Buckeye Brad

To help distinguish a "steel" coaster from a woodie, I don't worry about the supports. Instead, I look closely at what the wheels ride on, and how that is supported. Most* coasters have steel "running rails". On traditional wooden coasters, that strip of steel is thin (<1.0"?) and is completely supported by wood. It actually follows the contour of the wood. It is really only there to prevent wear and tear on the wood. The wood can be made from laminate strips that are bent as a group, or a laminate chunk that is machined instead of bent. On steel coasters, that "running rail" is actually a tube or beam, and is strong enough to define its own shape. It is only supported by the structure at intermittent points, a foot apart (or more). The topper track pictured above looks to me like a hybrid. The running rails are steel tubes, and much more rigid than the rails on a typical woodie, but it is completely supported by wood. I suppose a park could get away with calling it wood or steel. Ultimately this distinction is interesting to us fans but somewhat trivial, unless parks are making marketing claims. "Outlaw Run" looks fun regardless!

Frightful Falls: a short but amusing flume ride that offers great views of Legend Scarecrow Scrambler: typical scrambler, but set against a cinder block wall, creating cool near collision moments Freedom Train: pretend you are 5 and enjoy the nostalgia. This one is old school (from 1946). If you are looking for snacks, try Mrs. Klaus' Kitchen. Old school treats at old school prices, like a banana dipped in chocolate for $1.79. Have fun at Holiday World!

In addition to the "Garth-mobile", I recall a miniature submarine from "The Hunt for Red October" and a gold idol from "Raiders of the Lost Ark". That used to be a very nice, quiet, charming area. The Tower Gardens, Carousel, and the Antique Cars, all in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

@theCrypt Good point. I did debate about talking with guest relations. I may take your advice and send them a message. To be fair, I did see the "warning" signs on the way out. But the sum total just seemed out of character from every show I've seen at KI. Maybe I'm just a square. Whether something is "appropriate" depends on so many factors, including my fickle mood at the time. ;^) Actually, my comment had more to do with the choreography and less to do with the hemlines. At the very least, the music could have been turned down. @ Colonel_SOB_fan Funny that you have no issues with Drop Tower either. My feelings exactly! I think the big differences are that on Drop Tower we: 1. Are attached to a rigid structure, not a freely swaying arm 2. Cannot see the tower. Watching the WindSeeker tower swirl and swirl made me dizzy. I still loved the ride, and I think it did exactly what it was designed to do: be mildy insanely thrilling. ;^)

Kings Island Sunday, July 29, 2012 I was pumped for this day. My dear “coaster-phobic” wife and 7 year old were out of town for the weekend, so it was just my 10 year old son and I. There would be no kiddie rides, no naptime breaks. Two years ago he tamed The Beast, and this spring he took a few flights on the Wild Eagle at Dollywood. So we both agreed he was ready for a full day of big kid coaster mayhem. We pulled into the south parking gate at 9:00 AM. No line and a mostly empty lot. Ten minutes later we bought our tickets, again no line to be found. I like how open the plaza is sans the metal detectors. At 9:15 we found ourselves on International Street. I love this place before park opening. Fountains spraying, sun rising, sparse folks milling about, and a wonderful feeling of optimism for the great day ahead. Making our way to the Eiffel Tower, I told my son that when I was his age, we could take the stairs up to the 50 foot level and get a nice view. I remember doing that on opening day, April ’87. My first real view of Vortex, man was I excited. Today, locked gates block the stairs to us civilians. To my surprise, at 9:30 the elevators opened and we took and early trip to the top. The view from up there never gets old, and it’s fun to look out over the “King”dom and plan the day. We made it back down just in time for “God Bless America”. I like this tradition. Kudos to Cedar Fair. At 10:00:01 the rope dropped and we were off to Firehawk. I would not have chosen such a crazy coaster to kick off the day, but I’d seen how long the line can get. I’d had only one spin on Firehawk to my credit. It was a rotten one. Two years ago (my last KI trip) I boarded the train, which then reclined and got “stuck”. 15 minutes of lying on my back gave me a ferocious headache. That train was taken out of service, and I was offered the chance to ride the other one. The alternative was to simply not ride that day (long line), so I rode and hated it. Due to my headache, it was a tainted ride. Today it was a different story. At 10:05 it was a walk on, we both loved the ride. “That was AWESOME!!!” yelled my son. The whole loading, reclining, and lift hill on my back deal is still very disconcerting. From the drop on it’s crazy Superman fun. Naturally we then headed into Flight of Fear. At 10:15 the line was already out the door. The “mazes” were closed, so it only took about 20 minutes to get to the train. Priceless reaction from my son seeing the train ahead of us launch and disappear into the darkness. As always, FOF was fast and wicked. We came to a dead stop on the mid-course brakes, which was welcome because I was getting hammered. I’m no coaster train expert, but it just seems to me that the track gage is rather narrow, and the seats sit high up off the track, resulting in a magnification of every bump and twist. Despite that, we both enjoyed FOF. Though my son decided that one ride was enough for today. WindSeeker was next. Walk-on at 10:40. My son and I both went into this one with no fear, but halfway up, we looked at each other and said “whoa, we are high!”. I am normally OK with heights, but the combo of 300 feet plus freakishly minimal seats gave me a healthy fear I’ve not felt since the Vegas Big Shot 10 years ago. I was taking in the view when my son yelled “Dad, my HAT!”. I looked down and saw it gently swirling down, down,down.... I was sure it would land in the woods, lost forever. Somehow though, it landed on a path near the platform. The Star Trek music paused and we got the "It's illegal to drop objects" announcement that we deserved. Great ride, and scary high. But remember to hold on to your hats! Vortex. 25 years (and change) ago I stood in this line on opening day, an eager 12 year old ready for the biggest coaster I'd ever seen. That day got me hooked on coasters, and it was a big thrill to take my son for his first spin on Vortex. For my 200 or so rides over the last 25 years, the wait has always been no more than 20 minutes. Today, same deal. My son asked for the front seat. One thing about Vortex: the ride is dramatically different in the front and back. This is true of nearly every coaster of course, but on Vortex it's night and day. From the middle of the first drop to the apex of the second, it feels like a FOF style launch in the front. Besides the airtime, another constant at that apex is the clinking of coins bouncing around the "tubs" of the train. I was surprised at the big positive Gs going into the loops. I don't remember them feeling anywhere near that strong in the back, my preferred seat. In any case, despite the rough transitions and uncomfortable seats (IMHO) Vortex is still a pretty solid coaster. The trees have filled in nicely over the years, especially near the boomerang. Beast. At 11:00 am, the line was at the pop machines near the plaque. In the '80s this was a working food counter called "Beast Canyon" or something like that. 20 minute wait. My preferred seat is the second to the back. Best Beast ride I've had in years, thanks to much needed trackwork this year. I suppose it feels a bit "tamed". But I love the uniqueness of this ride, and its so fundamental to the KI experience. One of my favorite coaster moments will always be sitting in the back, cresting the second lift hill, and gradually building up speed towards that tiny hole way down there, i.e. oblivion. Diamondback. 20 minute wait. For the past two seasons, my son would not shut up about this one. 2 years ago he was 54.001" tall, but chickened out. I can't blame him. Heck, I chickened out of Loch Ness Monster at his age, and have always regretted it. Today was his chance for redemption. In my opinion, D'back is coaster perfection. Not THE perfect coaster, but A perfect one. Suble difference. I love the fast line, the minimal and comfy trains, the terror of the first drop, and the HUUUGGGEE feeling airtime filled arcs at the top of nearly every hill. I never tire of watching the beautiful splashdown. The only flaw in my opinion is the way it transformed a quiet, serene Rivertown. Walking around Diamondback plaza, it's hard to remember the lake, the planter, the photo stand with the huge King Kong hand, the picnic grove where we ate our Potato Works, and the seclusion I felt in this once shady backwoods corner of KI. But everything has a price. At least the coaster is fantastic. My son loved it as much as I did. We rode in the dead center, his new preferred seat. We hit the Skyline on International Street for lunch. To my surprise, at noon on a Sunday, it was deserted. So much for the lunch rush. I suspect the location has something to do with that. Flight Deck. Of course, nearly a walk on. Of course, a great view and ride in the front seat. Love the nearly inverted swoop to the left (following the first drop) and the near collision with the mysterious wooden structure back there. I do wish they would paint the track red, as it once was. Use the same paint as Firehawk, I don't mind. The current colors are just so...bland. Adventure Express. Line was actually almost to the entrance sign, but took around 20 minutes. Always a bit jerky, but otherwise a perfect family coaster. Lives up to its name. I can get over the non-moving spears, but I really miss the fog effects. Every coaster can use some fog, and the first leg of AE into the spooky foggy mist was fun. Come to think of it, I remember Flight Deck/Top Gun had fog too, in the station. Oh well, they must be saving all the fog for the Haunt. Now it was time for the low point of the day, Ed Alonzo's Psycho Circus of Magic and Mayhem. With a name like that, I should have known what I was getting into. I'll summarize: deafening heavy metal music, too much potty humor, and the dancers were, in my opinion, too often and too suggestive for a family show. We were in the second row, so everything was magnified. Maybe I'm too old fashioned, but I hated it. I saw no humor in the "Anna-Rexia" bit. The actual magic was fun though. Everyone else in the crowd seemed to love the show. Not me. Racer. My first real coaster (in 1982) and my sentimental KI favorite. It feels overbraked and incomplete without its last dip (removed in '96?). But I still love the simple layout and the feeling of rushing out to the end of the park and back. I also like how the first drop leads to a pair of "bunny" hills, as opposed to most coasters which go immediately into a large second hill or loop. Love the opened up station, and the always short line. Don't love the plywood walls on the brake run and the long wait on that brake run. But anytime they make an effort to race the trains, like they did today, I'm happy. Next came the second low point of the day: Vortex ride number 2. Front seat again. Long story short, great ride but when we hit the brakes I was sure was about to perform a protein spill in front of the whole train and all the folks in line. Earlier it day my son asked "what happens if somebody...". I told him about the hoses and the wind powered dryers. Ironically he was about to see firsthand. We could not get back to the station fast enough. I nearly ran over my son and found the trash can near the Fastline entrance. Thankfully, I didn't have to use it. My son asked, "do you have that feeling too, dad?". I used to marathon Vortex when it was a teen, and I'd never gotten nauseous on a coaster before. Getting older stinketh. Now it was time for a needed break. I hadn't planned on doing the Dino walk, but a quiet shady walk away from the masses sounded great. The ticket kiosks were a challenge because I literally could not read them. Too much sun. After much squinting and body blocking the sun, our tickets popped out. I feel bad for the lady taking the tickets. I asked her if the clatter of The Racer tearing by every other minute got old. Her voice said "oh, yes", her eyes said "kill me now". I don't blame her. Anyway, I liked the walk. It was much bigger than I'd expected. My only critiques: the format of the signs got very repetitive, and I'm not sure that millions of years ago every Dinosaur really sounded like Godzilla. Then again, who's to say they didn't? The price was right, and the lack of crowds back there was even better. I think we saw 2 families the entire time. We followed up with the 3d movie, which was fun and had great sound and picture quality. Sadly, I was overstimulated and still woozy, so it was time to exit KI for awhile. My son did not object. All we really wanted to still do were night rides. We hit the road and ended up at Firehouse subs on Fields Ertel. The food was good, the tv showing the Reds beat up on the Rockies was even better. Around 7:30 we returned to KI. Another fabulous ride on Diamondback (25 minute wait), and a spin on the Flying Ace Ariel Chase (30 minute wait). One of the ride ops there was asking KI trivia questions over the PA. He claims the longest ride timewise at KI is Boo Blasters. I say the train. Lemme get my stopwatch, buddy. Around 8:50 we arrived at Firehawk. My son desperately wanted another "flight". The posted wait time was 60 minutes. The attendant advised that it would indeed be an hour, and we resigned that we would not likely get our coveted night ride on Diamondback. But sometimes you get lucky, and at 9:40 we were off and speed walking to our favorite coaster across the park. Half an hour later, we boarded the second last train of the night. We love Diamondback, and it was even better flying over those hills with only the moonlight to show the way. The rush and the cold air were fantastic. With that, our day of awesomeness came to an end. We were exhausted but happy. A few notes: I really miss the music they played when I was a kid. I still remember classical music on International Street, banjo music in Rivertown, etc. It made KI feel like another world instead of just a big park 20 minutes from my house. The constant pop music piped everywhere, all day long, has no such magic and got really old., Maybe I'm old fashioned, but what is with the abundance of ugly t shirts? I'm talking about downright crude words and images. I love the liberty to wear what you want, but I also love the idea of wearing something tasteful to a family place. Lets try to elevate each other, not add ugliness. Ok, rant over. We did not bite on Fastlane (not needed today) but many did. An interesting idea, but I hope they don't forget about trying to keep the lines moving for everyone else. I like going to Disney and studying how little things make a big difference: for example the loading setup on The Alladin carpets: multiple gates instead of one. Thanks for reading. I can't overstate how great it was to spend the day with my son, at the amusement park I grew up in. Well, it isn't exactly the same park, but it's close enough, and we made some great memories.

If a park ever does build a wooden coaster with LIMs, I imagine that the launch section(s) would be steel supported track (might look like something from Rock Mountain Construction, or Son of Beast's loop).

The Beast and Thunderhead...two of my favorite wooden coasters. Disclaimer...I grew up on The Beast. I took my first spin in 1985 as a 10 year old, and become a coaster nut. So many great memories of riding The Beast with family and friends, in the day, night, rain, and even fog. I rode Thunderhead last summer, and again last month. These coasters are so very different. Here are some categories I use to compare wooden coasters: 1. "In the woods" feeling The Beast, obviously, has this in spades. Though much of it is in "clearings", you are almost always deep in the forest. Thunderhead is set against a beautiful hill of trees, but you don't really go "in" the woods. 2. Out of control feeling The Beast is like driving 100 mph on the interstate. Thunderhead is like driving 50mph down Lombard Street. Both are fun, but I gotta admit that I prefer the latter. Besides the lift hill and station flyby, Thunderhead does not travel 12 inches without changing direction up, down, left, or right. Much of The Beast's track is quite linear, and the curves have large radii. This is the biggest difference between these two coasters, in my opinion. 3. Mystery From the public walkways, one can see pretty much every part of Thunderhead. So there are no big surprises along its course. On the other hand, every part of The Beast (except for the first lift-hill) is hidden from view. Even views from the Eiffel Tower, Diamondback and Vortex only offer glimpses of the second hill. Of course, now one can check out Google Earth or YouTube to learn what really happens out in those woods, but when I was a kid, you went into the ride blind. Added fear factor. 4. Trains All of my rides on Thunderhead were quite comfy. Over the years, my rides on The Beast have ranged from comfy to washboard road terrible. 5. Tunnels I really enjoy coaster tunnels. The abrupt differences in sound and light, plus the "head-chopping" effect, never get old for me. The Beast has 4, while Thunderhead has one: the station flyby. It feels a bit different since it is so open compared to the tunnels on Beast. 6. Airtime On my rides, nearly every hill on Thunderhead offered airtime. I'm not sure I've ever had any on The Beast. 7. The "voyage" feeling I used lowercase "v" because I don't mean the coaster in Santa Claus (though that coaster excels in this category) but rather the way a coaster layout takes me on a literal far away trip. These coasters have it: The Racer, Magnum, Millennium Force, Voyage, and The Beast. These, not so much: Vortex, Mantis, Firehawk, and Thunderhead. This "voyage" aspect is not a requirement, just a nice bonus for me. 8. Emotional pacing, adrenaline For me, Thunderhead stays between 10 and 11 (on the Spinal Tap meter) until the brake run. The Beast is all over the place, dipping to 5 on the straight sections, and somehow reaching 12 at the entrance of the double helix. What can I say, I love'em both. So there you have it. Much more than my two cents. If I had to move to a deserted island and take one of these with me, it would be...Thunderhead. But The Beast, especially running at top form, would be a fine second choice. I'm glad that I live close to both of these great coasters. They show how different and great wooden coasters can be.

This will be a fascinating process to watch. So many amusement parks have failed lately (Geauga Lake, LeSourdesville Lake, Hard Rock, Wild West World, Kentucky Kingdom, etc). Still, I'm excited to what the Koch team will do with Kentucky Kingdom. If they pull it off, it just might be a blueprint to help save other struggling parks around the country. I agree that the idea of a fully open restored park in 12 months is unlikely. To help improve their risk and sanity, I wonder if there is a fallback plan for 2013 that focuses on just the waterpark and select rides in the front section of the park. The result might be similar to Cincinnati's Coney Island, or Wyandot Lake: water park + small family style dry park. I think the waterpark would be much cheaper to restore than the dry park. If 2013 shows promise, restore the coasters and the rest of the dry park over the next few years. Essentially, open in phases. The layout of the park might favor this approach since the coasters and big rides are mostly in "the back" of the park. Of course they would need lots of privacy fences and exciting Disney style "pardon our dust" signs for a while.

As you know, Vortex turns 25 this year. In 1987 I was in 7th grade and just getting over my fear of coasters. I still remember getting my first KI season pass at Winterfest, December '86 and seeing Vortex's hill towering over the trees. I was lucky enough to ride it on opening morning, April 11, 1987. I didn't really understand the layout until (while we waited for the rope to drop) I climbed to the 50 foot platform of the Eiffel Tower. I got two rides that day, and forever turned into a coaster fan. Of course there was no internet back then, so I had to rely on newspaper clippings, like this article from the Cincinnati Enquirer. I hope you enjoy it! cover http://flic.kr/p/bndvo5 page 1 http://flic.kr/p/bA8naB page 2 http://flic.kr/p/bA8nsp page 3 http://flic.kr/p/bndwy7 page 4 http://flic.kr/p/bA8ojD page 5 http://flic.kr/p/bndxCd page 6 http://flic.kr/p/bA8pe8 page 7 http://flic.kr/p/bA8pxe page 8 http://flic.kr/p/bA8pQM PS If someone can suggest a more elegant way to post these pics, I'd appreciate it!

According to the event FAQ https://www.holidayworld.com/sites/holidayworld.com/files/RocktheWorldFAQs_0.pdf the daytime shows will be in the Hoosier Celebration Theater, and "The evening Main Stage concerts will take place in a lawn near Thanksgiving section" If you click here http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=38.12647041986328~-86.90956139564514&lvl=19&dir=0&sty=h&where1=Santa%20Claus,%20IN&form=LMLTCC and explore a bit, you will see a large lawn to the right of Voyage that matches the description. I'm guessing that's where the main stage will be.

My guess: that is a shot of Diamond Falls at Kings Dominion. According to this map, http://www.themepark...92/pkd1992.html, the orientations of that ride and and their Eiffel Tower look right. It is a nice shot actually, capturing both rides. I studied that guide forever as a kid and never noticed that it's not a real KI picture.

I know it won't likely happen, but here is something I'd like from an aesthetic point of view: replace the Back Lot Stunt Coaster with a GCI style, family sized wooden coaster. Something like Thunderhead or Kentucky Rumbler. Re-landscape the area there to make it green and lush like it once was. When they tore out the the antique cars, I thought a coaster like this would be a fabulous centerpiece to Kings Island.

Xgatorhead, I think you are right. This picture shows a general idea of where the line and exit were. Makes sense to me that the people standing in the video were indeed in line. Interpreter, Could you elaborate? I'm not sure which post you were referring to.

..... " What throws me are the trees in the background and the people standing directly next to the trick track element. King Cobra did not have a path next to the trick track. Skyrider does." Shaggy Shaggy, I think that actually is Kings Island. I suspect that the path and people you see there are not next to the trick track, but much further in the background: before the airtime hill (after the helix). As I recall, this path (really a bridge) was the ride exit and led to the gift shop. I remember standing there and watching the train rocket out of the helix, and laughing at the funny looks on the riders faces. Whoooooooooosssshhhhh!!!!! I never tried it, but it was so close that I always wondered if I could hi-five a rider. Edit: now that I look at the video again, I don't remember those tall trees there either. So it might not be King Cobra after all.

I don't have any pictures, but here is my memory of an event you might be referring to: During construction, workers would build some sections flat on the ground, "prop" them up with temporary supports, then permanently attach it to the rest of the structure (a typical wood framed house is constructed in a similar manner). The temporary supports are not necessarily effective under heavy wind. During the winter while Son of Beast was being built, a windy storm blew through and knocked over one such section. I think it happened overnight (few or no workers present), and I don't recall any injuries. There may have been a fine though. This happened long before completion and test runs, so there was no derailment.

I'll take a guess...in addition to the answers listed above, the fenders keep "foreign objects" (hats, animals, etc.) from getting jammed between the wheels and the track.

I can personally confirm that one can indeed strike the tunnel. Years ago, when I was less wise, my arms were raised high as the train thundered into the helix tunnel. I was sitting on the left side of the train. Note that I am of average height (5'6"). I was lucky to escape with only a cut and a bit of bleeding. As we coasted back to the station, a certain sign had a newfound resonance..."The Beast is always lurking in ambush". Lesson learned.

When I was ten, my idea for the ultimate KI transportation system was a series of slides coming from the Eiffel Tower. You would go up to the top level, pick a ride or area of the park you wanted to go to, then take a twisty slide to your destination. The slides would have tunnels with fog and lighting effects, and the occasional glass bottom for a bonus thrill. From above (or below), the Eiffel Tower would look like a giant octopus. For better efficiency, there would be several high speed ski lifts to get you back to the top of the Tower. I really can't think of a reason why this wouldn't work.

This shows what the drop was like. As Terpy said, the boats skipped over the big speed bump at the bottom. I recall getting wetter on the Kings Mill Flume, but the drop was more fun on the Keelboats.Another neat feature (like the video) was the dual drops. A flipper gate at the top determined which drop your boat used. Another memory I have is that the Keelboat water was stinkier, while the Kings Mill water smelled fresh.

April 11, 1987 Opening day for Vortex. Background... I was 13 and it was my first year with a season pass. I had been to KI about once per year prior to that. I had this combination of fear and excitement over coasters, especially on The Beast and King Cobra. My first exposure to The Vortex was seeing a huge sign there the previous year. "New attraction in coming in 1987..." with a black and white concept drawing. The size, twisted layout, and number of inversions (6) blew my mind. At Winterfest the previous winter I could see the drop and hints of the loops and other steel supports. Of course, in 1987 coaster info was hard to come by, so I had to keep my eyes open for newspaper articles and TV commercials. Whenever came on, I just about went crazy. I actually still have a special section of the Cincinnati Enquirer from a few months prior that had construction photos and interviews with Steve Okamoto and Kings Island personnel. The buzz for Vortex was off the charts (for me anyway). So the morning finally arrived. My friends and I showed up promptly at 9:00, and headed for the Eiffel Tower. Back then you could go up the stairs to the "50 foot" level, so we did. My first real view of this monster. I finally figured out what a "boomerang turn" was. I loved the dark blue paint with the bright orange rails. The weather was perfect. It was going to be a great day. We descended the stairs and waited with the crowd near the floral clock. Everyone was talking and so pumped up about Vortex. I kept looking at my cheap Casio digital watch and thought 10:00 would never come. But it did of course, and the rope dropped. Some employees with megaphones pleaded us to walk. A few nonconformists headed to The Beast, but no way was I going to miss being among the first on Vortex. As we stormed into Coney Mall, I noticed the "Vortex logo trail" painted on the concrete leading us to the station. Nice touch. The line jammed up 20 or so yards from the station house. This was fine with me because I needed some time to just admire the coaster and take it all in. From that vantage point I could see almost the entire layout, except the bottom of the boomerang and the helix. I still did not "understand" the layout, it was just so twisted. The cheering got louder with every returning train. Finally, around 10:30, my pals and I were on board. Back seat. Ascending the hill, I looked to the right and saw a huge twisted mess of track. Somehow, someway, we were gonna be flying through that in a matter of seconds. At the top of the hill, I was sure I could see downtown Cincinnati. Then........ All I can say is that Vortex exceed every expectation. I was terrified, ecstatic, and totally blown away. Granted, this was 1987. I was 13, and my coaster experience was limited to Kings Island. But the ride delivered, that day and for years to come. I scored a night ride to close out opening day, and was up in bed all night dreaming about my next ride.

That's the one that has been stuck in my head! Thank you! I couldn't think of the name of it. Now I just need to mix that with the sound of a large fountain and a crowd milling and I could close my eyes and go back in time., I know what you mean. The way I remember it, walking through the gates onto International Street was like going to another planet. The sights, the music, the fountain mist, the wonderful smells, the theming...they all combined to create a unique world. I got a similar feeling of "teleport" walking under the Hanna-Barbera rainbow, strolling into Octoberfest, Rivertown, etc. etc. Each area was so unique. Great memories.

This is one of my favorites...

I loved hearing on International Street in the 80s...It was the perfect tune to get you pumped up for a great day at KI...

Yes, that area was the station. I remember it well, because I took a spill down those stairs as a 7 year old (1981). I scraped up my chin and fought the tears the entire ride. Who remembers the giant set of "teeth" at the end of the ride? They were kind of like big vertical blinds that hung over the flume, near the exit out of the building. Right before your boat reached them, they raised up out of the way, and then dropped after you passed through. The effect didn't work as well if the boats were close together, because then the teeth didn't come all the way down in between boats. I think the teeth survived the Smurfs changeover, but maybe were removed in the late 80s. Another memory was the ice cold air in the winter sections (Smurf version only?). Felt so good on a hot day.

To answer the original question: If they tear it down I'd love to see these 3 things: 1. Family flat ride 2. Thrill flat ride 3a. Big epic Gravity Group woodie (like the Voyage or Fireball) or 3b. B&M terrain (footchoppers!) invert. Ideally it would have a new train design for better visibility for inside riders. The Deja-Vu train design was unliked by many, so perhaps B&M could come up with a better solution.