IBEW_Sparky

Which, as was demonstrated by every one of the dollar days the park has ever had, lends well to your point you previously made about the lowest common denominator. Many people ask "Why is Disney sooooo expensive?" Question answered.

My one and only post in this thread.... quoted to emphasize the importance of this aspect. I will say that there has been more than one night where Ive sedated myself in order to make sure I saw the next morning throughout all of this. Those who know me, know that this is not a statement Im proud to make, but in a time when every single outlet I use for mental health and escape was taken from me in a matter of 24 hours (the get togethers for dinner and drinks with special Friends, tracks I race go karts at, the drag strips, the golf courses, the entertainment centers like Tappers in Indy, and amusement parks), my depression and anxiety spiked exponentially and there were times when my only guarantee of seeing the next day was to crash hard enough to where I didnt wake up in the middle of the night. Do I understand the steps that had to be taken, and still have to be taken, in order to have a legitimate chance at getting a handle on this? Absolutely!!! Does it still suck to monumental heights? ABSOLUTELY!!! Thankfully, I am now able to at least resume most of these activities, albeit in a vastly altered capacity, but this statement that @gad198 made is one that must not be forgotten.

Two fitting statements for this one... A)That character didn't get the memo that Mantis has been gone for a few years. B)Gigabug

With the very pleasant temps and reasonably low humidity, I took the opportunity yesterday to spend the day at the park. I rode Orion three times, using the first to simply get a feel for the ride and establish a baseline, and then I took a more analytical approach with my second and third rides in order to offer my thoughts and feelings concerning the ride. Before continuing, understand... or don't... that I Love roller coasters that leave me in a complete frenzy, and put as many different forces on my body as possible. Also, please understand that I fully comprehend marketing and ROI in amusement park installations, and I applaud Cedar Fair and B&M in their collaboration in designing, building, and installing a solid ride that most certainly offers and delivers on what the park and the vast majority of park goers want. My first ride was in row 8, seat 4 (right) at roughly 1230pm, my second ride was in row 8, seat 1 (left) at approximately 6pm, and my last ride was in row 1, seat 3, which was a back to back ride with my second row 8 ride. The drop on my 1230pm 8-4 ride, and my 6pm 8-1 ride were within 1 or 2 mph of each other, but the whip effect was better on the evening ride which was quite a pleasant surprise! The drop in 1-3 gave really nice views of the park on the lift, just enough hangtime to be fun, and a very good feeling of speed as well as a bonus of a nice ram-jet of cool air through the vents on my mask. My verdict on the drop is that, it's honestly better than Millies in regards to feel, and is tied for the most solid part of the entire ride experience. AN interesting observation I noted was, when riding DB after my first ride on Orion, you truly get a representation of the height difference when you realize how quickly in comparison you roll out of the drop on DB. The inaccurately named wave turn was a nice 90* banked curve that reminded me basically of one of Voyage's 90* turns and scrubbed off little to no speed that was picked right back up on the down which was good, but the turn provided very little on my internal positive G meter in either row 1 or 8. The right hand vertical banked turn was better in 8-1 than 8-4, but to be blunt both left me waiting for forces that were supposed to be there and were not, and the same went for my row 1 ride.... it literally felt like I was just being turned on my side through the corner, again like one of Voyage's 90* turns. The speed hill was fast and smooth, and provided smooth and gentle sustained floater in row 8, with similar in row 1 along with just the slightest thrust in row 1.... calling it flo-jector would be pushing it greatly but we can. The second "airtime" hill that leads into the helix is better in row 1 than row 8, because the trim takes any possible flo-jector that would exist and tosses it in the bin, but in row 1 it allows my body to rise out of the seat just a bit and hover nicely down and settle into the seat just as the train enters the helix. The helix is.... odd. Its smooth and carries nice speed, then slows down, and then speeds back up again right before passing under the head-chopper and on ride camera location, and that mid helix slowdown due to the increasing radius really just felt out of place and took away what COULD have been an amazing high G moment in that decreasing radius right before the head-chopper. There was no part of the entire helix that came remotely close to producing enough sustained G force to cause anything even approaching a grey out with me, and I am firmly in the "there are likely conditions such as heat, hunger, or dehydration causing those feelings" camp. The curving rise out of the helix produces a VERY cool few seconds of funky sideways flo-jector air in both row 1 and row 8 that absolutely tie the first drop as the stars of the ride, and would be absolutely mental with the elimination of the aforementioned trim on the pre-helix airtime hill, or with a more consistent radius in the helix. It reminds me of the sideways airtime moment coming out of the pre-shed corner on Mystic Timbers, and the multiple sideways airtime moments in the final series of S curves on Voyage, and Id like to see more installations with that type of element throughout and/or towards the end of the ride. All in all, Orion is a good, infinitely re-ridable ride that most definitely suits Kings Island, and will absolutely serve the park well in giving it a high capacity (once the restrictions are lifted hopefully next year) people pleaser. I don't think its a bad ride at all, and I don't hate the ride, but beyond the drop and that last gem of a sideways air element it genuinely leaves me wanting more. Of the three 300+ foot drop roller coasters I've ridden, I305 is my #1 by a mile, because it does exactly what I want a roller coaster to do. I will kindly chart Millie and Orion as #2a and #2b, due to Orion having a superior first drop and that sweet sideways airtime element. Beyond those two elements, 20 year old Millennium Force... AGAIN IN MY MIND... does it better, plain and simple.

I rode 15 rides in 7 hours, not pushing. All major roller coasters ridden other than Backlot, rode Mystic Timbers twice, Banshee twice... and could have marathoned it from 2pm on as it was a one train wait..., FoF twice, and Orion 3 times. Ride times ranged from one flat cycle or one train wait, up to a 40 to 45 minute long (40 once for FoF, 45 once for Mystic Timbers).

One of the same vintage glasses as the one Shaggy has in his collection.

According to the link KDD posted the point is moot, but I am going to KK on Monday so Ive been checking the website multiple times a day, and under their list of rules, it is still showing masks as recommended and masks shall not be worn any time while in the water. As of this writing, Holiday World and Splashin Safari are stating the same.

Top 3 favorite memories: 1)My first ever trip to the park, on Sunday, September 9th, 2006. Visiting friends in Indy for the weekend, getting the lay of the land before deciding whether or not to move, and decided Saturday evening on a whim to take the drive down the next day. My adopted home park was Worlds Of Fun (one of Mamba's first riders), It was long before I knew about any of this, and the park was very enjoyable. Notable key points from the visit were A)seeing SoBs train parked midpoint on the lift hill, and walking around the ride looking at it for the visual work of art that it was and also noting there would be absolutely no way in Hades Id ever willingly ride it, B)Being absolutely astounded at the experience that The Beast was, and then even moreso later during a night ride before leaving the park, C)Waiting in an hour line for Tomb Raider, only to see what it was when the doors opened and walking my happy butt right through the row of seats and out the side exit, after my unfortunate friend had already locked herself into the seat (boy, the look I got for that one as she came out the exit ), and D)riding Flight of Fear for the first time... also my first ever launched coaster... and absolutely Loving it. 2)Diamondback Opening Day, as I was auction rider #253, and I got the spot on a complete fluke when a former member here contacted me via PM and asked if I would like to attend the event for the simple price being the driver (we both lived in Indy) since he won two seats and his Wife had to work last minute and could not attend. The one other incredibly good thing that came of that is, had I not attended that event, Id have never had the opportunity in 2014 to meet @DJSkyFoxx, the young woman who has become my very best friend/little sister in every way but blood. 3a)Pride Night 2009, my first ever and one that holds many incredible memories. 3b)My October 2008 Beast night ride during Haunt, in very moist, foggy 46 degree weather (at the time my personal record for coldest coaster ride ever, my current record is a 38 degree morning Millie ride in October of 2013, Indyguy4KI can verify the temp as he was right beside me).

Non-paywall story... https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apex-parks-group-announces-financial-044800755.html

Anyone looking for evidence to back up the sizable financial over-extension due to Thunderbird need look no further than their current definition of "food" and the current prices thereof, and compare it to just a few years ago.

First test run.

Actually, your price point isnt far off, provided the standard park mark up isnt added. A Megabus trip round trip from Indy to Chicago is anywhere from $55 to $80.

Counterpoint.... if they truly wanted to show that passholders mean something to them, they would take their largest cash cow, Fast Lane, and give away a free one, or 50% off. That is a program that costs them .0001% of its retail price, and it LOOKS like a huge win to someone who would normally not purchase the item, or even good enough of a "bargain" at 50% off, for them to justify paying 50% for a day of power riding. Not intentionally trying to be a jagoff, just pointing out how much better it could be with how little effort, and in all honesty at a better rate of return both monetarily and appearance. Edited "cost" to "price" to correctly make my point

This looks to me like something created solely for PR, and in a way that will do nothing but increase per caps. Utilize a game plan of giving away "rewards" that A)They know a majority will not use (bogo on a Slingshot ride) or that give a percentage off of a product or service that has such a huge built in mark up that it's affects on the park will be nil (Up to $50 off a premium cabana rental, or "an extra 10% off merch"). Perceived value at its finest.

RickRoll 285

Very possibly an empty parking lot.

But dont worry, everyone, IB eliminating the $5 GA wristband wont have any negative effect on internal park operations or per caps.

Agreed, this is far from ideal for the crowd who knows nothing other than to sit down and wait for someone to get on a mic and say “ all clear”.

I absolutely agree in regards to smokers, or the rule thats not enforced that is much more important to me, line jumping. Toss those reprehensible clowns from the park, and if they are passholders, REVOCATION, not suspension. Now, in regards to sidewalk chalk, it takes all of about 2 seconds to realize and understand that the "my parents use this park as my babysitter" demographic would be creating crude anatomy lessons on the concrete if they were able to bring sidewalk chalk into the park with no penalty. The majority of Society's rules are made not to penalize the good (though that is more often than not what happens) but as a pre-emptive measure against the people who made the movie "Jackass" a hit.

Sorry, its mid pack coaster at best, I apologize for not being a diver fanboy. Rougaru sucked as Mantis and isnt too much better as a floorless, Gatekeeper is ok but was PRE Banshee, and as I said I havent ridden Fury. I enjoy Thunderbird, for whoever mentioned it, but that is not a CF installation.

I most definitely agree with the first part of this, the only State equal to or worse than CA regarding ride inspections is Jersey. The second part, not so much, and I say that because an impulse would be a good "test ride" so to speak in order to see if Intamightwork has at least somewhat remedied its reliability/downtime issues. EDIT: Id like to take this time to say I would LOVE to see them come back into the game, Id Love to ride something new at a CF park that actually raised my heart rate a bit, which B&M has failed miserably at doing since Banshee.* *Note, I have not ridden Fury 325 yet, so that may be the sole exception to this statement.

Dont expect much.... remember how much they did for Beasts 30th. Using that as an indicator, the sign you are looking at is about it.

This is a great video... and while comparing the two coasters isnt even remotely realistic, I will say what Ive said before. When both coasters are in proper states of repair, and running as they should, Voyage does what its intended to do better than Beast does. That is my feeling and mine alone, YMMV. I will also be the first to stand up and say that Beast was running very, very well last year.

If I had to venture a guess, Id say it is because Red's profit margin is much lower than it is at Chicken Shack or Panda, for instance, due to the fact it is a sit down "full service" restaurant that has a higher overhead.

^That, is a great description!!