TombRaiderFTW

Woo! I'm gonna need to ride the Grand Carousel VERY soon.

WHAT. I am so there. Planning a trip to Idlewild now...

10. Eiffel Tower. I realize there's an identical model in Virginia, but you seriously can't beat the Eiffel Tower. There's nothing at any other park I've been to that's nearly as iconic as Kings Island's Eiffel Tower. It looks awesome on the skyline, can be seen for miles, and catches your eye no matter where you are in the park. Ever since I was little, seeing it just gets me excited to go to the park. Finding it on the horizon while driving to the park is a quintessential part of the drive. It's great! (And, on that note: the farthest I've ever been able to see the tower from is the north side of Lebanon. Anyone ever seen it from farther away? And no, before some snarky little punk speaks up: webcams do not count! ) 9. Baba Louie's Buggies. When I was really little (as in kindergarten-aged), roller coasters--and most everything else in the world, if we're being honest--scared the pants off of me. One of the very few things that didn't was Baba Louie's Buggies. I thought that was the coolest dang ride ever. To be honest, I'm a little surprised that a "grown-up" equivalent doesn't exist at somewhere like Kennywood, because I still think it's a neat idea, even if it probably wouldn't be wildly popular. The only place I've been that had them since KI removed them is Camden Park, and I'm a little too big to ride them now, I think. 8. Viking Fury. When I kinda-sorta started warming up to rides as I got older, I would ride Viking Fury... and then get really freaked out by it and regret that decision. I never really liked it. Now, I think it's great. Part of its placement at #8 is because of how much I like it, and part of it is because of the memories I have of riding it (and hating it) with family when I was younger. It's half fun, half nostalgia on this one. 7. Phantom Theater. I rode Phantom Theater a resounding one time in my life. At the time, I was something significantly less than ten years old, and it absolutely scared the bejabbers out of me. Never rode it again. Now that I'm older, I look back at this ride and kick myself for not riding it more when it was around. Licensed property-themed rides can be interesting, but original themes that you can't find anywhere else are a lot of I LOVE about amusement parks. It's why I love things like Monster Mansion at SFOG and Noah's Ark at Kennywood and Haunted Mansion at Knoebel's. Not to mention that this ride combined a lot of classic funhouse ideas (e.g. Laffing Sals seem like inspiration for the Maestro's laughter) with a unique idea (ghosts inhabiting an abandoned theater.) If Kings Island ever gets a new dark ride--and I really hope they strongly consider doing so--I really hope they'll consider at least acknowledging Phantom Theater in the theme of it. It's really a gem of an idea that's dying to be redone with modern effects. 6. Banshee. The marketing and excitement around this ride was unique and had everyone guessing what the ride was right up to the announcement. The announcement was incredibly well done (and to this day, I can't listen to "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" by Fall Out Boy without thinking of August 8, 2013.) The theme actually played off The Beast "family" by having a Banshee actually be the creature that "kills" Son of Beast. And that's not even mentioning how awesome of a ride Banshee is--and it is awesome! It's the best B&M inverted coaster I've ridden, and it even has--gasp--theming! It's really a quality experience. 5. Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. It's just a classic. That's really the whole explanation. I just really like this log flume. It makes me wonder how well I would have liked Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal if I had gotten the chance to ride it when I actually liked amusement park rides. 4. Antique Cars. These types of rides are more common than I thought, but the ones that Kings Island had had the best placement out of the ones I've ridden. That area also needs something relaxing that doesn't go in circles; spinning can and does alienate members of the family who aren't into intense rides. The Antique Cars filled that niche, and they added a lot more atmosphere to the park than The Italian Job Stunt Track/Backlot Stunt Coaster ever did. It would be awesome to see them take the area beside the International Showplace, around the floral clock and BLSC, and behind the Juke Box Diner and put in a nice, long antique car course with covered bridges and LOTS of foliage. The could even use the Juke Box Diner building as an air-conditioned queue, as far as I'm concerned. 3. Flying Eagles. This ride was just a wonderful classic, and it's something I rode a lot when I was younger. I think I hit them up on a bad day at Carowinds this year since I couldn't quite get them to snap, but I vividly remember what they're capable of. (If they ran them at Knoebels speeds, I think they'd be easier to snap, but that's beside the point.) They looked much nicer in their last location at Kings Island than a basketball games does in that spot. I'd even settle for Larson scooters back at KI, because those are still decent rides even if they don't snap easily. 2. Adventure Express. Without repeating myself for the thousandth time, I was probably most afraid of this ride out of all the ones I rode when I was little. I probably have the most memories of riding this ride than I do of any other. Now that I'm all growed up (hah), I enjoy it as being one of the most well-rounded rides I've ever ridden. It's not the most intense ride, but what it does, it does well and it does it well consistently throughout the ride. It's not my favorite ride in the world, but it's doubtlessly the best ride in the park right now. Banshee's very, very good, but Adventure Express still has the lead as far as I'm concerned. I just wish the theming would get more love. 1. Tomb Raider: The Ride. Don't look so surprised. This ride has given me unreasonably high expectations for anything I ride that has a preshow video, and just about every ride I dream up in my head tends to follow an "increasingly themed queue -> preshow room that separates next group of riders from rest of queue -> preshow that warns riders not to proceed -> ride that features a clash with a numinous entity" procedure. It's also why I like HUSS Top Spins so dang much and a lot of the reason why I ever made it to Kings Dominion for the first time. That ride was amazing, and I have yet to start missing it any less than I did the day it left. Somewhere out there on the interwebs, it is possible to find full queue walkthrough videos. I once compiled several queue walkthrough videos, a preshow video, and a POV back when MySpace was a thing, but I made the really, really stupid decision once to delete my account without downloading those videos. I've never found them since. If anyone ever happens to run into video of a TR:TR queue walkthrough, PLEASE let me know.

Have you ever seen the movie Airplane? This post is like every scene in that movie with the jive talking. Please, be my Barbara Billingsley. (I'm just jerking your chain. But, for real--you lost me a little there with all the medical talk.)

Personally, I believe it's mostly psychology that's keeping all the seats from being made "fluffy-friendly". Two rows with longer seatbelts/bigger seats/whatever is a gesture that you can market. Making all the seats more accommodating isn't something that can immediately be proved in the way that having someone sit in row 7 and not fitting, then moving to row 4 and fitting is. If the seats are all made more accommodating, and then people don't fit: "Why don't they make these seats so that bigger people can sit in them? I can't believe I wasted all this money coming into the park [etc.]" If the park is making a pointed gesture of providing more accommodating seats, then it takes some of the blame away from them. I could entirely be wrong, but that seems like motivation enough to have different seats. I personally wish there was a way of restraining everyone without needing "special seats" (overweight folks and people with disabilities alike), but until someone invents a reasonably affordable way of magnetically holding people into roller coaster trains, I guess that's the world we live in.

I prefer the Britannica Roll. It sounds much more refined and sophisticated. Truly a high class roll. Even fancier than a Kaiser Roll.Wouldn't it be a Kaiser Roll if you came out of it with public relations knowledge, with an emphasis on crisis management concerning wooden roller coaster incidents?If you came out of the roll with several geese, it would be a Gaggle Roll. (Or you would be Fabio several times over.)

The announcement date and time is listed on the webcam page: July 24th at 8:30pm, which is closing time that day at the park.

I didn't realize Dive Machines were that cheap. For some reason, I had them closer to $20 million. Given the existing wide concrete pool that's accessible from both parks (cough cough, splashdown), the fact that the nearest identical model is in Virginia, and the pricetag, a Dive Machine seems natural. No idea how they'd tie it into Thanksgiving, especially with the Mayflower name already taken, but I'm sure they've got something good up their sleeves no matter what ride it is.

I haven't followed this project as closely as I followed Banshee (probably because I seriously don't see any hints in the posts on the teaser site), but the fact that there aren't oodles and oodles of footers going in says to me that it's a steel coaster.

Consider me interested, at least until the pricing is announced. If there's one thing I could ask for out of KI's haunted houses, it's more of a storyline.

I agree with the sentiment that animatronics or other props really make a dark ride. Due to some technical issues, I haven't visited Canada's Wonderland this year to ride Wonder Mountain's Guardian, but the whole idea of strictly using 3D video game-esque screens for the whole ride seems a little plain. (I still think the idea behind WMG is awesome, though. It just doesn't meet my criteria for a dark ride.) I personally like the video-projected-onto-a-physical-object effect that has been seen at Haunt within the last few years. I cannot remember what years exactly that it was there, but there was a bust in the window by the International Restaurant entrance inside the park that had video of a face projected onto it. The face would unexpectedly morph into some evil expression and cackle as people walked by (or something to that effect). It was effective and believable with the way the lighting was set up. It would be neat to see something like that integrated into a dark ride someday.

I'd argue that drive tires constitute a launch. It's just rare that they're used as a primary launch for a train to complete a course. See also: Jet Rescue at Sea World in Australia.

Wish granted: Photo: KTLA 5, Los Angeles. Certainly a frightening event. I hope everyone is okay. With this, the rider ejection on the Intamin Zacspin at Terra Mitica, and the incidents last year, it sure does seem like bad things happen in bunches in this industry.

The Eleven Commandments, in case you forgot: 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before God. 2. Thou shalt not make any idols. 3. Thou shalt not use the Lord's name in vain. 4. Thou shalt keep the Sabbath holy. 5. Honor thy father and mother. 6. Thou shalt not commit murder. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not give false testimony about his (or her) neighbor. 10. Thou shalt not covet. 11. Thou shalt not mess with Adventure Express, or else NOW YOU WILL PAY.

1. Worlds of Fun is wonderful and really, really underrated. So is Timber Wolf. This doesn't have anything to do with anything. I just had to put that out there. 2. So I went to Worlds of Fun last weekend. I'm currently kicking myself repeatedly. Why? Because I missed out on The Great American Train Robbery, which appears to be live entertainment that interacts with their train (which appears to be very similar to the KI & MVRR.) As tersely described on Worlds of Fun's website: I know some of the members here have visited Worlds of Fun this year, so I'm curious: has anyone here ridden the Worlds of Fun Railroad this season and experienced the Great American Train Robbery? Any thoughts or comments on it? As for the rest of us: does this give anyone else here hope that our train could again someday see live entertainment interact with it?

I have to put in a good word for X-Flight, too. I personally think it's the best of the American B&M wing coasters. Like Gatekeeper, it's not to be missed in the last row, left side. Viper seems like a fantastic ride, and it probably has earned its reputation as a great, smooth ride. Unfortunately, when I rode it, it was backwards, which made anticipating turns I'd never been through before both annoying and next to impossible. I do think I'd like it a LOT if it were forwards. I'd check it out! I echo all the praise for Whizzer, and then some. It's a classic. It's a simple ride that isn't particularly intense, but it's a lot of fun. It'll keep a line all day, unfortunately, but it's worth trying at least once. Also, if you're into theming, the Southwest Territory and New Orleans-themed areas are some of the neater areas in the seasonal parks I've been to. Unfortunately, the New Orleans-related areas also feature Superman and Dark Knight-themed rides, but they're still very unique! I hope you have a great time!

I'm still recovering from the brain damage I received from Sidewinder at Hersheypark in 2011. Ugh. Never again. That giant piece of crap makes Invertigo feel like Banshee.

Whoops! My bad. I thought Trevor was the actor who had been injured, and the show had switched around to remove the bike scene until he recovered. That's what I get for not seeing this show until this weekend and not reading this thread as thoroughly as I ought to have done before posting in it.

^ Didn't know that. Still, as far as live entertainment featured at Kings Island goes, Cirque's still the best show I've ever seen. Regardless of whether or not KI produced it, it's a fantastic choice.

If that's chopped up, then the real thing is guaranteed to be a winner with me. Thanks for the update!

I FINALLY got around to seeing Cirque Imagine on Friday. You guys talked it up so much that I decided I probably should give it a try. Typical Cedar Fair/Six Flags live entertainment (i.e., music revues that may or may not feature people ice skating) really have done nothing for me in the past and felt like a way to say "look, we have more than rides" than a genuine attempt to give guests an alternative to riding roller coasters. Let me just say that, in addition to seeing Cirque on Friday, I also wanted (and did) see it again today. And I'll also see it the next time I'm at the park. And the next time. And the next time. Because wow. Cirque Imagine is truly incredible. The art direction is beautiful. The actors convey the emotion of the story (it has a story! at a Cedar Fair park!) wonderfully while still being humorous and thoroughly entertaining--and that's all done with minimal dialogue, all in a language a majority of the audience presumably does not speak (French). When each scene is performed, it is done extremely well and almost always takes a turn that you will not expect your first time watching. If you all hadn't talked about a performer having been injured, I would never have guessed that it's missing an actor*. It's seamless. Do yourself a favor and see this show if you haven't already. Seriously. You're not going to regret it. Even if you aren't into shows, it heralds the Ouimet era of live entertainment and makes me really excited to see what's next throughout the chain. I have to give HUGE kudos to KI's live entertainment department. Between Cirque and the roaming band, they have really outdone themselves this year. They've made me a believer in the relevancy of live entertainment at Cedar Fair parks, and the bar is set very high for the rest of the chain and for live entertainment in future years at Kings Island, as far as I'm concerned. *And according to that actor's Twitter (@trevorbodough), he'll be back in the show starting Tuesday! So now I have even more of a reason to check out CI on my next visit!

I don't like you in any month other than October! Get out of town! (Kidding.) I've only ridden Ninja once, so since you've been to SFStL more, perhaps you can tell me: is there a row on that ride that's more comfortable to sit in in the way that 5-1 is the best row on Vortex? I think I sat in 2-1 when I rode it, and I'm still recovering from the head trauma...

I geeked out so hard seeing all those trains under Batman. It looks kinda bad, but fortunately the regular queue doesn't see it unless the line is REALLY long (which it was the day I was at SFStL.) Awesome PTR! I really love Six Flags St. Louis and have been curious about visiting Worlds of Fun for quite some time. Like I said in the Arrowed! thread, it makes my heart happy to hear people say not-bad things about Boss. I love that dang ride (and the Scooby dark ride) so much. Did you ride Ninja or American Thunder?

When I read this thread's original title, I think I momentarily dipped into cardiac arrest. Thank goodness it was a typo. I really don't want Georgia Cyclone to become the next RMC full renovation, as much as I like RMC products. I do wonder why Cedar Fair hasn't tried this at any of its parks.

I think it's because I rode and enjoyed the rides before seeing the movie, but I actually enjoyed The Italian Job. I've heard it's a travesty compared to the original with Michael Caine, but I thought it was enjoyable. Then again, maybe I'm not the best judge. The original Star Wars trilogy bored me to tears. (Time to dodge the onslaught of light sabers...)