74Gibson

I greatly appreciate KI enforcing smoking policies and smokers being respectful and staying in the designated areas. That said, should we really be asking them to stand next to a dumpster?

No point... you're arguing for a slower launch The point is launching to 70 MPH is way more fun than launching to 55 or 60. Maintaing that speed for the rest of the ride would be painful and not fun. There's the point. They tried the heartline roll and it was too hard on the trains. Some things can not be known until an actual ride is operating under real natural forces. Computrer programs, simulators and even prototypes can not predict everything.

I rode it once and had no desire to ride it again. All the hub bub (sp?) has made me curious and I would probably ride it again just to see if it is as bad as I remember. On a related note, I gave up on Meanstreak yesterday. I was riding it about every other trip to CP the last two years just wanting it to be decent. Much less trim on the first drop yesterday, way more jackhammering. My friend hurt his back.

Weird, we use Powerschool in Smith-Grenne (Churubusco Elem) and are quite happy with it. As the school counselor I use most of it's functions and have found it to be user friendly enough. Maybe it the support end that's causing troubles Cincy

That's awesome it's 42". I'm very excited about this ride... not that I want to ride it that bad just because I think it's the perfect adsdition to CP. Terpy, you gave me the best laugh of the day with the footers comment!

I think I would go twice and I've already done that this year. Ronnie, I agree completely agree about the per cap spending and that CF would be wise to offer better prices. I refuse to spend money in the park because I feel ripped off. The funny thing is I really want to give CF more money because I love their parks. At CP I like the sports bar by Raptor and would gladly eat there everytime. I wanted to try Backyard BBQ at KI but the timing is bad. I eat a heavy lunch and a light dinner. I bought icream last time and was good with that but I;ve been trying to find ways to spend more money in the park for 3 years and that's all I've come up with.

Erosarrow, a general admission ticket is just that... it gets you in for a day. Season pass (gold) gives you limitless admission to KI, ERT, free parking and some other perks. Platinum passes give you access to all Cedar Fair parks and and all the gold pass perks at each. I can't remember a time I disagreed with you but I don't think you get it on this one. The people that mised or got into ERT late did not get what they paid for. For customer service to be anything but helpful, sympathetic and apologetic is unnaceptable. We pay extra for a Platinum Pass to get admission to the park and the added perks. I don;t feel special or any better than anyone at the park but I do expect to get the perks promised (that I payed for) and to be treated with respect by management. The problems they have had with passes started with CF (per Terpy they were not a problem when it was a Paramount chain) and they ahve not done an acceptable job solving the problem. It's the same as the example I gave for 5/3 Bank. They didn't get it that it's bad business to call a customer, in good standing, threatening to send them to collections whilke the person calling has no acces to the information as to why the account was behind. I will glady give my business to anyone who respects the terms we mutually agrteed on and does an adequate job of addressing problems when they occur. If you are familiar with the problems people have had with their passes you would know that CF has not done a decent job fixing the problem and people have a fair reason to be upset. Remember, I was involved in a problem that got solved immediately and I was happy with the situation. I will always give credit or criticism where due. Wow, it's long post day for David

Sorry to stary off topic but, Lost's final episode leaves the ending "open to interpretation," and they're airing 3 multiple endings on Kimmel. Not the end all answers I was hoping for out of such a mind teaser of a show. *the following is a rant, proceed to 3rd paragraph if you just want my point* The season pass problems are a lot like a problem I just had w/ 5/3 bank (and am now closing the account). I made a cash payment and the banker mistakingly applied it as principal only... it took at least 6 phone class over 3 days to get that answer. I was called by the collections department (5 days after the payment), on a Sun, asking me to pay off the balance or I would be sent to collections. I asked them why my account was in the negative and they did not have access to that information. Talked to a surpervisor, no help. Told me to call customer service. Took me 5 minutes to figure out how to get a customer service rep. Then, after all the autopmated crap, a message told me they were closed. My wife finds a letter in the mail on Mon and calls the number. Same problems I had. Gets to the supervisor who asks her 5 times how much she paid and if it was in cash or check. They incompetent. Finally she asks to talk to someone who can actually help her and the l;ady gives her the number that my wife called and ended up with this lady. Finnaly my wife goes into the bank and they figure out the teller's mistake. I have had 1 late payment in 3 years and missed none. They insulted myself and our business relationship and I am done with their services. Platinum passes are no different. When a business has a problem with their opperations they should go above and beyond to compensate or at least ease the frustrations of their customers. They should go out of their way to make correcting the problem simple for the customer and should be very appologetic. CF is failing horribly at that. I will say, my friend accidently printed his voucher on the back side of the voucher he printed for me (we purcahsed the tickets in a group). We entered the parkl with our vouchers and the attendant scanned mine first which was actually his (basically my mistake). So his would not scan. We couldn;t figure out what went wrong but they let him in any way. When we went to process our passes, his would not scan. They fixed the problem within a minute and had no difficulty. Why is CF so hit or miss with their passes?

Can we just keep talking about guitars? Joking aside, I am anxious to hear replies. I assume it will be something like... yes they can be inspected but it is too labor intensive and therefore expensive. Or, yes the wood is inspected but quality is often not Paramount (pun intended).

I really think my daughter Nigella (almost 2) remembered our trip. We went Sat and on Sun she kept saying ride... which is what she chanted while waiting in lines at KI. Then we showed pictures to my wife's parents and the first one was of Nigella and snoopy and she pointed, smiled huge and said "noopy" obviously meaning Snoopy. She learned that word for the first time at the park. When we came to pictures of her two favorite rides, she got totally excited but didn't really get excited about the pictures of the less thrilling rides.

My almost 2 yr old daughter rode it and was just really curious about it. She wasn't scared, just very initrigued. I do think it's good to expose your children to some scary things and support and ecnourage them through it. Learning to manage fear at an early age is a huge asset. My wife and I loved. I think it's way better than Scooby and the effect at the end is really cool. I scored 1620 on my first time... for what that's worth

Wow, all kinds of good stuff in this thread. I love talking about our kids. Shark, I took no offense. You made a good point. I know of many parents who are that self-serving... I doubt you'll find many on this board though. XGator, thanks for getting The Kinks stuck in my head. I love Child Psychology and work as a Elementary Scool Counselor. Standbyme, I cleared an 8GB card (before thinking about video) and will probably do another (now that I've thought about video).

I think tunnel vision is fun too but being unconscious on a ride is not safe... especially one that fast with suck sharps turns (and yes I know most people come to on the 2nd hill). As for the innevitable Intamin bashing... Did they decide how large of a footprint I305 had or did they have to fit it into a plot size decided by CF/KD management? I've got mixed feelings about Intamin/Intaride but I'm starting to believe people are harder on them than they should be considering how innovative they are. I used to be on the other side of the debate though, Maverick sure healed some of my negativity.

^ I couldn't agree more. If it's a question of this year or next but not both, maybe wait but otherwise just go. I got happy just thinking of your daughter looking at those photos, I'm sure they mean a lot to her. Look at the pics Ronnie posted. I really doubt he remembers it but I bet they're a personal treasure. I'm taking my almost 2 yr old daughter Nigella and Mom to KI tomorrow. I know it will be an amazing time for all of us and I couldn't care less whether or not she remembers it. I know she'll be in a good mood from it for awhile though and the (rediculously many) pictures I take will be family treasures.

I hadn't even though of that. My fondest childhood memories of KI are from the train. All the scenes and animatronics with the gun fighting. I was so disappointed (but not surprised) when I returned as an adult and it was... less exciting. I'm curious to see how well themed STR at CP is as I see it (and Starlights) as an indicator of CF putting more emphasis on theming and overall ride experience. Hopefully the train gets some love too!

^ You made me laugh so hard I started coughing! I also agree that Shaggy has some very insightful posts and always glad when I come across them. Back to the topic, today I was totally daydreaming about the tower all lit up. I think it could be an amazing display. Can you imagine seeing it from a distance, or re-entring the park at night? I really do have high hopes and think CF is really taking theming or at least visual appearances much more seriously. Think of the fixed AE effects, the Planet Snoopy re-theme, the interest in jazzing up the train experience (if genuine), BBOBH and Even DB's splashdown... and I think DB's logo is probably the coolest of any ride in the chain. It all makes me very anxious to see how themed Shoot the Rapids is. I think it will be an indicator of things to come (still hoping for a GCI in DD's former plot).

Remind me to bring a box of tissues next time I read this thread. I am so sick of people bashing CF and their theming/ upkeep at KI. Look at Rivertown, Planet Snoopy and BBOBH, give em credit for the improvement (not that I imagine Kinzel had much to do with it other than submission). Imagine if they kept this trend (and ownership of the park) for 2 years... 5 years. For the record, I think the lights at CP look out of place and tacky during the day but after my initial reaction to them, they blended in and I barely gave them another thought... other than being anxious to see them lit.

I saw that on another site. Interesting that both Intamin and Knott's had blame. I wonder how much longer past the 6 month inspection Knott's would've let it go w/o the accident.

Uh... kinda a weird mix of product a line, don't ya think?

^ No trim on the 5th hill was amazing. I love that hill w/o it! As much as I love DB the back half was lil' boring and it all started with that trim. Without it that hill is so amazing that it set me up for a much better run after the MCBR.

I'm on my second year of Platinum.

im sure it was 2 clicks becuase i got the seat once by myself and just needed one more push from the attendants. they said i was all good and i rode it in june and august. FYI, you are talking (well typing back and forth) with a ride op for the ride in question.

Jackson, that is one of the best ideas I've come across on the boards. I participated in the last debate about smoking in the park but didn't have an answer other than more people being willing to stick to the smoking areas and better enforcement. People would definitely be more inclined if they were nice and relaxing. Obviously there are some funds involved but what a clever way to solve a major problem. I agree that it's sad about the Tower Gardens BTW, I nearly always visit with smokers.

That does look like good airtime on the second hill. As if i wasn;t alreadey anxious for HoliWood Nights.