KIfan1980

ItalianChef - glad your son got his highest score ever at Scooby Doo. Your itinerary sounds like an enjoyable family evening at KI! To me, this is one of the great things about KI - it has an outstanding kids area, with many rides that the younguns love, but also has some great major coasters and flats for older kids (of any age). Its been kind of fun for me to "relearn" how great KI is through my kids and each year there are new opportunities to learn as their height increases!

Goofy - nice work. I especially liked that some of the video is taken from unusual locations. I've got to ask how many times you rode the train trying to get the video you wanted though?

I've pulled in several times after 7pm and always found an associate at the Parking tolls.

50 empty seats in an hour is likely an underestimate. - In a somewhat typical hour, ~40 Diamondback trains leave the station - From my SRL experience, there is normally ~2 odd numbered groups on each train - This leads to about a 5 minute extra wait (which I'll agree doesn't seem like that big a deal individually, but add it up to everyone in the line every day and it becomes a big deal to the park) I do agree with your overall desire to choose your own row. When I want to do this, I go through the main queue and make the request. It is granted a very high percentage of the time (as noted elsewhere, there are a couple of ride ops who don't take requests, but most do). The one thing I don't get is why KI didn't have an extended line for row 16 - they had to know it would be as popular (or more so than row 1) and the lack of extra rails makes the separator less likely to go more than 2-3 groups back there.

I do not condone theft or vandalism, but you know there are some, that stop cars well, close to your office that I wouldn't mind you borrowing.

younger pup by how much ... a week or so?

Terpy - that is just a classic story. For me, I have a couple of moments. - Back in the mid 70's, my parents brought us to the US for a vacation. One stop in our cross country tour was WDW Magic Kingdom where I was introduced to Roller Coasters via Space Mountain. The memory is a little fuzzy, but I seem to recall sitting right in front of my Dad in one portion of the car (kind of like Wild Thornberry's) but may be totally wrong. I do remember being concurrently scared to death and loving the thrill, however. I luckily also have a similar experience (even better is that this one was captured via a FOC on-ride-photo) with my 5 year old from a couple of years back. - Recently, riding DB in Row 16 as the fireworks explode in the distance above the fog that was blanketing low lying areas and completing the final turn/splashdown as the fireworks finish was something I'd like to recreate.

Beast1979 - I'm guessing you were only half joking when you wrote this, but I understand why you did. Kind of sad that you have to worry about getting slammed for an opinion. That said, I chose FOF (I couldn't vote Crypt as I've never ridden it in any incarnation). There just isn't enough to the ride to get me to say "I've got to go ride that".

Why do I visit: - Adrenaline rush of a rollercoaster (almost any will do - the rush is just better/longer on some) - Airtime on Diamondback, Helix on Beast, Nostalgia on Racer/Vortex - Smiles on my kids faces (these may or may not be in order depending upon the day!) - Meeting new people (queues are great for this) - Ability to get away from reality for a few hours

At the risk of adding to this debate when it probably should just fade away, In my opinion, the boas and wigs were an indication of a group of people having FUN at a Cedar Fair park. This is VERY different than people dressing in a fashion that is offensive to other park guests - which is what this forum was created to discuss. I was happy to be able to meet and hang out with the group a little that day and had NO concerns with bringing my 3 and 5 year old kids into the group (for a picture and ride). Personally, I think Avatar deserves credit for apologizing and the benefit of the doubt here. I'll also note that his original post does have this -> (Laugh emoticon) as the "Post Icon".

With regard to the ride ops - last Sunday it seemed like they were training some new ones (I hadn't seen them on prior visits) and a couple were in full push down mode versus just checking to see if it is locked. No matter what though, you can still get serious airtime on the hills.

This is something that we debated last year when we had our oldest boys birthday party at a local park (free shelter with access to sports fields and playground equipment) while many of his friends had more elaborate events of various kinds costing more than the KI package in some cases. In my opinion, the question of spoiling kids however goes a lot further than just their birthday party. For example, some adults would tell me that I spoil my kids because I take them to Kings Island almost every week (I only got to go about once a year until I bought my own season pass in Jr. High) and we have other passes that we use also (Zoo, Museum Center, etc...). Each parent has to make choices based upon what they can both afford and what they feel is right for the way they want to raise their kids - the key is to make that choice and link it to all the other ways you raise your family. As for the KI packages - I'll bet they make quite a few extra nickels from it which in my opinion is a good thing!

I voted for The Beast - as I'm thinking of it in the early to mid-eighties. As I recall (and I'm sure someone will correct me if my memory is slightly different than reality was): - There were three different sets of switchbacks before the station (and you were happy if only the 2 that still exist were full of people) - There was a snack bar in the final pre-station switchbacks (this was great after waiting in the heat for an hour with another hour to go) - You kept seeing trains leaving over the pond outside the station - When you finally got to the station, the signs and sounds following the wait made you really ready to ride

For some of us, videos of us acting like idiots do exist (and I admit are fun to watch) - but luckily this was in the pre cell phone video cam/YouTube days, so we can control who sees them (thank goodness).

Thanks for posting this great TR for Silver Dollar City. I also totally enjoyed the trip I took back in April and think that SDC is a park worth going out of your way to visit. Wildfire is an awesome ride - my favorite looper - and think the drop into the Immelman is awesome, but I do prefer the Diamondback first drop force. Powderkeg has some great airtime and lateral forces and Thunderation is a unique and wonderful mine train ride. Glad you enjoyed yourself - I'll have to go back to try the swing (closed during my visit) and mine (didn't think the kiddies would enjoy).

Is Big Thunder Mountain really considered a Kiddie/Junior coaster? Also, if there is an "accepted" definition of junior versus major rollercoaster can someone please post it? (had to edit to avoid a Terpy response)

Since a blackout is caused by a lack of blood flow (which carries oxygen) to the brain, I would guess that this lack of oxygen to the brain could cause some impact. Although I have no facts to back this guess up, I'd also guess that it isn't that big of a deal.

Thanks for posting all the pictures - they are awesome! I tagged myself in the one on Diamondback's first drop as I've wanted to have one of me on ride for a while now. I'll also have to show Kyle the pictures of him on Little Bill's with Kat and Tom - he'll get a kick out of them for sure! It was nice to meet you, Ryan, and the girls.

I don't buy age as the only factor - I'm in my late 30's (I hate thinking that, let alone typing it) and can ride just about anything ... but, as you get older, you need to make sure you prepare better. For me, this is eating something light and not greasy before a day of riding and getting a good nights sleep (like others have said). Wearing sunglasses/hat, staying hydrated and as cool as possible help as well. It may sound silly, but I also stretch out my legs before I go to the park or while waiting for some rides.

Where is the Day 3 trip report? I enjoyed reading day 1 and 2, but since I took a trip to Silver Dollar City earlier this year, was looking forward to your take.

I emphasized the key words in your sentence. Unfortunately many aren't.

I'm 1 ride short of 50 now thanks to the 12 from yesterday. As a side note, when you get to 100 rides, you will have spent 5 total hours riding Diamondback and feeling almost 50 minutes of airtime. Thats cool in my opinion.

Some of us would be lucky to touch our knees, but speaking of doing funny things on Diamondback - I'm hoping that Kat posts the "on-ride" photo from the final ride soon.

My son Kyle wants credit for being the ride partner for Kat and Tom76257 on their LBGC ride - he thinks it is so "cool" that he got to ride with them on their first ride on it. As for having "no idea" where the DB track is going - I can almost believe that except for the memory gained from the 60+ prior rides! Anyway, it was nice to meet you (and all the others) yesterday!

So if we use the pictures do we have to give credit to your Dad since you were in most of them! It was good to meet you and the group today and I'm sure my kids are going to get a kick out of seeing their pictures on the forums.