gigacoaster2k

I hadn't noticed that until you said something. I'm back from a long hiatus by the way. I miss the conversations here.

I was there Friday as well when the storms hit. Regarding the strike that hit Drop Tower: we were hiding in Boo Blasters' exit when the hair on my arms stood straight up, super bright lightning shone through every crack in the building and I heard the loudest BANG I've ever heard in my life. It scared me so badly that my heartbeat actually slowed down. It was terrifying.

I like you already.

I have had trouble riding Beast for the last few years because it had gotten so shaky and seemed to have lost its punch. On Friday I reluctantly decided to ride Beast because my friends were riding. It screams through all the turns and flies over all the hills like a bat out of Hades. The helix.. OH MY GOD. I returned to the station out of breath with a grin on my face, ready to ride again. It is definitely back to its former glory.

Terp, one of the reasons I started posting here again is because of your refreshing posts. I'm not even joking.

We've been asking for months, even years, how long it will be until someone decides to clean up the park and do something about Crypt, the food selection, among other things including Fast Lane issues and the surliness of most of the employees. Ouimet is put in the driver's seat and suddenly all of this stuff is being taken care of. He's obviously listening to us. I don't see this as any sort of coincidence or sudden epiphany from anyone who's been there for a long time while these issues have sat on the shelf and collected dust. Oh by the way: I've literally scrubbed my hand with soap and a loofah, and my hand stamp from Saturday afternoon has not come off. The good ink is back. My Kings Dominion platinum pass also scanned with no problem.

I realize there has been a lot of controversy lately as to what Matt Ouimet was/is going to do for KI and the other CF parks. Well, I was at KI yesterday for the first time this year and I would like to share my positive experience with you. We were waiting at the front gates right before ERT, and all of the employees came out of the Guest Relations office and cheerfully greeted the crowd. Asked us if we're ready to have fun in the park, waved to us, and many of them were passing out park maps. Never in the years I've been going to KI have I seen the employees interact with the guests the way they did. It was amazing. As we walked to Diamondback, employees and even security guards said hello with a smile on their face. I also saw neatly painted white gates with the KI logo in place of the tattered ropes used to hold back the non-ERT guests. A little later, we went to Beast and I absolutely can not believe how the massive amount of retracking has brought that coaster to its former glory. For the first time in a few years I had my hands up and a smile on my face instead of gritting my teeth and clenching the black bar to stop myself from getting jerked around. Beast has needed some love for a long time and it finally got it. When we got something to eat, we headed to the new burrito place (the name of the restaurant escapes me right now but it is where Outer Hanks used to be). I walked in and there it was. FRESH FRUIT. Yes, you read that right. Fresh fruit, and salads. And lots of it. How long have we been asking for this? It was so nice to bite into roast beef, rice, and lettuce yesterday instead of a greasy hot dog and cold fries. The friendliness of the employees was constant yesterday and all the ride crews were having fun. I also noticed a large shelf of cold cut sandwiches with veggies on them at LaRosa's. I'm not sure if they were there before or not, but not everyone does well with greasy food at an amusement park and it is nice to have healthy food options. (I did get pizza, but that's neither here nor there ) Yesterday was also math and science day. There were a few groups that got Fast Lane passes and the way the employees executed it had zero effect on the usual speed of the lines moving. This will be my 17th year visiting Kings Island. In all the years I've been visiting, I have never seen such a genuine and obvious effort to make the guests happy. I know I've said that I won't visit much this year, but seeing my home park turned around like this has me wishing I could go back today. So I would like to give a shoutout to our new CEO. He was at KI yesterday, and I'm disappointed that I didn't get a chance to tell him that he's doing a terrific job.

Millennium Force and Power Tower are to get similar light programs as well. All 3 rides will be part of Luminosity.

I still do that. Inside the park: I like eating in the Festhaus and going for either LaRosa's or Panda Express while I watch a show. Outside the park: If I'm by myself I hit McDonalds or Wendy's, but usually I end up at Steak N Shake until the wee hours of the morning with the crew.

I used to have an old LG VX8700 phone that was almost completely made of stainless steel.. it would make the detectors go berserk.

If you guys thought WindSeeker's light program was cool, check out Giant Wheel.

Thank you. I decided to give Gemini another chance because I was sick of sitting out while my friends rode it. I ended up mentally kicking myself because I had missed out on such a fun ride so many times and now it's a must-ride whenever I visit. So yes, my opinion has changed. Can we let it go now? Thanks.

I love Gemini and ride it every time I go.

What about reserving a table at a restaurant? What about paying extra for tickets to a Reds game where you're so close to the field that you can feel the wind when they swing The Bat? What about VIP backstage passes you got to see your favorite band? What about paying extra for sprinkles on your kid's ice cream cone if the mother behind you can't afford it? What about the person in your class who gets a full ride scholarship to the college that you're saving money to go to? Isn't that all "unfair" too? Isn't that all pretty much "line jumping"? So many of us do so many things in life that someone else cannot afford, or we are given opportunities to do something extraordinary. We take those opportunities and run with them, and are willing to spend money on these opportunities, because we're human.. we don't say "it's not fair to someone else" and pass up those Reds game seats or reject that scholarship.

man.. I totally would have ridden that.