silver2005

I wish the smoothie stand by Backlot's helix were open more. I'm a big fan of them on hot days, or at least have some stand that's open all the time sell them. A sea food stand would also be nice. Also, quick question- what food was sold at the International Street restaurant?

Thundernation at Silver Dollar City also drops out of the station and has a lift at the end.

Well, if Big Droppy Thing at NJFTP had delays due to winter weather, I can only imagine it was worse in Gurnee, IL. Also, due to the NTG incident, RMC can't afford to rush things no matter how hard Six Flags wants to push them.

I thought Ouimet had been CEO for a while when WildCat bit the dust...

On Vortex during my most recent visit, I caught the ride op on the mic stating "Oncoming riders, how was your ride?" I'm not even kidding.

WildCat's numerous brake failures near the end of its lifespan might have likely contributed to its removal. It was also 42 years old when it was removed, which is senior-citizen-age for steel coasters.

What I mean is you go up... Then down But you're simplifying things so much. There's more to Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster than what you're implying that make them very different from dropping towers, thus entirely different ride experiences. For example, name me a tower that does this. Photo courtesy of RCDB.

Yeah...towers normally (can't say completely don't because of Falcon's Fury) don't let you see the direction you're ascending or dropping. Seeing the ground rush up at you, whilst spiraling down like TTD and KK do is pretty awesome. I for one also love TTD's build up with the racing lights and engine sounds. Its very, very different from a dropping tower. Also, no tower reaches 100+ mph nor comes close to the acceleration of Dragster of Kingda Ka.

I remember him. Yet another reason I'd agree with Terpy about the ride ops not talking. His enthusiasm is great, and fun when you're ont eh ride heading out. But listening to it for 10 minutes while waiting to get on gets old real quick. I really, really disliked him. On a few Beast night rides I partook in the year he worked there, they would constantly triple stack trains, which on Beast, requires effort even on semi-slow loading. He would also go on and on forever. You could hear him from the lower queue switchbacks, it got really annoying.

Well, any opening day event for a park will have longer lines than usual. I would only imagine they'll be longer when Kentucky Kingdom actually opens. However, give it a few weekends and I'm sure they'll die down a bit. Also realize that Kentucky Kingdom isn't 100% up and running yet, so they'll probably have the longer lines in comparison to when they were open during the Six Flags era when there were more lines to distribute guests.

If you want to see how Kingda Ka would be if it were longer, take a look at Formula Rossa. http://rcdb.com/4485.htm Sure, its the fastest coaster in the world at nearly 150 mph and one of the longest at over 6,500 ft, but... 1. it launches straight into trims which defeats the purpose of launching that fast 2. all its elements are reeeaaaallllyyy drawn out, it looks really boring for a coaster that fast I never really understood those who criticize Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster for being short. Do they forget what happens in that time span? You know, being blasted at triple digit speeds and soaring over 400 ft?

I have a news paper article from the Enquirer back in 1996 about Flight of Fear, and it goes on to say even the US Navy and NASA looked in on Flight of Fear's development, stating they were looking into LIM technology to help launch their respective aircraft/space craft. I know we like to wail on Paramount and their flaw laden park management practices, but I must give credit where its due, they got Flight of Fear right.

I find Banshee's restraints pretty comfortable, even when they seem a little tight. It might be the only ride I've ridden where its comfortable to be stapled. I also think it adds intensity to the ride, but that's just me.

Yeah....I'm not a fan of the foot restraints on Flight of Fear as they sometimes cut off circulation to my feet. Restraints against the knee/shin with those ridiculous air time hills and quick transitions looks like bad mojo. Some of the transitions on the peaks of the later hills reminds me of Arrow transitions, and not in a good way.

Alas, we have a POV video of Lightning Run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM1UUt05dsc

I've noticed on my few times riding The Bat the crew has resorted to bat puns. If they keep that up, we'll see them go all Adam West Batman spiels on us.

I'll put it this way, Hersheypark tore Roller Soaker down for low capacity. They get no where near the attendance Kings Island gets. When they're complaining on capacity about a ride, you know it won't fit the likes of Kings Island.

And now we have testing video (off ride) This thing looks like its flying over hills.

Vortex has only a 48" requirement.

My thing about getting myself on Vortex wasn't the inversions, it was the size. I first rode in the mid-90s as well, and it was then the tallest coaster in the park. I always remember trying to see it after I caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower coming up I-71. That 148 ft lift and that swooping curve over Rivertown can be pretty intimidating when you're younger than 10.

Speaking of which, how many people do you think that when the Kings Island rides got new names after changing ownership, thought they actually were new rides? Actually a lot since that was the same year Firehawk debuted.

Vortex on a fall evening during P&G Day. My first Beast night ride immediately followed. Boy was that an awesome night.

I'm probably going to be taking flak for this, but I'll do it anyway. Here's the thing about TPR. Robb has toned down a great deal since the earlier days of TPR. You guys do know they are affiliated with parks from around the world right? That's a HUGE credential people often forget about. They have HUGE trips with lots of members. Just check their boards on any given day. They're more active with more members than any other coaster site still in existence. They're probably the best source for information about any park on the internet, even better than Screamscape because they actually back up their claims with sources. Sure they're heavily moderated, but that's mainly because they have PR members from a few parks including Six Flags, Holiday World, and a few international parks to my knowledge that post on their boards (and probably more than that). That's why they get to do the events they do and the multi-park trips as well. Its become a huge endeavor. Seriously, just spend about an hour on TPR without focusing on the iffy bits and you'll see they're an excellent resource. I'm guessing even a lot of you have watched POV's of coasters they've been to that you'll probably never ride in your life. If you're running a park, you'd be a fool to ignore that kind of fan base. Also, malem put it perfectly, Kings Island is focused on talking up Banshee and the Action Zone revamp. Yes, Drop Tower is a key part of that area, but its obviously in a state they can't let it operate which is more or less out of their control. Machines break, its common sense. Let's play off the assumption it is a part they're waiting on. If you guys know a thing or 2 about Intamin, they produce all their parts in house. Where is that house you may ask? Switzerland. So not only do they have to make the part, but it has to travel quite a distance to get to our humble amusement park in southwestern Ohio. There is no upside to the park announcing the reason its down. There's nothing they'd benefit from in doing it. And really, what does knowing why really accomplish? Its probably something really technical that only a handful on this site can even understand. So to put it simply- Drop Tower is down, the park is doing everything they can to fix it so it can run, and all you need to do is be patient until that time arrives and, well, you know, ride all the other rides still open at the park including our fantastic new inverted coaster. Just sayin'.

Here's a thought, and I know I may be going out on a limb here, but... Be patient. A virtue for sure.

Things I forgot to mention in the trip report- 1. malem and I went up the Eiffel Tower early on, but it closed for wind whilst we were up there. It was enough wind that required bracing, the first time I've felt the tower sway THAT much, elevators went about half their usual speed 2. In the evening, our group later broke Flight of Fear in the unload station. It stopped 18 inches before it was supposed to and couldn't let the lap bars up, probably a good 10-15 minutes there