TheKlockster

I once rode Son of Beast 18 times in about 2 hours. I don't know if thats an accomplishment or not. This was back in 2004 before it was redone.

It does indeed...

The last car stops sideways because the train stops before the first car gets to the end of the brake run. It's normal - nothing to worry about. I got to do it three times when they were filming a commercial. They had to keep stopping the train there to time the shot right. As far as what causes it, there are numerous factors. Usually its a fault or just a block setup. For example a train stops in the brakes out by Shake Rattle and Roll and the ride operator forgets it's out there, and brings the next train into the station. Then the train that was dispatched will stop just before the corkscrews because the Shake Rattle and Roll brakes are still occupied. I know for sure at least one person has done this, and on at least two occasions. Also sometimes the operators will stop a train there because someone is doing something unsafe such as videotaping the ride. They'll stop it there and yell at them over the PA. You're probably thinking of the Burj al Arab in Dubai. That hotel spares no expense - as does the rest of the country. They're trying to become one of the top tourist destinations in the world. But I highly doubt Cedar Point employ's birds of prey to guard their coasters.

Alot of people think the whole 5 thing with all roller coasters is dumb, but it makes sense. 5 refers to the ride dishing out extreme and turbulent changes in speed and or direction, some of which cannot be anticipated. Even Adventure Express does this. I thought it was a fun little family ride, but my Grandma was holding on for dear life. So the intensity scale has nothing to do with how scary the ride is - it has to do with how bad it beats you up.

The Beast does do a really good job - and most of the people on the crew are really cool. I gotta vote for Vortex though.

Good grief that was fast. They fabricated new track and installed it already. I wonder if they have the same 300 cycle warmups that Kings Island has. Guess they're going to be haulin' to get that mustang ready to gallop by this weekend. Also I wonder if they fabricated these new pieces in Europe - or if they contracted such a quick job to some place like CSF up here in Batavia.

The rear left seat of any car has the most room. I didn't used to be able to fit in the front row of any car - but could fit in the rear left seat. Don't know why it has more room than the rear right seat - it just does. The front seats have that raised area because of the wheels - that's why they're a tighter fit. They push your knees up higher. Also if you can cross your feet it seems to help you get your knees under the restraint. If you can just get your knees under the bar, its usually no problem to get your belt to buckle - unless you just have big legs like me.

I'm dying to get back but this weekend is going to be packed.

My favorite coaster is Vortex and favorite flat is Shake, Rattle and Roll. After that, I pretty much like everything else with honorable mentions to Beast (it grew on me), Top Gun (its awesome regardless of what Drew Mankus says about it), and Delirium. I also really like Tomb Raider even if the crew does get me confused with a leader of the rebel alliance.

Does anyone remember this photo that I posted last summer? Nobody believed me it was true! Boy were they proven wrong! :thumbsup: Cant wait to go back.

Nothing wrong with improvement. Tear all the trees down! TAER TEHM DOWN! Yeah there is quite a bit of parallax between those two pictures lol. Both were taken by leet photographorz though.

Thats cause I'm not there. Vortex is seriously the best ride in the park.

The Vortex's restrains use a ratchet-style system to secure the lap bars. Having them just pop up is something that's extremely rare, however when the restraint is brought down, sometimes it'll sit between gears and once the ride is in motion it'll pop into gear, which sometimes makes people think that it popped up a few notches when in fact it didn't. This is the reason that ride operators push down on the restraint first, and then pull up (or at least are supposed to). It is all safety. The yellow tape is supposed to be touching you - although some extremely tall people prevent the restraint from coming down all the way. So I think the seatbelt is a good idea. I am just glad it goes up and buckles into the restraint. On Corkscrew at CP the belt hangs off the restraint 9and smacks you in the face when the restraint is up) and it has to buckle into the seat between the legs.

I like the ratings. Vortex definately should be a 5. As for the others I can understand. Adventure Express is really jerky and rattly. Drop Zone isn't forceful which is probably why it stayed a 4. It is scary, but you aren't exposed to rapid changes in speed and direction.

It is one of many urban legends regarding Kings Island. There is no reason that I know of to remove the ride any time soon. The only reason they would remove it is if they could build something better in that spot (better as in it will bring in more money - not necessairly more appealing to enthusiasts). But it is a staple of the park and it isn't going anywhere.

I for one am glad they raised the height requirement for Shake, Rattle and Roll. Not that it was unsafe before - but there were just some parent-child combos who didn't need to ride. Most parents are good parents it seems, and hold their child while riding - but there were some who were just asking for trouble. Two inches difference will make a huge difference.

Yeah I hope they did away with it. I think it was awful from both sides of view. When I worked there BAFFD was always nuts. Long lines, frustrated guests, trash everywhere - the feeling you cant breathe cause theres people stacked on top of other people everywhere. And even as a guest I avoid the park on these days. It was actually more worth it to me to pay to bring a friend in on a regular day when we can ride everything than try to fight the mob on bring a friend free day. So in my opinion its bad for both the park and the guests.

I wish I could but I won't be there. I do plan on going later in the season, as well as at least one trip to the Point. Will probably buy a pass to save me some money. Can't wait to ride Vortex again! Opening day is always a mess anyways - or at least it was with Paramount. Maybe this one will go off without a hitch? Opening day at Cedar Point went pretty smoothly last year except for slow capacity on TTD, and an evac on both Magnum and Iron Dragon.

The Dippin Dots guy is a vast repository of highly questionable albeit pertinent information. I get all my theme park related buzz from him, as well as sound financial advice.

The seatbelt on Corkscrew isn't that bad. As some of you know I'm a pretty big guy and I had plenty of room with it. Having worked on Vortex, I think the seatbelts would be a good idea. It would ensure that the bar is down to a predetermined position, and prevent some people from leaning way forward to get a really loose bar. Also some really skinny people can actually climb out through the middle of the bar, and the belt might keep the restraint tight enough to make that impossible.

It will probably snow that day. Seems like theres bad weather on most opening days. Some of the rides (besides Firehawk and Son of Beast) will be closed due to technical or staffing delays. And the crews are usually at their slowest since most of them are new to the job and still learning, and some are even still training. Usually though it is a good day to go. Even if you dont ride anything its still fun to be there on opening day and see the park coming back to life. I dont know about this year however since they have scheduled two or three crowd drawing events on the same day. It could be really really packed.

That would be possible but very costly. Additionally it would solve nothing. They are removing the loop so that they can slow the trains down. With that much extra track the trains would pretty much have to go at the same speed. Kind of makes me wonder though - how are they slowing it down? Magnetic brakes on the drop?

Just about fell out of my seat when I read AZ's post. I have never seen the show, but I would watch if they had an episode where some extreme coasterphobe was made to ride the biggest baddest coasters out there.

Yeah Cedar Point looks awesome at night. It looks so alive. Other than the blinking lights on top of the Eiffel Tower and Drop Zone, and the occasional ride cycle of Drop Zone, there isn't any real activity visible from the road. I really hope they fix it up like Cedar Point. Its almost worth the 40 dollar ticket to just watch the light effects after dark from the parking lot!

I never even got the opportunity to buy one. I definatley would have if I had known how.