CoasterKrazy

You're crazy. Most suspended coasters are red and grey and I'd much rather Top Gun have its old color scheme than the new grey on grey. Its just too boring, and considering the themeing has gone completely down the drain ( Thank you Paramount ) there's no point in keeping the current color scheme. Unless they plan on removing Top Gun, it would be nice if it would get a new and unsual paint job.

Al throughout the day? You mean all throughout the season. I don't mind Q-TV much, it is a nice thing to keep you busy for a while, but a new line-up of video clips, music videos, jokes, etc. would be a nice change. And as far as the projection screens in Festhaus go, I don't care what heck they show, just as long as I can see and hear whatever it is that's on the screens.

I'm not into shows much really, but it would be nice to be able to say that Kings Island is a well rounded park like it used to be. I've got quite a few friends who don't like rides, so I can't take them to PKI because there really isn't enough to do for those who don't enjoy rides. If they put in a few good shows, and othe things like that, I'd have a pretty good reason to take my non-thrill seeking friends along on a trip to the park.

Vekoma flyer, not Arrow.

I ordered and received my pass ticket quite a few weeks ago and it says "GOLD" in the top left hand corner, so it might be safe to say that, now at least, all passes sold are Gold Passes.

But it still isn't dark enough to be able to see the video screens ( if they happen to be working at the time you're in there )

Has anyone heard any rumors lately as to whether or not Festhaus would be re-themed and re-vamped any time soon? ( Like within the next few years ) There seemed to be quite a lot of speculation saying that Oktoberfest will soon be phased out, especially with the addition of Bubba Gumps.

Well that music right there has whet my appetite, so it might just be worth it for the whole soundtrack.

Thats right, I remember which site I got it from now. Too bad its no longer in operation.

After Tomb Raider had been announced, somewhere out on the web ( possibly this site? ) had some themed music to download. I want to say the music was what plays in the antechamber, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know where I can get it?

Well, assuming that "R.C." stands for roller coaster parts, then there is nothing there. In that picture, you are able to see another part of Top Gun's track ( which leads to the final brake run ) and a small portion of Son of Beast's 180 to the lift hill.

They didn't use black top back then?

sobrider, where in the heck do you get all those awesome graphics and pictures?

You can sometimes actually see inside the buildings if you ride forward Racer or go to Flight of Fear near Flight Team. I have yet to see anything interesting, just thought I'd let you know.

To the untrained eye of course.

Yep. Aside from the two I mentioned in the original thread opening, all of the other buildings are still there, as far as I can tell.

I still don't think Son of Beast has four blocks. Vortex has two brake runs at the end of the ride and a midcourse brake where the trains can be held if the block ahead is not clear. Flight of Fear has three brake runs where trains can be held, and a midcourse. ( Although I don't think it has been used since the new restraints where installed ) Son of Beast only has one final brake run and a midcourse where the train could be held, which means one block is eliminated. There is a small set of brakes just outside the station that I've heard could be used as another block, but I have NEVER actually seen it used as such. I want to say that RideMan on CoasterBuzz has explained Son of Beast's blocking situation before, but I'd have to find it. I'll do some searching and if I come across any info I'll post a link. Son of Beast Blocking Go down to RideMan's post. Apparently, RCCA says that Son of Beast has five blocks, but I don't see how.

They did it on Beast in at least four different places during the ride as trim brakes, and also the final brake run. I believe a few of the wooden coasters at Kennywood have magnetic brakes as well. And even if it is more expensive to install than traditional fin brakes, the fact that they use no power and have incredibly low maintanence costs would take care of the price in a few years. It'd be nice if they would do this on Racer too, so that the last bunny hop could be brought back. Even if the path to Flight of Fear is in the way, there is plenty of room to add that final bunny hop, ESPECIALLY if magnetic brakes are used. The trains on Racer aren't going very fast when they reach the final brake run.

This is true. If you look down below the transfer trak from the current station you can see un-used footers where the original design called for the station to be placed. I've heard several stories as to why this happened, and the only one I can remember is that the transfer track would have been right over Top Gun. Obviously, that would cause quite a few problems. Also, someone once explained why Paramount's Kings Island will not run Son of Beast with three trains. Apparently, the standards that PKI uses on all of their rides ( possibly TUV? ) requires a certain number of blocks in between each train, and Son of Beast doesn't have that extra block needed, like Flight of Fear and Vortex do. This would be easily fixed by putting another holding brake just outside the station and slightly modifying the track to accomodate this. This would also require, however, ride-ops to dispatch trains on intervals, otherwise the trains would stack like there's no tomorrow. The one thing I would have liked to see on Son of Beast was magnetic brakes at the end of the ride. Those friction brakes are killer coming into the station at such a fast speed, but obviously from the example Intamin has made with Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and Xcelerator, magnets can slow a train VERY quickly but VERY comfortably as well.

A water tower? I've never seen one that looks like that before.

What is the white drum in that picture used for today?

I can't really tell; was that picture taken during contstruction or de-construction?

It looks to me like those "strings" go clear up to the top of the ride's structure. I doubt they would be used for some kind of water system. But my quess is a good as yours. Anyone know why there aren't any lights on the bottom of Delerium's gondola? ( Not that there are now, I thought there were supposed to be lgihts )

Wow! That's an awesome picture. Why would Kings Island make the queue shorter for a record breaking ride like Vortex?

It looks to me like that path under Racer in that picture is the exact same path used today that leads to Flight of Fear. Why Paramount decided to remove that final bunny hop I'll never know.