BB1

- What do you miss the most about Kings Island this off season?- BB1 replied to 16gwoods's topic in KI Polls "I miss the walk up coolangatta racer and going on the down under thunder" (I still have headaches about my grammar) Good old 2012 me, still missing BB and reminiscing the good old days. Which I'll still admit Orange on Paradise Plunge is the fastest and most scenic.

So background: KI MVRR used to circuit near/around the lazy river area of the park, this will be of importance later, and did such a circuit until Water Works was built. As well, the waterpark/parking lot is where many have seen/heard Missouri Jane, again this is important for later. I had a tenure as a lifeguard at KI for awhile as I wanted to work the park that I knew and loved. While at the park however, I learned a lot more about waterpark operations and just how the whole place operates. I also was trained as a lifeguard so I did the bobbing head motion, this is also important. So the first occurrence happened when it was overcast and it was pretty slow. I was at the scanning area after the mushroom, with a clear view towards the tube shed. While I was scanning (Bobbing my head up and down mind you) in the corner of my eye I swear I saw a tall man, in bib overalls (akin to what train engineers wear), walking briskly towards me as if he was trying to get somewhere quick. He was about maybe 7-9 feet away minimum. I bobbed my head again and looked down towards where he was coming from (not taking my eyes off the water but you can notice things coming by, by looking down the water) and he was gone. This was within just a moment, no chance for him to have moved away or past me at all. Remember how the train went in this area? Just so happened that this area is again next to where the train used to operate around the same curvature that a conductor would walk! Later on that same week mind you, we went down for weather and everyone was at the entrance of the river. As we were standing there I hear, clear as day, "Hey OP!" in a feminine voice. Now, this voice came from up towards the walkway going to the children's areas. Two female guards were making their way down to our area and I decided to just wait to see what they say. So, they come down, I ask them hey what did you want? They did not hear any voice calling my name, nor did they call out for me. Mind you, I've been coming to the waterpark since 2004, I worked at the waterpark for about two years at this point, I know when people call my name. This was honestly creepy as I know of the Missouri Jane stories, but I haven't heard of the name calling before. I knew in that instant, that had to be her, and after the "engineer" sighting it only solidified my opinion that the waterpark is the most haunted part of the park period. Mind you, I have had a few paranormal experiences, uneasiness at battlegrounds, burial sites, but never have I ever seen a full body apparition and heard a voice call me at any point ever after this. Just some food for thought: it is believed that storms with electricity can help facilitate the capacity for ghosts to manifest. Also, water could also help that in some circles. I know this is probably more like a page in a book, but there was a lot of details that need to be said. I never felt like I shouldn't be at the park, nor that any entities didn't like me being there. Rather, it was more like they were showing themselves as hey we are here too.

I'm actually looking forward to seeing this project in print as I think Kings Island is honestly one of the few parks out there that really deserve more regard for the historical importance it has. Hopefully you have some waterpark history in there as I think it is more interesting than what most would be led on to believe. (and personally is one of the only places I can 100% say I've seen/heard paranormal activity at in the park)

To be frank, I think the "traditional era" (if you even want to call it that) of the Drop Tower phase is kind of over. I do not think we need another traditional Drop Tower, however I think a S&S Launch Tower would fit perfectly if the park would want a small impact, small footprint attraction somewhere around Coney or Oktoberfest. I would also like to believe that Drop Tower could be removed and upgraded for a Falcon's Fury style attraction some day in the near future as I think, in my opinion, the traditional Drop Tower design is dated and just doesn't do it for me anymore.

I don't think you get the point of the wording here bud. I called CP a museum for a reason. I used diverse for KI as there are several parks with only sit down Arrows. I agree CP is more diversified, but the design of the post was to give credence to both park's historical ties while giving it in a different blend.

Personally, there's a few out there that I think every enthusiast should go to: 1. Cedar Point, America's True Roller Coast: Just in general, this park is a living, breathing, coaster museum with a ton of historic feats and attractions being housed there. Plus, it has some of the best coasters in the nation, you simply can't beat a line up with Steel Vengeance, Millennium Force, and Maverick. Plus, it has arguably one of the best beaches, primarily because of the views of the coasters behind you. 2. Knoebels/Lakemont Park: I'm going to lump both of these parks together due to the proximity and just similar vibes therein. Knoebels has Phoenix and Twister, which honestly speaking, Twister should get a lot more love than what it receives because it is extremely close to Phoenix IMO. Lakemont Park, you have the oldest coaster in the nation, that park is a legacy and should be more frequented because it is a precious landmark that is honestly legendary anymore. 3. Knott's Berry Farms: Alright, I'm going to be real, this was a hard choice between Carowinds, SFFT and Knott's, but Knott's held out. It is honestly the true success story from the west, what was once a farm for boysenberries, became a whole theme park that is honestly the best theme park out there. With spectacular theming, world class attractions, and food that can satisfy even the most critical thoosie, Knott's has a history that it hasn't let go of and chases with every addition they have. 4. Kings Island: Kings Island, while in modern terms is behind alot of parks, for historical reasons still ranks high up there. KI has a legendary, albeit mostly rough, wooden coaster line up that is almost hallowed with the wooden coaster length record. This, coupled with three very popular B&M coasters and a diverse blend of classic Arrow's give the park an edge and definitely gives people an excuse to come up. Oh yeah, and the blue ice cream.

There's actually several neighborhoods in NKY that have a few graveyards mixed in. I know of a prominent one that had to create an actual round about around it to work around the plot.

This is actually mfw I read this thread anymore. *sigh* I'm excited to get on Banshee tomorrow or Sunday, I missed it last week and I'm not going to miss it again!

On that same track of concept, Banshee is, besides Orion IIRC, the most technologically advanced coaster in the park. It's practically a computer that just so happens to be a coaster at some points. With the amount of sensors it has, I wouldn't be surprised if one went out and it just needs that kind of work done instead of track work.

^So that comes on the tail of Newsom basically saying no and no to the concept. If anything, they're going deeper by saying that you have to wear a mask inbetween bites of food now. https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/07/newsom-no-hurry-to-reopen-disneyland-and-other-california-theme-parks/ I'm not anticipating the parks to open until Winter or Spring at this rate.

I'm going to be real for a second, anyone who is selling right now is not using their noggin for a lack of better terms. First off, the value of the product will gradually increase, I wouldn't put an exact percentage, but with it being such a sought after product there will be a market in the future. Secondly, selling this quickly is not the best idea, because honestly you're only playing into the narrative of the coaster enthusiast only out for cash. Enjoy your piece, maybe keep the other one for awhile sealed up just in case that piece were to have something happen to it. I think if you, an owner of a luxury, priceless object, wish to sell your piece at a later date, that's fine. It's capitalism, make money to get more stuff...... at a later point after all the sales have been made and the price has time to go up for a product. Appreciation folks, appreciate your Vortex pieces, and wait for the appreciation of the value thereof. For those of you who are wondering, no I'm not selling mine, ever.

So I do know Banshee has been having a weird year this year. 1. Banshee's rattle got 3X worse this year, I ride Banshee almost every visit, heck it's my #3 coaster ranked on my steel rankings. I have easily a couple hundred cycles on this thing, and yet every seat this year I've gotten a nasty rattle. 2. A few weeks ago purple train was pulled from operations, which I thought maybe was a wheel issue for the rattling, and iirc I haven't seen purple train in operation since. With this new development, I'm seriously wondering if they're trying to fix some rattling or there is a piece of track they need to work on. (For the record though, I never felt any rattling on the first drop even in the flare out)

I'm not going to lie, it's probably for some off season work on an electrical line or to renovate the whole parking lot (If KI has the money/time to do as we desperately need it.). I wouldn't hyperimpose on a lot of these markings, we already saw that going deep on some can lead to speculation about a water line system. This could even be a part of that renovation as they would need to show where the lines run if they're doing such a project. I personally would ask the Dippin' Dots guy for some clarification, but he's been referring me to Pepe Silvia recently....

I wouldn't call myself a fan of Vortex, not even remotely close to even an enthusiast thereof. However, I did appreciate the coaster and enjoyed it more and more in it's latter years. It just had a really good layout, and honestly I think if it had some touch ups to smooth it out more it could have been a top 20 coaster at least.

Ngl definitely higher quality than I was anticipating. It’s 100% metal and honestly it looks far more valuable than 198!

Remember kiddies, you asked for it, now you get to buy it. I'm pretty excited, I have a fat stack of change ready for Saturday to buy two of them and head back home afterwards. It's another piece for the KI collection I have in the curio closet.

To be frank, the SOB station and that whole region of the park needs to open up for future expansion into the old Safari plains if they want to grow the park out. If you remove SOB's station, regrade the whole area to be more open, the various choke points that were once an issue turns into a walkway that easily takes you into a new area of the park. I don't personally see such an expansion for a long time, but it's just something to be mindful of for the future of the park.

That's the point, there's already a model developed that would fit perfectly with what you're asking for. Plus, in all honesty, BLSC is getting some age and it shows with some of the roughness it has now.

.....Or you could just build a Gerstlauer custom family coaster that has a firetruck theme and expand on the area. I would love to see a reproduction of classic Cincinnati buildings and areas, a 1900's OTR with the German names, a "riverfront" marketplace, you could do a lot with something like that. Plus, in all honesty I would love to see more of a historical take on Rivertown and bring back that western/turn of the century vibe back to that part of the park.

I mean Wildcat was an original coaster at Coney Island though, it ties with the history of the park. Ditto on the Wing coaster concept, however for as much as I would love to see a top tier launched Wing at the park, I don't know if CF wants to one up a headliner at CP with a coaster at KI. I actually believe a Wing is arguably the biggest hole in their park, something that is borderline family and borderline thrill while being a B&M that packs a punch in the lineup.

Comet, Wildcat, Shooting Star, Aeroplane, Cyclone, basically any more classic sounding name would work. Heck, you could even make it aviation themed as Lunken Airport is really close to the OG Coney Island.

Boomerang Bay vibes intensifies In all seriousness though, I think it should be something tied to Coney Mall. Coney Mall. YTD, CM has one anchor coaster, RiverTown has two, three if you count Mystic. Coney is the perfect spot for something to hark back to the past, while bringing modern thrills. Heck, maybe something like a modern take on the Aeroplane concept would go really well back in that area. However, with that being said, I think we have a lot of options to run with and I'm looking forward to see what the park can do.

Okay can we just take a second to appreciate the fact that Chef Major has been rocking the food scene ever since he came to KI? From the stylistic food choices at the Miami River Brewhouse, to the Chef's Plate program, Chef Major, honestly speaking, is my favorite executive chef YTD. I love the fact that he's also very out there unlike his predecessors. (IIRC I never saw the old Exec chef as active in the park as I have seen from Chef Major) Pre-Major, I had more reasons to go outside of the park than to eat inside. Now? I have 3 maybe even 4 different Kings Island "brand" restaurants to choose from, and that's honestly what I've been wanting for years now. Kudos on KI for getting some different food out there esp with the Chef's Plate program, definitely something I can say has been a smash hit with my family and several friends of mine.

On Chrome Win 10 the avatar on the top ribbon is squished together, and on regular posts the avatar circle is hyper imposed over the rank/role. (Over a few points right and down) Also, you can't see the post reply number on the right hand side with the posts.