KIfan1980

I have ridden Zephyr and similar swing rides with my kids (along with Ferris Wheels), but will not choose to ride or suggest them myself. I will ride WindSeeker - how often is still to be determined based upon the enjoyment factor. I know that my nervousness on Zephyr is irrational - it stems from the seemingly small bar and chains attaching the seat to the structure. I'm hopeful WindSeeker "looks" more structurally safe. And before anyone who knows me mentions it, yes I am an engineer and should know that the "looks" don't matter - as was mentioned above, the "mind is a mysterious thing"

This may sound bizarre, but I picked a dry park ride not listed - Zephyr. I can climb on Skyflyer, Drop Tower, any coaster with a sense of excitement, but looking at Zephyr gets me nervous/scared. And thank goodness there isn't a Ferris Wheel at Kings Island, because those scare the heck out of me also.

I also used to love King Cobra, but now I like Delirium a lot better ... only because it is there to be ridden

Gator - that's why I said "only" to avoid long lines in the park. As you point out, there are plenty of good reasons!

I love the pictures but this thread is starting to depress me a little. When it began I thought - wow, what a cool way to count down. Then today I looked and said - arghhh, not even half way there yet Looking forward the next picture, and the one after that, and the one that says "Photo 1" most of all.

Columbia, Columbus - I can see how you'd confuse the two

You can see my response in this thread. I do know many people who got there much earlier than me, although I wouldn't recommend it for those looking to avoid long lines. Why get there early and wait for a long time in a line at the metal detectors only to avoid long lines in the park?

Last year on opening day, I arrived about 20-30 minutes before the park opened, the lines were forming at the metal detectors. I was on the first DB train of the year. A couple of pieces of advice: You can't always get lucky with which metal detector rope is dropped first (don't get your hopes up too high - is second or third train really that big a difference?) If you have a choice of two admissions turnstiles that are open, go to the one that has already had someone go through (you know the computer is working and the first swipe of the day always seems slower) Wait for the admissions employee to finish scanning you (the guy ahead of me last year took a header over the turnstile gate) Kings Island allowed the mad scramble last year Last year we knew which side of IS would be the Gold Pass Entrance, will that change in 2011? I'm also wondering how long the wait for 5-1 will be during Vortex ERT compared to the other seats

I wasn't a fan of all the grease, but I loved the nice doughy crust. To each his or her own I guess.

CP opens May 14th, that's only 2 weeks after KI. If I remember right the cement was already poured and curing two weeks ago. The foundation cap for the Cedar Point WindSeeker was poured Jan 14th. This thread indicates that the KI WindSeeker foundation cap was poured around Jan 7th. Both will have had at least a couple of months of curing before vertical construction begins. All the other concrete work that KI has completed already is relatively simple and doesn't require an extensive cure time.

Please don't take my comment as an endorsement of ever disabling, removing, or not installing a safety device. I was merely pointing out what I believe to be an unfortunate truth and agree with your assessment that doing so is negligent. I believe Safety should be the highest priority. To illustrate a point and laugh at myself a little - I'll admit to being that guy in the neighborhood wearing safety glasses and hearing protection when mowing the lawn. After all, looking good isn't important enough to get hurt over.

The requirements of a safety system vary greatly from country to country. If not required by local laws, safety devices are often removed to reduce downtime and maintenance costs. Edit - this was an opinion and not an endorsement of doing so.

As Terpy likes to point out, because B happened after A doesn't mean A caused B. I can't speak to this case. Also don't confuse trims designed to reduce the speed of a coaster with brakes designed to stop a coaster. Someone probably has a lot more data on what was where on Beast before and after the accident, but I would guess the change to magnetic trims was maintenance based.

I'll bet you a whopper that he ends up trying to sue BK for not preventing him from accessing the roof.

If it was a good business proposition, then private funding would be available and public funding wouldn't be necessary. I can't imagine a scenario where they wouldn't. There is a system in place for the state to encourage investment and the jobs, etc... that come along with it. That is the incentive (tax breaks) approach that most states and also in some cases local authorities follow.

It's hard to avoid political statements in this discussion - but I'll do my best. Gas prices are a big deal to most Americans. I can tell you to the penny how much I spent on gas last year - and the budgeted amount for this year is significantly higher. That money is coming out of somewhere in the budget - this is reality for anyone who drives. I also bought a new car for my wife a couple of months ago, and calculated that the benefit of a hybrid didn't pay off the added cost even at $6 or $7 gas. I will say that I don't blame any individual entity (gas station owners, oil companies, oil futures traders, OPEC, environmentalists, or our government) for gas prices - the market is very complex and the interactions of all these folks and probably several others results in what we pay at the pump.

At this point, I have given up hope of ever riding SoB again. I'm now hoping that the reason nothing has been said about it for 2011 is that KI wants to wait and combine the announcement with something about a new ride.

Well only because there aren't any Chipotle franchises in Paducah

Six Flags made some decisions that helped them deliver good 2010 results - I wonder if they think dumping Kentucky Kingdom was one of them. I also continue to ask why KK Redevelopment Company can't find private financing. If their business plan is so good - why isn't there someone willing to finance it Also, what happened to the other potential operators of the park the Fair Board talked about - could any of their plans (if they exist) have a better chance of reviving the park?

I love/hate it when you do things like this. It makes me think/imagine, and that's not always a good thing - Especially with the "planning" thread/posts from KI.

And I read it and said "Well I guess I'll wait for Terpy to explain that"

Hmmm - maybe someone could Photoshop it into the "Planning" space Kings Island is Teasing to see if it fits.

That should be an option for every poll when enthusiasts are involved... Did your browser back button stop working? I'm actually surprised McSalsa didn't attach his normal disclaimer to this poll.

If you check post #9 of this thread, yes people did see the resemblance to the posting that occurred on National Red Day.

If you ran Kings Island and had the problem of SoB to deal with, wouldn't you try to avoid conversation and discussion about it? I'd guess that the fact that posts about it are no longer being deleted indicates that the emotion and focus on it is finally slowing down, so they don't have to deal with it as much.