TombRaiderFTW

To me, it seems like making the park safe (i.e., not a liability) for guests in the winter would be pretty difficult. If it snows, you've got a lot of paths to clear. If it ices, you've got a nonstop sled all the way down to Thanksgiving.

Not to mention that the calendar doesn't usually make its appearance until January or after, and I think I remember the site saying "soon" before that time last year, too...

^ Yep, which is why I'd like it to come mid-April again... The first few weeks used to be a lot more empty than they were this year. Of course, this year wasn't a great time for anything to be open. I think it rained every day in April and May except April 30th.

That'd be cool if they released it sooner, because I'm curious if they'll go back to opening the third-ish week of April (i.e. for 2012, that'd be April 14 or 21). Then again, that does remove part of the excitement that usually comes in January...

Interesting tidbit I found on the Gold Pass VIP Benefits page just now: (Bolded for emphasis)Hmm... I do wonder if this year's bumpy opening day caused this. I wonder, too, if the rides side will be included. The main page says there will be two exclusive days... Thoughts?

^ Lady Gaga meets superthick fog? Can't wait for next year. Actually, I'm just kidding. I did like Mysteria. Wasn't perfect by any means, but it was definitely entertaining.

I wish I'd taken the chance to ride KCKC... It was one of my parents' favorite rides, and as much as I loved Tomb Raider, KCKC fit Rivertown better. The internet doesn't seem to have a great record of its existence, so I love seeing your picture, standbyme.

^ I think Rattler already got its topper track this year, unless you mean it's getting more?

Not saying it wouldn't happen, but Mean Streak also closed early last year for "retracking work"... which was just, in fact, retracking work. And before someone tries to mention something about a fire, all that did was hasten its already early closing that year.

This. Again, cool pictures! I really like the look of Adventure Village, even though it apparently deteriorated later. If it stuck around, it would have been a cool place to put Tomb Raider/The Crypt.

Oh my gosh. I want one so bad.

In a twist (err...) today at IAAPA, Great Coasters International, Inc. announced a new model, the "Big Fun". They posted this video afterward: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Pee7s7cbWm8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I'm curious to know what everyone's thoughts are. I think it looks like a really fun layout, and you can definitely see the CCI influences (which is definitely a good thing, in my opinion--love me some CCI and GCI). I can't really see Kings Island or Cedar Point installing one, but it'd be neat if somewhere like Coney got a Big Fun. TRFTW, hoping you group will see the gravity of this announcement... and trying to make you all grona lot.

No no, it's management's secrets you're supposed to be stealing, not money...

I love the fact that there are still things like those stones that haven't changed since opening. It seems like KI's history is constantly being ignored, which is a shame. Can't wait for the next pictures!

Can't really choose one thing. I miss the park's atmosphere, but I also very much miss having the ability to spontaneously take one of my passholder friends with me to ride coasters for the heck of it. Spontaneous KI trips pretty much make my summers.

For me, not really. But given the jump in height for them, I expected something to change. I'm not disappointed or something that nothing really did on the outside, but... I dunno. I'm just kinda thinking out loud. It's like if Miler, who manufactured The Great Pumpkin Coaster and doesn't seem to make rides much over that height, produced a hypercoaster. You wouldn't really expect it to have the same track, trains, lift, etc., right? (And if it did... holy cow, that would be the scariest ride ever. Can you imagine falling +200ft. with a single-position lapbar that you barely fit under on tiny I-beam track? But I digress.) I half-expected, given Intamin's changes between their hypers and Millennium Force, to see more of a visual difference in the B&M giga model. But apparently there wasn't a need for it, so I guess I was wrong. Ho hum.

^^ Sure, because the tension in two separate, smaller chains is less than the tension in one long one. I'm not saying a cable is 100% necessary; it just seems easier to design around a cable lift than a chain in terms of weight, if I had to guess. Not to mention, like flightoffear1996 said, that it's probably cheaper as far as parts go. The motor on a regular lift has to bear the weight of the train as well as the weight of the chain; the motor on a cable lift "only" has to bear the weight of the train and the probably much lighter weight of the catch car and cable. Given B&M's reputation, I'm sure they've considered both options. I just find it interesting that nothing appears to have changed for the lift between the regular megas and the giga model--but then again, it's not like I've seen any diagrams or anything.

^ That, and a cable lift system is much lighter than a chain. The weight of Magnum's chain is why Cedar Point went with the cable for Millennium Force, as I understand it.

When I was little, the Antique Cars and the Flying Eagles were pretty much the only things I would ride, even though I was clearly tall enough to get on things like The Racer, Vortex, etc. Because of that, I've got a ton of memories of riding them both with my parents, so it's really cool seeing the comparison... even though I'm not much of a fan of the "now" shot. Oh well, life moves on. EDIT: You kinda have to wonder why Paramount got rid of the lower-left pond in your photos... It doesn't really get in the way of BLSC, and it would be nice to have now.

Nah, you definitely shouldn't have saved this for later in the off-season. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing, standbyme.

This is too cool, standbyme. Can't wait to see what's next.

Really? I didn't think opening day 2009 or 2010 went too poorly. OD 2011 was a little crazy, though... Rides were down all over the place.

^ At least in Coney Mall, they did have hot chocolate. I'm not sure if it was offered during Haunt, but there was a sign for it on closing day. EDIT: Dang, UnrealNightmare beat me to it!

^^ I honestly have no guesses. There are several things that KI's doing (or, more specifically, not doing) related to Son of Beast that I don't understand. ^ Good point, Boddah. Then again, you have to consider the context in which they bought the trains. Their choices were: 1. Run Voyage with one 7-car train, leading to longer waits and frustrated guests, both of which they strive to avoid, 2. Put the Raven train back on the track, which cuts down on The Raven's capacity (thus causing the same issues as #1) and causes them to spend more money repairing the Raven train each off-season, or 3. Buy more PTC cars to keep all HW's rides running at top capacity and to potentially be used for donor parts for the other rides' trains if the Timberliners ever get running. Since HW tries to keep customer satisfaction exceptionally high, it seems like #3 would be their obvious choice. After all, the only reason they went with #2 last year, according to one of the HoliBlogger YouTube videos, was because they only anticipated the Raven train being on The Voyage for a matter of weeks. (Hmm... Just realized how frequently I've been replying to this thread. I'm not actually this much of a Holiday World fanboy, guys. I'm just really interested in the Timberliner situation!)

This season saw several song clips being used on multiple rides. For instance, Beast's lift music switched from part of the Armageddon score to part of the Saw score, Invertigo's station played "Vertigo" by U2, and The Crypt's queue and ride both gained portions of the Inception score. Some of them were really cool, but some, like BLSC's Flight of the Valkyries in the helicopter scene, were a bit... odd, in my opinion. (Not to say that I didn't appreciate them nonetheless!) I kinda found myself wondering what song(s) I'd pick for the rides on multiple occasions, so I'm curious what you guys think. If you could pick any song to be used in any way for KI's rides (be it the clips in the station from this year, onboard audio a la Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, or even something new), what would you pick? For me, even though I love the Inception score on The Crypt, I'd love to hear this song in the line. I heard it during my music class this quarter, and it instantly made me think of the ride, for some reason. A la Tomb Raider, it'd be cooler if the music got more intense the closer you get to the ride, but I don't think getting the TR:TR score back is an option right now, haha. <iframe width="560" height="315" src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/iLdbHl3U3pg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>On that note, I'm still a sucker for the Inception score... and like I said this spring, I'd still really love to hear "Mombasa" by Hans Zimmer featured during the ride. It doesn't have the same theatrical effect that the current song, "Dream is Collapsing" has with the fast-paced violins and the deep "bummm bummmmm," but then again, what's the point of being theatrical when there's nothing going on? <iframe width="560" height="315" src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/RwIo_VadeFU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Finally, even though it's not at KI, I haven't been able to stop associating Muse's "Knights of Cydonia" with Maverick at Cedar Point. I feel like it'd make a really cool onride audio if it was edited just right... Can you imagine the second repetition of "you and I must fight for our rights, you and I must fight to survive" being timed with the second launch so that the dragging surviiiiiiiiive matches up right with the launch? Then the guitar solo right after that fits the rest of the ride perfectly, in my mind... Ahhhh. It's nice to dream. <iframe width="420" height="315" src=" http://www.youtube.com/embed/1mkIrvuU_zE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>I'm curious to hear what songs you guys suggest.