medford

I remember the "action" scene around the fort as a kid and I think I knew that the train route was rerouted when the water park was built, but watching this was the first time that I connected that my memories of the fort and action scene as a kid took place in a different fort than the one built around the house. By the time the water park was built, I was to old and "cool" to make the train ride a regular attraction while at the park so there is a sizable (maybe longer than 20 year gap) b/w those days and when my oldest was built and the train went from a "once every handful of years" kind of attraction to a "must ride it every time" kind of attraction. Sadly, I've come thru the other side with my 3rd child now tall enough to ride everything and the train is once again a "once every handful of years" kind of attraction". It won't be too long (but hopefully not too soon either considering my oldest is just 16) before I circle back with grand kids and the train once again becoming a "must ride every time" kind of attraction Thanks for posting this, it was an enjoyable watch.

I thought about including Orion, because as you say, it def changed the skyline (Dinosaurs Alive didn't change the skyline but its entrance was a part of Coney for a bit). However, I was thinking more along the feel of the Coney Mall strip/street. Lots of subtle changes like the addition of the BBQ restaurant, repainting of The Racers, lighting packages for Monster, Scrambler and Shake Rattle and Roll, but all the changes have been relatively small (even the addition/subtraction of rides like Flight Commander in the grand scheme. The addition of Vortex and the subtraction of Vortex is pretty much it as far as big changes go, at least that I can think of to the feel of Coney. WindSeeker looms over the place, but sits at the end, kind of tucked away and doesn't really feel like part of Coney to me (kind of like Days of thunder and Flight of Fear never did/have. It feels like its always been leave Oktoberfest, pass under the Coney Sign (why get rid of that?) racers on the left, retail on the right. Food establishments then flats then games (arcade or other wise) followed by flats, food establishments and Vortex. Kind of a roller coaster sandwich. A new, crowd drawing roller coaster (Vortex became too violent for many, including myself in his later days, though i still adored it) could be the spring board to a big change for the area. Lots of flats or a new restaurant, different, modern games that feel like they draw crowds in, etc... I guess my hope, is that there may become a describable image in our head of what Coney meant/feel like. A time during Vortex and a time post Vortex.

If Coney mall did a get a big revamp, it would likely include a bunch of the Carnival type games and maybe the arcade. Anyone have any insight into how much revenue is generated at the arcade and carnival games? Seems like both are usually pretty quit, though I suspect the upkeep and maintenance, especially on the carnival games is pretty low. Since both of these are often staples at other parks, how could KI incorporate those better? Would a sit down dining area be worthwhile in this area? Already have the BBQ place not to mention the diner, skyline, etc... Could flats be added in place of some of the games? Coney seems to have stayed largely the same since the parks opening, with slight changes every few years that bleed over thru the memory of time and keeps the area "same as it ever was" even if the changes and updates are indeed happening. Vortex was the last big thing to really hit that walkway (though one could argue the stunt coaster invades on the ambiance) in 30+ years. A Vortex replacement would be the perfect opportunity for a huge facelift across the entire coney main street.

FWIW, Park was def busier friday night than it was the opening friday night of haunt, however it wasn't horrible. I was in that line waiting to get in, but my friend I was meeting up with was running late so we didn't really start trying to get on anything until 6:30 or so. Diamondback was a pretty short wait, maybe 20 min. We went on Mystic Timbers, all the kids rode while the dads sat it out, the line looked fairly short, but it took the kids a bit longer to get thru than anticipated. We grabbed dinner and by this point it was dark outside. Beast line was out the entrance (not sure how many switchbacks were open or if they were using the secondary switch backs, haven't seen that since I was a kid many, many years ago. We decided to try slaughterhouse. I was surprised that the wait was only like 15 min. Its the only haunt we did this time around, I was expecting a much longer wait. Kids rode shake rattle and roll then we tried to get on Orion, i was told it was a 75 min wait, and the kids decided they didn't feel like waiting that long. FOF was a 90 min wait I was told, so we headed over to The Racers. A few switch backs were open and the line was backed up to the entrance, but it moved quickly, maybe 15 min to get on, 20 tops. Seemed like the blue side was running very smoothly. My son and my friends daughter then got on Drop Tower, while I took my daughter and my friends other daughter on Banshee (my daughter's first time riding it), maybe a 30 min wait. 2 trains were running and it moved pretty smoothly. From there it was about 10:00 or 10:30 and we decided to call it a night. WindSeeker was down, not sure why. Pretty good evening; likely my last trip of the season.

We plan to get there at open. Don't know if we will focus on many haunts or not. Its the same group of people as went last time, and seems like most preferred coasters to Haunts, however my youngest son (8) is going along as well so that might change the equation. Honestly not sure if he is prepared for all the scare actors or not but he has been begging and begging to go.... so we will see. Thanks for the response, hoping for a relatively quick lines. I guess if it is slammed then we don't have to stick around

Any guesses to wait times for this evening? I know Saturday's in the fall are typically slammed. I went on the first Friday of fest this season as well as a few other Fridays in the past, but I've never been on a Friday this late into the fall season. Do the Friday night crowds grow a bunch as you get closer to Halloween or will Friday night football still keep crowds down? The lines for Haunts were a little long, but nothing unreasonable, lines for coasters were really quick when we were there a few Fridays ago.

visitkingsisland.com has today listed as 6-midnight https://www.visitkingsisland.com/calendar-and-hours So does the park app

I remember when they used to have a kids corral at some roller coasters; I believe The Beast had one at one point. Maybe The Racers too; can't recall for sure. I'm sure at some point some lawyer said the liability possibilities were far too great for that to be worth the parks efforts. Anyhoo, makes me wonder what is the proper age to leave a kid unsupervised just off the ride? Obviously an 8 year old "watching" a 4 and 2 year old is far too young. Would a 10 year old watching a 6 year old be OK if they waiting in line then stood at the exit while you rode? I'm past that thought excersize as my youngest (8) will ride everything, so its really only my 12 year old daughter that occasionally has to wait in line with us then sit in the exit que while the rest of the family rides. As long as she just stands by the exit gates I feel she is pretty safe.

To me, it doesn't matter how fast the ride is spinning, if the swings/seats are capable of hitting anything in their path no matter the speed, then the "anything" is too close. Seems like the standard should be a 45 degree angle from vertical; maybe even more (up to possibly 90 degrees, though the amount of power the motor would have to generate beyond its normal capacity would be far too great to actually reach those levels of speed required). No matter the reason, it sounds like there was some sort of poor E-stop settup. Furthermore, doesn't it seem like there should be something more than just a "kill switch" on the power? Unless gravity/friction are going to slow you down quickly, I would think there is easily a situation where you want a quick slow down, not a long, gradual slow down. ie in the instance where a kid is trying to climb out of the restraints. You want that ride to slow down rather quickly rather than be allowed to spin freely if that spin freely is going to lead to a long gradual slow down. Reduce the amount of time serious injury could happen to a guest that isn't following the rules.

International street: More shade, roving entertainment. Drop the photographers that are more annoying than anything and with smart phones don't really offer much of a service to the public anyways. Have someone there that is willing/able to take a picture in front of the tower of your group with your phone (or better yet, if you want some value out of it, offer the pic free, just give them your phone number to text it to them then have ads to up sell their photo package on rides). Turn the upstairs dining room into a full service restaurant, and offer reservations for a fireworks show and desert late in the evening. If there was a way to do something similar at several of the buildings along I-street on their rooftops for fireworks viewing that would be pretty cool Planet Snoopy: As mentioned yes Boo blasters is IS, but its entry is in Planet Snoopy and its theme fits in there. I honestly wouldn't change a whole lot to it, just make sure the guns work and the theming needs a huge update. I'd re theme to Phantom's revenge and keep the general idea the same but with working pieces and props. I'd also use the space next door for another immersive dark ride/attraction/show. I would get ride of Sally's sea plane and open up that area for another flat/path and make the the linus launcher and the log flume feel like more of a part of Planet Snoopy. Rivertown, Use the darn box that was Tomb raider. it has a fantastic que, maybe the ride has to be part inside, part outside, but utilize the box and the que. Coney Island, update the theming and include more "food truck" style food places. Turkey legs, grilled sausages, hand spun cotton candy, the kind of things you get at your local fair. Ride wise, Vortex Replacement is the obvious and retheme stunt coaster to more of a cincy coaster with the signs reflecting places in the area. Area 72, a few more flats, not sure where but it would be easy to theme. Might have to knock down/repurpose the maintenance buildings with may be a non starter. Adventure Port/Oktoberfest - just make it one big area, my biggest complaint is that Oktoberfest didn't have much of a german feel to it. Team up with Schmidts for some grilled sausages and cream puffs. Even if the fest house had to become "international house" the lack of german food in the area for so long seems shameful Action Zone, retheme to a "dark zone" or whatever name you want. The 2 major attractions already fit in well, rename drop zone (Delirium could remain the same) Replace congo falls and Invertigo with a major new coaster and add some dark themed flats to the area. Water park, a new water coaster. Yes I realize they are getting one next season, but I'd be looking to add another one down the road to enhance the area. If holliday world can have 3, then KI can have 2. 2030 for all of this seams highly unreasonable, so I'd really make this a 2035 time line 2026 for The Vortex replacement/coney update 2027 for boo blasters and Stunt coaster retheme 2028 for the start of the Dark zone transformation with a couple of flats, 2029 for the new coaster replacement for Invertigo and congo falls 2030 for the Area 72 flats expansion as well as the rest of the Planet Snoopy updates 2031 general park upkeep 2032 Water Park water coaster addition 2033 Rivertown big box conversion 2034 General park upkeep 2035 major coaster addition back in area 72 I'd add better signs for each area along the way and more immersive theming.

Renegade was my first GCI, and I have loved all 3 (Thunderhead @ DW) that I've been on. Added to it, we were planning a weekend in Minneapolis after visiting family in WI and ValleyFair wasn't even on the radar; my wife was pregnant at the time, however my wife's cousin was taking his kids there at the same time we were in the area, so we tagged along last minute. I hadn't looked at a single POV video of any of their rides, I knew WildThing was suppossed to be their "it coaster" so when my oldest and I got on Renegade we were not expecting a ton. The station flyby as you wait in line was cool; the ride, especially the 1st drop took us both by surprise. When the ride was done we just looked at each other and couldn't believe how much we enjoyed that. Mystic Timbers is my favorite ride at KI, so obviously I'm a GCI fan Interesting to know, how do you feel about RMCs? RMCs, at least the 2 that I've been on are far more intense but incorporate a lot of the similar elements that give you air one direction and a twist in another. Steel Vengance is either #1 or #2 for me (along with Velocicoaster) and Lightening Rod would be ranked pretty high in my limited coaster experience (though that was before they changed the lift hill, not sure how much that changes the experience, I'd guess not a ton other than the lift was pretty cool, but you weren't exactly thrown over the top like other launches do)

Its been 8+ years since I've been to Valleyfair. Disappointing that you didn't enjoy Renegade; I loved that ride back then, no clue how well it has been maintained, was pretty smooth (and still fairly new) back then. I do like Mystic Timbers better, but Renegade will always hold a spot in my heart (I doubt I ever make it up that way again). Wild Thing was a mixed bag for me. Great drop, phenomenal floater hill that follows and fun bunny hills at the end with ejector air time, but man that middle section just kills the pacing and overall experience. That park is so overdue for a coaster, being that close to a major metro market (and little competition around it) I'm surprised it doesn't see enough patrons to warrant more major investments. I believe the airport forces some height requirements, but a new B&M invert would fit in very well there.

I always take my glasses off on rides with inversions lots of air time and put them in my cargo pockets. I'd rather be safe than blind the rest of the day

I was wondering how one gets back there w/o being noticed, but I was thinking of the fences by the front of the ride where it seems like the fence isn't easily climbable and would be noticeable to many people. Since it happened back in the pretzel loop/vertical loop (?) portion near the end where the ride comes pretty close to the ground 3 times he must have worked his way over a fence somewhere over by SOB/The Bat ques. There are several spots there that would be easy to get over the fence/hedges. What precautions lie beyond those clearly identifiable ques and the service road I don't know. Once you are on the access road, getting to the fence around the low areas appears to be easy, and based upon the POV, the fences appear to be little more than the standard chain link fence, maybe 6-8 tall, but easily climbable (though I'm sure well marked) if someone was determined. Hopefully this guy can make a full recovery; unfortunately his asshatery is likely going to cost the park money and require even more idiot proofing of all parks down the road. If it was a set of keys that were dropped, that seems like a potentially challenging item to find depending on how recently that grass has been mowed. cargo pants with zippers is the answer folks, its not that difficult, but I'm guessing we are going to start seeing metal detectors and short term "ride" lockers like universal has (not to mention steel vengence and other rides). The ones at Universal are quite easy to manage/use.