Kirk Sheppard

I'm so with you. I haven't experienced Haunt yet, but I just watched a YouTube clip of the opening "ceremony" where the monsters stormed the people at the gates and I thought "yuck." I want to go see what its all about and watch Hot Blooded, but if I'm going to be harrassed without anyway to ward off the evil (like places that aren't scary as you've described in this post), it will be hard for me. I startle easy and am uncomfortable by people acting like that; just not my thing. I'll give it a shot this year, but I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it more than once.

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

I love it here. I've met some very nice people as a result of being here and was recognized in the park today by someone from here. I also was recognized by the aunt of one of the performers who complimented my pictures....and then was recognized by two different groups of guests who know from my work in local professional wrestling, which is so weird... but I digress. Anyway, thanks, yes things have been great!

See I'm the opposite. I can't stand those gross out acts on AGT. I've seen some of these hardcore midgets and I think if you give it a chance you'll be impressed. They will be pretty violent and not at all like the midget wrestling you've seen from the 80s.

Thanks! It was a great day!

According to the web site for Half-Pint Brawlers (the professional wrestling organization featuring "little people"), they are booked for the Kings Island's Halloween Haunts. As someone who has spent the last ten years working in the pro wrestling business, I think this is great! I've actually met Spyder Nate Webb several times (the ring announcer and "regular sized" member of their troupe) and he is a super nice guy. Should be fun.

I was torn about making the trip today given that none of the shows were performing, but I did think that trying to ride a couple things with low crowds would be a nice thing to do. So, I arrived at about 11 am. Parking toll booth was a bit crowded, but I found a spot fairly close to the front of the lot and headed into the park. I had been wanting to buy a hat, so I went to the Emporium and bought a "Backlot Stunt Coaster Crew" hat as well as some Claritan. Fall allergy season is starting for me and I was sneezing a bit. I decided to be brave and go to Flight of Fear. I wanted to a) see if I'd fit and see if I'd live through it. I'd never ridden it and superstar ride op Ronny (who's now an area supervisor, I believe) was running the control center. After the guys checking the lap bars (and it took two to buckle me in, but they did it), I was ready to go. Ronny saw me and even gave me a "have a great ride, Kirk" over the speaker. There were only a handful of us on the coaster and I did walk right on. I was surprised at how well I did on this ride motion-sickness wise given the amount of loops and turns. Perhaps its because I couldn't see where I was going but the only time I ever got a little anxious was during the corkscrew at the end. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I did it. I then headed over to the BLSC and virtually walked on it, too. The crew here was great as usual and the red train seems to have shorter seat belts so they had to help buckle me in. They're very kind. I walked over to Flight Deck and walked right on it, too, sitting in my favorite seat 2-1. We had to wait at the end before the train dispatched because there were so few people on it they were waiting for a couple more to come up the million-mile que line. Then I rode Adventure Express in the front seat and had a nice relaxing trip through the woods. Then, I went to the bar at Outer Hanks as it was one of the few places that was open on this side of the park. The Festhaus was open, but I'm about sick of that country music loop that plays given how many times I've sat and waited between shows. I ordered 10pc boneless wings BBQ. The bartender, Glenn, couldn't have been less enthused by this. He walked back to the kitchen without uttering a word to me and came back and poured my large Coke. He took my money and then started talking a little to me, but not much. My wings came up and the guy in the kitchen yelled "Boneless Hot Wings" and he wasn't kidding. So, they were the wrong flavor but I ate them anyway because I didn't want to cause Glenn anymore trouble as he was so busy with pouring a beer every 4 to 5 minutes for the few customers in the park. Seriously, they need to retrain every one of the food service employees on how to be courteous. Actually, Ronny and the crews from FoF and BLSC should mentor all of them! After this, I headed up to the Eiffel Tower to get a break from the rides. It was a beautiful day and you could see how empty the parking lot was from up there. I headed over to Boo Blasters and walked right on and then I headed to Viking Fury, where again . . . I walked right on. Are you sensing a theme here? On my way to VF I saw another great KI employee, Gabriel, who was the sound guy for Down Home Country. He waved. Its nice that these folks are so friendly. I thought about riding FoF again and walked back that way to see that the line was longer than it had been earlier. Firehawk was closed and I sat for awhile by the entrance and watched the ride op explain this to the folks who kept coming by. He was very polite and professional but didn't seem to know how to handle their insistence that he tell them when/if the ride would reopen. He was very "by the book," and I appreciate that but had he been 10 years older I think he would have felt more freedom to say more than his rehearsed speech. But I've never worked anywhere like this so maybe not. I got in line for FoF and it was moving slowly. I met a nice young man and an older woman who were excited to ride. We talked about the park. Once we got into the boarding area my phone went off and I was feeling a little claustrophobic so I excused myself and bailed on the ride. It was my friend Megan responding to a Facebook comment about being in the park. More on that later. So, I left X-Base and stopped by the Zephyr. Now, I used to love these kinds of rides when they'd come to my local fair so I thought I'd give it a shot to see if I fit. The ride ops again couldn't have been kinder suggesting the color of seat I should try. Red didn't work (and I almost fell down trying to get on the first swing, which was completely my own clumsy fault.) The other ride op suggested yellow and that didn't' work either. They both frowned and were very nice about it. I just laughed and said I didn't think it would work but if I didn't try I'd never know. So my friend Megan had posted on Facebook that she was in the park with a young man named Cooper (11) from her church. As I was waiting an elderly gentleman was taking photos of his granddaughters by the fountain. However, he also very peculiarly took a picture of the contents of the garbage can and did so very discreetly. I was fascinated by this but didn't have the guts to ask him why. Megan and Cooper came back in after their parking lot lunch and I met up with them and headed back to Boo Blasters and Cooper and I tied at 600 while Megan got 570. Its harder when you're playing against others in your car! We then walked over to BLSC at Cooper's request (passing by Don Helbig, who I said hello to) and we rode in the next to last and last seats. I didn't care for these as they made the ride a little more rough and caused me some motion-sickness. After this, Cooper wanted to head to Firehawk and FoF. Megan and I caught up (it'd been about 2 years since we'd seen each other) while we walked over to Firehawk. I volunteered to hold Megan's bag while they rode and met a very nice lady from Flint, Michigan who was waiting for her family. We both agreed that there should be some sort of shady structure built for the poor folks who were backing on their backs waiting to disembark the train while the other train was loading. It took quite a while for Megan and Cooper to return but I was grateful for my shady bench. We then walked over to FoF and the line had diminished greatly (probably because Firehawk had reopened.) I got in the same seat I was in earlier and this time they were having trouble. I told the ride op who had buckled me in earlier that perhaps I ate too much for lunch and he laughed and said he knew I'd fit and that he'd get some help to make it work. It ended up taking THREE ride ops to buckle me in, including Ronny who was now working the back part of the line. I yelled "Push, Ronny, push!" and they finally got me secured. I liked this even better the second time; I might become a true Ride Warrior eventually! We took a biological break (some to the restroom, others of us to the pop machine) and decided to try Spongebob 3D while we were back here. I'd never done it and didn't know what to expect. I thought it was going to be like Star Tours at Disney World or something and was pleasantly surprised to find a much bigger theater. The seats were really rocking until some morons unbuckled their seatbelt mid-ride and walked out the entrance door causing the film to come to a halt. The ops announced that due to the early departure that the movie now had to rewind and start all over. We were welcome to leave or stay. We elected to leave. Cooper was so kind; he wanted us to pick what we were doing next. We both told him he could do what he wanted as we both could come anytime we wanted and he had saved up his lawn mowing money for this day with Megan. He wanted to do Diamondback again (apparently he'd done it in the morning and loved it to his surprise). We agreed to head that way. On the way we rode BLSC in the front. Several of the ride ops were doing their test run and were having a lot of fun together. It was nice to see. Such a smoother ride in the front of the train. Big props to ride op Erica who helped buckle me in and said, "We got ya covered" and high fived me. I'd never seen her before but perhaps it was my new hat that won her over. :-) Then, Megan and Cooper rode Diamondback while I held the stuff and said hello to KIC's markr who was by the entrance. Such a nice man. After this, we headed to Congo Falls, and Megan sat out and held our stuff. The actual drop didn't get us all that wet as I've found that the center seat of row 3 is the best for getting just the right amount of wet but not soaked. Unfortunately, we timed the geysers poorly and got sopping wet from the rain showers that caused. Megan filled up her Diamondback refillable cup with water while Cooper and I browsed for Diamondback shirts in the store as this is now his favorite ride. We couldn't find any at the store in Action Zone so I suggested we head towards the Emporium. On our way there we rode Viking Fury and Megan and I sat in the very last row facing the Festhaus while Cooper sat more towards the middle facing us. It was fun, but at the apex I got just a little nervous. Its up there pretty high! Megan wanted to try to beat me at Boo Blasters so we headed over there again. Cooper didn't shoot his gun at all and just watched us; I smoked her by well over 150 points. As we were getting off a wheelchair-scooter was blocking the entrance as they were about to board. We had to walk the moving sidewalk for a minute or two until the ride op finally hit the stop button so they could help her board. We then headed to the Red Baron hanging coaster and I once again held the stuff as I would never fit on this ride but this time I can blame my height. There is even a 76" maximum. Then we rode "Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown" and it was a little rougher than I thought it would be. My legs got soaked and I was wearing blue jeans. We all just laughed and laughed. After this, Cooper wanted to ride Diamondback again since we were so close and I held the stuff again. I saw my friend Gary Coleman riding and went up to say hello to him real fast. He's now at over 3400 rides and has been getting a ton of them this week while the crowds have been light. Once Megan and Cooper returned from their DB ride, I went into the store where Cooper was picking out his t-shirt. I was getting tired and have to work tomorrow so I excused myself and headed home. It was a great day and I'm glad I made it up there. I missed not having any shows to watch but it was so much fun to hang out with Megan and my new friend Cooper. I am so glad I faced by fear of Flight of Fear and who knows - eventually I might even try the Diamondback during the Haunt if I can lose the 5-10 pounds I need to to close the lapbar. Here's to hoping they build WindSeeker with "guests of exceptional size" in mind. I'll be back up Sunday to see the shows as they wind down for the season. Thanks for reading!

1. I am peculiar. I own that. But if I didn't, I would disagree. That's different than being called dumb, stupid, and ridiculed for it. 2. I don't care if you posted an insulting video from The Wiggles, if you intend malice then its not OK. Adding smiley faces to it doesn't make it less mean. It just makes it more passive-aggressive, which is cowardly. You and I have gone round and round on this issue in previous threads and I have made my point on this issue for today and for the sake of this thread and board. 3. I have the full support of KIC's management in generating interest in my web site by posting news and adding a link. And it is certainly not a "competing web site." Its an additional place to gather information regarding the shows of the park. You are welcome to click on my links in my signatures and posts or not. You are not welcome to attack, undercut, or go out of your way to insult me or anyone else because you don't like being held accountable for your inappropriate behavior on this board. Point made for the final time, I'm out.

Why? Its so frustrating when people are afraid of passionate discourse. . . There's some very good stuff in this post re: safety issues. There's also good stuff here where people are discussing what is acceptable forms of debate and behavior and what isn't. It'd be great if a moderator or Terpy or someone with tons of respect would weigh in, but the thread shouldn't be closed.

I'm confused! markr is the member who called Selective "eccentric" (i.e. irregular, erratic, peculiar and odd). So, according to you, it is better to simply resort to name calling rather than posting videos. My head hurts. Eccentric is not an insult; its an potential explanation of someone's worldview. Posting a video where you are passive-aggressively telling someone how stupid they are and that they have made us all dumber is an obvious personal attack. And a cowardly one at that. Hope your headache gets better!

There is a vast difference in the way posters like GYK refute nonsense with discourse and the bullies on this board who just post insults. And yes, I'm specifically talking about people who post videos. Its a shame that only a handful notice the difference. I'm with you, markr. Selective is wrong and can be easily put in his place with rational discussion. Thanks, GYK, for demonstrating the difference.

That information was also"confirmed" here several months ago: http://www.visitking...shows/index.cfm Given that the shows have gone to a Saturday/Sunday only schedule this week AND given the incorrect information posted on the "official" schedule in the past, no, I would argue that it was not "confirmed." However, it is now. Cheers!

FansofKIEntertainment.com has confirmed that the remaning open shows at Kings Island will perform this weekend and next, including on Monday, September 6th for the Labor Day Crowds. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," will end on Labor Day while "Don't Stop the Music," "Way Too Much TV," and "Charlie Brown's Hoedown," will conclude on September 19th. This means they'll be open for the private crowds that attend the parks by invitation only on those non-public weekend. Also, "Don't Stop the Music" will be ending its two year run this year and will not return. More information at Fans of KIEntertainment.com

A sock puppet sound check?! The final number of Down Home Country The cast of Down Home Country 2009 & 2010 For more photos and a report visit FansofKIEntertainment.com

Given its title is "American Country" I suspect it won't be heavy metal. :-)

It was a lot of fun and you could tell everyone was happy to be there and really were enjoying what they were doing. Big props to everyone in Kings Islan'ds Entertainment Division for this kind of celebration of their casts and their shows. It was super! Also announced for next year "Way Too Much TV" returns and a show called "American Country." Will look forward to seeing my favorite show again as well as this new show.

Today's 4 PM show of Down Home Country will be the last. I've been hearing that this last show is not-to-be missed, especially for fans of the show. We'll have pictures up later tonight on FansofKIEntertainment.com

Tomorrow's showtimes are 5 PM, 6 PM, and 7:30 PM. Down Home Country closes tomorrow and runs at 12:30, 1:30, 3:00 and its final performance is at 4:00 PM. I expect a good crowd for the 4PM showing as well as special energy from the cast.

Its my favorite of the bunch. Much love and respect to all the performers in all the shows!

There are photos all over the homepage?

Just added forums and updated the show schedule.

I just glanced at the calendar on visitkingsisland.com and it appears that they have eliminated Halloween Haunt hours on Thursdays and Sundays. The park will only be open from 7pm - 1am Fridays and Saturdays for Haunt. Howl-O-Fest will be Saturdays and Sundays. Hope this changes again and we'll get some Thursday evenings . . .

A very nice site! However, you have to edit your post and add ".com" to the end of the URL because it's not working right now. But this site was a really nice idea and I love it! Oops! I think its fixed now. I've got some more work to do on it but its functional for now.