medford

I've never ate there, but I think its things like hot dogs, potatoe salad, chips, etc.... things you'd expect at the stereotypical "backyard BBQ" I'm sure you can find the information somewhere on line, perhaps the FAQ or just call the park and ask. from the park's website: Add this picnic style buffet meal to your visit. Menu includes fried chicken, pulled pork, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, ice cream treats and unlimited soft drinks. Meal time: 5:30pm - 7:00pm. BUY NOW AS LOW AS $11.79

Had the turkey leg for the first time the other day. It was pretty good, definently warm (they just pulled it off the grill), about $7.50 IIRC, more than I could eat. I had never choosen this option before, but it was after 9:00 before we decided to do dinner, and options were getting slim as many places were closing up shop for the evening. On top of that, the lady serving me was quite possibly the nicest, happiest park employee I've ever come across. Panda Express, inside the festhaus is pretty good. I haven't had it this season, but the last couple of years its been good, price isn't terrible (for a park). I've heard the cheesesteaks they make over by Diamondback are good, never had one myself. Reds Hall of Fame is getting good reviews, prices seem on the level of most sit down restaurants outside the park. I thought the back yard BBQ was still a buffett style setup??? I've never ate there, but that is perhaps what he's talking about. I don't know if its worth it or not.

Going back to where we started, could mean returning to where work fist started for this ride, and setting support steel on top of the footers. The first footers would have been poured roughly 90 days ago, which some in this thread have indicated as a standard curing time for the concrete footers

From the top of the tower? One can see lots and lots and lots of track, some of it red, some it white, some of inside, some of it outside, whatever your heart desires.

You would be correct, but the tone of the song would work well with a bansee theme.

Thank you for your service (as well as all other active and retired military)

the one caveat to that, is that most people have the 4th of July off, many will get the 5th off as well, on top of that, a good chunk will take monday, tuesday & wednesday off, along w/ their holiday days and make a week of it. I'd expect monday to be more crowded than a typical monday, but nothing like wednesday, thursday or friday will be.

Could that fit in the former Crypt Building? the pandora's box thing, obviously not the TTD modified coaster (though the rending would likely fit, just not a 400' climb.

Haven't they done a "free admission for military families" that weekend? Considering Wright Patt is up the road, as well as many other military bases (small and large) in the area, I'd expect all weekend to be packed if they do that deal again. nevermind, here's the details, just the military personal get in free (active or retired) July 3-5: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/things-to-do/special-events/Tribute-to-the-Armed-Forces Seems like they forgot to update one portion from memorial day however.

Was that 45" with our w/o shoes? 46" gets you on white water canyon and congo falls. 44" gets you on flying ace arial chase and surf dog, so the extra height that shoes provide could make a difference.

Since you're going w/ a 4 & 5 year old, a couple of pointers. There is a height measuring station to the left of the fountains when you first enter the park (its actually pretty well hidden, its right by the fast pass booth so head over to the lockers by the entrance and you should be able to spot it, but also look in guest relations; they used to move it inside at times last year, however I'm not sure they do it all this year, since its now under a canopy) It will save you time from having to get your kids measured on every ride. Get a good feel for what their height is before heading into the park. No need to hype up The Beast if they're not going to be able to ride it. My son turns 5 shortly, he's pretty tall for his age, and just barely below 48", so there's a good chance neither of your kids will be able to ride The Beast, racers, flight deck, or any of the other 48" rides. On the flip side, if they're on the short end, be sure to check the height requirements for all the flats, some things like monster or scrambler have a lower height requirement (36" and 40" respectively) than you might think, so even if they're below 48" there are things around the park that they can get on; you're not just restricted to Planet Snoopy.

Kings Island theater, I believe. They used to show movies (or perhaps shorts is the right term) in there, IIRC. I believe I saw some IMAX type (it was before IMAX, but that kind of direction) helicopter flyover of mountains in that bubble, unless I'm confusing it w/ something else.

FAAC may be small, I have no idea if its cheap, buts its a great coaster that fits the area perfectly. A great bridge b/w Woodstock express and the next step up to The Racer, Beast, Flight Deck, etc... Coasters at KI come 4" at a time. Great pumpkin coaster at 36" Beastie @ 40" FAAC and Surf Dog @ 44" Racer, Beast, Flight Deck, Stunt coaster, Adventure Express and Vortex at 48" Then you've got to wait 6" to get on Diamondback, Flight of Fear, Firehawk and Invertigo at 54". I have no idea about the seven dwarfs mine ride; sorry I can't help you there, but FAAC & Surf Dog were perfect additions to the coaster lineup that was sorely needed and missing from my youth.

I remember when Vortex went in, it was the biggest, baddest ride in the park; I was simply awestruck watching it run its cycles, but too scared to give it a spin, I think that changes a year or two later when I finally jumped on board. All these years later, I still think Vortex is the most intense coaster in the park. Sure Diamondback is bigger, but its so smooth its almost liesurely (but in a good way); Flight of Fear catches you off gaurd multiple times, but noting quite as intense as that fist drop on Vortex, or going thru the double loop or batwing. I still love that rendering, it always looked great on a tshirt. The Bat had to be destroyed to make a classic...Son of Beast had to be destoryed to make way for a ......

I'm not sure if HS football kicks off that early or if it starts a week later. HS football is pretty popular in this area, it ties up a lot of the school age kids who either play or go to watch their friends/relatives play or just as a social event. In many communities, the friday evening football game is the "thing" to do, and the town pretty much shuts down for a couple of hours. However, I'd expect friday to be a litttle busier than a thursday. If you're planning on going all day, I wouldn't worry too much about th 8:00 shutdown. I don't know if they'll do fireworks, and a night ride on The Beast is always fun, which you won't get at that time during august, but I'd expect pretty light crowds middle of the week and you'll be more than able to get a ton of rides in, you might be ready to leave by 8:00 any ways after 10 hours of ride warrioring. As far as the fast pass goes, I'm not sure how close you are to the park, but if you go the week of the 20th, I'd expect light crowds, many schools will be back in sessions, for those not in session yet, kids will be in full practice mode for their fall sports, families will be gearing up for the start of schools, so you won't have many people traveling to visit KI. I wouldn't purchase a fast pass until you got to the park. Another thing to consider, how much is a 2 day pass? I believe you have the option to purchase a return day after getting your 1 day pass as long as you do it on the day you visit. If you're staying close to the park during that time, it may be a more worthwhile venture to get a return pass than fast pass (and it may be cheaper, not sure what the cost difference b/w the two are)

If youre coming in August, I know my wife's school starts back like the 16th or something. They moving towards an earlier release date (right after memorial day I believe going forward) so they may start back up a little sooner than other schools, but it seems to be a trend in more and more schools. Check the parks schedule, and if you can go the week of the 19th or even better the week of the 26th, you might have very short lines.

By the sounds of it, the Reds HOF Grill was another nice step in the right direction. I'm still hoping, long term that this leads to a new entrance with an international street restaurant that is open to the general public like the old days. On another thought, I know KI generally tends to stay to Cincy area restaurants for their tie ins, but I wonder if they would consier Schmidts out of columbus for the festhaus. I suppose general taste selections of the general public would dictate that pizza still be served in there, but Schmidts does a wonderful buffet and cream puffs that are very satisfying. It would be nice to have quality german food back in the festhaus.

You couldn't be further from the truth. There is a reason The Beast remains popular all these years later, and a ride like Woodstock express has very short lines. Each is targeted to a different market, each has a unique ride experience. There is a reason Son of Beast was torn down, while other rides with similar problems were altered. There is a much different ride experience on a 400' launch coaster and a suspended arrow. A coaster is not a coaster, different elements, heights, track types, etc.. are going to appeal to different people.

If you left white water canyon, then walked and walked and walked to get to KIMVRR, then me thinks you turned left when you should have turned right Seriously, hope your girlfriend had a good time.

I suppose my first ride was the year it opened. I remember the long lines thru the woods and the theming that was well done. I still get a feeling of nervousness each time I crest the lift hill and the walkway beneath you dissapears. Its a feeling I don't get on FAAC or Invertigo (the only suspended/inverted coasters I've ridden). I have not ridden it this year yet, I suspect my 1st ride will be w/ my soon to be 5 year old who is "this...." close to reaching 48" (perhaps this is the week). I know he's going to love it, due to its location, its the only ride in the park he doesn't have a good handle of. Of course, we'll see who his enthusiasim last once he's one a coaster larger than FAAC, he's yet to get on a ride in the park that's scared of (though you could tell that the back seat on viking fury made him a little nervous at the begining of last season, no problems this season); then again, he doesn't think its fair he's going to have to wait another year or two to grow enough to get on Diamondback.

Couple of things: The gentleman who does the PA work for the Dayton airshow (and apparently a bunch of different air shows around the country/world) was on with Brian Thomas (55krc) this morning. Jane's fiance, was in the booth with him. Apparently he was doing the audio overlay, but also had a mic hooked up so the two could communicate directly w/o anything of their comments going over the PA system. The PA guy said as we was watching the plane come in, he could tell the plane was about 45 Degrees titled down more than it should have been; I can't imagine the thoughts running thru those 2 guys head as they recognized what was about to happen. As far as crowd safety, he said there are a bunch of restricitions in place on US soil to keep the crowds safe; there hasn't been a fatal injury to a spectature in the US since the 50s he said. If anyone recalls the tragic event that happened at Ramestein (SP?) air force base in Italy back in the late 90s where something to the tune of 70 spectaturs were killed, the PA guy said the accident where the planes collided happened in a formation that US regulations would not allow. In fact the exact performance group was at a show in the US a month or so before the italian accident, and that maneuver was removed from their show due to the US regulations. Obviously, there is nothing that can be done to ensure 100% safety for all spectatures in all circumstances, but the PA guy made it sound like the US regulations in place keep the general public as protected as possible. Personally, I hope the shows carry on, I do think someone hit the nail on the head about the internet lowering interest. You can go and see these manuevers on the internet, to the point where if you attend an air show once, you've don't really need to attend again unless you an avid fan. Perhaps the same could be said of roller coaster POVs and parks. Ride once, relive the experience as many times as you want w/o the travel or costs.

cool to see, wish the weather was going to be a little cooler/less humid for them, but I'm sure they'll still have fun. Who's up for a boo blaster's marathon?

On what basis do you assert they should know - simply because they are laboring in the hot sun all day? That doesn't mean anything. They're simply doing their jobs, which is to pour concrete footers at specific coordinates on the ground. Generally speaking, they're going to have a complete set of site and foundation drawings on which to bid the job, I doubt they took on the job as a T and M project. They should know the layout fairly well. They may not know the type of coaster or the elements, but theyll have an idea of the layout and scope. At this point, odds are there is a Forman or two that have sat in a job trailer with the steel erectirs and have seen the steel drawings as well.

I'll say this, that certainly looks hand drawn, and in this day, outside of sketch work, everything is drawn in cad. With that said, that some fairly good handwork, obviously someone with a clue