homestar92

Kentucky Kingdom has a newly-redesigned logo. Big improvement over the rather childish-looking old one

That is what I was getting at. Cedar Fair has never, to my recollection, ever referred to a ride by an outdated name on any official channels. The only context I've ever seen them use an old name is in a little historical blurb to the effect of "Invertigo opened in 1998 under the name Face/Off". To see an outdated name on official merchandise is basically unheard of. Either they are breaking from their usual norms and using the name Beastie since so many people still call it that anyway, or the name "Beastie" will no longer be outdated in a few months.

I will give one more hint. When I used the phrase "out of character", it may have had more than one meaning. What they did was fairly odd, by Cedar Fair standards.

Kings Island has launched some neat new merch on their online store: https://www.kingsislandgear.com/collections/new-apparel?fbclid=IwAR2dGRGLhzv0U0mpBlMY1ID3_0MurAhrdPRV_Piq9RVxdKKtx90vHzwKw6A This is a pretty regular occurrence. Not normally worthy of a topic here on KIC. But, of note is that there are at least two things about the new merch that are out of character. One is a semi-official acknowledgement of the Son of Beast station's continued existence in the photos for the GPS coordinate signs. This is definitely not a hint or a teaser, just something unusual that made me smile. There is another piece among the collection that is particularly interesting. In the name of keeping things fun and interesting, I will only mention that one of them has something extremely... out of character... and I speculate that it may, perhaps, be an accidental (or maybe not so accidental) spoiler of a 50th anniversary plan. See if you guys can figure it out. The only hint I will give comes from an old Sesame Street classic:

The way I see it, I can always make more money. There are only so many pieces of my all-time favorite ride and once they're gone, there will never be any more. I realize that I am more fortunate than some to be in this position (and I PROMISE this isn't meant to be braggadocious) but I would have been willing to pay essentially any price they asked, even if it meant spending the entire pile of cash I have sitting in my bank account for a PS5. My track slice will become my most cherished worldly possession and will likely keep that title for many, many years or even decades to come.

I realize this is an older post, but another reason for the warnings about "not protecting the wearer" is pretty straightforward (other than putting that warning on there as a C.Y.A. to prevent litigation of course). There are three known points of ingress for viruses that spread via respiratory droplets: nose, mouth, and eyes. Masks only cover two of these three, so one point of ingress is still exposed. However, there are only TWO points of egress: mouth and nose. Both of these are covered. So a mask will successfully block particles at all points of egress but only at two of the three points of ingress. For this reason, even the best mask in the world that filters 100% of respiratory droplets can never PERFECTLY protect the wearer, even if they never touch their face. However, this theoretical perfect mask could completely prevent an infected person from spreading the virus. This is one (of many) reasons why in a situation where only one of the two parties is wearing a mask, the virus spreads less easily if the infected party is the one wearing it. Of course, if both parties are wearing even a mask that is just okay and are good about never touching their face without washing their hands first, the odds of any disease spreading between them become astronomically small. Smaller still if they are standing several feet apart.

Keep in mind that these are all the rides from the Orion teaser campaign and at the time of that campaign, Vortex was still in operation as well. These are just the rides they decided to implement in the "themeing" for Orion. I wouldn't use it as a sign that something else is going away. One of the rides in there was never even at KI.

On the rides where there are an even number of rows, they are skipping one extra row somewhere near the middle of the train so that the front and back seats are both available. I may be wrong and there may still be three available (if so, the one I'm missing would be 5-2) but they are not using a simple "every other row" system. The one exception to this rule that I've observed is The Bat, which seats only in odd numbered rows. But really that's no loss since nobody over 5'9" would want to sit in a back seat in an Arrow train.

The only drink stations that I observed being closed were the Freestyle machines. The refill stations in Planet Snoopy and Tower Drinks were both open.

Those masks do not protect the wearer from any virus. Nobody has ever claimed that they do. If you think that the purpose of wearing a mask is to protect you, the wearer, then again, you are demonstrating that you've missed the entire point. They protect the other people around you. They can stop you from expelling droplets. They cannot stop you from touching a contaminated surface and then touching your face, thus, the warning on the box is accurate, but not relevant to the conversation that anybody is actually having. But do go on believing that they don't do anything. You might want to inform all the surgeons of the world that they've been doing their job incorrectly for several decades, though since medical professionals universally wear exactly that style of mask during their procedures.

1. Not ideal, but it really doesn't render the mask useless as the purpose of a mask is to reduce the travel of respiratory droplets. It doesn't cease being able to do that the instant it's touched. What happens when you touch your mask is that your hands may become contaminated, however, the moment you wash or sanitize your hands, it's effectively as if you never touched your mask at all. 2. Obviously that's not ideal, but it still effectively stops respiratory droplets that exit via the mouth in this situation, and becomes completely effective once again the instant it's placed back above the nose. For sure, doing this reduces a mask's effectiveness, but it doesn't reduce it to zero and it certainly doesn't reduce it permanently. Not even close. 3. This is only relevant for N95 masks, which are only meant to be used in contaminated environments and are meant to protect the wearer, not the individuals around them. Surgical-style or cloth masks are meant to protect others around you. If someone is out and about wearing an N95 mask, they are likely wearing it wrong anyway as they have to be properly fitted and by choosing to wear an N95 mask, they are also demonstrating that they missed the entire point of wearing a mask in public. The purpose of a mask is not to stop the virus from getting through but rather to stop the transmission of respiratory droplets. However, since the virus travels predominately via respiratory droplets, the end result is that stopping the transmission of the droplets almost entirely eliminates transmission of the virus.

Unfortunately, only two such seats are available this year, which makes it very difficult to get a "good" ride.

It's up in the top left, but it is ONLY visible when images from multiple dates exist from that spot. If there is only one, then it will not appear. I'm on a desktop web browser so I have no idea if it's different on a mobile device.

Is Diamondback running at half capacity or full? The way they were doing seating for Orion yesterday was very similar to how Diamondback's train is naturally designed (inner two seats in odd rows, outer two seats in evens) so I'm curious if they are just letting DB use its full capacity since that's basically the same thing. Also curious if Banshee is being filled in the same way as Orion.

Old street view images are archived. When multiple photos exist, there will be a clock icon you can select to change the image date

If we assume that having and recovering from the virus results in immunity (anecdotally, this seems to be the case, but there haven't been any controlled, peer reviewed studies yet so we don't know for sure) then places where it was already widespread would be at little risk for a second peak. Take L.A. County, where potentially half the county or more tested positive for antibodies if you extrapolate the random samples. If having the virus brings immunity, then logically, they couldn't have much of a second peak as potentially half of their population has already had it. It's also tough because we know that for people who are young and have none of the risk factors, it's possible to get this virus and never show any symptoms at all. It's part of what makes it so scary, but it's also part of what gives me hope that we may be at a lessened risk of a resurgence. My diabetic mother-in-law had a really bad respiratory illness in early February that her doctor was never able to diagnose. It took a couple weeks for her to get better. Was it the novel Coronavirus? Seems possible to me. My wife and I, who are obviously younger and are also less at risk were around her at that time, so is it possible we were exposed to the virus and never got sick? Who knows! Antibody testing is finally starting to become available to the general public, and it could teach us a whole lot about what the next few months are going to look like. We've obviously been doing not nearly sufficient testing. Intuitively, there are a lot more people who have gotten the virus than the numbers suggest. It will be very interesting if some randomly sampled antibody testing studies are done and can reveal numbers that are a lot closer to our actual reality.

I think there are a number of reasons to believe that they won't become the *permanent* new normal. One concern is accessibility. People wearing masks is very difficult for the deaf community where people rely on lip reading and facial expression as a critical part of their communication. Which means in all likelihood, the deaf community will be among the first to ditch masks. Then the folks who don't like them, but are wearing them anyway will probably be next because, hey, if they can ditch them we can too. Then community by community, masks will start to disappear. I predict this will happen after the second peak but before the threat is gone. I hope the six foot distances at grocery checkouts stick around forever though. We could eradicate every pathogen in the universe and I still would prefer people stand six feet away from me. Why? Because some people don't shower and I don't want to breathe in that stank. I believe that as restrictions are loosened, we will see a series of smaller peaks. I think the next peak will come this summer and will be higher than our current peak. Even, St. Louis, the "model city" in the 1918 pandemic, had its second peak end up a bit higher than its first. Then as we get closer and closer to the "old" normal, we will see a series of progressively smaller peaks, not unlike an old out and back roller coaster. As with all roller coasters, the odds are much better than not that we will eventually arrive back at the station where we started. EDIT TO AVOID A DOUBLE POST: They don't really need to block off every other urinal. The universally accepted but unwritten restroom code already mandates that you not use a urinal immediately next to one that is already in use.

I definitely think it would be good business for the fuel industries to dabble in other markets right now, considering the abysmal state that it's in at the moment. Perhaps, with oil prices through the floor, we could take government action to temporarily redirect the ethanol subsidies currently going toward fuel and instead direct them to sanitization products. The demand for ethanol-based fuels at this current moment has to be pretty close to an all-time low with how cheap oil-based fuels are right now. Certainly that might get some pushback from the environmental lobby, but as a temporary solution to a more immediate problem, I don't think the environmental impacts of doing that for a while would be that large.

There are some factors that can help with this. First is that, beg and plead and scream as the parks might, not everyone will use it. That's just a fact of life. Unfortunate, but it lessens the amount needed. Second is that they should avoid putting hand sanitizer stations immediately next to restrooms. Encourage people to use soap and water at the sink instead. Soap and water is both more readily available and also more effective than hand sanitizer anyway. When it's an option, hand washing should be the preferred method of sanitizing. Use this opportunity to upgrade to touchless sink fixtures. It needed to happen eventually anyway, IMO. The interesting question is, how much sanitizer *could* be produced by the manufacturers each day? I suspect the shortages are due to the sudden spike in demand primarily. Maybe production could be ramped up to meet the demand. I don't know that answer, I'm just thinking out loud. It is a *lot* of hand sanitizer. For sure. The quantity needed could be a problem. As I understand it, though, industrial suppliers haven't had their stock decimated in the same way retail has. My workplace has been able to buy some for the essential IT staff still in the actual office (granted, that's three people... But that's definitely more sanitizer than you could find at retail right now)

I don't know how the parks all plan to handle the pandemic, but one thing do I anticipate seeing at all of them is hand sanitizer. This is how I think that will look: Holiday World will add hand sanitizer stations at every existing sunscreen and soft drink location. They will be free of charge and refilled religiously so no customer ever uses a dispenser to find it empty. There will be regular reminders over the PA system for customers to please wash or sanitize their hands whenever possible. Kentucky Kingdom will do the same, but solely because they feel compelled to match what Holiday World does and not because they care about the customers. They will refill the dispensers once a day at best. They also will practice social distancing by only filling their park to 10% capacity and never filling the ride vehicles beyond half capacity. They will also run one train on all coasters. Not for cleaning, but rather, just 'cuz. In short, nothing at all will change at the park other than hand sanitizer being available when they remember to refill it. Disney will hand out small bottles of hand sanitizer for free at all retail locations, with intricate packaging themed to the area of the park that you got it from. Disney will also introduce a limited edition hand sanitizer trading pin. The bottles and pins will sell on ebay in the year 2025 for over $100. Cedar Fair will install hand sanitizer stations, but only two in each of the large parks and one in the small parks. In two years, they will be replaced by a Coke Freestyle machine. At Michigan's Adventure, the hand sanitizer station will be relocated to the other side of the park next season and advertised as that year's flagship new attraction. At Six Flags, there will be a coupon in the app for gold members only, good once per season and only at the member's home park. It will be good for $1 off of a $14 bottle of Purell with the purchase of a $6 bag of Takis. They also will be out of stock at all except the most inconvenient retail location in the park. The flagship roller coaster at each park will have its trains wrapped in advertisements for Purell and Lysol. The Purell bottle will not be allowed to go with you on the rides and you will have to leave it with a non-rider or pay $2 for a locker at each ride.

The problem with that is, how much good will with customers would it cost them? You'd think passholders would be thrilled they get to come at all since they've already been given a 2021 pass. But we all know that there are certain customers who feel entitled to have their cake and eat it too. I don't see them doing that. I could be wrong of course as I have no insider knowledge of their plans. It's a tricky situation. They definitely won't be able to make everyone happy. And unfortunately, there will be no action that can please those who believe this is all a mainstream media fearmongering hoax short of opening up with no changes in operations whatsoever and pretending there's nothing going on. At this point, I seriously believe that some of those people would complain that they "gave in to the fearmongering" even if they just opened up with plenty of public hand sanitizer stations and changed nothing else about their operations.

^ This entire pandemic is a series of no-win scenarios for businesses. A vaccine is still many months away. Frankly, we've never had great success at coming up with effective vaccines for other coronaviruses, so there's no guarantees that a vaccine will ever exist at all. Basically all theme parks will have to open up for business in a world with no vaccine or go out of business. Even a park as big as Kings Island would struggle to financially survive more than one cancelled season. Companies just don't keep multiple years' worth of operating costs in their war chests. As staying closed until this is all gone is not a viable option, their best option is to open up with as many reasonable precautions as possible. What is a "reasonable" precaution? I'm not sure I have all the answers to that. Some are easy and obvious (shorter cleaning intervals, hand sanitizer stations at convenient locations throughout the park, etc) but some are harder. Queue lines aren't built for 6-foot distances between guests. Neither are ride vehicles. Is it viable to implement social distancing in these places? Parks have to open to stay afloat, and one of the contingencies of that is that they have to figure out how they can operate in a way that maximizes safety within the parameters that will still allow them to make a profit (or at least break even until this blows over)

It is true that it is up to an individual to protect themselves to the extent that they can. In softball or baseball, you can avoid being hit by the ball by being vigilant, but that doesn't mean it's okay for a pitcher to aim for the head. If that happened and someone told that person, "welp, that's just part of the game", then the person saying that is a word that I won't use on a public forum. The only athletes who deserves to be hit in the head with a baseball are members of the 2017-2018 Houston Astros. Personally, when I can do something that requires literally zero effort or sacrifice on my part and is potentially helpful to someone else, I just do it because frankly, I think that's just part of being a good person. Are we going to start lobbying against the "no loose articles on rides" rules? After all, getting hit with a phone that slipped out of someone's hand is just part of the risk that you accept when going to an amusement park, right? I just find it shocking that people are so vehemently opposed to inconveniencing themselves in even the tiniest little way to do something that might help another person. It's not like people are being asked to sacrifice their firstborn child to appease the volcano gods to save the village from the eruption (though some of the social media comments sections sure make it seem that way). It's just a stupid piece of fabric. Just like the shirts and pants that we've been wearing for nearly the entirety of human civilization that very few people complain about (which, BTW, is something you wear for the benefit of others more than yourself, even if you don't realize that). And just a side note that I should add, "love thy neighbor" is a core part of the values I was brought up with. If doing something that is trivially easy for me and doesn't cost anything can be helpful to someone else around me, it would be a violation of my core values to refuse to do it and would make me a hypocrite.

This is how some people look with the way they talk about the mere suggestion of being asked to wear a mask for the benefit of others: I can't believe Cedar Point makes me wear a strap on my glasses to ride their roller coasters. If that's going to be the policy, they should provide them for free. Under the ADA they can't make arbitrary rules that uniquely affect me and my disability. It's my constitutional right as an American to ride any roller coaster I want without a glasses strap and I don't care if they could fly off and kill someone. The bin of broken glasses and phones in the lines is just fake news. Glasses straps don't do anything because my glasses are great and don't come off. And anyway, if other people don't want to have my glasses hit their face at 120 MPH, they just shouldn't go out to a theme park.

Much like Thanos, it was inevitable. John Husted said yesterday that unemployment would become insolvent at the current pace by June 1st. And under Ohio law, we have to balance the budget, which rules out borrowing money. Getting tax money coming in and reducing the amount of unemployment going out is the only way we can really fix that, so to an extent, the restrictions had to be let up somewhat by that point in order to not have people starving to death due to running out of food and money. If people are not working AND unemployment has no money to give out, people WILL starve. And while gambling with the virus isn't a great solution, it is a scientifically verifiable fact that people won't be able to survive if they can't eat. It sounds as if it will be a slow process with select sectors of the economy opening with a few weeks in between to evaluate numbers. The first to reopen would likely be places where social distancing guidelines can be readily accommodated. Since restaurants, theme parks, etc are high risk. I don't expect them to open until close to the end. Since manufacturing jobs are "essential" and are thus still working, and office jobs are mostly working from home (meaning allowing them to work in person would go nowhere in solving this problem), my GUESS is that the jobs that will start back up would be non-essential retail. Arguably specialty stores like electronics stores, craft stores, book stores, etc are much better suited for social distancing than grocery stores are, so this seems like the logical first step. He also made a comment about meeting with superintendents that seems to imply that the plan is to not have students go back to in-person classes this academic year.