VortexJunkie

and another good "darndest" moment saturday night. The urgent scare line was backed up practically to x-base. We found a gap in the line to cut through to get to the restrooms and said "excuse me" as we walked through. The lady we walked in-front of shouted "THERE ARE NO EXCUSES!" lol. I don't know if she was trying to be funny or if she thought we were trying to cut in line or what. Gave me a good laugh, but certainly not "with" her.

That reminds me.. yesterday when I was walking out from Flight Deck a mother and her child were walking toward FD. She saw how far away the ride was and said "wait. We're not going all the way back there." Instead of turning around and walking back out the entrance she hopped over the chain blocking the SoB que. I watched long enough to see her turn the corner to the first ramp toward the SoB station and I just walked away laughing. I wonder how far she got before she realized she wasn't on her way back to AZ.... or that her kid wasn't following her. I wanted to shout "you're doing it wrong" but I decided to save her further embarassment.

OK here are those pics:

Went to KI this Saturday and Sunday with my wife (kic name FriedOreoGirl). Saturday started off slow with short lines just as I'd hoped. As the day progressed it got more and more busy and by 7 it was PACKED. So we didn't get to do many mazes. We'll not do a saturday haunt next year. We had gotten to the park at 10am for ERT so by 11pm we were tired and the lines weren't getting any shorter, so we left. We came back Sunday for about 5 hours and just about every ride was a walk on or 5-10 min wait. It was great. In the two days we managed to ride just about everything, some things twice, plus 14 rides on DB. We rode toward the back for the first time and were amazed at how much more air time we got! That's my favorite spot now. I think they did a great job decorating the park so I was snapping pictures all over the place. I didn't like either of the shows just because dancing and singing parts of random songs isn't my cup of tea, but I thought they were well planned and performed. By far the best entertainment was this guy... He was very funny (and very creepy) and did a great job entertaining the line of people waiting for Urgent Scare to open by scaring passers-by. I was getting nervous toward the end of the maze because I knew his job was to do the final scare.. and of course he got in our faces and creeped us out and all that good stuff. I snapped the picture after he chased a girl that ran away from him screaming. lol. bravo creepy guy!! Here are some pics of decorations. I have TONS of pictures so I'll post more later. These are my favorites. Hang on.. I posted the pictures using HTML rather than IMG so I'll have them up in a few. my bad

1. Saturday night at around 6:30 I was waiting for Urgent Scare to open and I heard... Man 1: They're tearing down Son of Beast Woman: Yeah because someone died on it! Man 2: If I were them I'd sell it to someone else and let it be their problem. Man 1: But they're going to tear it down Man 2: I'd just sell it to someone else and let it be their problem. (yes man 1 and man 2 both said their line twice) I know most everyone gets it, but for anyone who doesnt: Son of Beast's fate has not been announced, no one died on it, and relocating one of the most massive wooden roller coasters of all time would be ridiculously difficult and expensive.. If it would even be possible at all.

I certainly hope Comcast doesn't take control of Universal. Or atleast don't make decisions regarding the parks. That company sure knows how to buy a good thing and ruin it by firing a bunch of people and making the remaining employees miserable. They butter up customers while breaking down employee morale and jacking up prices and really only care about one thing - dollar signs. It's one thing for a cable office, but I wouldn't want to go to an amusement park where the staff is overworked, underappreciated, and constantly frustrated. That's exactly what I'm taking a break from when I go to an amusement park. -not a comcast employee

Snoopy better be careful in that canoe in 2010.. he'll be dangerously close to Reptile Cage.

Carowinds Intimidator looks about equal to DB. The track layout may be different, but it has many similar elements. The banked turn at the top of the second hill looks AWESOME. plus the half-spin from a right bank to a left bank just before the hammerhead looks fun. So this ride has some cool stuff that DB doesn't, but DB still has an extra helix plus a splash down and over-midway action. Intimidator looks slightly more fun to ride, but DB is definitely more fun to watch. So overall I'll assume they are about a tie. I305 has a sweet first drop, but after that it seems kind of weak. It's really fast and the over banked turns look fun, but i think the ride loses a lot of thrill since most of the track is so close to ground level. Going that fast while low to the ground is thrilling in itself, but i think the ride would be more thrilling if it involved more height elements. For example: DB's hammerhead wouldn't be nearly as fun if it weren't tilted upward. IMO a coaster lacking inversions should have a lot of air time. For that reason I have to assume DB pummels i305. BUT who knows until you ride it.

nevermind it went crazy on me. posted before i was done and posted a second when i tried to edit the first. i give up. disreguard.

edit

First I like Congo Falls right where it is. As jondrewfoo mentioned there's no shade in Action Zone and the best way to cool off is to ride Congo Falls or dip into the AC in festhaus. Second I agree that Action Zone feels empty with SoB closed. I never noticed how loud that ride is until it stopped running. I've missed that sound on the past couple visits. And Third I think they should add a flat called "The Escalator" stretching from the Flight Deck entrance to the Flight Deck station. I've also envisioned a more thrilling spin on the kinds of rides that take you from one part of the park to the other. Like train rides and ski lift style rides. But it would be a coaster that launches you over the park from Action Zone to rivertown and vice versa. Of course that would be very expensive and I doubt it would even be possible, but it's a cool idea.

I'm up to 6 DB rides now! But that's because I live about 3 hrs away and have only made 6 trips this season, one of which we only stayed half the day and another one we spent with the kids in Nick U and Boomerang Bay. So really only 4 solid riding days, 2 of those being quite busy (opening day and memorial day weekend). So far my total ride count is 93 and I'm happy with that except I wish i had gotten more than 2 Firehawk rides. I'm done for the summer, but I'll be back in October and my goal is to double my DB count on a saturday ERT.

That's sad. On my last visit I lost my hat to DB. I usually sit on it, but it was the first ride of the day and I forgot it was on my head. It landed on the net above the midway. I would have felt bad about losing my hat but he had a pretty pink hat to keep him company in the net

I chose SOB because before DB it was the tallest and fastest ride in the park (not that DB beat it by much). And the fact that the tallest and fastest ride at the park was a woodie made it one mean coaster.

If it's not legal to marry a human that shares your gender then it better not be legal to marry an object. At the very least she should own the object she wishes to marry. Do you think the best man will be the tilt-a-whirl or the zipper?

The only things the Mayans have contributed to modern culture are impressive ruins and a dooms day prophecy based on zero evidence. I'm sorry, but every time there's a topic on future park expansion someone has to mention that none of it matters because the world will end in 3 years. Are you saying we might as well give up on life, hopes, and dreams because we're all going to die soon?? Oh no everyone! The Mayans predicted the end and it's coming soon so we better just stop planning for a future that won't come because the Mayans are always right! Might as well quit your jobs and spend your life savings on going to KI as much as possible because there's only 3 seasons left! Does anyone even practice the ancient Mayan religion from which the prophecy came? Do you live your lives in total fear knowing that mass death is rapidly approaching? Does any of this have anything to do with KI in any way whatsoever?! Just messing around with the overly dramatic rant.. my real point is: it would be nice if just once we could talk about the future without people reminding us of our mortality.

Wow congrats! That's really impressive. Don't know how you can do that.. after riding a ride twice in a row I'm bored and ready to move on

excellent point. I took my boys, 3 and 4, to KI for the first time a couple weeks ago. It wasn't easy trying to explain other peoples' behavior to them. Like when a grown woman line jumped right infront of us at Wild Thornberries. Or when a group of 10 yr old boys ganged up in shooting my 3 year old in the face with the water guns at Jakeroo Landing. I didn't even attempt to talk to them about some peoples' attire, just hoped their young enough to not even notice. But i was proud of my boys for being patient and understanding that they needed to wait their turn. And they were fearless! They are future thrill seekers that will follow park rules because I'm raising them to be respectful. If these kids and young adults had good parents they wouldn't be running around the park half naked and cutting in line. Also on Wild Thornberries at the end of the ride when the elephant shoots out water.. a saw a guy pick his very young daughter, about 2 yrs old, completely out of the car. He used her as a shield so he would stay dry and she got sprayed in the face. She was obviously upset, but he laughed it off. How is this girl going to learn to respect others when her parent shows such careless acts of disconcern for his child's wellbeing? At Boomerang Bay a mother sent her 2 year old daughter down a small waterslide on her belly with NO LIFE JACKET. I'm not sure why the life guard even allowed it. I was at the bottom of the slide when she hit the water. She just sank with a look of fear that chilled me right to the bone. I jumped to pull her out of the water, but a woman closer to her beat me to it. I was so glad the girl was ok... the stupid mother casually walked over laughing and didn't even thank the woman for saving her daughter. Then the mother made fun of the daughter for being scared. Sometimes I wonder if I'm an overprotective parent, but when I see things like that I'm glad to know my kids are in good hands.

I had to pick The Crypt. Though, I wouldn't say it's technically overrated since no one gives it high ratings. That is I haven't heard anyone rave about it. I loved it last season when it flipped 9 times. I rode it once this season and I doubt I'll ride it again. The ride does have potential, so I'm hoping CF will find a solution to its problems and make a cool ride out of it. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually shut it down.

that's unfortunate. I try to fool them by puting one foot on top of the other so that my knees are higher. Then as they push on the restraint i push up as hard as i can with my legs. It usually works, but can't exactly do that on DB. And I didn't fool a racer op once. he said, "that has to go down further or you can't ride." so I let my legs down and he didn't only pin me down snug... he gave it that one extra click that made it go from uncomfortable to painful. But like i said.. most of the ops are great.

The same forces that make you feel pinned to your seat at the bottom of the hill pull your restraint down. Fortunately there's one way to beat physics on this one... as already stated, remember to use your knees or hands to keep the restraint from locking further. What I hate are the ride ops that push the restraint down as hard as they can until its cutting off the circulation to your legs. What's their problem? Most of the ride ops do do well and just make sure the thing is locked. Some barely touch the thing and some are on a mission to kill my airtime. I understand making sure a small child is pinned, but my legs are so long that I could have a foot of space and still wouldn't be able to get my knees out if i buttered them first.

I can't believe a stranger blocked your camera. I'm about 25, give or take a couple.. ok give a couple, and to me that sounds like something a child would do. I've been complaining about the trouble-making teens at the park, so it's strange to hear a story of a teen being annoyed by someone my age. Sorry to hear about your experience. It's crazy how most people do their best to respect others. But all it takes is one jerk to blatently disrespect you to make a good time turn sour. Best thing to do is feel happy that you're more mature than them. Let the frustration out on the rides.

The airborn loose articles problem has been solved! They are going to start passing out safety goggles and hard hats to riders. SoB is closed because neck braces are on back order. VortexJunkie, hoping it's not too soon to make SoB jokes. We miss you sonny!

Of course it's not in use. No one wants to buy a picture of themself looking bored on a top spin ride that only spins twice... gently. They might as well put smaller seats and restrains on the Crypt and move it to Nick Universe. Someone had to say it! But if you mean that what you find odd is that the photo booth is still standing... probably because it would take time and money to remove it.

I got a few good ones last sunday. While in line for Firehawk a teenage girl said, "see? The roller coaster (train) uses the strongest magnets there are to keep the roller coaster on the track." Firehawk is one of the rides that you can clearly see wheels above and below the track while waiting in line. I wonder how she thinks they keep trains on wooden tracks. While in line for SOB i didn't see who said it, but sounded like a boy around 13 years old. He said, "I have to end my life on a roller coaster." I bet Cedar Fair PR would love that! And a ride op at The Beast kept saying "Kings Island: Where Else? NO WHERE!" thought that was funny. And every time he said 'The Beast' he followed with a long, unenthusiastic "aahhhhhhhh". Funny kid. When we got back to the station and he asked how the ride was i responded with a long, unenthusiastic "aaahhhhhh". I know he heard me, but I guess he didn't think it was funny when i did it haha.