Lakota88

It was my family's first trip to KI since COVID hit. I grew up in the area but moved out of state years ago. But I loved KI so much I started taking my daughter there when she was five. This year she took a friend with her. I mostly just walked around with them and watched them ride this time. But even though I only rode a few rides, it was so much fun watching her make some of the same great memories that I have. As for the trip report, The Good: The park looked gorgeous. I loved the 50th anniversary decorations, and the new paint jobs on many of the old attractions made them look brand new. The historic photo displays throughout the park are wonderful, too. And it was very clean, as usual. The ongoing commitment to safety. When we were on the Viking Fury, one of the attendants stopped mid-preflight check and asked a guardian to let them doublecheck a child's height. It only took a moment to make the child get up and go get measured before letting him back on and starting the ride, but that showed me that the staff really care about the guidelines. Hats off to management and staff for that level of diligence. Guest behavior was exemplary all day. We saw no disturbances or line-jumping. I was a bit worried after seeing stories of recent fights at the park, but we saw no troublemakers all day. Security was visible but not obtrusive. Dining, part 1. The Larosa's was delicious as always. Few things can top a couple of slices of Larosa's by the International Street fountain. The Bad: The music. Since we hadn't been there since 2019 I'm not sure how long ago this changed, but the music on International Street is now big band-era jazz type music. I enjoy that type of music in general, but I really missed the sweeping, majestic soundtrack music that was there before. I mean, I love "Stompin' at the Savoy," but it pales in comparison to the theme from The Natural paired with the sound of the fountain for getting you excited about a day of fun. Going cashless. I understand the practicality of it: it makes transactions faster (in theory) and is easier on the cashiers. But it also is a sneaky extra source of income for the park because of all the people who walk out with a little bit of money left on a card that may never get used. We came from out of town, and my daughter's friend who came with us brought cash. If she'd converted it all to a payment card she would have undoubtedly left with a balance, and she definitely won't return this year. For adults it's a perfectly good policy, but for teens who don't have credit cards and aren't frequent visitors it's less than ideal. I ended up paying for most of her things with my Apple Pay and she just gave me a little cash at the end of the day. Dining, part 2. The Skyline in Old Coney on International Street was incredibly disappointing. The buns were stale and the chili and wiener were lukewarm. That's the worst Skyline I've ever had anywhere, let alone at KI.

Any word on the WindSeeker?

I'm definitely going to nab one of those 1972-2022 shirts this year. I love that design.

I pitched something similar to KI several years ago. My idea was to place a single "car" (or replica when an original can't be found) from the old rides in their former locations along with photos and a sign detailing the history. Allow guests to get in the cars for photos.

Do any of you know (or know where I could find) the list of classical pieces that used to play on International Street back in the '70s and '80s? I can only remember "Sabre Dance" and "Flight of the Bumblebee." Copeland's "Hoe-Down" sticks in my mind, too, but I'm not certain about that one.

Just finished reading it last night. It is fantastic -- very well-written and researched. There is so much about KI history I didn't know despite growing up in the area. I just wish there were more (and larger) photos. I'd love to have a coffee table book with full color photos of all the KI attractions, past and present.

Mine went to NJ first, too, but my ETA is 4/13. I can't wait!

Congratulations on the upcoming release! I just pre-ordered it. Can't wait to get it.

We didn't take all the fries, but we took all the coneys and gave some away. I told the worker we only ordered five coneys, but he just said "Take them."

I brought my family for our annual visit to KI this past Tuesday. We've been bringing our daughter to KI since she was five, and she is a teenager now. It has been fun watching her experiences with the park change every year like mine did (I grew up near KI so I went many times a year as a kid. Sadly we live out of state now so my daughter doesn't have that luxury.). The weather was perfect so there was a good walk-up crowd, but lines weren't too long for anything but the new antique cars. I expected to wait longer for that ride because it is new. It's great to have those cars back at KI! I remember how exciting it was to "drive" as a kid, and I enjoyed watching my daughter experience that. International Street looks amazing after the renovation. There is still nothing like the feeling you get when you walk in the entrance and see and hear the fountain and all those wonderful building facades leading right to the Eiffel Tower. The landscaping throughout the park looked beautiful as well, and the park was clean and inviting overall as always. The only exception we saw was the dining area behind Skyline in Coney. We couldn't find a table that wasn't covered in crumbs and condiments. Coincidentally, Skyline happened to be our only bad experience at the park that day. The automated ordering computers were down so they were taking orders in person. I ordered five coneys, and the girl who took my order repeated it back twice. Several people who ordered after I did got their food, so finally someone asked me what my number was. An employee overheard and said he was working on it. Several more minutes went by and several more people got their food. Finally the aforementioned employee started bringing baskets full of food to the counter to give to us. It turned out he read our order as five coney baskets, not five coneys. So he'd prepared ten coneys and five baskets of fries! I continue to be impressed by the friendliness and professionalism of the young staff. You can tell the park takes safety seriously. Late in the afternoon we headed to Soak City for a bit. I didn't see any ice cubes floating in the water, but I don't think the water could have been colder had there been. Does the water warm up later in the season? Overall it was another great day at KI, which brought back a lot of great memories while creating new ones.

I saw something big under a tarp right at the base of the ride. Is that it?

Those are fantastic. I miss those signs. It's such a little thing but it was a nice touch. I can still hear the tram drivers. "Next stop Scooby Doo 3 and Bam Bam 7."

Based on all of your input I decided to let my daughter try the WindSeeker. I went up with her, of course. She loved it! I, not so much. Heh. As soon as we landed she said asked to ride it again. We ended up riding it at least five times that day. On the first ride I was so concerned about her that I wasn't really thinking about my reaction to the ride, as strange as that sounds. For some reason it got worse for me with each subsequent ride. There is no reason for a human being to be up that high without an aircraft. As some of you mentioned the ride isn't physically uncomfortable at all, but the height is very unsettling. If the ride were only a few feet off the ground it would be a Planet Snoopy attraction. As it is it gave me the major willies, especially when the wind picked up and gusts hit us. Gulp.

DISCLAIMER: These comments come from someone who hasn't held a season pass to KI since the mid-'80s, and who, since moving out of state in '92, has only been to KI a handful of times. On July 23 the weather was about as good as you could expect for late July. The sun was hot but there was very low humidity and an occasional breeze. I'll take it any time. Attendance seemed healthy but not annoyingly so. This marked my daughter's third trip to KI. She was 5 on her first trip and was 9 for this one. It has been wonderful watching her slowly work her way up from Planet Snoopy to some of the bigger rides, and very hearwarming to ride some of the same rides with her that I used to ride with my mom when I was her age. In this thread I asked all of you about the WindSeeker's thrill rating and whether you thought it would be okay for my daughter to ride it. She was really curious about it, and based on your replies I allowed her to give it a try and went up with her. She loved it. I, not so much. Heh. There is no reason for a human being to be up that high without an aircraft. Still, I hung in there and ended up riding it with her at least five times that day. Other random observations from my visit: Pound for pound there is still no greater amusement ride than the good ol' Scrambler. Only one side of the Kite-Eating Tree in Planet Snoopy was working. The KI Miami Railroad was not running for some reason. I was surprised and saddened by how little interest there was in the Viking Fury. The last time we were at KI (last year) it was shut down for some reason. This time it was open but few but us wanted to ride it. It was my daughter's first ride on it and she loved it. It was always one of my favorites as a teen. I'd hate to see it go. Planet Snoopy remains an incredible array of rides for kids, but I'm still skeptical of the branding. I just don't think Peanuts has the popularity it once did. I saw almost no one wearing Peanuts merchandise, and a few quick peeks into the Snoopy Emporium revealed no shopppers. It seemed like the unload/load times for the rides was higher than ever in all areas of the park. I miss International Street being international, Rivertown being about the river, and Oktoberfest being about Germany. At least Coney Island still has a consistant theme. I maintain there is no greater spot in the park at night. Among the firsts for my daughter was her first ride on Woodstock Express. I have fond memories of it as The Scooby Doo, and it was wonderful sharing that experience with her. Her verdict: "I'm not sure about that one." It was faster than she expected. Daughter and I both enjoyed the new Gliders in Planet Snoopy. Brought back memories of the flying eagle ride from KI's early days. All in all it was another great day at KI. As the last few trips have been it was really all about my daughter, and I dearly love re-experiencing the park through her eyes, regardless of how much it has changed.

I'm old so I the music that makes me think of KI are the classical works "Sabre Dance" and "Flight of the Bumblebee" that they used to play on International Street. That was the first thing you heard when you walked into the park so I associate those tunes with feelings of excitement and joy.