TombRaiderFTW

All of the Haunt attractions are included with a regular admission ticket. The only portion of the event that is not included with regular admission is the Skeleton Key rooms, which are are additional rooms in a couple of the houses (one extra room per house) that you can only access if you have Fright Lane, the front-of-the-line pass that the park offers for an additional fee. If you all decide to go, I hope you have a great time. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

Force Dennis Spiegel to write a book of stories before next year's event, and then have him sell copies during it. But seriously--it would be neat to see some more behind-the-scenes areas. Underneath The Bat (if possible), the field behind Banshee, the 50-foot platform on the Eiffel Tower (if the elevators stop there, of course), the sign shop, or inside Adventure Express would all be neat.

Gnarly. I couldn't look at it very closely without getting sick to my stomach. I can't even imagine being on the train involved. Hopefully it was a test run.

Did it. Good luck with your class!

I feel like there's something to be said for remodeling your 9 year-old Arrow looper into something more comfortable versus replacing the track on your B&M looper that has operated almost every day for 16 years. If you consider that in terms of seasonal park seasons (in which the coasters spend half the calendar year not operating), that's the equivalent of over 30 seasons of service... The cost for the Arrow remodel was, I imagine, comparable to the cost of a new ride, but there was something marketable as a new ride when it was done. The existing ride was apparently not providing the experience that Kennywood wanted. Parks in the position that Universal is with Hulk--a situation where the ride has apparently reached the end of its service life--would almost never consider paying for what I, admittedly, am assuming will be exactly the same ride all over again. In fact, it hasn't been heard of outside Disney (that I know of.) One is an attempt to improve ROI; the other is the rarely-chosen second option that parks have when their rides reach the end of their service lives. I do not expect that, unless Universal is going to change the layout and/or theming, the park will be touting this as a new ride. It's been said before, but I do wonder what the future holds for Dragon Challenge/Dueling Dragons. They're the same age as Hulk.

I'm speculating that it won't, given that it was set up over the last week. Then again, I didn't think the second Coney arcade would stay closed all year, either, so maybe I'm not the best guesser.

Went through Blackout last night. Flow through the maze has VASTLY improved with the rope system. It's not perfect, but it's so, so much better. The scareactors actually had the opportunity to, y'know, scare people, and they were doing an excellent job of it. The only thing I could possibly complain about was the lowish number of scareactors in there, but I could also see an argument for not really having good places to put them if they added more. SO improved. Kudos to the folks at KI! Last Friday it was a mess, and last night it stood its own in KI's house lineup.

If they're just going to throw away the old Hulk trains, they might as well give one to me... I really, really liked Hulk, though it was a little rough on the ears. I was bummed I only got around to riding it once when I visited IOA last year. Hopefully any and all changes will be for the better.

In retrospect, I almost wonder if Blackout would be better functioning as either a Fright Lane-only house or with a reservation system of some sort. You can't position scareactors so that their scares encourage people onward--it wouldn't be safe. Heck, at one point near the old Club Blood toilets, I ended up with a pretty solid wall of people on all sides of me. If someone fell down in that much people density, they could be trampled. They were already letting huge groups in at a time very frequently last night and the line was longer than the queue, so I don't think smaller groups are realistic to expect. Perhaps it would be better served with a "tour guide" for each group. Someone who could help guide groups through the maze more quickly but whose existence could be explained via some story that intertwines with the house. It would make the experience more thematic and increase capacity to an extent.

^^ I have renewed and am experiencing the same issue. It also says that I have a dining plan, which I have not had since 2014.

Yep! The only place I have found them is at the food building (can't remember the name--something to do with funnel cakes) by White Water Canyon's entrance.

We could have been friends, CoasterDirected. And then you had to go and post that. I kid, of course. I get where the desire to RMC Boss comes from. I just happen to disagree. It seems to me like Boss is really temperamental--either it's really good and smooth(er), or it's all brain damage and no forces. (Coincidentally, it seems to me like Holiday World's woodies suffer from the same effect, but more predictably and less dramatically--I've had good rides one spring and very jarring rides in the heat of the following summer.) If there was a way to make it a more consistently good experience without resorting to RMC, I'd much rather see that happen. But, to each his own! TRFTW, resident Boss fanboy.

Oh, I have no doubt that that would be incredibly taxing just to do, let alone do well. I meant that more as a joke. Sorry, I should have clarified.

Then I'll be wheely excited to give it try, as I haven't watched All Wheels Extreme at any park. It's presumably not a musical revue, so I am more open to giving it a few tries. Then again, I would probably be really intrigued by a musical revue that has the singers doing stunts on wheels while singing...

^^ Oh, my heart. I will die of happiness if that's true. It's no Cirque, but Dimensions is still an awesome show in its own way. It very much has its own personality--not as much emphasis on storytelling, but still a quality experience nonetheless, featuring amazing acts and enjoyable humor.

Those would be the Topper Track rides in particular that I was thinking of. I know those have been marketed extensively as being wooden. My point is that the Ibox conversions, which this new track is arguably more comparable to, have not been marketed as wooden since NTG. And there have been notably more Ibox rides than Topper Track... EDIT: In retrospect, I apologize for being rude about this--jumping on anyone was not my intention at all. My goal was just to have a conversation about whether or not parks would market a coaster with this track as wooden. All I'm trying to say is that since parks really haven't been marketing Ibox tracks as wooden, I don't imagine this would be different.

I'm speculating, but it seems to me like this track could be useful for inversions or elements that aren't supported for some length. It could come in handy for rides that might cross over some stretch of land that can't be built upon (think Waldameer, Hersheypark, etc.) It's not the prettiest track I've ever seen, but I'm interested to see how it's used in future RMC projects. I feel like there's something up their sleeves with this. Also, apart from the Topper Track rides and New Texas Giant, am I missing something here when it comes to parks calling RMC rides wooden? I'm fairly confident that no marketing department has tried calling their Ibox conversions wooden after SFOT tried it with New Texas Giant. Y'all are acting like everyone's doing it.

^ Ah! I stand corrected. In case it wasn't obvious, I've never done a Fright Feast meal before. Learn something new everyday! Thanks! In that case, it definitely sounds like a call to the park is in order.

Hi! For what it's worth, I haven't seen anything anywhere that indicates that Fright Feast meal purchases include complimentary Fright Lane. Given the pricing of Fright Feast, I would be really, really surprised if it was included in the price. (Fright Lane runs at least $40. Fright Feast is around $13 for a non-passholder guest.) I would double-check Kings Island's website and/or contact the park to get that clarified--I'd hate for you to be let down when you visit. That being said: I've always gotten the impression that Skeleton Keys are always included with Fright Lane. At least at Kill Mart and Slaughterhouse last year, the Fright Laners had a dedicated queue and door to enter both houses, and that door went into their Skeleton Key rooms. There isn't any indication on Kings Island's website that Skeleton Key is ever offered separately from Fright Lane that I've seen. Then again, I've only ever used Fright Lane at Kings Island once. Again, it may be in your best interests to get this cleared up by the park. (Perhaps Don or Sara can comment on this?) I hope you have a great time!

Switchback has begun testing! Video, including POV, has been posted to ZDT's Facebook page. (Not thinking there's a way to embed it--someone feel free to teach me otherwise if I'm wrong!) For those of us who can't get to Facebook, ZDT's posted this link on their Twitter. I think it's just the Facebook video file, but not embedded in a Facebook page. Not sure how/if that helps anyone here, but I'll post it anyway just in case. I have to say: I love the look of this ride. It's so unusual and interesting! Not sure when I'll end up in San Antonio again, but if it comes up, this will definitely be one of the reasons I'll want to go. I also really like the music they chose for the video--very 1920's-y and theme-appropriate.

Now, now. Amusement Today says it was a vote. No money changed hands here, Silly! Word has obviously just gotten out about Disney's subpar food and underwhelming landscaping. On an entirely unrelated note, I'm on year 2 of my subscription to Amusement Today, and I've yet to even see a mention of ballots being handed out (let alone be provided one...)

^^ I honestly can't imagine SFOG minus Mindbender and Monster Mansion. The three reasons I liked SFOG, in order from most to least, are: 1. Mindbender, 2. Monster Mansion, and 3. Georgia Cyclone. Removing those first two would suck the life out of the park for me. Thank goodness they were saved. Speaking of which, I miss all three of those terribly. I need to get back. Anyway, on the subject of Halloweekends: I like the sounds of the new house and scare zone. I am unspeakably jealous, may I add, that Cedar Point continues to feature Skeleton Crew. Unfortunately, I don't know if I will make it back this year. It's entirely due to my schedule--Halloweekends is really a neat Halloween event. It really has its own personality compared to our Haunt. I recommend it if that's your kind of thing!

Huh. I've been around for now three "lifetimes" of this thread and never responded. Might as well jump in this time around. It seems a little cliched to say, but I'm fairly certain it's Adventure Express for me. I have no idea how many times I've ridden it, but I do know I've had multiple visits since 2008 where I rode it 5 to 10 times in a visit. Outside of Planet Snoopy, it's also the ride I have the most history with. (The farthest back I can reasonably guess having ridden it was 1996. To this day, my family will talk about how much the second lift hill scared me. We also talk about how our train stopped on that lift once--in retrospect, I'm guessing that the ride was running three trains and we just happened to stack on that lift.) I really hope Adventure Express lasts another 24 years. I do love that ride. (Before someone says it: Runaway Mine Train at SFOT turns 50 next year. I'd argue that its intensity is comparable to AE's. Let a guy dream! )

I have this pipe dream where Kings Island (in an apparent attempt to abandon the ride's target audience) adds a Verbolten-style drop track after the second lift hill. Picture a left turn into a pitch-black room, where the train comes to a quiet stop. You hear the booming voice of the main "tiki man" announce, "You will never leave this place!" In a flash, fire licks around the train, illuminating the crumbling pillars barely supporting the roof. Thunder starts to boom. You hear chanting and drum beats. The intensity of the thunder and fire increase. The pillars and roof start to fracture (using some effect like this), ominous red light shining through the holes in the ceiling. A huge boom, and you fall. You roll backwards in darkness onto a turntable. While you're reoriented in the right direction, you hear the voice of the old station announcer call, "There they are! We've found them! Pull them up!" You roll forward onto an enclosed lift (in place of the current brake run--don't ask me where they store trains now) and hear, "We thought you had been lost to the jungle. Thank goodness you are safe." You roll out of the tunnel and into the station. I dunno. I just think something like that would be fun. The budget and required amount of upkeep required are unrealistic, but it's fun to imagine.