TombRaiderFTW

^ Having been on a similar model (Fairly Odd Coaster at Nickelodeon Universe), I'd say it counts as a wild mouse.

Sounds like a great addition to me. Looks like the Ouimet era is finally upon us. I'm crossing my fingers that a set of flying scooters could come our way, too. I've mentioned before how I'd love to see even the Larson model at KI. They aren't the same as our old Flying Eagles, but they're still very fun in their own respect. They could place them somewhere along the path between BLSC and the Eiffel Tower (though obviously not in a way that would require the floral clock to be removed.) Has anyone heard if the coaster is the standard Mack wild mouse layout?

(NOTE: I feel like it's safe to divulge Haunt "spoilers" now that the season's over, but just in case... Here be spoilers!) For me, it's coherency in theme. For instance, I just got done posting this in the "Son of Beast roller coaster to be removed" thread: And really, that's the biggest thing for me. Like, it's easier for me to overlook below average scares (quantity or quality) if either the set or its actors still play up the theme. In cases like Madame Fatale's, the set was so well done that pretty much all most scareactors had to do to freak me out was move or give a shriek, regardless of how close they were physically to me. I still can't get over how eerie and unsettling it was the first time through to descend into the wax workshop and into the tight hallway of bagged wax figures with the lights flickering all over the place. All it took for me to jump out of my skin was one of the bagged wax figures to quickly step forward and chase someone in front of me. And when you get to the end where the hallway is walled by black cheesecloth curtains, the effect of having even one person on the other side to shriek when they turn the lights beyond the curtains is simple but so effective. KI really did well with this one, so I'm very satisfied that, if something had to replace The Crypt, it was Cavern of Terror. In cases like Tombstone Terror-tory, the set is minimal, so it's up to the scareactors to carry the theme. That's why I generally liked TTT back in 2009-2010 but felt it really lacked something this year. The Wally theme mentioned in the quote held the whole thing together much better, and the actors on the trail encouraged the theme by saying things like "Wally's gonna get you!" Even if saying things like that seems cheesy, it adds something extra and brings the victims' imaginations along for the ride, which is key, at least for me. It sets you on edge, which only enhances the scares to come. This year had the surprise factor of the train "robbery," but it never went any further than that. If people were set on edge by a scary growl of "get off the train," the moment was lost by making them immediately stand in another line. And if the fear factor of the robbery somehow lasted through that line, the "theme" only robbed the scareactors on the trail of any purpose, which lowered the adrenaline. It would be different if the actors were strategically placed robbers (in similar costume to those from the train) attempting to recapture you, but they weren't; they were the same townspeople costumes from every other year. So, within the context of a train robbery, why are there grumpy townsfolk growling at me? Is that their way of helping me escape? Are they trying to help the robbers? I don't know. For a trail as long as Tombstone Terror-tory with the added attraction of using the train, this year felt like they dropped the ball. I don't like being that blunt about it, but that's how it felt. I'd rather see them return the Wally theme or move Wolf Pack there, with the train story changing to something like "There have been sightins of creatures in these parts. You might call 'em werewolves. They've been pillagin' our villages and killin' our families for years. But we made a deal with 'em. If we offer 'em humans every once in a while, they'll settle on down and leave us alone. And right about here--" the train stops-- "is where we usually leave their snacks. Awful sorry 'bout your luck." (Obviously, it'd be more elaborate than that, but you get the gist. ) The wooded setting and minimal props would more or less lend themselves to the theme, because the entire point would then be that you're stranded out in the middle of the woods, surrounded by bloodthirsty werewolves, and you're trying to get back to society. And then the scareactors, dressed as wolves like this year, don't have to work to carry the theme, because literally all they need to do is growl and scare like they do now to keep it going. Just my take on it! Slaughterhouse and Cut-Throat Cove are probably the best example of theme coherency. The sets are good, but the scareactors really make it great. Slaughterhouse is eerie enough by itself, but what throws that haunt over the top on average is the fact that the actors really get creative. They hide in the lockers, they make references to Momma, they tell you you look delicious, and then they try to recapture the runaway snacks with a chainsaw before it's done. Cut-Throat Cove is more cool than scary, but I think it does a lot for that house that the actors at least attempt accents for the whole thing. The location on the pond makes it all that much more believable, too. Urgent Scare was also pretty good at this in most years (excluding 2011--the removal of the outdoor section removed something special from it, though I can't put my finger on what.) I never got a chance to go through it this year, so I can't comment on the 2012 version. In contrast, Cornstalkers, which had been one of my favorite haunts back when it was by Invertigo/Drop Tower, is still suffering from its excessive length. The simple trick of blending into the corn is effective in small portions, but ever since it took over Tower Gardens, it's gotten a little monotonous. On top of that, the scareactors really haven't taken advantage of their costumes when I've been through since the move. Few will either 1.) bury themselves within the corn and emerge quickly or 2.) stand on the scarecrow stands, which seems like the whole point of the thing to me. The actors usually have just hidden behind the boxes and then popped out and growled, which isn't very effective when everyone's doing it. On top of that, the width of the Tower Gardens paths eliminates the claustrophobic nature of the trail, making having to walk uncomfortably by the scarecrow stands with a figure looming overhead obsolete--you can just regain your personal bubble on the other side of the path and march on. I can't decide I'd rather the move it to a smaller path or have it return to its original FearFest job as a scare zone. If it would become a scare zone again, I'd say replace Nightmare Alley with it. Overall, Haunt was still pretty great this year. This is just my two cents.

Like ahank said, they were over by the old Tomb Raider: The Ride photo booth. It's between Diamondback's first drop and the train station. If you saw them, it probably wasn't apparent, as they wrapped them in white cloth to make them look like new figures waiting to be placed in the wax museum.

I realize we're talking about the difference between the words of the PR manager and of a ride op, but I somewhat wish the lady was right. My new pipe dream: Wolf Pack moves to Tombstone Terror-tory's location. I think at this point that a "haunted woods with sightings of werewolves" theme would make more sense than the "well, we're on a train, and sometimes there are robbers, and--oh no, would you look at that--there are some robbers right now, speak of the devil, so now you have to inexplicably get off the train and take a walk now" thing the trail had going on this year. TTT was more coherent (and thus a lot more engaging) in past years, when, as the train story went, there was a Wally who came across some cursed gold, lost his mind, and killed an entire village. The characters on the trail then actually had a purpose, as they essentially were the ghosts of the villagers brought back by the curse to get their revenge--unlike this year, when they were, uh... something?

I'm betting on April 27, as much as I hope it's earlier. I graduate college on that day, and I'm trying to think of some way to balance maximizing my day at KI with my excitement to graduate. (At the moment, I'm trying to convince my family that, upon receiving my diploma, I should be allowed to do a quadruple back flip onto a motorcycle and speed off into the distance to KI, but they don't seem to like that idea yet. I'm hoping they'll warm up to it eventually.)

One thing I never noticed until yesterday is just how much you can see the former Wild Animal Safari habitats now that Son of Beast is mostly out of the way. I always thought they extended out farther than what they do.

Kings Island: definitely rode all operating coasters and most flat rides at least once. Couldn't guesstimate the precise number on any of them except Invertigo and the Eiffel Tower, both of which I did once all year. (That's right, I said "operating" coasters... I know some of you wanted to jump in with "YOU DIDN'T RIDE Son of Beast HEHEHEHEH." Your plans have been foiled! ) Dollywood: Wild Eagle twice. Tennessee Tornado once. Mystery Mine once. Thunderhead (probably) five times. Don't think I rode Blazing Fury this year, and I don't know the names of the flats. There's a possibility I'll be back before the end of the year. Holiday World: Probably rode Voyage something up into the teens. Rode Raven and Legend a handful of times, with more rides on Legend than Raven. (Ordinarily I'd ride Raven more than Legend, but Legend was running ridiculously well back in June.) All adult flats (excluding Revolution, Turkey Whirl, and the scrambler) got about two laps each. Rode basically everything but the racing slides and Mammoth in Splashin' Safari. Six Flags Great Adventure: One ride on all coasters besides Skull Mountain, which we rode twice, and both kiddie coasters. Missed all flats besides the top spin and the parachute drop, though I attempted to ride Houdini's Great Escape and had it break down on me. Coney Island (NYC): FINALLY rode the Cyclone. Didn't have a ton of money to reride, and also lacked the time for Luna Park. Someday... Best "new" coasters of the year: El Toro, Cyclone, Batman: The Ride, Skull Mountain, Runaway Mine Train. In that order. Top 5's went from something like... Wood Voyage Thunderbolt Legend Raven Thunderhead Steel Intimidator 305 Storm Runner Magnum XL-200 Millennium Force Great Bear To something like Wood Voyage El Toro (tied) Cyclone Legend Raven Steel Intimidator 305 Storm Runner Magnum XL-200 Batman: The Ride Adventure Express (In case you've seen previous "top coasters" lists from me and are now wondering: I have the most fluid taste in roller coasters ever. I generally like all of them, but there are moments where I miss some more than others. My "top coasters" is more like a "top coasters I miss at the moment.") EDIT: Also, HTML is a jerk sometimes.

The one I've always noticed is the one directly underneath the first corkscrew--if you look "up" while going through it, you'll see the footer.

I should probably also clarify that I didn't mean to make fun of people's fears/complaints about the WindSeeker breakdowns. I was just playing at translating all the SoB topics of conversation from the last three years to being about WindSeeker. I love coasters, but being at any significant height for an extended amount of time (e.g. most observation or Drop Towers) makes me fairly nervous, to the place where my hands sweat pretty severely and I have to hold onto something or stay as close to the center of the observation deck as possible. I would not enjoy being stuck at the top of WindSeeker for any amount of time, and I definitely agree with the sentiment that it shouldn't take hours and hours to get people off the ride when it breaks down. With the minimalist seats and restraints, that would be terrifying, at least for me--there's nowhere to lean that would make me feel any more comfortable about being stuck 301 feet in the air with my feet dangling freely.

^ But I can see WindSeeker's seats on Google Maps! Clearly, KI just refuses to make a decision about the ride! Seriously, all those people complaining about how long it took to get the people down are sissies. They clearly just rode it on a bad day. I got stuck on WindSeeker once for like three hours. It was awesome. Best flat ride I've ever been on. (Hopefully that's everything?) EDIT: A clarification after reconsidering The Interpreter's post a page or two ago: I'm kidding.

^ Which is what Paula has indicated on Facebook a few times. Testing will resume once the park has closed for the season.

I don't know why the Barbara Streisand song is as funny as it is to me, but it is. Suddenly, I regret never having seen the Ed Alonzo show this summer... EDIT: Turns out you can make your own version of Barbara Streisand. Click. (I'm going to ignore the fact that they spell it "Barbra"... It's the darnest thing.) EDIT again: Turns out it actually is spelled Barbra. MOVING ON.

I love how the Son of Beast trains are gone in the new view, but you can see little rectangles in the grass where they used to sit.

Sounds like great additions to me! Based on the schedule expansion, it sounds like Happy Halloween Weekends has been relatively successful (which I was hoping for, as that's a fun little event.) Also, it would be wonderful if the park's hours extended into the evenings during the summer for the light show, because I've been dying to try any of the coasters after dark but haven't ever been able to make it to Holiwood Nights. I'm curious to know how further expansion of/beyond Thanksgiving will happen now if Pilgrim's Plunge is being annexed to Splashin' Safari. (They're not physically moving the ride, right?) I've read somewhere before that long-term plans for the park will make Thanksgiving the centerpiece of Holiday World, so I'm just wondering where else they could go with the paths. I always thought they'd extend over the tunnel from Splashin' Safari for Pilgrim's Plunge and continue adding rides, etc. beyond the ride, but that's where Rhino Blaster is going. Maybe they'll extend to the east of PP? Also, here's hoping the Splashin' Safari entrance remodel will expand the nearby path to Thanksgiving (or at least improve the flow.) That thing congests pretty bad around opening when everyone's trying to get to SS.

^^ What, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" doesn't scream beer gardens and lederhosen to you?

Hoo boy. Last time something got announced at 2 in the morning, there was some Pointed roaring on Facebook. Really hope Holiday World isn't getting Dinosaurs Alive...

^ Yeah, I'm with Tanna. I'm very grateful that the park took passholders' suggestions and tried out a rewards system, but I think it would be more beneficial and more inspiring to users if the system wasn't based on "just blindly spend some money and watch what happens." Of course, I still ended up spending more money in the park this year than any other, so I suppose the goal was reached, but a continued lack of explanation kind of screams "we're in it for the profits." I understand that Kings Island is ultimately a business, so obviously increasing revenue is a goal... Just don't be so point-blank about it, I guess. Make the "regulars" feel like their business is appreciated rather than basically playing them as fools by encouraging them to endlessly spend money until the Mystical Percentage Roller Coaster Chart makes it over the first drop three times. And on the note of amount spent vs. percentage increase: I seriously do not understand the correlation at all. Mine was chuffing along at a decent rate when I purchased food, etc., and I blew through 1, 2, and 3 stars fairly easily over the course of the season. I used my pass on a $180 Fast Lane purchase the last weekend in September, and it only bumped me up about 30% on the way to level 4. Obviously, the higher star levels require more purchases/visits to advance, but either 1) Fast Lane doesn't count nearly as much toward rewards, which doesn't make sense to me since passholders would be more likely to leave and return another day instead of purchasing Fast Lane, or 2) the difference between going from 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 must be huge. ...Wow, this post sounds like I'm griping. Not my intent, I swear. I do still like the FUNPerks system, promise! I just don't care for that one aspect of it. If I get a 2013 pass (which is only in question due to unrelated circumstances) I'll still happily make use of the system.

I didn't know Chance and Vekoma even had anything to do with one another to begin with. Learn something new every day. Originally, was Vekoma doing the primary design, and then Chance provided the parts?

http://www.youtube.com/embed/rYDuNq-a5b4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen> This seemed oddly appropriate.

Anyone else find the happy, upbeat tempo of the background music unintentionally hilarious? I feel like Greg Scheid and Don Helbig are dancing a celebratory waltz somewhere in the background.

^^ At least the first weekend, the crowds are nearly nonexistent. It's a great time to visit the park. I'm not even a park show watcher, and I enjoyed their Halloween music show. Their "haunted" house is neat, too, and I found the corn maze fairly entertaining. The rides, of course, are wonderful as always.

They're renaming Pilgrim's Plunge and promoting it as a new ride. It's accessible by both parks.

At most, I anticipate a Luminosity equivalent. Realistically, I expect little to nothing. The park's probably spending a good chunk of capital knocking down a pile of wood in Action Zone. If the park were operated by the Kochs, I'd say we'd see an investment like Holiday World's 2011 additions: general parkwide improvements that, compared to a ride, don't cost a ton but help improve the customer experience. When KI does this, it doesn't usually get announced until a month or so before opening day, and it's only announced on Facebook/Twitter, if at all. I'm a little curious to see how WindSeeker fares this off-season, too.

^ Yeah, I don't know what the deal is with that. The only coaster at Holiday World that has anything resembling the wood coaster smell is Raven on its lift hill, and it's not that strong. Each ride there has its own smell for its tunnels, but none of them has that smell that Beast has that really says you're on a wooden coaster. Mean Streak has its own smell (as does Blue Streak), and neither of them are near many trees. Son of Beast when operating had this smell that made me think of the wooden equivalent of hot car brakes. I seem to recall Rolling Thunder (SFGAdv) coming pretty close to The Beast smell, and its lift hill is planted in a relatively empty area between El Toro and Kingda Ka (though the rest of the ride does come closer to some trees.) I don't remember a distinct smell on the Kennywoodies or the Hersheypark woodies, but I also was so sick at the time that I had to fight to keep my nose from running right off my face.