TombRaiderFTW

Compare to the Kinzel era, in which Kinzel was both president and CEO of the company for 20-something years straight. It's entirely possible that I'm overestimating the impact of this, but I think this reinforces that this era of Cedar Fair continues to be about putting the right people in the right positions. The era of the most qualified person "coincidentally" being the CEO's son is a thing of the past. I'm really curious about what Magenta Lizard pointed out, though. I've never heard of a Regional VP position at Cedar Fair, but that is indeed what Greg Scheid's LinkedIn says. It says he's a Regional VP of Kings Island, though... I don't know. Surely it's not just a title change. What I would assume a "Regional" VP position is for a park would make more sense in the case of multiple parks in the same chain being located close to each other (e.g. Kennywood and Idlewild.) Obviously, that's not the case for Kings Island, so I don't know. This would seem to indicate that KI will have a new park president, though. This is fun stuff to watch!

Congrats, malem! You'll do well.

The drink is (when I went through on Friday, watered down) fruit punch... which I got despite choosing to eat. I think that was probably either a mistake or they ran out of the food for our large group. Either way, that's what it is.

Oh, yeah. TRFTW, reminded again why he's not an economics-y person...

It's actually not unusual that BGW fills to capacity during Howl-O-Scream and Christmas Town. I'm actually a little surprised this didn't happen sooner. On one hand, I get where guests' frustration comes from. On the other hand, I can't help but feel like it almost should be expected at this point? I sincerely can't think of another park that deals with capacity issues as often as BGW does during HOS. This whole rigmarole will probably happen every weekend through the end of Howl-O-Scream--the park will fill to capacity and issue a statement on Facebook that will bring on comments of "I spent $___ on tickets and I can't get in?! I'm never going to Busch Gardens again! Kings Dominion, here I come!" Obviously, it shows that BGW's Halloween event has more demand than it can meet. Beyond continuing to expand the park as normal, I really don't know what they could do to resolve this. I know Islands of Adventure has additional paths that are opened on the busiest days so crowds have somewhere to flow, but BGW's layout and location don't really allow for that kind of thing. This is an interesting problem.

I was actually able to read your original post in my e-mail. It was a great post and very informative. Even if it was "beating a dead horse," I think there would be some who would've liked to have read it anyway. Thanks, but it did involve me making a big deal out of a point that's been contested here before. I didn't want to be a troll, so it went away. Thanks, though!

EDIT: Never mind. In retrospect, I was beating a dead horse.

In my pipiest of pipe dreams, I'd put Tomb Raider: The Ride in the Golden Kingdom area at SFGAdv if SFGAdv was owned by Universal or Disney. I'd also decorate the whole building exterior to look like a crumbling temple like Ta Prohm in Cambodia. If I HAVE to play by the non-pipey rules, then I'd put the TR:TR of 2002 into The Lost Continent in Islands of Adventure, despite its southeastern Asia-y theme not really matching the Middle Eastern-y theme of TLC. I'm also tempted to say that I'd put it in Animal Kingdom, but I've never been there or gotten a good feel for what its theme is.

I mean... If you look in the direction that the new haunts from 2008 to now have taken, you'll notice that they generally have focused on quality, atmosphere, and cohesive environments in permanent locations (e.g. Urgent Scare, Madame Fatale's, the new Slaughterhouse, KillMart, Board to Death, even Blackout.) They've shifted away from the cheaper removable houses they used to do more frequently (basically everything that used to use those brown pallet tower things--Cut Throat Cove, The Worksite, Cemetery Drive, CornStalkers.) Tombstone Terror-tory seems to have gotten the axe (pun totally intended) as part of this shift. In terms of atmosphere, I don't think you'll find many who would argue that Tombstone Terror-tory was a well-planned and well-funded experience. There was just too much path (or else too little budget and/or time) to make it a worthwhile experience. That being said, I do agree that there was something special about using the train for a Haunt experience. It would be very neat if they'd add actors and a show experience to it for Haunt. (And a new sound system, too, if they're going to do it. I don't think I ever properly understood a whole story on the train during the TTT days...)

Fright Feast is an all-you-can-eat buffet experience the park offers for an upcharge on Friday nights in the Picnic Grove. Beerman_IPA was asking if Fright Feast is included with the all-season dining plan.

Off the top of my head, Kennywood. It's probably about 5 hours away from the 275 loop, if I had to guess. Not sure what your ideal timeframe is, though--Kennywood's only open 6pm-midnight on Friday and Saturday and 6pm-11pm on Sunday, all of which is for their Halloween event. I've never been, but I've heard good enough things. The rides themselves there are great, though! There's also Camden Park, which has similar hours but is probably closer.

Not to mention the C-channel pieces lying around, which are used on RMC coasters to attach the track to the supports. See also: Photo source: Google/Drury Hotels.

I agree that the type of vehicle isn't specific to RMC, so it being there has no correlation to RMC doing anything at Kings Island. However: the general feel I'm getting from the replies in this thread is that if an RMC vehicle shows up somewhere, it can only mean something big (like a completely new ride or a Texas Giant-style redo) is in the works. I think you all are forgetting Georgia Cyclone, Tremors, or Rattler, all of which are (or at one point were) partially retracked with Topper Track. If an RMC truck were to show up at KI this season or this off-season**, it's not inconceivable that they would be doing work in preparation for the 2017 season. **This is not a hint. I have no insider knowledge concerning whether or not an RMC truck will be showing up anywhere in the Cincinnati area anytime soon. I'm just playing the devil's advocate.

Not interested. I have liked all three Vekoma Flying Dutchmen I've ridden (Firehawk, Nighthawk, Batwing) well enough. I'd willingly ride any of them any time their lines aren't too severe. The B&M flyers I've ridden are all one extreme or the other--boring and not worth a walk-on wait (two Supermen: Ultimate Flights) or better than the Vekomas (Manta.) Add in the awkward and uncomfortable waiting on the brake run that comes with all the B&M flyers, and I'm out. No thanks! You might lose the loud lift noise, but that's literally the only benefit, in my eyes.

They should probably reschedule...?

BB1 actually summed up my thoughts really well--Field of Screams is essentially CornStalkers 2.0, and, while the actual design of it is what CornStalkers probably always should have been, it kinda just mainly combines the parts of CornStalkers and Tombstone Terror-Tory that used to get complained about a lot around here (repetitive scares and an out-of-the-way location that requires it to be longer than it probably should be.) As someone who enjoyed the middle-of-the-road scares of both of those mazes, Field of Screams was enjoyable, but I can see why others would be disappointed. I do have to say, though: I really liked the entrance area. It's a strong step forward for the outdoor haunts at the park. The scareactors were also doing really well in FoS.

I agree, and I would also ask that same question of Star Wars at Disneyland. I'm sure it will do well enough based on name alone, but it really doesn't have the same iconic merchandise possibilities that HP does. There's lightsabers, sure (which Avatar has no equivalent to) but nothing on the food, shirt, or knickknack side of things. On the subject of Stitch: meh. I thought it was pretty forgettable (or else memorable only for the grossness of the chili dog burp.) Then again, Lilo and Stitch has never really appealed to me. If it gets replaced, I won't lose sleep. As long as The Carousel of Progress and Monsters Inc. stick around, I'm good.

NO. No no no no. No no no no no no no nononononono. I still haven't done it. This is not going away without me having done it. Plans are getting made. This is happening ASAP, so help me. Adventure is not slipping by me. Thank you so much for posting about it here.

As with most front-of-the-line passes, I'd recommend waiting to see what crowds are like before purchasing. The only exceptions to this are: 1.) if you specifically want to do the Skeleton Key rooms, 2.) if you get a really good deal by purchasing online ahead of time, or 3.) if you're going on a Saturday, especially those close to Halloween (when crowds are typically heaviest and both Fast Lane and Fright Lane are more prone to selling out. Even then, I'd still personally rather wait and see what crowds are like.) Also, as I'm sure you know: Skeleton Key is not purchasable by itself. It is sold in conjunction with Fright Lane. Just saying it here in case someone else would read it and be confused by how Skeleton Key is sold.

I don't think I've ever seen a picture of yours that I didn't love. Great TR, as usual! EDIT: Also, just curious... What filters do you use? I bought a polarizing filter in an attempt to take cool sky and water shots like the fifth one down, but I just can't quite get the effect I want.

Oh no! Always a bummer when parks close. I never got a chance to visit, but I do know that they've been trying to unload the Crossbow coaster for years now. Something I read a while back indicated that it never had the draw they'd hoped, and the ROI just wasn't there.

I imagine they're just using that as an overflow queue. Madame Fatale's line often extends past the entrance and causes backups for people heading for Beast and Slaughterhouse. Hopefully, the crowds will behave themselves and let the new vines grow on the tunnel framework...

We're also not very good at words, so I take offense to whatever that means! Just kidding.

^ Can I ask what other GCIs you've ridden? Not saying your criticism isn't valid, but Wildcat is also considerably rougher than other GCIs (including Lightning Racer.) Millennium Flyers made my one ride on Gwazi nearly miserable, too, for the same reasons you mentioned.

^^ Ha! I'd vote for you. Good one. Wow, thank you for the kind words! I enjoy your posts, too.However, I have to politely turn down the nomination, for three reasons: 1. I think I impulsively post too much to be a good representative of the mod team. I have stopped myself in the middle of typing posts on here a surprisingly large number of times. Sometimes, less-than-wise posts get through. 2. I don't make a good policeman. It's hard for me to make those kinds of judgement calls. I've moderated elsewhere before, and I don't think I did particularly well. 3. I don't particularly enjoy moderating, so making me one would be the quickest way to get me to stop posting. It wouldn't be out of spite--it'd be out of avoiding the responsibilities. (Then again, depending on Boddah's opinion of me, maybe that would be a reason for them to make me a mod...? ) So yeah, I don't think I'd be a great fit. (In fact, I think you would do pretty well at the mod position yourself!) But thanks for the compliment!