dakota2112

You can sit where you want on most KI coasters. Diamondback operators often instruct you on where to sit, but you can sometimes request a particular seat. I've never ridden Firehawk so I don't know about it. The rest are self-serve. Oh yeah - backlot is assigned seating, doh!

And I can see the sun, but neither of these are landmarks are they

As hard as I try, I can't see my addition...but I can see the multiplication of subdivisions over the years... But those suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth... wait for it..............[[Rock Pose!]] ROCK ON!

Should be able to see more of the new building - it's taller than Carew One of these days I'd like to bring my own binoculars and see what can be seen. I've never gotten good results using those pay-per-view telescope things at other places, and I don't carry coins at KI so I've never tried the ones there.

Yes. When I'm up top, it's almost always early evening, and the best views at that time of day are to the north and east. Sun glare washes out a lot of the view to the south.

Does anyone here happen to know what is the most distant landmark that is visible with the naked eye, from Eiffel Tower on a clear day? There are a lot of water towers and radio towers visible far off on the horizon and I was just curious how far the furthest one might be.

My 35 minutes included drive time, parking, and walking. (I didn't measure with a stopwatch, but that's a fair estimate) This was in the late afternoon, so it couldn't have been the morning rush. It may have been just coincedence. I know conditions can and do change. But like I said, this wasn't really the first time it's happened either. I've been bitten (no pun intended ) several times now, seeing virtually no DB line on the webcam, and get there to find a relatively long wait. So I was just wondering if anyone else has done this and encountered a similar experience. I guess someone with a "smart phone" (mine is most certainly not) could test this pretty easily, come to think of it!

I was watching the DB webcam this afternoon, trying to gauge how busy the park was by looking at DB's line and the area around it. For the roughly 15 minutes that I was monitoring it, the DB line barely extended beyond the track underpass, and the area around DB was almost devoid of people. I live not far from the park, so about 35 minutes later I was at DB in person, and I found a much different scene than what I saw on the webcam. The DB line filled 3 or 4 rows in the queue and actually extended all the way out onto the midway. There were many people out and about in that area as well - the stone wall along there was full of people sitting along it, the snakepit tables were all full, etc. Is it known for sure that the DB webcams are a live feed? I've always assumed they are, but after experiencing this, I am beginning to question the authenticity of what is shown on there. And this is not the first time that I've been surprised to find a much longer line than what I saw on the webcam not long before. Just wondering.

I want to offer kudos to Thunderhead for being one incredibly comfortable wooden coaster (compared to what KI and HW has to offer anyways). My back actually feels MASSAGED after riding that thing - it's more like riding in a cushy easy-chair than it is a roller coaster. And while it doesn't offer much in the way of airtime, it is a very fun ride. And if I'm not too late posting this - don't miss the Alum Cave Bluff trail in the GSMNP. Or Chimney Tops, if you're up for a steep climb. Or the bypass trail to Clingman's Dome, if it isn't in the clouds - you will appreciate the cool air up there. I just got back from the area and my truck said 99 degrees in Pigeon Forge. An hour later up over 5000' it said 63 degrees. Natural air conditioning can't be beat.

Ah, interesting - thanks! I missed that one.

My 9 year old son and I both find it to be quite boring and uneventful. It seems like we're so pre-occupied with trying to find and hit the little targets, that we are pretty much oblivious to whatever's going on in the ride theming itself. But I rode it again and didn't even bother with the gun, and still found it boring. Give me Phantom Theater back, please!

This was essentially my question in the OP when I started this thread. Thank you for the answer!

ok so I've always wondered... how do they keep track of the number of riders this closely? Does one of the ride ops have to record the number of people onboard every train as it leaves?

I vote for Outer Hanks. The fish & fries is a good deal. They also have chicken strips and whatnot. Make sure to ask for coleslaw... in the past they always included it with the meal but this year they said "you have to ask for it" (?).

Racing is fun, if both sides are ready to go at the same time. But I don't like having to sit there waiting. I'd rather just go if the other side isn't ready. And I too miss the red side running backwards. It's only been a few years I guess but it sure seems like forever.

Race or no race, it's a great coaster and possibly my overall favorite at the park. It seems like the red side is a tad faster (it almost always wins, at least based on my experience) but I will say the blue side felt pretty fast this weekend as well. I can see where the off-season track work was done on both sides. Long live The Racer!

What's going on with the Red Racer? I've been to the park three times this season and the Red Racer has been closed every time. In years past, it was common for the Blue Racer to be closed when the park was not crowded. But I've never seen the Red Racer closed like that. So I asked the Blue-side ride op and she said they've been having "difficulties" with it and that it might be closed for the whole month. Just curious what's up?

Generally speaking, people are happy that the park has not mentioned tearing down SoB. But the first thing that crossed my mind is something like this: Of course they're not going to mention tearing it down... because if there's even the smallest, most remote chance that the ride will ever re-open again, then the absolute last thing they would want floating around would be any sort of official word regarding consideration of the ride's removal. I suspect there has been plenty of talk behind closed doors about the ride's removal. But they are not about to let that get out, because if the thing ever does re-open, the lawsuits could come back with even more of a vengeance... imagine how bad it would be for the park if someone else were to get injured (or claim injury) on a ride that had been even considered for removal, but then re-opened. Especially when that ride is SoB. Just my $0.02

I agree. Perhaps that will help parents to get their kids interested in the Peanuts eventually... but right now, I'd bet money that the parents will be much more in tune with the new theme than the kids will be. I never cared for the Peanuts when I was a kid, so I'll be just as lost as my son Actually this could be a genius marketing move... after all, the parents are the ones with money to spend!

The incredibly loud roar inside Beast's helix tunnel also dramatically adds to the perceived speed. It's interesting (frightening!) to think about that treatment being applied to SoB. However, I think it would be a very bad decision to add such an element to SoB with the intent of distracting rider attention away from the jackhammering roughness. Talk about a band-aid fix!!!

My son is 8. He really enjoys the Nick stuff (especially SpongeBob), and I don't think he even knows what the Peanuts are. Granted, I myself have never had any interest in the Peanuts whatsoever, so he is not exposed to Peanuts at home. I firmly believe that any kid in this day and age who knows about Peanuts, knows about it almost exclusively by parental influence and nothing else. However I don't think the brand of ride theming would be a deal breaker so-to-speak from a kid's point of view.

Exciting!!!!!

Clear evenings, when the sun is near the horizon and its warm sidelighting casts long shadows. And of course, after dark. My first ride on an otherwise empty coaster train was Vortex during a Haunt one year, it was a memorable experience. And needless to say... Beast after dark.

Since someone mentioned King Cobra, that reminded me of another: the "1st" seat on the backwards Racer. That was the best of both worlds, having an unobstructed view, combined with the stomach-floating "last" seat sensation. (or is that still considered the last seat? )

I can't speak from experience, but it sounds like it would have a major impact on hourly ride capacity, at least if the majority of boarding riders were to do this. Is this for all loose items, or only for valuables that need to be locked up?