medford

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.

Late to respond, but thanks for the responses. The pictures on the link don't really look like what I saw. IF (and this is probably a big if) it was prefabbed wooden track, it was being shipped as a single 10 foot +(?) stretch of track including the cross pieces underneath the rails, almost like they were taking out an old section and putting this back in its place. Of course it may not have even been anything close to what my instincts question it could be. If Gravity Group is where several have said it is, then it likely wouldn't have originated or been heading there. It was coming up 275 on the East side of Cincy north of Milford/Indian Hill and getting off on 71 N towards KI. Other than that, where it originated from, where it was headed and even what exactly it was will forever be a mystery Thanks for the responses, I didn't know Gravity Group had a manufacturing facility in the area.

@jcoop22 easily my favorite memories at the park is watching my kids experience the new thrill as they grow up in the park. Watching my 2 youngest bump into each other on the beatle bugs, my oldest challenge The Beast and Vortex when he was 5, the look on my youngest face when he got to the top of millennium force for the first time then watching him transition to hands up the entire 2nd half of the ride (I don't think I ever took my eyes off of him even though it was my first ride as well cause the change in emotions was too priceless). Enjoy these moments they will stick with you far longer than I could have ever imagined.

Wasn't really sure where to put this, so figured I'd ask it here To start, I'm not really sure what I saw so the whole question could be way off base anyhoo, I was driving home the other day on 275 b/w the Milford area and 71 when there was a "wide Load" trailer driving north. It stood out to me, because the trail car was driving really really close to the truck/trailer to the point it kind of looked dangerous. Anyways, at first I wasn't really sure what the truck was hauling but as I past it, its kind of looked like prefabbed wood/hybrid coaster track. Can't really recall it if was mostly straight or had some bend in it. If it was pre-fabbed track, could it have been manufactured by CSF? I know they have done B&M track quite often but don't recall any prefabbed wood/hybrid track. The truck got off 275 onto 71 towards KI. Regardless of the origin of the track, I'm not even sure where it would be headed. KI isn't in need of that, neither is CP perhaps somewhere off of I70 in Pennsylvania or the East coast? Finally, does anyone have a picture of what prefabbed track looks like when being shipped on a trailer? I searched on the internets but couldn't find one. I may be way off in what I saw and figured if I saw what it looked like on a typical delivery truck it may help me better gauge if I was anywhere close to being right.

15 year bump; impressive use of the search tool vs just starting a new thread. Always fun to look back on conversations before I was on this site. Hope the trip went well, but since you didn't get any advice I'll offer my advice to whomever reads this moving forward. 1) to date, nobody has fallen off a coaster at KI. Those things are pretty secure, actually doubly or triply secure with the addition of seatbelts since this thread was started on many ride. You have a significantly higher odds of getting injured (or worse) on the drive to KI than on any of the rides at KI. 2) Watch some POV videos on youtube. it will give you an idea of what to expect on each ride, part of the biggest fear is the unknown. Knowing what is coming up on each ride could help relieve that part of the stress. (as an aside, once you have ridden a number of different rides in varying parks I'd suggest against that prior to a trip to a new park as the element of surprise can make a new coaster all that more enjoyable) 3) Start easy and small and work you way up. I mean you could always just head back to Orion and say "heck with it" and know that from there every other ride is going to be smaller. You could honestly start with the viking ship as that will get you decently high in the air (higher with each set back away from the middle) to get you that feeling of looking straight down. Also know that the Viking ship is significantly less constraining than any coaster at KI. Its not unsafe, but you certainly are not strapped in tight. As for Coasters, start with Adventure Express that really doesn't have any hills or Stunt Coaster (that also doesn't really have any hills) then work to The Racers then Mystic Timbers (my favorite ride) and move you way up in height. 4) don't be too prideful to put a death grip on the restraints. Sure it won't actually make you any safer but you will feel more secure. Not "holding on for dear life" can/will make the ride more enjoyable as you get used to the forces, but for your first time (or 1,0000 time if you like) those restraints are your safety blankets. 5) when in doubt, reread my first post. KI (nor any other park save maybe the glory days of Adventure Park) aim to have you anything less than full secured at all times. If the heights bother you, don't look at the ground as you work your way up the lift, instead focus on your restraint, friend, etc...

How long does it take to go from "lets build this" to 1st rider? I was always under the impression that it was a 4-5 year time frame from when they decided what they wanted to build (or started collecting ideas) to getting funding, to getting plans approved, to install to 1st rider. If you believe that KI's next major coaster is coming in 2026 anything out of these survey's wouldn't have much of an impact, if any on something that would be built starting next season. So what kind of major coaster that would plug a hole in KI's lineup isn't on that list? Seems to me like a winged coaster with several inversion on Vortex's lot would be not only a good replacement for Vortex but also fill in some holes in KI"s lineup and with GateKeeper being as old as it is, not taking away from a similar concept already in the chain nearby. Add a launch aspect to like they have at Holiday World and it adds a twist.

Could you? Of course, with enough money you could do just about anything. Would you? That is the correct question, and my guess is no.

If you have never been to the new family area at Dollywood, KI is very far apart from retaking that throne from dollywood. The addition of Big Bear Mountain easily tops this coaster addition (though this appears to be a solid addition) in my opinion. I guess I'll know for sure when I ride the new KI addition. Anyhoo, This appears to be a solid add, and maybe if they retheme the whole area and slowly add on/improve different aspects of their kids/family area over the next 3-4 seasons they could be in the running. KI's area is great, though in obvious need of the love that they are getting. Dollywood's area is fresh and vibrant with a lot of different varity. I enjoy FAAC, but dragon flyer is significantly better version of a family invert. The shaded play area is a much needed add.

@KI Beast it wasn't an overly crowded day, but yes it did seem like operations were slow. Only 1 train on Lightening Rod is a disappointment for speed thru the ride. I think everyone is having issues with staffing it seems, though that may not be the issue for LR. KI would need a ton of work to catch up with Dollywood to get that prize back. @johnjniehaus is probably correct that its not really worth their time. But I would love to see them add to Planet Snoopy and get it back in the ballpark.

Too bad you didn't ride Firechaser express, its a fantastic family coaster, my seat had some wheel wobble/shuffling when we went about a week prior to you, but I personally enjoy it a shade more than Big Bear Mountain (which is fantastic). Dollywood isn't giving up its claim to best kids area any time soon.

I'm guessing because of their strong association with Marvel and Stars Wars now, I think most kids today will associate Disney with everything Marvel and Star Wars. Seems like both properties have taken a bit of a dive since Disney purchased them (or at least over the last several years anyways, not sure exactly at which point Disney acquired them.) Some of that is the natural ebb and flow in that I think super hero movies have been so played out that people are ready to find something different (though I'm not sure that they have) but part of that is on Disney or whomever is in charge of the scripts and stories, they haven't been great for the most part. the other area that will hinder them is for many older generations, Disney then later Nick represented the main kids programing and there wasn't much else. Disney World/Land offered a heightened experience with the characters that you loved in the movies/TV. Today's kids have so many more options for content, youtube, netflix and a billion other streaming services not to mention Tik Tok and the like. Disney's movie of the week is no longer something special, its just another option (well not that the movie of the week thing exists anymore, but you catch my drift) With so many options, younger kids will age out of Disney and into more grown up kids content much quicker that will lesson that sense of nostalgia that older generations developed with Disney Properties. I think the way older generation or Disney Adults if you will feel about Disney will be lost of today's youth if we check back in 20 years. Course by then I'll have my flying car so all will be good