Buckeye Brad

I was lucky enough to ride Denver's Lakeside Cyclone around 8 years ago. I really like the the way the layout starts out twisterish and then breaks out into out and back mode for the finale. A true classic, from the architecture of the station to the original trains. Don't judge the park, or the Lakeside Cyclone, until you've experienced both at night. The Whip was a delightful surprise. Speaking of Denver, I also enjoyed Twister II at Elitch Gardens. Good size, great tunnel, and overall much better than I expected.

When I attended Ohio State in the mid 90s, a "preacher" called Brother Jed was often found on the Oval. As a Christian, it's hard to imagine a worse salesman or marketing campaign for Christianity. I never once heard a kind, loving, thought provoking, or positive thought from him. It was all venom. I hate to think how many people he drove away from Christianity. To keep this somewhat on topic, last night a band called Tenth Avenue North performed at Timberwolf. Their message and delivery is the complete opposite of the aforementioned venom, and so much closer to the positive examples given in the New Testament. A friend challenged me to try them and a few other Christian bands for Lent (I've never listed to Christian music) and I'm glad I did. To go somewhat back off topic, I'm curious what folks think of the big sign at Dollywood in line for Wild Eagle (referencing Isaiah 40:31). I think it's a beautiful and inspiring message (and fits the ride nicely), but honestly I was floored to see such a sign in an amusement park.

I used touringplans.com for my trips in 2013 and 2010. Lots of good info for free, and you can buy a year subscription for more info and a smartphone app. The app told me current wait times, along with projected wait times for any time on any day. In some ways it was information overload, but the app was well worth it for me. Helped us get plenty of rides on our choice attractions, with a minimum of walking and surprises.

For amusement park rides, I believe these are the only two real limits on the human body: 1. Sustained G-forces 2. Violent changes in direction Speed, length, and number of inversions, are practically limitless as long as #1 and #2 are kept in check. For example, we sent my 60+ year old father in law on a stunt plane "ride along". Its length, speed, and number of inversions all exceeded the craziest coaster, and he did just fine because the pilot was smart with #1 and #2. Obviously economics is a big reason Kingda Ka's height record has lasted a decade. Given those limits, I think we can keep building coasters forever and not get bored. For example, even though the swinging suspended coaster has supposedly run its course, there is still so much potential with this concept. Imagine one 5,000 foot long, with open “dangling feet” trains, minimal restraints, with much of it buried in trenches with all kinds of near collisions and footchoppers. Not to mention a section where you skim inches from the water at 90 degrees. It could be just as thrilling as the best coaster today, plenty safe, unique, and be a big hit with the public. True, one hasn't been built yet. Then again in 1971 (before Racer opened) how many people envisioned The Beast, The Voyage, or Outlaw Run? I am also encouraged by the success of Wooden Warrior, an amazing looking “micro-coaster”. I think our Banshee is a good example of how the coaster wars will continue for a while. Banshee was built exactly 20 years after Raptor, yet it to the average person it is not especially bigger or even fundamentally different from Raptor. Heck, less than 200 yards away from Banshee is another inverted coaster (running since 1999) that inverts its riders 6 times, and even goes backwards. So why is Banshee going to be a huge winner? Not because of any newfangled gimmick, significant world record, or even breathtaking intensity. My guess: because it is big enough to be intimidating, awesomely themed, and very re-ridable. It is impossible to miss, and it has personality and charisma. It takes an existing good idea and simply improves on it.

The Beast's brake run is as long as it is because the ride was built to run four trains. I don't know if it ever opened with four trains, but at very least I believe that it ran with four at some point while it was testing. While The Beast lacks an MCBR, it has its second lift which can be used to serve the same purpose. I believe the brake shed between the "airtime" hill and the second tunnel used to be a set of block brakes. Of course, they're just trims now. I rode The Beast a few hundred times in the late '80s and early '90s. Most of the time, I remember that a train dropped down the first hill BEFORE we crested the second lift (and therefore passed underneath us). If that is true, then the brake shed in question must have been able to fully stop a train, since there was nothing else to stop that train from joining us on the second lift. I wonder if anyone here has ever been fully stopped on that brake shed, and how the subsequent ride to the second lift was. At least once I was on Vortex when it fully stopped on the midcourse brakes. When we were finally released, we crawled through the corkscrew, and the hangtime was amazing! Finally, remember that The Beast was designed for (and operated with for over a decade) single position bars instead of the current orange ratcheting lap bars. Those single position bars were faster to check and dispatch.

So many great memories to choose from… Opening Day, April 1987 I was 13 and obsessed with Vortex. I’d followed every newspaper article, magazine article, and TV spot I could find. I knew it had six inversions, but the layout was still a tangled blur and I had no idea what a boomerang turn was. Finally opening day had come, and I had my first ever KI season pass shiny and new and ready to go. The weather was perfect. I got picked up at 8:30 by my friend Chris’s dad, and by 9 Chris, Ray, and me were at the gates. We were going crazy with excitement! Back in those days you could climb the stairs to the Eiffel Tower’s 50 foot level, and we did to get a closer look at the blue and orange monster at the far side of the park. Ahh, so THAT is the boomerang turn. We waited out the hour in front of the floral clock, and finally at 10:00 they dropped the ropes. We did our best to follow the rules and not run, but we didn’t want to get mowed down either. We were not disappointed in the least that we waited almost 45 minutes. Watching and hearing each train return to the station with cheering riders just got us fired up even more. I’ll spare the ride details since we all know them, but for me it was the perfect combination of terror and exhilaration. Since that morning I’ve never felt that same combo, because once you lose your coaster innocence, it is pretty much gone. Due to the long lines, we took just one more Vortex ride that day, and that one was a 9:45PM dark one. Entertainment wise, there are few times in life when your big expectations are not only exceeded but obliterated, and for me Vortex opening day was one of those times. Just one year later came another great memory… 8th Grade Trip, May 1988 The greatest tradition of St. Michael School in Sharonville was to take its graduating 8th grade class to KI on the last day of school. A day at KI with friends is great anyway, but spending it with all 34 of my classmates and our teacher was amazing. I had planned for months to get all 36 of us on a Beast train, but logistical issues prevented that dream from coming true. I did get to share all my nerdy KI knowledge and introduce rides to kids who had never ridden them. All in all it was a great day, and the last time I’ve seen many of my grade school classmates and our great teacher, Mr. Stouder. Everyone has days that literally mark time periods in their life, and I think of this one every time I’m at KI. Especially when I walk past the spot where our class took over Der Spinnen Keggers for half an hour to end the day.

And his name is Keith, not Kevin.

Unfortunately, true. Hopefully the "investment" will pay off in more profitable businesses, more jobs, more tax money, and less crime in those areas, to balance out the operating loss. It takes a lot of smarts, planning, and luck to pull that off though, and an awful lot can go wrong. I do enjoy the revitalized part of Over the Rhine, and hopefully the streetcar will help that continue out to Findlay Market and beyond.

I don't remember what program he uses to make it, but Kevin Mcveen's company is http://www.3dvip.com. They produced the animation videos for Banshee and essentially everything else in the past 12 years. I remember reading (years ago) on his website that he used 3D Studio Max (by Autodesk). It is a professional level 3D modeling program, costing around $4,000-$5,000 I believe. He wrote that he developed many techniques to help model the track and supports quickly, since the program didn't have any built-in tools for that like No Limits. Before going pro, he posted coaster animations just for the fun of it. Even his amateur videos were miles better than the pro coaster animations out there. On an old computer somewhere I've got a few of them, including a cool recreation of the Crystal Beach Cyclone.

That's not really a fair question...the front seat clearly has a big head start. ;^)

I would ressurect the distinct themed areas. When I was a kid (late 70s) every land had its own music, costumes, decor, and rides that matched the themes. I still remember walking down International Street listening to festive classical music, and the employees there had French looking outfits. In Rivertown, the backwoods banjo music, the gingham costumes, and all the buildings had that weathered timber look. Wild Animal Habitat had real animals, safari outfits, and exotic looking flora. Octoberfest, yep they wore lederhosen. Or faux lederhosen anyway. And the rides were called "Das Viking Fury" and "Der Spinnen Keggers". In those days, a trip to Kings Island literally felt like a magic trip around the world. Now it is still fun, but feels like what it is: a nice park in suburban Cincinnati. Magic Kingdom still has this distinct themeing throughout. It seems like nearly every ride has its own dress code, and the music transitions so smoothly as you walk from Adventureland to Frontierland, or any land. I swear they even talk different based on the land. I love that.

When Top Gun opened, there was fog in the station. I wonder if the fog machines are still there? This would be a perfect excuse to fire them up again! The spookier, the better.

My guess is that any feelings about the court's decision are still dwarfed by heartbreak from the loss of a fine man, 3 and a half years ago.

Legend opened with a single Gerstlauler train in 2000. For 2002 they added a transfer track, and replaced that train with 2 PTC trains. The reasons "I read about" included discomfort with the Gerstlauer lap bars, and the desire to standardize their wood coaster trains (with the PTC on Raven. Interestingly, the station was somewhat different when it opened in 2000. The current loading area was a straight open air pre-ride section. The "dead space" in the the current station (behind a loading train) was the original loading area. This extension to the front gave them the ability to stop a second train while one is loading.

Yes. What a shame that our society has become rather inhospitable to something so classic, so beloved, and in my opinion so necessary (innocent fun that can be shared across generations. Several years ago, my 5 year old son rode Stricker's Tornado with his grandpa, a veteran of Chicago's Riverside and the Bobs. One rider reliving his youth, one launching his. The laughter and joy they shared was priceless. I wish those kinds of memories for everyone.

In the past few years, we've seen two brand new parks fail quickly: Wild West World and Hard Rock Park. Have any new major parks been successful in the past few decades? Disney and Universal have done it, but they have established brands and properties nearby to build from. I would love to see more small parks, the size of Stricker's Grove, Cincy Coney, and Denver Lakeside Park. Each with a nice selection of flats and a classic wooden coaster or 2. I have this romantic notion that back in the early 1900's these parks were all over the country, in small towns and supported mostly by the locals. I suspect that many passionate folks have aspirations to open parks in small towns, but get discouraged by the high initial investment, high insurance, short seasonal operating seasons, limited growth potential, and slow ROI.

My boys (7 and 10) and I loved Adventure Mountain. My wife wanted no part if it ;^) In fact, when we visited this past spring this was the first thing they wanted to "ride". They felt like really big kids navigating the "dangerous" cliffs and rope paths. The line was often slow, but we felt like we got our money's worth because sometimes we were on the course for 15 minutes or even longer. It was such a unique attraction, for a theme park anyway. My guess is it required too many employees to staff it and be profitable. Or perhaps a lawyer or "risk-assesser" got jittery about the whole thing. We will miss it. Hopefully it's replacement will be fun. I would think that Adventure Mountain could be moved to another location or facility. It seemed very heavy duty and well constructed.

"What specifically about the inversion caused the problems?" A lawyer could argue that the loop is at fault here. 1. If not for the LOOP, perhaps a more reliable vendor could have designed and built KI's 2000 coaster 2. If not for the LOOP being 118 feet tall (and in the middle of the ride), the coaster could have been smaller, and therefore perhaps designed by a more reliable vendor 3. If not for the LOOP being 118 feet tall (and in the middle of the ride), the trains could have been lighter, and might not have beat up the track so badly 4. If not for the LOOP, the coaster could have possibly run standard, more comfortable trains 5. If not for the putting all of their eggs in the LOOP, the designers might have designed a more thrilling, well rounded coaster So you see your honor, even though the LOOP was the smoothest, most trouble free part of the coaster, the LOOP is actually behind all of the problems. -Buckeye Brad, who is not really being serious but showing how easy it is to invert the truth.

I sarcastically predict the Timberliner announcement will be in October, 2013. It will state: "Perhaps you have noticed the new trains we ran on the Voyage all this past summer...those are called Timberliners." ;^)

It is ironic that essentially the entire original water park will become an entrance plaza for the current waterpark. A testament to how much the waterpark has grown. I am curious to see the final plans. If you look at aerial views of the 2 slides being removed, you see that they could reclaim a ton of space for the dry park by doing this. They could easily fit a couple of "scrambler" sized flats where the slides are, or more if they reconfigure the parallel paths (one to Thanksgiving, one to Splashin Safari).

"Preemptive strike"? Of course. If KK is to reopen, it's quite logical the Koch Development Corp. would like to be the ones doing it. A better, more timely proposal increases the chances of this happening. "...to discourage Kentucky Kingdom's reopening" I don't see any evidence for this. Look at how aggressively HW and SS have been expanding their business....Voyage, Thanksgiving section, two huge water coasters, Happy Halloween Weekends, etc. It's only natural they would want to expand to another park at some point. They know the Louisville market, it's close to home, KK is similar in size to their own park, and KK was "on sale". Seems to me like a great opportunity to expand. In my opinion, they underestimated both the money needed to refurbish everything, and the government red tape that prevented them from striking a favorable deal. Another thing...even if the Koch's didn't plan to reopen it, I don't see how their bid prevents another party from submitting a bid. Why wouldn't the Louisville government entertain any serious proposal? All my opinion of course. I'm sure much goes on in the "war rooms" of these organizations that I will never know about. Or don't really care to know about. ;^)

How great would it be if Coney could build something similar to Quassy's Wooden Warrior? Pros: -Fits family demographic (42" height requirement on WW) -Appeals to thrill seekers too (based on reports of Wooden Warrior) -Fits in a small area -If designed by Gravity Group, it would make a great story (local company designs their first local coaster) -They could name it "Shooting Star" -It could look and feel unique compared to the coasters at KI Cons: -$2 million+ price tag -Flooding (would using steel supports be better, more expensive?) I know it is just a dream, but it is a fun dream....

Re: Dan Koch and The Raven: For weeks in 2005 Paula had me thinking that their "eggcellent" new section would be Easter. Do not believe those misleading sneaky red herring throwing Holiday World folks for a second. ;^)

My guess for the "renaming" is Raging Rapids. While not a "premier" ride, I think it's fair to call it a "major ride". Plus, it's the only dry ride who's name and logo are not really themed to the area. In the water park, my guess the "the Wave" (pool), for the same reasons. Based on my track record with guessing Holiday World announcements, you can be certain it won't be those. ;^)

KI lover, this past Saturday the lines were mostly short. There was 1 train operation on both coasters, which meant average lines of 15 minutes on the Raven, and 20-25 on Voyage. Depending on the row and time of day, you can probably find 5 minute waits too. I don't think you've got anything to worry about with the crowds. The line for the corn maze looks longer and slower than it really is. Make sure you explore the entire park and look for the dioramas, they are fun. I hope you have as much fun as we did! For more info, check out my post in the trip reports forum.