TombRaiderFTW

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?

If an "action river" is what I think it is, it can also be relaxing. The comparison that comes to mind is the lazy river at the Fort Rapids indoor waterpark in Columbus, which I've been to a few times. There are water fountains that randomly spray, a long stretch of refilling-dumping-then refilling buckets perched overhead to spontaneously soak you, hanging hoses to grab and spray at one another, etc. Half of it is entirely optional, and the parts that aren't (like the buckets) have "bypass streams" you can take to avoid them entirely. You aren't forced to partake in any of the "action" if you don't want to. I don't know if KI's will be similar at all, but if I had to guess, I'd say it'll be along the same lines.

From over at Coasterbuzz (where no source was cited, but it's still something): I don't know how Robin Innes might fall into play, but it's worth noting. (Is a PR director and a VP of Marketing the same thing?) I've always thought Cedar Point's PR system was a little odd. Sure, it's a bigger park, but I find it odd that, while Don handles KI's online PR and Paula (and Nathan) handle Holiday World's online PR, I never really saw much of anything from CP personally attributed to Robin, as far as guest interactions go. As long as I've known CP, Tony and Tyler handled that sort of thing until they moved on, and now Becca's handling at least the CP blog. Then again, maybe it's just different strokes for different folks. I don't know. Regardless, I'd say Ouimet's somehow in on this. Wonder what the reasoning was. EDIT: Do note that the "Kinzel" being referenced in the quote is Bart Kinzel, GM of Carowinds, not Dick Kinzel, his dad and the former CEO/President.

Not to discredit what you're saying or to defend Fast Lane, but you also have to consider the productivity of the crew. The long wait night may have had a new/inexperienced/uninspired group with uncooperative guests; the short night may have been exceptionally good for the ride. Regardless, I really like this photo, TOPGUN1993! If I could ever find that as a poster, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. That seems like a great mix between the Taft/KECO KI and the Paramount KI.

^^ Condor is still there. Your post also reminded me that you can buy combo tickets for Hersheypark and Dutch Wonderland, and that those tickets aren't much more expensive than regular admission. I don't know much of anything about DW (besides that they have one of the first CCIs), but it's worth noting.

I visited Hersheypark last August for the first time. I never noticed a genuinely sketchy or unsafe part of town near the park, but the hotels in Hershey, PA are significantly more expensive than hotels even 10-15 minutes away from the park, so if you're willing to drive a bit, I'd suggest staying outside the town. The park itself is fantastic, and it manages to have a incredibly wide collection of rides without feeling charmless (which places like Cedar Point tend to lose at times--for me, anyway). However, the layout of the park doesn't work well for its popularity--the entrance plaza is quite small, for instance--so there is a bit of skill and luck necessary to try to hit up all the coasters, if that's what you're interested in. Work your way from the back of the park to the front. (You know how Raptor at Cedar Point tends to have pretty insane lines at the beginning and end of the day? Now take less than half of that people capacity, and you've got Comet at Hersheypark. It's a fantastic, classic little wooden coaster, but it and Skyrush are the first things you see when you enter the park, so they'll have huge lines at the beginning and end of the day.) The only exception to this is Fahrenheit, which is pretty much in the same position relative to the front gate as our Invertigo. We had good luck riding that first thing in the morning, just as the people started to fill the queue (which never left 90 minutes afterward. Then again, I'm pretty sure the day we went was exceptionally busy.) But regardless, if you can do it, try to ride rides like Lightning Racer, Wildcat, Trailblazer, Storm Runner, and Great Bear early in the day. Like I said, they're all in the far corners of the park, and people tend to rush to Comet, Sooperdooperlooper, and (presumably) Skyrush first, since they're near the front. Those three will have significantly lessened lines come early afternoon, so you'll be able to enjoy them without waiting at least an hour for each. (Though, I'd imagine Skyrush will still keep a pretty heavy line, being the new ride and all.) That's pretty much what I've got. Outside of that, all's I can give ya are ride opinions. (And, on that note: give Comet, Sooperdooperlooper, Great Bear, and Storm Runner my love. Those rides are amazing, though many beg to differ on Great Bear. GB towards the front is my favorite B&M experience, even though the line jumping was pretty bad when we went.) It's also not a bad idea to hop on the park's monorail or train if you'd like to take a break at some point. Both are charming experiences that you can't really find anywhere around here, and the monorail will take you to downtown Hershey and back, so it's got a decent length. (You don't get off--it's a continuous loop.) If you're interested, I also recommend ZooAmerica, which is included in the price of your admission. It's a nice little zoo back behind Storm Runner that doesn't really get the attention it deserves. Just don't forget to get your hand stamped on the way there! Hope you enjoy your trip if you guys decide to go!

From the comments: Wouldn't the cop's pursuit be considered a Cheetah Chase then? (Err... Sand Serpent... or Cheetah Hunt... or something.)

I was just thinking what Gator said. I'm very curious to know what B&M think of this ride getting fake publicity essentially for being poorly engineered. B&M isn't flawless, but they've got one of the best reputations for being done right the first time that this would affect...

^ It was, with "Curse of" placed in front of it. From what I understand, the entrance was between the games and Racer's lift hill.

^^ Haha, I originally thought the same thing, Beast1979. Thing is, they're both going the same direction, so, like flightoffear1996 said, there won't be any collisions, save for a bump or two when you both finally get to the center.

Oddly enough, this story actually made the evening news on multiple channels around Dayton, thus reassuring me that, when nothing's going on the world, literally anything will make for a news story.

^ In my opinion, if you sit farther back on the train, there isn't a drastic difference. The closer you sit towards the front, though, the more significant the headbanging becomes and the less pronounced the airtime becomes. It's still not bad up there, though.

Wait a second. Aren't the shelves in the bottom-left picture props for Cut-Throat Cove now? (Great pictures, by the way! I didn't realize International Street actually had people in different outfits for different parts of the world, too. Where's the middle one on the top located?)

I don't know how likely it'd be for next year, but I'm all for Vortex getting the new looper trains from Vekoma like what went on Carolina Cobra at Carowinds. Sidewinder at Hersheypark has them, which I've ridden. The ride was still pretty brutal (who knew the top of a simple loop could be so headbangy?!) but the trains helped a lot, as there wasn't anything near your head/neck to hit. I don't find Vortex to be unbearably headbangy, even if you sit in its worst rows, but the comfort level would come up significantly with the Vekoma trains, especially in those turns before the loops and before the MCBR.

I voted Eagles. I'd rather have KI's old atmosphere back than have it become Cedar Point South.* I dearly love Intimidator 305, but it really doesn't help the weird stunts-meets-aliens-meets-snakes "theme" going on in the right part of KD's Congo section. (Not that CP doesn't have its own atmosphere... It's just that it fits Cedar Point much better than it fits KI.) *The assumption here is that it would go anywhere CF wanted to put it. If you could assume the ride is going in Action Zone, I'd be a lot more in favor of the giga, be it Intamin or B&M.