shark6495

^ depends on the kids. When I was 10 or so my mom would trust for my sister and I (she was 9ish) to stand on the midway while she rode a ride or I could stay home by myself at that age. But I was also very aware of my surroundings and very mature. I have friends who wouldnt have been able to be left alone for minutes at the age of 15. I get what you are saying though. No way would I leave my kid alone just so I can have fun. sort of like the people who use the leash backpacks to control their kids versus keep them safe.

I have told this story before. I worked in the clown room at the Dent School House (probably 10 or so years ago), when a young couple came in. The girl looked frightened right away. The clowns (there were 3 of us) swarmed the couple in different ways. Each time, the girl (16-18 ish) would scream, jump, and hide in her BFs shoulder. Well as they were nearing the end, I jumped from below to scare the girl one more time. she screamed, started crying, and her BF punch me in the shoulder. He yelled something along the lines of "get out of the way." Well you cant just punch an actor. Our security team rushed into the room and escorted them out of the house to chit chat with the officer on duty. Moral of the story: Dont come/bring kiddos if you or they cant handle everything.

I may be the only one (or not) but if Disney would have bought Kings Island, I know one family with its extended family would have been super beyond happy to ride The Beast and hang with Mickey.

Exactly^. I am a huge Haunt person. But I would not take a 5-8 year old kiddo to Universal haunt events, or even Dent School House. When you work in a haunted house, as a scare-actor you go for the person who gives you the most reaction. You dont "pick on" anyone. But if someone is crying or scared you continue to pick on them, because you assume they are there because they enjoy it. If a parent makes the very bad decision to take their kid into something thats way too young for them, then its the fault of the parent not the actors.

I would disagree with you by saying 16 months (even though, admittedly I have not the slightest idea how long it takes to build and test a ride) is about the right amount for Disney to perfect everything (with some time to open early if needed?) Even in a perfect world to rewire/repaint/refurnish the ride (with just adding the Frozen story line to the current layout) would take maybe 9-12 months? So maybe the 16 month is a way for official opening while soft openings happen at 12? I honestly have no idea, how long it would take to change over a ride. How long did it take for Phantom Theater to become Scooby Doo?

Why would a parent take a kid through events like this? If you are wondering your kids is too young then they are.

I'm sort of surprised that people are calling Frozen a fad or a money grab. As others have said it's the highest grossing animated film. The movie is a good one. People loved the Incredibles, Wall-E, and Tangled, but none of those movies stayed in the collective thoughts as much as Frozen did. Did you know the Frozen soundtrack was the #7 top sold CD last month? That's a year after it came out. It's till a top 10 CD sold, at a time when many people own the Blue Ray. Little Mermaid and the likes didn't get rides immediately. But that's not a reason to not put in a current ride or area. The Land has an entire area themed to Cars. Lightning McQueen and Elsa are probably bigger than Mickey for most Disney aged kids. I think we have a tendency to forget the main reasons WDW and DL along with all the other Disney Parks are in operating for. 1. Make money 2. Let families create shared experiences and bonds 3. Let children of all ages meet the characters they enjoy. Someone mentioned the movie the Rescuers. Yes that was a good film but 1-2 years after it was out most forgot or didn't mention them at all. And yes Disney will and has slapped Olaf on lunch boxes because kids want him. You can spend your days upset that the past is the past or you can make the most from today. Plus if Maelstorm was a super popular ride, it wouldn't be changing. Tower of Terror isn't being changed anytime soon.

Well SOB station would have been torn down if it wasn't for Haunt. And the old Holiday Horror was always built then taken down, same with the old slaughter house. Screws can be removed.

Holy edit of the original post. I guess you read into what you want to see while ignoring facts. Sccard really believes he is the only one who believes in and wants the park to survive.

Understood please take my above statement as more sarcasm jokey than accusatory mean

Thought this was appropriate. I stopped going to KI around the time I went to college. I kept in contact with the park through either here or KIE (not sure if I was official over here at the time. Just checked, nope wasnt). I had grown bored with KI. It was a place with little things, and I was a big bad college student ready to change the world. Around 2008, my wife and I bought season passes and went a total of 2-3 times. Maybe. Just was not what we were wanting. The park wasnt as exciting. Etc. I then moved away. Then I had my son. I am now seeing the park through his eyes. I am experiencing things I forgot how to experience. I am falling back in love with the park. I am watching shows, taking a moment to share ice-cream, etc. I some times feel like I am cheating by riding a big ride while my wife watches him or vice versa. But most of the time, I get to experience the park through him. He gets to see Snoopy, and we all clap. We all dance with CHarlie Brown. Its amazing. So has anyone else ever experienced this? The growing apart from the park to only have the fire reignited by the youth of a child?

^^ Were you even old enough to appreciate the underside of Top Gun when it had movie props? The Bat has nice paint, but I wouldnt say its themed. Its named, but not themed. Right now is probably the best the Park has been in years. Slowly bringing things that matter to the park (not just coasters). Plus I get to see the park through my son's eyes. That is the amazing part.

I thought the same. I read that this ride lived at the new Coney Island from 06-07...... But maybe it is, I just was wondering

RIght. Im wondering about Huck's Hot Rods. Linked from KIC. Where was this?

Yea that's the Peanuts off road rally?

So I didnt realize it till just now. The Eagles were from the original park at Coney Island. Now it makes sense. Its not just a ride that was built in the 70s, but a part of the park's history. Wowsers. Also, speaking of flat rides... In kiddie land, we have the current Peanuts Offroad rally, which I assume came during the Coney Island transition. But I was reading a bit today and saw we had two rides that were the same? I always assumed the Peanuts Off-Road Rally was the same as Huck's Hotrods... but I guess not? Where was Huck's Hotrods located?

Great article/time line...... I can still see why (more so now than before) people believe CF closed GL on purpose. I guess my ultimate question is if they wanted to pair down the park to a more manageable size, why didnt they go to the original side and bring that side of the park back. It has a more impressive "front gate" and more area for things such as parking, road access, flats, and at the time a few great rides. Its also very hard to comprehend how much the park grew in such a short period of time. Having never been to the original GL (I did go to Sea World Ohio, and I found out my wife did as well- shes from PA), it almost appears to be a bigger version of Americana (again, I have never been to Kennywood, or Holiday World, etc). If in a matter of 10 years Americana went from a family picnic area to a world class operation, there would be some major major problems. Sadly, I dont see a re-expansion of GL in the future. The park has too many downsides now to it. There exists nothing from its past (other than Dipper) that can link older guests to their child-hood. There exists nothing in terms of infrastructure on any other part of the land. Which makes it expensive to rebuild. Just plain sad. But on the bright side, Coney Island did re-open after being gutted to be moved to another spot.

Lets hope so. Maybe in year 3 or year 4 they could hire a PR company...

Maybe a stricter enforcement?

As of right now, who knows what it could be in the next 3-5 years. Again 10 years ago, it was crazy to have a phone that could access the internet as it does now, face to face meetings, etc. 15 years ago, there was no Facebook or Twitter. Its about finding a niche. Imagine having wearing tech that does the following: stores credit card info/pays for things linked directly to your car, for keyless entry/locking/starting of the car linked directly to your house, a sensor kicks in and your garage door opens or front door unlocks/locks Go to a restaurant and it confirms your entry/orders your meal Wearable tech doesnt seem like a need right now. BUt do we know for sure its just a fad? Most people dont do the tap thing with their credit cards but that is still available. Maybe it will come back with the iWatch.

I hate when folks pull the "but he/she rode it last time", whether it be this type of situation or a kid that is denied a ride in Planet Snoopy because he isn't tall enough and the parent claims they rode it earlier in the day - if that truly happened then count yourself lucky that the employee missed the kid that time around AND that the kid returned safely. I saw a mom in line in front of me once and I could hear her trying to talk her son up that he would like the ride and it would be fun and other such things that I could tell that little kid had never been on the coaster before. I could tell he was too short and knew the employee would have him get out of the coaster for a measurement. Guess what, employee asks to measure the child and the mom pulls that "he just rode it" spiel - kid missed the measurement guide by 2 inches. She was flat out lying using the "he just rode it" spiel! Just because you rode it last time doesn't make it right or acceptable this time. Policies change and|or are more strictly enforced based on an incident, etc. Same goes with lots of things - I remember when folks could smoke in a shopping mall and grocery store; newborns would leave the hospital in a vehicle on the mom's lap; speed limit was 70mph; minimum drinking age was 19; etc. None of which is now legal in Ohio. On stretches of Ohio highway the speedlimit is 70 again... But the rest of what you are saying is spot on.

Or park policy never changed. But in light of recent events, is now being seriously enforced. On the original link, they have a follow up story of another man who had changes made. He was a season pass holder for years then one day wasnt. It looks like he was a season pass holder under Paramount then no longer under CF. I work with children and young adults with disabilities. We fight every day to get them the same opportunities as their able bodied/minded peers. I will fight all day every day about how some children/adults cannot wait for a ride because of the disability. However, physical impairments are very difficult to modify. http://www.ada.gov/t3hilght.htm If the park deeps that all guests must keep limbs inside the ride and to hold on as part of its safety spiel, then its for safety reasons, not discriminatory. In reading, it looks like the guide is dated 2012, for the one you download off of the website.... Also just found out KI offers parent swap, I wonder if it does that for not disabled parents. EDIT: the 2012 guide was downloaded from the Autism part of the site, not the main part, evidently.

Is it guts to try a new record breaker or recklessness to not acknowledge the possible problems?

Probably helped there were people actively on site versus over the night or some such

And if I remember correctly, the photo spots were taken care of very well as well. Paint and foliage all looking good...