dare-to-fly

Apparently he or she didn't realize that this happens all the time and is absolutely no big deal.

I'm sorry to say some people value the experience more than safety, Terpy. That's why we need height requirements at all.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience at Beech Bend. I really don't think your opinion is completely being fair to the park, and to say that Kentucky Rumbler is the only thing there worth riding shows that you by no means have the ability to appreciate what a special place it can be. FYI - Beech Bend Bash is my favorite event of the year, which I will NEVER miss. As for the rides, sometimes rides go down for things. It sounds like it was a rough day for the park, but sometimes those happen. Look at Cedar Point - I've never visited the Point without experiencing downtime at least half a dozen times on different rides. Do you complain this much at Cedar Point when the rides are constantly going down all the time? Personally I've always found BB to be a very charming and fun park to visit - for those that can appreciate a park without half a dozen B&Ms that is. End rant

They are designed to make sure everyone is safe. They have to draw the line somewhere. That's where they drew it. It's not the park's fault that your sister is short I know of someone that is a full grown adult with two teenage kids that was too short for a round-up at a park that shall remain nameless. They drew the line, she was under it. Sorry.

The requirements are designed for a reason. There is no question that if someone is tall enough to meet the height requirement, they are perfectly safe. Vortex is often much easier on those who are shorter due to the ears being slightly below the top of the restraint. If the kid meets the height requirement, they are safe without question. My only other thought on the matter is this - there is no "S" anywhere in The Racer.

You are all forgetting Sundays in Sept (while open) and October. Best days of the year!

Gator - I couldn't have paid you enough to dig up that post! That was a very good analysis.

I wouldn't say that any of the Intamin roller coasters at Cedar Point are crap or fails. Some of them are just down more frequently than others. My hope is that it is not an Intamin, as I don't like having the unnecessary OTSRs on all the coasters. B&M rides are almost all pretty much cookie cutter these days, and are getting to the point where there's not a whole lot of force to them (again back to the not taking risks part). So...my vote is for a Premier. Oh, and by the way, Wild Eagle was down for quite a while today. It was the only ride I saw any downtime on during my visit to Dollywood. So much for the reliability theory. That ride is constantly down...though not as commonly as Mystery Mine.

Well...not to be a pain in the rear again, but that actually did look like fun to me. Especially once they were all sitting and they span the crap out of it.

Hitting poles, or one person I know ran into the grate at Flight of Fear at the exit. Oops!

Depending on what you're reading, often Wikipedia is fairly accurate on things. You have to keep in mind that it may not be, but usually the ones that know what they are talking about are kind enough to fix the mistakes.

That second ride sure looked like a great one though. Actually...they both did.

My gut feeling is...FAKE!

The Dippin' Dots guy has been hard at work these past couple of days! Sounds like Backlot is having a rough year.

For shame. An onride photo is strictly prohibited on all rides at Kings Island...sans of course the Eiffel Tower and KI and MV Railroad. Especially since this was on Drop Tower, it's a big no no. How many people at the bottom - including ride ops - could have been injured from falling camera/cell phone parts? Now that I got that out of my system...that does show a lot!

The embarassment is one of many reasons this is not allowed anymore. One person can push, but there is no jumping up and down on it.

There are very few advertisements that actually apply to "everyone" and pretty much all of them are very legitimate. It's called fine print, and thankfully dieseltech20 pointed that out...though might have been a little rude about it.

I'm all in favor of any coaster going with lap bars instead of OTSRs. Sounds like a good plan to me!

Terpy did an amazing job in spelling out why it's not necessary for the second post on many threads to be a link to something that has been overlooked. In your newfound knowledge that sarcasm and jokes are very difficult to ensure they come through online, please keep that in mind. A post that you write laughing can be taken so easily on the other side as snarky. For example, in this thread what I saw was a question asked by someone, one legitimate answer - thank you Gabe, followed by six posts making fun of someone for not using the search feature to see what is already being discussed. I'm glad Terpy finally said something. There are very few topics that have not already been mentioned somewhere, and most new threads start because of at least a new spin on something old with new information or a new question. Be tolerant, not nit-picky. You can always pass up a thread you're tired of and move on. It takes far less time than to post a snarky link to a search. Rant about personal pet peeve and sore spot over.

I seem to recall taking a few Racer rides on their last visit. That was a fun morning.

My moment was when I was working there, and noticed a guest smoking and went up to tell her she was only allowed to smoke in a designated smoking area. She then proceeded to point to the sign right beside her that showed she was in one. For the record, beside the restroom located next to the entrance to Backlot Stunt Coaster IS a designated smoking area. I remembered from then on. Another was when I face-planted the train and fell slow enough that I had time to say "CRASH" on my way down. My supervisor proceeded to point and yell out, "He narrated the fall..." Are you okay? is usually asked at some point...not in this case...just that I narrated the fall. For some reason that story got told several times over the next couple seasons.

Well said, Gator! And for those that are, shall we say, big eaters, I highly suggest the Pilgrim's Feast. It comes with three sides instead of two.

They don't seem to be as "in to" record breaking as they once were. Don't count on it, though I'd love to see them build the longest coaster in the world.

It might be ridiculous to some, but that was exactly the way it was in the Paramount days. There were signs as you left each area where you bought the beverage that stated no alcoholic beverages were to be taken past that point. I also have to point out there are also the idiots that want to leave it in the station while on the ride (where anyone can pick it up or knock it over) - and ride a ride which intoxicated people cannot ride (another issue). Whole series of battles are erased when not allowed to take alcohol in line.

That they don't, but they already have a coaster under construction.