TombRaiderFTW

I agree with Rotag. Unless you're powerwalking on an incredibly dead day, you're not going to be able to cover all of both Holiday World and Splashin' Safari in one day. Like he said, take a day to enjoy the dry park, then take the next day and take in the water park. Each half has its own charms that you'll miss if you try to cram all of it into one day.

Slightly off topic, but I was just thinking about the CRT TVs the other day... Wasn't Diamondback's announcement video played on them shortly after it was announced? I seem to remember watching it in Beast's and Vortex's stations. It was a pretty cool effect, but I can see how maintenance costs would lead to their removal.

^ I realize you meant "ruins," but I can't resist. Using that logic, we ought to be reunited with Tomb Raider: The Ride any day now. Cedar Fair just can't keep its hands off the theming! TRFTW, who likes to find the humor in a touchy-feely situation.

I used to have no issues with Millennium Force, but lately (as in the past two years) Millie grays me out from about halfway through the first overbank to the top of the following hill. All visits in that time, though, have been on blazing hot days where I probably haven't had enough water as I ought to drink. That's usually the primary deciding factor in whether or not I gray out. The two times I've ridden I305 were when the ride had trims on the first drop, and both times I grayed out on the first turn. Again, it was on a blazing hot day, but the first time I had drank plenty of water. The second time... not so much. It got so bad that I was getting dizzy and literally couldn't see anything until the first hill's airtime sent all the blood back to my head. (And I still loved that ride, approximately 2.5 liters of water later. I'm still having trouble deciding if it beats The Voyage for my #1 overall!) Moral of the story: drink your water, kids.

^ I've never been on the Vekoma trains either, but just from looking at them, they are not the same as the FAAC one. Compare Vampire to FAAC... The Vampire trains are mid-swing, whereas the FAAC train is perpendicular to the track, i.e., hang straight down from it.

The removal is a little odd, but I'd be most willing to bet that they're just replacing the decals. Those things have been peeling pretty bad for a while. (I'd like to imagine they're changing the theme/name... I'm not a big fan of the Flight Deck name.)

The first one that comes to mind for me is Raven at Holiday World, but it's nothing too bad.

^ There's a third "booster" launch just before the train "bursts" out of the billboard. It's insurance in case the train can't make it over that hill.

^^^ I'm right there with you with "Monster" by The Automatic at Halloween. It just fits the Halloween Haunt atmosphere so well. In fact, I think it was used in Dead Awakening in 2008.

^ Which is why accidents like this drive me insane. If there was any question as to whether or not the man would be properly restrained, then why was he permitted to ride? My prayers are with his family, as well as with his fellow riders. This has to be extremely traumatic for both parties.

^ I don't usually have too many issues with guessing what you mean in a post, Terp, but you've lost me there... unless you're suggesting they shorten Raven and add a loop to it. Care to explain?

^ Are you serious?! Part of me finds that hilarious, and part of me thinks that would be the most terrifying thing possible for riders and regular guests to have a giant Chaos wheel rolling down the midway. Where was/is it located in the park?

No steel coasters for 2012. The park's already denounced that rumor. I'm gonna say it'll be something sizable, given the number/size of the papers he's holding... but then again, those could just be props. I don't know. Alls I'm saying is that I could theoretically see Holiday World getting the first "official" Gravity Group Splinter model, assuming that TGG and HW's relationship hasn't gone a bit sour over these Timberliner delays. Do also note the following message from the park's Facebook: A quick Google search shows that George Cohan wrote both "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy," which makes me wonder if something's in store for the Fourth of July section.

What originally brought me to Kings Island? My parents' 1982 Chevette. Actually, my parents just started taking trips every summer since around 1995. I still have memories of crying on Phantom Theater and Vortex and of watching King Cobra... I wasn't much of a daredevil as a kid. Haha. I religiously rode The Beastie, Scooby's Ghoster Coaster, and Scooby Zoom, and we still have our old passes stored away in the attic. I never really got into roller coasters, though, and didn't take many, if any, trips to KI between 2000 and 2004-2005. Eventually, we somehow ended up getting tickets and started going once a year with friends for a couple years (which was when I fell in love with TR:TR). (There was a trip or two to Cedar Point mixed in that time, but I don't remember much about them. I know one was when Maverick was new.) That ended around 2007, but I ended up buying a Platinum pass to ride coasters with my then-girlfriend in 2008. The relationship ended, but I was obsessed with the coasters... And the rest is history.

But, it's RARELY open for ERT! it's not reliable enough for it. Yesterday, it was replaced by Shake Rattle N Roll and they were assigning seats! Really? Go back to the 2 most reliable rides in the park, Beast and Diamondback! So that explains why, every time I went to ERT last year, Beast was down till near opening... Thanks for clearing that up. I don't like to grumble, but enough is enough. Everyone, the park's going to assign what rides it wants for ERT. You, having bought a pass, are entitled to that ERT. The park can, will, and does change what rides are open during ERT. They have every right to, much in the same way they have the right to rope off parts of the parking lot and charge extra for those spots. So either accept the fact that Kings Island uses its right to do such things and get over it, or stop showing your support with your money. TL;DR? They could very well have not opened Shake, Rattle N Roll and given you EST... Extended standing time.

It's not a massive, burning hot piece of steel, no. But it is a machine that, like every other machine ever made, loses some of its energy to friction in the form of heat. The heat transfers itself to the air around it, raising the temperature of the ride chamber. And what evaporates faster than standing water? Heated standing water. The Giant Top Spin might not cause the water to boil, but it's certainly not helping its own situation. I honestly doubt it's a huge component of the water issue, but I'd be willing to bet it's got something to do with it. A good chunk of my TR:TR memories usually involve a toasty, humid ride chamber, now that I think about it.

Between this, Flight Deck's line, and The Crypt's lava LEDs, I have died of happiness. I love this! I've never known the ride to not have the floodlights on, but this looks MUCH better.

The Starlight Spectacular employees seem to have the best personalities. A couple weeks ago, my friend and I, in a spectacular case of slaphappiness, started dancing like Peanuts characters while walking through the lights. A group of teenage girls, who eventually even got pictures with us, joined in. Before we knew it, an employee hopped in and did a fantastic impression of Linus's dancing in the Peanuts Christmas special. It by far made my night. And now I'm wondering why I just admitted publicly to dancing in an amusement park. Oh well!

I saw several people last night almost getting WoS'ed on WindSeeker who I'd guess would be able to ride Diamondback who had this same situation. The ride isn't as fluffy-friendly as it would appear, everyone.

^ This is also true. I know my last few rides on Tomb Raider definitely reflected that. Still, you have to admit that there was still a significant downgrade between Tomb Raider '07 and Crypt '08...

^ Errr... define "rather well". As I understand it, the ride went through quite a bit of downtime as TR:TR, especially during Haunt '06 or '07, when the ride never opened due to waiting to parts from HUSS in Germany. I'll give you that the ride experience went downhill after Tomb Raider, but the downtime seems to have been minimized with this two-flip cycle the ride currently does. I actually don't know that I've seen The Crypt down once this year, though I'm sure it has been.

^ I rode The Crypt today and now know what you're talking about. The red, orange, and yellow lights that lava-fied the Tomb Raider lava pit now stay on the whole ride cycle, though there's no water. I'm INCREDIBLY pleased to see it make a return--the floor now seems much less boring to look at. The lights draw your attention while you're flipping, so you don't notice the concrete as much. Thank you, KI! <3