medford

Thanks.

There are middle rows on Banshee with longer belts (3 & 4 maybe). I'm not sure if Diamondback has anything similar. As MaestroJr said, make sure you empty out your pockets to give you the best chance.

Going to Holiday World in mid-late July for the 1st time. Any advice to be given? We will skip the water park for now and just do the dry side (though the water park looks awesome, so we will come back some day and do both again, but just want to concentrate on the dry side for now). Kids are 14 (will do most anything), 10 (will do all the woodies and hoping to get her on Thunderbird, I think she will) and 6, will do anything he can (about 50") but I assume Thunderbird will be 52" min and out for him. How roomy is Liberty Launch? I'm definitely too big for the kite eating tree, so don't know if I'd fit or not. I did Drop Tower once like 20+ years ago, and never again (don't like heights thought coasters I'm ok with, just not Drop Towers). Doesn't appear to be too tall so I'd be willing to give it ago if I fit. Any other flats worth making sure we do? Any advice on discounts or food places to eat? TIA

I was at VF the year their Route 66 area opened up. I LOVE Renegade. The first drop was so much fun. It was my first GCI coaster, so I may have a different memory had I been on Mystic Timbers prior, but man was that fun. After going to CP this past week, I have a better appreciation for Wild Thing now. It had been 15 years since i rode Magnum and that was an easy comparision with Magnum clearly better in my mind after my 1st ride on Wild Thing. After getting on Magnum again this past week, I would 100% flip that thought. Wild thing has a better 1st drop and better floater air on the 1st hill. Both suffer from boring mid sections (though Magnums is less boring for sure) while Wild Thing was less painful at the end with all of Magnums ejector hills slamming my legs.

Figured there may be some useful information in here for silver2005s trip report where he was asking questions about Cedar Point Wife plus 3 kids (14 today, 10 and 6) headed up to CP last week. When I booked this trip, I never thought about the Junetenth holiday and how that might affect things (it was Monday, so we were not there that day but was concerned larger crowds might slip into Tuesday with people off work that Monday) anyhoo, drove up Tuesday morning early and got to the park around 11:30. Was hoping to get there around 10:30 but we were a little slow getting out. Tuesday was planned to be a water park day. Water park was fairly crowded. When we went last year they were still doing the "have to have a reservation thing" for the water park (or perhaps it ended after we had booked our reservation). Anyhoo, it was definitely more crowded at the WP (though also warmer so may have attracted more locals for the day. After 2 trips to their water park over the last year, I've decided I'm really not a huge fan. I'm not a huge water park guy to begin with, but I don't like the way CP's is laid out, the slide lines are long. My kids loved the non slide stuff last year, so it was worth trying again, but it seems an extra year of maturation has soured them on the non slide stuff a bit. We stuck around until 4 then left to check into our Cabins. If you haven't stayed in their cabins, they are tiny, but give you everything you need. We had a deluxe cabin, that could easily sleep 6 or more. Not much head room in the upper loft, but works well for young kids (or adults willing to crawl around up there. A mini fridge and freezer allows you to store some items from home, the convenience store at the check in isn't too terribly over priced, so we brought some cereal and purchased some milk for breakfast. After checking in, changing and relaxing for a min, we headed over to the dry park for dinner and a few rides. To be honest, I was expecting the park to be slammed (or at least at levels similar to last year when we went mid week around the same time frame) however it appeared to be fairly dead. After a quick spin on Gemini; Steel Vengance was a 20 min wait, so my wife and oldest hopped on that while i took the other 2 on the mine ride. My 6 year old must be a coaster snob now that he's reached 48"+, cause as soon as we got to the top of the hill, he proclaimed "boring". I can't argue with that, and my recollection of the ride is similar to last year, AE is so much better with more comfortable trains. Now that the youngest is big enough to ride it on his own, I'll probably never step foot on it again. From there, we ate at the new dining place. Everything was delicious, I had the chicken legs with fries, tried some of the corn things which was unique and delicious. My oldest son's steak seemed a little skimpy on the serving size, but he gets the extra fries that I didn't eat so he had plenty. Other 2 kids had chicken tenders, didn't try them but seemed like your average tender. From there Maverick had just opened back up, so my wife who didn't get to ride it last year headed there with my oldest son while i took the 2 youngest around the park. the 6 year old wasn't 48" last year, so he had a lot of new things opened up to him. We eventually worked our way over to Iron Dragon, which both of the 2 youngest loved (first time for both, my daughter is a little bit of a coaster chicken, but just starting to expand things a bit). Add in a few flats and my wife and oldest were done with Maverick and meet us over by Millie. My wife had ridden it years and years ago, but none of the rest of us got to ride it last year. With the 6 year old tall enough now, we jumped on. My daughter chickened out and waited in the exit once we got to the station (5-10 min wait at most). It was fun watching my youngest's reaction to the ride. As we got to the top and started going down he had a "holy bleep" look on his face as he raced down the hill. By about half way thru the ride he was all smiles and loving every second of Millie. As a first timer myself, this easily shoots up near the top of my favorite rides. Steel Vengeance is still the best ride in the park, but Millie is easily the 2nd best (never been on TTD FWIW). After Millie, my daughter and youngest wanted to do Blue Streak, while my oldest wanted to do Valraven. My wife and son did Valraven last year, but this was my first experience (plus first dive coaster). I get why dive coasters are GP favs. It was butter smooth and a lot of fun. Add in the station wait and what is not to enjoy. No, its not the most forecful coaster, but its a fun experience for sure. I've never been really good at riding multiple coaster in a row w/o getting motion sickness, plus it was late so I sat our blue streak as my kids and wife rode it twice in a row to close out the evening. Wednesday had been planned as our "get fast passes and spend the day at the park day" but with the short wait times the day before, I was kind of hopeful that fast passes were not going to be needed. SV and Maverick had 45 min waits around 10:30, but that was as long as any line would get with SV shortening up to a 20 min at times during the day. Last year I waited 2 hours for Steel Vengance, and was prepared to drop $600 on fast passes; my wallet thanks me that I didn't have to. I tried to get my daughter on Maverick, but after waiting 45 min in line, she chickened out, and I rode by myself while she waited. As always, a really fun ride. My wife and the boys went on Steel Hawk. All 3 agreed it scared the crap out of them and "never again". I think they did the mine ride as well as some flats in the area while I was on Maverick. From there we grabbed some pizza for lunch (nothing special) and plotted out what was next. Kids and wife rode their version of Surf Dog and some other flats along the way to Snake River Expedition. The wait was longer than advertised (15 min) as I think there was some sort of snafu waiting for our boat. A fun story and a decent escape from the typical park rides. I wouldn't wait an hour for it, but I'd gladly wait 15-30 min next time I'm up there. My youngest had never been upside down before and he had been begging to go on cork screw the prior day. We worked our way over there and my Wife and 2 boys rode that. My daughter wasn't feeling her best and decided to sit it out until later so i skipped as well. Arrow loopers have a tendancy to kick my butt. I loved Vortex, but it was an end of the day, once a year ride for me cause I'd be left feeling sick. From there the 2 boys rode Magnum and we headed back to the cabin for a few hours of rest. Came back to the park around 6:00 and now my daughter rested up was ready for ready to jump on corkscrew. I had promised that I would ride it once for either of the kids 1st ever ride on cork screw and that was the only reason I would ride it. My daughter said she hated the way it banged her head and I told her I fully understood. From there we walked over to Johnny Rockets, had about a 15 min wait to get a table, so my oldest son and I jumped on Gate Keeper (no wait). GK was down when we were in the park last year, so this was my first ride. I had been on Wild Eagle at Dollywood a few years ago with my oldest son as well, we both enjoyed it. Sat on the left (lake) side and really enjoyed the flip over the top to start the ride. Smooth as expected, no strong forces, but lots of fun. I get why coaster geeks call it gate sleeper and while the GP enjoys it. Ate dinner then my 2 youngest wanted to do the dodgems, troika and tiki twirl while my wife and oldest wanted to get on Gate Keeper. Did I mention how Arrow loopers kick my butt? I was starting to feel the affects and while sitting on a bench while my youngest did the flats, I thought for sure I was going to explode. Even walked over to a mulched area so I wouldn't happen in a place where many walked around, but eventually fought it off. It was around 9:00 at this point, and despite feeling a little "better" I was "done" and walked back to the cabin early. My wife and other kids stuck around and did a few flats, maybe Iron Dragon and a night ride on Millie. Thursday was checkout day and a planned half day at the park before driving home. Got packed up and to the park around 11:20ish. Lines were definitely longer, not as bad as last year, but more crowded than the day prior. Maverick was listed at 60 min, SV at 80, Valraven at 45 and Millie around 20-30 min. We rode Gemini and pipe scream to start, then worked our way over to Chickie & Pete's for lunch. My 3 kids all hopped on Corkscrew along the way. After lunch my wife and oldest got on Raptor (45 min wait) while I took the 2 youngest on Cedar Downs (always fun) and the caddilac cars. The kids wanted to do Blue Streak again, so we all rode it once, then the kids rode again. From there, we had promised our youngest a Millie t-shirt once he rode it. So we worked our way back there to get the t-shirt plus one last ride on Millie. This time, my youngest son on his 3rd Millie voyage was hands up the entire way. he still claims cork screw as his favorite for now, but Millie was a close 2nd. We found him a shirt and got some pictures of him near the entry sign. Then began to work our way back to the exit. the 2 youngest wanted to do the ferris wheel, so my wife and oldest got on gate keeper again, then the kids all did cork screw one last time then since we were at Magnum, I hoped on with my 2 boys. They had both ridden it several times this trip, but I hadn't been on Magnum in 15 years. It wasn't as fun as I remembered. The drop isn't as fun, the 2nd hill doesn't give you as much floater as I remember and the ejector air at the end was painful. I'd reride it again next year, but I'm not in a rush. All in all, a fun trip. Every coaster except the floorless was ridden by someone. I missed out on SV this year. Should have taken advantage of the short wait, but its location in the far back of the park wasn't always convenient. Still my favorite and glad my wife and oldest got a ride in. Next year I'll get my daughter on Maverick (I know she will love it once she rides) and maybe my 6 year old will reach 52" and expand open a few more rides for him as well. I know he'd love GK and I think Valraven might be 52" as well.

I'll second what NegativeGs said. We went after church; I was expecting the worst but figured since we were going after Church we would be there a little before it was super crowded. Had an unexpected delay, so ended up at the partk around 11:15ish, about an hour later than original planned, but still was able to get a pretty good parking spot. Racer was a short line for our first ride as a family, then we grabbed lunch. Took my oldest on Orion which was a station wait while my wife and 2 younger kids did FAAC. We met them over there after Orion and the line looked fairly short compared to what I would have expected. My wife and older son went over to Orion to ride that while I took the younger 2 on the Log Flume. The line was back to the bridge just under the final drop, so not too bad. Next we all went on Mystic Timbers, had maybe a 15 min wait. Then we split up again while my daughter and I took her first ever inversion on Flight of Fear, wait was maybe 20 min, no ques in side were open, then she hopped on Zypher and SR&R. While the 2 oldest and I were doing that, my wife and youngest got in The Beast and Stunt Coaster. finally, we all met up again, before splitting up for the final rides. My youngest has been wanting to do Drop Tower and now that he's tall enough (and it was operational) my wife took him and my oldest on that, while my daughter and I rode Adventure Express (10 min) and Viking Fury (station wait). By this point it was around 4:15, grabbed my daughter some cotton candy to celebrate her first inversion then we headed over to the in laws for dinner and desert. Doesn't seem like the park ever got crowded. On a side note, why are the parking lots devoid of the signs that show you the row number that you parked in? It was like that on my first visit and I just assumed it was an early season thing that hadn't been finished yet, but they still are not up yet.

Just looked at some Glenwood Canyon info again, perhaps that case was even more similar to the Orlando incident than i recall and involved severe operator incompetence. In either case, I agree with BrownTgrr, standard procedures need to be re-examined and re-inforced.

I know you weren't talking to me, but The Beast won't be reopened until mid to late May IIRC. Still finishing up work on it. Orion is fun, great first drop (I know Furty is taller but I can't recall if the drop itself is longer than Fury or not. I imagine the experience is pretty similar) I've only been on it once so don't have much to add other than the drop seemed like forever.

Seems to me that the Glenwood Caverns incident was more inline with this incident that the TTD incident at Cedar Point. Was the incident on TTD an issue that maintenance would be expected to catch? No matter if it was or wasn't, seems to me the key takeaway from that incident moving forward is that there really should never been people allowed in the areas where rides can quickly accelerate and likely more importantly quickly brake. Seems to me that the design of the ride line was an example of an incident just waiting to happen with the sudden braking of the ride mechanism leading to the potential that some part or debris could be sent flying at an accelerated level of speed where people are calmly waiting in the designated Que area. Perhaps better maintenance could have/should have caught this incident before it happened, but I think a likely outcome is that noone will be allowed in the vicinity where a ride suddenly brakes or accelerates. In hindsight that just kind of seems like common sense. Both the Glenwood Cavern and the Orlando issues appear to be with workers either not caring or not recognizing the importance of their job. The Glenwood incident, IIRC could be chalked up to negligence, however the Orlando issue appears to be a ride operator willingly participating in altering the ride safety system. Further more, that article makes it sound like they also willingly altered the backup safety mechanism that would have ensured altering the harness restraint would not have allowed the machine to operate. I'll assume it was done with the intention of allowing this young man to experience the ride and little thought was given to the downside, however it should server as an example in all training routines what can happen when the safety system is willingly altered to allow a guest access on something they would otherwise not be able to safely enjoy.

That sounds unlikely. I'm not going to say impossible, but very unlikely. If it truly needed rewelding every day that would a) cost a fortune and b) it would be better served by shutting it down for several weeks to fix what was causing the issues. I've been told by structural engineers that the weld is stronger than the steel itself, so it reasons that if something was being re-welded every day, it would be breaking a lot and in my opinion making the ride unsafe. I know you said take it with many grains of salt, but I'm going to need a Morton's factory before I start believing that one (though if true, I'd love to hear the reasoning/science behind it) Bending is better than breaking, as mentioned above, if it don't bend, its going to break.

^ Isn't The Beast shut down until like mid to late may for the retrack work they are doing? Might want to avoid going straight back to The Beast if you are heading to the park on opening day.

Racer and Carousel look beautiful. Did they repaint the whirly birds? I assume so, and even though my kids have outgrown them and were never all that into them, I've always hoped those would disappear for the many parents forced to endure that contraption on a hot summer day My 2nd least favorite attraction in the entire park, right after Sally's Sea Plane.

@standbyme I would very much look forward to that, but I totally get how life gets in the way of such matters. Seems like everyone I know is stretched in 50 different directions the last 3 years. Times are indeed interesting.

If there is to be a new coaster installed (I doubt it) in 2023 I imagine we will see signs right away. Maybe since The Vortex plot has been mostly cleared they could hold off on a coaster in that spot for a bit longer, not sure what is the latest they could possibly start something in that area. Anyhoo, I went to go look at the webcams (not that I expected to see anything) and saw that they are off line. Its been a long while since I've bothered to look at them so perhaps they have been offline for a year + or its just an off season thing or whatever... just something that made me go "hmmmmm....." At any rate, I kind of expect any 2023 improvements to be either in Planet Snoopy or in the water park. Wouldn't mind a new coaster obviously, just not counting on it.

annual bump for my favorite thread on this site. For anyone new around here, well worth exploring.

I remember the buzz bars, don't remember seat belts in the mid 80s but that was a long time ago

thinking out loud here, not because i think the image of the blue prints means anything, but because I've posted about Planet Snoopy improvements before. How much does KI want to get back the title of "worlds best kids area"? Wildwood grove was a pretty cool expansion down at Dollywood, and while there isn't quite as much to do in their Wildwood Grove area as Planet Snoopy @ KI, its all really well done. Could relocating (or downsizing) Picnic Grove be an option for KI? I have never been in Picnic Grove and honestly have no clue how often its used nor how much revenue it generates for the park. It does seem likes it ideally situated b/w the water park and PS as I assume it mostly serves family outings for large corporations who sponsor a KI day for their employees. If they demo'd Snoopy's Snack Shack, the theater, petting zoo and what appears to be the first picnic shelter they could open up a ton of space for upgrades in Planet Snoopy. A sit down resteraunt that could double up as a kitchen serving Picnic Grove. A coaster for the sub 48" crowd to rival Firechaser Express, plus a handful of other rides to reclaim the kids area title. Just spit balling, but I have wondered how inspired the park is to reclaim that title they held for so long.

no seat belt on Congo falls. I always ride next to my youngest kid so I can make sure they stay seated down thru the experience Yes I realize everything is perfectly safe, but it makes me feel better darn it

It was a good documentary, watched it last week. Seemed like a park that was doomed to fail sooner rather than later....Katrina just lead it is early demise. I do wonder if it could have been placed in the hands of a smaller family like group similar to Holiday World if it could have survived? Doc made it seem like 6 flags was ready to ditch it almost as soon as they acquired it., then the storm gave them a reason to collect on insurance and be done with the place.

Thanks for all the responses. Other than our 3 days up at the Pointe, we typically don't spend enough time in the park at any one point to eat 2 full meals. There is the occasional sunday in the spring or fall, but typical summer visit is from 5:30ish to fireworks mid week. With food places often shutting down early mid week, there may not be a 90 min window b/w entering the park and settling in and getting 2 meals spaced out.

Probably true, just not the original poster to this thread

I haven't begun looking into this yet, but wanted to secure thoughts on Platinum + food plans. Family of 5..Mom, Dad, 14 (in June), 10 (in May) and 6. I'm not sure if the the 6 and soon to be 10 year old can still split a typical KI meal or not. 13 year old definitely would devour his whole meal and whatever is left over. Typically, we will hit the park once school is out, mid week in the evening, once a week. We will grab dinner, ride rides and leave around fireworks. With the earlier closing times at the start of last season, our typical mid-week evening visit was killed off until later in the summer. B/w baseball and football, we probably have about 6 visits we will be able to work in that way. We also plan to go to CP for a 2 night-3 day stay like we did last year. 2 mostly full days in the park, 1 day in the water park. We will also likely visit on a couple of Sundays in the fall, maybe even get the then 14 year old in for a friday night fest in the fall. So all told, I'm guessing we will be eating a meal roughly 15 times this season b/w KI and CP. I'm going to guess that the meal plan is totally worth the price at that point, but haven't looked into pricing at all yet. Any drawbacks that I'm not considering (short of just not attending as often as I think we will/have in the past)? Any upsides that I'm thinking of? Anything wrong if we just went with 4 plans for the 5 of us, we would likely be grabbing a snack or a dessert that wouldn't be included on many of those trips aside from dinner, so 5 full meals feels like it may be too much food and wasteful.

I'd venture that you won't find them any cheaper than they are online right now. You can buy 1 day pass and I believe its good for any day you want, don't have to commit to a day at the moment. Some things to consider: How old are your grandsons? Are you taking either of their parents along with them, or is this just a trip with grandma/grandpa? have they ever been to KI, or something similar, and if so, do you know what kind of things they are willing/able to ride? Reason i ask, and I'll assume you are retired or in a situation where you can attend any day of the week that serves your purpose. If you are limited to weekends, then you may want to consider fast passes if a) they will want to ride everything (and are tall enough) and b) you are willing to ride everything with them. If you go mid week, fast passes won't be needed, but have to wait in a few lines (though typically not too bad). If they are both on the younger side and you will be mostly limited to Planet Snoopy, another thing to consider is if what hours you would like to attend. Planet Snoopy tends to clear out late in the evening. If you are able to keep them up and in the park thru fireworks that last hour in PS can be a magical time where it feels like you have the whole area to yourself. Woodstock express has often been walkon, and even stay in your seat and reride late in the evening as the remaining families head home or find spots to watch the firework show. If you plan to go all day, food passes might be a good plan, depending on the age of the boys, they might be able to split a meal. My 5 & 8 year old could last year, my 13 year old....not so much, he would eat 2 meals on his own If they are tall enough for coasters and its something you want to do with them but they are apprehensive, spend some time checking out POVs on youtube so they can get a feel for what the ride is like. Have fun, some of my most cherished memories are watching the reactions of my kids the first time they got on a new ride and was able to sit shotgun with them for the experience. Way better watching the joy on their faces than the ride itself. EDIT: Another thing I just thought of, is there anyone else aside from yourself that is taking your grandsons along with you? They may want to do very different things. One may want to ride rollercoasters while the other is too nervous (or too short). My oldest was on The Beast, Drop Tower, Vortex, etc... all when he was still 4. My daughter wouldn't touch The Beast until last season when she was 9. Our youngest, now 6 was the kid that would get upset because he couldn't ride the bigger rides that his older brother was enjoying. He's now tall enough to ride The Beast, Mystic Timbers, and Drop Tower once its open on a visit (it was closed the 1 trip we made last year when he finally hit the 48" mark). Begin able to, and willing to divide and conquer the park with more than 1 grownup can make things very enjoyable. Often my wife would take the younger kids and do rides they would enjoy while I took my son on a nearby coaster or two, then once we rode, we would switch and my wife would ride a coaster or two with my oldest while I took the 2 youngest on things they could enjoy. In some areas (like around Banshee) there isn't much for smaller kids so sometimes we would just hang out near the que until the oldest and 1 parent was done with Banshee, bat, etc... but most everything else has something for younger kids close by that you never have to be too far away.

I think you need a mix of both. Skyline and LaRosa's are your big local chains that may not be available to ever patron that walks thru the doors. Tom & Chee is significantly smaller and my guess is that a large % of the their park regulars have never seen a tom & chee restaurant outside of the park. Then there is Subway (for now) and Chic-fila Both huge international chains that everyone is at least familiar with, and likely have eaten at. These are good for the people who are picky (little kids maybe) that only want certain things, they know these brands, have had them before and won't eat anything else at the park cause they are not used to it. They are also fairly consistent, you know what you are going to get. Then there is the KI only restaurants, that offer their own brand of food, things you can only get while in KI and hopefully make the trip special cause you know when you go to KI, you can get xyz that you can't get anywhere else (like blue ice cream, or perhaps a particular dish at the smoke house). There are many people with the attitude that "I can get skyline, Larosas, Subway, etc... any day of the week, this is my one day a month/year at KI, I'm going to the smoke house and getting pulled pork". Personally, I think KI needs a few more places like these, but it makes sense to keep the other brands around as well.

Anytime I've looked at the POV of Steel Dragon (Never actually ridden it) it has always reminded me of Wild Thing at ValleyFair! (which I have ridden twice (same day)). I assume Steel Dragon is bigger since its longer, and it appears to be faster on the POV (though i can't say for sure) but it just feels so similar to Wild Thing... Great first drop, epic floater air time on the 2nd hill, a boring figure 8 kind of maneuver in the middle, break run, hit some little ejector air time (similar to Magnum at CP) then continue the small bunny hills into an ending tunnel. At some point, someone will make a ride longer than Steel Dragon, but to be honest, it appears thru the POV and in comparison to my ride on wild thing to be a far inferior ride compared to Orion, Diamondback, Maverick, Steel Vengence, Millie, Banshee, Lightening Rod, The Beast, Renegade, Mystic Timbers, etc.... basically if not for the length, it wouldn't be particularly noteworthy. Wild thing was enjoyable, but was easily outperformed by Renegade. Only reason I'd ride Wild Thing again is because I'd be willing to go out of my way if every in that area again to ride Renegade; its largely forgettable.