violakat03

My mom will be excited to hear about this. She is bummed she never got to go when it was at the Hilton - she's a big Trekkie. Hopefully in 2010 (when it looks like most of it will be up and running), I'll be able to get her out there to experience it.

We have Gold available early in the season (usually through late May, I think last year the cutoff date was May 25) and then a regular pass the rest of the season, and platinum. Gold gives you some extra perks (same as Platinum) and I know last year it gave you free parking. Platinum is the same chain-wide, gives you free admission and parking to all parks and perks at each park.

I'm still bummed that I never got to ride the roller coaster when it was up there.

I don't know about that.

Sure does. Once you get your receipt or whatever it is you have to print out, you'll need to have it "processed" to get your new card. Typical strategies include entering with your receipt and coming back out later after the line has died down and having it processed then, or waiting in a massive line. I thought it just reused last year's card. I know people who processed their renewals in the fall kept the same card.

This summer I'm hoping to visit some new parks I've been really looking forward to: Holiday World, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Europe and possibly Six Flags Great Adventure. I've been to SFOG and I'll agree with the many statements on here that it is by far worth the drive to get there. They have a great coaster collection, and I'll agree with whoever said that the Georgia Scorcher is the best standup I've ever been on.

That's what I did. I forget what I was searching for but I clicked on a link in Google that brought me back to the KIC forums and that's when it got messed up.

I'm hoping I'll have the money to renew my pass before opening day, I don't want to be stuck in one of these huge lines!! Anyone know what it takes to get one renewed? I was planning on doing it online using last year's pass number but does that mean it still needs to be processed at the park?

Um ... the Eiffel Tower. Drop Tower scares me, but not as much as the Eiffel Tower. I'm terrified of heights, and something about the complete openness of the Eiffel Tower, with the fact that I know I'm not going to be back on the ground in a matter of seconds, is absolutely petrifying. I went up in it for the first time in at least 10 years this year for pictures and I am perfectly content waiting another 10 years to go back up it. I do not find it enjoyable, whereas I can find Drop Tower somewhat enjoyable. Second would, honestly, be Viking Fury. I will not ride it. It has nothing to do with the one at KI or any park, actually, but I do not ride viking ships anywhere. I had a traumatic experience on one in a carnival as a child and I'm perfectly content not getting on them ever again. Strangely, I find the first drop of a tall coaster to be absolutely exhilarating. TTD, Millennium Force, Son of Beast, and I'm sure Diamondback will be the same - sitting in the front seat with that small bit of dangle time you get waiting for the back of the train to let you go over ... I love it.

They're predicting a snow day in Atlanta on Monday. Memphis got 4-7 inches (depending on where in the metro area you were) today. I'm sure the city will be shut down for several days until every trace of it melts. That's how it was when it snowed while I lived there.

I missed that. I guess I was too busy loudly complaining about their misuse of video/photos/use of the word 'the' to hear it.

Yeah, and they alternated between that video and a still shot of SOB's loop. C'mon people. I'm sure you have a DB animation. Please use it.

The local news called it "THE" Diamondback today. They also showed the computer rendered video of ... Firehawk. News fail.

"This thing should have a cupholder on it."

Too funny! My husband and I spent our second anniversary at Cedar Point this past summer.

I only picked up on Great Adventure, El Toro, Kingda Ka, Batman The Ride, Superman : Ultimate Flight and Great American Scream Machine... and of course Kentucky Fried Chicken. WaWa I think is a gas station. RT is Rolling Thunder, Doosa I can't figure out, SM is Skull Mountain and TDK is The Dark Knight.

I'm absolutely cracking up. You guys are great.

Lol. That would be The Running of the Bulls or ROTB.

Exclusive Ride Time.

LOL I think you were posting that first post at the exact same time I was typing out my reply!! I can't believe the Newseum gets away with charging so much, especially in a city where most things like the Smithsonian and the memorials are all free. It's $20 just for admission!! And $30 for a cheeseburger?! That's nuts! I'd like to go eventually but I'm sure that the prices will drop as the museum gets older. It was opened in 2008, so they're still paying off the building costs. Before it moved to it's current location (it used to be in Alexandria VA and much smaller), it was free to the public. And your mention of the charter bus made me laugh. We took a charter bus when my high school band went to Chicago for a competition and watching the bus driver navigate that thing around downtown was a riot. We managed to point it out from the top of the John Han**** building because it was the only charter bus driving in circles looking for a parking spot!! Edit: ROFL it edited the name of the building.

Great TR. My brother lives in Alexandria VA so I visit DC a lot. I have yet to go to the Newseum (it's way too expensive) but having seen some of your pictures of displays makes me want to go there on my next trip (which will probably be in April or May). Did you guys go to any of the Smithsonian Museums? They are absolutely amazing, especially considering they have free admission! I went to the American History museum on my last trip there in December, but I didn't get to spend too much time there - we only had a little over an hour before they closed that night. I've been to all the museums on my various trips there, they are definitely worth the time to check out.

I think the reason it works so well for Raptor is the fact it's an inverted coaster. It gives a better place to position the camera (above the head) where you can see all of you. On FoF's, from what I've heard, all you could see was your head. I'd much rather see all of me, parts of the ride, and maybe my seat mate, than just my head through the ride. Raptor's camera positioning is really good because you see all of you and a lot of the scenery around you. You can tell where you are in the ride at all times.

I can't see 3D effects. I was really disappointed the first time I watched SpongeBob because I couldn't see any of the effects that others thought made the ride cool. I've never understood why - I don't have cataracts or anything drastically unusual about my eyes, but if it's the polarizes lenses rather than the red and blue ones, I don't see the effects at all.

point & shoot cameras really don't like dark indoor pictures. My Kodak EasyShare takes amazing day time pictures and most of the photos in my TR are from it (the ones that are obviously higher quality are from my husband's DSLR). However, it hates nighttime pictures and most indoor pictures. Anything I take at night turns out grainy and anything inside it uses the flash and makes it look crappy, so I prefer to use my husband's camera (which is one of those several thousand dollar cameras with multiple lenses that you speak of) when it's dark out or when I'm inside. However, the video mode on my Kodak is amazing. It works way better than I would have ever expected out of it. And mine was the display model so mine was only $89 at Best Buy.

The first week of June is about the most laid back of the season until you get towards the end. iChase pointed out some great days to go. A day to a day and a half is plenty of time to enjoy all the rides and attractions Kings Island has to offer. There was a really informative thread about the rides and when to expect long or short waits on them all a couple weeks ago. Definitely worth a read. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=16324