Steve

Couldn't agree more! As a little kid, I actually didn't pay a huge amount of attention to the hanna-barbara theming myself. But boy ohh boy, driving those real gas cars made me feel like big stuff and like I was in control of a real car. Another example, those handcarts (You guys remember them but the name's not coming to me) I could feel my own power when I would crank the hand-pedals. The Kings Island &Miami valley railroad was great because it was a REAL train! How often does a kid get to board a real steam engine? KCKC's rotating platform was the coolest thing since sliced bread, keeping one foot on the spinning part and one on the stationary part=awesomeness. King Cobra's loop scared me so bad as a little kid as I thought the riders would fall out! Made sense back then! Imagination goes a long way with little kids!!

Tuesday seems to be the most ignored day of the week, so I'm going with that! Crowds have been light at most for me on Tuesdays.

Yep, the typical tourist never knows where to sit and inevitably gets beat up. Not trying to excuse the ride.

Nicce. Are DeLoreans fast? I know they are rare and were only made around 1981. It's cool bro, I bet you're tired of hearing how much I like KCKC haha! I'm going into business and know parks make decisions for their own sake and in a professional way, but you still sometimes wish it could be otherwise. I didn't know so few 40+ year olds visit amusement park. Who was KECO??? But still, kids' minds see everything on a much smaller scale. Kiddy rides remain thrilling for much longer in their little minds than say a teenager who is sick on riding (insert any single ride) over and over. I hope someone is following this logic. As a kid I can say Kings Island looked HUGE and magical. Nothing was "boring" to me and it would take riding a particular kiddy ride many times longer to finally become monotonous.

^ I think you missed my point. There is no shortage of kids, but each kid only rides the "kiddy rides" for a very limited time in their life, so there is no need to build additional kiddy rides to offset rider boredom since each cycle of kids will enjoy them, and always be novel since they outgrow them naturally anyways. Whereas an adult lives a MUCH MUCH greater proportion of their life riding adult rides (Age 8-??? maybe 80 or something) I fully understand why the park took KCKC out, it is mostly just sentimental to me since I grew up with it and to me it was a key centerpiece to Rivertown. As a kid I was in awe they could build a flume that tall and that rotating platform was sick stuff haha! I will re-visit it at Hersheypark with Coal Cracker which seems to be running strong. Even though removal of such rides is only practical, I still miss them.

I agree unfortunately with ya on KCKC being a financial nightmare and we would probably just be complaining on how dirty the water is anyways...Unfortunate. Not to say I'll forget it or stop showing my flop pride haha! I guess I was lucky because everytime we hit up KCKC it was ALWAYS running. Maybe I have the luck of the Irish or something.. I guess a better answer to the kiddy ride issue would be to build more "adult rides" (which Cedar Fair definitely seems to be doing ) After all think about it logically, we don't need new kiddie rides. Kids are only kids for so long, so by the time they get tired of all those little rides KI has invested in they will have already moved onto bigger and better things. Just curious, why are you so into Deloreans? I never gave them a second thought until I saw your username. I know why you are into the Crypt.. Do we at least agree on the rivertown theming needing slight improvement?

I'm talking this season, as the Crypt. Not the past as TR:TR. Everytime I ride by it on the train I don't see as many enthusiastic people leaving or queue lines as I would expect.. I'm not going to make the common mistake of saying "Let's rip it out" just because I personally didn't enjoy it. I think it could use some fixing and TLC though.

Delorean, I have seen kids up talking to the conductors in awe, and even climbing up into the engine area to look around and getting pictures with the conductors. The Crypt doesn't seem to be doing well from what I've seen in satisfying most of it's riders without any theming or variety. HB characters do stand the test of time, good point. Not that it's practical now, but it would be nice to see Congo Falls or another water ride in rivertown. From the Kenton Cove Canoes, to the Keelboat Canal, to Swan lake, rivertown is drying up. I don't see Cedar Fair doing this anytime soon but it would be nice to see a vintage "rivertown" log flume instead of the nickelodeon theme. I am going to venture out and say that MAYBE Kings Island is a little heavy on the Kiddy Rides. 20 is an awful lot of rides to designate for kids. But, they HAVE won the golden ticket award 7 years in a row and I'm sure it brings lots of kids/families(Profit). Cedar Point seems to be the more adult oriented park.

Agreed. I just noticed as I worked on Flume that kids would ask their parents "who is the monkey" and "why is he on the box?" Of course the parents gave typical answers of "I guess he likes cheezy crunchies" or something. No kids shouted "Hey! That's Darwin the monkey from the Wild Thornberrys!" The above poster has a similar opinion as myself but is also an adult. The kids area I agree should be kept up to date with kids shows and programs but I also want people to recognize certain rides are just so novel and attractive in and of themselves WITHOUT modern cheesy theming. I agreed with all the nickelodeon names except I thought naming The Beastie the Fairly Odd Coaster was very very lame. Kids could think of it as a mini-beast like I did growing up and was excited to finally ride the "real thing"! I believe some rides carry a sense of thrill and excitement in just the design and should not be trashed for not being "modern".

Hey guys, I have noticed some contradictory things after working the train and seeing guests' reactions to the ride. The train can be compared to the antique cars as "dinosaurs" among Kings Island's rides. It has been there since 72' and is not updated in any way. Yet, I see kids' faces light up, they start jumping behind the fences, and are overwhelmed with excitement when it arrives in station. Notice how classic the KI&MVRR is. The ride is not called "The Rugrats Train tour" with all kinds of Nickelodeon theming. or the "Tomb Raider train ride." The kids seem much more excited to ride it than a "current" ride with all the theming but overall dry. The antique cars weren't "Scooby Doo's buggy tours". My point is I really don't think classic rides lose their appeal because they aren't "Current" or modern. Adults usually enjoy these rides more because they grew up with them. But kids(being our concern) love the idea of being able to really drive gas powered cars. The cars were loud and the engines shook just like real cars! Every little boy's dream. Kids seemed to ignore the "Wild Thornberry's" theming on the Kings Mill log flume. Do you really think KCKC would be a turn off because it wasnt' "Patrick's bikini bottom water slide"? NO! Kids see that towering massive flume and are excited. My point is I hope Kings Island doesn't start ripping out even more classic rides like the Train or Viking Ship just because they aren't super new and reeking of modernness. What are you guys' thoughts on this? I know what adults typically prefer, but should we really make everything so modern for kids?

Heck yeah! It'll only be water for Steve. The regular drinks BTW are $3.49 posted. Pretty steep. Vending machines are $3.50 I belive and energy drinks are $4.00. Crazy! But soft drinks are the #1 worst thing for you as confirmed by many nutritionists so avoid them like the plague!

I got beat up in the middle/back of the train but if you ride in the 1st seat of the blue train (like we always do) you'll get a great ride every time! The lines are too long though..

Niice! I never thought to see a Screamin' Demon logo! Does anyone else know of others? I know it's a longshot...

I have brought apples and meal replacements (Soy protein meal bars) lol! Steve never eats in the park, and doesn't plan to unless he wins the lottery. Never had a problem. Nature Valley granola bars are also excellent choices for those of you who crave slightly healthier foods that keep you full! You are limited to foods that won't melt or spoil if you want to travel light.

I'm looking for old pics of certain ride signs (Usually over queue lines). I found one for King Cobra for example, and The Bat. I'm looking for: Screamin' Demon The Zodiac Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal Flight Commander Enchanted Voyage or any super old ones like Der' Spinnin' Keggers or the Tumblebug. Does anyone have any of these rare pics?

It was basically a small prototype arrow looper. Kinda like a shuttle loop, it launched you into a loop, you go up a slope, slow down, and roll the other way going through the loop again.

Thanks for the replies! I guess I'll have to hit lightning racer then! It just looked so similar to The Racer I wrote it off.. Can't wait!

Thanks! I'll try to get on the Comet(seems similar to The Racer), farenheit(looks like mini-dragster), great bear looks GREAT!, not too excited about lightning racer, roller soaker looks fun, and Coal Cracker looks like KCKC! Since you said you live near it, what would you recommend riding?

Does anyone know if Hershypark has an online guide website with rides, photos, ect? I am thinking about going there when my family visits relatives in Pottstown, PA! I tried "Hersheyparkcentral.com" but it didn't exist haha!

CoastersRZ confirmed my point about Arrow's design of The Bat. Now that I see it, they should not have been testing a prototype with human lives at stake like that. I don't think any company should build and design an attraction while having that much trouble with it, it's just embaressing. The Bat issues must have been far worse for arrow to deal with than even the roller coaster of america which kinda screwed up SOB. Arrow did have it's gems though.

I thought the Wild Thornberry's would be counted as a Hopkins. I agree that maybe they went under due to their failure to upgrade their designs to keep competitive with futuristic designers such as B&M. I never thought of the point that since The Bat was a prototype, the only way to start and discover a good design is building and failing.

What caused Arrow to go bankrupt then? I had no idea Flight Deck was an arrow coaster sorry.

Welp, I've been curious about something. Is it just me, or was Arrow Dynamics really not that great of a design company. I know they installed 8 attractions in Kings Island, and only 2 of them remain. They just seem to have a lot of defunct rides in their name. For instance: 1. They manufactured the tracks for the Antique Cars(now defunct) 2. They designed and built The Bat, which we all know was a colossal failure. They struggled with it for only 3 seasons when it was mostly closed before demolishing it. Then, they installed The Vortex at virtually no cost due to their embaressment over The Bat. Engineers from Arrow completely botched The Bat design. Too much stress on parts, poor planning ect. 3. They built Screamin' Demon which was sold to another park, and then ultimately trashed. 4. They made the Kings Mill Log Flume which is now defunct. (However it was moved from Coney and was THAT old) 5. They built KCKC and designed the hydroflume. As much as I loved KCKC, the concept of a hydroflume was expected to be "THE premier attraction" I mean, since log flumes were so popular then bigger faster hydroflumes will be the bomb! (Which they were not as successful as expected) Arrow pioneered those. 6. They went bankrupt. nuff said. What are you guys' imput on the company Arrow Dynamics and their contribution to KI? Were they a less than stellar company or did their attractions last, but simply wore out?

KI Beast said: "If gas goes to $7.00, I could see a whole lot of people looking for second or third incomes." I think actually, by that time the hydrogen car will be somewhat available and the next marketing phenomenon. Or, people will combat it by selling gas-guzzlers, and reverting to bicycling, or riding little motor scooters or motorcycles. I wouldn't get additional jobs for gas prices, that's just giving it!

^ Thirded! My male friends and I enjoy rating the women amongst ourselves to pass time!