dare-to-fly

Actually most wooden coaster trains have two sets of wheels. Millennium Flyers and the new Timberliners are the only ones that I can think of that don't.

Expect a ridiculous crowd. That's the first of the midnight closes. In 09, Beast was running a 2 hour wait during those days. I'd go the following day, personally, but it's up to you.

They probably open whenever they feel the show is totally prepared and give themselves a later date to shoot for. That way they can take until mid-June to prepare if needed, and if not, open early.

RF2 is exactly what that park needed! They have a great lineup of rides for a small park, and you can easily have a day of fun there. I agree with Terpy that the flume is good, but nothing I've found so far compares to Raging Thunder at Americana. RIP

Don't hold me to this, but I'm pretty sure The Beast crew I was on holds the Cedar Fair record for most good GRs in a season at 74. We tried our hardest, and I know we had the most in the park by far that year. I seem to remember being talked about as a record, but I have no way to confirm that.

It's easier to see the negatives than the positives. I agree that it's definitely refreshing to see such a positive post.

um i bring in outside drinks all the time ive walked in with wendys chiplote cups before and no one says a word to me!! there turned off they have been for at least 3 years and there not staffed like they used to be!! my thing take them out its a watse of time!! True enough. They were turned off somewhere midway through the season in 2009, and went to only one person for every three metal detectors. The only thing they actually do is check bags. I've seen some that don't even do that. It's completely unnecessary staffing, but makes the guests in the park feel a sense of security whether true or not.

We had no problem putting every last bit of effort into getting the bar down when I worked at The Beast. I see nothing that indicates otherwise in any of the park's operations this year. It appears you just ran into a lazy ride-op who needs to be put on the Firehawk crew.

Hmmm...I wonder if it was Matt Randles, one of my former supervisors at Beast who is now at train. That sounds like something he'd do.

Depends on what time of the year. This Saturday, we got to ride it 12 times during the hour. On the average weekday during the summer, how is it then? (Not surprised about the 12 rides, because Haunt isn't until 7.) Weekdays during the summer? IIRC, DB was usually about a one- to two-train wait during ERT. No clue about The Beast, though. Since the question about Beast was never answered, I thought I'd comment. Usually the ride-ops at Beast are waiting for riders for quite a while on Saturday, and most of ERT usually consists of a handful of riders, so Beast is a walk-on even in the summer for ERT. Unfortunately, the trims are permanent magnetic brakes which do not account for the weight of the train, so count on rides that are slowed to a crawl and barely make it through the first half of the ride at that time of day.

Well, crap! I've been Terpied again!

Can I go to Holiday World where brakes are in the minority and thrills and enthusiasts rule?

The nightmare already exists. The amusing part was getting the evac. Flyer

A nuclear explosion will power the new ride?

I was highly amused by a dream I had last night. I was riding The Beast...no big surprise there. They had added a section of trims just before quick dip and had added more section of trims in all of the other places. When I rode, the start of the ride was the double helix and then went through the rest of the course in reverse. After quick dip, working our way back to the lift hill, the trim slowed the train too much to make it over the hill and it valleyed, thus getting my first evac. It's sad when you dream about trims causing a coaster to valley so you can get an evac while smarting off to the maintenance guys that we would have made it through the course without the trims. I wish that dream was a reality.

Rolling Thunder was a very nice find for me. I'm always excited when I find buzz bars and skid brakes...and especially at a chain park. When I read that, I thought of American Eagle rather than Rolling Thunder...wrong SFGA, but American Eagle is in my top ten coasters.

You were in one of the crew's favorite spots, and certainly my personal favorite. When I worked there last year, during morning test rides everyone else would go for the front. I had to be stubborn and go for 6-2 instead. Night rides are also much faster than morning rides because The Beast is warmed up and usually the trains have more people. Our morning test rides were always molasses due to those foul things I won't mention.

I wouldn't touch a Saturday, but I've gotten very spoiled by walk-on days!

I'm still surprised the plug hasn't been pulled already, but I do enjoy a ride on the world's largest indoor ferris wheel. Give it a try! Then again, I'm probably partial to it because I worked on it a few times last summer when I was sent there from Beast.

I tend to prefer the second seat to the back on most coasters. I'm definitely a back seat rider, but with three bench trains and arrow coasters, I'll always go one seat up. Plus, I usually get just as good of a ride out of the second seat with less wait on the others. The only coaster that I prefer the front seat on is...oddly enough...Backlot Stunt Coaster. It has some surprise air in the front that you don't get from the back of the train.

I completely agree with you; however, the upper management in this department at Kings Island cares about all the wrong things. Those who attempt to do a fabulous job, when it comes down to it, do it all for null. The same cannot be said for the rides department. I can definitely say that the operators at Beast for the last two seasons haven't put up with the crap that guests will sometimes dish out. If people aren't following the rules there, they are told or removed.

Vortex has always been my pick for the most photogenic coaster. Racer would be second if they had kept up with the paint, but as it stands Diamondback and Son of Beast are ahead of it followed by Invertigo and Firehawk. Reptar is a nice choice for a kiddie coaster. Those things said, my favorite coaster sight at Kings Island is still a very special view of The Beast.

The Thursday Haunts will be interesting to see. For those that don't remember, both Thursdays in 09 were cancelled due to inclement weather, so that will be a definite trial run this year.

Count on Terpy to know KIC...and concrete!

Now careful there, Terpy. The sign in the station says "must be 18 or older to ride in last car" rather than last seat. That said, I won't ride anywere else. Now I get to pout about not being able to ride in a backseat of a coaster. Flyer, pouting.