TombRaiderFTW

The rotation going down that drop is going to be intense! I'm excited!

I didn't initially think Banshee would be as visible as it is in the park, but I discovered today that it's fairly visible from any standpoint. You can see it from Planet Snoopy. Probably Rivertown, too, if you stand in the right spot. It absolutely towers over The Racer end of Coney Mall. I'm also really interested in the views from Adventure Express come next year. It looks like the zero-G and batwing will be really close to the turn through the orange frames (don't know what else to call them) on AE. Should offer a really neat perspective.

On September 20th, there was a table in front of the Kings Island Theater that you would walk up to. An employee would hand you some information sheets and disclaimers to fill out and then give you a number to stick to your shirt. The thing is that it was raining that night, so the entire competition was in the theater. I don't know if the registration table was placed there because of the weather or if that's the usual spot for the registration table.

I know I'll get a new pass. My question is that since only one pass can be assigned to each person, will processing the Gold Pass erase the Platinum Pass from the database, leaving me unable to use it for the rest of the 2013 season? Sorry, I worded that response poorly. Like The Interpreter said, you won't be erased from the system. You'll have a valid 2013 Platinum Pass for this year, and you'll have a Gold Pass that's valid for 2014. Purchasing a separate pass does not invalidate the pass you currently own.

jcgoble3: In my experience, no. You'll just get a new pass instead of renewing. You'll have your Platinum Pass that's valid this year only and a Gold Pass that's valid next year only.

No idea. Last week's microphone was equally low.

They connect the microphone to a program that measures sound volume. The winner is actually determined by the biggest numerical volume, not just by whoever subjectively "seems" the loudest. The winner last Friday was somewhere around 130-133 decibels.

And, if what I've read is true, Legend's old train went to Geauga Lake to be used on Raging Wolf Bobs. I don't know my Geauga Lake history at all, so will someone explain the timeline in which Legend's train was used? Was it in use during the derailment, or was it used as a replacement for the original (PTC?) trains after the derailment?

Have you actually been on any of the other "spaghetti bowl models"? Kings Dominion's does not have the shuffling.

Well... Truthfully, if Kinzel and the other powers wanted 300+, did he really have any other option besides Intamin? Leviathan may have been in the planning stages at that point, but if the "B&M did CF a favor" thing is true, then B&M wasn't really an option.

Sure. That makes sense. I'm just wondering what you think of Diamondback from a business perspective. Specifically, do you think Diamondback was a good move for the park, considering what rides it had (or didn't have) at the time?

Silly kids, this thread is about a theoretical situation involving Ouimet being CEO seven years ago. The B&M vs. Intamin thread is over here. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with YoungStud. I don't think I305 would have been installed. However, outside of your personal opinion of Diamondback, do you really think that ride was a poor addition to the park? Diamondback stopped being thrilling to me somewhere in the middle of 2009, but I'd still argue that it was a great business decision. It's almost as iconic for the general public as The Beast, as it delivers a ride experience unlike anything else in the park. Gatekeeper has a similar effect at Cedar Point, and that was a Ouimet era addition. Do you think Diamondback would still have been added?

Huh... I thought I already replied to this, but I guess I didn't. Invertigo: either end. I can't get into the awkward stare-off with the stranger across from me. Flight Deck: second row of the first car. You get the best experience on the ride (the first car) without the wait of the first row. Adventure Express: the last row of the last car. Racer: somewhere in the first car or somewhere in the last car. First car is better. Flight of Fear: the last car. I used to think it doesn't matter, but the last car really whips you through each element. Plus, there's no awkward hanging over the side of the car after the MCBR. Firehawk: the last car. There's slight hangtime at the top of the loop, and then you get squished against the seat through the rest of it. It's surprisingly forceful. Vortex: it's cliched on this site, but the fifth car is where it's at. I mean, with all due respect to VortexBFForever, I'd rather not be on it at all, but the fifth car is the best option if I'm riding it. Backlot Stunt Coaster: first car, for the unobstructed view. Beast: last car. Diamondback: last car. Flying Ace Aerial Chase: last car. The Great Pumpkin Coaster: the park says I'm not allowed to ride it anymore. Woodstock Express: the last row on Ghoster Coaster at Kings Dominion.

Maybe this topic would be more appropriate in a few years. Still, we've experienced a good two years of new management, and I feel like both this year's and next year's additions are reasonably indicative of what to expect from the new CEO. How do you all think Kings Island would have changed during the transition from Paramount to Cedar Fair (2006-2009) if Matt Ouimet were in his current position then? Would the merger have ever occurred? How do you think Son of Beast's accident have been handled? Would Geauga Lake have closed, and would KI have received Firehawk? Would Kings Island have received Diamondback, and, if so, would it have been placed where it is? And what would have happened with Hanna Barbera/Nickelodeon in the transition to Planet Snoopy, if the transition would have ever occurred in the first place? And so on. Just curious to hear what you all think.

Thank you so much for sharing! I'm especially excited to see the 1991 map. I was born that year and LOVE Adventure Express, and I've never seen a map from that season.

I've always thought Twister at Knoebel's looked more like a sequel to The Beast than Son of Beast ever did. I'm being unrealistic, but I'd think it would be awesome to see a slightly larger (125-150ft.) Custom Coasters International version of Twister's layout as Son of Beast. Or Boss. I like Boss. Gerstlauer trains and all. It could pass as a Beast sequel. (Actually, it couldn't. I just really like Boss, and it would make me happy to have it closer than 7-8 hours away. Sorry, I'm having CCI cravings today.)

Welp, the idea was just introduced to me a few minutes ago, so 'scuuuuse me if I haven't entirely decided what I think of it just yet. I thought I liked it then, but what if I posted that and then thought, "But what if they try to bring back Thunder Alley?" Assuming I didn't like Thunder Alley, I wouldn't like it as much. Then I'd think I was indifferent to the plans. Next time, I'll just say, "I'm tentatively in favor of this idea!" Sheesh!

It's every Friday during Haunt. You've got five more nights to give it a shot!

There's something really amusing to me about Kings Island having lost its Flying Eagles and Antique Cars, only to have several parks get flying scooters and Valleyfair get an antique car ride on the tenth anniversary of their removals. Kings Island, I am begging you for a nostalgic addition for 2015. (Seriously, I'm not even asking for our original Eagles back. Just paint a new Larson set to match the originals!) Also, can we just take a moment and appreciate the fact that, when Ouimet said he wants to give each park a unique identity, he evidently meant the identity it had PRIOR to Paramount and/or the late Kinzel era of Cedar Fair? I am sincerely loving this. I liked aspects of Paramount quite a lot (and would still kill to ride Tomb Raider: The Ride again), but I think I like the idea of reinventing the original Taft plans for the park much, much more.

I was the one on the stage.

On the subject of the Banshee screaming contest... At least one poster here can say that he participated last Friday. It was moved to the KI Theater because of the weather, and he got to see behind the scenes of that stage because of his participation. He didn't win, but they do give you a free t-shirt for participating. Not that that poster was me, of course. I'd never do that... [in raspy whisper:] Where'd I put those throat lozenges...

Like a Chance Aviator? Blech. Hey now! I still stand by my "if you owned Kings Island" post. (The likelihood of us getting our Eagles seems very slim, so if we can't get Larson Flying Scooters, a Chance Aviator would be a decent Planet Snoopy addition, in my opinion. I do see where people wouldn't like them, though--they're very clunky-feeling compared to any flying scooters I've ever ridden.)

I've never been on a Vekoma that truly wowed me, but I'm definitely open to the possibility of one doing so. They do make some interesting-looking rides. I can't help but imagine that the standard SLC layout, if heartlined, would be one of the better rides I've ever been on. Until then, my ears will sting with the memories of Thunderhawk at MiA. Same goes for TOGO. I really liked the first half of Shockwave at Kings Dominion during my one ride on it, but the second half was less than enjoyable. Popular opinion seems to be that Shockwave is sub-par for a TOGO, so I'm very, very interested in trying SkyRider at Canada's Wonderland. Heck, I'm even willing to give Shockwave a few more tries--there was only one turn on that ride that jostled me. Having ridden it, I wonder if I'd like it more since I'd know where to brace myself.

I highly doubt ki's management team has a say in anything besides labor scheduling. Whether KI management or CF management makes those decisions is irrelevant. Don has explicitly said that no Intamins will be built at KI in the foreseeable future. Nobody in any management team--especially when dealing with the public--just shoots out a statement like that on the fly. It's a calculated decision by the folks that matter, whoever that may be. This brings me back to my original thought, which you so conveniently sidestepped: what motivation is there to persistently discuss Intamin on a fan site for an amusement park that has no Intamin coasters, no plans to add an Intamin coaster, and no rides that you consider worth more than two laps on?

This crap is quickly becoming reason enough to give up this site for a while. I'm not that convicted in any direction for coaster manufacturers, and the people who persistently are and the people who defend their right to do so are only doing so to be irritating at this point. The epidemic of Son of Beast posts wasn't nearly as annoying. One has to wonder what interest these people have in a fan forum for Kings Island, a park with no Intamin coasters and a management with a clear intent to install no Intamin coaster anytime soon.