dare-to-fly

I was very excited for the announced changes. As a traditional wood fan and an airtime fanatic, this change should be great! I have been waiting for several years to have Legend get a massive amount of attention like the others have gotten. Raven has been running amazing for the last several seasons, and I hope that continues. Now hopefully it's Legend's turn. Did we ride the same Voyage. I was overly disappointed, irritated, disgusted...I can go on. But...of course the trim brake hater would think the ride ran like absolute crap last year because the pacing was completely destroyed after the spaghetti bowl. Hopefully after this year's rehab, it will run like it has in previous seasons - "trim free and not for the weak of heart." Personally, I think its absolute best season was right around 2013 after its massive overhaul.

You absolutely can do it that way. I'd suggest getting there early though, as there WILL be quite the line all weekend for season passes. Passholder day is not announced as part of their operating calendar but is the Friday before opening day every year. Usually e-mails are sent out to season passholders and a note about it is recorded on their website. ...and FYI, this is coming from a former Dollywood employee who lived 10 minutes away for 3 years, so this is all based on how they have done it for the past umpteen years. They could throw me a curve ball, but they don't tend to change too much.

Working at Kings Island has been my favorite job that I've ever had, and that is saying something. The two seasons I spent at The Beast (2009, 2011) contain experiences that I treasure and think of often. There isn't a day that I go to the park that I don't miss it, and living 50 minutes away instead of the hour and a half that I was makes it a bit more tempting. There is a big thing that stops me - I never want short hair again! Here's my favorite picture of me from those days.

I forgot about those, and you're right. They were de-freaking-licious!!!! Maybe I'm easy to please, but in general I've found KI's food to be really good in recent years.

A BRAND NEW...Dip n Dots stand. At least that's what the Dip-n-Dots guy told me. ...Flies off into hiding to avoid the oncoming tomatoes.

What I would LIKE to see is the park put back exactly as it was. But...I guess that's probably pretty obvious to anyone that knows where the name "Dare to Fly" came from. Oddly enough, I posted this to my Facebook page (also Dare to Fly) not an hour ago. ...missing Eagle...looks at avatar and mourns...must watch pov now... Incidentally I know someone (wink wink) that made a good video tribute to the park if you'd like to see it. (lol) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeLLIwgv2uI

I enjoyed the FUN TV, but I don't like that they took away almost all of the individual music for the rides.

For a fence perhaps?

Sounds like Big Dipper needs a rich enthusasist.It almost seems to me that they purposely leave the Big Dipper there for some purpose. To me the poor thing looks like a very slow healing wound(as in natural slowly taking it back). A rich enthusiast, who will likely run for the hills after learning more about the coaster's current ownership. No amount of money is worth that kind of headache. The current owner is well enough off financially to keep playing the waiting game. I know a bit more than I'll say on this topic, but here are two comments that I'd like to make. A. The coaster's current ownership is mysterious to pretty much everyone except the "owner's representative." It depends on how rich the enthusiast is and how much of a risk he or she is willing to run. B. At least as of a few years ago, Cedar Fair did realize what they had on the property and did indeed care enough to not just knock it down. If anything, they are the only ones that have kept at least a glimmer of hope alive.

It really is a matter of opinion. Everything at Magic Mountain seemed to be a little on the run down side to me. It seemed to be quantity over quality, or at least that was my impression. Not that I'm knocking the park, mind you, as I loved MM, but that was my impression. ...Many don't share my opinion of favorite SF parks - Great America.

Chick-Fil-A was included in the dining plan last year, though I'm not sure it started out that way. From about August on, I got CFA pretty much every time that I went to the park...except if it was a Sunday obviously. As a side note, for someone like me that is a fan of chicken, the dining plan is amazing! I think I counted 6 or 7 different places you could get chicken tenders and fries throughout the park and every single one was different. I particularly liked Chicken Shack and adored both the fries and the chicken at the Rivertown Potato Works. (Completely different in both fries and chicken to the Coney Potato Works, btw.) I also found KI to be much easier to find variety than some of the other parks in the chain, most notably Cedar Point. CP had very few options imo.

Kat and I will have to think about this one. Dollywood's events have gotten ridiculous in price in the last few years, and after living down the street from the park for three seasons, we haven't been able to justify it. This event seems to be reasonable to those of us with a season pass, so...I'll present the idea to the grand jury.

I'm glad for what you said about The Bat. It's also a good night ride. I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one that feels that way about Adventure Express and Vortex at night. AE gives some of its best rides that way, and it's typically a walk-on at that time of night. It was nice when you could re-ride a few times...but we can't keep everything I guess...

I agree with riding Flight of Fear while you are in X-base to ride Firehawk. That area will build lines quickly and keep them the rest of the day. Banshee usually does not have a long line because it chews through people so well, so you could ride it, The Bat, Adventure Express, Vortex, and Racer during the afternoon when all the lines are at their peak. Rides in Planet Snoopy, as well as many others like Backlot and Invertigo will slack off toward the end of the day. Another handy trick - if it's a 10pm close, do Beast before you leave. It will suspend operation at 9:45 for the nearby fireworks, and after the line closes at 10, they wait until the fireworks are over and the track has been checked, and then reopen at about 10:15 for those that are in line...and I should elaborate...those that stay in line. It's amazing how many people won't wait a few extra minutes. This ensures that you will get a ride that is completely dark and the other handy thing is that by the time you get to the parking lot, the mad rush for the exit will be gone. I wouldn't wait for the last train though - it's usually a fairly empty train and therefore not as fast. Hope these tips help.

The problem with 'Tiques is that they aren't cheap to operate given their gasoline engines. Oil prices are lower right now than in past years, but that's still a significant cost. And it's very subject to change. I'd be surprised to see parks install new ones in this day and age. I guess you could use electric motors... But a 'Tique that doesn't spurt and putter like the carbureted engines of old is hardly a 'Tique at all, in my book... This argument against the antique cars always seems to come up. I would think that the cost of gasoline to operate those cars would pale in comparison to the costs of constantly dragging a coaster train up the lift hill (as well as slowing it down and stopping it) on something like Diamondback or Banshee (or any major coaster). I would also hate to know how much electricity is used during every cycle of something like Drop Tower. Actually, what you really want to know is how much electricity is used in just a single launch of Flight of Fear, which by the way, uses more electricity than the entire rest of Coney Mall. As to the topic, on closing day, I did hear from...shall we just say the Dippin' Dots Guy...that Tombstone Terrortory's entrance was going to be the new entrance to Whitewater. What he did not know was what was to become of the old exit and entrance area. What one hopes for is a new flat of some variety. I think an antique cars would be highly fitting, but perhaps a bit much to hope for. The area around the exit, including the now gone funnel cake stand would also make enough room for a small one. I'm just going to hope for a good change.

Thanks, Terpy! I have been away way too long!

This off season has hit me hard. I started making a video series that I'm enjoying so much that I think I'll just keep them going! (Links will come soon, but here's a link to my YouTube channel if you're interested.) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9GO5TFr_5UFPIEy52PgNg

How about just welcome a new thread. There is no need to be intentionally mean about it.

I agree that the operators should be able to push on the restraints. After working at a park that was allowed to and then working at a park that was not, I can tell you that not being allowed to push is not only a large pain in the rear, it also just makes everyone mad and upset.

Pride Night was a great night to work! I remember it well.

You won't be told to spit it out or anything. It's just not a good idea. If you have something that is obvious, like suckers, hard candies (if you make it obvious), ring pops, or other things that it will be plainly obvious that you've got something like that, they'll make you put it away or throw it away.

As far as gum is concerned, it is perfectly fine. You will not be able to have candy or food on the rides, though.

I've never understood why this is done. If they are going to be there long, get them off the ride. FYI - at Dollywood, if the ride is going to be stopped for more than ten minutes, they evacuate.

If you wear regular shoes, they won't. Having them wear abnormally thick shoes or flip flops, high heels, platform shoes, boots with thick soles (all of which I've seen people try) and they will ask you to remove the shoes to be measured. Think of it as the consequence for trying to cheat the system.

At Kings Island...definitely. They'd probably have someone at the train explaining what was going on by then.