KIfan1980

Thanks Terp - I Ieave on Saturday for a Spring Break week at Disney Actually, although I know it will be crowded, I hope I've adjusted my expectations appropriately and have tried to plan according to recommendations for busy weeks.

Trying to create a definition can get very tricky - depending upon what you say, arguments can be made for many rides that you would in no way ever think of as a coaster being called one. For example - Beast1979 said it needs to coast freely on it's own down a hill (paraphrased). Based on this, I can argue that the Peanuts 500 kiddy car ride qualifies (those cars coast down the ramp at the end of that ride). I don't include it on my count.

Sorry for the confusion - as stated I was merely pointing out the liberties taken in the article. My use of quotes was preceded by the following statement Two quotes from the article: which was intended to explain what was in the quotes. If there is a better way to do this, I open to suggestions for the future.

The pictures I'm seeing look a lot like the Maverick/original I305 restraints. Am I missing something?

I have been stunned since I first read that and am struggling with my outrage. When I read the following Quote from Article - As soon as agency officials learned of the crash, Templeton said Carrigan came forward and admitted he had filed a complete report but had not done a thorough inspection. "We are very sorry for the tragedy," Templeton said. "I don't have any reason to doubt this man's character." People who are entrusted with the safety of others can't pencil whip something like this - there are mistakes (see the accident in Wisconsin) and there is negligence (note that I'm not trying to be legal here). While I give the guy credit for coming forward and admitting it so quickly, had he done his job a little boy may still be alive. I guess I do have reason to doubt his character. What other rides has he failed to inspect properly?

Two quotes from the article: - "was shut down for good in 2009". This may end up being true. - "Cedar Fair had known of problems with the ride since 2000". I guess this is a generic enough statement that it is hard to dispute, but seems a little misleading.

I'm wIlling to bet they were not driving the pieces on that new concrete anyway - maintenance roads are a better guess. As for why tear up concrete - it is possible that a bad pour occurred. After concrete is poured, it is not uncommon to test it to ensure it meets specifications - many factors can cause it to fail including an error in the mix, a poor install, or lack of proper post pour environment. Bottom line - I'd guess something was wrong, so they are fixing it

Thank you Ty for bringing back some awesome memories that I have of the park - I know that I visited this area and rode the monorail through the habitat every trip during my early annual visits to the park with my parents. Unfortunately as the teenage years, season passes, and visits with friends became the norm - monorail trips became less important versus another ride on King Cobra, Racer, and Beast. Kind of regret that now. And for those wondering, the area was done extremely well and compared favorably to any animal park I've been to before or since. I'm going to have to go dig up some of my Dad's old slides soon. Again - thanks Ty.

Nothing too bad - it was a thread where people were complaining about the funny things that couldn't be typed. If I recall, what tipped it off for me was that you typed something that wasn't **** out but when someone replied to you it was.

Robbie - I've noticed before that you can type things that others can't, like there is a moderator exception.

It will also, unfortunately, be closed at night. The news section of the website indicates it will close at dusk. Edit to add: it says opening at 10am

Apparently the Festhaus kitchen has received/is receiving a remodel this offseason (reference Warren County Property Records). Not saying it's related, it's just data.

I mentioned yesterday that my son (7) was super excited when I showed him the picture of the T-Rex. Today on the other hand, my wife was not excited at all when she heard it was an upcharge. While $5 may not seem like a lot - for those of us with a family of four, it's another $20 on top of the several hundred dollars spent on passes, the expense of meals at the park, etc. I think we'll probably hit it once or maybe twice this season, but we'll have to make it a "special" event for the boys. Not saying I think it is a bad idea on KI's part - if fact I believe it is a very good idea, as I think it will draw some additional families to the park that otherwise wouldn't visit. In addition, it will drive increased in park spending from both the season pass holder families like mine and the one trip a year families. How can that be considered a bad thing? Are there other things I could have wished/hoped for - sure, but for someone who is a fan of KI I've got to give the park a thumbs up today.

Just a reminder that 2011 is KI's 40th season (year opening) and next year will be the 40th Anniversary.

I'm sure the engineer who worked hard to design it, have it built, and made sure it was working correctly doesn't consider it a "minuscule" aspect But I understand your point, there are many times I find myself fascinated by how something is engineered or constructed and enjoy this type of video.

Well I hope they get the second webcam up soon - I want to see if they install the second piece right way up or not

Sounds like it could be a lot of fun! I understand the upcharge although think it will limit my number of visits (and will likely cause me to spend less money on other stuff days we do visit). Just think KI again missed an opportunity to leverage their season pass base - why not have a discount for passholders?

I think you miss the intent and benefit of the Fast Pass system (since we are using the Disney name). The idea is to get people out of the line enjoying something else at the park. While the standby line would move slower, there would also be less people in it in all likelihood (people will only wait so long and others have a pass to come back at a defined time). It is also fair as everyone has the same opportunity to obtain passes. Other pay to line jump type systems (q-bot style) are not as friendly to the normal patron.

Well, to be fair, they did also put a 20 foot tall and 40 foot long T-Rex at the entrance to the parking lot. Pretty huge if you ask me. And it's working - I showed the pic and explained what we thought the attraction was to my 7 year old. His response was "cool, sounds awesome - I love dinosaurs" then he asked when the park opened.

Picture - actually yes, not because I doubt you, but think it would be a good picture! Also, beware of Stalker/Rachel - she gets cranky and hits hard

Shhhhhh! Don't tell the others that KIC has more than one forum thread - some newbies have almost 100 posts, and every one is in that thread. Now on to my serious comments about this thread. As an admitted fan of SoB, I think I've finally come to realize that what I remember and loved - the drop, the speed, the forces, the loop, the majesty - is a ride that doesn't exist any more and will never exist again. If this, or any retrofit, ever comes to SoB - it will become a new and different ride that will be so radically changed as to be unrecognizable (New Texas Giant is similar in two words of its name only to Texas Giant). My current hope is that at some point (2012, 2013, 2015 or beyond) Kings Island will put a new coaster in the spot currently occupied by SBNO that will provide me a new opportunity to experience something special. This may be it, or not - I'm willing to wait and see.

My post was not directed at anyone in particular, and I can say with certainty that I went to FB right after I posted it - so before I read your status

Could it be the theory of sell at the peak of value? Is NBCUniversal or another buyer willing to pay big bucks based upon the current Potter driven success?

Oops - misread your post earlier on my phone. We are going at the end of March, beginning of April (not April/May transition) - during a heavy Spring Break period.

Thoughts and prayers go out to this guys family, friends, and co-workers. There is nothing at an amusement park that is so critical that a worker shouldn't get to go home to his family at the end of each day - I'm sure Disney will learn from this, but it is sad that an accident of this magnitude will cause the learning.