few rides, but never completely fail except on Carolina Cyclone a few years ago. Not that it worried me much - the seatbelt caught it and I pulled it back down to its normal spot and reported it to the ride operator who tied off the seat. The problem is...what if that had been a little kid going for his first ride on a looping coaster? I can't help but see a pattern that needs to be looked into. From the perspective of an average guest, any of these can make them feel unsafe, which is definitely not good. Now, does this mean I won't go back to Carowinds? Certainly not. I'm perfectly happy going to Carowinds, as I think it's a fun park. I just think beefing up some training and methods would be a good thing for them.

Great video Nick!! I really enjoyed it! I had to giggle because my voice didn't match up at some points with my words. That was one of my big issues with this one. It may be because of the length, type of camera, or really anything. It only took about 5 hours to save and another 5 to upload, so I really didn't want to go back and try and fix that or the other three or four issues I caught.

For me, having my hands up in the air is more comfortable than gripping a restraint. It's also a point of being free, relaxing and letting go. You said it! I was going to comment something to that effect, but you said it much better than I was going to. As for The Beast's tunnel - the helix tunnel is the reason I prefer riding on the left. I love how close the tunnel wall feels...and is...going into it. The other tunnels on the ride just make the ride great! (As long as the lights are OFF!)

Overall, great day at Carowinds today. Here are the awesomenesses and speedbumps. Awesomenesses: 1. Harmony Hall - LOVED the bbq pork and highly recommend their mac and cheese as a side. Wifey said the baked beans were just as good...but I'm not at all a bean-eater. 2. Fury 325 - That's probably a duh, but the coaster really does rock! It's only one trim away from being steel coaster perfection. That darn little thing in the middle! At least it doesn't do much! The crew of the ride was very good at getting trains out of the station, and vaporized what little line they had in the last hour. Walk on for Fury...yes, please! Also, to end the night, when our train came back in, the last train of people had been sent. The riders were yelling, "One more time...one more time..." like they often do. When he asked, "So you really want to go again?" I was expecting the usual, "Then come on back tomorrow when we open at 10am and you can ride again." Instead, I was surprised with, "Okay...you can ride again." Great way to end the night!! 3. Re-rides - To cut this short - they were allowed on all rides when no one was in line for your row! The way EVERY PARK should do it! I enjoyed re-rides on Hurler, Fury, Afterburn, Carolina Cyclone. I miss being able to sit on The Beast in the morning like that. Speedbumps: 1. Trims on Intimidator and Hurler were ridiculous. Snooze... I can't even recognize the enjoyable coaster that Hurler used to be before the trims were installed, especially since they are stronger than they've ever been. (That's all I'll say...I'll behave...) 2. Intimidator's crew failed at checking our train. When wifey's bar wasn't down the required number of clicks and they stated it over the PA, she pulled it down. Rather than checking properly or trying to get it another click, she had them upbar our row, and jammed it into her stomach as hard as she could. Meanwhile........guess whose bar never got re-checked? 3. I overheard a conversation between two associates, one on load, one on unload, that sounded like this. "What's the signal for unlock restraints?" "Uh...I think it's this." Really? What else don't they know? At KI, that's covered and quizzed on in general knowledge before you ever touch a ride, and you are then trained at the ride where it's covered and quizzed on again. This leaves me wondering about Carowinds' training procedures... Favorites: I must say, the forgotten favorites of mine at Carowinds are still Afterburn and Carolina Cyclone. CC is a great Arrow, and I love the fact that there are no brakes so that you can experience all the elements at full speed! It so often gets forgotten and I wanted to make sure it got the credit it deserves. Now my final question... Does anyone know where they moved the entrance to Thunder Road? I looked for it all day long, and no one seems to know where it went. I can't find the lift to follow it either, so they must have it hiding somewhere.

Poor Chris. :'( He was the ONLY one that sent me a video of all the FB friends I asked. ...why I didn't post that request on here, I have no idea. That would have been my smartest move.

Given the forecast, I wouldn't be surprised to see WWC, Race for your Life and Congo Falls all closed. Nobody wants to get wet when the air temp may barely break 50. I've certainly seen them open when I'd have had them closed...and people were actually riding. I don't get people sometimes.

After all, that's where I found everything I used. bkroz, who's seen it before at the end of undergraduate presentations. You would hate me as a teacher. I never let my students use Wikipedia or any other source that could be changed by anyone. It had to be credible sources such as reviewed journal articles, professionals' websites, etc. Using Google instead of telling me where the resources had come from would have gotten you a zero for failure to cite sources. If I ever did anything like this with my high school freshmen, I'd be a lot more forgiving, but when I taught my college classes, I did not mess around with expectations. ...I'm not hard to get along with though. I'm really not. I promise.

Thanks! I tried not to post any of the photos where the faces are too obvious, but they probably are very familiar. I'll keep names and, as applicable, usernames out of it though. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the KI offseason. Not a moment too soon! See you in line.

Yay, someone got the inside joke!

Amazing how that works.

Also FYI - The totals on the magnets - 1st drop 5, 2nd hill 6, brake shed 11, helix drop 5. There are also 5 that you hit first thing before you even get to the safety brakes at the end of the ride to reduce wear, which works beautifully. At the very beginning of the season and at the end during Haunt, they often take 1 section off the second hill, as many as 2 out of the brake shed, and 1 if not 2 off the helix. This is because it's so cold in the mornings during those times of the year. Once the ride is warmed up, there is no way to put them back without closing the ride and bolting them back on, so the evenings during the beginning and especially end of the season has the best rides. During the summer, the cold isn't an issue, so they are kept at full strength leaving the morning rides with cool grease and mostly empty trains to be rather...well...Adventure Express-like. Confound it...quit finding all my mistakes. I also said 3 bench to 4 bench instead of 4 bench to 3 bench. I don't know how that one didn't get caught in quality inspection along with the wrong picture. The acreage...well...that was a forgetful mistake.

If anyone would like to watch the video I made in honor of The Beast, here's the link. There are a few imperfections I noticed after the upload, and for some reason in saving, the words and lips don't quite match up for the couple places with dialogue. I'm certainly not re-doing it. It took about 4 hours to save and 2 to upload. Enjoy.

Actually, according to a study done by the American Meteorological Society in the late 90s, forecasts that far in advance are no more accurate than what the lay-person can do. At that point, it is just as accurate as flipping a coin. It turns out the weather is very...unpredictable. I was speaking out of assumption. If that study is accurate still, and maybe predicting the chaos has gotten slightly better, then ai predict clear skies, with no rain! Warm weather that is neither too hot, nor too cold. There may just be a moment or two when that occurs. If you don't like the weather that morning, wait 10 minutes, it's Ohio. Since the opening days in the past several years have been pretty good as I recall...I'll take a stab in the dark here. IT'S GONNA RAIN! Just had a thought..... I'm wondering if the island (where the tree and bushes have been planted) will feature The Peanuts Gang in shrubbery form. That'd be a great touch! I agree, plus I find it possible considering Cedar Point has the same thing. So did King's Dominion If it does light up, that's going to look absolutely amazing!!! I'm very resistant to change and was not exactly all for ripping out the old tolls and building new, but I have to admit, this looks SHARP!!

Couldn't have said it better myself. Forecasting the afternoon from 11:30 is hard enough. Actually, according to a study done by the American Meteorological Society in the late 90s, forecasts that far in advance are no more accurate than what the lay-person can do. At that point, it is just as accurate as flipping a coin. It turns out the weather is very...unpredictable.

I was really impressed by Cirque Imagine, so I'm expecting this one to be just as good!

You realize there is no way to accurately forecast that far in advance...right? Just reminding...

I too thought it was strange when they were planning them. I'm quite certain they know what they're doing, however.

Working rides is very different than office work. It is something that you actually can work to speed up and still be just as safe. You just have to work at it. It's really nothing to have a fit over. You just have to make sure that no one is shirking safety to do it. ...That said...you get MAJOR bonus points for the Office Space reference. I actually told my old boss at one of my former teaching jobs that my cover sheet on the TPS reports was fine and to quit sending me the same memo over and over. (He didn't get it either.)

Yes they would refund hundreds/thousands of passes because of a glitch they didn't cause and go bankrupt instead. Because of course that makes sense. I understand that they need to fix any inconveniences, but that doesn't mean that they need to give the park away to do it. As long as things are put to right, that should be good enough. It reminds me of the lady that I saw yelling and screaming about having to come back because they forgot an order of fries and wanting the entire order for free as an apology. I don't understand where this self-entitlement attitude has come from. They're not going to give you a free franchise because they screwed up your sandwich...you get another freaking sandwich - comparable value. Not the whole store. ...rant over.

We may only have 15 days, but the year after the coaster is installed, the State doesn't need as rigorous testing as they do for the opening season. Likely, the 3rd train will be put through a few hundred cycles before it's ready to go. The 3rd train not on track at this point has nothing to do with "stacking issues due to those seatbelts." I feel like a lot of folks are forgetting that the park has a good amount of coaster trains to break down, repair and rebuild. Be patient, the 3rd train will be there soon. Again, stacking is not cared about with the General Public. Coaster Enthusiasts are usually the only ones who whine about it. Well...I agree with you on the statements about the 3rd train will be here soon. However, the last statement is totally not true. The general public does notice. They don't know that it's called stacking, but they do notice when it takes them forever to get trains out. You constantly hear guests in line say things like, "Oh my God, what's taking them so long?" or if it stacks long enough, "Did it break down?" No one wants to wait forever.