jcgoble3

Sigh. I was just thinking about spending money on another visit to KI (I don't have a season pass anymore so I'd have to buy a daily ticket) and no sooner than I started thinking about this, I saw this news story developing via Facebook. I think that may be a sign from above for me to skip it. My thoughts are with the crew who has to deal with this along with the riders on the train that struck this idiot. I'm a big fan of these shorts on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QYFNMV8 Four zippered pockets (both rear pockets and both cargo pockets), lightweight and quick drying. I just recently bought my third pair of the same shorts after I damaged one of the two I already had. In addition to being the perfect shorts for anything where I need to secure items (e.g. ziplining, high ropes course, etc.), they've slowly become my go-to shorts for daily wear in the summer as well.

Been following this on Facebook. I'm not even remotely surprised. Suggestion: Let's just call this thing Son of Dragster.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, gets this right: https://sports.yahoo.com/cheap-beer-good-press-falcons-fan-friendly-pricing-win-win-191626117.html They slashed concession prices by 50%, and as a result, fans spent more than before.

In past years, we've bought the hot chocolate souvenir mug because Mom would refill it and drink it all night long. This year, we skipped it because Mom was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few months ago and couldn't have all of that sugar, and I don't care for hot drinks in general.

Not entirely on topic, but an update nonetheless. We took advantage of the pre-Thanksgiving online sale and bought two tickets for $19.99 each and went last Friday. We failed to take into account the cost of parking; we had always used my pass for free parking before and without a pass, we were both shocked at the $30 price for regular parking (Mom described it as "outrageous"). Food prices were higher than I even remembered from last year ($16 to $18 for a meal without drink). Because of that, we went to the Brewhouse and split a single Three Pigs entree since both of us have very small appetites, and I noticed that the pulled pork on the sliders was noticeably drier than what I remember from previous years. Soft drinks, which prices I had ignored for several years with the benefit of the season pass drink plan, were outrageous as well (over $5 for a 20oz drink, and nearly $6 for a 32oz which is all that was offered at the Freestyle stand at the Coney Mall entrance). Once we realized how much price gouging was going on, we made a point of spending as little as possible at the park once we got in (other than buying stuff from the craft vendors) and likely won't go again unless things turn around under the SIX/FUN merger. I did get to ride Sol Spin for the first time, and that was fun.

I'm not at that skill level yet (the Gauley is solid Class IV and V stuff and I've only just begun to advance to Class III rivers), but the Lower Gauley (Class IV) is one of my goals for next fall. I did do a commercial rafting trip on the Gauley in September (both Upper and Lower) and had a blast doing it.

*peeks in from lurker land* I didn't renew my pass last fall for this year because I was beginning to lose interest as I was no longer getting the adrenaline rush I used to from coasters (Xtreme Skyflyer was the last remaining true adrenaline rush at KI for me). I was also noticing a gradual decline in quality even back in 2022. It looks like I picked the right time to make my exit and move on to other pursuits and hobbies. I've followed the further decline via Facebook this year, mainly through the passholders group, and based on everything I saw this year, this 2024 schedule doesn't surprise me in the least. Kings Island at this point is a shell of what it was five years ago. I've taken up whitewater kayaking, and while that might be more expensive, at least I get my adrenaline rushes, don't have to deal with corporate bull****, have far fewer crowds to deal with, and can do it year-round with a drysuit. I was considering buying a couple of Winterfest tickets this year (Mom loves Winterfest), but the likelihood of that is continuing to go downhill.

Eh, I've moved on, not just from the noodle but soon from amusement parks in general. I don't get any adrenaline rush from coasters anymore so I've moved on to bigger thrills. I just got back home on Saturday from a trip to ACE Adventure Resort in West Virginia where I did whitewater rafting on the Gauley River, mountain biking, ziplining, whitewater kayaking, and some other stuff. I don't plan to renew my season pass as I've only visited the park once this year and probably won't visit again unless my mom wants to go to Winterfest.

I get email notifications of mentions. Yes, Starbucks does still sell overpriced tea. I don't recall exactly which jacket it was, but probably it was the GateKeeper jacket, which I still have but the zipper broke, so it's been retired to the trunk of my car to serve as an emergency jacket if I walk into a freezing cold restaurant (Taco Bell, I'm looking at you).

Posted without comment: https://www.facebook.com/539706336051128/posts/4698017320219988/

https://sanduskyregister.com/news/337812/cedar-point-wont-break-silence/ What is Cedar Point trying to hide? They won't talk to the media, won't release the name of the victim or any information about her location or condition, which potentially violates Ohio public records laws by continuing to refuse the victim's name. The public at the very least has the right to know if she survived, but the media needs her name in order to find that out. I smell something fishy going on here.

Been a while since there was an update here. https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/will-schlitterbahn-open-this-year-kck-waterpark-shows-no-signs-of-activity A few things of note from this article and articles it links to: One, all criminal charges were dismissed in February due to abuses by the prosecutor in the grand jury process, namely use of inadmissible evidence. Two, Schlitterbahn Kansas City stated in August in a Facebook comment that all 2018 season pass holders would get a free 2019 pass, after complaints of unusually high amounts of downtime. Three, Schlitterbahn Kansas City appears to have decided to not open at all in 2019. I checked their website, which simply says "Check back for 2019 tickets", and clicking on the buttons to buy tickets or season passes does nothing. Other locations appear to be operating normally. The Kansas City location's Facebook page has also been dormant since October.

Ping! Yeah, glad I could share my skip-the-line passes from the wheel game with someone. As for why that day was packed: Rain the day before caused people to delay their visit a day Several after-prom school trips Beautiful weather Flying Pig Marathon that morning (I saw several people with various race shirts on, most likely marathon runners that came to KI after crossing the finish line) Basically just a perfect storm of circumstances.

I got my final Firehawk ride yesterday evening in the cold drizzle. Right after my train was dispatched, Firehawk went 2-9 weather and the other train, which had just been loaded, was unloaded and the riders were sent down the exit instead of back into the queues. I don't know for certain if they reopened, but sending the riders out the exit and ushering everyone out of the main queue suggests to me that it was not likely. Does anyone here know if Firehawk ran at all today? It would be kinda cool (for me, not for those who missed their last ride) if my final ride ended up being the last public train ever.

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