TombRaiderFTW

When I was there earlier, I don't think it was playing. I didn't make a huge point to listen for it, though.

Came across some really interesting videos of Kings Island in 1979 that I thought I'd share. The first: The Beast's opening day, with interviews and several off-ride shots (including the pond under the queue and a close look at Beast's original trains) The second: aerial and in-park views of the park, including a look at Wild Animal Safari, Tumble Bug (!), and a VERY interesting series of shots of streetmosphere in International Street and Coney Mall. (How naked does International Street look without all the trees! And yet, it's got a TON of charm.) I don't really have much to add to this--I just know that many here reminisce about the park as it originally was, and I don't think anything has ever really brought the "old days" into perspective like these two videos. So, I thought I'd share!

You were warned: cheesiness ahead. The end is nigh. Bittersweet. Sad it's over. Happy that it happened. Thankful that it has inspired new ways for me to grow and new hobbies to follow. Full of awe at the stamina of the performers--they've performed with compounding vigor and passion from the start. Introspection about how I've changed since 2014 and (cheesy as it sounds) how cirque has been part of that. I want to grow to be that intentional and persistent in what I do. Time will tell if cirque continues to exist at KI--whether it does or not, I'm so happy to have had the experience. Thanks for the memories, KI and Haut-Vol.

Since it hasn't been quoted here, here's an example of that kind of statement from Sandor Kernacs, Intamin's US President, in relation to a fatal accident on Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England in 2004: http://articles.courant.com/2004-05-04/news/0405040040_1_roller-coaster-lap-bars-or-seat-superman-roller (Just a hint: it's zero.)

Except... doesn't Cedar Fair's Kings Island have a history of unambiguously teasing their new coasters? Not to mention starting visible work (as in preparing ground, cutting down trees, etc.)? Has that happened this year? Unless you're not talking about a giga in 2018 specifically--in which case, I agree.

I don't think it's necessarily a sequel--I think it's just a reusable theme. It worked in Ohio and KI and KD don't draw customers from the same market, so why not reuse it if the park's theme allows? It's not the worst theme a ride's had before. (I'm looking at you, Stitch's Great Escape.) I find it interesting that Twisted Timbers has no shed. I wonder why that is... TT and MT have the same core backstory, except one's in a lumber company and the other is in an apple orchard. Maybe KD didn't want TT to be seen as a poor man's Verbolten?

Regardless of what CGA and Knott's bring to the table, that's a really strong series of additions for 2018. Even more impressive is that literally every park that isn't KI is officially getting something. (And we may still hear something yet!) Just one thing... The RMC at Cedar Point. That name gets a pretty good cringe out of me. Definitely not my style, but the ride itself looks phenomenal. All things considered, it'll be great. I'll just have to call it "Fred" or something, haha.

Carowinds confirmed in the Facebook comments for that post that Woodstock Gliders will be relocating within the park... Alas.

I think that calendar generally reflects the sort of advice you'd find here on crowds (e.g. "Saturdays during Haunt are packed, but Sundays are dead!" Except we'd probably follow that up with a "pun not intended"-type comment because that's the kind of people we are around here. ) That being said: much like the advice here can be, it could be very, very wrong depending on weather. I'd use it as a general rule of thumb for what to expect, but don't take it as gospel.

Is it the same click that Banshee and Diamondback make when entering/exiting the station, or is it something different? I can't say I've ever noticed it if it's not that.

Well, yeah. It has to go down. How else do they get the people off?

And, like that, CP's Haunt website is inaccessible. Since there really wasn't any new information, it sounds like it was just an oops that that site was available to anyone to begin with...

I'm very surprised that Eden Musee is gone--it was their equivalent of Madame Fatale's, and it was done very, very well. I've never seen it with a huge line*, but I attributed that more to its out-of-the-way location (in Mean Streak's infield) than anything else. The other two I'm not particularly heartbroken over. I'm also very happy to see their Skeleton Crew returning. I have enjoyed every iteration of that show I've seen. It's a shame KI didn't keep theirs, as I enjoyed it much more than Hot Blooded, which I've only ever seen once. Then again, I also like cirque-style performances much more than musical revues, so maybe it's just me. * It's worth noting that I've only ever experienced Halloweekends on Friday nights early in the Halloween season, so I'm probably not the best source to cite for line lengths at Halloweekends.

Adventure Express hasn't had its third train for several years now--I want to say it was last seen on the track in 2010? I believe it was kept on The Racer-side storage track regularly. I can't recall a time since 2008 (the first year I started getting passes regularly since the 90's) where I've ever seen them running all three. I can remember at least one time in the 90's where they were running all three. As far as this year goes: if you don't see a train sitting on the storage track, they're probably running two trains, unless something changed within the last week or so. You've just lucked out and had speedy ride operators. They've sent the other train before you got to the brake run. It's happened to me a number of times before.

Sounds like a great event! I'd love to go (it's been 5 years since I was last at Great Adventure OR Coney Island--I'm due to return), but unfortunately neither time nor money are currently aligned for that. Just one question, though: just how VIP are these giraffes...?

I might actually cry? Seriously, that would be great, though. It's not like Mean Streak where the existing ride wasn't much to write home about. It's got more in common with GhostRider, where the ride could be good, but the experience has degraded over the years. I feel like SIX hasn't made many/any "we're going to try everyone out sooner or later"-type statements the way Cedar Fair has, though. That's kinda why my mind went straight to RMC. They've expressed satisfaction with how the RMC redos have been received. That, and they announced that the ride would close at the end of July instead of the end of the season like how a normal closure/teardown would be done. I'd love to be wrong.

UGH. I'm incredibly disappointed, half because it's going away and half because I won't be able to make it there within the next two weeks. RMC makes wonderful rides, and I'm sure their version of Georgia Cyclone will be incredible. I'm really excited to see what happens with its compact layout. Wicked Cyclone is my favorite RMC. I'm sure it will be great. But it's not going to keep me from being sad that one of my favorite woodies is leaving. It was rough, but riding in the back row had some of the most fun airtime I've ever experienced--much like the original Cyclone. That fourth drop was one of the most underrated coaster elements currently in the industry, in my opinion. GC (and Timber Wolf at WoF) are examples of actually GOOD Dinn Corporation coasters. Sigh. The industry announcements over the last 48 hours have not been fun for me. That's the nature of life and this industry, I guess! Time to enjoy Boss and Timber Wolf and hope they're around for a while longer...

^^ I used to think people who reported super rough rides on Raven, Legend, and/or Voyage were crazy. Having visited HW a couple times in different seasons over the last seven or so years, I think I'm starting to notice a trend: the coasters seem to run with above-average smoothness in the cooler spring/fall months. When the hot summer weather rolls in, they jackhammer like crazy. I used to only visit during their first two weekends and during their Halloween event--during both, all woodies run great. Now that I've made some more mid-summer visits, I now get why people claim to have bad experiences there. They all (especially Legend and Voyage, although I haven't ridden Legend since the GCI redo) can be brutal. I've never noticed such a drastic change at any other park, but it does seem to exist at HW. I appreciate you posting a review of your day and I'm glad you had a good time, but this is a little tasteless. Also, for the record, Raven does have two trains, although HW doesn't seem to be terribly consistent with when they run the second one.

Earlier today, I saw a guest enter the parking lot while brushing their teeth. In their car. While pulling into an amusement park parking lot. And driving. I have so many questions.

THAT is a price point for these things I can get behind, especially for the larger CF parks. To add on to my posts from the first page of this thread, I wonder if being at that price guarantees you a Fast Lane Plus wristband regardless of day, time, or demand. Wonderland's website doesn't specify, from what I've seen. I'm indifferent either way--at that price, this system isn't going to sell enough units to create a noticeable change in FL queue length.

Remember that at the Tropical Plunge announcement, the additions for 2017 (Mystic Timbers) AND 2018 were teased. I wonder if a potential closing of DA is related... I know nothing, of course, but maybe the area around DA is something to watch?

The hunchback's routine is definitely more artistic than strictly athletic, so I can definitely see where you're coming from. Personally, I actually kinda prefer him to the painting act since he seems to carry everyone's attention a little better (the painting act seemed to rely on improv with the audience volunteer to keep things interesting.) But, that's me! I also just find him unsettling and think that's super cool, so maybe that says something about me more than anything else, haha.

I also remember this. It used to be a thing around 2008 and 2009 where the first few weekends the park was open didn't really have significant lines. Then the park made opening day two weekends later than usual for a few years, which eliminated those low-crowd weekends from the operating schedule. They've gone back to the original weekend, but the crowds are still there. I've wondered why that was for a while now... The only thing I can come up with was the fact that the US was in the middle of a recession around 08/09, so maybe people didn't have as much extra spending money for going to amusement parks? I really don't know.

Similar-looking models for both Xtreme Skyflier and Slingshot have had publicized malfunctions in the last few years (the aforementioned incident in France, the Slingshot cable/elastic snap in Wisconsin Dells.) It's worth noting that our versions are from different manufacturers who (to my knowledge) have never had a malfunction. I'm not an admin and I can't tell y'all what to do, but I do ask that we not punish people for not being experts right out of the gate. That's no fun.

Paging @TombraiderTy... Any chance you still have the images whose links are broken?