KIBOB

Interesting...... I just visited the CP mainsite, and if i'm not mistaken, the layout has been significantly changed. It is kind of funny how they changed CP's site after they finally got around to reconstructing most of the other park's sites to the previous format. It is nice to have a new layout, but right after the new park sites were put up?

I've been wondering if, given the other changes at that end of Coney Mall, that there might be changes to the theater. While the kids still like the SpongeBob show, I wouldn't mind seeing something new. And depending upon where the queue/ride for WindSeeker end up, there may need to be modifications to the Theater entrance/exit. I am hoping that most of the entire back end of Coney will be spruced up. Keep in mind, when we recieved new rides in other areas of the park, those areas were generally spruced up. Examples of this would be the runway that was repainted in front of FoF (which now has almost completely faded), and the renaming of that area to X-base with the introduction of Firehawk. The complete facelift done to most of Rivertown with the intro of Diamondback, (including painting Vortex, even though it is part of Coney Mall) and, lets not forget, Planet Snoopy. Therefore, I am pretty optimistic that the park will touch up over there somehow.

While work may seem to occur very quickly, I guarantee that there is a significant amount of effort behind the site work and construction of this thing that will cost a lot of money. The foundation of a 300' tall tower that has no lateral structural support (it looks to basically be a straight tube), that has to stand up to high winds and support a ride spinning at the top will be quite significant. Wouldn't surprise me at all if the site work and installation cost is half to two-thirds of the total investment. Speaking of this, ( a little off topic) but I have always wondered about this in terms of Drop Tower. The ride is basically just a very long tube jetting from the ground. I wonder how far down into the earth/bedrock the anchors and foundation for that ride reach?

Drop Tower is also missing from the animation.

Finally, the back section of Coney Mall will be getting some attention!

I know this does not have anything to do with the topic at hand but how would they get out if the restraints were locked? There is a physical lever that you have to push and it releases the retrains, its on every car. It's also just about standard on any roller coaster train. Some old ones(Cedar Creek Mine Ride) use this leaver instead of computers to lock and unlock the riders still to this day. I see thanks I know they have those I just didn't even cross my mind. This explains the little holes/openings on the back of the cars on Adventure Express.

I suppose that I will be the one to bring this thread back on topic. I think that the Eiffel Tower will remain for a very long time, probably for the remainder of the park's life. As long as the structure is kept painted and maintained, there should be no problems. Like many have said, look at the real Eiffel Tower in France. It is nearly a century and a half old, yet it is still standing strong. I am sure that the steel that Intamin used in the 70's is probably around par with that of the 1880's steel used on the real tower. On a side note, didn't Cedar Fair paint the tower sometime late 2006? Or was it CBS in early 2006/2005? Anyways, doesn't the tower typically have a 4 year timeframe between paint jobs? If this is correct, then isn't the ET due for another paint job this offseason? (I remember looking at some pics on the KIC mainsite from Winterfest 2005 and seeing a displeasurable amount of what looked like rust spots on the back of the tower.)

You know, I never really thought about that, and it does seem very logical. Cedar Fair may keep the park grounds clean, but when it comes to the rides, eh...... Now that you mention it, look throughout the park at some of the rides. Look at Delirium and all of the dirt and grime building up on its ring and lever arm, look at the supports for rides such as Invertigo and Flight Deck, the supports close to the queue, they are covered in grime, spit, and what not. The side rails on beast have even gotten pretty Wrigley lately.

Which in my opinion, I believe is wrong. Kings Island was designed from day 1 to be a theme park from the ground up. Even when ideas were circulating in the mind of a certain Mr. Wachs in the mid-late 1960's to build a new park, they were not for a standard, dull, midway style amusement park, they were for a grand theme park. Kings Island has always been a theme park, and now we have owners who don't like theme parks? If Cedar Fair (Mr. Kinzel) never liked theme parks, then why was he always wanting to have Kings Island? Either way, although Paramount may have scrambled the themes of the park's individual areas, and were not very clean in terms of litter, they still treated the park as a theme park, which it should be. I have to say though, that Cedar Fair has gotten a little more theme oriented lately, but they still insist on running only amusement parks.

I had been thinking that the spots covering the lap bars on many of the coasters was grease; grease, that is used to lubricate the joints and hinges of the lap bars. I just figured that the ride mechanics were dripping grease on the lap bars and no longer gave it any thought to try and clean it off. However, if it really is dirt/mold, then that is pretty disturbing.

On behalf of BLSC, although the splashdown is filled and the pumps are all running (although we still don't have the water spray), I noticed that the past two times (within a week of each other) that I have visited the park, the helicopter has not been moving. Moving, as in rotating and aiming. The blades on top of the chopper still move, but it just sits there, completely parallel to the track while bullet hit noises come from the opposing side. I'm wondering if either the effect was disabled, or the motor has ceased to work. Either way, I really hope it is fixed. It is the little things like that which can really throw off a ride.

Really? In North America, off the top of my head, I can think of only 15...and I doubt there are even half a dozen operating in the rest of the world. Where is this million of which you speak? Terp, who has been carefully watching these coasters disappear one by one... It really is quite depressing seeing many Arrow creations beginning to dissapear. I really enjoy their suspended models as well as their mine trains, also their mega loopers and traditional coasters are quite stunning and although they are, for the most part rough (gotta love Arrow's transitions), they have a nice "classic" look to them. Cedar Fair seems to be the main park operator that has kept from removing any of its Arrow coasters (as far as I know). Also, doesn't Cedar Fair have the majority of the remaining Arrow suspended coasters?

Which is exactly why wooden coasters, if maintained properly, last much longer than steel coasters. While wood coasters can easily have deteriorated boards, planks, and beams replaced, steel coasters are not as fortunate. Not only can the cold weather during the winter months cause stress to the steel, but also weather in general. Rain causes steel to rust, which is the natural oxidation and breakdown of steel. Even if a steel coaster has a highly maintained paint job, water will always find places to rust the structure. Not having a well maintained paint job makes things even worse (see Flight Deck). Steel is also susceptable to things such as acid rain. Another thing, is that over time, after putting up with all of the stress of a coaster trian running over the tracks over and over again, the steel begins to weaken. Don't get me wrong, it is possible to replace sections of steel coaster tracks, but it is incredibly expensive and not feasable for a coaster that needs all of the track replaced. That being said, although I really hope not, i can see Flight Deck being removed in a few years if Cedar Fair continues to deny painting it. It is pretty obvious that the track is getting more and more rust red every year. Amusement parks won't die, however the concept of rides without themes or story lines, or standart amusement parks without any concept will, in my opinion, fade. More and more people are beginning to love rides, not just for the exhilerating thrill, high speeds, and intense forces, but also for story lines, and being able to feel as though they are part of the experience. People like atmosphere in parks and more and more new parks are moving in that direction. .........Something that Dick Kinzel and the rest of the current Cedar Fair management team don't really seem to understand, but lately might have started to. Maybe...

Well considering that it is the time of the year that many schools are going back, and it is a work week, the park should not be very busy if not realativly empty. However, you never know how busy the park is going to be. I can say though that although it may not be busy in the main park, rides like WWC and Congo Falls will be busy.

Agreed, I would hate to be one of those lap bars.

When will Kinzel learn. Time does move on.

Hmmmm........after seeing some of this, I have even more of a reason to be glad that CBS no longer OWNS Kings Island.

Yes, I can also concur. I was at the park yesterday, and not only was the smoke screen effect fully working, but everything was working, including all of the screaming noises, animatronics, etc..... A very pleasant surprise. I even heard a loading speil being played out in the main lobby, which i had not heard at all the other few times I rode that ride. The loading speil is played maybe every five minutes as opposed to the speil from SDatHC, which played at least once every other minute, and honestly got quite annoying.

Not the torches on the outside of the cave entrance, but the ones that line the walls in the room where the switchbacks are. (The room where you would wait behind the circular temple door, and where the ride ops count riders). All of the pillars along the sides of that small room (where the skeletons are hanging from) have torches at the tops of them. When I was at the park last week, surprisingly they were on, which gave that small waiting room quite a bit of ambience with fire lining the walls (artificial ofcourse). I had not seen those torches operational in a very long time. However, last night I was at the park, and I decided to see if they were lit again............... They were not.

Although this isn't actually in the park, i have another Paramount sighting. While seeing the new Boomerang Bay comercial, I noticed that there was a part where the Boomerang Bay sign was shown, but with the "Crocodile Dundee's" prefix in view, plain as day. Also, while in the park the other day, I noticed that Coney Refreshments has pretty much turned into a "Refill Station". Also, I decided on riding Crypt to get out of the heat for a few minutes, and the torches on pillars in the room prior to the preshow room were surprisingly turned on. Which I had not seen in quite a long time. This makes me think that there are other "elements" that really can be activated with a flip of a forgotton switch. Some, not all.

I stand on neutral grounds with everyone else here. I was never around to see Kings Island during the Taft/KECO/Linder days, but I have enjoyed both Paramount and CF. When it comes to Paramount, they delivered great themes with MOST of their new attractions. The themes were, for the most part immersive and really brought the rider a new level of adventure (TR, IJST, FoF). However, while building the rides with great themes, Paramount destroyed the theme of the different areas of the park by just placing those new rides wherever they darn felt like it. TR did not fit the theme of Rivertown, IJST should have been built in Action Zone (between Delirium and SoB) but it was built in Coney Mall, which did not fit the theme at all and at the same time caused the removal of two classic favorites that really fit well into that area. Also, Flight of Fear did not fit in with Coney Mall either. Lets not forget the beginning of the loss of theme in Oktoberfest (Bubba Gump's). Now in terms of Cedar Fair, sure they were never good at theming (or for the most part, just did not care about it whatsoever), but I think that they have been getting better over the last few years. I would say that after purchasing the Paramount Parks, Mr. Kinzel and the CF design department learned a little more about theming from them, and they have been trying to get better at the subject. Just look at the rides that Cedar Fair has built over the last few years. They have all had a theme to them, maybe a loose theme, but a theme in general. Rides like Maverick and Shoot the Rapids, which are two of Cedar Point's newest rides, have a loose theme to them, and they are both built in the only themed area of Cedar Point. Also the fact that CF teamed up with Dale Earnhardt Enterprises just to be able to theme two new coasters after races by the NASCAR racing legend. I think that Cedar Fair has been helping to restore the areas of Kings Island little by little (minus the Oktoberfest clock) an example of this is X-Base. Sure it is not listed as its own individual area, but thats because it is not big enough to be considered an area. X-Base is much more appropriate for FoF and Firehawk than just being a part of Coney Mall. Also, sure rivertown has had many trees removed, but if I remember correctly, the area was becoming run-down and the buildings were beginning look terrible. Cedar Fair restored the older buildings (DB trading Post, etc..), renamed wings to Rivertown Junction and themed Diamondback to where it would fit in with the "Rivertown" theme. How is that ruining Rivertown? (actually the part of rivertown by the train station and rivertown junction is still very much shaded and somewhat peacefull and secluded. Another thing to put into perspective is that in the last 4 years CF has owned KI, they have pretty much reworked the theme in the entire south side of the main park. (PS, and rivertown). Phew.......... KIBOB, sorry for the unusually long post, just wanted to give my viewpoints.

We do not know what it is at the moment and won't know until August 6th. The whole Planet Snoopy idea is just my speculation, but you never know, it could be a new coaster.

Sounds like this could possibly be a new Planet Snoopy area. After all, Valleyfair is the one Cedar Fair park that does not have a PEANUTS themed kids area, and the report also said that park management hopes that the new expansion will continue to "allow families to want to visit the park". Whether this may or may not be the case, i am sure that you will keep the news coming in as soon as it breaks Terp.

The old/"new" PKI logo is still present inside of many of the phone boxes throughout the park, except for those on rides built by Cedar Fair such as Diamondback and Firehawk. I have seen multiple phone boxes throughout the park, left open with the PKI logo in it. Particularly the boxes at the beginning of the ques for Flight Deck and Beast. I find it kind of funny how it has been 4 years and the Paramount and old ride name logos are still prevelant throughout the park if you know where to look. It seems like an easy thing to cover up, but maybe what seems easy, really is not. EDIT: I agree with Purplehaze, it would be a fun game to see who could find the most Paramount logos.

Also, I can't believe I've never noticed this, but yesterday at the park, while in line for BLSC I saw that the control panel under the roof and by the bridge still has the Italian job stunt track logo clearly visible on it, and facing the guests. Is ther any purpose for them just leaving that there? :-D