malem

That would be Intimidator 305.

It broke again for about 15 minutes while we were applying a security update to InvisionPower. Everything should be good again, though search may not work for a few hours.

I remember getting FearFest and Fright Fest (at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure) mixed up.

^ To resurface the entire ~100 acre parking lot, just the asphalt for a 1" layer would be ~$2M not including construction costs.

^ Yet guests keep coming in seemingly bigger numbers every year. I tend to think of regional park fall events as the fast food of haunted houses. Not everyone who comes to Kings Island during Haunt wants to be scared out of their minds, and mazes need to pack through several hundred people each hour, so they're not going to be truly "good" from the perspective of genre fans. Events like Universal's HHN are hard-ticket events, and guests who come definitely want to get scared. I need to plan a trip there one of these days.

Keep in mind that the park doesn't open to the public until 7:00pm on Saturday. It will be open for a private event before that, and some event attendees will stick around for Haunt.

Six Flags has operated PTC trains, as well as several other types of trains, backwards in recent years. Kings Island has explicitly stated several times, including during Coasterstock Q&A, that they could run the current trains backwards if they wanted to.

It should be working again.

That article was from last year, but forecasts are calling for El Niño conditions this winter. https://unofficialnetworks.com/2018/07/30/noaa-el-nino-forecast-outlook-for-winter-2018-2019/ https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wmo-update-70-chance-of-el-niño-end-of-2018 As for this region, the National Weather Service long-range climate prediction is for above normal average temperatures. http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/seasonal.php?lead=3

^ When they closed, it was scattered drizzle with winds around 20mph. GateKeeper, Raptor, Valravn, Blue Streak, Iron Dragon, Millennium Force, Rougarou, and Steel Vengeance were operating. Maverick was sending empty trains. As a resort destination that draws people from a wider radius than most amusement parks, Cedar Point has typically followed the operating schedule to the extent possible. This was really disappointing, but I hope closing early was a fluke rather than a new normal; going to a park being affected by tropical storm remnants is always a gamble. I just wish they had given enough warning to turn around or get some rides in if already at the park. It could always be worse. The group in front of me at Guest Services had flown in from Arizona for the weekend to visit the park today.

If you don't have a pass and are visiting on a Friday, there's an all-inclusive ticket in the KI online store that includes both Fast Lane and Fright Lane.

I drove up to Cedar Point today, as I heard that most rides were operating (despite the weather) with very light crowds. I arrived at 1:35, walked onto Valravn, then got to Millennium Force (which had no line) at 1:55. Alert on the Cedar Point app: Park closing at 2pm due to the unprecedented rainfall in our area. I managed to sprint to Steel Vengeance just as they cut the line. Overall, a really frustrating trip. I couldn't find a previous instance of Cedar Point closing early for weather, even on days when not much more than Blue Streak and Cedar Downs operated.

That's now 18 years in a row! Not many surprises this year; the biggest upset was Phoenix at Knoebels winning Best Wood Coaster for the first time. Steel Vengeance beat out Time Traveler, Twisted Timbers and Twisted Cyclone for Best New Ride.

The ride is mostly disassembled, and 7 trees in the area have been removed.

Just a heads up that tonight at midnight EDT is the (extended) deadline for the Six Flags flash sale.

Six Flags did Holiday in the Park before Cedar Fair did WinterFest. Breaking down the somewhat confusing choices for those doing 2019 passes/memberships during the annual Flash Sale, which runs through Monday (always extended through Tuesday): Gold pass (less than a daily ticket): parking & admission to all dry parks Gold Plus membership (+ ~$20 per 12 months + $20 refundable security deposit): Adds standalone waterpark admission and a priority gate to skip the often-long lines to get into the park. Platinum membership (+$24 per 12 months): Adds unlimited soft drinks at fountain locations. Note that Six Flags doesn't (yet) have refill stations at their parks. Diamond membership (+$36 per 12 months): Adds preferred parking and one skip-the-line voucher each visit Diamond plus membership (+$72 per 12 months): Adds a second skip-the-line voucher each visit, Fright Fest maze access, a dolphin encounter at SFDK, and significant in-park discounts Be careful if choosing a membership, as Six Flags may involve a collections agency if charging your credit card fails for two months and if you don't respond to e-mails about the problem. You are agreeing to a 12-month minimum term, and cancellation thereafter requires a notice of between 43 and 77 days. Season passes are a lot simpler, but they have to be renewed in-person at the park each fall to get free gold benefits.

The park hours are listed on the website as 5pm-1am on December 31, which seems to indicate that we won't see an upcharge for the event itself. I take the split hours to mean that WinterFest activities end at 10pm, to be followed immediately by New Years Eve festivities.

If you buy a new platinum pass at another park, you get the new pass perks offered at that par, but it isn't valid at other Cedar Fair parks until 2019. Your 2018 Kings Island pass would still be valid, but you would not get renewal perks (the free bring-a-friend ticket and free Fast Lane Plus). The one exception is if you buy FunPix for 2019, you get the rest of 2018 for free. If you added it to a new Cedar Point platinum pass, you probably couldn't use it at parks other than Cedar Point until 2019.

Hope you enjoy your trip to this park this weekend, and welcome to KIC! We actually have a pinned thread about this topic, which I would recommend posting in. You can get to that here: https://kicentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/33749-plus-size-riders-what-can-i-ride/

If he means why summer daily operation runs longer, that's a combination of being less reliant on local students for staffing and being relatively close to Michigan (where kids don't go back to school until after Labor Day).

I'm assuming this location will replace Battle Creek Barbecue, which is near the area pictured in the artwork for Boathouse Grill. The food at Battle Creek Barbecue is really good, especially the brisket, though the building itself is dated. The new facility should be a big improvement, but I'm always a little sad to see a unique park building replaced by a more generic one. Here's a picture from CPFoodBlog for reference: Photo: CPFoodBlog: http://cpfoodblog.com/park-food-guides/worlds-of-fun-dining-guide/worlds-of-fun-battle-creek-barbeque/

Per the park's website, bring-a-friend tickets are $17 at the gate or $16 online through August 26. Online orders are charged a processing fee, so it may be cheaper to buy your tickets at the gate. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/events/gold-platinum-pass-bring-friends-day There is typically a bring-a-friend special over Labor Day weekend as well, though prices may vary.

We're at Kings Island streaming today's announcement live.

You should be able to renew your platinum pass through any Cedar Fair park. The park you renew with will be the one you have renewal parks at.

Unlimited 2018 visits at Kings Island: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/tickets-passes/season-passes 2019 add-ons (drinks, dining, FunPix, Fast Lane Plus) are only valid in 2019.