IBEW_Sparky

42, and so far, only mildly surprised. Oh, I also wanted to note that I absolutely agree with the posted concerns over the misuse/abuse of the garbage, irritating moneygrab... I mean Fast Lane. That part certainly does need to be addressed.

Not to mention the fact that, if I were a member of park management and read the title of this thread, I would happily make a change. That change would be a post that reads "Due to a demand for change in our ERT lineup, we have listened and indeed have made a change. Effective immediately, ERT at Kings Island has been suspended indefinitely. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause". Yes, I would absolutely do this, because I happily admit I can be a royal jerk at times. The title of the thread alone is off-putting, and would immediately put me on the defensive if I were in a decision maker's position. It would only be a very temporary change, maybe just one day, but it would definitely convey the point I made earlier in the thread, which was/still is "What is freely given is ALWAYS better than zero". Edited to state that this post was made in full agreement to sharks post. Also, Id Love to take an informal poll of the ages of everyone posting in this thread. I believe the results would say a lot.

^Ha, I remember that conversation! I looked for, and found, that light on opening day when I was in line for SR&R with Brad.

Well, it would if the music being played was NIckelback. That would have everyone screaming!

I still think that, even now, a 4D is the one type of coaster I could never ride. For me, it would be sensory overload in a bad way.

I will have to see what I can do to make it there this season, simply to ride Blue Streak.

The blunt fact is no.... they wont. There are a number of other things related to the daily operations of the park.... the most important of which at this time being an entire food service department..... that are vastly more important (or maybe not) to the park and its management staff, than this. Actually, both are related in the sense that the park already has your money, and will continue to do so in the future. Any loss of pass purchases due to "Oh no, my free service that in no way has to be offered, isnt good enough" will be totally negligible in numbers. The aforementioned free parking and Haunt admission FAR Trumps ERT in reasons for Gold/Platinum Passes sold. A few years back, there was a member of these forums who threw quite a memorable tantrum when ERT was changed, to the point of "I will be going to Guest Relations every time I visit (which earned him the dubious nickname of GuestRelationsGuy) and will boycot ERT". Would you like to take a guess on how quickly the lineup was changed that year? Answer, it wasnt. Also, both Saturday and Sunday had absolutely picture perfect weather, and the attendance reflected that on both days. Once daily operations start, this ERT lineup will be just fine. Now, would I.... as an individual who is leaps and bounds more fond of Banshee than I am of DIamonback... like to see Banshee as a full season ERT coaster? Well, of course I would, but hey Im perfectly fine with jumping on DB and getting my day ride in before ALL of the patrons get into the park and fill the queue completely, and then heading towards the Gliders for a quick ride. Whats freely given, is ALWAYS better than zero. Edited to state that this as made in reply to the comment prior to Terps.

I may, or may not be at the park on Friday. It depends solely on my client load this coming week... one depends directly on the disposable income allowed by the other.

From video reports Ive seen, Voyage was running untrimmed yesterday.

It was made crystal clear to me last year, when I was there with IndyGuy4KI and His son. We were in line for Legend after a rain closure, and the woman running the show now was walking through the crowd towards the Thanksgiving section of the park. The look on said woman's face was more that of exasperation and annoyance of having to leave the nice air conditioned office, than the "We are working our butts off to as quickly as safely possible get the rides operational so you, our valued Guests, can enjoy the rest of the day at the park because we KNOW that without you, there is no us" smile that Mrs. Pat Koch would have doubtlessly had on Her face. Gone, loooonnnnggggg gone, are the days of being thanked and waved at as you exit the park, and sincerely being asked to "Please come back and visit us soon".

If your going to ruby Tuesday, just use the north exit. Because, when I come back, that's one more time I have to use the soup-sandwich entrance. Id rather walk, thanks.

Two statements can definitely be used in this case,,,, Be careful what you wish for.... If the train doesnt fit the ride....

Not a bad idea, malem. That would be an easy walk for me, and a great way to walk of a GOOD lunch and mixed drink afterward.

I may have to pack a cooler, for a parking lot lunch, when I go next Friday instead of going to Ruby Tuesday for lunch, to avoid said South Exit at mid day.

I have a feeling that grabbing a lawn chair and a cooler, and sitting in GWL parking lot to watch the new entrance this season would be almost as good/entertaining as doing the same at a boat ramp.

Not to mention, their jackAPP doesnt allow you to see ride wait times if your device location doesnt show as "in the park". That alone, was enough to make me pull it off my phone. If I would happen to be in the area, those times would very likely be a "go or no go" factor in whether or not I stopped by to grab a few rides on my way by.

Breaking update, Owners plead guilty to Health and Safety Law violations: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/22/alton-towers-owner-pleads-guilty-over-smiler-rollercoaster-crash

I finally got around to watching this last night, and I Loved it. Thanks for taking the time to do this, Nick!

Even though I have already made the conscious decision to take my food nickels outside the park, this is absolutely a suggestion that... if I actually see it happen and see that its working.... could POSSIBLY change that decision for me. Another one that I feel would help, is to change all of them to a McDonalds/Hardees/etc etc style operation, where there are 4 or more cashiers/ordering stations instead of the buffet style line with one cashier like at the I Street Skyline for example. Yes, I know the efficiency of that would depend on the park actually staffing said stations, instead of pulling a Wal Mart where there would be 4 to 6 stations with only one staffed, and I also know they likely would look at a redesign of the current system as too pricey, but I feel its a very realistic suggestion that would pay off quickly with increased in park spending. It would work even better, if combined with your GREAT idea. I had to jump in and edit this to say, I truly wish I could recall the name of our server on Saturday at RHOFG. Considering she is a hostess, and had to jump in and serve in a stressful, understaffed situation, the young lady did a FABULOUS job. I thanked her numerous times before we left, but I wish I would have remembered her name in order to stop at G.R. to give her positive props.

I think Im going to have to bring a roll or two of quarters this season, to do this very thing when I dont feel like waiting in long ride lines

As someone who has been involved in the construction industry for a good long time, the "engineer" that came up with this debacle should be sacked. Im almost wondering if the team who designed this, came from RCCA, because I am trying to convince myself that there cant be that many BAD designers/engineers out there. Let us start with the ridiculously narrow entrance lane that has already been spoken about here... actually lets not, because I cant find the proper words that can be used on a PG forum that can describe it. With that, let us skip to the gates, that are placed WAY too closely to the entrance/KI Drive. Those need to be moved at least 50% closer to the toll booths, to allow vehicles to line up and actually get out of the way of/off of KI Drive. Now, from there, the already mentioned fact of getting allllllllll the way over to Soak City from the ONE entrance, and the problems thats going to cause crossing the south exit. I will pass on mentioning the other many issues that have already been mentioned, but one last thing I will say is that they would have been far better off "splitting the difference" and moving the South entrance 50% as far North as they did, and leaving the perfectly functional North entrance just as it was. Maybe, by doing that, they could have resurfaced the lot, or at least properly patched it and repainted the lines so the new entrance didnt look like it does now, which is lipstick on a pig. I promise that there is NO way a competent designer would not have seen each and every problem that we have mentioned here, and in seeing them, there is no way the design would have stood. Im not sure whether to call this a soup-sandwich, or a football bat..... both are equally effective.

What a horrible tragedy. As someone who fights this disease on a daily basis, I feel very deeply for His Family and Friends. Sometimes you dont know whats hidden behind someones smile, or in their eyes, and what they are battling.... always remember that.

Like I said, the only part of what that guy said that I in any way feel has one iota of merit, is the first 1:20, where he speaks of KI not getting a Giga in 2017. I agree with it, however, for reasons he did not state.

i was on board for the first 1:20, but I want the remaining 3:27 of my life back.

Its way, way, way too high vis of an area for that to even be a possibility..... announcement by August at the very latest, just like they did with Banshee.