jcgoble3

Why not just use the International Street Bandstand like they did last year? Last year, they did shows of Hot Summer Nights right after the fireworks, keeping people in the park well after closing. I'd be willing to bet that they'll do the same with Playlist Live! when that gets started in June.

Thanks for the report and the pictures! Two and a half hours for Diamondback? I've never heard of a line that long for Diamondback ever (other than the day it opened). I would not have anywhere near the amount of patience to wait that long. Kudos to you.

On Saturday, I saw them giving out "wristbands" (which were actually wrapped around the cup itself rather than the guest's wrist) to indicate that the cup was purchased that day.

Correct. Old cups cannot be used at all anymore.

I don't ever recall seeing the saw in the downed tree. Very interesting! I have the same Millennium Falcon shirt. I just need to get the tags off of it and actually wear it for once. Thanks for the report!

Nice job so far! Yeah, I was basically searching for anyone from KIC in that crowd. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack when the needle looks identical to the hay. Looking forward to the rest of the report!

I'll bite: 1. Whatever is being built in Action Zone 2. The Beast 2. Diamondback 4. The Racer 4. Flight of Fear 4. Firehawk 4. Backlot Stunt Coaster 4. Flight Deck 9. Adventure Express 9. Vortex 9. Woodstock Express 12. Flying Ace Aerial Chase 12. Invertigo So I have a bunch of ties. I'm not in the mood to be picky enough to break them.

Welcome to KIC! Sounds to me like you need to get a KI fix. Hope you make it to KI this season! P.S. I love your avatar!

Waiting by Backlot puts you further away from X Base than if you were to be at the tip of International Street on the back end of the Eiffel Tower. It's pretty much a straight shot to X Base. I just measured it on Google Earth, keeping in mind that the various islands and games down the middle of Coney Mall force a small deviation from a perfectly straight line regardless of which path you use. Eiffel Tower rope to the X-Base arch is approximately 800 feet actual walking distance. Coney Mall side of the BLSC plaza to the X-Base arch is approximately 780 feet actual walking distance. 20 feet isn't really much of a difference, so be prepared for a race(walk).

A lot of passholders (as seems to always be the case with opening day) AND all the runners from the Color Me Pink 5K. THAT was the problem. I would hazard a guess that adding all the 5K runners to ERT doubled or possibly even tripled the total number of guests participating in ERT.

What did I miss? EDIT TO NOTE: The quoted post has been edited. Still, I find the quoted version amusing.

^ Ugly. (The stage, not your Photoshop job.)

Sounds like a great day! Fast Lane definitely would have helped yesterday. I stayed at the same Super 8 on Friday night. I don't know whether it was the uncomfortable bed or my excitement, but I was only able to get about one hour of sleep that night. At least the room was free thanks to Wyndham Rewards. Oh, and they have the worst Wi-Fi password ever.

See this thread: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/26454-WindSeeker-ride-malfunction-strands-knotts-visitors/

I'm not sure, but I'm excited to follow along. Having only become interested in KI in spring 2010, this will be the first major attraction teased well in advance that I'll be able to follow as it happens.

Glad you had good service and food at the Reds Grille. As for holding the door, the staff had actually propped both doors open, so I was just standing there, not holding anything. Oh, and next time, forget the wife and say hello.

Glad you had fun, and congratulations on winning your baseball game!

Yeah, ERT was double-slammed with both all the enthusiasts and all the 5K participants. Bad move on KI's part, IMO, to let the 5K runners in to ERT without checking for Gold/Platinum Passes. 50 minute wait for Diamondback during ERT is ridiculous even for opening day.

I heard them telling people this on my way out yesterday, but I'll get my hand stamped until I see proof that this works with my own pass.

Oh, please no. Anything but a Dive Machine. ShieKra was one of the most boring coasters I have ever ridden. Period.

You made a kid cry? Bad boy. The main KIC group was also at the 1:30 show. We were sitting right at the center of the building. Many of us had our new KIC shirts on. Did you see us? Many of the participants looked like they made NO attempt to clean off before heading into the park for the day. I took a shower and went out to the car and changed into clean clothes before heading into ERT. "Here at Kings Island, the metal handrails are our friends, and so we ask that you please do not sit, stand, climb, or breakdance on the metal handrails. Thank you." <-- Actual handrail warning I heard from a ride op on Flight Deck a couple years ago.

My early bet is on either a wing coaster or a giga. I have no preference between the two, though I suspect that will change after I ride Gatekeeper in June.

It could be a new sign, or it could just be fresh paint on the old sign. Either way, it's a nice touch.

Got in line for DB during ERT and waited 50 minutes. Soon after, signs for FOF and Firehawk said 90 and 120 minutes, respectively; I didn't test them. Besides DB, literally the only other ride I rode was Zephyr, which had a one-cycle wait. Hank's was lined up out the door with only one side open and only one cash register operating on that side. The Reds Grille had a 75-minute wait for a table shortly after 2:00 (but at least there you don't have to sit and wait; you can go do other things and they text you when your table's ready).

I saw a report on Facebook that Flight Deck was also without seatbelts. I can't confirm that, though. EDIT: Also, I noticed an interesting change: most of the wait time signs are now individually themed to that specific ride. Diamondback was the only ride I saw with the old generic yellow wait time sign.