DBru

The car doors opened and shut manually...why would they have been a maintenance issue?

Apparently, the BMW Mini-cooper license has expired, so instead of renewing it (surprise!), Cedar Fair has decided to strip the coaster's trains of their theming/character. The trains have been reassembled so that all three cars on each train is the same color (blue, blue blue--red, red, red--white, white, white), the BMW logos have been removed from the front of each car, and the fun little doors on the cars have been removed. Here is a photo of Kings Dominion's BLSC on its opening day (from pkdcoaster @ TPR): In my opinion, this is a VERY unwelcome change...

I believe that would be some old coot named Dick Kenzel...

Would raising admission prices by a dollar or two not compensate for charging less for drinks? Cedar Fair would get more money out of me by selling drinks for $2.50 (which I might actually buy) instead of leaving me to only consume the free ice water that the parks must give out.

Added my thoughts:

Well, I'm glad my question about the Crypt was answered...but I'm sad to hear that the doors wont be returning again.

SOB makes KI's skyline look so impressive...one of the reasons why I would miss it.

As a first time rider, I definitely think you should give the Crypt a go. It's worth it for the AC and cool theming (yes, it does have theming) alone. Just go in with low expectations, and you never know...you may find it very underrated. (Like me! )

Haha, Dave! You didn't happen to see my question the past couple days, did you?

Awesome questions today! I'm glad they are trying out the FoF on-ride photos again this season. I hope it's a success!

Action Zone just seems so dead with SOB now closed...I really hope they reopen or replace it soon, so that there are more reasons to visit that area of the park.

Definitely ride the Slingshot! Being launched straight up in the air is a rush, and the flipping/airtime on the first couple bounces is insane! Skyflyer isn't quite tall enough to provide enough of a thrill to surpass Slingshot. The initial drop is great, but doesn't last more than a couple seconds. The rest of the flight is pretty lame.

^But they already made the gondola smaller and lighter...and the line already moves really slow.

Great TR! I was at the park that day, as well. Did you notice during that short rain that all of the coasters kept cycling with empty trains?

Tell you what, if they pay me, they can use that tagline as much as they want...

I too thought it sounded considerably louder on Thursday than it was back in April...AWESOME!

How specific are you wanting to sketch the theming? I have an old ACE magazine that contains some great pictures of the insides of all of AE's tunnels...believe it or not, the inside of each tunnel has some really cool theming!

Sorry, man. I saw quite a few people turned away on Thursday that really didn't seem very large... Did you fit in the test seat?

I think all of you are over-reacting... I rode it yesterday (for the first time since it was TR:TR---which I LOVED) with a friend who had never been to KI before. The line was barely outside the entrance to the cave, and we waited no more than 30 minutes. I prepared myself for the worst, because I hadn't heard ONE good thing about it since the new program was implemented...we both thought it was great! Everyone else seemed to enjoy it, as well. The best way to describe it is a giant rock-o-plane in a box. The first couple trips around the top provide some decent airtime, and though the inversions are taken in locked position, they take place in complete darkness and offer great hangtime. The soundtrack also really adds to the ride. For anyone looking for details as to what it is like now inside the ride chamber...well, it is exactly the same. The goddess statue has been painted black, but when the gondola rises, it is clearly visible, and halfway through the cycle, lights are even shined directly on it. The ivy-covered columns are still there bordering it, too. The stalactites were not lit up on the ceiling, so I'm not sure it they are still there, but I assume they are. However, the lava pit it still there, and it is CLEARLY visible while riding (riders are positioned to look directly down into it while going through the back-flip), as well as those who are boarding the second row of seats. We enjoyed The Crypt so much, we ended up riding 3 times throughout the day, never waiting more than 25-30 minutes. If you have not ridden it yet, please don't be scared away from all of the negative comments on this board. Just take them all into consideration, and enter the ride with very low expectations (like I did), and you shouldn't be the least bit disappointed.

I just wish they would turn up the volume on the TVs up a bit...I really would've liked to hear what was going on during the preshow while waiting in those never-ending queues yesterday.

It did? Are you sure you rode the right coaster? lol I first rode The Beast when I was 6 years old. It was the summer I finally reached the 48" mark, and I had my parents take me to many different parks that season. We waited around 20 minutes for a ride near the back of the train. I had heard so many great things about The Beast, so I was very excited when we reached the top of the lift and saw that beautiful view. I raised my hands and prepared for that 'butterfly feeling' as we crested the hill...but then we slowed down. I remember sliding forward into my lap bar; it felt like somebody punched my in the stomach/chest (I was really skinny). The tunnel at the bottom was cool, and then we headed for the second drop (which looked AWESOME on America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills)...we slowed down, and I felt that stomach-punched feeling again. The turn after that was really rough, and then we hit the brake shed. I got tired of being beat up pretty quick. Our train stopped at the top of the second lift, but I can't really remember why. I guess the train before ours had not cleared the next block. The trained started again shortly, and we were soon heading down that long drop into the tunnel. Of course, there were brakes (surprise!). After those skid brakes, the drop was pretty fun, and it wasn't very rough at that time, but then came the worst part of it all. As we entered the helix finale, my head was thrown against the side of the car; it hurt terribly. I was really dizzy for the next half hour or so, and I had a giant knot right above my temple. I had never hated I roller coaster...until I rode The Beast. I didn't ride it again for 4 years after that horrible first impression. I didn't like it the second time either. In fact, I have hated every ride I've ever had on The Beast up until this April. For the first time, I rode it at night, and I finally understood why everyone thinks so highly of it. This particular ride was quite amazing...the brakes didn't seem anywhere near as harsh as it did during the daytime, it didn't seem as rough, and the speed and setting were just amazing. I now make sure to ride The Beast in the dark on every one of my visits to Kings Island. It really is a fun and thrilling ride at night...but I still think it sucks at all other times.

Yes, as far as I remember the loading spiel has been playing... But what happened to all the "aliens" in those tubes? Now they are just plastic manikins covered in...aluminum foil?

Six Flags offered to buy HW?

Sorry I keep going off-topic... But if I buy the cheaper tickets for Slingshot or Skycoaster in the morning, do I have to ride it right then, or can I come back later in the day?

Uh...isn't Cedar Point voted the #1 amusement park in the world?