KIfan1980

Giga's life right now is a disaster - better be nice if you want her to transport you though.

I would imagine it is based upon the water use vs heat benefit. PP is a likely heavy water user but doesn't provide much heat relief. The waterpark on the other hand is a place for people to go on a hot day to cool off.

Terpy - in a recent facebook post, they indicated that "due to the extreme hot and dry weather" there would be no fireworks on te 4th. I don't know how often they typically do fireworks.

Thanks GYK, I do, however want to share what I learned after a conversation I had with a suit (specifically Greg S.) during my last visit to the park. It began when I saw Greg and two others slide up the exit for a ride on Beast at 9:30pm. I was waiting for my boys - so I nodded my head and said hi, he nodded back I think. Then, after the fireworks, we watched the 10 pm Hot Summer Nights show and sure enough, the same 3 suits were there watching next to us. During the show, several other suits showed up. Things I overheard included: - "He's a good singer" - Something about "selling cotton candy" at which point someone went and talked to the cotton candy salesperson - "Good crowd" After the show, I stopped Greg and we had a quick conversation. He asked me and my boys how our day was, I thanked him for what he and his team is doing saying I thought the park was doing well this year, he wished us well and thanked us for visiting, we shook hands, and we went on our way to the exit. I guess, this is what I expected as a guest interacting with the park GM What I learned, he is a nice guy.

Personally I thought it was a little bit of a let down when it went from Nick Universe to Planet Snoopy. I think with Nick Universe things had more variations. Each ride/attraction was something different whereas in Planet Snoopy, there are repeats of stuff. Snoopy Surf Dog, Snoopy Red Baron, Snoopy this, Snoopy that, Linus this, Linus that...etc. You get the point. Plus, I find the Nick Toons more appealing in look, design, and color. Things were more colorful or something. As an adult, I was just kind of underwhelmed with Planet Snoopy and this is coming from someone who grew up watching the Peanuts gang and who is a fan of them. I was just disappointed at how they translated into a kids area. I find it just not that interesting as it was before as Nick Universe. When I said no drop, I meant in attendance and enjoyment of the families/kids there. Not in how well the area was themed.

I'm willing to bet the highly successful and more current brand would command a higher royalty / licensing fee. The question therefore is whether that higher fee would be justified? I personally didn't see a drop going from nick to Snoopy so can't imagine much gain going from Snoopy to Nintendo.

See what some members thought in 2009 here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/18083-best-element-on-a-ki-coaster/page__p__304272__hl__++favorite%20++element__fromsearch__1#entry304272

Thanks Terpy - the political correctness change that this country went through is somewhat amazing. I joke not that I had a conversation recently where I was talking to someone about racism in sports (there have been a couple of incidents associated with the Euro soccer tournament we were watching) and the person I spoke with said "the African-Americans on the Dutch National team" without even flinching. I can imagine which part of that was the most offensive

Went to Soak City today with the wife and boys. Got there around 10:40 and was surprised at how busy it seemed to be, but it never seemed full. Arrived at 10:40 and grabbed a couple of chairs at Breakers. Right at 11, we rode some slides (zoom flume, thunder falls, paradise plunge, and tropical twister) before hitting both wave pools (prefer the new one with tubes) until we had lunch. I had to leave but the rest of the family stayed and enjoyed more slides (rendezvous run, twister again, and pineapple pipeline), the splash river, and wave pool some more. Lines were never a big deal (we skipped Mondo) and only Tidal Wave Bay seemed crowded. Thanks for your TR. I hope you don't mind me piggybacking on it'

Brown/jcgoble - can I suggest you use PM if you'd like to continue your debate. I think most of the rest of us have moved on.

Thanks for sharing your TR and pics On Tuesday, Beast line was ~45 min in mid afternoon and ~25 min around 9pm (measured from enter line to ride dispatched). The lower queue was in use at times, but not the station queue. Edit to add - Ohiocolts, if you look close, the DB line is only using one of the long lower queue sections and isn't full in the upper square. Really, not a bad line at all - my opinion fairly typical for summer midweek.

Love that pic Gordon - kind of interesting to see the park from that view. Also like seeing DB in mid splashdown. I'm guessing this was taken when WindSeeker was still being repaired? Since it is at the top but obviously not cycling (seats hanging vertical, not extended).

I noticed yesterday that there are cones setup in the grass area of the parking lot outside the new wave pool as if to identify parking lanes. I took this as a sign KI is expecting big crowds this weekend.

One of the changes that Fast Lane has brought to Kings Island is separators at stations that didn't have them in the past (Beast, Vortex, Racer - I wonder if they added staffing or just reassigned a role within a ride crew?). From what I've seen, for the most part, these folks try to manage Fast Lane by keeping the stations less crowded, filling rows (assigning seats), and checking for wristbands. To date, I've not had one say no when I've requested to wait for a specific row/part of the train. And yes, I do ask most times.

News flash folks - sometimes rides go down, sometimes people bang something and bleed on rides, sometimes people throw up on rides, sometimes people grey out on rides. Let's not get too worked up about it - I felt perfectly comfortable letting my 48", 6 year old ride The Beast last night, even after he complained of a rough ride earlier in the day because it is a safe and fun ride for him. No he is not the kid in the OP.

I was also on that train - nothing seemed to be working for me that morning (Beast and Crypt went down while we were in line, followed by the evac on Racer). I found it kind of fun! Most amusing part was the former ride op in the train trying to help guide the current ride op who was struggling to open the restraints using the manual tool.

I knew that gold link wasn't going to be strong enough to last through this season.

Feather Boa's, green wig, and other misc. glam rock attire. Sad how few here will remember even the reference.

There are typically several advantages to off-site assembly in industry including: - Quality and Safety: Building sections in a shop environment versus the field reduces risks of errors - On-site construction time: Can be a benefit where there might be a limited window of time for construction - Costs can either be lower or higher: Shop labor is typically cheaper than field, but shipping costs can be higher. This is typically location dependent

If you ignore coasters just because they are located in the kids area, you are missing some fun rides - Beastie and Flying Ace included, but Sierra Sidewinder may be the best I've ridden.

As mentioned - a little theme can help here, but also can I suggest Conversation. Talk to your family/friends/whoever you came to the park with or even the group ahead of and/or behind you and get to know them a little. I've had some great times in lines at the park.

Agree with the advice that says start with Firehawk and FOF as Firehawk line will be almost prohibitive later in the day. I'd then head to Invertigo before moving toward the shorter line/higher capacity coasters. Fast Lane can't hurt if it fits your budget but I wouldn't think is necessary.

Jr - this is what has got you in trouble in this thread. Your first statement comes off as knowing a lot from a conversation with "suits". Then, you drop Don's name with the same no new coaster for years data. Finally, you state it was a quick answer from Greg saying "it doesn't look good for SoB" when posed with a question. I beleive if you'd began with - saw Greg in the park the other day and asked him about SoB; he said it doesn't look good the longer it sits - you'd come across as more realistic. Instead your initial post came off as you trying to sound "insider-ish" with data that seems to be embellished.

You have to look at the value of the award to both you AND Kings Island. Free funnel cake and front of line passes have no value to them. Bring a friend and 50% off a fast pass brings in at least some revenue to the park - and based upon your spending history, likely significantly more.

Thanks for sharing - the other day, I also went up ET to start the day (during ERT) and was pleasantly surprised at the experience of watching the park get ready and start opening from up there. Glad you had a good day.