coasterrz

For some reason, I just don`t see the little blue critters making their return to PKI in the near future. While there may be a resurgence soon, with a movie and new cartoon reportedly on the way, I still think PKI will focus on Nickelodeon cartoon tie ins instead of an old HB tie in.

Any one remember the last year the South side of the Antique cars operated? Also, I don`t believe Congo Falls will be going anywhere in favor of a new attraction. The Action Zone has had a lot of additions in the past couple of seasons. Secondly, I was thinking that they could be closing the Antique Cars so that they could alter the course for a new attraction in 2005. However, I also remember the Jeff Siebert hint back on a Boomerang Bay tour that Coney Mall was the last major area to not recieve a new attraction in the past couple of years. The `Tiques are in Coney Mall, so the 2005 attraction may very well be on part or all of the Antique Cars land. This will be an exciting summer to see what happens with the Antique Cars. But, lets not wish away the 2004 season! Before we know it the park will be closed and we will be in another offseason. Lets enjoy the park while its open and be glad if and when an announcement comes in the coming months.

Part of the reason for more adult operator deaths, is I would assume that there is a larger proportion of adult ride operators, since places like Cedar Point require their operators to be 18 or older. To address the issue about PKI`s rides and the computer ensuring that bars are locked, not every ride computer ensures the bars are locked. I believe most of the coasters and all the wooden coasters do not have sensors ensuring all the bars are locked. One reason the bars on Face Off, Top Gun, Vortex and Son of Beast have a strip of yellow tape on them is for ride operators to better be able to visually see if a bar is up and not locked. I do know that Delirium and Tomb Raider have computer sensors to sense if a bar is locked. I`ve stated my position on this bill before. There are some minors that shouldn`t be running rides, but there are some that should. Additionally, there are some adults (18 or 19 year olds in particular) who are operating rides that probably shouldn`t be. As for the 16 year olds being able to drive and able to operate amusement park rides. Most states now require a graduated license system in which rookie drivers are required to have some practice with an older adult. On research I`ve done, some states have laws that say that minors can check bars on coasters, but they can`t actually push any buttons. There is a big difference between a 16 year old driving a car and operating an amusement park ride. When a 16 year old is driving he usually has people in their car that they know. However, when they are operating an amusement park ride, they are in control of machinery which has complere and total strangers. Just like everything else in this country everyone has a right to their own opinion and point of view. Ed Markey may feel this is a necessary Bill, others may feel that it is unnecessary. That is one of the founding principals of this country. If the bill is such a big problem to some people, then people can make it an issue with their local congress man or senator. Ultimately, the bill doesn`t affect me as I`m 19, but I know several people at Coney that are excellent ride operators that would be affected. Sorry for the long post!

Yes, since the 26 of June is a Saturday in June, BeastBuzz will undoubtedly be crowded. But the special perks, like the ERT after the park closes, the special tours of The Beast, Son of Beast and Tomb Raider, in addition to the other special perks that PKI rolls out like park trivia and scavenger hunts. It is sure to be a fun time. Obviously, there will be some sort of tribute to The Beast since it is the official celebration of The Beast`s 25th anniversary.

They won`t bring back the Skyride. The reason it was removed in the first place was due in part to low ridership (the other part was because of lack of spare parts). Addtionally, PKI is no where near as spread out as other parks like Cedar Point. Personally, by the time you wait in line for the Sky Ride, and then ride it, you would have been able to walk to your destination quicker than riding. I just don`t see PKI adding any transportation rides anytime soon. Secondly, what does a monorail have to do with a "ski-lift lookin thing?" They are two seperate types of rides. I don`t forsee PKI adding a monorail either. Just my two cents.

I`ve only been to Nights of Fire once, in 2002 when they shot off fireworks from two locations in addition to shooting them off of the Eiffel Tower. When we went, we stayed in the parking lot, because there were a TON of people and cars were parked in the deep South lot. Cars were coming in fifteen minutes before the fireworks like the park had just opened on a Saturday! I would choose FearFest over Nights of Fire, simply because the park won`t be insanely crowded. Plus, the haunted attractions are quite fun too!

Yeah, i wish I could have gone to PKI today, but I was stuck down at Coney for the Flower Show, staffing the pedal boats across Lake Como. There will always be another day! It wasn`t that bad, but for being a day in which it was supposed to rain, I am now quite red from the sun, LOL!.

I know that Cedar Point already requires their ride operators to be 18 or older. However, some parks, such as PKI and in particular Coney Island, would have an extremly tough time staffing rides. (Today at Coney, of the 8 rides employees that worked the Flower show, I think only two or three of us were 18.) Secondly, I think that maybe there should be some sort of classification as to the rides and who can operate them. Obviously, some children`s rides are not "hazardous." Most parks have built in systems to ensure the safety of employees and riders. Some of the more complex rides are operated by more seasoned employees. For example, at Coney, the hardest ride to run, the Ferris Wheel, is generally reserved for second year operators and up. Yes, I have seen some screwballs at Coney who were under 18 who did not deserve to be running rides (or technicaly, heavy machinery). However, there I also know of several that would do just fine. If this law is passed, it coule spell trouble for smaller parks like Coney that can`t afford to pay their ride operators much. If they can`t afford to pay their ride operators much, they will not attract workers to run their rides, and will not be able to invest in new rides and in fixing the park. (Coney has invested a lot in sprucing up the park this season, BTW.) This would impact PKI too, because they often rely on local high school students to run their rides. I believe that with proper training and supervision, 16 and 17 year olds are capable of running amusement park rides. While this issue may have some merit, I think, if passed, it will do more harm than good.

The thing that bothered me on my last visit, is the way they were oriented. They weren`t oriented to take people`s pictures as they entered. Instead, they were parallel and in line with the edge of the Royal Fountain. So each time you left the Action Zone and headed to HB, you had to pass them. Not a big deal, but I would rather only have to deal with them once, instead of each time i pass through the entrance plaza.

As much as I enjoyed Route 666, I would have to say the scariest haunted attraction I`ve been trhough at PKI`a Fear Fest has to be Maze of Madness, simply becuase the maze part is so disorienting, especially with the heartbeat music playing.

ET=Eiffel Tower. PF=Partridge Family, as in the television show.

I recall hearing a wooden coaster designer saying that a wooden roller coaster is always under construction. Even with The Racer, Beast and Beastie, they are continually worked on to fix and smooth out rough spots. Hopefully, in time, PKI`s wood maintenance division will iron out some of the problems in SoB. After all, they take care of more wood coaster track then any other park has. If I remember correctly they maintain more than 22,000 feet of track!

Honestly, Son of Beast isn`t going anywhere anytime soon. They have spent too much money building it and then trying to smooth out the bumps and rough spots. Hopefully, in a couple seasons, the ride will be smoother than it is and more reridable. However, rough or not, the general public sure seems to enjoy the ride! New trains probably won`t happen as the trains they have were specifically designed for the extra wide track guage and the fact that new trains cost a LOT of money!

I seriously hope that Days of Thunder makes its return to PKI this season! The only thing I remember from the ride was the car being jacked up in the pits, and the car shaking when it was in victory lane from everyone climbing and slapping the car. I think that with the rise in popularity of Nascar in tha past couple of seasons, and the fact that the parks are now going for a more Hollywood theme, this is a perfect movie to bring back. Not to mention that the movie was last in the park seven years ago. I would be happy if it returned. I also wouldn`t mind seeing the Dinosaur Island movie I saw at SFKK back in 1996. It will be interesting to see if PKI follows what PGA is installing in side B!

I know that the Dodgems have a prerecorded spiel that starts off with "Everyone now entering the ride area, please place one arm throught he shoulder strap located on the pole behind you." There is also a spiel for Wild Thornberrys River Adventure. I can`t recall any others at this moment.

Do they have the name of the movie posted where the line for the two sides split? In years past, they have had a sign on the right side (the line for the non 3D side) that had the name and logo of the movie that was coming along with the line "Coming in Summer." I haven`t riden Spongebob 3D this year so I don`t know if they have a sign up. From riding The Racer it would appear they do, but it might just be the same one from last year.

Is this refering to the first coaster of the 2004 season? Or is it refering to the first roller coaster we rode in our life time? If it is the first coaster we rode this season, then I would answer The Beast. If it is the first coaster we rode in my lifetime, I would answer The Beastie.

I`s much rather see Days of Thunder in side B than James Bond. Just my 2 cents though.

I would thouroughly enjoy the ride if the park did bring back Days of Thunder. That movie would fit in perfectly with the park`s "Hollywood" theme for this year. Addtionally, it has been ten years since the ride opened and seven years since it last was played at PKI. I rode it back then, but don`t remember it that well. DoT would be better than some of the other movies they have played in side B in the past couple of years. We`ll just have to wait until June to see what the park puts into side B.

No the tower was not open today. However, they were testing the new elevators all day today. One member of the Tower crew said that the ride would definately not open today but might be ready to be opened for tomorrow. The new elevators are grey/sivler on the exterior as opposed to the red exterior of the old ones.

I think that DJs would only fit in with certain rides. I think The Beast, Face Off, Drop Zone and Delirium would be the only rides that need them because of their lines. I think that if PKi was to put in DJ`s though, they should only do it on Friday and Saturday nights when the park is really crowded. I personally would not want to see DJ`s in ride lines at PKI. I just don`t see the need when the park has QTV. One bad thing about QTV is that they have been playing more and more commercials on that over the past couple of years.

I don`t remember where but I know I saw a picture that was reportedly from when it rolled back. However, since the picture is a still image, it is hard to decipher whether or not the train was actually rolling backwards. In short, it would be hard to tell if the train in the picture was taken during normal operation or if it indeed was taken during a roll back.

Stuff like this can very as others have said, depending on how crowded the park is. When the park is extremly busy, such as the gold pass bring a friend free days. The amount of trash generated just accumulates at an incredible rate, and is thus hard for ecology to keep up. So far this season the park has seemed really clean, but then again all my visits this year have come when the park was all but deserted. The one thing that wasn`t up to par this past weekend is that some of the automatic toilets in the mens room on International Street were not functioning properly.

The ride uses a series of laser beams to keep track of the trains location during the launch. This is used so the computer knows what LIMs to fire and when to turn them off.

Yeah, I went on Easter to, for almost two hours. I got there at 2, and was greeted by not one full row in the parking lot. I too walked onto Face Off, Drop Zone and Delirium. Actually, in the two hours I was there, I managed to grab rides on Face Off, Drop Zone, Delirium, Adventure Express, The Racer, Flight of Fear, Vortex, Flying Eagles, 2 rides on The Beast, and a walk on to Scooby Doo to end the day. Sadly, I had to leave about quarter till four. I would really have enjoyed staying till 8, but I had to get to easter diner. It was an excellent day to be at the park. I just wish I could have gotten up there earlier and stayed longer because the only thing that limited how many rides you got was how fast you could walk to other rides. I do believe that the taking of pictures during the Paramount Magic of the Movies show is forbidden as it includes images from unreleased movies. IMO, that show was pathetic and is the worst show they`ve had in the theater in the last four years. Both magic shows and Graveyard Shift were better.