violakat03

Not even close. The arrow was centered at the intersection of 741 and Kings Island Dr. Rofl. Yeah, I wasn't sure it would save the location I was centered on. It probably just snapped to the nearest major intersection. Well, pan over to The Beast and you'll see it.

Since we're posting pictures of our shoes ... I love the look of my shoes. Nothing better than having shoes that look great AND feel great!

On El Toro, the seatbelts are fixed position (rather than retractable) and buckle in the middle. One of the ride ops said "Welcome back riders! As the train comes to a complete stop please lift up on your lapbar. After that you may want to unbuckle your seatbelt and move it out of the way before you stand up, because it's pretty funny when someone forgets and get stuck by it!" The same ride op had a great Mickey Mouse impression and would use that voice to say "train clear." As to the Michigan-Ohio State thing. I'm a huge Ohio State fan and a student, and if I was in Michigan (or anywhere really) and someone said Ohio State sucks, I'd probably say "we're not the ones that can't win a game!" I wouldn't take it personally or take offense to it. That's the nature of a rivalry.

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?rtp=...TE4MDA1MzcxMDk0 If the above link works, it should be centered on the MCBR where you can see something bright red back there in the woods. Can't really tell what it is though.

That map is kind of cool (if not a little weird), in some images you can see the GWL under construction, in others it fully complete. Also, just up the road from KI/GWL, you can see the old driveway entrance to the old College Football Hall of Fame and the floodlights for the field they had on site (Moeller used to play there back when I was in High School). For those too young to know, this was one of Taft Broadcasting Co's failed ideas to build a resort area around KI. If you look over in the coaster graveyard (behind X-base) the picture changes too. Sometimes it'll be current, with Firehawk in place and with a variety of things back there, most of which I can't make out. Some look like orange barrels from the Worksite haunt, and a bunch of cars from various attractions. Sometimes it'll be older, without Firehawk and the only thing back there is piles and piles of King Cobra track. On the current view, it looks like the only remaining KC track is a brake run.

I cannot eat greasy food on a hot day. It will make me sick every single time. Bacon, sausage and cheese at breakfast are out, hamburgers or pizza are out for lunch and dinner. I prefer a nice salad, some fruit, or something else non-greasy. If I eat something greasy, such as pizza, I have to take a long break before getting back out in the sun. I don't even get sick on the rides. I'll get sick BEFORE the rides and then not feel up to riding them, like I did during most of Diamondback's ERT during RWCW. It was the bacon and sausage at brunch that did it that day.

Could it be something for the fireworks display?

I had polka-dot tan lines from my Crocs last year. That was another big factor in the decision to go to shoes this year! I have a very noticeable tan line right where the top of my ankle socks sit.

In waterpark merch (which is a very unique department to work for, it operates dramatically differently than any other store in the park) our directions were to assist in getting all guests out of the waterpark, either into the main park or leave the park all together, and then head for the limited shelters ourselves. We were not supposed to direct them into any of the shelters inside the waterpark because there was barely enough space just for the employees. The basic impression given to us was get them out of our area and then they aren't our problem anymore. Because of this policy, we were also to direct guests out of our stores if it started storming at all to prevent us having to spend a lot of time evacuating. The crowds tended to cluster just inside the overhangs and we were supposed to ask them to continue on to the main park if they were not there to shop. Since we were supposed to clear the waterpark, they were pretty much screwed until they got into main park or were met along the path by main park employees. They were honestly pretty good about shutting the water park down during inclement weather to help the flow of traffic out of the waterpark and into the main park. But yeah, our policy out there was let someone else deal with them! The day I referred to was the only day I worked there that we actively cleared the park and were instructed to not point them towards shelters in the waterpark, but to get them to the main park and then get ourselves to shelter if necessary. I'm sure had worse come to worse, we'd have found ourselves sharing with the stragglers. Posted from the BlackBerry mobile device.

I think Swoop would make for a great name for a swinging coaster. Quite appropriate. In which case I'd paint it light blue.

I heard and saw the aftermath of Drop Tower getting hit by lightning on Memorial Day weekend in 2003. I was in the waterpark and heard an unusually large burst of thunder. Myself and the rest of the employees walked to the edge of our store to look out and around to see if something was hit, and several people were exclaiming that it had hit Drop Zone. The ride was down for the next 2 days. Also of note that day, the wind was incredibly fierce and knocked down the "Welcome to Lebanon" sign on 741. Myself and a co-worker were driving home because the waterpark shut down early, and when we saw (and felt!) how bad it was, we took shelter at a Skyline Chili, which had no power. We stayed there until the storm died down a bit because the wind had been pushing my car all over the road. It hailed and gusted wind and did all kinds of nasty stuff. At one point, they even took us (since we were the only non-employees there) into the back area to keep us away from the windows since there was debris flying. This was also the day I learned about Paramount's tornado shelter policy for parkgoers. Which was "sucks to be them."

I'm glad to hear there is a security guard watching the DB line. Where was he standing? I've often seen one standing up by where the temporary queues used to be, but his vantage point doesn't allow him to see people who jump on the stairs or under the lift hill (which are 2 of the 3 most common areas - the second being where the queues run parallel to the chain hill, they'll jump from the first set of switchbacks over to that area) so he does miss a lot of them. As in, all but one time I've seen it happening, he couldn't see it and said he couldn't do anything about it because of that. I've also seen the security guard hanging around the SRL entrance. I have a feeling they're really there to keep people from harassing the ride op stationed there. I've noticed security is usually on hand when rides are down, probably for that reason. I don't know why people seem to think it's the op's fault that the ride is down for whatever reason.

On last train on Millennium Force the Monday after opening weekend, we got back into the station and the op said "Welcome back riders, how was that ride?!" (everybody cheers and starts chanting "one more time") "You want to go again?" (crowd cheers) "Then come back tomorrow!"

As it stands now: Beast. Now, if we were compared a trimmed Beast to a looping Son of Beast, it'd be a close call. Trimless Beast to Son of Beast (with or without loop) would be Beast, easily.

Action Zone Repaint Flight Deck and rename it to it's original name. Not Top Gun, but Thunder Road, as it would have been without Paramount. Because it's laughable how completely uncreative Flight Deck was and it's not themed anymore anyway, so we might as well rename it to something less .. stupid sounding. Repaint it with an appropriate theme, such as dark blue and silver. Repaint Invertigo. It's supports are turning pink and it's one of the first things you see when entering the park since it hangs out over the entrance plaza. Add another flat ride or two to Action Zone. The queue area for Flight Deck and Son of Beast seems to have a lot of extra room, especially where all those switchbacks for SOB were installed along Flight Deck's exit path. I'm betting they could figure out a way to get a Chaos in there, and it's enough of a thrill ride that it would fit into the Action Zone theme. Figure out a way to shorten Flight Deck's queue and utilize some of that area for thrilling flats. Remove Thunder Alley or whatever the slow go-karts are called now a days. Install an S&S Screaming Swing in their place. Put correct gauge trains on Son of Beast. I think that's all that coaster really needs to make it less violent. Put trains that don't shuffle side to side. Call up PTC and get them to design trains specifically for that ride, like they did with Premier. I think it's popularity would spike if this was done. Coney Mall Remove EuroBungee and any unused game or former ride structures, such as the Flight Commander queue. Install a Ferris Wheel, Tilt-A-Whirl, Spinning Bobs (aka Matterhorn) and/or Himalaya, and other small, classic flat rides. There is a ton of room in Coney Mall, especially back by Vortex and the end of Racer, if Action Theater is removed. They could double or triple their flat ride offerings easily. Repaint Racer to original red, white & blue and keep that tunnel clean on a consistent basis. Relocate 3-point shootout to Action Zone (it's a big money maker and popular with the GP) and reinstall Flying Eagles. Rivertown Not much to be done here except removal (or lightening) of the trims on Beast. Nick U Bring back Hanna Barbera or add in Snoopy. SpongeBob is losing popularity, Dora was a fad, and does Blues Clues even exist anymore? Replace tunnel on FOC and rename to Beastie or Scooby Doo (depending on whether or not HB is brought back). What I wouldn't do: Bring back the antique cars. Unlike at Cedar Point, they were not popular. One half of the ride was shut down for many years before they were removed and they never had a line. They were fun for the first few years you were tall enough to drive them and then they lost their appeal. Turn The Racer back around except maybe on rare occasion. It was supposed to be a temporary thing that stuck. Yes, I loved recaR but I'd rather The Racer run like it's supposed to (even though the change was not made for nostalgic purposes, no matter how many times the park says it). Why not turn it around on special days, such as the park's big anniversaries, anniversaries of the ride, or special events like the Brady Bunch reunion last year? That would bring back a lot of fond memories without it becoming just another gimmick, and that's what it was originally turned around for anyway.

That's too funny. They gave away a coaster wheel at ACE Dives! too. It was for a coaster that doesn't exist anymore. I won a commemorative coin for Hypersonic XLC, which used to be at Kings Dominion.

In defense of the park, it's not like they can just wander out there whenever they want throughout the day and start pulling gum off the wall. To even get out there involves cutting all power to the ride so the trains have no chance of moving while you are out there. As I said, I have been a part of the clean up crew that has gotten the privelage to pull the gum off the walls of The Racer and recaR brakeshed. It's not an easy or fun task and can easily take over 4 hours to complete for just one brakeshed, and that's not even including painting the walls. I don't understand why they can't do it in the offseason. They cut the power then, because there is a large amount of maintenance that is done in the off season. Heck, the trains aren't even on the track during most of the offseason! They could easily make it part of the annual maintenance of the coaster. Especially if it only takes 4 hours to do each tunnel. It takes weeks, even months, to do the rest of the maintenance, so there is really no excuse. Heck, they spend more than four hours each week of operation on maintenance, when you include walking the tracks each day and any other work that they put into it! I can understand that it is not an easy or fun task. There are a LOT of jobs that are not easy nor are they fun. Have you ever seen the TV show Dirty Jobs? There are a lot worse jobs out there than cleaning gum off of walls, and there are people that do them every day.

Yes, your feet go under the restraint. I never sit in the front, so I don't know about the plastic zip tie. Try the back seat next time.

I just have to ask why you're looking for a Whip for sale. Because of the topic on what we'd do if we had $100 million to spend at KI. I was curious as to what a whip would cost That's pretty funny. Pretty similar to the reason I was looking at how much a Chaos would cost a couple months ago.

I just have to ask why you're looking for a Whip for sale.

As I pointed out to Angie, and I must point out here because it's a pet peeve of mine. That is NOT the marching band. That is the athletic band. The marching band is called the Best D*mn Band in the Land for a reason - it is audition only, for very limited spots, and each member has to audition for their place in the band before every performance. It is also one of the largest brass & percussion only bands out there, there are no woodwinds in it. They perform only during the fall and early winter, at football games and other special events. The spring athletic band is an open membership band to anyone who has former band experience, such as in high school. They play at basketball, volleyball, and many other types of sports (pretty much anything except football) and they do not march, except for the Spring band, which does perform a full marching field show during the Spring Scarlet & Grey football scrimmage game. The rehearsal schedule is much less vigorous for a-band (once a week fall & winter, twice a week spring) than for marching band (daily). I was in last year's fall and winter athletic bands. I was NOT in marching band. At OSU, it is a big difference. While the athletic band in general is still quite good, they are not on par with the actual marching band, which is nothing short of amazing. To point out the difference, here is our version of Script Ohio (performed on ice, which was pretty fun) - I'm in the bottom right of the little o. Script Ohio is also performed in the same way by the A-band during one basketball game a year. And here is the marching band's version of Script Ohio. The athletic band never attempts to fully copy it.

When someone asked during the Q&A session at RWCW if they were ever going to clean up the walls on The Racer brake shed because they were so disgusting, the entire room erupted in applause. So it's not like it hasn't been mentioned to the park and it's not like a ton of people haven't noticed and been disgusted by it.

This one's hard for me but I went with SOB's loop. A close second would be Flight of Fear's final corkscrew, followed by King Cobra's loop.

Phenomenal, No Pain, and somewhat better. I've ridden Goliath at SFOG (DB is way better) and Apollo's Chariot at BGE (somewhat better - AC was incredibly good).

Skechers D'Lites. I love them and so far they are holding up great to all the abuse I've given them this season. With about 20 park visits in the past 2 months, they still look and feel brand new! Last year I lived in Crocs but I'm tired of kicking off my shoes on half the rides, so I've gone to more secure footwear options.