silver2005

Racer refurb Return of Antique Cars Return of Phantom Theater

If we get 'Tiques back, MIA can have Backlot.

I'll one-up you and hope that its the return of Phantom Theater. Honestly though, I'm hoping for a Racer refurb.

Great addition for the park up north. I also like how they're utilizing Sky Rider's paint scheme. With this along with a few other coasters that say otherwise, can we please stop pretending that Cedar Fair isn't willing to build rides that take records from Cedar Point, even if they're close?

I looked up to see if British parks were more lax on cameras filming on rides than the US since Andy Murray is from GB, and they (ex. Alton Towers, Thorpe Park) don't allow it either. So its not like he has the excuse of being a foreigner and not being around parks that are more lax in that department.

^They aren't anything new to the industry. Heck, Crypt at KI used them. We can blame human error on many concepts to improve the park experience, but for a majority of people, they work well. You're always going to have exceptions, flaws and human error in anything. You can only foolproof things so far.

The only real distracting thing about driving past Kings Island is at night. The marquee sign is super bright.

I say Valravn. The dive coaster concept just doesn't do anything for me. If I want decent free fall, I'll go for a tower. There are also better looping and floorless coasters out there.

^Its kind of hard to pin Vortex for such a stature since in the 80s, mulitple records of varying degrees were being broken all the time. The 80's were when the technology of steel coasters really took off thanks in large part to Arrow and Togo. For example, Shockwave at Six Flags Great America broke all of Vortex's records a year after it was built. Then the likes of SFMM's Viper, Magnum and Steel Phantom were built soon thereafter.

^But that's meant for a ground-up design only, yes? Would 30+ year old Arrow supports be able to support those huge I-beams and the forces associated with the faster pacing RMC goes for?

6-1 on Vortex is my sweet spot. Evens out the OMG ejector air of 7-1 and the smoothness of 5-1. I do enjoy 1-1 as well, though. Its got a nice breeze in the front with the way the air slides across the pointed fronts, even on warmer days. The front seat around dusk is one of my favorite scenarios to ride it.

Did RMC ever come out and say they'd be willing to re-tool steel coasters? Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything they currently design that would. Also, with the price to do so, you might as well tear down Vortex and build a new ground-up steel coaster (preferably a Mack multi-looper to keep the lower height restriction). In regards to Racer, I think it just needs a new set of 3 bench PTC's like Thunderhawk got or Millennium Flyers like GhostRider got, both with extensive re-tracking and, hopefully, removal of the trims on the turn arounds (if Blue Steak and Phoenix can tear through their respective turns with some decent lateral G's, so can Racer). Its running the best it has in years this season and its still a pretty popular ride.

Plot twist- every Cedar Fair park is renaming one of their wooden coasters Son of Beast.

The word Calico is a reference to Knott's Berry Farm.

I mean, Cedar Point essentially just got 2 coasters in a row (Valravn and they spent 2 years for Steel Vengeance). They would have announced Gemini's closure with Witch's Wheel if it was going. I really don't think it is. Its still running great. I think WW just got to its retirement phase. Its removal might be for a flat replacement since that area is now pretty vibrant.

No park would want to deal with the upkeep of a wooden coaster that large. Even El Toro has some rough spots with the pre-fab track. Personally, I don't think wood coasters should get even close to hyper style stats, let alone a giga.

^I feel the same way, though I'll add that I think RMC crammed in elements at the end where it feels like they're trying to do too much in a small amount of space. The ending is really awkward to me. The ride up until the last roll though is incredible. Love the first 2 drops.

We have a commandment 'round these parts...

Ok guys, we're not going to turn every thread into an SOB thread. Got it?

I'd love to know the 'source' for all this information. I mean, this is past Dip N' Dots guy, this is the Dip N' Dots distributor we're talking here. This guy is committed to his craft.

I was a 90s kid. I remember the park before the Paramount era slightly, but otherwise, the majority of my younger years associated with the park was Paramount era. This opinion is a bit of a combination of my views as a younger person along with the benefit of hindsight and now knowing what went on behind the scenes. Overall, the Paramount era had a solid start and then waned. I think their heads were a bit too big at first in trying to convert 5 traditional amusement parks to Universal style parks, but I think through the 90's, they adapted a model that worked. They did work more with innovative rides such as bringing LIM coasters to life, being a bit more thorough on theming than Six Flags and passes were a bit more affordable than SIX or FUN, even for all the parks. As it progressed though, especially with how Son of Beast and Crypt turned out, they tried to put together big elaborate concepts while cutting corners. They also didn't completely rely on the Viacom brands for creating new attractions at their parks (at least less so than SIX at the time). If any of you pay attention to the industry, then you know that Viacom has been clamoring for a Universal style park in Europe for some time now. The fact they can't get it off the ground nor provide more detailed concepts kind of shows that they didn't have that great of ideas to continue with the original Paramount Parks. I don't think they were really married to doing parks after the first decade or so. They put some admirable effort into it, but I think their idea well dried up (the fact they hesitated in using Star Trek theming always astounded me). I think the way Viacom has handled Nickelodeon kind of eludes to that as well. My favorite bits that the Paramount era gave to Kings Island are Flight of Fear, Action Zone, the kids area, 2 decent water park expansions, and what has now become the gold pass.

That building in the teaser picture looks uncannily like Beast's station.

Which Six Flags park are you talking about?

^Cedar Point is playing disco music on the midway near Gemini for its 40th anniversary, and that little addition really brightened up that part of the park. Perhaps KI could do the same with Coney Mall. Another idea I'd like to throw out there is have Racer's queue and station completely rebuilt.

I'll do this per the style I use in my trip reports. In alphabetical order of course. Adventure Express- This is the most exciting mine train coaster I've been on. Its a bit more fast paced and has more comfortable Arrow-style jerking in the turns. It also uses the terrain quite well, especially that plunge down the 3rd tunnel. Its ending might be a bit anti-climatic, but its something that gives it its own character. Backlot Stunt Coaster- For a family launch coaster, it's alright. It feels too segmented, and if it weren't for the helicopter scene still in use, it'd would be off even worse. The first half is fun though. The helix gets a grey out from me every time, the s-curve section is pretty exciting, and I'm always surprised by that forceful pop of air before the 'stair' section. Not worth more than a 20-30 minute wait though. Banshee- This is my favorite B&M inverted coaster. B&M really smoothed out from their old snappy transitions and with the way it paces, it still doesn't slack in the slightest. Also some incredible positive G's with all the loops and helices. The 0g roll and inline roll add some much needed weightlessness to it. Even better that its designed with 3 train ops and no MCBR. The crews are also always on caffeine pills and Red Bull as its chews through lines without any milk. The station, queue theming, and light package round out a superb ride. Bat- I've only been on 2 suspended coasters, the other being Iron Dragon, and this is the better of them (hopefully, I get to Ninja before it bites the dust). The lift gives me a lot of nostalgia for the old campground where you could see and smell the camp fires. The layout is pretty good as well. The low high speed s-curves really play to the swinging cars well and the seclusion in the woods makes it a really good night ride as well. The 2nd hill over the station is probably my favorite moment. Also one of the coasters that got me over my fear at an early age and one of the ones that got me hooked. Beast- The myth, the legend. Now, the ride does lack in some things that most woodies have, like adequate air time and sharper curves, but this animal makes up for it in its truly unique layout. It feels as if you've left the park entirely and are out for a venture through the Ohio woods. The view from the first drop is priceless. There are some bits of good laterals though, especially in the section between the first brake shed and the 2nd lift. The set of drops after the 2nd tunnel with the way it gradually increases in drop angle and banking with that awesome vicious curve up to the 2nd lift is my favorite part of the ride. It feels like you're fighting from dropping down the hill into the river valley below. It finishes with one of, if not, the best finale of any coaster, a 18 degree drop into a double helix. That tunnel really helps set it apart from most other helices and the laterals, the shuffle and the noise just blend together into one incredible element. Also the best night ride on any coaster ever. Diamondback- One of my favorite steel coasters. The V-trains don't pace as well as the typical 4 across, but its only a slight complaint. Has the air time and other forces you'd expect from a B&M hyper, and I would say the slightly worse pacing makes it a bit more re-ridable as well. The front does have a bit more ejector air and the back has more sustained floater air. The way it sets up for the splash by soaring over Rivertown is a really good moment from the ride. Firehawk- I like this more than the B&M variant, at least Superman: Ride of Steel. There isn't really a way you can do a flying coaster with completely comfortable seating arrangements, but at least Firehawk spends a decent amount of time in flight mode. I really like the vertical loop on your back, the overbank turn really plays to the flying nature of the ride, and I really like the 2 barrel rolls. I'm not too keen on the helix in that seating position, and it comes to a furiously hard stop on the final brakes. A fun coaster, but quite forceful. Flight of Fear- This combines a bunch of elements very well. The launch is powerful and it just flies from one element to the other. With the indoor nature, its easy to get disoriented and that means its working well. The MCBR is a bit annoying though, especially now that it brings the train to a complete stop. Thankfully, the 2nd half is still just as good with that added stop, the way it slowly gets lower and lower, keeps picking up speed, increases in the banking, throws some snappy s-curves to keep you guessing, and then throws a corkscrew at the end to finish nicely. Invertigo- This is probably the most intense coaster in the park. The 2 hills have some weightlessness, but the loops are all positive G's. The thing pulls 5 G's, and it sustains that through the inversions. I always grey out and even get black outs at times. It does bang your head a lot though, but there are some circumstances where its smoother. If you want your face peeled off, this is the ride to do it. Mystic Timbers- Its not my favorite GCI, but its still a really fun wooden coaster. The Millennium Flyers tear through the entire layout. Every bit has some sort of strong lateral, airtime, and it never lets up. It'll be even better once the trees around it start to grow back in. The shed is kind of the same situation as Adventure Express' ending, gives the ride its own character. Pretty decent theming as well. Racer- The ride has potential, and if KI took a bit better care of it, they'd have a winner. However, as is, while it is still fun, its pretty rough on more times I've ridden it than not. It has a fair amount of air, but with its layout, it just has missed potential with how its in dire need of re-tracking. It is running the best this season that it has in years though. Vortex- For all the rides faults, I still like this a lot. I think most of that has to do with the first drop. Its an insane first drop, especially in the back. The 2nd hill also has a nice pop of air. I will give you that you need to be able to brace yourself a lot to enjoy it. As long as I can do so comfortably, I will keep riding it. It is my favorite Arrow looper though. The inversions are pretty comfortable, especially since it, thankfully, takes the corkscrews and batwing at a slower pace. The way it gets up to the MCBR could have been better, as in a curved hill up instead of the straight hill and then the level banked turn that we got from Mr Toomer. The ride looks fantastic though, and as our friend @VortexBFForever shows in the random photo thread, a very picturesque ride as well. If they stack trains though, that brake run is a super hard stop. Woodstock Express- Its good for what it is. Just a fun little woodie to ease up from the more intense rides. Still in really good shape.