TombRaiderFTW

I don't know whether to feel really sad or relieved. Like 74Gibson said, I really hated watching TR:TR die. But it's still that ride that set the stage for me becoming an amusement ride fan, even if the experience was very poor for its last three years. Guess I'll settle for both. My biggest curiosity now is how they'll make it clear the ride isn't operating. Will they fence in the area till Haunt time, or will they just remove the sign and put "this ride isn't operating" signs at the entrance? EDIT: Changed the punctuation in the thread title to fit the occasion.

...Isn't Adventure Express supposed to look like that? And what's wrong with the landscape? And Firehawk was repainted in (I think) 2010. Whatever paint they used in the initial de-X-Flighting was chipping off pretty quickly. The new paint's coming off in places, too, but this coat's working a lot better than the original. (This isn't supposed to sound argumentative, so sorry about that! Just making conversation.)

Okay, so I ordered my shirt as I posted a while ago. I received a confirmation email immediately after I placed the order, but I never received a tracking number. I chalked this up to it being delivered USPS, as my order said, rather than FedEx, which the site says it normally uses. Then today, the order disappeared from my credit card statement. I ordered it Wednesday night, and I live about an hour and a half from Mason. Maybe I'm jumping the gun and it'll arrive Monday or Tuesday, but it seems weird that the order would have disappeared from my statement... Anyone else have this happen? I'm going to try to contact them tomorrow.

I'm pretty excited about this. Poor Invertigo's been looking pretty sad for a few seasons. Wonder if it'll look like Dorney's new invert (whose name escapes me at the moment).

^^ Then I guess I've underestimated the downtime of Timber Tower, as the comparison that came to mind was Top Thrill Dragster's downtime (or maybe slightly worse).

I've never had an interview at KI, but I'm sure it's like any other interview: show you actually care about the job with how you dress and what you say, and you'll do fine. I'd say your outfit sounds fine, though you might optionally consider switching the jeans out for dress slacks.

I kinda thought Bluegrass Boardwalk was one of the more creatively appropriate names the amusement industry's come up with lately, but apparently I'm the only one. It carries the same charm with it that I associate with Jazzland: appropriate for the area, but without seeming cheesy. (Then again, I've never been to Jazzland or Kentucky Kingdom, so maybe I'm off base. Six Flags was nice enough to announce KK's closure about an hour after I bought my 2010 pass, and I'm still waiting on my refund.)

Sounds like they haven't done much than improve on Intamin's Reverse Freefall "coasters" (like Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain)... and increase the price.

^ I'm with you. I just now caved in a bought a red Bat t-shirt. They're a little pricey, but I used the coupon code "cincytweep" and saved 15%.

^^ Financial and management aspects aside, if they want to keep moving west-northwest and pick up Kings Island, too, I'd be entirely okay with it. Both Cedar Fair and the Kochs have their pluses, but I prefer the "home away from home" feeling of Holiday World than the "big coasters, big thrills, and a googolplex of trashcans" atmosphere of most Cedar Fair parks. (See also: Dollywood, which is by far one of my favorite parks in spite of its comparatively small coaster collection, although I do love Thunderhead and Tennessee Tornado.) Then again, we'll see what Mr. Ouimet brings to the table come coaster season 2012.

I feel like there's a Wendy's-related pun hiding around here somewhere, needing to be made, but I can't find it.

These actually were posted on here at some point, but I don't believe it got its own thread. Regardless, these are awesome... I still REALLY want a Bat tee.

Something I found interesting today: John Hildebrandt, Cedar Point GM, joined Twitter recently. I don't know if that's just something personal he decided to try, but it's something that didn't happen under Kinzel regardless. (With Ouimet's emphasis on Internet presence, I wonder if it was encouraged.)

Is it just me, or is every one of these "the gas prices are going to become unbearably high" predictions followed by gas prices remaining the same, or even falling?

At this point, I'm wondering how much of this still involves planning from Will. It seems like the park's become tremendously more aggressive in its expansion since mid-2011. I'm not criticizing them, as I'm not privy to any of their financial information, but I do worry, and I hope they're being careful about this. From what I read, overexpansion was the ultimate factor that did Geauga Lake in, and I'd really, really hate to see Holiday World take the same path.

I'd have to go with suggestions already made... A wild mouse or a B&M invert seem like the most logical fits, in my mind, for the park. I love the Intamin gigas, but one coming to KI anytime soon would just further destroy the atmosphere. And as far as the wild mice go... Arrow, please, if someone's willing to sell theirs. I missed riding Ricochet at Kings Dominion, but my one experience with a Mack mouse, Wild Mouse at Hersheypark, was substandard to Michigan's Adventure's Arrow mouse.

Oh, but I'd so miss being the guy that gets his lap repeatedly smooshed when that worried rider in your car is convinced the lapbar is his, and his alone. [/sarcasm]

^ Very interesting! I wonder if Semmelroth and Ouimet ever worked together at Disney. Regardless, based on this quote: it seems like there's a strong emphasis on Cedar Fair's horizon on making the day a guest visits a CF park feel unique and memorable. I like where this is going... I'm very curious to see how friendly employees are within the next year. Something tells me employee morale and work ethic is about to make a big jump upward.

^ "Gondolas" seems more appropriate than either of my ideas. Google's alternative definition for a gondola (besides the sort of boat you'd take in Venice) is "a cabin on a suspended ski lift," which isn't too far off from what most ferris wheels have. So I'd call them gondolas.

^ If the demand was that high, wouldn't they need to operate both elevators? I don't think I've ever seen the left elevator operate. (Not to seem like I'm criticizing your point, because I'm not... I'm just thinking out loud. )

Great photos, rcs! They're great new angles on things that don't seem to have many photos online. (For instance, I don't think I've ever seen that sort of close-up on the Zodiac wheel. Most photos I've seen of the ride are either from the Eiffel Tower or are super close up shots of just one of the carriages. [is "carriage" the right word there? The only other thing I can think of is "basket".]) Can't wait to see more!

^^ I LOVE that photo of The Beast, standbyme! That looks like it should be a poster. (I kind of wish it was a poster...) Thanks for uploading these. All this KI history is really helping with the off-season. I can't believe it's February already... I get to go to Dollywood in a month and a half!

Cool picture! It seems like it's relatively difficult to find pictures online of SoB and KC together, and, when I've been able to find them, they're not that great in quality. At least with KC and Shockwave, Paramount must've had a thing for multi-colored track rails on their Togo stand-ups.

That's kind of like saying "Unless KI says it's getting a dino exhibit, it's not getting a dino exhibit." Is that true? Sometimes. And sometimes it isn't. If I recall correctly, Falfas' departure from CF was a rumor like this before Cedar Fair confirmed it. Thanks for clarifying that, Boddah. Just one thing: Isn't the point of this thread the fact that he's Inmet, and several employees are now Outmet?