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TombRaiderFTW

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Everything posted by TombRaiderFTW

  1. I would just like to say that one of my favorite things here over the years is how, when anyone ever suggests changing or removing Adventure Express, there's always a chorus of people who jump in and say, "Don't violate the Eleventh Commandment!" It's up there with the annual Christmas retelling of the sinking of the S.S. Gator. (For those who don't know, the Eleventh Commandment is: "Thou shalt not mess with Adventure Express, or else now you will pay.") Also... It better not be Adventure Express. Although, it would be cool to have been on the final crew for a ride... Boddah's black hat has always been a fairly reliable source, though.
  2. Very interesting... If the speculated 2020 giga is actually coming, I think I just realized my prediction for where. Firehawk has seemed like a remarkably complex ride for a seasonal park for me for a while, but since it's lasted this long, I figured it'd be around for a while. But if you'd told me the Vekoma Flying Dutchman at Kings Island wouldn't outlast the one at the dumpy Six Flags near DC, I wouldn't believe you. Because I'm too cheap to pay for a locker, the emotion I associate most with this ride is fear that my stuff will fall out of my pockets. It's never been a must-ride for me, but I've got friends who love the thing. A number of them also liked Son of Beast, though, so maybe they're just wrong.
  3. ^ I mean, if we're going to call it a 2-9, better go all out: it's 2-9 electrical with.
  4. Enthusiasts won't like that it's a clone, but these are good rides. Makes sense for BGT and SEAS, too. Also, I really like the name! Cheetah Hunt and Falcon's Fury kinda brought the era of mystical ride names to an end for a bit, which made me sad. They just don't have the same vibe as names like Sheikra, Montu, Gwazi, or Kumba. It's nice to see a return to that!
  5. My Spidey senses are telling me that this might be more to staffing than budget. Or perhaps both?
  6. ^ The actors also didn't interact with the train until it stopped moving and had quite a bit more space to stay back from it until it stopped. A more accurate comparison would be Boo Blasters, which had Haunt actors for a few seasons. The actors also wore harnesses that kept them from getting too close the cars. Even then, many of them had more room to move than what's available in the shed.
  7. 1. Adventure Express 2. Mystic Timbers 3. Beast 4. The Bat 5. Flight of Fear 6. Banshee 7. Racer 8. Diamondback 9. Firehawk 10. Vortex
  8. ^ We really don't have one, though. Our Top Spin left in 2012. Although, I could definitely understand the park being against adding another one.
  9. If that's true, then I'm leaning much more towards @JAHill's idea... which I'm also excited for, because I really, really like the idea of Ghost Town Alive. In a world where the international part of International Street was still important, I'd love to see something similar there celebrating different cultures and perhaps culminating in some kind of celebration or parade. Doubt we'll see anything like GTA come our way, though--I don't mean this negatively, but I don't think any part of KI has enough themed infrastructure to wrap a story around it at this point.
  10. This sounds vaguely like an outdoor escape room or something like COSI's Adventure located on the land formerly occupied by Dinosaurs Alive. I'm on board with it. I really like those kinds of experiences. I'd be surprised if this isn't an upcharge.
  11. One day advance warning of announcement with zero hype prior to today? Better start expecting one of the bigger announcements in park history.
  12. What you're saying makes sense. It just feels like there are other options that don't affect the Best Day Experience they're going for. It feels like they've shot themselves in the foot and are "fixing" it by lining up a shot on the other foot. But then, if you raise dining plan prices, you don't sell as many... It's a rough spiral. Given the reaction to lower numbers of passholders this year, they definitely don't want to push that number lower. It just feels a lot like the "people gotta eat" days... Legitimately wondering, not trying to make a sneaky point: do you know how much backlash there was when gold parking went away?
  13. What this guy said... ... except not this part.
  14. ^ ...You really ought to think about buying a lottery ticket.
  15. Oof. They sell food passes at dirt cheap prices and create an overabundance of demand for almost all dining options. In the meantime, they swap out head food folks and see wait times dramatically increase because of an apparent change in process due to the new people. To reduce waits (and, in the meantime, to adapt to a decreasing number of workers), they digitize part of the order experience. Keep people in the kitchen to make food. It makes sense. The wait times decrease but are still noticably long. How do they combat that further? By increasing the price of food passes to decrease demand and thus further decrease the negativity of the experience of waiting in line for food? Nah. Pay employees more to keep more of them, to enable higher expectations of employees, and to attract new ones? Nope. They push the people who have the most experience (and thus the most to complain about) to the front of the line. I'm not upset about it; I just have to say that that's one heck of a band-aid. Given how quietly this was implemented, it doesn't appear to be something they're planning to advertise as a perk. I'm incredibly interested to see how the dining experience changes in 2019. If this doesn't come to KI next year (or even this year), I'll be shocked. I also really, *really* have to wonder if there were any common comments from people who didn't choose to be passholders this year across one or multiple parks...
  16. I also can't help but wonder how many of the people demanding Son of Beast's return actually rode the thing. I'm sure someone will reply to this with "it wasn't that bad," but I don't think you all understand how rough of a ride it was. To many, it was literally the baseline comparison for how rough a wooden coaster could be. Beast and Racer never had anything on it. In rougher years, more hyperbolic members would say that both were approaching Son of Beast's roughness, but I sincerely can't think of a time when anyone ever accused either of being rougher. I've ridden something in the neighborhood of 290-something coasters, and the only rides that have ever come close to that experience for me were Boardwalk Bullet and Gwazi. Everything up to the first drop after the lift was good. Everything after somehow managed to make meandering airtime- and lateral-lessly into a painful experience. Based on how many "[Relative] of Beast" comments float around each time a new ride gets built, I can't help but feel like many are more attached to the name and marketing than the ride itself.
  17. ^ Seconded. Smart reversal of one of the biggest mistakes of the last decade. For those of us who weren't able to tune into the entire livestream: did they say where they would go?
  18. I don't have anything unique to contribute, as I agree with the general consensus. I think I've said this before, but I wouldn't be mad at seeing Coney Mall get repurposed into a romanticized 1920's version of itself. I don't expect that tomorrow, but it would still be cool. That, and if a giga is coming, give it a curved, old-timey wood station (something like Comet at Waldameer but with the artistry of Racer at Kennywood) and a throwback name, like Shooting Star. Gotta be that guy for a second: for the record, y'all, THIS is what teasers and hints actually look like from the park.
  19. Okay, but here's the thing: 1.) What percentage of park guests in a year do you think are enthusiasts? How much influence do you think we have? We're not a huge group. If there were enough of us to be the best marketing, wouldn't coaster clubs be renting out whole days at the park instead of just ERT sessions tacked onto the end of normal operating days? 2.) I don't disagree about the connectivity bit, but that doesn't change the fact that Cedar Fair doesn't tease new rides through subtlety and niche hints, which seem to be the trees everyone's barking up right now. We literally have an example two years ago involving fences, signs, fog machines, and announcement dates posted well in advance. How many subtle "hints" in the season beforehand did the park give?
  20. ^ The only reason the news believes there is substance to the rumors is that it's being talked about here. A question I think everyone here needs to answer: why would any park ever release hints that: 1.) are only recognizable by people with an amount of industry knowledge the average park guest wouldn't have (e.g. "giga" in the snow), 2.) require an enthusiast-level amount of attention to detail to an obscure feature that played absolutely no part in the ride experience of a roller coaster that hasn't operated in almost 10 years (e.g. Outpost 5), and/or 3.) exist at a park that isn't the one the "hint" is about (e.g. literally anything reported in Steel Vengeance's queue)? Do you know what teasers do? Get media and guest attention for the park by the park's own doing. Enthusiast speculation being reported on is not the same thing. Actual teasers--ride Sally ride, filming in progress, watch out for falling trees--get everyone's attention. It's not there to wink at enthusiasts through subtlety. Marketing and PR don't exist to tickle enthusiasts. You know what DOES contain all three of those features? Easter eggs, which aren't the same thing as hints. Easter eggs exist to wink at loyal fans. Putting Canada's Wonderland-, Kings Island-, and California's Great America-related posters in the Steel Vengeance queue/the area near Steel Vengeance does exactly that. I love speculation, but the coaster fandom is really, really good at cycling through Here's a Thing I Noticed -> I Wonder If It's a Hint -> It's Definitely a Hint -> It's Definitely Confirmed, We're Just Waiting for Them to Announce It -> What Do You Mean It's Not What You Promised This Whole Time so much. It's kind of a mind-numbing cycle to watch over and over and over. Trust me, folks: when it's a teaser, there won't be any question about whether or not it's a teaser. These aren't hints, no matter how much the news talks about us looking for hints.
  21. I've been to both, and I echo the advice given here about SFStL. I've been to SFoT three times, and every time was during the Christmas season. So, take this with a grain of salt... The park has been decently (but manageably) busy every time I've been. If you can swing it, The Flash Pass isn't a bad idea. You can expect lines for Texas Giant, Titan, Pandemonium, and La Vibora. If Flash Pass isn't an option and you're getting there at opening, I'd honestly head to La Vibora first. It's not the most thrilling ride in the park, but its lowish capacity gives it a constant line. It's decently fun, too. Getting there first may help you beat the crowds. Texas Giant wouldn't be a bad first stop, either, for the same reasons (although TG is definitely thrilling and seems to have better capacity.) Operations and the park upkeep are pretty good at SFoT. Six Flags gets a lot of flack about operations and allegedly run-down parks in enthusiast circles. There ARE some parks of theirs that fit that mold (SFA, SFMM), but this isn't one of them. It's a pretty park that's generally run well. I've always been impressed. Food-wise... I can't think of anything exceptional there that wasn't part of the Christmas event. It definitely wasn't bad, but I can't specifically recommend anything. As far as I'm concerned, Shock Wave (in the back), Runaway Mine Train, Texas Giant, and Titan are the must-dos. Shock Wave has incredibly fun airtime in the back. Runaway Mine Train was Arrow's first non-Disney coaster and is one of their best. Even if you're not big on Arrow rides, it's still a great ride. Texas Giant is the first RMC and is honestly a bit tame compared to the others, but a tame RMC is still a dang good ride. Titan is just fun; while there's not much airtime, there is a lot of speed to enjoy. Until the mid-course brakes, anyway. Runaway Mountain can be a little nauseating, so be warned: if being on a coaster in the dark with a lot of repetitive turns isn't your thing, you may want to think twice. (I wouldn't compare it to Flight of Fear... Flight of Fear doesn't feel like a lot of helices put together, but that's what Runaway Mountain can feel like. I had friends walk away dizzy. Your mileage may vary.) I'd like to suggest other things in the area like @King Ding Dong did, but I've never been overwhelmed with excitement by Dallas. (I *have* been overwhelmed by how many annoying u-turns you have to make to get anywhere, though... Haha.)
  22. Interesting poster. I'm having 2012 KIC flashbacks, though...
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