jcgoble3

Um, if the restraints are not locking, then I hope that those seats are not being used....

Any fix won't come until the offseason, or at least the end of daily operation. Making significant changes like this is not something that can be done in one night, as it requires lots of additional testing and the park doesn't want to shut down its brand new attraction that is still featured heavily in advertising during regular park operation if they don't absolutely have to.

I'll bite. What's an O-6? A highly paid military officer? That was my first thought, but it's not quite making sense with the context.

Took me a minute to get that one. LOL!

No, they weren't, only for non-swimmers and possibly children under a certain height (I don't recall exactly). Back then, the pool floor gradually sloped down to the 3' line halfway between the shore and the wave machines, then the floor changed color (as a warning) and quickly dropped down to 10' 6". So there was plenty of room in the shallow end even back then, and keep in mind that I think the Beach's wave pool is larger than either of the ones at KI's Soak City.

Did you get her number?

Thanks for the replies! Adventure Landing. http://www.adventurelanding.com/ (the Beach is under the "other fun centers" link) LOL! For those that are newer, last August I spent three weeks in Orlando doing all of the major parks down there. I tried to do Wet 'n Wild (Universal's waterpark) the day that Tropical Storm Isaac moved through the area (we were far enough inland that we were just getting a steady rain with no wind, so I figured that I was going to get wet anyway at a waterpark). However, they shut down after just one hour because they didn't have the minimum required number of guests (50) enter the park in the first hour. The line for the Cliff (the big red slide that you refer to) was at the top of the stairs when I rode it, about a five-minute wait. The crowds were very light yesterday, but consider that 1) kids are already going back to school in some places, 2) this week was when they began shortening their hours, which is an indication of expecting small crowds, and 3) the forecast of thunderstorms likely kept a relatively large number of people away. Given those factors, I don't think we can judge the health of the park on yesterday's crowds. The crowd level on a hot July Saturday next year will be more of an indication of how well the place is doing. I'm interested to see your report! I started sitting up as well, so that's not it. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. (Actually, I think you go slower on body slides when you sit up because it greatly increases the air resistance.)

who cares I do, for one. Apparently, so does rcwizard13.

I'll bite. What's an O-6?

I've ridden TTD in the front seat at night several times and have yet to hit a bug. The fact that all of my CP visits have been on cool, damp days with off-and-on rain may have something to do with that.

Hmm. I wasn't planning on going back to KI until the birthday bash on the 8th, but I may have to make a trip for this. I missed last year's Dollar Days because I was in Florida at the time.

I left Xenia at about 9:30 and pulled into the Beach's parking lot at 10:15. After paying the $8 to park, I headed for the season pass office and bought a 2014 Adventure Pass and got my parking refunded (since the Adventure Pass includes parking). Entering the park, I rented a locker to put my stuff in. Why does Kings Island need to charge $12 to $15 for a locker? The Beach charges just $5 plus a $5 key deposit. Much more reasonable. Anyway, I walked around until I found what I was looking for: sand. I love sand. I plopped down in the sand and started scooping up the largest handfuls of sand I could get and covered myself almost from head to toe with it. I then got up and wandered around a bit, getting a feel for the layout before making my way to the wave pool, where I submerged myself to rinse off the sand. Here I found the first two changes made by the new ownership. First, under the old owners, the free life jackets were Type II, which are the boxy bright orange ones that do not go around your back except for a strap. I hated those because they would restrict my arm movement, so in 2011 (the last time I had a Beach season pass) I bought a Type III lifejacket—the kind that come in various colors, go around both your front and back, and are designed to allow full arm movement—from Dick's Sporting Goods for use at the Beach. This year, however, the Beach has Type III lifejackets, which I like better. However, I did not need a lifejacket at all because of the other change. In 2011, the wave pool was 10' 6" deep at the deep end. This year, the "deep end" is only 4' 6" deep, so I can comfortably touch bottom at the deepest part when the waves are not on. After frolicking in the wave pool for a few minutes, I made my way to Hang Ten. Here, you sit (not lay) on a flat mat with no handles while you go through an enclosed dark slide. I found it to be surprisingly fun. Cowabunga Curl was the next place I went; I rode the orange and yellow slides with no wait at all, then the green slide after waiting a couple of minutes. I like the yellow slide best of the three, as it's a little faster and more intense. The green slide had me oscillating from one side of the flume to the other down the final straight into the splash pool, which was a bit of a wild ride. Next up was Banzai Blast. If you've never ridden Banzai Blast, it is a pair of high-speed triple drop racing slides and one of the most intense rides in the park. You get going so fast that when you go over the third drop, you actually go airborne for about a second. Today was no exception to that, and it was just as fun as it was in 2011 with only a one-minute wait. I then hiked all the way back up the stairs to the Cliff. Now, the website claims that you get "three full seconds of pure air". I'd like to dispute that, because this was my second ever ride on the Cliff, and like the first time, I got no airtime at all. Maybe I'm just not getting a fast enough start, and if that's the case, I don't know how to start faster. Whatever the case, I was in contact with the slide all the way down. It was still fun, but considering the five-minute wait on a slow day that will almost certainly be longer on a beautiful mid-summer day next year, Banzai Blast is a better use of my time. At this point it was nearing 11:30, and I was waiting on the back half of the park to open (it opens at noon). To kill time, I went up to the front of the park and rode Kamikaze with no wait. At first I thought that this was the same slide that was called Volcanic Panic under the previous owners, but it is in fact a different slide. It's faster and more fun than what it replaced, and it exited out into Paradise Cove, where I spent a few minutes relaxing. After that, I took two laps in the lazy river and then waited for the gates to the back half of the park to open. When they did, I went into the High Tide Hoops pool and shot some hoops with a father and son for about 15 minutes. I knew I sucked at basketball on the court, but I suck even more in the water. At least I managed to not throw the ball over the fence out of the pool like someone else did. After I got tired of shooting airballs, I grabbed a tube and headed up to Maui Wowie (I can't help but laugh at that name), which had a ten-minute wait. This is an extra-wide slide with three gradual drops, but it's a bit more intense than it looks from the bottom. Pipeline Plunge (the body slide next to Maui Wowie) appeared to be closed despite having water running through it, as there was no lifeguard at the top. At this point, I began to make my way over to the water coaster, Big Kahuna, in hopes of being able to pair up with somebody, but just as I began to make my way there, an announcement came over the PA system that all rides were shutting down due to an approaching thunderstorm. A few seconds later, I heard lifeguard whistles everywhere closely followed by a bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder only a couple seconds later. I went to my locker and got my phone and money out and got in line to get something to eat; it was about 12:30. Checking radar, I discovered that a thunderstorm had literally just popped up out of nowhere almost right on top of us; it looked like it might be pouring down rain at Kings Island, it was that close. There was very little behind this pop-up storm, so I felt confident that they would get everything reopened before too long. I bought a large cheese coney ($3.99, but about twice the size of the Skyline cheese coneys you get at KI) and a 24 oz. Mello Yello ($2.99). With my 10% season pass discount, the total came to $6 and some odd change. I kept checking the radar as I ate and was dismayed to see more storms developing and growing behind us (though it wasn't raining at the Beach yet). After a while, I moseyed into the arcade and blew $10 in tokens, winning 390 tickets. After discovering that like most amusement park arcades they had no prizes of interest to adults, I just gave my ticket counter receipt to the worker at the redemption counter and told him to give it to the next person that came up. While I was in the arcade, it started raining. No, strike that: it started pouring. As I was getting ready to walk out of the arcade at about 1:30, another announcement was made over the PA system that due to the inclement weather, the park would be closing at 2:00. So much for a whole day at the waterpark. I waited for about 15 minutes for the rain to let up, then went to my locker, got my stuff out, returned my key and got my deposit back, and left, hitting Bob Evans on the way out for a little bit more to eat. Since I didn't come equipped for coaster riding and knew that things would also be shut down at KI for a while anyway, I decided to just head home from there.

I knew that would happen. People are confusing the fatal Texas Giant accident with the non-fatal Shoot the Rapids accident.

What jdawg said.

No, reread your post and find the error.

^ Calling Terpy...

When I use systems like this, I pay close attention to the amount of money left on them. The receipt typically provides the balance, and I NEVER throw away the most recent receipt so I always have the current balance. Also, I usually determine my budget in advance and load exactly that amount onto the wristband. That way, in order to go over budget, I would have to hand over more cash, which makes me stop and think before I run out (and I might not even have extra cash on me to begin with).

Three years ago, I would have said yes. Since then, they've retracked almost the entire ride, and it is MUCH smoother. I find even wheel seats to be comfortable now. I'm 26, so YMMV. On the other hand, the two sides of The Racer are NOT the same. Blue is significantly rougher than Red, and both are rougher than The Beast. Make sure to avoid wheel seats on The Racer.

Oh, and since no one has done it yet: Welcome to KIC!

Yes, your glasses will be fine on all rides. KI actually does not even require a safety strap on any ride. The Firehawk rule is for those who don't have a strap and don't want to risk losing their glasses.

That's only done on very rare occasions for special events, such as the KIC Revival event in June of this year.

Crowds: Could be dead, could be packed. There's really no way to tell until you get there. Saturday will be busier than Friday or Sunday; I can say that. Parking: Yes, a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass includes free parking at all Cedar Fair parks, including Kings Island. First rides: Your Platinum Pass also includes early entry at 9:30 am to ride Diamondback, The Beast, and Backlot Stunt Coaster. Take advantage of that as all three will be among the longest lines in the park on a busy day (DB and Beast due to popularity, BLSC due to low capacity). When 10:00 approaches, wait at the rope next to BLSC (unlike CP, only certain sections of the park are open during early entry), and when the rope is dropped, make a beeline for Firehawk and Flight of Fear to get them out of the way before they get long lines. Note that Firehawk, like Millie and Dragster, has a "no loose articles in line" policy; only flip-flops and prescription glasses can be left in the station. Lockers are nearby if you need them. After FOF and Firehawk, only Invertigo, Drop Tower, and Delirium remain in the "rides that get long lines" category, so start picking what looks interesting to you. Some rides have shorter lines than it looks. A line spilling out onto the midway for Vortex is only about 20 minutes. The same on Adventure Express is about 15 minutes. Food: I'd wait on the Backyard BBQ and see what else looks interesting. The Snake Pit next to Diamondback sells excellent made-to-order cheesesteaks. I have committed a sin by not having one of those this year. Hank's in Oktoberfest near the Coney Mall entrance is possibly the best deal in the park; you get a huge burrito or taco salad for $7.59. The trick is to catch them when they're open; they typically close early and sometimes exceedingly so. Since you're not from the Cincy area, you need to give Skyline Chili a try. It's a local favorite (even though I prefer Gold Star Chili). Shows: There will not be any shows on Friday. Rock 'n Roll Never Forgets, Remember When: The 70's [sic]!, and Playlist, Live! will have shows on Saturday and Sunday per the schedule on the website. Arcade: Yes, there are two arcades, one in Coney Mall and one in Rivertown near The Beast. The KI website says the shows are still going but only on Saturday and Sunday. I'm confused. Wired my schedule says diffrent Schedules picked up in-park prior to the 11th say that the schedule is valid through the 11th. This is just because the schedule changes after that date. The shows I mentioned above are still running.

They are definitely going vertical. I just left the park an hour ago. Looks like most of the beams for the station are up. So far, the best view of the station construction is from Drop Tower. Station or the storage house for the trains?

I blame the GOCC Facebook page for giving me the wrong date and time.

I was able to get an interview with Don on my last visit to the park. We talk about the restraints on Banshee! I think this video will address some of your and others concerns! Enjoy! What did he say about the problems with Gatekeeper's restraints? Right as you asked him about them, either the wind picked up, the microphone had problems, or both, because I could not hear a single word of Don's answer to that question.